Lengthy and powerful sermon, four pages [approximately 90 lines!] handwritten by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, concluding with blessings for the day of judgment.
This sermon was delivered on the night following Shabbat parashat Netzavim – right before the Day of Judgment. The sermon deals with the necessary preparation for the Days of Mercy, in which the gaon Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv describes a Jew’s deeds and his thoughts in beautiful picturesque(!) language, the activities of the “old and foolish king” [the evil inclination] and the ways of the Creator of the World, as passed on traditionally through the generations. At the end of the speech, the gaon Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv blesses “May we merit being inscribed in the Book of Life in a year of complete redemption; to the rebuilt Beit HaMikdash.”
“There was a time that the old and foolish king would make no effort to tempt the Jewish masses in non-belief. He could tempt them with private transgressions – forbidden speech, such as slander and speaking during prayers; to disparage others; to disrupt Torah study schedules. But when a Jew would hear the sound of the shofar beginning in Elul, with his great faith that he would have to answer for all of his deeds before the One who knows the inner workings of all hearts, he would become a different person (!!). And when the days of Selichot would arrive, terror and trepidation would take hold of him from fear of the Day of Judgement, to the point that by the time a Jew would leave the synagogue at the end of Yom Kippur, a ll of his transgressions would be transformed into merits … and the evil inclination would stand by and gnash his teeth, as all the claims against the Jew became null and void, [leaving him] with no sin nor transgression, only forgiveness and atonement …”
Aside from Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv’s tremendous Torah prowess, this talk bursts with his incredible picturesque talent, his ability to illustrate the intent of his words in a beautiful manner, easy to hear and take to heart.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog website for a brief biography of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Elyashiv .
[2] leaves, [4] pages written in their entirety. 20.5 cm.
Very fine condition. Light aging and damp stains. Minimal creases in the corners. The leaves are not attached to each other.