23 Kislev · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit/Hillula of Rabbi Dovid of Novardok - "Galya Masechet"
Rabbi Dovid ben Moshe of Novardok (1837) was a Lithuanian rabbi, one of the select disciples of Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, and the author of "Galya Masechet" (discover the work).
Born to Leah and Rabbi Moshe of Klatzak, he studied under his father, under Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipman Halperin, and under Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin.
At the age of 14 he married the daughter of Rabbi Elazar, rabbi of the town of Brestovitsa.
After his marriage he lived in a house next to his father in Klatzak, studying under his guidance for 11 years.
At the age of 25 he became rabbi of Novardok and held that position for 43 years, until his passing.
He served as one of the arbiters in the dispute that arose between the Shapiro brothers, owners of the Slavita printing house, and the Romm printing staff.
He became known for his sharpness already as a child, and folk tales about his character were preserved and passed down by word of mouth among the Jews of Lithuania.
Sipurei Tzadik
It is told of Rabbi Dovid of Novardok that he studied with great diligence and would remain in the Beit Midrash until midnight. When he returned home, his wife would get up and prepare his supper. One day he said to her, "Why do you trouble yourself so much for my sake? Put the food to cook on a low flame and leave a spoon and a plate beside it. When I come back from the Beit Midrash, I will serve myself and eat." The Rebbetzin agreed, and from then on that is what they did every evening.
One evening the Rebbetzin was boiling starch for the laundry, and she placed her husband's food on a low flame on a different burner. That night Rabbi Dovid was struggling to reconcile the words of the Rambam, which seemed to contradict a statement in the Talmud. When he came home, he was so absorbed in this question that he did not notice there were two pots on the stove. Instead of his supper, he served himself the starch and ate it, dipping his bread into it, without noticing that something was wrong. The next morning the Rebbetzin was astonished to find the untouched food still on the stove, and the pot that should have held the starch empty. She realized that Rabbi Dovid had mixed up the pots, and she said jokingly, "How did you like last night's meal?" He replied, "To tell the truth, I didn't like it at all. I don't know whether it was lacking salt, or perhaps there was too much." Then the Rebbetzin told him that he had actually eaten starch instead of food. This is what is meant by "you shall be like one obsessed with love for it."
(From the book "Anaf Etz Avot" by Rav Ovadia Yosef)
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!