Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva: Chizuk for the 3rd of Tishrei and Remembering the Passing of Rabbi Ephraim Cohen

The following is based on the Hebrew Chizuk video for the 3rd of Tishrei by Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva

Auspicious Timing and the Sweetening of Judgments

Today is Monday, the second day of the week of the Holy Sabbath, falling on the 3rd of Tishrei 5787. The numerical value (Gematria) of the year 5786 (פ"ו / 86) equals Elokim, representing divine judgment. However, as the Gaon Chida notes on the verse "His head is as the finest gold" (Paz / פ"ז), the number 87 adds one extra Aleph. This additional value sweetens the severe decrees. The value of 5787 (תשפ"ז) corresponds to "I am Hashem" (Ani = 61, Hashem = 26), turning potential judgments into divine sweetening, blessing, and protection from trouble.

Remembering the Passing of Rabbi Efraim Cohen

On this day, the 3rd of Tishrei, we commemorate the passing of Rabbi Efraim Cohen, who passed away on the Holy Sabbath (which coincided with Rosh Hashanah). He was a prominent Kabbalist and served as the head of the Porat Yosef Kabbalist Yeshiva.

In his youth in Baghdad, Rabbi Efraim was deeply revered by Rabbi Yosef Chaim (the Ben Ish Chai). When Rabbi Efraim was only 26 years old, the Ben Ish Chai sent for him, seated him by his side, and honored him greatly.

After immigrating to the Land of Israel during a massive wave of Iraqi Aliyah, many newcomers were placed in transit camps (Ma'abarot). Rabbi Efraim Cohen, together with Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka, traveled among the tents and camps to encourage the immigrants to stay steadfast in their faith, keep the commandments, and walk in the ways of Hashem.

Rabbi Efraim was blessed with remarkable merit. He was the father of Rabbi Shalom Cohen, the Rosh Yeshiva of Porat Yosef in the Old City of Jerusalem. Rabbi Efraim named him Shalom because the Rashash (Rabbi Shalom Sharabi) appeared to him in a dream, instructing him to name his unborn son after him.

Divine Protection over Food

Once, on a Sabbath eve, Rabbi Efraim was warned in a dream that the Chamin (Sabbath stew) prepared for his family contained non-kosher meat and that he should not consume it. Perplexed, Rabbi Efraim noted that he had purchased the meat from a scrupulously righteous butcher. Upon investigating, it was discovered that a woman had secretly purchased non-kosher fat from an outside vendor and added it to the pot to enhance the flavor. Heaven intervened directly to preserve his spiritual purity.

At his funeral, held shortly before Yom Kippur, Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka eulogized him using the passage from the Mishnah: "Seven days before Yom Kippur, they separate the High Priest from his house to the Palhedrin chamber."

Historical Significance of the 3rd of Tishrei: Fast of Gedaliah

The Gemara in Tractate Rosh Hashanah cites Rabbi Akiva expounding upon the verse: "The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall become times of joy and gladness for the House of Yehudah." The "fast of the seventh month" refers to the 3rd of Tishrei, marking the assassination of Gedaliah son of Achikam.

Following the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile, King Nebuchadnezzar  appointed Gedaliah over the impoverished remnant left behind in Jerusalem to tend the land. Seeing that a stable remnant remained, Jewish refugees who had fled to Moab, Ammon, and Edom returned to Yehudah to cultivate the vineyards and rebuild their lives.

However, Baalis, the King of Ammon, sought to dismantle this remaining Jewish presence and dispatched Yishmael son of Nethaniah to assassinate Gedaliah. Although warned of the plot at Mizpah, Gedaliah refused to accept what he believed to be slander and took no precautions. Yishmael subsequently murdered Gedaliah, his followers, and the Babylonian garrison stationed there. Fearing Babylonian retribution, the remaining Jewish population fled to Egypt, entirely dispersing the community from the land.

Our Sages teach that the death of the righteous is equivalent to the burning of the House of our L-rd; thus, a public fast was instituted for Gedaliah just as one was instituted for the Temple's destruction.

According to the Ari (Arizal), the 3rd day of Tishrei is a time when severe judgments (Gevurot) gather and prevail. The spiritual task of this period—including the sounding of the Shofar—is to sweeten these strict judgments.

The Power of Repentance and the Ten Days (Aseret Yemei Teshuvah)

We are currently preparing for Yom Kippur, a unique day unlike any other. Rambam (Maimonides) describes the extraordinary stature of repentance in Hilkhot Teshuvah (Chapter 7, Law 7):

Before a person repents, his transgressions separate him from Hashem. He cries out without receiving an answer, and his mitzvot are discarded. But once he repents, turns from evil, and confesses—"I have sinned, I have done iniquity, I have rebelled, and I return"—he is instantly attached to the Divine Presence. He calls out and is answered immediately, received with grace and joy.

Just as any small business owner must regularly review their accounts to avoid bankruptcy, every individual must perform an accounting of the soul (Chesbon Nefesh). During these days, the Divine Presence is uniquely accessible: "Seek Hashem while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near." Even intentional sins can be transformed through sincere return.

The Value of Time in these Ten Days

Rambam notes that during the Ten Days of Repentance, the repentance of an individual is accepted with the same potency as the prayer of an entire community. The Ya'arot Devash writes that these days carry a sanctity similar to Chol HaMoed (the intermediate days of a festival), suggesting one should minimize unnecessary work, engage in moral reflection (mussar), and focus on spiritual growth.

The Pele Yoetz writes under the entry Teshuvah:

• The light and holiness of the Ten Days of Repentance compared to regular days is like the difference between light and darkness.
• One single hour of repentance during these ten days accomplishes what would otherwise take several months during the rest of the year.

In his work Dan Yadin, the Pele Yoetz adds that the gates of repentance are open wide: if a person opens an entrance the size of a needle's eye, Heaven opens an entrance as vast as a hall. Throughout the rest of the year, one may knock repeatedly; during these days, the doors are already unlocked.

Theological Dilemmas: The Mystery of Forgiveness

The Prophet Yechezkel prophesied that sincere repentance fully atones for past transgressions. The Jewish people initially struggled to accept this truth. How could someone indulge in every severe abomination, say a few words of repentance, and be completely cleared of guilt?

Hashem swore to them directly: "As I live, says Hashem the L-rd, I do not desire the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live."

Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer explains why an oath was necessary: The Jewish people understood the profound cosmic damage caused by sin—how it blemishes the soul and destabilizes higher spiritual realms. They could not comprehend how simple verbal confession ("I have sinned, I have done iniquity, I have rebelled") could repair such severe spiritual destruction.

The Analogy of the Terminal Illness

Consider a critically ill patient who suffers a massive heart attack and cannot move. If a doctor tells him, "Give 10 shekels to charity, recite a chapter of Psalms, and you will be completely cured," the patient would think the doctor is insane. Sin acts like a deadly, aggressive pathogen within the soul; human logic dictates it cannot be erased easily. Therefore, Hashem Himself had to swear that true repentance—consisting of abandoning the sin, feeling genuine regret, studying mussar, and committing to a better path—has the divine power to uproot the damage.

The Analogy of the Wrong Bus

Repentance requires a complete change of direction. Suppose a person boards a bus intending to travel north to Meron. After two hours, he asks the driver when they will arrive, only to be told he is traveling south, past Netivot.

If the passenger protests, "But I've already been traveling for two hours!" it changes nothing. To reach his destination, he must get off the bus, cross the street, change platforms, and board the bus going in the correct direction. Continuing on the wrong path yields no progress, regardless of time invested.

The Story of the Mismatched Match (Shidduch)

Rabbi Yehuda Tzadka related a story about a young man who had begun to drift spiritually. Seeking to stabilize him, rabbis tried to arrange a marriage with a young woman who was newly returning to her religious roots (Ba'alat Teshuvah).

When brought before the Rabbis, they firmly rejected the match, explaining: Although the young man was currently observing mitzvot, he was moving in the wrong direction—he was deteriorating. The young woman, though less knowledgeable, was actively moving upward in her spiritual journey. Two people heading in opposite directions cannot build a stable path together. Spiritual trajectory matters more than current standing.

The Almond Shells: Prioritizing the Soul over the Body

King David proclaimed: "My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments" and "Hashem, all my desire is before You." His sole focus was proximity to the Divine.

Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian (referencing Rabbi Elya Lopian / Rabbi Levinstein) once shared a parable about buying almonds: A rabbi saw people purchasing large bags of almonds at a market. Normally costing 20 shekels a kilo, a vendor was selling them for just 4 shekels. He purchased a bag, but upon returning home, he discovered that every single almond inside was shriveled, dried up, and inedible—there were only empty shells.

He returned to the seller to complain. The vendor responded, "What do you expect? Almonds cost 20 shekels, but I sold them to you for 4! Half the weight is just shells."

The buyer replied, "I am willing to pay for the shell as part of the package when there is a healthy almond inside it. But no one buys empty shells alone!"

The Moral: The human body is merely the shell (Klipah); the soul (Neshamah) is the almond inside. The body exists solely to house and serve the soul. Performing external physical actions without internal soul-engagement is like purchasing empty almond shells.

Urgent Awakening: The Gold Rush of the Ten Days

These days are a spiritual "gold rush." If someone were offered real gold at a fraction of its value, or if a king invited a commoner to work directly in his palace, only a fool would say, "Wait, let me think about it."

In Tractate Yoma, the Talmud teaches that on the night of Yom Kippur, the High Priest was forbidden to sleep. If he began to drowse, young priests would snap their fingers and call out: "My master, High Priest, stand up!" They would read to him from books like Job and Chronicles (Divrei Hayamim).

Why Chronicles?

The commentators explain that reading historical events served as an urgent reminder: "How can you sleep when the entire nation depends on your service? Look at history—look at the suffering, the trials, the decrees of past years!"

Seeing the hardships of recent years—the losses, the widows, the orphans—one cannot afford to remain dormant. Now is the time to cry out and stir the heavens for a sweet, joyful year.

The Metaphor of the Deep Sleep (Tardemah)

Reflecting on the verse "And a deep sleep fell upon Avram..." during the Covenant Between the Parts (Brit Bein HaBetzarim), the Ponevezher Rav questioned how Abraham could fall into a profound sleep while being shown the future exiles, destruction, and suffering of his children.

He explained that the "deep sleep" (Tardemah) itself represents part of the curse of exile: a state of spiritual numbness where people witness immense troubles and warnings, yet remain asleep and fail to awaken to repentance. We must break out of this spiritual slumber while the gates of Heaven remain open.

The Landlord's Inspection and the Pending Judgment

A story is told of a man with ten children who rented a luxury villa from a landlord (from the Asaraf family). After a year, the tenant asked to renew the lease. The landlord insisted on inspecting the property first.

Knowing the house had been damaged by the children—walls scraped, fixtures broken, and rooms dirtied—the tenant hurriedly hired workers to patch the drywall, repaint, and clean as much as possible before the inspection. When the landlord arrived, he noticed the hasty repairs and asked about the condition. The tenant admitted the wear and promised to maintain it better, prompting the landlord to grant him another year's lease.

Every year during the Ten Days of Repentance, the Holy One, blessed be He, inspects our "lease" on life before deciding whether to entrust us with our soul inside our body for another year. Even if our past actions were flawed, our current efforts to repair, repent, and improve our standing allow us to be granted life renewed.

"Intermediate Ones Hang in the Balance"

Our Sages teach that intermediate people (Beinonim) hang in the balance (Tleyim v'Omdim) during these ten days. The masters of Mussar compare this to a condemned man standing upon a trapdoor with a noose around his neck and his eyes blindfolded. He stands waiting in suspense—a single movement or verdict will determine whether the trapdoor opens or if he is pardoned.

Understanding the gravity of where we stand, we must utilize every remaining moment of these holy days to return wholeheartedly, repair our path, and secure a year of life, sweetness, and redemption.