Chicago Chesed Fund

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Friday, November 16, 2018

Toldos. Rav Rudderman and Rav Shmuel Birnbaum.

This story was said by Rabbi Bussel, from Reb Avrohom Birnbaum, from his father Reb Shmuel.

Reb Shmuel once met Rav Rudderman and he asked him for a bracha. Rav Rudderman asked him, why did the vision of the Sulam and the Ribono shel Olam's bracha take place right beforeYakov went to Lavan. He left home fourteen years before! (As Rashi says at the end of Toldos.)  Why no vision, why no bracha before that?

The answer is that someone who is נטמן בבית עבר does not need any brachos.

עד כאן from Rav Rudderman.

My hosafos: This was important for me, because a friend is going to Eretz Yisrael, he is having all kinds of problems - financial, physical, and mental problems plague him and his closest relatives. He complained bitterly that if you aren't a big millionaire, you don't have a chance to get in to get a bracha from R Chaim Kanievsky. As far as my earthly eyes can see, my friend is a tzadik. He is moser nefesh for his fellow Jews from early morning to late at night, and he still found time to earn Yadin Yadin, and he sits and learns every spare moment.  I said that R Chaim owes hakaras hatov to the people that give him money to marry off yesomim and feed the hungry. Why shouldn't he favor them? He famously has zero time, and he just can't sit and talk to all of Klal Yisrael.  My friend may not be on the mizrach in this world, but he's a perfect example of the Gemara in BB,
כי הא דיוסף בריה דר' יהושע חלש אינגיד א"ל אבוה מאי חזית אמר ליה עולם הפוך ראיתי עליונים למטה ותחתונים למעלה אמר ליה עולם ברור ראית

Until then, the consolation I gave him was that he does need brachos. He is the hand of the Ribono shel Olam, as hard as that may be. On his madreiga, he needs to be mispallel directly to the Ribono shel Olam, not to look for Brachos from gedolim. So I told him what Rav Rudderman said, and added the following.

Where are Avraham Avinu's Brachos to his son Yitzchak? Nowhere. Because Yitzchak was an עולה  תמימה. Where are the Brachos to kohanim? The Gemara in Chulin 49 brings the Machlokes R Yishmael and R Akiva about what ani avorcheim means, but everyone agrees that birkas kohanim is not for the kohanim. Why? Why don't the kohanim get their own bracha? The answer is because they're nitman b'veis Ever.

דתניא (במדבר ו, כג) כה תברכו את בני ישראל רבי ישמעאל אומר למדנו ברכה לישראל מפי כהנים לכהנים עצמן לא למדנו כשהוא אומר ואני אברכם הוי אומר כהנים מברכין לישראל והקדוש ברוך הוא מברך לכהנים 
רבי עקיבא אומר למדנו ברכה לישראל מפי כהנים מפי גבורה לא למדנו כשהוא אומר ואני אברכם הוי אומר כהנים מברכין לישראל והקדוש ברוך הוא מסכים על ידם אלא רבי עקיבא ברכה לכהנים מנא ליה אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק (בראשית יב, ג) מואברכה מברכיך

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