Why This Rabbi Gave Up Smoking After One Unexpected Moment

The late Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, was one of the great Torah leaders of his generation. He often walked the halls of government, using his influence and clarity of speech to advocate for the Jewish people. Thanks to his honesty and kindness, he often convinced government officials to cancel harsh laws against the Jewish community

One day, a messenger came to Rabbi Azriel with an urgent plea from a distant Jewish community. They begged him to approach a powerful government minister to try and cancel a mean and bitter punishment that had been imposed on them.

The message arrived on Shabbat. Rabbi Azriel didn’t hesitate. He quickly put on his hat, buttoned up his robe, and hurried to the minister’s home. Although it was Shabbat, saving a community in distress was a matter of pikuach nefesh—a life-saving situation that overrides Shabbat restrictions.

At the time, Rabbi Azriel smoked cigarettes, which were not yet known to be harmful. When he arrived, the minister offered him a fine cigarette. Rabbi Azriel was concerned that refusing the offer might insult the minister or ruin his chances of helping the Jewish community. Thinking quickly, he said, “Don’t you know I don’t smoke at all?”

The minister nodded and put the cigarette away. They then began to discuss the matter of the distant community.

We don’t know what happened next. Did the minister cancel the punishment? Or did the community continue to suffer under his rule? That part of the story was never recorded.

But one thing we do know and it has been remembered for generations is what happened with Rabbi Azriel after that day. Because he had said, “I don’t smoke,” he felt he could never put a cigarette to his lips again. He was a man of deep truth, and he couldn’t live with a contradiction between his words and his actions.

He didn’t stop smoking for a day. Not for a week. Not for a year. From that moment on, for the rest of his life, Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer never smoked again.

It was a quiet decision, born from honesty but it became a powerful lesson in emet, truth, that continues to inspire to this day.

From “Illuminations of the Daily Page,” courtesy of the Dirshu website.