יום ג Date: 7 Elul, 5774 (9/2/14) – MoedKatan#22 {Tani}

For the Great Sages

[22b bottom] Gemarah: When a wise person passes away, his Beis Medrash (study hall) stops learning in his honor. When an  אב בית דין (head of court) passes away, all the Beis Medrashos in the city stop learning, and when they daven in the Shul morning and evening they switch their regular seats. When a Nasi passes away, all Beis Medrashos everywhere stop learning and those who pray at Shul only gather for Torah reading on Shabbos and rather pray at home in honor of the Nasi.

T’s Lesson: How do we react when great people pass away? Do we stop to honor and mourn for them? How did we act when great Rabbis like Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef or Rav Pam left this world? Did we take it to heart and stop what we were doing or did we just go about our day? We should learn from the Gemarah to be more respectful and to honor our fellow Jews (and especially Rabbis) properly when they are brought back to Hashem.