HaRav Chaim Kanievsky
The following commentary was released by HaRav Chaim Kanievsky in response to a letter written by R' Chizkiyohu Yosef ben Soroh Feiga, who needs a refuah sheleimah among all the sick of Yisroel.
BS"D Shvat, 5780
The din in Shulchan Oruch Orach Chaim (146) is that from the time the sefer Torah is opened to read from it, it is absolutely forbidden to speak even one word, and even between the aliyahs and there is no heter whatsoever, and this is based on the din of the gemora in Sotah. Similarly during the time of Chazoras Hashatz it is absolutely forbidden to speak and [one who does so] has a sin that is too great to bear as it says in the Shulchan Oruch (124).
Also in the middle of Kaddish one must be very very careful not to speak as it says in the Mishnah Berurah (56, 1).
One must also be very careful in saying Ashrei and Uvo Letzion since the world rests on that as it says at the end of Sotah and is brought in the Shulchan Oruch (132). Also in saying Oleinu one has to be careful to say it with kavonoh and with awe and fear as it says in the Mishnah Berurah (132) awesome things about this.
About all these things there are serious punishments for one who speaks during them or does not treat them with respect as it says in Mishnah Berurah (56) in the name of the Medrash: R' Chaninah found Eliahu with several thousand camels loaded with anger to pay these. See there in the Mishnah Berurah more awesome things.
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This is the letter to which HaRav Chaim responded.
To my dear friend shlita,
We have lately been witness to the wrath of Hashem which has felled many, as well as various and strange calamities in high amounts which have not been known before in recent decades. There is no day whose curse is not worse than its predecessor. Even I, due to my many sins, have also been stricken by the hand of Hashem. I pray and plead before the Master of Mercy to have compassion upon me and send me His balm and cure to my body and soul.
While lying upon my sickbed, I turn to you, begging and pleading. Have mercy upon me and upon all the stricken of our People to take upon yourselves some small thing by which to remove this heavenly wrath: "Not to speak during prayers and the reading of the Torah." Assume this upon yourselves for at least forty days for the complete recovery of Chizkiyohu Yosef ben Sorah Feiga.
I want to share with you what has happened to me. Two months ago, in the middle of Cheshvan, I heard a voice in a dream, just a voice without any figure I could recognize or remember, saying to me as follows: "Yossi, reinforce the subject of not speaking during davening and the reading of the Torah. Each of us has a mission in this world and yours is to strengthen this particular matter." I arose in the morning and dismissed the dream, saying to myself, "Dreams speak falsely."
A week later, I was greatly surprised to read in the publication 'Ish leRei'eihu' a story about a man who dreamt a very similar dream in which he was asked to stop speaking during davening and the reading of the Torah, after which he contracted the terrible illness. That man thought that there was some connection between the two and had 700 people sign that they would not speak during the prayers and reading of the Torah. Some time later, he recovered completely from the illness.
I thought that my situation was very similar, but as is the way of the world, dismissed the dream as insignificant.
After a month and a half, during Chanukah, the same dream recurred, but this time I saw my father, the righteous Rav Ben Zion Pelman zt"l standing as if in reality before my very eyes, saying to me, "Yossi, see to it that the congregation stop speaking in shul during prayers." This time I awoke in alarm, but again, reassured myself that it didn't mean anything. If the dream was repeated, I thought, it must be because I was thinking about the matter during the day, as is well known.
But since then I began feeling bad, and two weeks later, I was diagnosed with the terrible disease.
I am certain that I was being punished for not having paid attention to the reminder repeating itself twice, especially for ignoring my deceased father's plea to reinforce this matter.
I quote here words which HaRav Wosner zt"l wrote (in the work Berumo shel Olam p. 346): "The spreading of the terrible disease felling many victims is caused by people profaning the sanctity of the shul and speaking of idle matters during prayers. This is the reason why prayers are being rejected before the Heavenly Throne." He adds that if people were to stop speaking during davening, the disease would be arrested.
This is why I have come to call upon the public, that hopefully, through the arousal of whoever reads my message, the Merciful One will have pity on me and send me a speedy recovery from Heaven.
One who awaits the salvation of Hashem, Chizkiyohu Yosef ben Sorah Feiga.
