Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Heshy Dubrowski on the occasion of his engagement. May he use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! (If anyone is aware of any mazel tov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
First of all, I have an apology to make. I realize that I used bad judgment, and it was a mistake to send out the e-mail that I sent last week. Apparently, it caused a lot of people to be glued to their television sets, so that – just in case Boruch decides to take something off – they can catch a glimpse before the censors block it... At any rate, let’s leave Boruch to his own devices for another few moments, and let me share with you a true story:
A shliach, we’ll call him Chaim, went out to a city to establish a Chabad House. Slowly but surely he built himself up, organizing all the usual programs and events. After a while, he had established enough contacts, and experienced enough successes, to decide that he was ready to plan his first “major” event; - a Chanukah party in a rented hall (yes, this is a different story, and it is a true story). Immediately his staff became involved in the myriad details involved in preparing an event on such a scale. From advertising to inviting, from designing to budgeting, they were up to their ears in work. Slowly things began to take shape, and the team was filled with cautious optimism. While countless last minute details were being attended to, there was ample reason to anticipate a smashing success.
Finally the big day arrived. The chairs had been rented, the food was delivered, the hall was decorated, and the waiters were ordered. The sound-system was set up, special gifts for the children were acquired, a clown was on the way, and finally, well before zero hour, the family and staff went to get dressed for the celebration (making sure, of course, that none of their clothing was shatnez!) Chaim came back, early enough, and made some last minute arrangements in the parking lot, to ensure that they could handle parking for extra cars should it become necessary. Then, having done his part, he went inside to prepare to greet the guests.
The program was only called for 8:00, and it was 7:30, so Chaim was finally able to relax slightly while he waited. He conversed calmly with one of his colleagues about some of the details of the evening. After a while he glanced at his watch. 8:07. They were meant to start 7 minutes ago! Oh well, Jews (especially those who–he hoped–were heading towards becoming affiliated with Lubavitch) weren’t known for their punctuality. But, although not (yet) overly concerned, he relocated to the window, where he would glance towards the parking lot periodically.
8:20: Chaim was starting to get frantic. Where is everybody?! Chaim, by now, had moved to outside, and was peering up and down the street in all directions. Where are the hundreds of guests we were expecting?
8:30: Everyone is getting panicky. The adults are saying Tehillim fervently, and hoping against hope that there will still be an eleventh hour breakthrough (after all, the program was supposed to last at least until 10). The children are sampling the food from the vast containers (that appears now to be (for the most part) headed to waste).
8:45: A car pulls into the parking lot, and everyone holds their collective breath. It turns out to be one of the waiters they had ordered. Chaim, devastated, doesn’t have the ability to deal with him.
9:00: The hall is starting to look and feel like a funeral parlor. Chaim, very literally, feels like digging a hole and burying himself. How could things have gone so wrong?! The few staff are alternating between feelings of mourning, and pity for poor Chaim. Someone cracks a joke about them not needing to cook food for the foreseeable future. Nobody smiles.
9:23: Somebody, a stranger, wanders into the building and walks over to Chaim. “Excuse me Rabbi, but I heard there’s supposed to be some Hanuka party here tonight?!” Chaim is too embarrassed to look the guest in the face, and mumbles something about the event having been cancelled, while pointedly steering him towards the door. He sighs in relief when he hears the car drive off.
Somehow they survived the awful evening, cleaned up the hall, and got off to bed. The next day, a very disheartened Chaim wrote a depressing ducht to the Rebbe with all the details about the grand Chanuka extravaganza that wasn’t, and how hundreds of expected attendees ended up being one hapless latecomer, who they had no choice but to send away. The Rebbe responded (according to another version, I heard it was Rabbi Chodakov who made this point to him): “When you make an event, if you’re very successful, you may attract 1000 guests. In the course of the evening, you may manage to personally greet 100 of them. Of those, 10 may display enough interest to continue their connection with you. Of those 10, you may actually succeed in convincing one to change his life, to become a shomer Torah and Mitzvos, which was the ultimate goal of the entire event. Here, the Eibishter sent you that one person directly, the ultimate goal of your program, so that you can get directly to your objective without having to go through 999 nudniks en route, and you actually went and SENT HIM AWAY??!!”
On Yud Shvat 5711, during the farbrengen at which the Rebbe formally accepted leadership of our generation, the Rebbe quoted the Zohar that says that in everything there is a superficial shell and a more superficial shell, an inner core and a more inner core: דא מוחא לדא והאי קליפה להאי. Much of what we do is not the ultimate goal, the end itself, but merely the means to an end. And that end, in turn, is a “shell” for a more basic goal.
If someone is sent by the Rebbe to be involved in business, that is – obviously – merely an outer shell. The inner goal is to spread Yiddishkeit. But that, too, is merely a “shell”, a means, to a more inner goal. Even in matters of Torah and Mitzvos, the good things that we do may be only a bridge to a more important achievement.
R’ Hillel Paritcher was extreme in his hiddurim in the fulfillment of mitzvos. He once explained that his sole objective with all of his hiddurim is “az es zol zich opleigen a vort chassidus” (that he should truly grasp the ideas of Chassidus).
It is important for us to try to focus on and identify the inner goal, the ultimate objective of what we’re doing. For example, someone may bring an acquaintance to a Chanuka party, with a deeper goal (by his NH Bor NHE) to solicit money from him; the fundraising, in turn, is with the ultimate goal of spreading Yiddishkeit, the spreading of Yiddishkeit is with the aim of drawing G-dliness into the world etc.
The ultimate goal of all of the ultimate goals is Bosi L’Gani, to complete the dira betachtonim, through bringing the shechinah back down to this physical plane in a concrete and revealed way. All else is a means to this all-important end.
What is the path towards achieving this goal? There are undoubtedly many steps and many details. But one thing is certain; we can’t possibly expect to use our rationale to determine what will achieve this. We can (possibly) use our common sense to figure out what will be effective as fundraising tactics (and when you figure it out let me know). Experience might teach us what approaches will bring more Yidden closer to Yiddishkeit. But the ultimate goal – having the shechina drawn down into this world – only the Eibishter can tell us what will cause that to happen. And he tells us, through carrying out ratzon ho’elyon; - and as the maamar states, through iskafya and ishapcha.
Now, let’s check in on Boruch (remember him). He went on shlichus to a city. Any positive press he gets is a good thing. But that’s only a means to an end, to draw more people to his Chabad House. Which, in turn, is only a means to an end - to encourage more people to become closer to Yiddishkeit. Which, in turn, is only a means to a more inner goal; - to bring about a dira batachtonim, to draw down G-dliness – a mus – to this world in a revealed way.
But shatnez, an act that defies Hashem, removes G-dliness from the world (just as, the midrash relates, the seven sins removed the shchina from the realm of tachtonim). Thus, wearing shatnez r”l, in order to make a good impression (or avoid making a negative impression) on hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people, amounts to taking care of the outer shell, of the first superficial step, while simultaneously destroying the ultimate goal (that you hoped that step would ultimately lead to).
On the other hand, not wearing the shatnez, is obeying a negative commandment of the Torah, thus directly bringing about the descent of the shchina into the world. And if, perchance, Boruch happens to be one of those ultra-sensitive people who are uncomfortable undressing in public, why, then, it has the added advantage of “iskafya”; directly impacting the presence of e’em ha’orin kul almin – the dirah batachtonim.
So, if Boruch would – ch”v – choose to disregard the aveirah of shatnez for the sake of his hafotzas hamaayonos, he would be like Chaim in the above story, yearning for the 999 people, and missing out on the main one – the opportunity – that fell right into his lap. It’s not merely that the issur of shatnez is so stringent that on account of it Boruch has to give up on so much good that he could have accomplished; rather, through fulfilling the mitzvah of shatnez (since this is what the Eibishter is commanding him in this circumstance), and the accompanying iskafya, he is accomplishing the same good and achieving the same ultimate goal in a more direct and effective way!
[There were factions of Judaism who permitted r”l driving on Shabbos, in order to (and actually resulting in) bring more people to shul, and to get (and keep) more Jews affiliated with Judaism. Rationally, their position may seem to have much merit, but (besides being against halacha) it is fundamentally flawed. Because, the goal of Judaism is not to have more Jews in shul, or even to have more Jews that are affiliated with Yiddishkeit. The ultimate goal is to transform the world we live in into a dira loi yisborach. And, the only way that that can possibly be achieved is the way prescribed by He for Whom we want to create this dwelling place].
When the Yidden left Mitzrayim they had to be forcibly driven away from Yam Suf. While there, they saw an unprecedented opportunity for serving the Eibishter; - a great chance to transform the world to the way He wanted it to be, through elevating the countless nitzotzos contained within the Egyptian possessions, which were scattered on the banks of the river. But they were instructed – forced (because it didn’t make sense to them) – to do otherwise. At that point in time (although they couldn’t know it then), the only way to further the goal of dira batachtonim, - to move forward towards Bosi L’Gani – was through going away from the river (and what appeared to be a chance-of-a-lifetime for spiritual achievement) and towards matan Torah.
Had they followed their instincts or their intellect and continued amassing wealth (l’shem shomayim), not only would they be transgressing the ratzon ho’elyon (that at that point was for them to move on), but they would be undermining the very goal that they were hoping to achieve!
If someone were, ch”v, to disregard halachos of Torah in order to be a more successful shliach, not only is it wrong from the perspective of halacha, but it is contrary to the ultimate objective of the shlichus!
Or, if someone were to get involved ch”v in a machlokes with a fellow Jew, fighting the fellow Jew, because through this he sees the possibility of doing more for Yiddishkeit, it may be that he is misguided (not only because his own conclusions are usually wrong, but) because he is missing the point. Perhaps the iskafya of backing down from the machlokes (along with the fact that that is usually the requirement of Torah and halacha) may be accomplishing infinitely more for Yiddishkeit – for the ultimate goal of revealing G-dliness down here - than anything else he planned!
So, while Boruch may have the opportunity to get countless people excited about Yiddishkeit (and about Chabad), that is only virtuous as a step towards the ultimate aim. But dealing with his shatnez issue (besides being the halachik requisite) is, probably, an infinitely greater step towards the ultimate destination. It’s not that the issur of shatnez takes precedence over influencing all the people, it’s, rather, that through dealing with the shatnez issue he does work towards the same goal he was aiming for with his influence on them. It’s not that the issur of shatnez is so stringent that it doesn’t take chillul Hashem into account, rather, because shatnez goes against Hashem’s will, transgressing it (even though appearing to have a positive effect on the observers) is what is truly defined as chillul Hashem (as is clear in Rambam).
Sorry Boruch (you can try explaining to the cops that you’re protected by your right to religious freedom, if you can’t sell them on dira batachtonim). I’m not in any way trying to imply that any of the above makes the decision an easy one, nor can I say with confidence that I’m sure about how I would react if I were in Boruch’s shoes (which maybe, by the way, the only things that Boruch is still in).
Knowing what we should do is not always the same as knowing what we would do. Which is why we have to now get to work. At learning and davening. Farbrenging and working on ourselves. Understanding and internalizing. Making Yiddishkeit and chassidishkeit an integral part of our life and of our mindset. So that what we should do and what we would do will be one and the same!
L’chaim! May we all take advantage of Yud Shvat to refocus and renew our efforts to achieving our ultimate goal of dira batachtonim (through iskafya and ishapcha), and may the Eibishter take advantage of Yud Shvat to refocus and renew HIS efforts towards achieving HIS ultimate goal of dira batachtonim, through the immediate revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
