No Shalom, No Derashah

At the age of seven, Dov Berish was already giving a public derashah in shul every Shabbos on the weekly parshah, which his father taught him.

One week a dispute broke out in Hrimlov, and his father, Rav Yekele, as Rav of the town, was deeply involved in helping both sides reach a resolution. He was so busy with the machlokes that he had no time that week to review the parshah or to teach his son a new insight to share.

That Shabbos, a totally unprepared Dov Berish rose in shul and told the entire kehillah: "It says in the Chumash, 'Va'yomer Moshe el kol adas Bnei Yisrael' (Shemos 35:4). Why does it say kol, all of them? This teaches us that Moshe Rabbeinu was able to speak words of Torah only when all of Bnei Yisrael were united and there was no dispute among them. As long as the dispute in Hrimlov continues, and as long as there is no shalom among the Jews of this kehillah, I will be unable to say any new insights on the parshah either."