A Career of Ketores
Now, if we are serious about making a career out of this lesson of the ketores, of elevating the honor of avodas Hashem, of everything kodesh – and we should be serious about it – it would be a good idea to listen well to what a great man said about this subject.
Rabbeinu Yonah in Sha’arei Teshuvah (3:148) is talking about a person’s purpose in the world and he says like this: ̇≈ﬠ לָכּב ֹובƒל םּוָׂ̆ל םָ„ָ‡ בָּיַח - A person is obligated to focus his mind at all times, 'ה ̇∆‡ „≈ּבַכ¿לּמו¿מֹרו¿לּו יוָרָב¿ּ„ לָכּב ֹוׁ̆¿ּ„ַ ̃¿לּו – towards the function of honoring Hashem with all of his words and raising His stature. יוָר≈בֲח םƒע ר≈ּבַ„יƒו םָﬠָהךֹו ̇¿ּב ב≈ּˆַי¿ ̇ƒי ר∆ֲׁ̆‡ַכ¿ו - And whether he is standing among fellow Jews, strangers, or among his friends, ‡ָˆֹמו לָכּב ַיחƒּ‚¿ַׁ̆י¿ו ̃≈ּ„¿ ַ̃„יƒו הָינƒּב ן≈נֹוּב¿ ̇ƒי יוָ„¿בֹעו חַב∆ׁ̆¿לּו ֹו ָ̇‡¿רƒי ַּ̇לƒה¿ ּ̇ו ֹו ָ̇„ֹבוֲﬠ חַב∆ׁ̆¿ּב ר≈ּבַ„¿ל ... יוָ ָ̇פ¿ׂ̆ יוָ‡≈ירƒו - he should put meticulous thought, calculated thought, into the words that come out of his mouth that they should be words of praise of the service of and fear of Hashem, and praise of those who serve and fear Hashem.
Rabbeinu Yonah is telling us here that we have a job to do – not just a job, but a program for life. As much as possible, our business is to make known that everything associated with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, that’s what’s most beautiful in this world. It means we’re expected to be propaganda agents for Hashem, for avodas Hashem.
The Russia Hoax
You know, I remember when the Soviet empire was still in existence, in America there were thousands of Russian spies. America was honeycombed with Soviet agents. What was their function? They had one job; to spread propaganda in favor of Mother Russia. They were expected to mingle with the people and to put in a good word; to always speak up for Russia.
I was once in the post office standing in line waiting for my turn and there was a man there asking people to sign his petition that America should stop producing nuclear arms. “We’re wasting our money on nuclear weapons,” he said to me, “instead of feeding people like they do in Russia.” He was telling me stories about how in Russia everyone is eating well and everyone is happy.
I made a big fuss in the post office. I said “You're a communist front!” It's true. They're communist agents, that's what they are.
They were spread out everywhere! And whenever they could, every opportunity, they would put in a good word for Communism. In the news, on the college campuses, in government offices, they were always speaking up about the glories of communism. It was their job.
Sheluchei D’Rachmana
L’havdil elef havdalos, that’s our job in this world! Only that instead of being an agent of sheker, instead of propagandizing about false ideals, Rabbeinu Yonah is telling us that every Jew should feel like he’s sent into this world as an agent of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. He should consider himself a propagandist for the truth, always on the lookout for opportunities to speak up for everything connected to Hakadosh Baruch Hu; to raise up avodas Hashem in the eyes of the people.
Let’s say you’re going someplace, you’re going to a chasuna or some family gathering, so make a plan beforehand. “I’m going to use the opportunity to propagandize for the honor of avodas Hashem. I’ll speak about the new yeshiva they’re building on Ocean Parkway. About how beautiful it is, how much nicer Flatbush will be because of that building.” Even if you’re just coming out of a yeshiva – you went in for a minute to drop off something – you should say, “How beautiful the building is inside! It’s so clean, so nice.”
Don't say, “It’s dirty in there. I saw pieces of paper on the floor.” Say only good things. Praise Lakewood. Praise Chaim Berlin. Praise Mirrer Yeshivah. Praise all the places of Torah. Make it your job to do it. And if you’re megazem a little bit, if you exaggerate a little, no harm.
The Only Beauty
Our job in life is to teach mankind that the only beauty in this world is avodas Hashem. Speak about how good it is to learn Torah. Even though you yourself may not learn Torah too much, but this surely you can do! Praise the learning of Torah! Speak up and tell everybody about the glory of learning Torah, the importance of being a lamdan.
Find ways of speaking about the glory of mitzvos. Speak up about the glory of tznius and ahavas Yisroel and shemiras halashon. Speak about the importance of kedushas habayis, of shalom between husband and wife, the importance of obeying the word of Hashem in every area of our existence. Talk about it to your children, to your friends, your siblings. Speak about how what’s important, what’s chashuv, is avodas Hashem.
What’s Important?
It’s a big job because among the umos ha’olam it’s always the opposite – unimportant things are always made to smell good. Movies, romance, stadiums, music, concerts, art, sports. All the unimportant things, they’re making important.
It’s a very great non-approval of the gentiles when you see big newspaper headlines: This and this team got this man as a player for them. Big letters! There’s nothing more stupid than interest in sports. A fellow gets up with a piece of wood, and gives a crack with the edge of the bat on the ball, and everybody is wild with excitement. That’s important?!
A little boy, sitting in the corner of a beis medrash, learning Mesillas Yesharim, that’s important! A mother raising frum children in a crowded apartment, that’s important. But a man hitting a baseball? The most unimportant thing, they’re raising it up to the sky.
You’ll ask me, don’t I believe in exercise? Absolutely I believe in exercise, in fresh air. Very good! By all means, go onto a field and run around a little bit, kick the ball around. But to sit on a hard chair and get hemorrhoids while watching others play? Sports in itself is a stupidity invented by the umos ha’olam.
Important Art
Art? Art for the sake of art is nothing but foolishness. Now some people will bridle when they hear such ‘apikorsis’. But I’m an apikoris when it comes to art! There’s nothing to it. A good photograph is better than any painting.
If he’s trying to compete with a good camera, he’ll never succeed. So because he can’t compete with a good camera, instead he tries something else. He goes off and makes crazy dots and dashes and he smears a brush over the canvas and he sells it for $10,000 to some foolish nouveau riche who wants to adorn his house with something he doesn’t understand.
If you ask him what it is, he’ll tell you that it’s “Springtime in Afghanistan.” He says it with a straight face but his befuddled guests are wondering what they’re looking at. “Do you see over there, that line sticking out?” he says. “That’s the tail of the tiger hiding in the brush.” It’s no tail! The painter by accident rubbed his finger on the canvas so they imagine it’s a tiger tail. Art shmart; it means nothing to us.
Of course, I know it’s not easy to say these things, because all around you, even the frum world has already been flavored by the odors of the umos ha’olam – and when people become accustomed to bad smells, they begin to think it’s normal. And so I understand that I get a bad name by knocking these things. But I do it anyway because there’s no choice. We’re in a battle! And the other side has no pity upon us. They're not sparing words on our account so let’s not spare words on them. Belittle their important things. Don't be afraid to pull punches.
A Barrage of Good Words
But at the same time, while we’re shooting a barrage at the enemies of righteousness, at the purveyors of stupidity, it’s even more important to shoot out a barrage of good words about our way of life. We should speak up, always, without stop, to defend what's good and to glorify it.
So suppose you’re sitting at your table with your children, your family and you want to do this, so you say, “Children, davenen is a pleasure!” And while you’re saying it, you rub your hands together like this. “Davenen is a pleasure! Ah!” Say that to them. They’ll never forget it. Speak about that in your family.
Prepare your table talk that it should be propaganda for avodas Hashem. Speak to them of the honor of rabbanim, of roshei yeshivos, of talmidei chachamim. Speak about the importance of respecting all those people who represent the knowledge of the Torah. Praise the mitzvos. Elevate them to the sky. That’s the table-talk of a loyal Jewish home. It’s a home where they’re still burning the ketores every day in front of the kodesh kodoshim.
Trucks of Glory
Look for excuses to talk. Here’s a man walking down the street with his wife and his children and there’s a big truck, half a block long, going down the street. On the side of the truck in big letters, chalav Yisroel. Do you know what an opportunity that is? Say, “Look at that! Such a big Jewish truck! A big truck of avodas Hashem!”
I remember not long ago you couldn’t get chalav Yisroel in America. When I came back from Europe, a farmer came once a month, a Jewish farmer, and brought us milk from his cow. It was never fresh, and it was always whole milk. And now, chalav Yisroel in big letters on the truck. Tell your children that you’re excited about it.
Ooh, and right behind it, a big Kemach truck; all yashan, all kosher provisions. The fact that the Jews came to Williamsburg now and began to manufacture kosher food products and advertise them everywhere in the world, that’s a tremendous kiddush Hashem. Don’t think it’s a small thing. It could be they did it for their business but we have to do our business by propagandizing about it.
People have to write books if they can. You have to write articles. And every person should make his tongue the implement. Your tongue has to speak up for Torah, for mitzvos, for emunah. If you're a melamed, talk about it to your talmidim. Find ways of slipping it in.
A Function of Creation
Even an English teacher should think about this program. A teacher of limudei chol can have a tremendous influence raising up avodas Hashem in the eyes of his students. An old man from Frankfurt am Main, once told me that when he was a child they had a high school there for frum boys and he said that from the afternoon teachers he learned more yiras Shomayim than anybody else. All the other teachers talk about other things so let him be an agent for Hashem and talk about yiras Shomayim, and mussar, and good middos. Talk about learning Torah b’shkidah, being diligent in learning, about the greatness of doing mitzvos. Always look for opportunities to propagandize in the honor of avodas Hashem.
And therefore we have a big job to do in the world today. Rabbeinu Yonah says this is our function in this world. Pay attention! ה∆ז יƒּכ – This function you just heard here, of praising mitzvos, praising Torah learning, praising davenen, praising yeshivas, praising frum girls and frum women, praising all the people that serve Hashem, י≈ר¿ּ ̃ƒע≈מ םָ„ָ‡ָה ַ̇ירƒˆ¿י – is one of the foundations of the reason why a man is created! A tremendous statement to
