Weekly Story: It Depends On Your Perspective
by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
Your comments and feedback are always appreciated, and in response to those who reached out and asked for clarification on last week’s story, I will elaborate.
I will begin with a story, that Rabbi Mangel told me related to what was written last week.
When the nine Lubavitcher bochurim from Japan arrived in Montreal in 1941, the first thing they did was to establish a branch of Tomchei Tmimim in Montreal.
Shortly afterward they had a visitor, Mr. Samuel Bronfman of Seagrams Company.
He said, “When we left Europe, we left the Torah there! Why are you bringing it here? I will give you a hundred thousand dollars to leave Montreal and move to Toronto!”
A hundred thousand dollars in those years was a phenomenal amount of money (equivalent to many millions nowadays), so the yeshiva asked the Frierdiker Rebbe if they should accept his offer.
The Frierdiker Rebbe replied, Now you know why you have to be in Montreal!
One can ask, why didn’t the Rebbe accept that offer? He would have had a Yeshiva in Canada (Toronto) and a tremendous amount of money to accept students for free.
However, one who truly fears Hashem, doesn’t look at a situation from the perspective of, “Is this acceptable,” which it probably was, but rather from the perspective of “Is this what Hashem wants,” and if I believe that is not Hashem’s true desire than I don’t do it.
A practical scenario in many people’s life.
In New York, Cholov Yisroel is readily available, and obviously an observant Jew would choose Cholov Yisroel milk, yogurt, etc., over a non-Cholov Yisroel. However, if this person is out of New York for an extended period of time and there is no Cholov Yisroel available. The question is, Do I refrain from using the available milk products, or can I say, “Being that according to many Rabbonim, it is not considered cholov akum, so it is acceptable.”
And there is where the above question comes into play. If my guideline is not to go against His will, I can say I used cholov stam and didn’t go against takanas chachomim. If however, my guideline is to fulfill His will, His will is that one should only use Cholov Yisroel.
One of the questions I received was if you say that there were frum Jews who observed Torah and mitzvos in America how can you say that Matan Torah did not illuminate America until the Frierdiker Rebbe arrived?
The explanation is that before Matan Torah the Avos also learned Torah and fulfilled all the mitzvos. So the same question can be asked, what is the difference between before Matan Torah and after Matan Torah?
Chassidus explains that before Matan Torah the kedusha (holiness) did not permeate the physical item and it remained a physical item as before.
However, Matan Torah gave us the ability to elevate the physical into spiritual. the wool that we transformed into tztzis and the hide that is now the parchment of a mezuzah , tefillin or sefer Torah, that itself is now holy. It is not considered wool or hides, but an object of holiness.
So too here, there were frum Jews and some yeshivos before the Frierdiker Rebbe came. However, the frost of America did not thaw, it remained frozen solid.
The Frierdiker Rebbe began opening up yeshivos throughout New York State and New England region, out of major metropolis cities. He began thawing the ice.
This brings us to a second question I was asked; what was the difference between his approach and the rabbonim that came before him?
Once after a meeting with the Russian government officials, the rabbonim found the Rebbe Rashab in distress. They asked him, Rebbe of Lubavitch, why are you down, you did whatever was possible?
True, replied the Rebbe Rashab, but what did it accomplish, as the saying goes, the poor person is still hungry!
The same thing with the Frierdiker Rebbe, by him not succeeding in changing the American mindset was not an option. It was not sufficient that he would make sure that it doesn’t affect him and his students, it cannot affect the Jewish nation.
That is why when the New York State Board of Regents (education), decreed that all elective studies of private schools must be done after the mandatory studies of English math etc., he fought against it and stated that he is willing to be imprisoned. Because of his firm stand the government rescinded that decree and all yeshivos are able to study Limudei Kodesh, in the morning.
This weeks post is l’zechus the continued complete refuah for my sister Chays Rivka bas Cheyena.
Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. His biography on the Rebbe Rashab is almost complete. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com
