This past Shabbos we joined with our family to celebrate the Shabbos Sheva Brochos of our niece Chani. Sheva Brochos are celebratory meals during the seven days following a couple’s marriage. If a Minyan is present seven special blessings are recited over wine following grace after meals.
These meals give an opportunity for relatives and friends to get up and speak about the virtues of the Choson and Kallah and their families. It also gives a chance for those gathered to become familiar with stories and the history of the families’ ancestors.
Here is a story about my wife’s grandfather, Mr. Harry Hisiger o.b.m., that I had heard in the past but was now provided with more details. In the early 1900’s Harry Hisiger was a promoter of Torah and its observances at a time when observance was not in vogue and to the contrary it was being abandoned.
In East New York, there was a well-known street, Blake Avenue, where many Jewish owned stores were located. They were open for business on Shabbos and it bothered Harry that Shabbos was not being upheld. He and a group of friends would approach the owners and ask them to close on Shabbos. He found that they were not opposed to the idea since it would give them a well needed day off, but they were concerned that their competitors would remain open on Shabbos and they would lose customers. Harry approached the competitors and told them that their competitors are willing to take off on Shabbos if they would as well. After some time the entire Blake Avenue was closed for business on Shabbos, except for one appetizing store. The owner was adamant and refused to close. In fact he was so disturbed that people were trying to convince him to uphold Shabbos that he once came out of his store brandishing a large and sharp fish knife and came charging at the group. They all fled except for Harry Hisiger who stood up to the man and had no fear. Such was his sacrifice for the holy day of Shabbos!
I recently read a story, in one of Reb Wolf Zicherman books, about his father Dovid. His father owned a silver store in NY and there was a neighboring Jewish owned store that was open on Shabbos. His father approached the store owner to promote the holiness of Shabbos and asked if he would close on Shabbos. The store owner said Saturday was his busiest day of the week and it would be hard for him to close. Dovid asked him to make a calculation of how much he expected to profit on Shabbos. He came back with a figure. Mr. Dovid Zicherman made a deal with the man and told him if he closed he would compensate him for his ‘lost’ earnings. The proprietor agreed, and for many years his father gave the man a check for the amount they agreed on!
This is what you call commitment and self sacrifice for a Mitzvah.
Right before Shavuos, we lost a dear friend and a lifelong resident of Scranton, Mr. Arthur Pachter. Arthur’s passing came just a short 2 ½ months after his beloved wife Lee passed away.
The Pachters were a devoted and loving couple and they raised a beautiful closely knit family and enjoyed nachas from their grandchildren.
Arthur would speak about his widowed mother who would set the Shabbos table Thursday night in anticipation for Shabbos. Shabbos was the highlight of Arthur and Lee’s home with a palatable yearning and excitement for Shabbos.
Arthur’s funeral was erev Shavuos so the Shiva was cut short due to the holiday. This past Friday I sent messages to his daughter Judy and son Jeffery wishing them a good Shabbos and I indicated that it was the first Shabbos they would experience without him. Since he was in touch with his family throughout each day, I mentioned that may my message fill some of the void.
Judy sent me the following: “Thanks so much for your incredibly kind message. Maybe if he wasn’t such a good guy, it wouldn’t have hurt so much. It will be a tough one tonight especially because he cried during Kiddush every Shabbos without my mother. But we are better people for having known him and participated in his life. Have a great Shabbos.”
It struck me that of all times of the week, it was at the recital of the Shabbos Kiddush that brought Arthur to tears due to the memories of the beautiful Shabbos’ they shared.
This past week, the Scranton community lost a pillar of philanthropy – Mr. Alfred Reich. Al was a CPA who was elated with the success of his clients, many of which were due to his business and tax code acumen. A character trait that was most evident about Al was that we, and others who were close to him, never heard him say anything negative about others!
None of the people mentioned in the above stories boasted about what they did or accomplished in life, but people observed and were inspired. They held on dear to things that were important to them and did it with much devotion and self discipline.
Today, we are witnessing an unprecedented amount of overt anti Semitism in the US and throughout the world. Many wonder how best to combat it. Yes, we do our best to advocate in the press and on political and law enforcement fronts. Nevertheless, our proven and effective way is to show the Almighty that we trust in His powers through prayer and devotion to Him and commitment to our fellow Jews – as what these great people did. In this way we will positively generate G-d’s effective and affirmative powers to improve our situation!
