Just One Shabbos | Rabbi Nosson Muller

I once heard over from R’ Uri Zohar זכר צדיק לברכה the following story. There was a yungerman who worked for Lev L’Achim. Wonderful fellow, who worked with Bochurim, who unfortunately had slipped in their Avodas Hashem, in their Yiras Shomayim. They were street boys, not doing things they were supposed to be doing. And this yungerman would learn with them every week and schmooze with them and have cholent with them and slowly but surely, they built a relationship. Unfortunately, this yungerman suffered a tragedy in his family and one of his young children were Niftar. He was sitting Shiva and all of a sudden, his phone rings and it was one of the boys. And he said: Rabbi, In all honesty, we should really come be מנחם אבל, but we're not comfortable coming. You're very Charedi. Your neighbors are Charedi. The whole house is going to be filled with people who don't look like us. Or better said, we don't look like them. But I'm calling on behalf of the group to let you know how much we're feeling with you. And one more thing, Rebbe. We all decided that L’zecher Nishmas your son, this coming Shabbos, we’re going to keep Shabbos from beginning to end. No smoking, no going to the beach, no driving, no listening to music, no using our phones. He was very moved. He recognized the sacrifice these boys had made. And he hung up the phone and he said over his conversation to the group who were sitting in the Shiva house. And there was someone there who said, One Shabbos? What, and the next week they're going back to their regular? Nu, nu. Listen to what the father responded. He turned to this Yid and he said, You know, I hear what you're saying, but you see my house? You see the car I have in my driveway? And he pulled out of his pocket his checkbook. He said: There's a lot of money in my bank account. I want to tell you something. I would give it all up for one more Shabbos with my son who was just Niftar, for one more time to walk to Shul with him and sing Lecha Dodi, for one more time to learn Avos Ubanim with him, for one more time to spend a Shabbos table with him, singing Zemiros and saying over Divrei Torah. I would give everything I have for one more Shabbos. Do you think Hakadosh Baruch Hu is any different? His kids are coming home for one Shabbos. Of course, we want more, but don't you think it means something to Hakadosh Baruch Hu? It's something we have to internalize. We don't always score the home runs. We don't always do what we're supposed to. But we should know that every time we do one little Vayimaen, we hold ourselves back from saying something we shouldn't, from looking at something we shouldn't, from listening to something we shouldn't, the Ahava that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has, the pride that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has, בני בכורי ישראל is unimaginable, is unmeasurable, because Hakadosh Baruch Hu is our father who loves us no matter what we do.