עשה משפט יתום ואלמנה וכו' הוא תהלתך והוא אלקיך אשר עשה אתך את הגדלת ואת הנוראת האלה ... (י-יח,כא)
Rashi gives us a fascinating insight into the workings of the Almighty. The Torah tells us: “He executes the judgment of the orphan and widow” - (previously) we had a description of Hashem’s power (Gevurah). Now alongside His power, we find (a description of) His humility (Megillah 31a).” The greater the humility, the greater the strength.
A young Talmid Chacham passed away and left a widow and small orphans, r”l. His nine-year-old son was quite unruly in class and could not retain anything he learned. The problem already began two years earlier when his father had taken ill, and could no longer stay on top of his son’s progress in school. It only got worse when his father passed away.
The mother took her son to a well-known psychologist, who diagnosed the boy as hyperactive with major stress. He recommended removing the boy from school for the lion’s share of the day’s learning, as the boy could not be productive in such an intense setting. Furthermore, he felt the boy needed ongoing monthly therapy sessions with him.
The widow couldn’t afford the expensive therapy, and people rallied to help her raise the money but they didn’t know quite how to do so. She did not bring in much money this way and she bemoaned the fact that she had no way to pay for the psychologist or the ongoing therapy sessions he demanded.
The dire situation was brought to the attention of R’ Avraham Genachovsky zt”l, the Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivas Kochav M’Yaakov, the Tchebiner Yeshivah in Jerusalem. He was beloved and revered by everyone - from the greatest rabbanim of his time to the most simple of Jews. Even non-religious Jews respected his opinion. His profound understanding of Torah and his tremendous sensitivity to others were the hallmarks of his life. He would cry and commiserate in another Yid’s pain and he did all that he could to make the situation better.
When he heard about the woman’s desperate situation, his first reaction was, “Is it possible to bring the child to me at the yeshivah? I would like to talk to the boy and see if I can help him in some way.”
The woman was at her wit’s end and did not object. A few days later, the boy appeared at the yeshivah accompanied by his older brother. The Rosh Yeshivah brought the boy into his private office, and sat down on the floor. The young child stared incredulously at the sight of the venerable Rosh Yeshivah sitting on the floor. He was even more astounded when he asked the child, “What games do you like to play? Cars? Planes? Tic Tac Toe?”
They played games for an hour, sitting on the floor. At that point, R’ Genachovsky told the boy, “Ok. You have school, and I have a Yeshivah. So we can’t play games any longer. So, I have an idea, listen carefully. Once a week, I will make up a Torah riddle on a piece of paper, and you will present it as a challenge to your classmates. The following week, you’ll come here and tell me which kids got the right answer, and I’ll give you prizes to give out to all the winners. Are you ready? Okay, here’s the first one: Explain how it is that you can put something in your mouth without eating or swallowing it, yet you make a beracha on it!”
The boys eyes lit up. “I don’t know,” he replied. The Rosh Yeshivah smiled and said, “It’s a shofar!”
The boy was so excited that he ran at top speed to tell his older brother, and couldn’t wait to share this brainteaser with his buddies in school. The weekly quiz was a spectacular hit. Not only did it earn his classmates’ participation in the riddles themselves, but they began to include him in other games and activities for which he had always been an outsider.
They started accompanying him on his weekly visits to the Tchebiner Rosh Yeshivah to get their prizes, and the young boy felt like a million dollars to be the center of attention. After several weeks, the child changed dramatically. He quickly rose to the top of his class, and positive behavior took the place of all the negative stuff. Now, full of self esteem, he no longer needed the assistance of therapists. He was a new person, thanks to the special attention given him by R’ Avraham Genachovsky.
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