Bidspirit auction | Miraculous Drashah of Chasam Sofer

Miraculous Drashah of Chasam Sofer Saving Jews of Pressburg from Yom Kippur Desecration * Remarkable drashah for Rosh Hashanah and Shabbos Shuvah of the year 1830, in the holy handwriting of the Chasam Sofer. This particular Shabbos Shuvah drashah is extraordinary, for through the profound sanctity and power of his Torah, the Chasam Sofer successfully intervened to prevent the scheduled coronation ceremony of the emperor from taking place. By doing so, he enabled the Jewish community of Pressburg to observe Yom Kippur properly, free of any interference or halachic complications, a feat to which he subtly alludes to at the conclusion of his drashah. In the drasha for Shabbos Shuvah, the Chasam Sofer expounds upon a passage from Maseches Berachos, which recounts the story of a devout Chassid who was deeply immersed in prayer when a governor approached and greeted him. Yet, absorbed in his devotion, the Chassid did not return the greeting. Why did the Chasam Sofer choose to deliver a drasha on Shabbos Shuva on a topic completely unrelated to the Days of Repentance? The resolution to this mystery is found at the end of the drashah, where the Chasam Sofer himself wrote extraordinary words, seemingly cryptic and concealed. He wrote: “I elaborated and sweetened this topic at length because we believed that the hour necessitated it, as the imperial coronation ceremony was planned either for Erev Yom Kippur or on Yom Kippur itself, and it would inevitably have led to disruptions in the customary Jewish practices on these holiest of days. Boruch Hashem, the event was postponed, and we did not have to contend with this issue.” These words are clarified through a remarkable account related by the Chasam Sofer's daughter, Rebbetzin Simchah Lehmann: In the year 1831, the royal authorities of Hungary scheduled the coronation for the renewal of the Emperor's reign in the city of Pressburg on the holy day of Yom Kippur. Her father, the Chasam Sofer, was very distressed about this, knowing it would inevitably cause many Jews to desecrate the sacred day. All efforts made by the community leaders to postpone the coronation failed. On that Erev Yom Kippur, the Chasam Sofer did not return home from shul, although eating on that day is a mitzvah. Instead, he remained immersed in prayer, continuing uninterrupted until midday. Then, suddenly, the skies darkened ominously. Thick, black clouds gathered, and a fierce storm erupted with powerful winds and torrents of rain, devastating all the elaborate decorations and triumphal arches meticulously prepared over many weeks throughout the city's streets for the royal coronation. Consequently, the authorities were compelled to postpone the coronation ceremony until after Succos. This remarkable event reveals the hidden depth of the Chasam Sofer's Shabbos Shuvah drashah. (Heard by Rabbi Asher Anshel Miller, Av Beis Din of Petrosani, who heard it directly from Rebbetzin Simchah Lehmann during his studies in the Pressburg yeshivah.) By focusing his drashah on the seemingly unrelated Gemara of a confrontation between a chassid and a nobleman, the Chasam Sofer alluded to the imminent collision between the royal coronation and the holiness of Yom Kippur. Through his Torah - rich with sanctity and devotion - he aroused Heavenly mercy and sweetened the severe decree, miraculously bringing about the annulment of the coronation event and safeguarding the purity of Yom Kippur for all Jews in Pressburg. click here click here Additional Drashah: ”Lema'an Yirbu Yemeichem” In addition to the aforementioned drashah, there is another drashah on the verse ”למען ירבו ימיכם” - ”so that your days may be prolonged”, traditionally delivered by the Chasam Sofer in his home on Rosh Hashanah night. Regarding this special drashah, Rabbi Yosef Naftali Stern recounts the following: On the night of Rosh Hashanah, when the Chasam Sofer returned home from shul, distinguished members of the Pressburg community along with his students awaited him there. He would deliver a drashah for them, focusing on aggadic themes. Typically, he began these drashos with the verse ”למען ירבו ימיכם” - ”so that your days may be prolonged” - which he would explain in various insightful ways, as is written in the present drashah (see the introduction Sha'ar Yosef to Derashos Chasam Sofer, p. 18). The Merit of Blowing Shofar Joyfully Another remarkable and timely insight, especially relevant in our days of war when our enemies have risen against us, is found on this leaf. Here the Chasam Sofer writes that the merit of fulfilling the mitzvah of Tekias Shofar with genuine joy has the power to awaken favorable remembrance of Klal Yisrael during times of hester panim, when Hashem’s face seems hidden, and can thereby save us if an enemy or persecutor should rise against us. Manuscript Description: Drashah for Rosh Hashanah and Shabbos Shuvah, Pressburg, 1831. Large leaf: 40 cm, handwritten on both sides.