When the King Was on the Run | Rabbi Yaakov Rahimi

Rabotai, I want to share with you a Shmooze said over by R’ Yitzchak Zilberstein, in the name of his father-in-law, his Shver, R’ Elyashiv, the Gadol Hador, זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה He told him that we know Dovid Hamelech, the Sefer Melachim A Perek 2 says that Dovid Hamelech, before he passed away, he called over his son, Shlomo. He gave him a צוואה, he gave him a will, and he said: Make sure you follow the ways of Hashem. Make sure you protect the Torah and Mitzvot. Make sure you always stand up against the world, to protect the words of Hashem. And at the end, Dovid Hamelech throws something to Shlomo Hamelech that was very interesting and it seems a little bit out of place, says R’ Elyashiv. Dovid Hamelech tells Shlomo Hamelech, And by the way, Barzilai Hagiladi, that fellow and his family, make sure that even after I pass away, שיהיו מאוכלי שולחנך make sure they eat from the table of the king. And asks R’ Elyashiv, Who was this fellow, Barzilai Hagiladi, that Dovid Hamelech, before he passed away, told his son, Shlomo Hamelech, to make sure you watch over them and give them extra good treatment? Says R’ Elyashiv, When Dovid Hamelech was running away from his own son, Avshalom, at that time, the culture was so against Dovid Hamelech. Avshalom, his son, was able to take everybody with him against Dovid Hamelech. Only one person took in Dovid Hamelech to protect him, and that was Barzilai Hagiladi. So now that Dovid Hamelech is king again, and he's about to pass away, he tells his son, Shlomo, Never forget how when the whole world was against me, Barzilai Hagiladi took care of me. So make sure his reward will be מאוכלי שולחנך. He should always eat from the table of the king. He should always be treated differently. He should always be part of the palace. Says R’ Elyashiv, This is a message to us, Rabotai, in our generation. We're going to live in a generation before Moshiach is going to come, where the whole world is chasing Hashem out of their houses, where the whole world is not interested in Kedushah. They're not interested in being holier to Hashem. To the contrary, the whole world is going the other direction, בלי בושה, with no shame. But there is a certain small group of Jewish people that are taking the Kedushah inside their house, that want more Kedushah, more Shmirat Ha’einayim, more holiness, getting closer and closer to Hashem. When Moshiach is going to come, Hashem will give a special reward to those Tzaddikim. The people who take it upon themselves to watch their eyes, they’re going to be מאוכלי שולחנך of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, says R’ Elyashiv. Rabotai, When we try to watch our eyes, although the whole world is telling us not to, remember, When Moshiach is going to come, those people are going to be מאוכלי שולחנך of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, says R’ Elyashiv.