Yanky was sadly not going on the "path of life" and completely left Yiddishkeit. His parents were very sad about it, especially when he let them know he was going to get married to a non-Jewish woman. The father called the son and said, "It's one Shabbos before you'll be getting married. Can you please come home so we can spend some time with you and the family?"
At first, he didn't want to hear about it, but then he felt bad and agreed on the condition that he didn't have to keep any mitzvos there. "No problem," the father said. All Shabbos, the father and mother bit their lips and didn't say a word, even though he didn't keep Shabbos publicly. On motze Shabbos, the father mentioned he was going to visit R' Aharon Leib Shteinman ztl and asked if he wanted to come. Surprisingly, he said yes.
R' Shteinman realized right away that Yanky was struggling. "I am not frum," Yanky said. R' Shteinman asked "Do you keep any mitzvos," and Yanky said, "No, I don't keep any mitzvos." R' Shteinman thought, then asked, "Tell me, did you ever feel bad or regret about how you are living your life as not frum?" "Yes." Yanky said, "Like, four times."
"Wow," R' Shteinman said, "four times you had thoughts of teshuvah! Of which Chazal say, 'a person who does teshuvah is in a place where tzadikim can't stand.' You are amazing. I'm jealous of you and your reward!"
This hit Yanky and woke him up; he realized he wasn't gone and over, and he had hope. He felt appreciated, and this ended up making him not want to marry the non-Jewish woman and become frum.
At a much later time, Yanky's father asked him, "Why did you agree to go to R' Shteinman on that Motzei Shabbos?"
Yanky said, "I'll tell you. Because 20 years earlier, R' Shteinman came to yeshiva and tested us: he asked everyone a question, but I didn't know the answer. So, R' Shteinman asked me a second, easier question, and I still didn't know it. This happened four times, and I didn't know any of the answers. After the test, all the boys went to get a chocolate, but when I came to get one, R' Shteinman smiled and said, 'You know, you tried so hard four times; you will get four pieces of chocolate for trying.' He made me feel so good, even though I didn't know any of the answers. He made me feel important. How can I say no when asked to go meet such a great person?"
What's The Lesson?
- Yiddishkiet is about trying; Hashem want's the heart!
- See the power of making someone feel good, even as a young child; how it can literally save someone 20 years later!
This Connects To "AFTER YOM KIPPUR":
Some feel like they didn't really do teshuvah on Yom Kippur, but realize how dear even one thought of teshuvah is; see how R' Shteinman realized how special it is! Who didn't have at least one thought of regret on Yom Kippur?
A Geshmaka Question & Readers Answers
A Geshmaka Sukkos Question:
Sukkos is called Zman Simchaseinu, the time of our joy. Why is Sukkos specifically such a happy time?
Last week's Geshmake Question:
Chazal say (Yoma 86b) that if one does teshuvah out of love of Hashem, all his sins turn into mitzvos. Question: That is amazing! But why is that?
Shmuel Chaim Tsibushkin Answers:
I heard from Reb Naftoli Rosenshein, because internalizing that we made a mistake and really feeling bad about it is the biggest Kiddush Hashem!
S. R. Answers:
His sin led him to do teshuvah and grow closer to Hashem. By learning from his mistakes, he becomes a better person, making the sin part of his journey. Email your answer to (347) 669 0369 or by email to [email protected]