I have a kaballa from my Rosh Yeshiva, who heard from R’ Shalom Shvardron, that when something comes into your head (when speaking), sometime you have no idea why, say it, for Hashem likely put it there since it will effect someone listening (even though you have no clue who/what/where). After reading the other topics this week, the following d’var torah is bursting to come out.
The following d’var torah, I heard directly from HaRav Moshe Sternbuch, at a shiur given in his home to Avreichem.
In Pirkei Avos it says “????? ??????? ??? ??, ???? ????? ?? ????; ???? ??–??? ?????? ?? ???????, ???? ?????? ?? ?????, ???? ???? ?????, ???? ????? ?? ?????, ???? ????? ?? ???”
R’ Yochanan ben Zackei had 5 talmidim…
Don’t say he only had 5 people in his yeshiva. He had hundreds, perhaps thousands in his yeshiva. It was just that he only had 5 worthy of being called his talmid.
A Rebbe is the one who gives smicha that someone is his talmid. Just because someone attended a shiur given by a Rov, does not mean that he is a talmid of that Rov!