A Link in the Chain | Rabbi Moshe Elefant

My father עליו השלום would tell us that there are three words that appear in every Shmoneh Esrei that we always have to remember, We have to remember that we are a link in an incredible chain of Klal Yisroel. And the Bluzhever Rebbe would say that when he was in Bergen-Belsen during World War II, he had a neighbor in the next bed who had been a religious Jew, and after seeing what was going on in that terrible period, left being observant. And he said that what happened in Bergen-Belsen was the Nazis ימח שמם had begun a game. They thought it was funny. It was sadistic. That every morning, the Jews would have to dig a big hole, and they would have to jump over that hole. And if you made it, great. And if you didn't make it, as you fell into the hole, they would shoot you and kill you. Every day, they chose a different barrack, and one day, they chose the barrack where the Bluzhever Rebbe and this person was in. Everybody was sure the Bluzhever Rebbe would not make it. The Rebbe approached the side of the hole that he was supposed to jump, and he jumped over. After him came his neighbor, who also was successful in jumping. And the neighbor told the Rebbe, The reason I made it is because I grabbed onto you, not physically, but I saw if you can do it, then I can do it. But he asked the Rebbe: How did you do it? And the Rebbe said, Whenever I face a difficulty in life, what I do is I realize that I am a link of previous generations, and I didn't think that I was jumping alone. I thought of all my forefathers, who were pushing me over the hole. And that's how I did it. And the Rebbe said: That's the way we're supposed to go through life. When there are challenges in life, when there are situations in life that we think are difficult, realize that we have all of the previous generations pushing us across. And at that point, that person said, I want to be part of that link. And he became again observant and survived the war. In the Shira, we say every morning, If we want זה אלי, if we want the strength to serve Hashem properly, then if we always remember our forefathers, that will give us the strength and the ability to face all challenges.