Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel Tov to Mendel Abramowitz on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel Tov to Shmully Estreicher on the occasion of his engagement. May they use out the special period of Yokor Mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Dovid Margolin on the birth of their daughter. Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Mendel Rosenblum on the birth of their daughter. Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Levi Raichik on the birth of their son. Mazel Tov to Rabbi & Mrs. Paysi Wolosow on the birth of their son. May they bring them up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be true chayolim/os! (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.
The following story was recounted by the individual with whom it took place, who later publicized it:
One of the early Yeshivos in America was the Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. Established early in the 20th century, it was a pioneering institution in transplanting Torah to the American shores. Like its counterparts in Europe, the Yeshiva provided bochurim with a high caliber of Torah learning. Like other Yeshivos, they endeavored to guide the bochurim in their Yiddishkeit and their service of Hashem. And like most Yeshivos (and other mosdos), they occasionally experienced financial hardships, even formidable and daunting financial hardships.
On one occasion, in the early tofshin’s, the Yeshiva was suffering great financial setbacks, and was deeply in debt. The situation was desperate, it appeared that there would be no way out this time, and the Yeshiva was in danger of closing.
One day, there was a call in the office of the menahel of the Yeshiva. To his surprise, it was from the office of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (the Frierdige Rebbe who had arrived in America not long before). ‘The Rebbe wants to know how much money you are short’, he was informed. The menahel responded with a figure that was an astronomical sum; - it would be the equivalent of millions of dollars today. ‘What is being done to procure the money?’ the Rebbe wanted to know. In truth, the menahel was despondent, he felt that it was an impossible situation and he had given up hope of finding a solution. He couldn’t, however, say that to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, so he responded with vague assurances of ‘we’re trying our best’ and the like.
A week went by, and they were one week closer to the deadline on which the bank would take over the Yeshiva. The administration was in despair, awaiting what they felt was the inevitable. One night there was another call from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Once again, the Rebbe wanted to know the amount of the remaining debt, and what steps were being taken to obtain it. Once again, they put him off with meaningless platitudes.
This repeated itself a few times, until, with the deadline looming a short while ahead, the menahel lost his cool and cried out: “Lubavitcher Rebbe, we are not getting the money and have no intention of doing so, there is no way of accomplishing that. In a short time the Yeshiva will close. All is lost”.
The day before the deadline, a messenger from the Frierdige Rebbe came to the menahel. In his hand was an envelope that contained the entire sum of money that was needed! At the 11th hour, the unthinkable was averted.
The messenger also brought a message from the Rebbe by way of explanation. The Rebbe said: “In Russia my chassidim sacrificed their very lives, in a most literal sense, in order to spread Torah and Yiddishkeit. So how could I allow that in America a Yeshiva should have to shut down because of money!”
This story came to mind recently when all the news was filled with the talk of the American government shutting down and being on the verge of going bankrupt. What precipitated the shutdown? Money problems. Power struggles. Disagreements and petty arguments.
This is the government of the United States of America, the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world. It is, arguably, the most influential body in existence. And yet, when the bank statements don’t add up, if they can’t manage to balance the budget, or if they just don’t see eye to eye with each other, then the whole operation comes perilously close to coming to a grinding halt.
[Actually, what I find most shocking is that they weren’t really out of funds when this whole debacle occurred. They were crying and complaining about the budget and the deficit, while in fact they still had a few billion dollars of spare change lying around in their account at the time. I wouldn’t dream of complaining if I had a few billion dollars of spare change in the Yeshiva account!]
To a degree, we can understand them. After all, if there isn’t enough money to pay the bills, if they can’t fund the programs that they need to provide, then the whole operation becomes dysfunctional.
Nonetheless, the Frierdige Rebbe said that while this may hold true for the government of the US of A, it is inconceivable that a Yeshiva should go by those rules. The congress and senate are subject to the laws of nature, being part of the makeup of this physical world, and – furthermore – the world could manage for a while without Obama and company.
In contrast however, a Yeshiva, at its root, is a spiritual entity, a G-dly institution, that is not subservient to the laws of nature. In addition, its function is crucial for the world, and the service it provides is indispensable. Thus, it is unthinkable that the operation of a Yeshiva should be affected by something so mundane as money.
In this weeks Parsha, we learn about how Avrohom sent Eliezer on the important mission of finding a wife for Yitzchok. Before Eliezer left, the Posuk tells us, Avrohom gave him “all that he owned”. Rashi tells us that he gave Eliezer a document, entitling him to all of the earthly possessions of Avrohom.
This raises an obvious question: A person needs money on a daily basis just to survive, and – being that there were still a number of years left to Avrohom’s life at that time – Avrohom would still require a minimum amount of money for his own needs (if he gave Eliezer “everything”, that undoubtedly included his retirement pension, his life insurance cash value, all of his stocks and bonds and anything that could be turned into money). It is for this reason, in fact, that halacha itself limits the amount of money that a person may spend on mitzvos, and even on tzedaka. How, if so, could Avrohom have given Eliezer “everything that he owned”? Wasn’t that a reckless act, and spending more than he could afford?!
The Rebbe addressed this very question (during the farbrengen of Chayei Sara 5752), and explained: This wasn’t just spending money on a specific mitzvah; - on an individual chasuna, as important as that may be. Rather, the union between Yitzchok and Rivka (which is the first wedding recorded in Torah and the first Jewish wedding (since the bris milah)) was a vital step that enabled and ensured the very continuity of the Jewish nation. Avrohom’s entire existence, as the first Jew and the beginning of the Jewish nation, was dependent on his being carried on through Yitzchok and Rivka and their children and descendants.
It is therefore understandable that for such an event Avrohom did not consult with his accountant or try to calculate with his quickbooks program whether or not he had the means, but he invested his entire being and all of his worldly possessions into this mission.
Perhaps this was the message of the Frierdige Rebbe as well. The chassidim in Russia sacrificed their very lives for their activities of spreading Torah and Yiddishkeit. They understood very well that these were not merely impressive activities and praiseworthy projects, but – rather – on these actions by these few individuals was dependent the continuity of Yiddishkeit. They were risking their lives not for an individual class, cheder or Yeshiva, but for the life and vitality of the Jewish nation. It follows that they couldn’t be concerned about the risks to their own safety and welfare when there was that much at stake.
Likewise, the Frierdige Rebbe was saying to this menahel – perhaps – that a Yeshiva needs to be viewed not as an individual institution or project, but rather as the vital link and security for the continuity of Torah and Yiddishkeit (and this was especially true with regards to a Yeshiva in America in those years). Realizing that, one can’t possibly allow such mundane considerations as money and affordability to determine its success.
Today was chof cheshvon, the birthday of the Rebbe Rashab. One of the most noteworthy accomplishments of the Rebbe Rashab was the establishment of the Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim. This Yeshiva not only guarantees and ensures the continuity of the Jewish nation, but, moreover, it brings it to its climax and to the conclusion of its mission – by instructing and guiding its talmidim in how to fight, and be victorious in, the milchemes beis Dovid of bringing Moshiach.
In fact, in connection with this day, the Rebbe issued a unique directive, instructing every chosid – during the 24 hour period of chof cheshvon – to go into the premises of the local branch of Tomchei T’mimim. Regardless of where our occupation, our need to make a living or even our life’s work may take us, we must always – and especially in connection with this day – be conscious of our connection with Tomchei Tmimim and the impact it had and continues to have on our lives.
Perhaps, then, (part of) the idea behind this directive is that we have to see the various aspects of our lives as extensions and continuation of Tomchei Tmimim. In that sense, the above lesson should be applicable in every individual’s life and family.
The Shoichet and Tomchei Tmimim
[There was one chosid, a shoichet, who lived his life according to the schedules of Tomchei Tmimim. Although he had graduated from Yeshiva years ago, and he had long since moved to his own town where he played his part in enhancing the Yiddishkeit in the region, nonetheless he took great pains to daven at the time when davening had been scheduled back in his Yeshiva days, to learn (at least something) at the same time that there had been a seder in Yeshiva etc. Although he had left Yeshiva and moved on, the Yeshiva did not leave him. It was still very tangibly within him, and continuing to guide his life in a very concrete manner].
We have shiurim in nigleh and in chassidus. We spend time davening (hopefully with a minyan). We devote a significant amount of time and energy to the chinuch of our children (or bonecho eiluh hatalmidim).
But we need to bear in mind. These are not merely impressive activities and praiseworthy projects, but – rather – on these actions guarantee and ensure the continuity of our Yidishkeit and chassidishkeit. The shiur is not just a nice gesture, but something on which your life depends. As such (as in the story) there is no possibility of mundane considerations interfering with these pursuits.
You think that you can’t learn your shiur in gemoro tonight because you can’t afford it, because of monetary considerations, or because you lack the energy or the time or the patience? Why, chassidim in Russia sacrificed their very lives for the sake of spreading Yiddishkeit, how, then, could you allow the spreading of Yiddishkeit within yourself, how could you allow the closure of your own personal Yeshiva because of trivial considerations?!
Let us all take advantage of this special day to re-focus on our connection with Tomchei Tmimim, and on the realization that our lives are a continuation of our experiences there. By recognizing that each of our shiurim in learning, our davening and our chassidishe conduct are the ways we do our part for the historical milchemes beis Dovid, we will attach the proper importance and significance to each of these activities and not allow them to become weakened in any way or for any reason, and this will bring about very swiftly the conclusion of the battle and the mission, as the Possuk says ברוך ה' לעולם אמן ואמן!!
L’chaim! May we all make sure that our own personal Yeshivos are never closed ch”v for any reason – on the contrary, we should be constantly opening new “Yeshivos” -, and may the Eibishter bring us all very speedily to the ultimate Yeshiva, where we will be taught Torah directly by Melech haMoshiach TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות ר' שלום מרדכי הלוי בן רבקה, לגאולה וישועה קרובה ושלימה, תומ"י ממש בטו הנו הנ"ג
