Ein Yaakov – Lesson 007 – Clip 1 – The Power of Kaddish

Podcast (shiurim): Download (Duration: 2:56 — 4.0MB)

Ein Yaakov – Lesson 007 – The Power of Kaddish – Speaker: Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld zal. (Recorded 1970-08-26.)
Rabbi Yosei hears the wordless mourning of the Shekhina as the cooing of a dove in an abandoned ruin. Eliyahu HaNavi explains its meaning in a way that encourages and strengthens our tefilah today. Text: Ein Yaakov, Shabbos.
Indexed MP3 and transcript of the entire shiur is HERE.

TRANSCRIPT OF CLIP:

The Gemara says that Rabbi Yosei once was walking along the road, an isolated road, and the time came for him to daven, apparently davening mincha. And he saw an uninhabited house there. He walked in. This was one of the homes that were destroyed from the חרבת [destruction] of Yerushalayim. And he went inside there to daven.

While there, Eliyahu HaNavi came, waited for him by the door ‘till he finished his tefilah. When he finished the tefilah, Eliyahu HaNavi greeted him. And he said to him, “Shalom aleicha rabi.” Yosei replied, “Shalom aleicha rabbi umori.” And then they went into further conversation.

Eliyahu HaNavi asked Rabbi Yosei, “Why did you go into this churva – this house that’s destroyed? Why didn’t you daven outside, on the road?”

Why? Because a churva is a place that’s destroyed, a home that’s destroyed, and there is the danger of sheidim [demons] there. The Gemara says that sheidim originally had the freedom of roaming the streets of cities, and every person’s life was in danger.

Then he said to Rabbi Yosei, “When you were in there you hear anything?”
He said, “Yes I did. I heard a voice – a soft voice like the cooing of a dove”.

Now the Shekhina is compared to a dove – canfei yona. And this voice said, “Woe is to the… how pitiful it is, what a pity it is on the children who were driven away from their home. Jews driven from their home, driven away from the table of their Father… the Beis HaMikdash, woe is to the fact that I have destroyed the Beis HaMikdash and driven my children out of Eretz Yisrael”.

This is the Shekhina bemoaning, רָחֵל מְבַכָּה עַל בָּנֶיהָ [Yirmiyahu 31:14]. Again, “Rachel” stands for the Shekhina.

Eliyahu HaNavai said to R’ Yosei, “It is true, this voice you heard. But know, too, that this is not the only time this voice says it. This voice comes every time that the Jews come to shul – daven. And they say יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא יִתְבָּרַךְ – every time the Jews say this, this voice comes from heaven and says, “How beautiful is the tefilah of the Jews who give praise to Hashem. What a pity it is that these Jews, these children, were driven away from their Father’s home.”

And the more times that Jews say יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא יִתְבָּרַךְ with kavana, the more they evoke the pity of Hashem from Heaven, the more they strengthen the chances that Moshiach could come.

This כח of tefilah – “Yehei Shemei Rabba” – saying it especially with the hiskashrus to the Tzaddik Emes, [will] surely realize the ביאות המשיח, binyan Beis HaMikdash, veGeula sheleyma, b’meheyra beyameinu, amein ve’amein.

[Transcription by syw]