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By the Grace of G-d
Dear Friend,
On the desk of the hotel, in one of the fanciest in Jerusalem, was a little plastic adaptor that allows for the straight prongs of plugs to be inserted into the round holes of the Israeli electrical outlets.
It’s a very simple piece of plastic. Quite cheap. I don’t think it could cost more than one dollar. Which is why I was surprised that this gadget was covered by a note that read:
‘Dear Guest, It is our pleasure to supply you with this adaptor. We kindly request that you leave it the room upon departure’
There is an assumption implicit in this note that is confrontational. It is almost like there is an expectation that I would want to take this gadget and therefore the management of the hotel needs to take the pains to print a card asking me not to take it. I felt offended for guests who pay top dollar to stay in this hotel. (I was merely a guest of someone who was hosting me there). Why would the hotel assume that they would want to take this ninety-nine cent piece of plastic?
(Ironically, this is totally out of character for this particular hotel. They provide a full refrigerator of complimentary soft drinks, have a personal espresso machine in each room and overall give their guests a wonderful feeling. In my opinion this note and it’s out of character language was an oversight. I took the time to write a note to the hotel manager and he concurred with me that the note was incongruous with the super hospitable culture of their hotel).
I share this story because it speaks volumes about how the underlying attitude one has towards others affects the tone of the interactions between them.
There are studies that show that teachers who assume that their students are intelligent will teach more effectively.
If you believe when interacting with kids that they are ‘vildeh chayess’ (wild animals) you are likely to have a harder time. Believe that they are ‘gutteh neshomos’ (good souls) and you will have an easier time.
As a rabbi, I see it time and time again. If you assume that your fellow Jew really wants to be more observant of Judaism, but just doesn’t understand its importance you have a better chance to interest them in performing more mitzvah. Whereas if you approach them with the attitude that they are essentially disenfranchised from Judaism and a totally new interest has to be created, you are likely to have a much harder time creating that interest.
The Torah’s perspective regarding every Jews intrinsically positive connection with their Judasim, is very clear. The Torah states unequivocally that deep down, every Jew WANTS to do all the mitzvahs. It’s just that there are sometimes external mitigating factors that keep him from actualizing this subconscious desire. Knowing this about my fellow Jews is a game changer. I am not trying to change something in them when encouraging them to do a mitzvah, I am simply uncovering their true and most essential desire. A Jew doing a mitzvah is the truest self-expression possible.
There is a similar underlying choice of perspective to be made, when engaging in the mundane activities of life. Eating, drinking, sleeping, commerce and all the other big and small things that comprise our lives. You can look at the world and at the mundanities of life as being inherently negative or even evil. Interaction with the world should therefore be kept to an absolute minimum. Or you can believe that the world and all the complexities of life are essentially good so long as they are permissible according to the Torah.
Life is so much more difficult when you look at things with the assumption that they are all negative and out to attack you. But isn’t looking at things as being good at their core, overly naïve. Perhaps even simply untrue?
The sages of the Talmud debated this very issue:
The following argument recorded in the Midrash, pertains to the revelation of G-d that came down to this world after Exodus, through the giving of the Torah at Sinai and the building of the Mishkan (traveling Temple).
Through the building of the Mishkan, G-d came down to this world, says Rav.
G-d came BACK down to this world through the building of the Mishkan, says Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
The Rabbi’s argument is about whether this was the first time such a revelation had been present in this world. In other words, they are arguing about what the state of the world was like at the time of creation.
Rav says that the revelation precipitated by building the Mishkan some 2448 years after creation, was one that was never before experienced. It was a new phenomenon for this world.
Whereas Rabbi Shimon says that the post Exodus revelation wasn’t a new revelation. That same high level, revealed presence of G-d had been there at the beginning of creation.
By all accounts, G-d’s revealed presence hadn’t stayed down in here in the world. It had been driven away from earth. The sin of Adam and Eve, Cain and other subsequent sins, pushed G-d’s revealed presence away from earth.
It was the great saints, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and ultimately Moshe, who brought G-d’s revealed presence back to the world.
That is why Rabbi Shimon says that G-d came BACK to this world in a revealed way at the building of the Mishkan. Because he had been there before. It wasn’t a totally new revelation.
At the core of their argument is the debate whether the world was totally holy, pure and G-dly at the outset of creation, or whether that was a change that came later.
It sounds like a slight nuance, did G-d come (for the first time), or come back (returning the world to a state it had already experienced). It is far more than a subtle or pedantic debate. It actually makes a world of practical difference.
In a poignant public address, held exactly fifty years ago, the Rebbe addressed this point.
(The Rebbe quoted as he did every year, from the discourse written by his predecessor for the very day of his passing. The previous Rebbe had prepared a written Chasidic Maamar (essay) to be studied on Shabbat the tenth of Shevat in 1950. As G-d willed it, he passed away on that very day. That essay then became the theme that our Rebbe discussed on every Yartzeit anniversary. This was also the day that our Rebbe subsequently accepted the mantle of leadership).
The discourse begins ‘Bati legani achoti kalla…’ ‘I have come to me garden, my sister my bride’ (from King Solomon’s ‘Song of Songs’). The Midrash explains it to mean that at the post exodus Sinai revelation G-d said ‘I have come BACK to this world where I initially was’.
The Rebbe taught that this essay clearly follows the opinion that at the very outset of creation G-d’s presence was in this physical world in a revealed state.
In other words, the perspective we need to adopt in our lives is the that the world in its original state, in its very essence, is good and G-dly.
‘So what’? you may ask. Who cares what the state of the world was at the dawn of creation?
It may have been pure and G-dly at the beginning of creation but now it is clearly impure and unG-dly. It’s downright bad and ugly. Look at the overflowing jails. At the myriads of people suffering from all kinds of pain and suffering.
It would not be easy to disagree about the current pitiful state of the world. Immorality is rampant. Injustice abounds. You would have to be an ostrich with your head in the sand not to see that the world needs major repairs.
Granted, the unrepaired state of our world must not get us down. On the contrary. It highlights what we need to do. Our work is cut out for us.
The world is dark. We can make it lighter. Simple enough
For it is up to us to try and change the status quo. To bring more light into the world by doing Mitvahs. By being sensitive to the pain and hurt of those around us. By trying to alleviate peoples suffering. We are meant to be a moral beacon of light by standing firm to our values. Just because everyone around us is acting immorally does not give us a license to do the same.
But is it actually possible? Or is it an exercise in futility?
While it is simple to understand what our mission is, it is also seemingly impossible to ever achieve it.
Look around. The ‘good guys’ seem hopelessly outnumbered.
The world looks like a jungle. The mission seems be out of our reach.
The questions about the difficulty and elusiveness of making the world good, would be true if we needed to create a new reality. If the world was inherently bad and we were trying to coax it and bend it into new positions.
The Rebbe taught us that we must adopt the opinion of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. G-d’s revealed presence was there at the inception of our world. Thus the world is naturally good. We don’t need to create something from scratch. Yes, it’s currently covered with bad. We don’t need to change its essence. We need but to peel away the layers of grime and darkness to expose the inherent goodness and G-dliness within this lower world.
I feel especially attracted to this teaching. The public address in which the Rebbe taught this, was on the tenth of Shevat fifty years ago. I was born a few hours earlier on that very day just a few miles away from the venue that the Rebbe held this address.
It is this message of optimism, hope and belief in the inherent goodness of our world that I would like to share with you in connection with my soul coming to this earth. Join me in adopting the Rebbe’s approach to the world, to our fellow Jews and to humanity as a whole.
Allow the message to sink in. G-d’s creation is GOOD. Granted, it is currently overtaken with bad. But because at its core it is good, the task at hand to revert the world back to its inherently good state through doing mitzvahs, is eminently achievable.
We need to take on this mission armed with joy and optimism. Our joy will be fueled by the belief and knowledge that at their core the world we are trying to change is good. If we but try, we can positively influence those around us and expose the true goodness inherent in them and in the world at large. We will reveal that this is G-d’s world. The continued efforts in this direction will bring Mashiach who will once again open the curtains and expose the truth of G-d’s revealed presence down here in this world once more.
This time for eternity.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Kantor
PS Thanks so much for all those who attended the Bangkok birthday celebration. Thanks to those who sent blessings. Special thanks to those who visited the gift registry and undertook mitzvahs as a gift for my milestone birthday. Mega thanks for being a reader of this column. I learn so much from writing these articles as I dig into my heart and mind to share Torah lessons with you.
PPS If you are in the New York area please join me at 11:00 for prayers at the Ohel followed by brunch. Details below.