Parshat Shelach

By Rabbi Shlomo Zargari

Shalom, in this week’s parasha, we encounter yet again the complex episode of the spies. They returned from the mission to spy on the land of Yisrael with complaints of the superiority of the enemy and how it would be impossible to conquer the land. What they didn’t want to hear is the “Daat Torah,” what is the opinion and the view of the Torah and the Gadol Hador.

On the 27th of the month of Tamuz of 1906, a telegram was received at the home of the honorable Rishon LeSion Harav Yaakov Shaul Elyashar. It was sent from the Rav of the Polish city of Novomisk. The telegram was written in German and stated that six months prior, a high ranking official was murdered and two Jewish residents of the city had testified against five people regarding this case prior to leaving to Eretz Yisrael. The suspects have been arrested and they are awaiting execution. The Jewish population is very much under pressure knowing that once the execution takes place, pogroms will start and mobs will attack Jews all over. The Rabbi therefore is asked to interrogate the witnesses and get a confession from them stating that the testimony was false, thereby saving the Jewish community…

Harav Elyashar immediately found the mentioned witnesses and questioned them and understood that they actually witnessed the crime.

That night, the 92 year old Rishon LeSion called for an emergency meeting of the hachamim and askanim as to what to do regarding this matter. Everyone gave different ideas of how to save the community from imminent attack. Throughout the meeting, the Rav was silent and when all the debates were over, all eyes looked up to him. He said “ In my mind, this is a hoax. The witnesses testified what they actually saw. The verdict has been passed down, and the officials won’t allow an attack against the verdict of the court. Those close to the criminals have initiated the telegram. If we send a message saying that the witnesses testified falsely and lied to the court… that’s when the attacks will start and no one will stop them! We will send a message that as citizens of the Ottoman Empire, we cannot be involved in matters of other countries.”

All fell silent, then the question was asked “what about the chance it could be true?”
In response, Rav Elyashar sent his personal assistant with his signet to Harav Shmuel Salant, the leader of the Ashkenazi community in Yerushalayim, to tell him of the situation and told him not to mention anything about his decision regarding this matter, he then must follow whatever Harav Salant commands. So at midnight there was a knock on the 90 year old rav’s door by a group of the rabbanim who accompanied the assistant. They showed him the telegram and explained the story to him. Upon hearing them, he immediately responded: “this is forged , you must respond that we cannot meddle in the judicial process of other countries!!!!”

All present were shocked and said to him that Harav Elyashar had said the exact same thing! And immediately the telegram was sent to Warsaw with this reply.

The next day Harav Elyashar passed away on the 28th day of Tamuz. Two weeks later the Polish newspapers arrived in Yerushalayim stating that due to the wisdom of the Gedolim in Yerushalayim, our enemies’ plan to mobilize a massive attack on the Jews of Poland was thwarted, and they continued on to bring the details of the fake telegram and showed all the hand of HaShem Yishtabah Shemo!