SIMCHAS TORAH STORIES
Compiled by R’ Yitzi Weiner
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On Simchas Torah night the yeshivah students would come to escort Reb Baruch Ber from his house amid singing and dancing. One year, several Bachurim decided to close the women’s section so that no women would come to the yeshivah. That year, Reb Baruch Ber refused to leave his house. When asked why, he replied that he’d heard that the women’s section had been closed; “On Simchas Torah, we have the opportunity to increase the Torah’s honor in the eyes of the women, when they see how happy a Ben Torah is with the Torah. The Torah’s honor is greatly diminished in our times. Not every girl understands a ben Torah’s worth and is willing to marry one. This is our opportunity to demonstrate this to them, and on this day of all days they close the women’s section?!” Only after the was promised that the women’s section would be opened did he agree to set out for the yeshivah. (simchas torah) (In Their Shadow Volume 2)
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It was the festival of Simchas Torah. As it was Sunday, the German guards at a camp factory were nowhere to be seen. Someone began to sing the holiday song MiPi Kel aloud: “There is none as powerful as Hashem, there is none as blessed as [Moshe] Amram’s son, there is no greatness like the Torah, no one expounds it like Israel!” Suddenly, the factory chief appeared. The singer stopped in mid-sentence. “What is going on here? Tell me,” the chief said, turning to Joseph Friedenson, “what is he singing?” “Well, sir,” Mr. Friedenson replied, “today is a Jewish holiday and I guess you can say that he was praying more than singing.” “Tell me what the words mean!” Mr. Friedenson translated the Hebrew into German. The German was dumbstruck. “Do you really believe those words, Friedenson?” Before Mr. Friedenson could reply, a young, unlearned Jew jumped to his feet and said, “Yes, l believe!” The German walked away, shaking his head and muttering, “Incredible! l am afraid that we will never succeed against you people.” (Shabbos Stories 1) (simchas torah)
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The Succos holiday approached and again, through Divine Providence, Rav Meisels was successful in obtaining an esrog, lulav, haddasim, and aravos, and shared them with hundreds of his fellow inmates. Succos passed and Simchas Torah approached. Again, the Nazis designated fifty boys and led them to the gas chambers. Upon their arrival they were ordered to enter the “bath house,” a familiar ruse, providing the illusion that they were merely asked to shower. By now, however, the youngsters knew the fate of the millions who had been led along that route. They were not prepared to die routinely, choosing instead to die defiantly declaring their faith. One youngster took the lead and turned to the rest: “Today is Simchas Torah when the entire world rejoices, having concluded the reading of the Torah and following directly with the commencement of the new cycle of Torah reading. As Hashem’s children, we have attempted to uphold the Torah while we had the opportunity to do so. At the present moment, we shall also celebrate the siyum — the conclusion, followed immediately by the beginning. While the siyum will mark the end of our lives on this sinful earth, our new beginning will take place in Heaven as stated:— ‘In the beginning of Hashem’s creating the Heaven.‘ “Since we presently possess nothing, not even clothing to cover our bodies, and surely not the customary sefer Torah with which to dance, let us instead dance with HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Who is here with us, as the pasuk states: ‘l [Hashem] am with you [with every Jew] in distress.’ Let us therefore dance with Hashem prior to returning our souls to Him.” The youths began dancing with enthusiasm, singing the famous niggun found in Shacharis: — How fortunate we are and how wonderful is our portion; how pleasant is our lot and how beautiful is our heritage.“ They continued with— “Cleanse our hearts so that we may serve You in truth.” The voices of those wonderful youngsters, prepared to depart this world in a state ofjoy because they are members of klal Yisrael, and whose only concern during their last moments was the purity of their hearts, must have split the heavens, evoking an outpouring of middas harachamim — Heavenly benevolence. The Nazi guards standing outside became enraged upon hearing the sounds of singing and dancing within the gas chamber. The commandant in charge became crazed with fury when he heard from one of the boys the reason for their outpouring of joy. The youngster told him sardonically that the mere anticipation of leaving a world where Nazi beasts reign is sufficient cause for elation. in addition, he said, they were exhilarated at the prospect of uniting shortly with their brutally murdered parents. “l will teach you a lesson,” the Nazi barked with fury. “You thought that the gas chamber was your last station. Y0u’ll find out otherwise. l will torture you with indescribable suffering. l will slice your flesh till you will expire.” The youngsters disregarded the Nazi’s threats and continued their singing and dancing with added fervor. The response was swift and immediate. All the youngsters were removed from the gas chambers and transferred to a holding block so that by next day the torture regimen could commence. At this juncture, an apparent miracle took place, which can only be attributed to the power of simchah, the spiritual strength of joy. The following morning a high-ranking Nazi commander arrived at Auschwitz and chanced to pass by that barracks. He had come to the camp to choose several hundred young, able bodied men and send them to a work camp that was short of manpower. Peering into the barracks he saw a group of energetic youngsters full of life, a profile that fit perfectly with his requirements. The local commandant did not dare mention the circumstances surrounding the placement of the boys in the barracks, for fear of being demoted or put on trial for dereliction of duty. Knowledgeable observers have confirmed that every one of those fifty youngsters survived the war and all raised exemplary families, a true source of pride to klal Yisrael. Indeed, how appropriately the Simchas Torah hymn “Mipi Keil” articulates the power of joy with the phrase -— “No joy equals that of Torah, and no nation seeks it out as does klal Yisrael. ” (Noble Lives Noble Deeds 3) (simcha, simchas torah)
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It is an accepted custom that after picking up a sefer which has fallen to the floor; one honors it with a kiss. Rav Pam would point out that there is an even better custom, to learn from the sefer for a minute or two. For a moment of study is to take the sefer’s sacred words and make them a part of one’s essence, surely a higher level of honor than a mere kiss? And he would use this as an analogy to explain how one should view Simchas Torah. First, we express our love for the Torah by dancing with it and kissing it. However, when the hakafos have ended and the Yom Tov has drawn to a close, We must translate that expression of love into renewed dedication to Torah study. (simchas torah, kavod hatorah) (Rav Pam)
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Reb Asher, a relative of Reb Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, related that he had once come to Premishlan to spend the Days of Awe in the presence of Reb Meir, and had stayed there until the end of Sukkos. Now during that period the tzaddik’s daughter was so dangerously ill that by the time Simchas Torah came around she was at the point of death. The tzaddik, as always, was dancing exuberantly at the Rejoicing of the Law, when a group of chassidim rushed into the beis midrash with an outcry, imploring that he do something to call down the mercies of heaven on his daughter. The tzaddik (who out of unfeigned humility used to refer to himself in the third person, by his diminutive nickname, as “Meir’l”) walked into her room. He saw at once how matters stood, and when he came out he said: “Master of’ the Universe! You commanded us to blow the shofar on Rosh HaShanah – and Meir’l blew; You commanded us to fast on Yom Kippur – and Meir’l fasted; You commanded us to dwell in the sukkah during the festival – and Meir’l dwelt in the sukkah; You commanded us to be happy on Simchas Torah – and Meir’l is happy. But now You’ve gone and caused his daughter to be sick. Meir’l, for his part, has to accept this state of affairs joyfully, for the Mishnah teaches us, ‘A man is obliged to bless his Maker for grievous tidings in the same way as he does for glad tidings.’ And the Talmud explains that this means, ‘to accept joyfully.’ Meir’l therefore is accepting his lot joyfully. “But Ribbono shel Olam – Master of the Universe! Does the Halachah not establish the law that ‘one may not mingle one joy with another?… ‘” And immediately after, news came from his home that his daughter’s fever was subsiding, and she recovered. (simchas Torah, gam zu) A Treasury of Chassidic Tales on the Festivals, By Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin, Published By Artscroll Mesorah page 237
