Escaping from the Convent | Rabbi Moshe Weinberger

There's a song that became very popular, a few years ago, in Eretz Yisroel, and it reached here. I also have dreams like Yosef had dreams. And just like Yosef was thrown into a miserable pit, I also find myself in such a place. And what gave Yosef HaTzaddik the Ko’ach to climb out, the strength of וימאן, to say no, to resist? So Chazal tell us, Yosef HaTzaddik saw the image of his father, דמות דיוקנו של אביו that his father believed in him. And his father stayed with him and came to him there, in that way, that gave Yosef HaTzaddik the ability to scream out, for himself and for all of us, וימאן. So how do we get out of the בור? What do we look at? What's the image in the window? There was a great Tzaddik, R’ Shimele from Czernowitz. He was the son of R’ Mendel of Vurka. One time, there was a husband and wife who came to R’ Shimele crying. Their daughter had some sort of a secret relationship with somebody who wasn't Jewish, and she actually ran away from the Shtetl. And they had found out that she was in a convent, being prepared, לא עלינו, to be converted, to be baptized. And the parents were crying to R’ Shimele, What are we going to do? R’ Shimele went with his Gabai and they found the convent and R’ Shimele and his Gabai encamped, they just sat on a bench outside that place and they waited for somebody to come out. And finally, there was somebody who worked there, a man that worked there, and R’ Shimele brought over to him a note, a little Tzetl. The Rebbe bribed him to go into the building and to give this to the Jewish girl who they were preparing for conversion. Then the Rebbe and his Gabai went and they stayed on that bench, it says in the Sefarim, for three days and three nights they did not leave. They davened there, they ate there, they did everything, they stayed on that bench. The Rebbe refused to leave. Finally, it was the middle of the night, and there's some noise and they hear the gate opening. They see that it's Devorale, it's Devorah. She had a blanket around her and she ran out and she says: Rebbe. And the Rebbe screams: Devorale. And the three of them just went running and running and running and running to get far away. And finally, they come to some place by the woods, and they rested to catch their breath. And the Rebbe said: Devorale, what gave you the strength? You were crazy for that guy. What gave you the strength? How did you leave? How did you get away from the convent? How did you get away from that boy? So she said: Rebbe, it was very, very hard. But I saw your image and I knew that you were waiting for me. I knew that you were waiting for me, even now. So Chevre, the Ko’ach of Yosef HaTzaddik to say וימאן, for him to be able to hold back, that Ko’ach comes from seeing the image of all those people who love you, who believe in you. And more than anything, to believe that Hashem is waiting for each and every one of us. It might not be on the bench outside the house, but Hashem Yisborach is waiting for each and every one of us. And because of that, each and every one of us has the strength of וימאן.