“You shall observe My statutes and My laws… and live through them.” (18:5)
Chazal comment on this pasuk: “And live through them — but don’t die through them.”
On the surface Chazal are teaching us that it’s permissible to violate the Torah’s commandments when one’s life is in danger. But this pasuk may also be conveying the mitzvah of mesirus nefesh — to live al kiddush Hashem in all circumstances. Dying al kiddush Hashem is a tremendous test but living and withstanding the trials of life also requiresmesirus nefesh. (Rav Elazar Menachem Mann Shach ztz”l Rosh Amanah)
The Cossacks filled my classroom sweeping through the aisles between the seats with their terrifying murderous cries and wild threats. Screams of mothers and infants were heard from every direction. The scent of fear and dread pervaded the atmosphere in the tenth grade as we learned about the pogroms of Tach v’Tat which devastated the Jewish community of Poland.
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