בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם…(פינחס כה:יא)

When he zealously avenged My vengeance among them…

HaRav Yisroel Grossman zt’’l of Yerushalayim related a story:

His neighbor was a lonely almanah – a widow who used to alleviate her boredom by listening to news from a small radio transmitter. (Which doesn’t exist anymore today.) A fellow neighbor, who was a real ‘קנאי – zealot,’ used to reprimand her for possessing such an object in her home. But the widow ignored him.

One Friday afternoon, the zealous neighbor became infuriated, and after the widow washed her floors, he opened her door and spilled a bucket of water across the almanah’s home.

R’ Yisroel relates that his uncle R’ Shimon Grossman zt’’l had pity on the almanah and confronted the neighbor on his wild actions – commanding him to come to Harav Yosef Zvi Dushinsky zt’’l to hear his opinion on the matter.

The קנאי neighbor shared his argument with Rav Dushinsky, saying that in his backyard lives a neighbor, an almanah, who possesses a “טמא כלי – an impure object,” and that he rebuked her several times but to no avail, so he decided to take drastic action.

Even before the fanatic neighbor finished his story, Rav Dushinsky’s complexion turned fiery, and he jumped off his chair, lifted his cane, and started screaming: “Rasha, get out of my house!”

Filed under Parshas Pinchas |