Parshas Pinchas
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
[This Torah z-mail is dedicated to the memory of my dearly beloved father Rabbi Dr. Erich Zauderer - Yisrael ben Mordechai a”h – May his neshamah have an aliyah.]
THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR A DEPARTED LOVED ONE
If you ask most Jewish people what is the best thing one can do in this world to merit the neshamah (soul) of a departed relative in the next world, they will likely respond that it is the Kaddish prayer. However, this is incorrect.
In fact, when Rabbi Eliyahu Gutmacher (circa 1800), in his classic, ground-breaking work Succas Shalom, compiled a list of 4-5 items one can perform in order to provide merit for the departed, the recital of Kaddish was on the bottom of the list.
[Now don’t get me wrong … According to Kabbalistic tradition, Kaddish does incredibly wonderful things for the elevation of the soul in the next world, more than we can ever imagine. I’m just saying that there are even more potent things one can do to help elevate the soul of a departed loved one in addition to the recital of Kaddish … and who wouldn’t want to do that?]
The absolute best thing one can do for the merit of a departed relative, according to the authoritative book Succas Shalom, is … engaging in Torah study.
Rabbi Yosef Han Norlingen (circa 1600) writes in his Halachic classic Yosef Ometz that the effects on the neshamah from learning Torah are “sevenfold” those that arise from the recital of Kaddish and leading the prayers.
And the Chafetz Chaim bemoaned the fact that all too many mourners – who, to their credit, were particular to attend “minyan” in the synagogue and offer the pertinent prayers and recite the Kaddish on behalf of their loved ones – would leave for the day without learning any Torah.
“The prime act one can perform to benefit the soul of his parents,” writes the Chafetz Chaim in his book Shemiras Halashon, “is to engage in daily Torah study”.
As it forms the essential body of merit-producing options, we will present the basic structure of Rabbi Gutmacher’s list here, in ascending order of potency:
~ Prayers – including Kaddish, Maftir, and Leading the Prayers in the synagogue (this last item contains the greatest merit of those mentioned)
~ Mitzvah acts (Tzedakah and Chessed; and especially to “adopt” and excel in the performance of a particular mitzvah act)
~ Torah study (learning on one’s own; sponsoring Torah learning is particularly beneficial)
[For more detailed information on exactly how to perform all these meritorious acts in the best and most potent way, I highly recommend reading the incredibly useful book: The Neshamah Should Have an Aliyah: What You Can Do in Memory of a Departed Loved One by Rabbi Tzvi Hebel.]
Seeing that Torah study can be so meritorious for the departed soul, I have one small, but significant, favor to ask of you, my dear readers. And that is that any time over the coming year that you study Torah, you have in mind (or say out loud): “This Torah study should (also) be for the merit of Yisrael ben Mordechai, of blessed memory”.
One quick thought before I let you go…
If any of you reading this are now contemplating engaging in daily Torah study or sponsoring a Torah class at your local synagogue in memory of your departed relative, just remember that you don’t have to wait until you die for your children and other family members to merit your soul through Torah study etc. – you can start meriting your own soul with these same acts right now - and it’s way more potent when you do it for yourself! Just sayin’…
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=720