Musings Of A Shliach From Montana
This past Motzaei Shabbos we hosted a Movie Night for our Chabad house community at the home of an amazing couple whom we are blessed to call congregants. An hour after Shabbos, about thirty people came together for a Havdalah experience with light kosher refreshments and to watch a meaningful, educational film. This time we chose “Marathon Mom,” about Beatie Deutsch, a frum lady who runs marathons while still retaining her Torah-observant lifestyle. The film also gave us insights into the world of eating disorders and how prevalent they are.
I think it’s important for my community to watch more films about frum Jews so they can be exposed to the ins and outs of the larger frum world, because too often the outside world sees religious life as a place that demands perfection when in truth, it doesn’t and never should be. This idea only serves to drive people away from observance because of the inordinately high expectations. Perhaps the reason the outside world perceives us this way is because of the demands we place on frum children, teens, and even adults. The language we use to speak to our fellow frum Jews is unrealistic at times, and often hard for most of us. My kids love that TYH song, “Noach was a big tzaddik / Every Yid is a big tzaddik.” And while I know nobody had bad intentions, nor do the mothers who tell their kids “You’re such a tzaddik,” are we subtly sending the wrong message with this language? I believe we should be careful to not instill in our kids the idea that nachas for parents only comes when a child is a tzaddik, like the characters in the Machanaim books.
I started my new Tanya Chaburah last Thursday (it’s now uploaded to Spotify, just search Tanya Chaburah and if you still want to join, you can WhatsApp me at 406-600-4934) and Baruch Hashem, 25 Yiddencame together to learn Tanya Kadisha. One of the things I discussed in the first class were some of the primary differences between many holy Mussar Seforim and the Tanya. The Tanya, for example, gives a foundation of the Torah view for all spiritual issues that may arise, unlike Sifrei Mussar, which normally focus on specific spiritual ailments like anger, ego, stubbornness, etc. Sifrei Mussar expect the student to be a tzaddik. Demanding tzaddik-like behavior isn’t practical for most struggling Jews. The Tanya, on the other hand, is the “Sefer Shel Benonim,” the book of the Benoni, who controls his or her thought, speech, and actions, the garments of the soul, even if they still have a yetzer ha’ra, the inner inclination that allows them to tempt unholiness without actualizing it, chas v’shalom, in their faculties.
The Alter Rebbe himself wrote a Sefer Shel Tzadikim specifically for the holiest of Jews, but it was never published. The story is told that one day, the Shpoler Zeide arrived in Liadi and informed the Alter Rebbe that he had come at the behest of the Heavenly Court. He said, “I was instructed to tell you that under no circumstances should the Sefer Shel Tzaddikim be published or even shared with anyone. Furthermore,” he continued, “I will go up with it in a fire to Heaven.” On the sixth day of Tishrei, a fire broke out in the Alter Rebbe’s house, and the sefer was burnt along with big parts of his Shulchan Aruch. At that same time, the Shpoler Zeide passed away.
Fascinating.
This is key: Tanya is something that every Jew can tap into and utilize its teaching for so many inner dilemmas and wrestling matches. The Tanya doesn’t tell us that Hashem demands perfection; rather, it reminds us that despite our imperfections, we are fully capable of controlling certain basic faculties in our life. It’s the universal message to the kid in cheder, the successful businessman, the mom who is running carpool for six kids, and the Zeide who is chilling in Boca, that we don’t have to surrender to the inner desires that are unhealthy and unholy because we have the tools to be in control of our spirituality. It’s so empowering, giving us the inner boost that reminds us that we don’t all need to be rebbes and roshei yeshiva. We don’t all need to sit in Kollel or in the Mirrer Yeshiva, we don’t all need to be a maggid shiur or part of the 5:00 a.m. daf yomi shiur. What we all can and must do is internalize the Torah, to be in a fiery relationship with Hashem, and to fight and overcome our demons, which we are all capable of doing.
I was learning Maseches Bava Basra this week, and it twice mentioned a sage named “Rav Zecharia benHaKatzav.” I looked up to see who he was and how he got this peculiar name and found very little. Even the Koren Gemara from Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, which I use and love, didn’t have anything on the name. When looking it up online, I found some discussion about his wife’s purity status after the Romans defiled Israel and many of the Judean women… but why ben HaKatzav? Katzav means a butcher, was his father a butcher? And even if he was, why is that his title? Why not call him by his name? There are many sages who were named like that, such as Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar (shoemaker), Abba Yosef HaBanai (builder), and others. But why his job title instead of his father’s name?
I thought that perhaps the Gemara is teaching us that we need to emphasize to our loved ones, to our friends, to our congregants, and our children, the beauty and value of a blue-collar job, where you work with your hands and do so in sync with Hashem. Instead of obsessing about billionaires and Gedolim, let’s obsess about the pharmacist who goes to shul each morning and davens to Hashem with purity in his heart and goes and earns an honest living while keeping to Hashem’s guidance on ethics and morals. Let’s celebrate the schoolteacher who goes to work each day to educate girls in ahavas Hashem while encouraging them to learn the halachos pertaining to women and Tzenah Urenah.
We need to shake off the spiritual perfection and frum-oligarchy mentality and get back to the basics, remembering that the majority of Klal Yisrael are simple Jews seeking to connect with Hashem, bringing Him into their lives whether they’re a marathon runner or electrician.
In this week’s parashah, Vayera, we read about Hashem starting the process of redeeming the Jewish people from Egypt through Moshe’s leadership. When Hashem redeemed us, He wasn’t only redeeming Shevet Levi, the scholars and holy leaders, He wanted His entire beloved nation, all of us with all our “stuff” to leave Egypt and head to Israel. He wasn’t looking for tzaddikim; He was looking for wholesome people willing to serve Him, even when wrestling with real life realities that are so grueling. Hashem wanted to reveal Himself at Matan Torah to every man, woman, and child willing to be His, joyous to be part of His Kingdom of Priests and Holy Nation. If a kid can’t handle yeshiva, they shouldn’t be belittled; rather, they should be reminded that Hashem loves them and sees in them incredible value to bring holiness into the workplace or the GED class.
Yesterday, the 24th of Teves, was the yahrzeit of the Alter Rebbe. One of his closest friends and one of two tzaddikim who gave a haskamah (approbation) on the Tanya, was Rav Zusha of Hanipol. Reb Zusha once said: “When I pass away and come before the Heavenly court, they might ask me, ‘Why are you not like Avraham Avinu?’ To this I will answer, ‘Because I was not Avraham Avinu.’ And if they ask me, ‘Why did you not reach the exalted level of Moshe Rabbeinu?’ I will respond, ‘Because I was not Moshe.’ But there is one question that I fear. If they ask me ‘Zusha, why were you not more like Zusha?’ To this, I will have no reply.”
We need a healthy Jewish nation, and that starts with seeing each other for our unique gifts and talents and encouraging all of us to utilize them in service to our Creator, wherever that leads us. n
Rabbi Chaim Bruk is co-CEO of Chabad Lubavitch of Montana and spiritual leader of The Shul of Bozeman. For comments or to partner in our holy work, e-mail [email protected] or visit JewishMontana.com/Donate.
