Rav Shlomo Heiman: Wisdom, Virtue and Self-Sacrifice

The tension was palpable inside of base-medress Yashivas, tayyar Vedas, when the Bukhram were surrounding the Bhima, discussing and very unsure about who would take the rather tough spot. The situation was that there was a Bukhram who was ill and he needed Rakhame Shamaim. So the Yashiva took upon themselves as a group to learn an entire week straight for this boy's refuashalayma. One Bukhram would take one hour, then another would take another hour, even through the nights, 1am, 2am, 3am. But Friday night is a very tough time and that hour, from after Da'vaning, after Kabbalah Shavas, leading into the Sudha Shavas, the Layla Shavas, nobody was stepping forward to take that spot. And then, of course, selecting that spot and taking it head on was the great Tayyar Vedas, rashashiva, the Talmud of Ravbarakh Bear, the author of Khadusheh Ravshleima. That is the leading and central work that we study in Yashiva's great Rapshalomo Haiman. He said I'll do it, without batting an eyelash, he goes to grab a Gemara and to sit down to begin learning. And he remembers, thinks I gotta tell my Rebbitson that I'm going to be a little bit late this Friday night. And then, of course, all the Bukhram clamoring to be the one to help out their Rashashiva. One of them perks up OK, rebbe, I'll do it. I'll go tell your Rebbitson that you're going to be a little bit late, and Rapshalima is not late. And after other Bukhram back and forth saying I want to do it, be shamesh, ta'mideh ha'chamim, he would not relent in this one. Eventually Rapshalima went to tell his Rebbitson and he came back and began learning and later, like in every story, when there's that Bukhram who goes over to a very humble but pesky way to ask the Rashashiva his thinking, he said why didn't, rebbe, just let us walk down the block to go to the Rebbitson and say this time, why did you not leave and listen to the lesson from the great Rashashiva? Because that's second. When you walk into the house and I'm not with you, my Rebbitson is going to think that something happened to me and her heart's going to sink. What if something happened? Is it dangerous? Is he OK? So I don't even want to give that one second of pain of Agmasnevish to my Rebbitson and therefore I was the one who wanted to go inform her. The great Rapshalima hymn. He left us too early, died at the young age of 52, the terror of Adas Rashashiva. But his terror lives on and he taught us that it's not enough just to be a wise ta'mideh ha'cham, but we aim to be virtuous and wise. All the Mido's of the great Rapshalima to ha'chayn al-Livraha.