This week’s Maayanei Hayeshua shabbat pamphlet published an interview with Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu’s wife, Rabbanit Tova. Amidst stories of other patients healed following a blessing from Rav Eliyahu, she recalled a conversation in which she asked why he was not praying for himself. Rav Eliyahu answered that he was accepting the suffering upon himself in order to annul evil decrees against the Jewish people, saying that ultimately this would culminate in the coming of Moshiach. When asked what needs to be done to bring Moshiach, Rav Eliayhu said that everyone should do teshuva in the area of “veachavta lereyecha kamocha” (loving our fellow Jews).
I realize that this is nothing new. Any kid can tell you that since the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed due to sinat chinam, so the geula will come through ahavat chinam. Still, Rav Eliyahu’s statement gives this idea a new urgency.
After reading the interview, I started thinking of practical ways we could enhance ahavat chinam. Here is my list: (more…)