Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Love Thine Enemy

A man once came to Rav Kook and asked him to write a letter in order to help him get money for his sick daughter. As Rav Kook was writing he asked the man his name. The man answered. It turns out that this man was one of the people who used to arrange for large posters to be placed around the walls of Jerusalem ["pashkivilim"] denigrating and disgracing Rav Kook.

The eyewitness to this story [Rav Havlin, a well known Chabad Chossid] said he watched Rav Kook's hand and said it didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second. He continued to write as if nothing had happened. Rav Havlin concluded the story by saying "A moifes [wonder] like this I have never seen".

[Related by Rav Yaakov Shapira Rosh Yeshivas Mercaz HaRav on Gimmel Elul at the Churva Shul heard here. It's worth a listen.]