The Secret of the Hidden Spring: The Shechinah is Never in Exile on Shabbos

Lesson No. 25 | Lesson 1 - Tuesday Morning, Parshas Pinchas, 13 Tammuz 5755 at the Yeshiva

From the inferno of the death march from Auschwitz, a miracle of living waters bursting forth from the mud is revealed. Through this chilling event, the immense virtue of Shabbos Chazon is explained, during which the Shechinah (Divine Presence) emerges from exile and dances in Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden), even in the darkest of situations.

The Death March and the Terrible Thirst

After the great conflagration in Auschwitz and Treblinka, they took the surviving remnant out on a death march. Along the entire way, they did not give them a drop of water to drink. People began to faint from thirst, and whoever fainted—the Nazis would run them over with motorcycles and shoot them. Five thousand people set out on the journey, and thus, every time, another ten and another ten dropped away.

The cruelty was incomprehensible. Once, they arrived near a river, and the wicked ones told them to rest on its banks, knowing that people would jump into the water out of sheer thirst. Whoever jumped—they immediately shot him, and as a mockery, they said to those left alive: "Do you know why we shot them? We were afraid they would drown; we are protecting you." To increase the torture, they gave them salty things to eat, until the thirst burned within them and people would faint. Whoever fainted was killed immediately.

Living Waters from the Mud

Out of extreme thirst, people began to lick mud from the ground and suck the moisture from their clothes, and as a result, they suffered from poisoning. Once, they let them rest in a field full of mud, and they lay down in it. Then one of them stood up and warned everyone: "Let no one suck a single drop of water! The water here is rotten and poisoned. Even if you are going to die—do not put a single drop into your mouth!"

When darkness fell and the SS guards fell asleep around them, that same Jew told them: "Now start digging." They began to dig and remove the mud, ten centimeters and another ten centimeters. Suddenly, a spring was revealed. He instructed them to continue digging to a depth of thirty and forty centimeters, and suddenly a mighty stream of living water burst forth. One must always know: wherever there is mud and a swamp, if you dig deep—you can find pure water.

The Miracle of Salvation Facing the Gun Barrels

The hundreds of people who remained alive began to drink with excitement. The water leaped to a great height. Suddenly, from all the commotion, one of the SS guards woke up. He saw the leaping water and woke up the rest of the guards. They aimed their rifles to eliminate everyone for drinking without permission, and for the "theft" from the soil of Poland and Germany.

But then an open miracle occurred: suddenly, a terrible shame fell upon the wicked ones. Even though they would always shoot anyone who drank water along the way, this time they turned a blind eye, turned around, and went back to sleep. The Jews drank water until the morning, and in the morning, they continued on their way.

Shabbos Chazon: The Shechinah Goes Out in Dances

That Jew told this story during a sermon on Shabbos Chazon. He brought the words of the 'Apter Rav' (the Ohev Yisrael of Apta), who revealed an immense secret about the essence of this Shabbos:

"Shabbos Chazon is the greatest Shabbos of the year. Especially when Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbos, then the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) is literally built. The entire Shabbos is songs and dances, as it is written that Hashem goes out to dance in Gan Eden with the tzaddikim."

Throughout the entire week, the Shechinah is in exile, but when the holy Shabbos arrives—the Shechinah dances in Gan Eden. Hashem and the Shechinah go out in dances, and now we too must leave our exile. Even if we are broken and crushed, even when we are left as a mere few after they killed our friends right in front of our eyes with strange and cruel deaths—the Shechinah is never in exile on the holy Shabbos!

Whether it is in Auschwitz or on the death march to Dachau, on the holy Shabbos the Shechinah dances and does not belong to all the destruction happening down here. Therefore, we all need to elevate ourselves. On the holy Shabbos, there is no exile for the Shechinah; all the worlds rejoice and dance, and Hashem Himself dances with the tzaddikim. How much more so must we fill the Shabbos with songs, dances, and rejoicing. May Hashem help that in the merit of the dancing and the singing, the Geulah (Redemption) will come speedily in our days, Amen.

Part 1 of 2 — Lesson No. 25

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