Everyone turned out to greet the distinguished guest. The Bach was one of Jewry’s most prominent poskim his son-in-law was an up and coming posek whose commentary placed him among the Torah elite of his generation. One can imagine that the visit of such an illustrious personage such as the Taz to a city such as Cracow, a city renown for its Torah leadership, a city in which its laymen were erudite scholars, was considered a major “state” visit. The Taz lived at the time in Lemberg, Poland, and planned to visit his father-in-law, Horav Yoel Sirkis, zl, author of the Bayis Chadash/Bach on Shulchan Aruch, who lived in Cracow. It was mid-seventeenth century Poland, and the Megaleh Amukos, besides being the posek, Halachic arbitrator of Cracow, Poland, was one of the great kabbalists of his time. Woe, if these vulnerable souls must now raise up their hands and cry to Hashem: “Sorry, Hashem, that it had to come to this, but there is no one down here who considers my predicament worthy of their precious time.” Rav Hirsch concludes with a frightening statement, “Woe, if they finally have to cry out to Me, for I will surely give ear to them, and l shall make the state and the community pay dearly for it, if their weak and unprotected ones have to appeal to Me before they can find justice.”Īs an indication of the frightening ramifications that result from oppressing a widow – even unintentionally and certainly with no malice aforethought, I cite an incident that occurred with no less a Torah giant than Horav Nosson Nota Spira, zl, author of the Megaleh Amukos and Horav David HaLevi Segal, zl, popularly known for his classic commentary to Shulchan Aruch, the Turei Zahav/Taz. How lamentable it is when these widows, orphans and abandoned wives (yes, they are no different) have been compelled to lose faith in their community leaders, both physical and spiritual, because they just do not have the time to care, think, reach out to the less “exotic” needs of the wider community. To paraphrase Rav Hirsch, “Woe if…the state (Jewish community) misuses/takes advantage of the oppressed and allows them to feel that they have lost the one who stands up for them, who looks after them.” How sad it is when the community does not perform its obligations to the most vulnerable. In this scenario, Hashem is viewed as a person’s last resort – when all else fails. Hirsch, zl, asks an obvious (rhetorical) question: Why is Hashem waiting for the widow/orphan’s outcry? Should Hashem not pre-empt His response to the oppressed without requiring that they first turn to Him? Rav Hirsch explains that civil society is obliged to establish social networks to support the needs of the vulnerable in times of trouble. If you oppress him (beware) for if he cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry.” Horav S.R.

The pasuk in Parashas Mishpatim ( Shemos 22:33), “You shall not oppress any widow or orphans.

When he was informed that his granddaughter’s husband was traveling to Netanya, he asked that he deliver a copy of his latest sefer, volume, on halachah, with his personalized inscription and blessing, to this widow. He immediately dispatched one of his personal aides to offer her his blessing and to inquire concerning her health and welfare. He once heard of the plight of a lonely widow, the wife of a certain distinguished rav who had passed away. Horav Ovadiah Yosef, zl, was very careful to safeguard the honor of widows and orphans. Widows and orphans who are oppressed have no one to turn to other than Hashem – Who listens. The reason for this stringency is that their spirits are low and their tears are frequent. In his commentary to Bereishis 37, Rabbeinu Bachya quotes this from a Midrash. The exhortation to preserve the honor of a widow applies even to a king’s widow.

The Torah teaches us that Hashem is concerned about the honor of the downtrodden, the widow and orphan, individuals who are alone with no one to care for them.

The cry of widows and orphans