Stay in Touch!

Rabbi Yehuda Leib’s Journey 

Cross-continent travel in those days was difficult and exhausting even for the young and healthy, and even more so for Rabbi Yehuda Leib Kastelnitz, who was already aging and not so healthy. And yet, he missed his Rebbe, the Beit Shmuel of Slonim, very much. He so yearned to spend a few days in the presence of his Rebbe and to enjoy the elation of being in the holy court, that he accepted upon himself the suffering and the travails and embarked upon the long journey from Teverya (Tiberias) to the town of Slonim in Lithuania. 

From Teverya he traveled via donkey for a few days – a bone-shaking experience – to the Haifa port. There, he got on a ship going to Odessa. Traveling on the ships of those times was a rather trying experience. For many weeks the ship rode the waves with Rabbi Yehuda Leib staggering around like a drunken man. In Odessa, he boarded a steam train that took him to Grodno – a 24-hour journey. And from Grodno he climbed into a wagon that took him to the Rebbe’s house. 

And it was all worth it! The greatly pleasurable days that he spent with the Rebbe justified the tremendous investment in time and effort and all the travails thereof. 

On the way back, he developed intestinal problems. The combination of his affliction and the difficult journey was unbearable. His pains increased, and he lay in the train car moaning and groaning. His fellow traveler in the car was a respectable looking Jew. This Jew felt for R. Yehuda Leib in his distress and tried to start a conversation with him to distract him from the pain. 

But the pain was so great that R. Yehuda Leib couldn’t answer even the simplest questions. The man saw that the conversation was not alleviating the suffering – it was even making things more difficult for the sick person – so he stopped trying to speak to him.  

“I’m so sorry to see you suffering so much, so I won’t tire you with my questions,” he said to R. Yehuda Leib. “But still, to strengthen you, I will tell you something very good I heard from some great tzaddikim.”

Words of Salvation 

“It says in Tehillim,” said the man, ‘He will say to me ‘You are my father, my G-d, the Rock of my salvation.’¹ In any situation, if a Jew awakens his heart to know that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, is his father, who loves him, and from that knowledge he will come to call out to Him – which is the beginning of the pasuk, ‘He will say to me, ‘You are my father’ – Hashem yitbarach, You are my father, help me’, then certainly he will merit the end of the pasuk immediately – ‘My G-d, the Rock of my salvation’. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, will hurry to send him complete salvation.” 

These words penetrated the heart of the suffering R. Yehuda Leib and he began to cry out from the depths of his heart, in Yiddish: “Tattinyu (father), helf (help me)!” The immediate improvement in his situation following this prayer surprised R. Yehuda Leib. He had had no idea how powerful this simple prayer was. Within a short amount of time, his pains were gone, and he became calm and comfortable. He continued to pray throughout the journey, and the day-long trip passed pleasantly.  

When he disembarked from the train, he had to take his belongings to the port and get them onto the ship. And once again he turned to Hashem using the same words: “Tattinyu, helf”, and, like magic, a young boy approached him, and without being asked to do so, took his belongings and got them onto the ship without asking for any remuneration.  

Once he was on the ship and knew that he was facing a long and arduous trip, he already knew what to do: His lips didn’t stop murmuring the words, “Tattinyu, helf”, and the trip went extremely smoothly: the sea was calm, the weather was excellent. It was all so pleasant – he had never had such a wonderful trip.  

You probably already understand that the moment he disembarked and reached the Holy Land, the words, “Tattinyu, helf” continued to produce yeshuot (salvations) for him. Instead of searching for a donkey-driver or a donkey caravan and having to go from one Ishmaelite to another and bargain with them, the moment his feet touched the ground an Arab youth who was a mule driver, picked up his belongings and took him to Teverya, his city, while all the way R. Yehuda Leib continued to repeat “Tattinyu, helf!”. 

As he entered the city of Teverya, his acquaintances and family members came out to greet him, whereupon the Arab youth said to them, “I’ve brought you your Tattinyu…” 

Always a Father, Always Sons 

This sweet story was brought in the splendid and strengthening leaflet of the tzaddik, Rabbi Elimelech Biderman, shlit”a. And it is so suitable for the message that I have been calling out endlessly in the past few years, Hashem having granted me the ability to do so: Hashem is a good Father. And when you know that Hashem is a good Father – all the gates are open to you! 

All we have to do is to know that we are His beloved children – always and in every situation. 

Your prayers are not accepted because you do not believe that Hashem is a good Father. Whoever believes that Hashem is a good Father turns to Him directly in every situation, with no go-betweens, and without making an appointment – just direct speech from anywhere and any situation, in the simplest language! 

If you will only believe that Hashem is a good Father Who wants to give to you and pour upon you and do good for you – you will see that your prayer will be answered and will bear fruit so quickly that you will be surprised! 

The main yetzer hara (evil inclination) is the yetzer hara that hides from you the simple emuna (faith) that you are a beloved child, and that Hashem is good, and does good, and wishes to do good for you and bring you closer to Him and help you both in material matters and in spiritual matters – it doesn’t matter what you have done and what you have gone through in your life. 

And even if the yetzer hara proves to you, using “strong evidence” that you are not worthy, and that you do not deserve the good and why should Hashem listen to your prayers – you must strengthen your emuna and know that that is not true: You are a son! And that is an unchangeable status. A worker can be fired, and even a couple can, chalila, separate, but being a son is an unchanging reality. Even if the father exiles his son, the son does not stop being a son, and the father does not stop being a father. 

Every father expects his child to call out to him and return to him and say: “You are my father, help me!” 

Last week we wrote that calling Hashem ‘Abba’ (father) is a call and a prayer that does not include any din (strict justice); it is all love and rachamim (mercy); this wonderful story demonstrates this and strengthens the point unequivocally. 

Living in Touch 

If you have a father and a mother – call them every day and even more than once a day. Every call makes them feel good. 

Our Father in Heaven, too, is awaiting your “phone call”, and you can call Him every day, any time, from any place. The story demonstrates to us that you can ask for anything – and you will see your salvation quickly. If you call Him, “Abba!”, if you know that He is your father and you are His child in any situation – you will experience salvation in all matters. 

But, like in this example, you probably understand that the connection with the father is not just a tool one uses to receive salvations, rather, it is, first of all, the greatest pleasure for Hashem. We, His children, wish to live the truth, have a living connection with our Abba, and Hashem yitbarach, as a good father (and as any father), wants His children to be connected to Him in love. 

And therefore, dear Jews, adopt those sweet words and use them frequently: “Abba, You are my Abba, help me…” think about these words, really, and ask for whatever you want. With Hashem’s help not only will you experience great salvations, but you will also begin to live the life that Hashem wants you to live – a life of emuna, a life of a beloved child who always depends on his father and is sustained by Him.  

Editor’s Notes: 

¹ Tehillim (Psalms) 89:27