A Nigun of Dveikus | Rabbi Dov Keilson

At the feast of Achashverosh, there were things that would bring pleasure to every single sense, to taste, to smell, to see and to feel. But there was one sense that Achashverosh didn’t put anything for, and that was the sense of hearing. There was no music at the feast of Achashverosh. And the obvious question is Why not? R’ Matisyahu Salomon brings from R’ Shlomo Alkabetz an amazing thing. We know that when you try to soothe a child that is crying and you sing to him, all of a sudden, he becomes calm. Why is this so? asked R’ Shlomo Alkabetz. The reason is because the child's Neshama most recently has come from Heaven, a place where he heard or she heard the singing of the angels. And when you sing songs to it, it's a familiar sound to the child and automatically soothes it. Says R’ Shlomo Alkabetz, Achashverosh had one intention, to bring Klal Yisroel to sin. And in order to do that, he knew that he could not have music at the feast, because music reaches straight into the Neshama and that would not allow them to sin. R' Avigdor Miller explains a Pasuk in Tehillim, Awake, my glory, my Neshama. How do I awake my Neshama? Awake, harp and lyre, with the power of music. And this, therefore, is one of the greatest pieces of advice for overcoming all evil inclinations, especially in the area of holiness. It's the advice of the power of music. My Rebbi, R’ Moshe Lieber zt”l, tells a story of his Rebbi, R’ Shlomo Freifeld. Many years ago, R’ Shlomo Freifeld taught in elementary school, in a Yeshiva where the boys were still coming close to Yiddishkeit. During recess, one day, he notices that two boys were coming from across the street with two bags from White Castle, a place where the food was not Kosher, and they were embarrassed to see their Rebbi. And they thought they were going to be punished terribly. R’ Shlomo Freifeld told them to come into the class, and he sat them down and he told them to open up Siddurim to songs of Shabbos. And he began to sing with them, And the boys began to sing with him, becoming entranced in the music. When they reached the high part of בן דוד עבדך, they called out, Rebbi, we’ll never do it again! What was it that reached their souls? It was the power of music. When a person is faced with challenges, try this. Pull out something that's of Dveikus, a melody of Dveikus, and listen to it, and you will see wonders. Because Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us a gift of music that can help us overcome all the challenges in our way. May Hakadosh Baruch Hu strengthen us to be always a spiritual pleasure to Him forever and ever.