Weekly Story: You Already Accomplished Something
by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
I heard a gem of an insight this week in the name of the mashpia, Reb Shlomo Chaim Kesselman. I mentioned it to numerous people and they were inspired, I hope you too will enjoy it. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
The purpose of a farbrengen as stated by the noted chossid Reb Gershon Ber is; that tomorrow, I will wake up a different person, i.e. I will improve my conduct etc. and although I may have stated this previously, this time I truly mean it.
Yet sometimes a person takes stock of himself and he sees that he has been a participant in numerous farbrengens over a period of some years, and now as he is contemplating his spiritual level, he says his feeling, I remained the same ‘coarse’ person I was before. In other words, the farbrengens didn’t accomplish anything! So what is the purpose of me going to yet another farbrengen, if I remain the same?
Reb Shlomo Chaim once addressed this question in one of his farbrengens?
He explained; there is a perek in Bava Basra called Chezkas Habatim. There it discusses if a person is working on someone else’s field, or living in a person’s house for a period of time. Then the former owner comes and asks, “What are you doing on my land/in my house?! You are a squatter and I demand that you move off.”
The person replies, “You sold it to me and I trusted you, so I no longer have the document of sale.”
The law is, if he was there only a short period of time (less than three years), the original owner is believed However, if he has been living there for at least three years, we say, he had a contract, and seeing that the former owner is honest, he was no longer careful with it. Because, if he is not the true owner, the original owner would have made a maachah, (a protest) during this extended period of time, and demand that he leaves. Being that he didn’t protest, that is a sign that he allowed him to be there, and the reason he allowed him to remain is; because it is now his.
Reb Shlomo Chaim continued; The yetzer hora comes to you and says, listen carefully. For the past numerous years you have been basically obeying me, and I own you. So now that you are mine, be compliant to everything I instruct you to do. I am the owner/boss here.
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The person makes an honest review of his life and he sees that there is some validity to this argument. He himself had just concluded that he is still “Coarse”. Evidently the yetzer hora does control him.
However, by attending the farbrengens, you are making this necessary protest, because you are not happy where you are and desire to improve; and then the law is even if for some reason you weren’t able to evict the squatter, since you protested and he doesn’t have the deed, the courts will evict him. Here also, the yetzer has been doing his work, but you are not under his dominion, and you can evict him.
When Rabbi Malachovsky said this thought, he related, it reminded him when he and others were applying to leave Russia in the early 70’s.
The interrogator asked one of the Jews who applied to emigrate, “Are you a chossid?”
The Jew replied, “No. But I desire to become a chossid.”
And that is the first and automatic benefit of participating in a farbrengen: Even if it may not influence me, {which is questionable]. I am making a statement that I want to improve. And that in itself is a tremendous accomplishment.
Hatzlacha
Being that I am mentioning sayings of elder chassidim, I will repeat a vort (saying) of the noted chossid Reb Avrohom Pariz on this week’s parsha.
The possuk says Lo Ish Kel v’yichahzev. The way these words are translated is that Hashem, is not like a person who can lie or mislead another person.
Reb Avrohom explained it to mean: In another possuk when it speaks about Moshe Raibeinu, the possuk refers to him as Ish Elokim (a G-dly man). Here too, the possuk is referring to the Moshe of each generation, and is stating a fact, that even the Moshe Raibeinu of each generation, does not say something, just to give hope or inspiration. If he said something and especially if he said it numerous times, you can be assured that it is true and he is not misleading you.
So, as we are coming from Gimmel Tammuz, let us realize that the Rebbe stated we are the generation that WILL bring Moshiach. He didn’t say it merely to inspire us, but it is a fact. We just have to do a little more work to get it done.
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
Mazal Tov to my dear friends, Reb Menachem and Mrs. Friedfertig, on the birth of their grandson. May they and the child’s parents have emese chassidishe nachas from him.
