Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk

The famous holy Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk, the נועם אלימלך, was renowned for his piety. It is related that on Friday afternoon, the non Jewish workers in his household begged forgiveness from one another if they had fallen out and virtually did teshuva. Furthermore, they were not able to physically carry out any מלאכות of the 39 מלאכות which are ossur on Shabbos. So great was the keddusha in the household.

Based on the understanding that I have projected, namely that Shabbos Beraishis remained in the original pristine condition of holiness and that this continues to have a direct effect on every Shabbos that is kept by Yidden since Matan Torah which was also given on Shabbos, on the basis of the Yidden keeping it properly, we could perhaps understand the events that took place in the household of the נועם אלימלך.

He achieved such a high level of tzidkus that not only did he reach the level of a tzaddik who is on the level, the מדרגה of Shabbos all week but this atmosphere spread to his whole household. This had the effect precisely at the time of Mincha Erev Shabbos where it is a time of hagboras hadinim normally, that is, a surge of strict judgements in the world. In order to counteract that, people working for him had to ask forgiveness from one another and do teshuva, as Odom Harishon did. In addition, the holiness of the time of Shabbos spread backwards into Friday afternoon.

Not for nothing, was Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk known as the Rebbe of all the Rebbes of Poland, Galicia, etc. who followed in the path of the Ball Shem-Tov and his successor, Reb Dov Ber of Mezeritch of whom the נועם אלימלך was one of greatest talmidim.

זכותם יגן עלינו ועל כל ישראל אמן