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The Corona plague still hovers over the entire world, including many Jews throughout the globe who fell victim to it, while others became ill and require much Heavenly compassion.
It is known that during the Sefira, we customarily mourn the deaths of the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva who lacked respect for one another. The main thing [at this time] is to do whatever we can to rectify this blemish and shortcoming. Therefore, precisely during these days we must increase and augment [deeds] in matters between man and his fellow man.
The Hand of Hashem has struck us twice, with a terrible pandemic and a difficult decree, incomparable to anything in recent memory: a plague in which thousands ofour brethren fell, among whom were great Torah scholars and community leaders; and by being removed from Hashem's Presence by having shuls and batei medrash closed around the world. It is incumbent on us to better our ways and to repent to Hashem, every person and his community, as they recognize their own shortcomings. Specifically, we have to be mindful that the world operates in a measure-for-measure way; it is possible that these decrees came because we were not acting properly regarding the holiness of Shuls and batei medrash.
Stories about yielding and bein odom lechavero.
A peek into the diary of the Sabba of Slobodka reveals that most of his personal resolutions dealt with interpersonal relations: "Special effort to be careful regarding the respect due to my friends, altogether, patiently, and with a soft reply." Also, "To be careful as much as possible to avoid embarrassing anyone in public in the slightest way... Did [I] fulfill the words of Rabbenu Yonah who obligated a person to seek ways and measures to benefit his fellow man day by day?" is what he demanded of himself.
Notes from a shiur given on 24 Shvat, 5765. HaRav Shapira zt"l explains what it means to see the kolos of Sinai, as it says in the Torah. This shiur explains many of the basic concepts and events that took place at Ma'amad Har Sinai, which the Rambam says includes sisrei Torah.
At the end of Sefer Hamitzvos of the Rambam, the Ramban adds the mitzvos that, according to him, the Rambam forgot. The second of these is that we were forbidden to forget the maamad Har Sinai, and must not take it out of our consciousness and it should be before our eyes all the time. Heshomer lecho ushemor nafshecho me'od pen tiskach es hadevorim asher ro'u einecho . . .
The Ramban says that this is a prohibition, an issur. We may not forget. It is not that we have been commanded to do things to recall and refresh the memory of the maamad Har Sinai, but that we have been forbidden to forget it. We must not worsen the current situation. This is the nature of a lo sa'aseh: not to worsen the situation as it exists. It assumes that we have a situation in which this is a constant presence in our life, and we must preserve this.
We learn from the Ramban that our default situation is with ma'amad Har Sinai and we must not destroy this. We are there and, as the Ramban says, "We are forbidden from forgetting the ma'amad Har Sinai. We must not remove it from our consciousness. But our eyes and heart must be there all the time.
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