EDITORIAL

By Shmuel Tzvi Adler

GAINING a clear understanding of what truly matters in avodas Hashem and aligning our efforts with Hashem’s values is essential for authentic service of God—though it can be, admittedly, easier said than done. The Gemara in Bava Basra (10b) relates an incident in which Rav Yehoshua’s son Yosef became ill and lost consciousness. Upon recovering, his father asked him what he had seen “up there”. Yosef replied,“Olam hafuch ra’isi”— “I saw an inverted world.” He explained that he saw people who were esteemed as elyonim (respected) in this world who appeared in their ‘true colors’, as tachtonim (lowly), in the next; and people seen as tachtonim in this world, were truly distinguished in the higher realms. There are people who we wouldn’t think twice about when passing them, yet who can be tremendously righteous. Moreover, there can be conventional opinions or ideas that are accepted andemphasized by many, and may “make a lot of noise,” offering someone kavod and a big name, but, in truth, are merely external and may carry minimal spiritual value in Hashem’s eyes. Gratifyingly, there are a number of statements from Chaza”l to guide us as to where to focus our energies – and if contemplated appropriately, can kindle for us a beacon of light amidst the confusion: For example, Chazal state in Menachos (Mishna 13:11, Gemara 110a) “Echad hamarbeh v’echad hamamit u’vilvad sheyechaven libo lashamayim” — “Whether one increases or decreases [in offerings], the essential thing is that one directs their heart toward Heaven.” Similarly, we find the statement in Sanhedrin (106b): “Rachmana (HKB”H) liba ba’ee”— “The Merciful One desires the heart.” The life we live is evaluated not by the number of people we impress, but rather, as Chazal say (Kiddushin 82b), “Ani nivrasi leshamesh es Koni” – Our job is simply to do our part and maintain our relationship with our Creator. Chazal are telling us that Hashem is looking for what is real: What is our desire. What’s in our heart. Hashem is acutely attuned to our eagerness, readiness, and excitement to connect with Him – that is what truly counts. Accordingly, a person who barely knows anything yet, but has a burning desire in his heart that drives him to learn and grow as much as he can, may be far greater in Hashem’s eyes than someone who has substantially more knowledge and may be significantly advanced in the eyes of the public, maybe even learning all day, but lacking enthusiasm in his avodas Hashem. Perhaps this should give us reason to pause before passing judgment over people who may appear weaker in their level of Yiddishkeit than us – after all, in their hearts, and thereby in God’s eyes, they may be far greater than us. With Chanukah right around the corner, this message is especially relevant. R’ Shlomo Wolbe zt”l in Alei Shur (chelek beis, chap. 21) writes that the main cause for the wicked decrees against Yiddishkeit was the fact that the Jews weakened in their avodas Hashem, and the salvation only came about once they counteracted that with exhibiting tremendous mesiras nefesh for avodas Hashem. We can clearly see the great value that God places particularly on the level of sacrifice a person has! Again, this shows us that it is attributes of genuineness which is paramount in Judaism.

The next series of BAJ Issues will enumerate details and stories to help explore these ideas more in-depth. May Hashem open our eyes to focus our avodas Hashem, not merely on what may be “accepted” as important – rather, on what is important in actuality. May the fire of Chanuka light up our lives, and may the light of Chanuka open our eyes to see the fire in other people’s lives!

I ENVY YOUR SCHAR!

by Rabbi Avrohom E. Adler

I’ve heard a number of stories about HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l which depict his tremendous sensitivity and understanding of people. His outlook on situations was extremely enlightening and insightful, as he saw past the superficial appearance and attitudes that frequently exist. The following story (which I heard from a friend of mine, and have since seen published), exemplifies this beautifully:

For whatever reason, a young man had gone off the path of Torah, r”l, and had continued to stray farther and farther from his roots. He had long ago cut off all ties from his family, and the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that he was on the verge of getting engaged to marry a non-Jewish woman. When his father found out about this, he decided come what may he had to reach out to his son. His father was wise enough not to fight his decision, knowing it would likely result in his son never reaching out to him again, rather he told his son he had just one request – that his son come home for one final Shabbos before proceeding with his unfortunate plans. The young man reluctantly agreed, on condition that he be allowed to conduct himself as he wished throughout the day without the father interfering. Shabbos passed pleasantly and on motzaei Shabbos the father approached his son. He had an appointment the next day with a great Rabbi and he urged his son to join him for the meeting. His argument was that there was nothing to lose, he can just share his plans to the Gadol and move on. His son once again acquiesced (the reason for his agreement itself is a fascinating story, to follow in an upcoming BAJ Issue be”H!). The great Rabbi was none other than HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l. After listening patiently as the young man described his life situation and how he planned on preceding with his idea, Rav Shteinman then asked him one question: “In all of this time that you were away from yiddishkeit, did you ever have a time period where you thought about doing teshuva?” “No” responded the young man. R’ Aharon Leib questioned further, “What about a short amount time – a day? an hour? even just for a moment? Did you ever have second thoughts of what you were doing?” The guy thought and thought until he remembered that, yes, there was one time that for a few moments the thought crossed his mind that he should turn around and return to his roots. R’ Shteinman excitedly told the fellow, with great enthusiasm, “I envy your schar”!!! He explained: Knowing your situation and how far you have strayed, it must have been overwhelmingly difficult just o consider the possibility that you were wrong, even for a few moments – you can’t imagine the schar you get for that! I’m jealous!! The young man was visibly moved. When was the last time he heard a compliment like that!? It penetrated deep into his heart and aroused him to truly repent. It didn’t happen overnight, though this was the turning point in his life. He slowly turned around, ultimately marrying a frum wife and even learning in Kollel!

This is so powerful!! How many people would have reacted by saying or thinking “What a bum, he barely thought of doing teshuva at all, and the little that he did was just a few moments. He left yiddishkeit and abandoned his family and was on the verge of marrying a goy! What a BUM!” Surely Rav Shteinman himself had quite an impressive list of unbelievable accomplishments in his life that he was undoubtedly getting enormous schar for. He certainly wasn’t lacking zechuyos, but nonetheless he envied this “rebel’s” schar!? R’ Shteinman was a giant! He saw past that superficial and shallow outlook and saw the truth, and told the boy exactly what he needed to hear!! WOW! We can take this message to heart: If we see a fellow yid struggling in an area of Yiddishkeit – we can focus on the mesiras nefesh that’s involved; and how the more of a challenge it is for him, the more the mesiras nefesh is required for him to fight. In turn, the more impressed we should be, and definitely the more schar he’ll be getting – and that just may be something for us to envy!

Its’ Not All About The Brains!

By Shmuel Tzvi Adler

Continuing on the theme of this Issue, all too often, we can find ourselves living amidst a pervasive atmosphere that promotes, and focuses on values that are not truly aligned with Torah. At times, this can seem almost imperceptible, but unfortunately, can have a detrimental effect on how a person views himself. It can make us feel – incorrectly – that our worth is diminished if we happen to ‘score low’ in a particular area; when in truth, that area may not rate high on the scale of things that God places importance on. How conducive it can be for an individual as he grows, to gain clarity as to what is actually important in Yiddishkeit! Here is an example: The Mishna in Avos (5:12) states, “Arba’ah middos b’talmidim,“ and goes on to list the pros and cons of various types of students, identifying which are more or less advantageous as far as their comprehension or retention of Torah. Interestingly, the Mishna doesn’t ascribe terms like pious or wicked when analyzing these individual skill sets, causing Rabbeinu Yonah to comment that this is because one’s personality or talents is unrelated to being a tzadik or a rasha– as an individual’s intellectual qualities or aptitudes are God-given, and not in our individual hands. Should an individual struggle to learn Torah, this alone would not be cause for him to be considered any less of a tzadik whatsoever.  After all, this challenge may have nothing to do with his effort or desire; in fact, it would be (so to speak) “Gods fault!” And Rabbeinu Yonah goes on to make the point that what Hashem does value, is the amount of effort a person invests in his learning and living a life of Torah, because that indeed is in his power.**

This ‘novel’ idea made such a difference to me personally when I was a young insecure bachur in yeshiva. During my mid-high-school / yeshiva years (after managing to wean myself away from computer games!), I applied myself to learning as much as I could, studying with hasmada and working hard, while simultaneously trying to grow in middos tovos and in my interactions with the people around me. Yet, for a long period of time, I struggled to fully comprehend what was being said in shiur. (Several years later, I realized that chronic headaches which I had been experiencing at the time played a big role in preventing me from maintaining focus). These struggles in my learning were extremely discouraging, and for a long time this impacted my self-esteem in a very negative way. I felt like I wasn’t smart enough, or simply slower than most of the boys around me – like I was always that guy who needed to ask others for explanations on the Gemara that I couldn’t understand. At one point I started learning Avos in depth, and eventually I reached this Mishna. After seeing this comment by Rabbeinu Yonah and contemplating his words, the message sank in and infused me with encouragement! It dawned on me that the fact that I struggled in my learning made me no less of a good person in Gods eyes, than anyone around me. This realization was life changing for me, immensely improving my self-image to this day. I recognized that a person’s ability to maintain focus or comprehend a complex shiur is actually not top on the list of what Hashem cares about, or even on His list of values at all. Thankfully I had other strong points which I had attained (some of which helped produce a book!), and I gradually learnt how to value myself for those — attributes which God actually cares about. May Hashem bench us with the wherewithal not to cave in to those ideas which the “velt” mistakenly uses as the bar in measuring a quality individual. Instead, may our value system be based on clarity and of growth in that which Hashem truly desires from us!

** HaRav Yitzchok Berkowitz shlit”a remarked that halachically speaking, the reason there is an obligation to honor an individual who amassed considerable Torah knowledge (a talmid chacham) regardless of their mesiras nefesh, is because in this world it’s impossible to fully measure mesiras nefesh.