[Avodah] Davening for one's enemy

[Micha Berger]

On Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 08:35:09PM +0300, Doron Beckerman wrote:
: RYK asks if the Sifrei Mussar talk about davening for one's enemy. Orchos
: Tzaddikim in the beginning of Shaar HaSimchah does mention davening for
: one's enemy, though not necessarily as an Eitzah for overcoming  negative
: feelings.

R' Dov Katz in Tenu'as haMussar tells this story about RYS:

One time Rav Yisrael was riding by train from Kovno to Vilna. He was
sitting in a smoking car, smoking a cigar. (This was the 19th century,
smoking wasn't known to be a dangerous vice.) A young fellow boarded and
sat near him. The man complained, yelling at him about the smell of the
cigar and the thickness of the smoke. Bystanders tried to quiet him,
pointing out that if he didn't want the smoke, the man could move to
a non-smoking car. Rav Yisrael Salanter put out the cigar, and opened
the window to clear the air. A minute later, the man slammed the window
closed, screaming at Rav Yisrael for letting the cold air in. Rav Yisrael
apologized to the young man, and turned his attention to a seifer.

When they reached Vilna, crowds of people had come to the train to
greet the elderly sage, the great Rav Yisrael Salanter. The man was
mortified when he realized who it was he had offended through the entire
train ride. He went to the home where Rav Yisrael was staying to beg
forgivenes. Rav Yisrael was gracious in granting it. A trip, after all,
can make you edgy. He asked the man why he came to Vilna. It turns
out he was looking for a letter from a rav to help him get started as
a shocheit. Rav Yisrael made a connection for the man, contacting his
son-in-law, Rav Elya Lazer, asking him to give the man the test.

He failed it, badly. For the next several weeks, Rav Yisrael taught him
the laws himself, and arranged teachers and tutors for the more hands-on
skills of shechitah. After retaking the test, he earned Rav Elya Lazer's
letter of approbation. Then, Rav Yisrael Salanter continued to help,
contacting communities until he could find the man a job.

The shocheit was ready to leave Vilna. He came to Rav Yisrael with a
question. He could understand how Rav Yisrael, the founder of a movement
that teaches a focus on middos, was able to forive him. But why did you
then commit your next few weeks to helping me so much?

Rav Yisrael explained. It's easy to say "I'm sorry." However, how do
you know that deep down you really forgive the person, that you're not
bearing a deep-seated grudge? Deep down in his heart, Rav Yisrael was
not so sure. Therefore he had to help the aspiring When you help another
person, you develop a love for them.

(Story cut-n-pasted from a devar Torah at
<http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2004/12/love-part-i.shtml>.)

Whether that applies where ve'ahavta lerei'akha kamokha doesn't, ie when
the enemy is not rei'akha, is left as an excercise to the reader.

GCT!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             Like a bird, man can reach undreamed-of
micha at aishdas.org        heights as long as he works his wings.
http://www.aishdas.org   But if he relaxes them for but one minute,
Fax: (270) 514-1507      he plummets downward.   - Rav Yisrael Salanter