זבחים לד

When ר׳ ישכר-בר רוקח, the בלזאר רבי, returned to בלזא from a long trip, a huge crowd came to greet him.  There was pushing and shoving and the רבי couldn’t get through.  “Let me pass, בהמות,” the רבי said.  Shocked, the crowd parted.  When the גבאי was asked why the רבי spoke that way, he told them: “All the days that the רבי was away, there was no one here to seek forgiveness for the sins of the קהילה.  The רבי saw how grievous the sins were and so he called us בהמות.  Just as a בהמה is not responsible for what it does, so it is with us.”

06/10/2021