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We left Shavuos, the festival of the Giving of the Torah, behind us and must make a reckoning, a soul-search.
What spiritual treasure can we take along from this enlightening day? It is not possible that such a momentous day of receiving the Torah should not have left its mark on us and that we return to our regular routine just like before.
I once heard a story about a fundraiser from Eretz Yisroel who came to a wealthy man abroad expecting a donation for a very worthy spiritual cause. The rich man made a sour face and said very disappointed, "Too bad you didn't come last week. I had been working of the self-improvement trait of generosity. This week, however, I am concentrating on a different trait altogether."
We surely do not wish to be like that rich man. We don't want to be like those who succeed in gaining new levels of righteousness, only to fall back and lose all they have already gained.
We know that we have committed ourselves to the yoke of Torah, that we have attained new heights of exalted spirituality, but this new reality obligates us with new responsibilities. We are different people now and must continue our growth upward and not slide back to our old levels.
How then can we achieve this? How can we preserve our gains and heights which we attained on Shavuos?
The vision of "the best friend of Israel who ever sat in the White House" is getting cloudier and more obscure, day by day, from one decision to the next, from report to report, from declaration to declaration. In Jerusalem, people are rubbing their eyes and shaking their heads in great surprise and unbridled disappointment. Even if outwardly, we are trying to broadcast optimistic messages of 'all's well', 'take it easy', and that "the rapport between the two nations is as solid as ever."
After years of Biden and his distortions, which were perceived, justifiably, as being hostile to Israel, there were expectations of the return of the Republicans to the government to 'straighten matters out' and put America back on track of its historic role (at least in the eyes of Israelis): namely of paving Israel's way along the corridors of world diplomacy, clearing obstacles set by hostile organizations and countries, and a clear declaration of "if you start up with Israel, you'll have to deal with us (US), its ally."
Indeed, with the return of Trump to the White House, a sigh of relief originated in Jerusalem and echoed throughout the world. A new era is born. "We have upon whom to lean. And even if Netanyahu falters and fails, Donald Trump will come to the rescue." That was the prevalent atmosphere here.
Then, suddenly, different tunes are being sung in Washington.
Part IV
This article was first published 30 years ago.
The following is the fourth part of a four part article on Warsaw as a microcosm of Polish Jewry. In the first two parts, we learned about the prewar status of Warsaw as a major city of Polish Jewry. In Part 3 we learned about aspects of life in the ghetto. This is continued here.
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Opinion & Comment
`Speak to bnei Yisroel . . . ish oh ishoh ki yafli, a man or woman who separates [themselves -- wondrously -- from worldly pleasures], to make a vow to become a nozir, to be set apart for Hashem's sake' (Bamidbor 6:2). [The word, yafli, who separates, is understood by the commentators both in the sense of the nozir's physical separation from wine, and the separation between his conduct and that of a majority of people, who are slaves to their desires, hence the nozir is considered to have done something distinctive and wondrous.]
The gemora (Nedorim 9) relates the following story: Shimon Hatzaddik said, "Never in my life did I eat from the oshom offering of a nozir who had become tomei, [which necessitates his bringing special korbonos and shaving off all his hair] except on one occasion. A certain man [i.e. a nozir who had become tomei] once came from the South. I saw that he had beautiful eyes and a becoming appearance and that his hair was arranged in curling tresses.
"I said to him, `My son, why do you want to destroy your beautiful hair?'
"He said to me, `I was a working as a shepherd for father in my town and I went to fill up with water from the well. I saw my reflection [in the water] and my yetzer hora pounced upon me and wanted to drive me from the world. `Wicked one!' I said to him, `Why do you take pride in a world that is not yours, in one who is destined to be dust, decay and worms [i.e. the physical appearance]? I promise to shave you, for the sake of Heaven!'
"I got up straight away and kissed him on his head and said to him, `My son, may there be many in Yisroel who vow to be nezirim for reasons like yours. The posuk was referring to someone like you when it says, `a man . . . who separates, to make a vow to become a nozir, to be set apart for Hashem's sake'."
The gemora then continues: Rabbi Mana asked, "Why did Shimon Hatzaddik only refrain from eating the oshom offering of a nozir who had become tomei because it is brought on account of a sin [namely, insufficient care on the part of the nozir to avoid tumah]? All other oshom offerings are also brought because of sins!"
Rabbi Yonah answered . . . "They make the vow to be nezirim when they are disturbed, then when they become tomei and the days for which they have to keep to [the strictures of] being a nozir are increased [for after becoming tohor, the nozir must start to count the period of his nezirus from the beginning again], they regret [ever having entered] the [state of] nezirus, and [this lack of intention, which weakens the entire basis of their assumption of nezirus, upon which the validity of their korbonos depends, means that] they are thus suspect of offering up mundane animals in the azarah [instead of properly sanctified korbonos, a serious aveiro]."
Rashi explains the gemora's words, "when they are disturbed," to mean "they are afraid, and they undertake the vow [of nezirus] when they are angry, not doing so for the sake of Heaven, but out of anger." [Thus when the difficulty of fulfilling their vows increases as a result of having become tomei, they regret the whole undertaking, undermining the validity of their vow.]
Tosafos and the Rosh (in his commentary on the gemora,) give a different explanation of the words, "when they are disturbed: they are dismayed at their punishment and they attribute it to their sins [i.e. they are conscience stricken] and have pangs of teshuvah and make a vow [of nezirus.]"
What is most puzzling about this explanation is that if they are motivated by teshuvah to become nezirim, they are actually righteous, so why did Shimon Hatzaddik have doubts about the validity of their nezirus and their korbonos?
IN-DEPTH FEATURES
One word comes to mind whenever one thinks of Rabbi Yaacov Rosenberg, zt'l, who passed away Shabbos Parshas Zochor: unique. Every Jew, of course, is unique -- born with certain kochos hanefesh that are his or hers alone and with a particular mission in life. Yet there are those who can be contemplated only in terms of themselves. They are incapable of being compared to anyone else, and remind one of no one else. Rabbi Rosenberg was such an individual.
As one of the founders of Ohr Somayach in the early '70s, Rabbi Rosenberg was present at the first flourishing of the modern ba'al teshuvah movement in Israel. Later he founded two more institutions: the summer Torah Institute in Moodus, Connecticut, soon to enter its twentieth summer, and Machon Shlomo in Jerusalem, now in its sixteenth year. Both reflect his unique approach to kiruv.
Beginning with Emunah
Rabbi Rosenberg believed that the greatest gift that one Jew can give another is to bring him to a connection with the Ribono Shel Olom. From his very first conversation with any prospective ba'al teshuvah, emunah was his subject - - not the joys of a Torah lifestyle, not even the intellectual excitement of Torah learning, but pure unadulterated emunah, the knowledge that there is a Ribono Shel Olom, Who determines everything that happens. Where others approach emunah only obliquely, Rabbi Rosenberg confronted it head on.
When he was asked by those involved in the kiruv field which seforim he recommended teaching, he replied that it did not matter as long as the teacher transmitted his own emunah. The essence of all kiruv was, in his view, conveying one's own emunah and the ahavas Yisroel that motivates one to want to share that emunah with other Jews.
He succeeded in instilling emunah in others because he was himself a very great ma'amin. Rabbi Aharon Feldman, who knew him for nearly half a century, remarked that his emunah was like that of earlier generations. It was not based on intellectual exercises but on a living relationship with Hashem.
Even in his last years, after one leg had been amputated and he suffered from a seemingly endless series of medical problems, he projected an awesome strength and confidence. His strength, one immediately realized, derived from his complete trust in Hashem.
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