Gemara, gelt, and guilt

 this is from the parsha sheet of a litvish gadol this week:

in chabad the census is hashem's love for each jew and the importance of each jew, with litvish it's individual judgment

INDIVIDUAL JUDGMENT 

Take [Se’u]the sum of all the congregation of the bnei yisroel.(1:2) 

Se’ualso means “elevate”.The very fact that every Jew was included in the census and is not “swallowed up” within the public indicates how important each individual is. 

Each person has to “lift up his heart in the ways of Hashem” in the knowledge of how much Hashem yearns for his avoda. Each neshomohas come down to the world in order to fulfil a task that is uniquely his, based on his specific abilities. 

When a person will be brought before the Heavenly Tribunal after departing this world he will not be able to excuse his evil deeds by claiming that everybody behaved this way, because Hashem judges each individual for his private actions based on his specific abilities and irrespective of his society and environment.  

Each person has his own unique shoresh haneshomo and potential, and Hashem determines whether he has met it. If we have been given children as custodians in our capacity as parents or teachers, it is our duty to help them to maximize their specific potential. Once we are adults, we must do this on our own. 

with chabad, you connect to the tzadick, with litvish you must be mute and motionless before the tzadick

BROCHOS FROMTZADIKIM  

According to the number of names, a head count of every male from twenty years old and upward (1:18) 

The Ramban (on 1:45) cites a medrashthat Hashem told Moshe that when the heads of households would pass in front of him during the census he should behave regally and not engage them in conversation, and they, for their part, should conduct themselves with awe and respect. Why did they have to behave with awe and respect? 

The Ramban (ibid) says that when the Jews passed in front of Moshe and Aharon, Moshe and Aharon prayed for them. Rav Dessler explains that that is why they had to pass in front of them with awe and respect, because the blessing of a tzaddikis only effective if he feels that the person being blessed has a connection with him. Hence, the Jews who were receiving brochosas they were being counted had to behave with awe and respect, because if someone behaves lightheartedly in the presence of a tzaddikhis brochocan have no effect.  

with chabad every jew has a contribution to make, with litvish, you have a role and must obey the limits, and so many people don't

UNIQUE ROLES AND FIXED PLACES  

“The Bnei Yisroel shall encamp, each man by his own camp and each man by his division” (1:52) 

 

The Torah designated a specific place for each tribe to encamp in, warning each tribe not to camp anywhere else. When a person does not have a specific place and role within klal yisroelhe feels like a private person who lives for himself, and automatically loses the merits of the tzibbur. Hence, the Torah was particular that each tribe should only camp at its designated place, so that it should feel as part of the nation with its own unique role, and thereby become united with the entire nation and enjoy the merit of the tzibbur. 

In a similar vein, Chazaltell us that “Whoever fixes a regular place for his prayers, the G-d of Avrohom assists him” (Brochos6b). This quality may stem from the fact that in order to enjoy the advantages of prayer with a tzibburone has to feel a part of the public, and by fixing a regular place to pray, the person feels like a permanent member of the tzibbur, and not like a private individual who happens to be praying together with a group of other individuals. 

Unfortunately, not everybody follows Chazal’sinstruction to fix a regular place for prayers, and they thereby lose out on Chazal’spromise that anyone who does this will enjoy the assistance of the G-d of Avrohom. 

with the rebbe, anyone who wants to grow a bit each day, he's happy to call his chosid, with the VG, he only accepted those who would follow primarily him, and once again the rav becomes the real father

CREATING STUDENTS 

Rashi:Whoever teaches Torah to the son of his fellow man, the Torah regards it as if he had begotten him” (3:1) 

 

The Vilna Gaon said that this principle only applies if the teacher has been responsible for the spiritual development of the student, and the Gaon himself only agreed to accept students if they would derive their main spiritual stature from him. 

In a similar vein, Yehoshua is called bin Nunand not ben Nunbecause he was Moshe’s spiritual progeny and not his father’s. 

Gedolimare called the “father” of the nation since they take care of the nation’s needs like a father. Moshe Rabbenutoo saw to the entire spiritual and material needs of Aharon’s sons, and is therefore considered to have "created" them. 

with chabad, klal yisroel is one, even the lost souls have a place in the arba minim, and here's the litvish all caught up in their battle against the wicked, even killing their own relatives

FIGHTING THE WICKED 

“I have taken the Leviyim from among the bnei Yisroel in place of all firstborns” (3:13) 

 

When Moshe rabbeinu declaredmi laHashem elayafter the chet ho’egelonly shevet levirallied to his call, and had no hesitation in killing even relatives. Due to this act of self-sacrifice the Leviyimreplaced the firstborn in serving Hashem in the avodas hamikdosh. 

The Chofetz Chaim said that maybe we can judge favorably those who do not fight the wicked, but the same cannot be said of those who fawn to them.  

Rav Moshe Schneider used to say that even if we are not in a position to protest against the wicked, we are at least obliged to be anguished about the desecration of the Divine Name when the wicked become leaders of the nation, and the honor of the Torah becomes so besmirched. 

with chabad all jews have love of hashem deep inside, here the litvacks want to say everyone sinned except the small group

INNOCENT BY LACK OF ASSOCIATION  

In the time of the egelshevet levidemonstrated supreme dedication. The whole nation witnessed a golden ox, which had been created seemingly out of nothing, miraculously talking and eating. Nevertheless, only 3000 actually worshipped it and had to be killed for their sin. When Moshe rabbeinu declaredmi laHashem elaymost of the nation was reluctant to take up his call, because they felt that the miracles accompanying the golden calf had led the sinners astray, and only shevet leviseparated themselves from the rest of the nation, having no hesitation in killing even relatives. Due to this act of dissociation shevet leviwas counted in a totally separate census. 

During the time of the spies too, shevet leviwas the only tribe which did not send a representative, because they had complete trust in Hashem, and did not feel any need to investigate the country. All the other tribes were punished because they did not protest the statements made by their representatives, who acted as their agents. Only shevet leviwas spared the punishment of all male members more than 20 years’ old having to die before entering Eretz Yisroel. 

When faced with a choice between maintaining “peace” with erring brethren for the sake of “unity” and completely dissociating ourselves from them, we know which route to take, both for the sake of the nation as a whole, and for the sake of our own future.  

and here we go with the ben torah, bas torah talk

BAS TORAH 

Count the children of Levi… count all males from the age of one month and upward(3:15) 

 

The males of all the tribes were counted from age 20 upwards, but the members of shevet leviwere different. As soon as a boy was 30 days’ old, at which age it is presumed that he will stay alive (see Rashi ibid), they were already included in the count. As with any royalty, the next generation has to be inducted into their obligations from an early age, and be taught that they are obligated to serve in Hashem’s army. Similarly, anyone who wants his son to grow up to be a ben Torahmust start educating him from the earliest possible age, and inculcate the message that being a ben Torahcalls for a great degree of self-sacrifice and dedication.  

In the case of girls too, if a father wants to ensure that his daughter marries a talmid chochomhe must instill in her a love of Torah from the youngest age. Rav Dessler would call girls who want to marry a ben Torah"bnos Torah", and would bewail the fact that many bnei Torahdid not succeed because they married girls who were willing to marry a ben Torahbut were not bnos Torahthemselves yearning with mesirus nefeshfor their husbands to be immersed in Torah.  

In order to reach the level of a bas Torah, girls have to be educated from the earliest possible age to a life suffused with ahavas haTorahand that there is no greater happiness than having a husband sitting and learning, and nothing in the world should be greater in their eyes that they should want to give up their husband’s Torah for it. 

your purpose is to sit and learn, no mivtzaim

LIFE MISSION 

Count the children of Levi according to their fathers' house(3:15) 

 

            The descendants of the three sons of Levi were each assigned their own unique tasks, which were not interchangeable. For example, someone who was meant to sing could not decide that he was better suited to guarding the oron. 

            In the time of Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld there was a public activist who told him that he felt it was time to sit and learn without any disturbances, but Rav Yosef Chaim responded that that would not be a good idea, and he should continue with his current position, as that was his mission in life, unless he finds someone suitable to replace him. 

            Conversely, the task of a yeshiva bochurimis to sit and learn, and not to engage in activism. Their sole mission is to learn Torah and any askonusshould be left for after they get married. Hence, we bless a child at his bris, “Just like you have entered the covenant, so should you enter into Torah, chuppah, and good deeds”: good deeds are only mentioned after “chuppah”. Although there are many irreligious people, and we are obligated to take steps to save them and bring them closer towards religion, this cannot take place at the risk of endangering our own spiritual future. Whilst they are still bochurim, they have other opportunities for chesed, such as volunteering their time to teach other boys. 

torah, torah torah

WILLPOWER  

“The charge of Elozor… oil for lighting, the incense of spices, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil; the charge for the entire Mishkan and all that is in it, of the kodesh and its furnishings” (4:16) 

 

The Ramban writes that although Elozor had to carry a very heavy load he was strong and courageous and “those who wait for Hashem renew their strength”. In other words, his physical strength was not enough without his faith in Hashem’s assistance, coupled with strong willpower. 

Rav Issser Zalman Meltzer said that his rov, the Netziv became conversant in the entire Torah not by virtue of his talents, but only due to an intense desire to master the entire Torah. Due to his self-dedication, he achieved success beyond his natural abilities.  

Alternatively, Elozor carried the heavy load on his own because he was worried that his task of being in charge of the avodas klei hamikdoshwould make him haughty. To prevent this, he wanted to engage in a physically difficult task duty on his own, to remind himself that the task he had been appointed to perform was not merely one that granted him honor, and that his actions should be for the sake of Heaven, not for his personal benefit. 

daven because it looks good on the torah

BEN TORAH 

“Do not cause the tribe of the families of Kehos to be cut off from among the Leviyim. Do this for them, so they should live and not die” (4:18-19) 

 

The task of the tribe of Kehoswas capable of killing them if they did not fulfil it properly, whereas if they did, it would be a source of life for them. Similarly, the Torah is either an elixir of life or of death (Yomo72b). Someone who learns Torah like a student without improving his midos, and without acting like aben Torahin his prayers and brochos, with fear of Heaven anddikduk bahalocho, not only desecrates the sanctity of the Torah, but also causes a chilul Hashem, since people will say that the Torah does not refine a person, and his punishment is great. 

Rav Schneider would always stress in his talks that only someone whose entire behavior is worthy of that title can be called a ben Torah,and not anybody who happens to be a “student” in yeshiva or kolel. 

that's everything in the parsha sheet, everyone of them sort of depressing to me, gemara, gelt, and guilt, like any cult, they cloak themselves in a feigned idealism, but at the heart of it, they are oppressing and exploiting you

Deifying

Think about all the ways that Litvacks have of deifying their 'geniuses.' "You could fit two Einsteins in him." "They don't come up to his ankles in learning." "He knows everything." 

Is this not idol worship? It's certainly exaggeration. I think it's idol worship.

Is there a problem?

 Hey crazed Litvack, you have a problem with this? 

Duties of the Heart on earning a living

Duties of the Heart says that your parnassah isn't dependent on a particular means. "One should not think that his livelihood depends on a particular means and that if these means fail, his livelihood will not come from a different means. Rather, trust in the Al-mighty, and know that all means are equal for Him." You will get what is decreed for you. You should choose for your parnassah a field that interests you. "One who finds his nature and personality attracted to a certain occupation, and his body is suited for it, that he will be able to bear its demands - he should pursue it, and make it his means of earning a livelihood." 

Thus, aiming for a high paying field is not proper if you will not enjoy that field. It will not bring you any more money. Often, those who live the contemporary Litvish mantra of the world standing on Gemara, Gelt, and Guilt can't imagine doing anything but studying Gemara lomdus. Then they can't imagine the purpose  -- for  those who "must work" as they say -- of doing anything but the most lucrative business because one needs money to support Torah and one word of Torah, blah, blah, blah. All the nuances of life are lost in this dogma. It is not the proper way to approach things. Going for the money against your nature is the same as seeing your occupation rather than Hashem as the source of the money. "If one's livelihood comes through one of the means he worked on, it is proper for him not to trust in this source, rejoice in it, intensify in it, and turn his heart to it, because this will weaken his trust in the Al-mighty."

Working in the wrong profession can destroy a person's mind. Likewise, abandoning your dreams can destroy your psyche. The Rambam said, "Seeing that the maintenance of the body in a healthy and sound condition is a God-chosen way, for, lo, it is impossible that one should understand or know aught of the divine knowledge concerning the Creator when he is sick, it is necessary for man to distance himself from things which destroy the body, and accustom himself in things which are healthful and life-imparting." (Hilchos Deos 4:1) If you destroy your mind,  you also will not be able to engage in spiritual pursuits.

All those who have eitzah, all those rabbis who tell people how to live, keep this in mind. Get to know the person who comes to you. What makes him tick? What is his nature? You don't have to divine it. Ask him and usually he'll you. If your practice is always to deliver the bad news, always to say no, always to say no you can't do it, you can't go there, if you deem your job to be Mr. Din, if like the old Marx Brothers song line "whatever it is I'm against it." know that you are going to ruin people. The result will not be more Torah study but less. 

Duties of the Heart:

55 Since it has been clarified the obligation for a man to pursue the means for a livelihood, now we will clarify that not every man is required to pursue every possible means. The possible means are numerous.

56 Some occupations are easy, requiring little strain such as shop keeping or light work with the hands such as sewing, writing, contracting businesses, hiring sharecroppers or workers, supervisors.

57 Some occupations require hard physical labor such as tanning, mining iron or copper, smelting metals, heavy transport, constant travel to faraway places, working and plowing land, or the like,

58 For one who is physically strong and intellectually weak, it is fitting to choose an occupation among those that require physical exertion according to what he can bear.

59 He who is physically weak but intellectually strong should not seek among those which tire the body but should instead tend towards those who are light on the body and that he will be able to sustain .

60 Every man has a preference for a particular work or business over others. G-d has already implanted in his nature a love and fondness for it, as He implanted in a cat's nature the hunting of mice, or the falcon to hunt smaller birds, the deer to trap snakes. Some birds hunt only fish, and likewise, each animal species has a liking and desire for particular plants or animals, which G-d has implanted to be the means for its sustenance, and the structure of its body and limbs is suited for that thing. The long bill and legs of a fish catching bird, or the strong teeth and claws of the lion, horns of the ox and ram (i.e. for defense - TL), while animals whose sustenance is from plants do not have the tools to hunt and kill.

61 Similarly you will find among human beings character traits and body structures suited for certain businesses or activity. One who finds his nature and personality attracted to a certain occupation, and his body is suited for it, that he will be able to bear its demands - he should pursue it, and make it his means of earning a livelihood, and he should bear its pleasures and pains, and not be upset when sometimes his income is withheld, rather let him trust in G-d that He will support him all of his days. And he should have intention when his mind and body is occupied with one of the means of earning a living to fulfill the commandment of the Creator to pursue the means of the world, such as working the land, plowing and sowing it, as written "And G-d took the man and placed him in Gan Eden to work it and to guard it" (Bereishis 2:15), and also to use other living creatures for his benefit and sustenance, and for building cities and preparing food, and to marry a woman and have relations to populate the world.

He will be rewarded for his intentions in heart and mind to serve G-d whether or not his desire is accomplished, as written "If you eat from the toil of your hands, you are praiseworthy, and it is good for you" (Tehilim 128:2), and our sages of blessed memory said "Let all your actions be for the sake of Heaven (to serve G-d)" (Avot 2:12).

63 In this way, his trust in G-d will be intact, undamaged by the toiling in the means to earn a livelihood, as long as his intention in heart and mind is for the sake of Heaven (to do the will of G-d that the world be populated and built up).

64 One should not think that his livelihood depends on a particular means and that if these means fail, his livelihood will not come from a different means. Rather, trust in the Al-mighty, and know that all means are equal for Him. He can provide using whatever means and at any time and however He so wishes, as written "for with the L-ord there is no limitation to save with many or with few" (Shmuel I 14:6), and "But you must remember the L-ord your G-d, for it is He that gives you strength to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your forefathers, as it is this day." (Devarim 8:18), and "Not by might nor by power, but by My spirit, says the L-ord of Hosts." (Zecharia 4:6).

Duties of the Heart 4:4

32 And likewise workers, merchants, and contractors are under a duty to pursue their livelihood while trusting in G-d that their livelihood is in His hands and under His control, that He guarantees to provide a man (as the verse "who gives sustenance to all flesh" - PL) and fully provides for him through whatever means He wishes. One should not think that the means can benefit or harm him in the least.

33 If one's livelihood comes through one of the means he worked on, it is proper for him not to trust in this source, rejoice in it, intensify in it, and turn his heart to it, because this will weaken his trust in the Al-mighty. It is improper to think that this source will be more beneficial to him than what was predecreed from the Creator. He should not rejoice for having pursued and engaged in it. Rather, he should thank the Creator who provided for him after his labor, and that He did not make his work and struggle result in nothing, as written "If you eat the toil of your hands, you are praiseworthy, and it is good for you" (Tehilim 128:2).

What's missing

Toras Dovid is a BT yeshiva in Monsey. It's the new incarnation of Ohr Somayach which closed down. It seems like a decent place as BT Litivish yeshivas go. It offers more than just Gemara. There are classes in Mishnah, hashgafa, and Hebrew. That already makes it light years better than Machon Shlomo. 

So any issues I'm about to identify in them don't make them worse than any other place. What I'm about to address is a typical problem. Here's the video.

https://torasdovid.org/#about

It's nice of them to be accepting of geyrim and to put them front and center in the video. That really is impressive. But watch them start the video by talking about Gemara, making a siyum, being able to lane the page. and then about middos. Here you have guys that are going from fry to frum, from pork chops to schita and there's no mention of mitzvos. How about we celebrate their learning that there is a God? How about we celebrate their keeping kosher for the first time in their lives? In the entire video, there's no mention of God. Tell me, is religion with God still religion? No, it's secularity. Atheists also stress good middos. That's part of making olam hazeh enjoyable. And Gemara without God is just law school. It's a chess club.

Once upon a time, the Satmar Rebbe criticized the Lub. Rebbe's tefillin campaign. But he warmed up to it in the end. He said, the Rebbe is a kluger yid (smart yid). It's not about the tefillin. It's about getting people to say that they are Jewish. 

Being Jewish doesn't mean pride in the Israel air force. The Jewish nation came to be at Har Sinai. God, Torah, and mitzvos is what happened there. Jewish pride means God, Torah, and mitzvos. Some of thes Litvish places miss two out of three and if you miss the first one you miss everything. 

Mitzvos don't mean things you will be punished for doing or not doing. Mitzvos mean connection to Hashem. 

Many mosdos seem to build the lives on Gemara, Gelt, and Guilt. What you do is Gemara. You need gelt for that. Guilt goes on those who don't study enough Gemara or give enough gelt for it. As mitzvos, they don't think about those so much. As one Litvish rabbi told a shiur, mitzvos are easy. Really? Easy? That tells me he doesn't take them very seriously. 

Again, I am not picking on this place. All the places are like this -- BT places, FFB places. The entire planet has become atheist. The frum world isn't much better. Could be we influence them as much as they influence us. 

It's not just them. Look at this Ohr Somayach video. It's all about learning Gemara, not much else. 

Now, it could be the video is like this, that the filmmaker is just very secular, but the yeshiva does stress other things. However, I doubt it, as I have been involved with these yeshivos for 35 years. There's not much spirituality in most of them, not much Hashem, not much in the way of mitzvos. Chumros yes, mitzvos no. There is a difference. 

Here's their About page:

About

Yeshiva Toras Dovid

Since its inception, Yeshivas Toras Dovid has aspired to create the warm, collegial and growth-oriented environment where ba'alei teshuvah can solidify and sustain their growth in Torah learning and Torah living. Named in memory of Dovid Winiarz zt'l, Toras Dovid's mission is to provide the support and skills that will enable our students to become b'nei Torah that are equipped to build Torah homes and contribute to the Torah community at-large. With this in mind, Toras Dovid offers a wide array of text-based classes ranging from a basic introduction to Gemara through advanced learning and rabbinic s'micha. Classes in halacha, hashkafa, Chumash and mussar provide a well-rounded curriculum to give our students both the knowledge and the skills to carry them through a lifetime of learning. Our staff of rabbeim have extensive experience dealing with ba'alei teshuvah and are uniquely equipped to help our students navigate the challenges and pitfalls - be it shidduchim, parnassah, family, shalom bayis or the like - that unfortunately can loom "larger than life" for the ba'al teshuvah who finds himself without a proper community or environment to reckon with those challenges. Our mission at Toras Dovid is to meet each of our students where they are at and to provide a healthy growth-oriented framework to prepare them for a successful and fulfilling life of the ben Torah.

You see the word God there? Has Torah replaced God? Ben Torah, Torah life. They can't seem to say the word God. Can't seem to say the word mitzvah. I don't know if you could pay them to say it.

Log b'omer just passed. I know some kids in litvish schools. What did they hear about log b'omer? They heard that they shouldn't go to Meron. It's bitul Torah. They heard that they are not allowed to go to log b'omer activities without school permission. All rules and threats.

Chabad had a parade and activities in the park. The Rebbe had all kinds of sichos about the meaning of log b'omer. 

The Treasuries of Ashkenaz blog, a yekke blog, gave its yearly post complaining about Meron and how lighting fires is a new custom. Hirsch was one thing, but Yekkes do an awful log of moaning and groaning about changing customs as if their customs go back to Bayis Rishon. Meanwhile, saying Baruch Hu u'varuch Shemo is a German custom. The Gra didn't keep it. Tashlich is a German custom. Tell a yekke you aren't doing Tashlich because it's a new custom. Hodu is a few hundred years old. Tell a yekke you aren't saying it because it's new. Can we focus on the meaning of Log B'omer please. Can we give people something believe in rather than rules about what not to do?

The Litvacks groaned about the dip in Gemara study. Chabad had a parade.

I heard a story that a certain Rosh Yeshiva in Brooklyn used to dance on Simchas Torah with a mesechta Avodah Zara. He'd say gleefully I'm dancing with my avodah zara.

One can take that as humor. One can take it literally. 

Talking with a Litvack

 

Went to a vort tonight with a book in hand, but when two men sat across from me I felt obligated to speak to them. Usually that’s trouble. One didn’t speak English so that was over fast, but the other did. Where are you from, I asked. I do that to start the conversation, nearly always complementing the man’s city and hoping he’ll talk about it. But what usually happens, happened. Montreal he said. Oh, that’s a nice place, I said. He grimaced and said, I’m glad I’m here now. Because the rule seems to be with frum people, at least yeshivish ones, that you aren’t allowed to say anything nice about the gentile world. And then if you live in Israel, you have to praise it. He said, all Jews should live here. I said, are you a Zionist? Oh no, it’s not that he said, but it’s the place for Jews. So since he’s in the yeshiva world he's obligated to deny being a Zionist, even though he’s a Zionist. I countered with something about strong Jewish communities in chutz also being good and that most Jews shouldn’t come here, blah, blah, blah. Where are you from he said? New York City. Where? Queens. Where? Flushing. The non-stop questions are also a feature of the frum world. What do you do, he asked. Another obligatory question that I really don’t like being asked by yeshiva people since the yeshivas don’t let the students get any job training. You won’t let me train for parnassah, so why are you asking me what I do? I mentioned that the man across from us spoke Russian and asked if he learned French in Montreal. Of course, he said. Feeling foolish, like I generally do when somebody says of course, I asked if he learned it well enough to speak. Yes, he said. I said something in French and said it’s a lovely language. He said, the French in Canada is low class. I’m thinking, it’s French, couldn’t be too bad. I said, is it like American English vs. British? He said, more like Tennessee, where he taught for a while. Again, he made a face showing disdain. So he doesn’t like Montreal, doesn’t like Tennessee, doesn’t like their accent, doesn’t like chutzeh l’aretz. I asked if met the Tosher Rebbe. He made another face, and said maybe once. I’m a Litvack he said, even though I come from Chassidim. Again, he made a face. So he doesn’t like Chassidim either. He told me he saw the Belzer rebbe in NY. I asked if he ever saw the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He made a face again. He said he lived in a Chabad neighborhood in Montreal but with a look of disdain and pride said didn’t go to shul there. Then he said that he went to a Lubavitch camp as a kid. I said, oh, did you learn any nigunim. He said, there’s one I remember. You might not want to hear it. I didn’t know what to say, but I was guessing that he was about to say something else negative. And sure enough, when he sang it to me it was a song about Moshiach being the Rebbe. He scowled again. Somehow he felt it was acceptable to condemn Lubavitch to me. It’s like a white guy looking around the bar and seeing no blacks feeling its OK to utter the n-word to the white guy next to him. Maybe he sensed my tiring of his complaining so he went to say something nice about Lubavitch which was that there were Chabad talmidei chochamim in Montreal. That’s the only possible complement with these people. I told him Rabbi Avigdor Miller studied with a Chabad Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Axelrod, in Baltimore, and that Rabbi Axelrod taught him for free an entire mesechta over the course of a year. The man nodded his approval. I said Rabbi Miller said that Rabbi Axelrod’s bentching took longer than his eating. At this point my dinner companion seemed to get the point that for his every condemnation I was going to say something positive. And from there the conversation died down because we were talking two different languages. I am not the world’s most positive person, but around these characters I’m Mr. Sunshine. They think it’s their job to hate everything that doesn’t take place in a Litvish yeshiva and assume that anybody who looks like them will go along with that.

So after the interaction, I open up my Cheyenu and here’s what I saw. The Rebbe notes that parshas Kedoshim which gives a general call of mitzvos to the Jews starts with a positive message: be holy. You might think that it would give a warning about violating commandments. However, the fear approach generally doesn’t work as well as giving people something positive to do. So what about Tehillim: turn from evil and do good? Says the Rebbe, read that as turn from evil by first doing good.

What a contrast.