A True Story From The Holocaust | Rabbi Nissim Yagen | TORAH FOR KIDS AI

There was one time Reb Yigal Alon says he meets [music] somebody in the subway. He calls him Reb Yankele. Reb Yankele sees Reb Yigal again. He says, "Where you from?" He says, "I'm in Eretz Yisrael." He says, "What are you doing here?" He says, "I'm here to collect a little bit for my yeshiva." He speak of this. Says Reb Yankele says, "I don't have money. But I have a story for you. I have a story for you." Reb Yigal says, "I [music] love stories. All of this shiur is full of stories. The real stories, not fairy tale stories." He says, "You know in the Holocaust people lost their minds. Poor people, if you didn't have God, you didn't stand strong before the Holocaust, you didn't survive. The Hashem Yerachem I tried cheering everybody up all the time. Cheering them up. NO, GUYS, GUYS, ROSH CHODESH, ROSH CHODESH. YALLAH, Rosh Chodesh, we have to celebrate Yom Tov. Rosh Chodesh, this one died, that one died, this one died this morning. NO, GUYS, MINCHA, MINCHA. I TRIED TO WAKE THEM UP WITH MITZVOT, give them a chiddush. While we're getting hit, while we're getting abused, while we're getting everything, I tried to cheer them up so they don't lose their spirit, they don't lose their hope. I tried to get them out and a lot of people, baruch Hashem, they continued going. Why? Cuz if you lose your purpose, you lose your desire to live, you're not going to make it. Not through this horrible Hashem Yerachem. You can't judge any of them. Hashem Yerachem, you never judge them. He says, "In those conditions you lose your desire to live, you're not going to live. The people that survived wanted to survive. The ones that didn't survive not that they didn't want to survive, they just they lost, they lost. It's very easy to lose. Like I tell you, just thinking about it, you don't want to live. Hashem Yerachem. But Reb Yankele says, "The Germans saw me do all this and they said, 'Ah, we're going to make an example out of him.' The guy told me, the soldier told me, 'I'm going to make an example out of you. You're making them laugh, you're making them to the Watch what I do to you. He made a whole circle for everybody, the whole camp. He says, "Let's go. Start." He throws a shovel at him. "Go start digging." Yankel, Yankel, Yankel. Start digging. What is he digging? His own grave. "Start digging your own grave. I'm going to bury you alive in front of everybody. Let's see if they dance now." Yankel says, "He wants me to start digging. That means the German wants me to start digging." Ivdu es Hashem b'simcha and I'm DANCING THE WHOLE TIME. THE GERMANS ARE LIKE HE'S DANCING NOW. EVERYBODY STARTED LAUGHING. THEY started being singing with me. EVERYBODY START SINGING, defeating the whole purpose OF WHAT THE GERMANS ARE DOING. IT'S Ivdu es Hashem b'simcha. Ivdu working, serving Hashem b'simcha. He's singing the whole time digging his own grave. Eventually he's at a grave. "Okay, take off all your clothes." And he's singing, taking off his clothes. Ivdu es Hashem b'simcha. Only thing he has left, black tzitzit. Not because it was black. It was white, but from wearing it every single day through the slavery it becomes black. The only thing he has left. German Nazi mach sh'mom u'zichrom says, [music] "Take off your clothes." I took off my clothes. HE SAYS, "THAT TOO, WHATEVER THAT IS." SO I'M NOT TAKING IT. "TAKE IT OFF," HE SAYS. "I'M NOT TAKING IT OFF." "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU." "KILL ME. YOU WANT TO KILL ME? KILL ME." "TAKE IT OFF," HE STARTS YELLING AND EVERYBODY STARTS GETTING HAPPY BECAUSE HE'S YANKEL AND HE'S STANDING STRONG NEXT TO THE NAZI EVIL. HE'S NOT TAKING OFF HIS TZITZIT. The Nazi says to him, "What is that stupid thing anyway?" And he says to him, he says, "You see this tzitzit? This tzitzit is my guarantee that my father in heaven is watching. And he's going to take revenge on you. And he's going to take revenge on you [music] against everything you did to everybody here. The Nazi [music] got the fear of his life and ran away. Shortly later, they called him, told him to come to the office, they gave him his passport. He says, "You're different. Get out of here. Run away before I kill you." And they let him run away. And that was Rubiancali. Rubiancali says, "Unfortunately, I was the only one that survived in that camp. Everybody else that was left died." One masai. "What's the big deal?" they say. So, put on your tzitzit. To keep it on. What's the big deal? they say. It's just a tzitzit. They're going to kill you anyway. The moment of truth, will you do it? That's the big deal. The moment of truth. When Edom, when Amalek, when the Nazi Germans are looking you in the face, SAY, "WHAT'S THAT STUPID THING?" YOU'RE GOING to have an answer. That's the difference, Abuta. We have to fight Amalek every single day. Even if we don't know who Amalek is. Why? Cuz sometimes Amalek is inside us. Telling us, "What's the big deal? The rabbis don't know anyway. This one says this, this one says that. What's the big deal? What's the big deal? The big deal is that Hashem judges the hair breadth, everything. Tiny smallest thing he judges. And anyone that says otherwise, Hashem Yirachem. Because just like he has the ultimate desire to reward us, and he does, he also [music] has the ability, unfortunately, to punish. And this is knowledge that every single person needs to know. Jew or Gentile. Because every single person has the ability to know the creator for who he really is. Regardless of where you were born in, regardless of who your father is, regardless of who your grandfather is, and what circumstances you're in, what circumstances you're not in. It's all irrelevant. Why? Because the same father in heaven is watching all of it. And he's giving each and every single one of us the opportunity to meet him, greet him, and follow him. If you do it, good for you. We call that chazak ubaruch. If you don't, oy vey. >> One, two, three. >> [screaming] >> One, two, three. >> creations >> [music]