בבא בתרא קסא

A young רב was respected by his קהילה but many often found his דרשות to be way too long and an imposition on the ציבור.  They asked a תלמיד חכם to raise the matter with him.  The תלמיד חכם wasn’t sure how to raise the subject, but ultimately said to the רב: “We learn from a משנה that it’s best that a דרשה be kept short.  מסכת ברכות says that רבי יהודה was ראש המדברים בכל מקום.  And it was the same רבי יהודה who in the הגדה of פסח gave us an example of how we should get a point across with as few words as possible.  Thus, in addressing the מכות, he merely said דצ״ך עד״ש באח״ב, thereby saying in three words what someone else would say in ten.”

06/10/2021