Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Rav Shlomo Freifeld on the Unsullied Pure Neshoma - Guest Post


Guest Posting by Reb Yosef Hakohen:

The nigun in this recording was composed by Rav Yitzchak Hutner, a leading sage who headed the Chaim Berlin Yeshiva. He composed this nigun in honor of the wedding of his disciple, Rav Shlomo Freifeld. The nigun and the words of this song are on an old record produced by the Chaim Berlin Yeshiva, titled, “Torah Lives and Sings!”

The nigun is to the opening words of the ancient Hebrew prayer about the neshamah – soul – that we chant each morning. The following is an English translation:

“My God, the soul You placed within me is pure. You created it; You fashioned it; You breathed it into me. You safeguard it within me, and eventually You will take it from me and restore it to me in the future that is to come.”

Rav Shlomo Freifeld was the founder of Yeshiva Sh'or Yoshuv in Far Rockaway, New York. He once shared with his students the following message of his rebbe, Rav Hutner:

I recall vividly my rebbe Rav Yitzchak Hutner zatsal before Yom Kippur screaming to us, “The neshamah is pure. It cannot be sullied. It cannot be stained no matter what you do, no matter how we fail, no matter what mistakes we make or rebellious acts we commit. The neshamah cannot be stained. It is always pure.”
That is what we are. We are neshamos, pure incorruptible neshamos. We're not just people. We're not IQs. We're not test results. We're not measured by material standards. We're pure and holy neshamos.

The above quote is from the book, “Rabbi Freifeld Speaks” (Mesorah Publications, ltd.) It was adapted for print by Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Reinman. For information, CLICK HERE.

The nigun can be downloaded if you CLICK HERE.

-Yosef Hakohen

(Dixie Yid: The message here is also very apropos to the vort I posted a few days ago.)

(Picture courtesy of Shor Yoshuv)

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2 comments:

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Anonymous said...

you must read the new book on reb shlomo. it is a burst of chizuk.