Reflection of an Ehrlicher Yid | Rabbi Aharon Weinberg

Teire Yidden, I would like to share with you a story told over first hand by my uncle, the Slonimer Rebbe, the Nesivos Shalom, זכותו יגן עלינו. There was a famous Slonimer Chosid, a big Tzaddik, his name was R’ Matis Luria, זכר צדיק לברכה. When he got married and he started raising children, they felt they needed a new dresser. They purchased a new dresser, and in those days, just like today, the whole door was covered with a huge mirror. There are some Chasidim that are Makpid, that they try not to look into a mirror, so R’ Matis was bothered. But his wife told him: We need it, the children need it. So for the Kavod of his wife, for the honor of his wife, for the sake of his wife, he didn't say anything. After 40 years, she was Niftar. The day after he got up from Shiva, he asked his children to order movers. Please take the dresser out. It bothered me always. But for the sake of my wife, for the Kavod of my wife, I didn’t want to bother her. That year, R’ Matis married off an einikel, a grandchild. And at that Chasuna, my Zeyde, the Slonimer Rebbe, the Birkas Avrohom זכותו יגן עלינו, he attended, and he sat together with R’ Matis. And a beautiful picture was snapped from them sitting together. A month after the Chasuna, the grandson came to the Zeyde, R’ Matis, and showed him the picture. R’ Matis took the picture and he said: Wow, that's the Rebbe. But next to him, who's that? It looks like an ehrlicher Yid. Who's this Yid? And the einikel looked in disbelief. Zeyde, this is a picture of you. This is your image. R’ Matis was caught in shock. He blushed. He smiled and he said, Oh, I thought it was an ehrlicher Yid. And then he turns to the einikel and he told him, I warn you not to ever repeat this story to nobody. Don't tell no one that I didn't recognize myself in the picture. Rosh Chodesh Tammuz 5736, July 1976, he was Niftar, he passed away, and then the einikel opened his mouth and said over the story. When the Nesivos Sholom heard about it, they were rebuilding the Slonimer Shul, and they needed a temporary Aron Kodesh. He said: Please, please get me that dresser. I want that to serve as an Aron Kodesh. A dresser with a mirror that a Yid was Moser Nefesh. Tens of times a day, he passed that mirror in his small apartment. Never glimpsed into it to recognize his own image. I want that to be the Aron Kodesh in Slonim. Teire Yidden, this story is maybe a little above and beyond. It's much higher than our level. But it's to tell us that in our day and age, there was a Yid that lived on such a level, to overcome, to control, with such discipline, for 40 years, not to glimpse into a mirror, when he had that Nisayon in front of him every single day. And so many times, we’re challenged, and it's difficult, and we're fighting and we're battling and we're struggling and we feel we can't, we feel weak. Remember, we can. Yes, you could overcome. Yes, you could control yourself. Yes, you could look away. Yes, you could guard yourself. You could have the discipline. Fight, don't give up, overcome and win.