Weekly Dvar Torah: The Power of the Individual

The last Farbrengen the Rebbe held, was Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel 5752.

The Rebbe spoke about the fact that that year, which was a leap year, Vayakhel and Pekudei were not read together, as happens in many other years.

Vayakhel is about the togetherness and unity of the entire Jewish people. Pekudei is about the individuality of every single Jew.

Hashem created the world so that we should make Him a dwelling place in this physical and mundane world. This is a collective effort, and everyone has to contribute, just as the Jews did when they built the Mishkan.

G-d also said that when there will be a dwelling place for Him in the world, He will then dwell within every single Jew as an individual, because every individual is significant and is important. Every single person has his role to play in the world. That is why no two people are created alike.

In 1843 the Tzemach Tzedek met the Cantonists (the Jewish boys who were conscripted in the Russian army by the cruel Czar Nicholas from the age of seven, for 25 years with the sole purpose to tear them away from their parents and Yiddishkeit), and they told him; Rebbe we are Jewish invalids, we know nothing besides for some words of prayer and Tehilim. We don’t know the meaning of the words. All we have is our faith in G-d.

The Tzemach Tzedek responded; a Jew who believes in G-d who created the world, and sustains it by Divine Providence, and prays and says Tehilim, he is a strong healthy Jew.

After the meeting the Tzemach Tzedek commented to some of his Chassidim:

“We cannot imagine the value of the prayers of these simple Jews. They are far superior than any prayers said by those who pray with all the meditations of the Arizal. Because their prayer is pure without understanding or personal satisfaction, they do it with pure faith and total self-sacrifice.

“When Moshiach will come, he will take pleasure exclusively from these ‘special’ simple Mesiras Nefesh Jews. For them Hashem will make a special chamber and the greatest and deepest thinkers will envy them.

“The great Rambam, who attained the level of simple pure faith, through recognizing with his genius the superiority of such faith, will be bewildered over the ability of these simple ignorant Jews, to reach such great spiritual highs.”

The Chosid Reb Chaim, who was a great scholar, and a Chassidic deep thinker, was so moved by the Rebbe’s words, that he asked the Tzemach Tzedek; how can one become a simple earnest Mesiras Nefesh Jew?

The Rebbe responded; “indeed, it is much harder to attain the level of a simple pure Jew, than to complete and master the entire Talmud!”

After some thought, the Rebbe continued; there is one piece of advice that I can give you, and that is to accept the simple yoke of heaven like that of a simple slave, in such a way that even while asleep, the G-dly yoke is recognizable on the person. Such an acceptance of the G-dly yoke, changes the essence of a person, to the point that even a great scholar can reach the level of a simple uneducated Jew.”

This is the role and the power of the individual; a personal relationship with G-d. That is where Hashem finds His home; in the pure faith, where the individual doesn’t feel himself. There the individual has no self-importance. His value is not what he knows or how smart he is. His value is that he feels inconsequential, he is completely dedicated to wanting to do what G-d wants to the best of his ability, without any feeling of self-accomplishment.

This is how every individual counts, not as part of the community, but as a stand-alone insignificant individual, who is only about G-d.

Perhaps this is why we end the Parsha with the proclamation of Chazak, Chazak, V’Nischazek. Since as an individual we may perhaps feel alone and helpless, therefore the congregation shouts out to the individual, be strong, be strong and we all will be strengthened.

Have an individually powerful Shabbos,
Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Yosef Katzman