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Thought for the Day: Learn the Fundamental Importance of Chesed from the Holocaust

R' Ezriel Cziment gives an incredible chumash shiur on Thursday nights; there is a dial in number and also a WhatApp group to which the shiur is posted. Listening to the shiur Friday morning has become a fixed part of my schedule. The shiur is 30 minutes, delves into one or two topics from the parsha and develops a whole new understanding of those topics. Also, R' Cziment always includes illustrative stories, making them great for the Shabbos table. (Let me know if you want the dial-in information or to be included in the WhatsApp distribution.)

In the shir on parshas Shlach, R' Cziment brought a story from the sefer Meishiv Nefesh, written some 500 years ago, give or take. The author of that sefer needed to see the local ruler about some pressing issue. It seems that in that country, Jews were required to wear some sort of badge identifying themselves as such. While the Meishiv Nefesh was waiting for his audience, a priest walked over to him and said, "Do you know why you have to wear that badge?" Startled, he answered, "I wear it because the ruler made a decree, so I complied." "No," said the priest, "you are wearing that because you were chosen to be a special nation to G-d and He told you to wear tzitzis. Since you don't wear that mark of distinction openly, G-d put into the mind of the ruler to have you wear a mark of disgrace."

There is a lot to say about that story, and I urge you to listen the shiur by R' Cziment. For now, just keep that story in the back of your mind.

I met a friend on the way home motzai Shabbos and he related a story about his uncle -- now in his 80s -- who had been taking to Auschwitz when he was just 14. There was a selection and everyone under a certain height was to be murdered in the gas chambers that day. As the selector was coming down the line, the jew on the right of Uncle Mendy whispered, "stand on my foot." The jew to the left of Uncle Mendy moved over so he could stand on his foot as well. Those two jews gave Uncle Mendy a two inch boost in height that morning and many more decades of life; he should continue in strength and health.

I was taken aback... with everything going on, two jews had the presence of mind -- and the willingness to put their own lives at risk - to save another jew. Incredible, no? My friend then told me one more story. A story told by the former CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz. Mr. Shultz had been in Eretz Yisrael and had an opportunity to have an audience with R' Nosson Tzvi Finkel (ztz''l now), the rosh yeshiva of Mir in Yerushalyim. The rosh yeshiva was actually from Chicago, so Mr. Shultz -- even though he had never heard of the rosh yeshiva -- figured he may as well see this man that others held in such esteem and who headed this world famous yeshiva. The rosh yeshiva addressed this group of businessmen with a question: "What is the lesson of the holocaust?" Some said,  "never again?"; they smarter ones kept quiet. The rosh yeshiva told them that in the bunker where only one out of every six people were given a blanket Every jew with a blanket shared it with five others. (Apparently this story is more famous than I realized, and you can find a fuller rendition on the Aish HaTora site,  A Blanket of Trust.)

Now bring the story from the Meishiv Nefesh back to the front of your mind and let all that simmer for a while.

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