George Rosowsky was living in Roodepoort far from the larger Jewish communities of South Africa. Just after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur war George read in a Jewish newspaper that the Rebbe was calling on Jewish men to take on the mitzvah of tefillin, in light of the stressful situation in Israel. He embraced the important mitzvah and didn’t miss a day of tefillin after that.
(Click here for George’s comment to a Tefillin article in connection to October 7th (scroll down in the comments), where he shares how he hasn’t missed a day in fifty years. )
A while later, his relative who lived in Israel and was the head of a Yeshiva came to visit. He was collecting funds and George wrote a generous check to support the Yeshiva. His relative commented on what nice handwriting George had. The rabbi then asked him for a favor.
The rabbi asked George, would George agree not to write on Shabbat?
Writing on Shabbat is a prohibition and since G-d had granted him such beautiful handwriting, it would be appropriate for him to give gratitude to the Almighty for the gift by refraining from using this artistic gift on Shabbat.
George agreed. A short while later, one thing led to another, and he became a Shabbat observer for the rest of his life.
The door of George Rosowsky's place of work.
I know the story because I observed one of my friends originally from South Africa who was saying kaddish. I asked my friend why he was saying kaddish? Was it a parent that had passed away? And he told me that he was saying kaddish for George (Yosef ben Shlomo HaKohen) who had passed away without children. He then told me the heartwarming story of who George was and about the long family relationship which led him to take on the holy role of saying kaddish for him.
This story inspired me, as I hope it will you.
Giving gratitude to Hashem for the gifts that we get is so fundamental, it makes so much sense, yet sometimes it can be challenging.
This week's Parsha speaks about the gifts of the first fruits and other forms of tithe that had to be given to the Kohen and shares how beneficial this is for the person himself.
The Torah writes (Bamidbar 5:10):
"if a person keeps his holy things and does not give them to the priests altogether, he will in the end possess only as much as he should have given, and no more. Whereas if a person does give the priest what is due to him, he will be rewarded by being wealthy.”
In the word's of Hashem in the Torah it is a very simple equation.
Giving leads to greater receiving.
Hashem gives us, and included in that gift is the expectation that we will share with others.
Let us translate that into the realm not just of money but of skills, capabilities and opportunities.
When someone is blessed by G-d to have a nice voice, it should be used in G-d’s service.
If you have an ability to help lift someone’s spirit by sharing a kind word, do it!
Perhaps just by listening to someone else who is going through a hard time, you can tip the scales in their life and make them feel valued and needed.
It is counterintuitive. When you share with others and by all accounts you should now have less, the reverse will happen.
You will have more.
The Talmud teaches that if you are a great scholar, and spend time teaching someone of lesser ability, both the student and the teachers will be blessed with deeper understanding.
Check it out for yourself.
Next time you meet someone who is willing to learn, spend time and teach them. You will find your own learning enhanced.
May Hashem bless us with gifts, and may we be mature and disciplined enough not to use those gifts in a way that Hashem would not approve of.
Could you imagine parents giving a young adult child a car to drive to school only to discover that it was being used to drive to wild parties under the influence of alcohol or drugs?
This abuse of the generous gift would be the greatest slap in the face to the parents.
Let us not do that to G-d.
If G-d makes us financially wealthy, it is not to be used to stray far from Him. On the contrary the gift is intended to be used in strengthening the relationship between us and G-d.
One of the things Hashem wants us to do is to share of those gifts with others.
That is what the Torah which we received earlier this week on Shavuot us all about.
The Torah was only given to promote peace in the world!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Kantor
George's Synagogue in Roodepoort, South Africa
