The Yanuka Rav Shlomo Yehuda-הגאון הינוקא - מסר מיוחד לילדי תלמוד התורה 'חפץ חיים' The Yanuka - English CC

5:15 With the permission of all the rabbis, with the permission of the Rav, the principal of the Talmud Torah, and all the holy and honored rabbis, and all the holy and pure children: may Hashem, blessed be He, bless you, may Hashem, blessed be He, give you success, that you be holy and pure. And remember that the most important thing is that you are here and learning Torah. You must be careful with the honor of each and every one, and with the honor of his friend, that no student and no child should have pain, and should not have shame.

5:52 And when they play, the children should make sure that everyone plays together. And see: whoever doesn't understand - explain his Mishnah to him so that he understands, and so that each one can understand his learning. And this is what will bring you holiness and purity. I will tell you a nice story. There was the holy Gaon, Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, author of the Menoras Zahav. He was the brother of Rabbi Elimelech, author of the Noam Elimelech.

6:18 They say that he once came to some town, and he would go around in worn-out clothes, and all the time they would scorn him and laugh at him. His clothes were torn, and he would go around with a sack. And once he came to some synagogue; he prayed behind the prayer stand. Then they began to throw at him - the children began to throw all kinds of fruit and stones at him, and they scorned him and said, 'Who is this man who looks like a pauper, a simple man, not important, that they say of him that he is even a rabbi, and he comes here?'

6:54 And they began to scorn him, and simply scorned him, really like that, all the children, all of them. Rabbi Zusha called all the children and looked each and every one in the eyes; he opened his eyes and looked at each and every one. And after he finished looking at all the children, he said to them, 'Go home.' The children came home, and each child began to speak with his father and his mother, and began to know the past lives of the parents and of their family.

7:24 Just from the look that Rabbi Zusha gave them, he imbued them with such holiness. And after they came back, then the teachers and the parents came to Rabbi Zusha and said to him, 'How is it that they scorned you like that, and you gave them such holiness?' So he said, 'We needed to instill in them more love of Hashem, and love of Israel, and fear of Heaven.'

7:49 For if the children have fear of Heaven, and they have love of Israel, that they respect one another, they will be able to do all the miracles and wonders, and everything they did is from their power - from their influence. For if you are careful to be holy and pure - the holiness and the purity and the main path is in order that you respect one another, and be careful that there is no son of Israel, not a single one of you, who is in pain.

8:14 There is a very beautiful passage of the Jerusalem Talmud, so that you understand the greatness of the Torah, in Tractate Peah, chapter 1, halachah 2, that they asked Rabbi Yehoshua: 'May a person teach his son Greek wisdom?' He said to them, 'A person is permitted to teach his son Greek wisdom at a time that is neither day nor night.' He was hinting to them that learning Greek wisdom is always forbidden; rather, one must learn the holy Torah.

8:39 If you love the holy Torah and you learn it, you will see the sweetness that is in the Torah, and the sweetness and the pleasantness that is in every page of Gemara, in every Mishnah, which is the light of Hashem that gives life to and sustains all the limbs and all the sinews. And this is truly the life force, the holy Torah, and it has a wondrous and tremendous sweetness. And if you see that you are not succeeding in learning, our Sages taught us about this in Tractate Taanis, page 7b, and on page 8a they say: 'If you see a student whose learning is as hard for him as iron' - this is in the name of Reish Lakish - 'it is because his Mishnah is not set in order for him,' that the learning is as hard for him as iron because his Mishnah is not in order for him.

9:19 So Rava said, 'It is because his teacher does not show him a welcoming face.' So you must be careful, both parents and teachers, be careful to show a shining face to the students, be careful to shine for them, to ask them if they understood, to ask them to review the learning, to teach them the learning again and again, and so you will suddenly see how the learning becomes sweet and wonderful. And don't be embarrassed to ask again that the teacher go back and explain again, and try each time to understand your learning, and you will feel the pleasantness and the sweetness.

9:50 Always remember: if you don't understand something, stop right away and ask, ask again, that they explain it to you and shine their faces on you. So our Sages taught us. And one more thing you need to know: that many, many times we see that the more a person sanctifies himself and purifies himself, then creation submits before him. There is the story of Rabbi Assi, who was the Amora; he was born in Babylon, he grew up with Shmuel in Nehardea, in the yeshivah, afterwards he was with Rav Huna, who was in Sura, and learned from him, and afterwards he went up to the Land of Israel.

10:26 So it is written in Kiddushin, page 31b. He received Torah from Rabbi Yochanan, until he was a prime disciple of Rabbi Yochanan, and Rabbi Elazar ben Pedas said of him that he was the wonder of the generation; that is what he called him, Rabbi Assi, for he was a Kohen, from a family of Kohanim of fine lineage, and he was very holy and awesome. They say that when Rabbi Assi passed away, all the trees in Tiberias were uprooted from their places at the hour he passed away.

10:50 Even creation - a great fear fell upon it. At the hour Rabbi Assi departed from the world - all the trees in Tiberias - and some say that the great fortress that was there in Tiberias, which had idol worship in it, fell and broke apart. You see from here the greatness and the importance. This can also be seen sometime - it is in Chullin, page 84b - that Rabbi Assi is the one who said that a person should honor his wife and his children more than what he has, with clothing, and with honor, and with garments.

11:20 But if you look, and you understand, and you see how important it is to the Sages to respect the other and to love the other, and to set each one's learning in order, for this is the essence of the Torah learning that he learned from Rabbi Yochanan. The essence of the Torah learning was - he was also expert in Maaseh Merkavah, he knew tremendous and awesome secrets of the Torah, there was nothing like the wisdom that he knew; but the main drawing-down and the main Torah, truly, is that you be careful to respect one another, and you will see how even creation itself submits before you.

11:56 These are the miracles and wonders that they once did in the Land of Israel and in the whole world, the miracles we have heard of - it is all from the root of 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Let us give you one more interesting thing that perhaps you know: that in Tractate Bava Kamma, in the seventh chapter, page 67b, and on page 77, and on page 78, and on page 79b, there the Gemara tells the difference: that a person, if he steals an ox or a sheep, that there is a difference in the double payment he must return: if it is an ox, he must pay five times, and if it is a sheep, then he must pay four times.

12:33 So we really need to understand what the difference is specifically between an ox and a sheep, that for an ox he will have to pay five times, while for a sheep he will have to pay four times. So there is an answer of Rabbi Meir; Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yochanan each give a different answer. Rabbi Meir says that the reason a person must pay five times is because he took the ox from him, so now he had to be burdened with the work, and he needed to use the ox, and he could not plow, and he cannot use it in the field, so he had great trouble, so he must pay him double; and with a sheep he cannot do anything.

13:10 But Rabbi Yochanan gives a different answer. Rabbi Yochanan says that the reason he will have to pay double, so much - five times for the ox - is because with an ox he can run away with the ox from place to place, and he can escape with the stolen goods, and so he can run away and not be embarrassed, while with the sheep he will have to lift it onto his shoulders, and because he will have to lift it onto his shoulders, he will be embarrassed with this sheep, so the Torah has pity on him and lets him pay only four times, which is one less than the five times of the ox.

13:43 And you see from here how much the Torah has pity on each person, that he not be embarrassed. How much you must engrave in yourselves, in all your way and your holiness, that not one of you be embarrassed, that not one of the teachers be embarrassed, that not one of the parents be embarrassed. And this is the essence of Torah learning, that you must grow up on this, in your foundations, and the groundwork of holiness will be upon this.

14:09 And you will see that in this merit the Holy One, blessed be He, will give you holiness, and will give you purity, and will give you blessing, and you will light up the testimony for Israel, as it is written, 'a testimony to all who come into the world,' in Tractate Shabbos, page 22b, that all the creations see today, on Erev Chanukah, that everyone sees that we kindle the light of Hashem, blessed be He, in the whole world; everyone lights up the awesome light of Hashem.

14:33 This is a testimony to all the creations, a testimony to all who come into the world, to see that the light of Hashem, blessed be He, the light of the Shechinah, is with the Jewish people. And we must be light, and be like the Menorah. Show a shining face to everyone, strengthen the parents and the teachers, be in love and faithfulness to one another. Be careful not to be harsh with or insult any child, that no child be shut out, Heaven forbid, that there be no child who is insulted, Heaven forbid. Be careful to watch over every heart, remember that he is a son of the Holy One, blessed be He, the son of Hashem, blessed be He, and Hashem, blessed be He, does not want anyone to insult any son of His.

15:05 And be careful to respect everyone and to play with everyone, and to love everyone and to help everyone, and you will see that in this merit there will be expansion and good influences, both for the parents and for the teachers, and also for this holy Talmud Torah of yours. May you have good influences, and a good life, and the complete redemption, and all good, and from all good, and all the blessings stated in the Torah, in Scripture and in the Mishnah be fulfilled in you and in your descendants until the end of all generations.

15:29 'And you shall say: So for life! Peace to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that is yours.' May G-d Almighty bless you and give you mercy and good influences, and all good, and from all good, with good that is seen and revealed, out of joy and gladness of heart, and may the holy rabbis continue to lead you and to teach you the right way, and listen to them in all that they do, and you will have all good, and a good life, and good influences, and a happy holiday, and all good from all good in all matters - may you succeed.

16:12 - Dear students, remember for all the years of your lives this special date, Erev Chanukah 5783, that you learned in the Talmud Torah Chofetz Chaim, Rishon LeZion, the holy and lofty words that the Rav conveyed. The class rabbis will go on to explain them, and will even write down the Rav's message, but mainly, let us go out for now with the central message: together with Torah learning, every child takes upon himself - Heaven forbid, Heaven forbid, Heaven forbid - never to embarrass any Jew, not to hurt a friend, not to cause pain to the parents or the teachers, only to bring joy.

17:00 The Rav says that also at recess, in a game, to include more children, and especially in learning, when you see a child struggling, to volunteer to help him before a test, to help him with assignments, to be a study partner for him. And the Rav poured out blessings without end. Thank you to the parents, fathers and mothers, who placed your trust in the long-standing Talmud Torah Chofetz Chaim in the city.

17:30 Thank you to the principal, to the staff of teachers, men and women, who do holy work. 'May the will of Hashem succeed in your hands.' And in your merit, students, who proclaim: 'We have a share and a portion among those who learn in Israel, we have a share and a portion.' [unclear] in the Chosen House. Amen and amen.

18:31 and all good aims, [unclear] from all evil, [unclear]. And may it be fruitful and multiply. Torah and good abundance - He Who blessed our holy forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, may He bless all the holy congregation, each and every one, and give you help from Heaven, from the heavens, and give you blessing and success, and a good life.. living and enduring children, a complete healing, firm health, an abundance of good livelihood, and all good, and from all good, in all matters, all of them, and good influences and a good life, miracles and wonders, and all the blessings stated in the Torah, in Scripture and in the Mishnah be fulfilled in you and in your descendants until the end of all generations.

23:05 And so may it be His will, and let us say Amen. [unclear] Amen. [unclear] to bring everyone back in teshuvah - yours. To bring everyone back in teshuvah, and to [unclear] Hashem in all the worlds. Amen. [unclear] I bless [unclear] of your Torah.

24:03 I enjoy the books that you wrote and sent me, until today. The [unclear] of bringing it from the Rishonim is a wonder of wonders, [unclear]. It is a wonderful [unclear] for Torah. Truly a wonder of wonders. [unclear] Don't worry, don't worry... Watch the children, be careful with the children.

25:13 Come on, come on...