R’ אליהו-חיים of Lodz once met with a senior government official in an effort to help the Jewish ציבור.  Seeing how brilliant the רב was, the official said it was a shame that רבי אליהו-חיים had been born a Jew.  “If you had been born a Christian,” he said, “you could have risen to the highest levels, even to the holy position of Pope.”  Smiling, the רבי responded: “Actually, it’s a shame that you were born Christian.  Because as a Christian, the highest level you could reach is Pope, whom your religion considers as a representative of בן אלוקים.  But had you been born a Jew, you could have aspired to reach an even higher level: to be the משיח himself.”

06/10/2021