[Avodah] we live in good times

[Eli Turkel]

>From an article by R. Aharon Katz R. Kollel in ar Ilan U and Rav of a
shul in Ramat Gan

One of the worst disasters in Jewish history is the massacres of
Chelminiski tach-tat 1648-1649.
The stories of the Cossack atrocities can compete even with the Shoah.
In this case there
are stories of women who killed themselves rather than marrying
Cossacks. One "interesting"
story is of a woman who convinced her groom to be that she could not
be harmed by bullets.
So to test her out he shot her in the head.

There is an old machkloket rishonim if one is allowed to die for
kiddush hashem when according
to halakha one should commit the sin and not die. This debate is
continued by early
rishonim like the Bach and Schach. R. Yoseph Dahan in Yoef Ometz (a
generation before
Chelminiski) recommends learning the halachot of kiddush hashem since
they are only theoretical
like korbanot. A contemporary was the Shelah who introduced a bracha
for dying on kiddush hashem.
His major discussion however is that one should think that he is ready
to die al kiddush hashem
and it counts as if he did. The general tenor is that this is
atheoretical discussion.
More explicit is the Maharal from Prague (same time period ) in
derashot on the Torah. He divides
 the world into three time periods. The first period ended with the
destruction of the Temple.
The second period "doro shel shmad" follows the destruction with the
decrees of thwe Romans.
His own generation (again shortly before Chelminski) is the third
period where there are no
longer any antisemitic decrees. The nations of the world treat us like
a husband and wif who have
no secrets between them and a disagreement leads only to a divorce.

A generation later the Jews of Poland were decimated and after the
rabbis introduced several
decrees including a fast on the 20th of Sivan. This did not extend to
Lithuania. Nevertheless the Schach
from Vilna writes that he personally undertook to fast. There was also
a decree to never return
to the Ukraine which was later lifted.

Some have a custom to read about the various disasters of the first
crusade, Chelminiski and the Shoah during the 9 days.

A lesson to all those who think it can never happen again


-- 
Eli Turkel