Sholom U’Brocho! A Freilichen and lichtegen Zos Chanuka! (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.
One of the most fundamental ideas in Chassidus is that everything that we see or hear has to serve as a lesson in our avodas Hashem. How much more so should this be true when the entire world is gripped in a hype, and everyone is squabbling and babbling about the same subject with near hysteria. At such a time it is surely important for us is to be able to focus on what all of it teaches us.
Of course, what is preoccupying most of the world right now is the proposal of the presidential hopeful, Donald Trump, to ban all Muslims from the US of A until further notice. Now, to be sure, it would be preferable if we didn’t hear about any of this to begin with, and definitely didn’t pay undue attention to it (see also the story that the Rebbe related about the chasid in Lubavitch which was quoted in the email of Yud Tes Kislev), and possibly (probably) most of you haven’t heard about this until now. But since, unfortunately, I heard this piece of news, I want to dwell, for a few minutes, on what we can learn from it.
You see, the above statement was not taken lightly at all; it caught the attention of everybody, and everybody around the world had what to say about it. From Kings (the King of Saudi Arabia) to politicians to leaders of nations, from his fellow Republican Presidential contenders to those of the Democratic party, everyone who is anyone seems to have formed an opinion about Trump’s proposed approach and wasted no time in publicizing it.
Even the President of the United States reacted swiftly, issuing a statement via the official white house spokesman that what Trump is suggesting is “unconstitutional”. Which just goes to show how little he knows about the constitution (he should have checked with me before making statements, then he wouldn’t come out looking foolish...): The constitution grants rights to all citizens of America. One of the foundations of the constitution is freedom of religion, that all Americans may practice religion as they choose, and may not be discriminated on on the basis of religion. But no one has the “right” to emigrate here and become a citizen. They have yet to grant me citizenship (and I’ve been denied entry plenty of times over the years, I won’t even get into that now).
So whether his proposal is reasonable, rational, practical or justifiable, and whether anyone even thinks that he actually meant what he said in such a literal sense to begin with (does he ever?), I don’t think the constitution grants any rights to foreigners to be welcomed unconditionally into America (notwithstanding whatever it may say on the statue of liberty, and notwithstanding whoever may have landed in Canada in the last few days, - they unfortunately didn’t check with me either).
But, regardless of what our opinions may be for or against Trump, there should be a message for us in all of this, and I think it is a very clear one. But first, a story (the story is actually famous, and I (with my memory..) don’t remember the details right now, so any of you can fill them in):
There was a chasid who came to his Rebbe with a problem: He was struggling with machshovos zoros, foreign thoughts (do any of you know what those are?), and was having a hard time winning the battle. He wanted his Rebbe’s guidance and advice, perhaps an effective segulah or strategy to help him rein in his thoughts.
The Rebbe heard him out, and told him “Go to Yankel, he will help you”. Yankel was a fellow chasid of the Rebbe, who lived a few days journey away and ran his own little inn. The chasid was happy with the prospect of spending some time with his good friend Yankel, and he was excited with the anticipation of finding a solution to his problem (for hadn’t the Rebbe expressly said that his solution lay with Yankel), and he set out happily on the journey.
A few days later, he arrived at Yankel’s village, late at night. It was nasty weather outside, biting winds and an icy rain that penetrated to the bones (you have to remember that this all took place before global warming), and the chasid was fully feeling the effects of his trip. When Yankel’s inn came into sight in the distance, he pulled himself the last stretch, picturing himself warming up by the fire, drying his wet clothes, while enjoying a tasty meal and Yankel’s kind hospitality.
The chasid began knocking on the door, calling out “Yankel, open up, it’s me”. But there was no response. “Yankel, open the door, please, I’m wet and I’m freezing and I’m starving. Let me in. Fast”. Silence. The chasid began to pound loudly, thinking, perhaps Yankel fell asleep, or was engaged in something and couldn’t hear the door. Finally a window opened up upstairs, and a voice informed: “The inn closed at 10:00 tonight, and will not reopen until 8:00 tomorrow morning”. The chasid was flabbergasted! Could this be the Yankel that he knew, the chasid, his good friend who was a bastion of kindness, and for whom it would be unthinkable to turn away any Jew in any situation?!
He began pounding harder on the door, certain that there was some mistake. “Yankel, don’t you remember me?” he shouted, “Please open the door at once. The Rebbe sent me to you. Let me in, because it is freezing and pouring out here, and I need some food, and I can’t manage much longer”. But, apparently, the inhabitants of the inn had nothing further to say. For a half hour the chasid continued to try his luck, with growing pessimism and disappointment. Finally he realized that there would be no change. He wearily trudged to a nearby barn to find some minimal shelter under which he could pass the night. His surprise at Yankel’s unimaginable treatment, however, was, by now, much greater than his discomfort from the elements.
Promptly at 8 the next morning the doors to the inn opened, and the chasid was graciously invited inside, given dry clothing, a place to warm his bones and a hearty meal. As soon as he could have a word with his host, he blurted out his amazement. “How could you leave me outside all night, Yankel? And, especially, when the Rebbe himself sent me to you?!”
Yankel words were kind but forceful. “The Rebbe sent you to me to learn a simple lesson. Here, in my inn, I am the boss, and I am in full control. If I decide to close the doors, nothing and no one can get in, and nothing can change my mind against my will. The same is true with your mind. It is your property, and you are in full control. You don’t need a segulah or a strategy, you need only to decide when to close your doors, and not allow entry to any undesirable foreign elements”.
So, Trump isn’t the first one to come up with the proposal after all. He was merely mimicking Yankel the chasid. And the lesson from all of the madness gripping the world, I would say, is the same lesson the Rebbe in the story was teaching his chasid:
Yes, you can close your “doors” and keep out all undesirable elements. Be they Muslim or Christian or Indian or African or anything else, - if they’re not good for you, don’t let them in.
And we all have a pretty good idea of who and what’s not good for us, what’s dangerous to us, what threatens our safety and stability. All the great minds of today are desperately seeking a means to insulate and shield the youth (and the grownups) from all of the pervasive negative insidious influences that surround us, engulf us and threaten to drown us. This is unquestionably the challenge of our generation that deserves all of the attention that it can get.
But, at the same time, we also have to remember that (alongside whatever strategies we can come up with) there is always also the simple approach; - We are allowed to close (and lock) the door! Plain and simple. Just because something is out there, doesn’t mean that we need to allow it into our domain, our home and our consciousness. If it is dangerous to us, if it threatens our hanochos, our temimus, our chassidishkeit and/or our yiras shomayim, then lock and bolt the door and leave a big KEEPOUT sign outside.
As our Presidential wannabe expressed so eloquently (well, he has his own brand of eloquence..): If it has even a chance of being dangerous, if even some of it, sometimes, can be (or has been) harmful to our neshomo, then for now we have to ban all of it from our life, until further notice or until we can figure things out.
It doesn’t matter that everyone else has them (just like it doesn’t matter that England, France, Germany and (sadly enough) even Canada are welcoming the Muslims with open arms), nor does it matter that most of the time it looks as innocent and unintimidating as can be.
Regardless of what it is that is in question (be it a smart phone, a computer game or a particular brand of music or magazine), we need to do a very honest evaluation of its’ track record: What impact did this (device/technology/behavior etc.) have on friends or acquaintances in the past? For that matter (being very honest), what impact did it have on you yourself, on me in the past?
And once we determine that it poses any kind of potential danger to ourselves or to others, then we know precisely what to do: Close the doors firmly, and hang a big YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE sign for all to see.
The PC police may disappointed, the ACLU may be up in arms and Obama may declare it unconstitutional. And, in general, the Yetzer Hora will very unhappy (to put it mildly) that you’re thwarting his scheme.
But you and I know that it is our right and our sacred responsibility to do whatever is necessary and whatever is called for and whatever is needed to protect ourselves and neutralize any and all spiritual threats.
And a fringe benefit: when you lock out some of those pastimes or activities etc. that don’t belong, you’ll automatically have more time for an additional shiur in Torah, for another mivtzoim project and, in general, to spend more time on implementing the lessons of chanuka – of maalin bakodesh and increasing in light! And that’s the best part of all!
So, whether or not you plan to vote for Trump (whether that’s even an option), and whether or not you think his ideas are totally insane, - we can definitely take advantage of his proposed policies in spiritual matters (maybe if he doesn’t become prez he can at least become a mashpia somewhere).
Though we didn’t even finish sefer Bereishis yet, we should pay attention to the lesson of Parshas Shoftim (which really sums up the proposal), and have stricter immigration policies in all our “gates” and exercise greater control over what goes in (and out) of our bodies. In every area, in thought and sight and hearing, any material that’s suspect in the least should be unceremoniously banned. As Chazal teach us; - Hashem created us with a built in “wall” – if we feel something is inappropriate for us to hear, then we just bend up our earlobe and – presto! it’s locked out! And we can find similar tools with all of our faculties.
Our surest way of staying safe is by first identifying the threat or potential threat, and then ensuring that it has no place within our borders. This is the first step towards replacing the presence of evil amongst us with light and kedusha, bringing us ever closer to the fulfilment of מלא הארץ דעה את ה' כמים לים מכסים!
L’chaim! May we take the lessons of Chanuka (and of Trump ..) to heart, and implement them into our daily life, and bit by bit the light we create will illuminate the darkness and transform it to light with the immediate revelation of Moshiach Tzidkeinu TUMYM!!!
Rabbi Akiva Wagner
לזכות 'ר שלום מרדכי הלוי בן, רבקה לגאולה וישועה קרובה ושלימה י"תומממש ג"ב טוהנוהנ
