Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro's frum teens index site blasts the Jewish world - Zionism, women studying Torah, Chabad, the Na-Nachmin people, secular studies, Yeshiva university, Neturei Karta. He has a big problem with all these and you are going to hear about it. He sees himself as some kind of protector of teenagers via his screeds. It's like Rabbi Aaron Feldman's book - The Eye of the Storm - that complains about Steinsaltz, Zionism, modern orthodoxy, feminism, and Chabad. This is a cottage industry in the yeshiva world, complaining and condemning. They see it as their job to tell you how bad everyone is, everyone but them and their group. And like Aaron Feldman's book, Shapiro's blog doesn't replace what it takes from you with anything.
Now, it's easy these days to find fault. We are all a mess. And his criticisms are not all necessarily invalid. It is strange when Chabad people say "give the Rebbe nachas." Or how they teach Tanya to beginners. Or how they put tefillin on people who in many cases are gentiles. Zionism is even more problematic in my view with its rebellion against the three oaths and its replacement of Torah with political nationalism - not to mention the Zionist contribution to the Holocaust. As for women studying Torah, that's a bit more complicated. Same with Yeshiva University. Sure there were gadolim who refused to step into the place. There also were gadolim, like Rav Henkin, who did step into the place.
But the yeshiva world has its own faults. Shapiro doesn't talk about those. So for example, they rarely talk about God or even mitzvos in the yeshiva world. I read a Yated memorial article for a recently deceased Litvish talmid chochom - "a gadol" as they like to call it - entitled, "Nothing else mattered." That was the catchphrase, describing how nothing mattered to him but Torah study, by which it meant Gemara study. The word Hashem didn't appear one time in the article. Yiras Shemayim? Not one time. Chesed? Not once. Mitzvos? Nope. For nothing else mattered but study.
Now, I don't know if this was an accurate portrayal of the man. That's not the point. The point is the writer and the Yated saw it as praise.
Similarly, I went to a yeshiva dinner a year ago where again God was never mentioned, not once. Not even a baruch Hashem, im yirtza Hashem. Nothing. Thank you God for giving us this yeshiva. Nope. Mitzvos were never mentioned. All we heard about was that nothing mattered but Torah study. And since the event was staged to solicit funds from baal habatim who work all day, supporting Torah study was described as being just as good (which doesn't make sense and seems quite contrived.)
Yet the Gemara says, "the one who only studies Torah is compared to one who has no God." That's found appropriately in tractate Avodah Zara. The Shaarei Tshuvah references it. The Vilna Gaon in Even Shelaimah says that study is secondary to mitzvos just as a tree exists to produce fruit. The Even Shelaimiah also says that the purpose of life is to fix one's middos.
At this dinner they talked only about study, not God, not mitzvos, not middos. This is common in the yeshiva world. Just open up a random Artscroll biography on a litvish gadol. It's Torah, Torah, Torah. Not much else, not even Torah to learn Hashem's will, but Torah for its own sake, the phrase which was interpreted by Rav Chaim Volozhiner in the literal sense and is no less problematic than anything the Baal Hatanya might ever have said. I don't fault Rav Chaim zt'l for that. The problem is we make a religion out of an interpretation he offered. And I don't think we even get that interpretation right. He meant for the sake of Torah knowledge which is knowledge of Hashem. His phrase was figurative, just like the Chabad phrase (and according to Rabbi Shapiro it's not just found in Chabad) that a Jew literally has a piece of Hashem within him. For as it turns out, even that piece is a created entity, says the Rayatz, and it's not the entire nefesh Elokis, it's just the yechida, or a part of it, which is not the part you use when you think, act, or identify yourself. The sefer Nefesh HaChaim and the Tanya talk about the importance of mitzvos and how doing them affects higher worlds in the former case and this world and the guf in the latter. It's much of the contemporary yeshiva world that builds itself on one thing the Nefesh Chaim wrote and leaves out the rest. How about a screed on that? It's a much bigger issue than a Lubavitcher not sleeping in the succah.
Rabbi Shapiro tells us when talking about Zionism that atheism is worse than avodah zara. The source for that statement is the Rambam. So a few in Chabad do some things that could count as avodah zara. And what about the yeshiva world? Atheism. It's worse.
And what about avodah zara in the yeshiva world? At that yeshiva dinner, a rabbi said that the Torah is Hashem. Yes, he said that. If you are going to defend that strange comment by referencing the Zohar that Hashem, the Torah, and klal Yisroel are one, then why is saying that a rebbe is manifestation of Hashem any worse? It's interesting that suddenly the yeshiva world uses Zohar, which they almost never study in Litvish yeshivas.
In fact, Lurianic kabbalah teaches us that the Torah, like klal Yisroel, came about after the initial tzimtzum of the Ein Sof. So they are not all literally one. Hashem is Hashem. He is unique. He is not the Torah. He created the Torah. And according to the Lubavitcher Rebbe (parshas ki tisa), Torah was created after Klal Yisroel. Perhaps if this rabbi actually studied the Zohar instead of conveniently referencing one statement from it, he wouldn't have missed that.
Shapiro is the author of the Empty Wagon, an expose on Zionism. It's quite a book and, I believe, a worthwhile read. Shapiro is quite cogent when writing about Zionism. See for example his nuanced articles on Neturei Karta where he defends them (and gives a truer picture) more than he criticizes. The Empty Wagon presents a worthy perspective and loads of information. Zionists hate it of course. And in that book and there on his frumteens site, he frequently refers to Zionism as avodah zara. So how about that flag on Ponovitch, the one they fly on yom haschmutz? Imagine if Ponovitch didn't do that but Chabad did? Shapiro would dedicate a whole page to blasting it. He might even make a video or podcast about it.
But Chabad doesn't fly such a flag. In fact the Rebbe, for all his dealings with the state, never used the word 'medina' and wouldn't even put the Zionist star on Chabad books. He said the state was a double golus. But Ponovitch flies a flag. Not outrage about that. Why not?
Is it because Litvish rabbis are responsible for it, namely the Ponovitcher Rav. And we never question them. They are infallible to people like Shapiro. If they do something, it must be right and you are not allowed to object. So why can't other groups do the same about their leaders? Rabbi Soloveitchik was just as great a scholar as Rav Shach, probably greater in more areas, so why don't the Zionists get to build their case that the state is a positive thing on his words? Why does Shapiro question him (in the Empty Wagon) but not the Ponivitcher Rav? Rather, in the case of Ponavitch, we just explain it away, that he said the flag is no worse than the Lithuanian flag and he needed to fly it to get funds from the government. And maybe that is a reasonable defense. Maybe not. Satmar doesn't think so. And Shapiro relies on the Satmar Rav often. No such generous explanations are given for Lubavitcher's not eating lechem mishneh at Shalosh Seudos, even though that is a legitimate halachic position. See the Tosfos on the Gemara Shabbat 117b. According to Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the halacha is like Rabbeinu Tam that we don't need lechem mishneh.
Rav Shach kept the flag going. I can't image that Rav Shach who ruled the yeshiva world couldn't have ordered that flag to be removed. But we can't question Litvish gadolim for doing strange and problematic things. That would enrage Shapiro. Like when resentful Chabad people criticize Rav Shach (or talk about him less respectfully than is appropriate) citing a comment attributed to the Rebbe that maybe Rav Shach's tefillin needed to be checked. That makes Shapiro crazy even though he doesn't consider that what he and Rav Shach said about the Rebbe is more disrespectful, such as calling him a "madman." That's a genuine insult of the person. Shapiro offers other insults as well. I won't repeat them. The Rebbe stayed remarkably quiet throughout Rav Shach's tirades, offering only the question about his tefillin. That's a whole lot more restrained that calling someone a "madman who sits in New York and drives the whole world crazy." Evidentially, Rav Shach saw rabbanim in the yeshiva world as the whole world because a few people there are the ones that the Rebbe's actions drove crazy. (Isn't that very litivish to only care about the rabbanim?) On the other hand, the Rebbe also considered non-religious Jews to be part of the world and gave his life to trying to bring them home.
And what about the way Rav Shach went about his criticisms? Shapiro likes to say how nobody in Jewish history did the things Chabad does. Tell me, is it normal for a gadol to give speeches in a soccer stadium (built by the atheist medina) and blast entire groups of Orthodox Jews? Doesn't the Chofetz Chaim describe that as lashon hara and one for which tshuvah is next to possible? How do you get mechila from millions of people? What about being careless with his words and leaving the impression that chilonim in Israel are not Jews. I realize he probably didn't mean that, but he uttered his words in a way that one could hear it that way. Doesn't it say in Pirkei Avos to be careful with ones words. "Abtalion used to say: Sages be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile, and be carried off to a place of evil waters, and the disciples who follow you drink and die, and thus the name of heaven becomes profaned." Rav Shach's lack of restraint was not appropriate. It was a character flaw in my view. The man got too worked up and he was too quick to condemn. If the Rebbe saw himself as moshiach that would be a character flaw too, unless of course he really would have been moshiach if we had been worthy of redemption. Both are possibilities. I'm not the first to say it.
The Rambam says that taking money for Torah study destroys the world. Yet the yeshiva world does that in spades. They have their reasons, fine. But it's a new practice and it violates the words of the Rambam. They are allowed to implement a sweeping change like that, but something minor like Chabad not sleeping in the succah is an outrage to them. And by the way, the Rebbe says its fine to sleep in the succah, just if you don't want to, that's fine too. And it isn't only for Chabad as Shapiro claims. It's that you imitate your rebbe so if he isn't doing it because he detects the shechinah and sleeping there causes him pain, then you want to act like your rebbe acts. So I would suppose if another rebbe from a different sect didn't sleep in the succah for that person then the Lubavitcher Rebbe would approve of that too. Incidentally, I sleep in the succah but I don't see the high crime of this novel approach. It's much less seminal than taking money for Torah study which the Rambam says destroys the world.
Now saying all that would send Shapiro to the moon with rage. (He's not hard to anger as we see in his writings. People who tell the world off are usually easy to anger.) Why would these words enrage him? Because Rav Shach is his guy. Can't question his guy, only your guy.
Professor Dovid Berger has the same problem. He wrote a whole book condemning Chabad; although he was careful to be respectful to the Rebbe and is also more careful to give credit to Chabad where it is due. Incredibly, Shapiro criticizes him for that, even though, as I said, Shapiro goes crazy when somebody isn't respectful about Rav Shach.
Berger teaches at YU, that bastion of Zionism. So what about the avodah zara of Zionism? Berger doesn't see Zionism that way. I wrote to him about it and his response confirmed that for me. I told him, we only see the other guy's avodah zara.
Shapiro's criticisms of Chabad are all Rav Shach stuff - not sleeping in the succah, no bread by shalosh seudos, the tefillin campaign. The whole list. Rav Shach is like a Chassidic rebbe to him and you are not allowed to question him. I believe Shapiro has some Chassidus in his background - he might be a grandnephew of the Satmar rav. And people like that can be confused, people who blend the Litvish derech and the Chassidic one without being very careful about distinguishing between the two. You have to take the strength of each group, not the weaknesses, and not blend them in a toxic way. Chassidim do a lot of blind following of their rebbes but they also have more ahavas Yisroel and don't take their own thoughts so over seriously. Litvish people take their thoughts very seriously - after all their whole derech is about the mind - but they are also more openminded, at least they used to be. People like Shapiro have the narrow view of many Chassidim but lack their ahavas Yisroel and take their thoughts too seriously as Litvacks tend to. They apply a black and white kiddushah model to everything. You are holy or you are evil. The result when applied to intellectualizing is fanaticism. He's not the only one. There are a few lapsed Chasidim and Litvacks like that. I think the Chasidim who become Litvacks are the worst. They are some of the most dangerous people I have ever dealt with.
Now what about Satmar. I love Satmar. They are devoted Jews, the women are modest, the anti-Zionism is wonderful in my view. I would love to be a Satmar Chasid and that's why I have davened in their shuls about 100x. But what happens when I go there? Not much. Nobody talks to me. They have no books in English for me. I don't get invited to anything. They don't have much for me. So I stop by periodically just to get a taste of it.
What about Chabad? Well I think we all know how they reach out. Let me tell you a story. Years ago when I first had an interest in becoming from I went to a beginner's minyan in a certain American city. I took the train on Shabbos to get there as I knew nothing about Judaism. How little? Well besides not knowing about Shabbos, there was this: The minyan leader kept using this word "Torah." I didn't know what that was. So after the minyan I asked him. I said, "What's this word Torah you keep using?" Here's what he did. He turned to another guy standing there, a young rabbi, and said, he wants to know what Torah is. And then he walked away. He didn't answer me at all, not one word. What did the other guy do? He said one sentence to me - I can't remember it exactly as it wasn't too memorable - and walked away. These were Modern Orthodox people of the Litvish variety. (Note I contacted the first rabbi 30 years later and he apologized for his actions.)
Right around that time, I was visiting a girlfriend at her office. Again, I was not observant. She said she was going to Brooklyn for a shiva visit. What's that I asked? I had no idea. So I went with her deep into Borough Park where I had never been before. The men sat in one room with fedora hats on their heads and the women, all in dresses in another. I can't recall a time when I saw a group of women who all were wearing dresses. I was fascinated. I went over to the women's section with my girlfriend as she gave condolences. I told a woman there - she lived in the house - that I was very interested in what was going on. She responded with a look of recognition that she was supposed to do something about that, but she didn't do anything. Then I went back to the men. I sat bareheaded with them. Nobody talked to me so I watched. Then they all stood up. I asked a guy, what are you doing? He said, davening. I didn't know what that was. I said, can I do that? He pulled out a book. It was all in Hebrew which I could not read. He said, say this, pointing to a page, and this, pointing to another page, and this, pointing to another page. Then he turned away. I just held the book in my hand as the men did their thing. I could not participate. When the 'davening' ended, the man walked away. I didn't know it then but I know now that that this was a room full of yeshiva men. The baal habayis was a Lakewood guy who studied under Rav Aaron Kotler. I was invisible to them.
A week later, I was on the campus of Columbia University. I saw a man with a beard and yarmulka standing at a table. The table carried a sign that said something about Torah. He was a friendly looking fellow so I approached him. I said, I just learned what Torah is. (I learned it not from the beginner's minyan but from some other place that week.) He said, I can teach it to you. We chatted a bit more and then arranged to meet again at the local Chabad house. And we met. And we met again, and again. We studied for a year, me and this, you guessed it, Lubavitcher Chossid.
So what would Shapiro say about this? That's it's worthless because all he taught me was idol worship? He says things like that about Chabad. Well, we didn't do any idol worship. We didn't even do Tanya. He taught me Chumash and he taught me about God and about mitzvos. I didn't know about the controversies at the time, but I talked to the man recently (the story is from 30 years ago) and he confirmed that he's not a meshichist. He said such things were "against the Rebbe's wishes." A resident of Crown Heights and son a Lubavitch family, he opposes the meshichists. He confirmed that many people over there oppose the meshichism.
What else did he do? He invited me for Shabbos. I had dinner with his parents, who were Russian Jews. Very yiddish. The kind of people I love. He told me about a Shabbaton. I went and stayed with a rabbi and his family. On Friday night, the man sat with me and talked to me about yiddishkite and kashus in particular.
That motzei Shabbos the Rebbe held a pegishah at his house. I stood there and listened with the Rebbe 20 feet from me. That Sunday I saw him again when I got a dollar. There are Litvish gadolim I wanted to see and it took my years to do so. There are others, a larger number, that I tried to see that I never got to see. And there are several who I wrote to with questions who never wrote back - three to be exact. Three I tried to arrange to meet via their sons or wives, but my requests were rejected. I never wrote to the Rebbe, but we know that he answered something like a hundred thousand letters in his lifetime. And he answered with substantive replies.
My shliach friend told me about a Chabad summer learning program in the mountains. Six weeks long. I went and really enjoyed it. I was on my way.
So tell me, where were the Litvacks through all of this? Where were the Modern Orthodox? Where were the other Chassidim? I met a few of the latter along the way. They were definitely warmer than the Litvacks. It's a whole different thing with the Chassidim. But the brief encounter was all there was. Chabad invites you in to their world. They have such a literature, the finest in the frum world in my view. And their books are fully in English, not yinglish. The Rebbe saw to that.
So what do we have here? It's easy to criticize, it's easy to go into a rant and find the worst things to say about someone. You have to take the whole picture. For example, Chabad sends families to cities without communities. (Note these are all volunteers. Nobody is ordered.) The Litvacks complain about this. (They all seem to complain about the same things like from a script.) But the question is, does it work or not? Shapiro never discusses that. Are kids going off the derech? Maybe Chabad can make it work because they are so inspired, so positive. For yeshiva guys with their terror of the world, with their cynical outlook, they might need to only go to other cities in groups. Not so Chabad.
Or how about saying give the Rebbe nachas. Since Chabad talks so much more about Hashem, maybe it isn't such a problem. People are less inclined to confuse the two. In the Litvish world, where most people don't talk much about Hashem, it would be more of a problem. You see, it's dangerous to judge others. You can easily get the wrong picture.
Am I giving a one sided picture of Rabbi Shapiro and Rav Shach? I hope not. I think Rabbi Shapiro makes some good points. He's very talented and very knowledgeable. He's not a monster. But he overdoes it and tends to see the bad in every group but his own. In that way, he is dangerous because he knows much more than the average person and that gives him credibility. He is able to twist your mind around in just the way he accuses others of doing it.
And Rav Shach? He's a great figure. I have heard impressive stories of acts of chesed he did, like the time he traveled all the way to Jerusalem with a bochur to meet a shadchan. His Torah knowledge was said to be incredible. But I think he erred in his rantings and ravings. He wasn't perfect. Can we say that if we are criticizing people who were his equals like the Rebbe and Rabbi Soloveitchik?
Rav Avigdor Miller is more nuanced. He's famous for his praise of Chabad. Shapiro claims he stopped doing that in later years, but that's easily refuted. Here's what Rav Miller said in 1993, one year before the Rebbe passed away:
Q:
Is there one main leader of Klal Yisroel today?
A:
That’s not for me to say. But what I can say is that we do have leaders today. Boruch Hashem, we have leaders.
But I must tell you that I disagree with the attitude of being mivatel, of putting down, someone else’s gadol. No; I disagree with that attitude. Gedolim can be here and Gedolim can be there, and we have to appreciate all of them. Your Gadol doesn’t have to be the only Gadol.
And even though there might be a machlokes, a disagreement, between them; yes, there may be a machlokes between them, but we should stay out of it. It’s fire! Worse than fire! We shouldn’t say a word. Not a word! So if Rav Shach, let’s say, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe may have sichsuchim, some arguments; I don’t know if they have, but if they have some sichsuchim, it’s none of our business. It’s the fire of Gehenim to open up your mouth. Keep your mouth closed. It’s a tragic mistake to mix in.
And the wisest way is to say nothing at all, and to have the greatest derech eretz the greatest respect, for all those people who are recognized. After all, the Lubavitcher Rebbi is recognized by many people. And Rav Shach is recognized by many people. So we should keep our mouths closed and recognize both of them. That’s the way we should follow.
Why did the earth open its big mouth to swallow Korach? Because Korach opened his big mouth to speak against Moshe. So don’t open your mouth! Because even today, the earth opens its mouth to bury men. Many are swallowed in an early grave because they opened their mouths. And what’s even worse; many are swallowed into Gehenim, just as was Korach. So don’t open your mouth. You’re only going to bring trouble upon yourself.
TAPE # 901 (January 1993)
Rabbi Shapiro often cites Rav Miller and claims to be a follower of his since his youth. But it seems he follows selectively, which isn't following at all, it's finding an authority to certify one's opinions.
Shapiro claims that Chabad puts out propaganda that many rabbanim support them when really, according to Shapiro, you cannot find a single one that does. But as Rav Miller wrote in 1993 (see above), "After all, the Lubavitcher Rebbi is recognized by many people." Similarly, Shapiro claims that Rav Moshe Feinstein's association with Chabad was merely to accept a gift of tefillin. However, we have the recording of Rav Miller saying something very different:
Q: Reb Moshe Feinstein wouldn't be opposed if someone wants to go to the Lubavitcher Rebbe?
A: No he would not. He respects him, he has a high regard for him. They have high regard for each other. No question about it. The Lubavitcher Rebbe is a big talmid chochom! He's a thinker and a talmid chochom. Not only the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Plenty of rebbes I can enumerate, no question about it, no question about it. It's off the subject. I'd like to comment to you, but that's enough.
Rav Avigdor Miller, "Free Will," Tape #R-11, 26:50
So again, Shapiro claims that he grew up with Rabbi Miller and considers him a primary influence. Yet, we see that either doesn't know what the man had to say about this topic or just ignores it. It is much more likely the latter because he tends to be well informed. And wouldn't that be hypocrisy, when his whole thing is about how we have to listen to the gadolim.
What else? While not connected to the topic of Lubavitch, Shapiro spends considerable time harping on women's Torah study, that it's only supposed to be basic, without super-commentary like the Malbim or the Maharal. And it is true, that the original heterim were phrased that way. However, it is now widespread throughout the Charedi world for women to study all kinds of commentary on Chumash. And Rabbi Miller advises only that women don't study Gemara because that would bring them into contact with men. He says other than that women have all kinds of material to study. He doesn't exclude the Malbim. And this is different from what Shapiro not only demands but demands with outrage. And he can do that if he wants, but he can't keep saying that Rabbi Miller is his mentor and we must all obey our mentors.
I mentioned up front that those in the cottage industry of blasting the world often fail to replace what they take with anything. Anybody who takes Shapiro or Rav Shach seriously on this topic is going to have trouble being a Lubavitcher anymore. They take the chair out from under you but don't offer another. I suppose they assume, be like us. What are we all going to be now angry yeshiva guys? I know a few like that. That's not for everyone. Those guys are very right brained. It's like engineering school, or law school. Very aggressive, angry, hypercritical, black and white. It's not for a Chasidish neshamah. But the rest of the Chassidic world isn't so open to newcomers. There are small pockets of entry, say into Breslov, which might be too emotional for some, or Boston, which is found in just a few places. Chabad gives an entry into Chassidus for everyone. And that's very important. Rather than just take it all away, how about doing something constructive, like saying, hey my brothers in Chabad, maybe you should think about pulling back on a few matters. You can still be Chabad, just try to be a bit more old fashioned Chabad. Less Moshiach stuff for example. That approach would be more constructive. Rather than pulling the chair out from under people, suggest that those people adjust their chair a bit. But that wouldn't serve as pleasurable an emotional release for those who enjoy raging and condemning. Oh yes, they see themselves as saving the world but so did Marx and Lenin.
I leave you with a story from Rabbi Shalom Avtzon:
F 22 Kol Dichfin – Everyone Is Welcomed
Weekly Story by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
(recently heard from Rabbi Chaim Mentz, shliach of the Rebbe in Bel-Air California.)
It was one erev Pesach in the late 60’s, and our neighbor
Rabbi Kasriel Kastel of Lubavitch Youth in Brooklyn, called our house. “Rabbi
Mentz,” he said to my father, someone just called if we can put him up for the
two sedorim, can he stay by you?”
“Yes, it will be our pleasure,” my father replied. And a
half hour before Pesach, a Jew with long hair got off his motorcycle and rang
our bell. As he entered the house, we could smell that he was on the road for a
few days and my father, gave him a clean towel and informed him where the
shower was.
While he was in the shower, we went to shul, and to our
shock as we were returning home there was my mother standing on the street corner.
“What happened,” my father inquired somewhat concerned?
“Our guest is a drug addict,” she replied, “and we can’t
have him in the house. It is just too dangerous. You have to send him off.”
“But tonight we say kol dichfin – whoever is hungry is
invited,” my father replied, “I never heard that kol means everyone, besides the
one I don’t want. We invite everyone, and our guest is included.”
“But Binyomin, he is dangerous,” my mother said. “However, if
you insist to allow him to stay, it is your responsibility to remain up and be
on guard the entire night.”
“Yes,” replied my father, “I will have to watch him.”
Entering the house, my father wished our guest a good yom
tov, and made some small talk. Then pointing to the containers, he asked, “Is
that your medications?”
No, replied our guest. “I sometimes take them to relax.”
In his gentle voice, my father said, “Tonight is passover,
and as you noticed some cabinets are covered or taped, as we worked very hard
to take out all chometz – leavened items, from our house. It is possible that
some of those items you have are also chometz, so if you don’t mind, especially
as you said you don’t need them, can you please place them in the seat bucket
of your motorcycle. This way in case they are leavened they won’t be in our
house.”
“Sure, no problem,” he replied and he took all of his pills
and placed them in his motorcycle.
This individual was extremely inquisitive, and at the seder
he peppered my father with questions about the seder, pesach and Judaism in
general, with the conversation going on into the wee hours of the morning, way
after the meal had concluded (after all my father promised he will stay awake).
The following morning, when we went to shul and when we returned, our guest was
in a deep sleep and he slept almost the entire day.
During the second seder, he once again asked relevant and
irrelevant questions until late in the morning and slept the entire day. When
he awoke in the late afternoon, my father informed him that shortly he will be saying
the Havdalah, and at that time the holiday comes to an end. He remained until
after Havdalah and then thanked us and off he went on his motorcycle.
Some eight to ten years later, I was walking with my father
on Kingston Avenue, when a Jew with a kapota and long beard stops us and greets
us in a friendly fashion, “Rabbi Mentz, Sholom Aleichem, how are you?”
“Boruch Hashem,” my father replied, “and who are you?” His
facial expression showing he has no clue who this individual is, and was
somewhat surprised that the person knows him and greeted him like an old
acquaintance or friend.
“You don’t recognize
me?” the person replied. “I was your guest almost ten years ago, for the first
two nights of Pesach. Just then I arrived on a motorcycle.”
“Yes, yes, I recall that Pesach,” my father responded.
“Well now, thanks to you and some other wonderful
individuals who I had the honor of meeting,” the person happily said, “I am
religious and I am a sofer (scribe) in Eretz Yisroel.”
So if you want to see the power of one encounter, here it
is. Yes, you might not see the benefits of it for a while, or you may never
realize what you accomplished. But a good deed produces positive fruit and
results. However, you don’t have to wait for the seder to make that connection
and inspiration, one phone call, one compliment, one act of friendship, can
make the difference.
Do yours today and everyday!
Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. He can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com