Dear Alumni Sheyichyu!
Sholom U’Brocho!
Mazel tov to Mendel Perlstein on the occasion of his engagement. Mazel tov to Mendel Kass on the occasion of his engagement. May they use out the period of yokor mikol yokor to its’ utmost! Mazel tov to Rabbi and Mrs. Mendel Abramowitz on the birth of their son. May they bring him up lTOveCHuMAA”T mitoch harchovo, and to be a true chayol! (If anyone is aware of any mazeltov’s that I omitted please let me know).
Thank you as always for the feedback, it is much appreciated.
Let us all hope and daven for a swift and easy recovery for all those affected by the recent upheavals, and all the unusual “natural disasters” which are reflective of the הרת עולם – az di velt shokelt zich, should shake each of us out of our complacency, and awaken us to a deeper teshuva and a more vackeldike slichos.
Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, the Ponevezher Rov, established the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak after the war, and headed it for years. He was known as a prodigious fundraiser. He travelled throughout the world soliciting funds to run his Yeshiva, and used his wit and wisdom to raise large sums of money. [I found it very interesting that, despite his having been famous for his great success and expertise in raising money, and his many years of experience in it, he is said to have remarked: ‘Every single time I ring a doorbell, I say to myself “I hope that they’re not home”]
The following anecdote is told about one of his successful encounters:
Max was a wealthy American businessman. Having become fully Americanized over the years, he was not known to give generously to old fashioned Jewish causes. Rabbi Kahaneman knew that he would be a hard nut to crack.
When Rabbi Kahaneman arrive at the house for an appointment, he was shown into Max’s spacious office. He began to discuss the Yeshiva and the students, and the tremendous financial burden it entailed. He tried hard to interest Max in becoming a partner, in giving tzedaka to this important cause. But it was quite clear that he was not succeeding. Max was well aware of his roots, but, at the present did not feel compelled to share his hard-earned money with some Yeshiva in Israel. Rabbe Kahanaman saw that he would have to come up with some effective strategy very quickly, or he’d be walking out with $18.
Suddenly, the Rav “noticed” a picture of a bearded Rabbi in a nice frame, on the wall of the room. “Who is that?” asked the Ponovizhe rov? “That”, explained Max proudly, “was my Zeide, a very respected Rabbi back in Europe. I come from very good stock!” “Indeed”, gushed the Ponovizhe rov, “you can see it immediately. What an impressive countenance! What aristocratic features! One can tell instantly that this is a very prestigious individual. In fact”, Rabbi Kahaneman continued, “I just realized, this picture is just what we need to adorn the wall of our library. Please, I beg of you, sell me this priceless portrait, I will pay whatever you ask. I have no doubt that the picture of such a distinguished individual will bring esteem to our library”.
Max was flattered. “The honour is all ours. You know what, Rabbi”, he decided, “you can have it for free. I’m sure the Zeide would be delighted for his picture to hang in your library”. The Rabbi thanked Max profusely, as they had the picture wrapped up. Then he turned to Max pointedly, and said: “Now that we have such a beautiful picture to hang in our library, all we need is the library itself. I’d like to ask you to donate $150,000 to build the library.”
Rabbi Kahaneman left with the donation!
Of course, on the one hand, on a personal level I relate to the story very well. I too would love to have a new library for the Yeshiva. And a building to house the library. And a campus to contain the building. And a few acres of land to hold the campus.
But I also think, at this time, that the story is very relevant and has a very timely message for all of us. It’s before Rosh Hashono, before Shabbos Slichos. We all know the story about R’ Shmuel Munkes, how he exclaimed to the innkeeper “Feh feh, an alter Yid shteit oif in mitten nacht tzu davenen far di beheima!” We all understand that slichos is about more than a new car or a home renovation.
And this is even more the case with regards to Rosh Hashono, when we crown the Eibishter as our King, when we surely are preoccupied with more lofty ideals than our material needs or desires.
And yet, much of our davening on Rosh Hashono focuses on just that. We ask for life and health and livelihood. We ask to be inscribed in the book of life and wealth, to be spared from harsh decrees and to have all of our wishes granted. We ask to have a good life down here in this physical world, in a literal sense.
Which all seems very strange. Is this what we’re preoccupied with in the midst of accepting Hashem as our King? How can we possibly reconcile this with the idea that what “convinces” Hashem to be our King is our total self-effacement and nullification, and that at such a time we need to not be aware of our own existence at all?
In truth, the same question holds true for the tefilah of shemoneh esreh every day. Shemoneh esreh is the climax of our davening, it’s when we reach the ultimate bitul; - ke’avdo kamei morei. When we...
