Op-Ed: When Your Shtus D’Kedusha Clashes With Ahavas Yisroel
Op-Ed by Rabbi Gershon Avtzon “If we want practical results, things must be defined. How many times do you come to a certain town and one friend tells you to “come anytime” and another invites you to certain designated meals at their home. Ask yourself: Which home do you end up entering more often? It is obviously the one that gave a more limited and defined invitation. The same is true with the implementation of Mivtza Ahavas Yisroel” • Full Article
By Rabbi Gershon Avtzon
One of the basic ways that Chassidim prepare for Yud-Shevat is by learning the Maamer Basi Legani 5711 — the Maamer that the Rebbe said when he officially accepted the leadership of the seventh generation of Chabad.
There are many novelties and highlights in the Maamer and one of them is the telling of stories (6th chapter) of all of our holy Rabbeim in regards to their immense Ahavas Yisroel ti every Yid. Like the vurt from the Rebbe Rashab (printed in Sefer Hasichos 5705 page 94): “If one would travel throughout all the countries of the world, you will not find such expression of Ahavas Yisroel like that is shown by our Rabbeim to all Jews.”
The simple reason behind telling these stories is as the Rebbe said himself: “Whatever was demanded of us by the Rebbe, of blessed memory, and by all the Rebbe’im, they demanded of themselves. This recalls the Sages’ interpretation of the verse, — ‘He tells His words to Yaakov, His statutes and ordinances to Yisrael.’ The Sages comment: ‘That which He does, He tells the Jewish people to do and observe.’ So, too, that which He commands the Jewish people to do, He Himself does.”
“The same is true regarding the conduct of our mentors, the Rebbe’im: whatever they demanded of their chassidim and followers they themselves fulfilled as well. The reason that they revealed to us that they too performed these things, was in order to make it easier for us to perform them.”
I vividly recall a conversation with Rabbi Akiva Wagner A”H, my dear Mashpiah, who excitedly was explaining the following: “In the first part of the chapter the Rebbe is explaining the importance of Shtus D’kidusha and then he tells over stories of Ahavas Yisroel of the Rabbeim. What is the connection? Rather, all these stories are stories of Ahavas Yisroel in a way of Shtus D’kidusha! Whether it is the Alter Rebbe chopping wood himself for a fire for a woman that just gave birth or the Rebbe Rashab going himself to intercede on behalf of another Yid even though his older Brother – the Raza – felt that he should go.”
It is clear that the Rebbe is demanding of his Chassidim a whole new level of Ahavas Yisroel: In addition to the standard and halachic Ahavas Yisroel, it needs to be on the level that exceeds even the logic of Kedusha,
I would like to share the following two thoughts which are connected to the above:
1. At a recent family simcha, I was approached by a relative who shared the following perspective. One of the biggest and vaguest campaigns of the Rebbe is “Mivtza Ahavas Yisroel”. While adding in Mivtza Tefillen is very defined, adding in Ahavas Yisroel is very vague. He felt that it is very important to define and quantify the resolution if we want results.
His idea (and everyone is welcome to agree or not): In all our homes or schools, we need to designate a date and time during the week (He felt it should be Tuesday with the “double good”) where we speak to our children about inspiration and practical implementation in regards to Ahavas Yisroel.
If we want practical results, things must be defined. How many times do you come to a certain town (think of when you visit friends and family in Crown Heights) and one friend tells you to “come anytime” and another invites you to certain designated meals at their home. Ask yourself: Which home do you end up entering more often? It is obviously the one that gave a more limited and defined invitation. The same is true with the implementation of Mivtza Ahavas Yisroel.
2. The following is what I shared with my talmidim on Shabbos Parshas VaYechi. On that Shabbos, the Talmidim expect that the topic of the speech should be about “Yechi” and “Yaakov did not die” etc. While I fully believe and encourage the excitement about those topics, I shared with them a Rashi at the end of the Parsha.
The Torah (50:15) tells us: “When Yoseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Yoseph is nursing hatred towards us. If so, he will surely repay us for all the wrong we did to him!” There is an obvious question: This event took place after Yaakov was buried, what does it mean that they just saw that Yaakov passed away? Rashi explains: It means that they noticed his death through its affected change in Yoseph – for previously they would regularly dine at Yoseph’s table and he would befriend them out of respect for his father, but after Yaakov died he no longer befriended them.
I explained to my talmidim: We all want to show the world that even in 5785, we have a living Rebbe. The world is not going to be convinced by adding in another sticker or poster that proclaims that the Rebbe is living, but rather by our interactions with fellow Chassidim and Yidden. If they see us behaving in a way of befriending, then they know that “Yaakov is alive.” If not, then despite the proclamations that we say “Yoseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead”.
“May we be privileged to see and meet with the Rebbe here in this world, in a physical body, in this earthy domain — and he will redeem us.”
***
Rabbi Gershon Avtzon is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati and a well-sought-after speaker and lecturer. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the above by sending me a R’ Avtzon email: [email protected]
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