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Rabbi Yehuda {Leonard} Blank MS, BCC
Vice President of Professional Development and External Affairs
Chair of the Chaplaincy Commission
Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim
917-446-2126 rablenblank@gmail.com
===July 25th, 2024, Tammuz 19, 5784===
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The truth and the kindness of H. We depend on H who is always truthful
Unlike people who can be deceitful and say what is not true.
We are not alone.
Hope
What else do we have to believe in and what else do we have to offer
ourselves but hope.
The Emunah Movement throughout the world began with just one person.
and the beginning of the Tisha B’ Av Event and the Siyum Daf Yomi
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From:
Parshas Balak: Zichron Meir Edition of Onkelos
(23: 19-20) Artsroll, Mesorah Publications Ltd. “G is not man that He should be deceitful, nor a person that He should reconsider. Would He say and not do, or speak and not confirm it? Behold! I have taken to bless- He has blessed, and I shall not contradict it.” (Onkelos Elucidated) The word of G is not like the statements of the sons of man, for the sons of man speak, but they are deceitful, whereas G is true to His word. Nor are G’s deeds like the deeds of those of flesh and blood, for [people] decide to do something, but then they go back and reconsider. But G is not like that, for He says that He will do something and He does it, and His every word is fulfilled. (Bilam) Behold! I have received blessings from H to transmit to Israel and I shall bless Israel, and I shall not withdraw my blessings from it.”
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From:
How Sweet is the Light –Elul and Rosh Hashanah
“The Kindness of Avraham”
By Rav Shlomo Levenstein. Tfutza Publications Pages 107-109. “The Kindness of Avraham” “All we have left, then, is the pillar of kindness, the pillar of Avraham Avinu. This is an area in which Klal Yisrael has never grown lax. Throughout the generations, Jews have always been steady and eager to help each other in every possible way, placing their bodies and their material assets at each other’s disposal.
“Still,” Rav Zavel Eiger cried out, “if the world was meant to rest on three pillars and only one of them still supports it, is it any wonder that the ground trembles beneath our feet? That is why the verse states that after recalling the merits of our righteous forefathers, H will remember the land! If H must look to Avraham Avinu’s merit for our benefit, then it means that we have only one pillar left-and then the earth will naturally shake!”
A similar explanation is offered for Rashi’s commentary on the verse, “ I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing” (Bereishis 12:2).
Rashi explains these promises, which were made by H to Avraham Avinu, as follows:
“I will make you into a great nation’- this refers to when people will say, “The G of Avraham.’
“I will bless you’- refers to when people will say, “The G of Yitzchak.’
“I will make your name great’- this refers to when people will say, “The G of Yaakov.’ The Torah therefore states, “And you will be a blessing’- with you alone they will conclude and not with them [i.e, Yitzchak and Yaakov].”
The simplest explanation of this verse is that H was assuring Avraham that the first brachah of the Shemoneh Esrei, which invokes the names of all three Avos, will mention as “the Shield of Avraham.”
However, some interpret it as a reference to the merits of Klal Yisrael in these final generations. Throughout our history, we have been supported by the three pillars of Torah study, prayer, and the performance of kindness. As such, we invoke the memories of all three of our Patriarchs as we daven before H. Yet in these final generations, as we approach the end of our long, painful galus and ready ourselves for Mashiach, we are left only with the pillar of kindness, which was embodied by Avraham Avinu. That is what H means when He tells Avraham, “With you alone they will conclude.”
At the end of Shemoneh Esrei, we pray to H, “May the Beis Hamikdash be rebuilt quickly in our days, and give us our portion in Your Torah, and there we will serve You with fear.” I once heard from Rav Naftali Rand that we pray to be endowed with Torah and fear of H because these two things have been lacking since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, but we do not pray for the opportunity to perform acts of chessed, since we still possess the quality of chessed.”
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From:
Tefillas Hashelah, A parent’s timeless prayer.
“Atah Keil – You are G”
Composed by Rabbi Yeshayah Halevi Horowitz of Prague by Rabbi Yisroel Besser. Artscroll Series. Mesorah Publications Ltd. Pages 36-37. “Atah Keil – You are G.”
“Before we turn to the tefillah itself, we contemplate the greatness and grandeur of the One Whom we are beseeching.
Rav Shlomo Elyashiv was one of the great mekubalim of Yerushalayim, mechaber of the sefer Leshem Shevo V’Achlam. The Leshem, as he was known, shared a story with his talmid Rav Aryeh Levine, one that he had found deeply moving. It appeared in a sefer written by a talmid of Rav Chaim Volozhiner named Reb Yisrael Isser, a tzaddik who would travel from town to town peddling merchandise. One year, he himself spent the Shabbos of selichos in a tiny village. It was so small that it had no formal minyan, so on Motzei Shannos, as kehillos everywhere were gathering in shul to offer the first tefillos of the Yamim Noraim, he stood alone, with no minyan in which to daven.
Heartbroken, he took his selichos, opened it up, and began to say the words by himself.
He read the opening words, To you, H, is righteousness, and to us is the shamefacedness (Daniel 9:7), and he was unable to continue. He was overcome by the truth of the words: we are completely and utterly dependent on His kindness and we have embarrassingly little to show in return.
He stood there, the words filling him with humility and awe, feeling a level of connection that he never before experienced. For years following that incident, he tried to recapture the emotion of that night, when he had been standing alone in a tiny village, but he could not.
The Leshem, master of hidden and revealed parts of the Torah, retold this story with great feeling, for this is the essence of addressing H. Beyond all the secrets and mysteries is the simple awareness that we are so very small, and He is so great.
With that, we can begin to pray.”
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From:
L”Chaim The weekly Lubavitch publication.
“Alone, but Not lonely”
Number 1832, July 19, 2024. “Alon but not lonely” by Rabbi Yossy Goldman “Isn’t it incredible how King Solomon’s ancient words “There is nothing new under the sun” still hold true over 3,000 years later. It’s the story of Balaam, the powerful heathen prophet who attempts to curse our ancestors at the behest of King Bakak of Moab. But try as he might, Balaam’s attempt fail dismally.
You may not be aware that it was Balaam who coined the phrase ma tovu ohalecha Yaakov, mishkenotecha Yisrael- “How good are your tents, Jacob : your dwellings Israel, a line that is used one of our most well-known synagogue prayers.
Let’s focus here on another of Balaam’s memorable words. He describes Israel as am levadad yishkon, “a nation that dwells alone.” The commentaries offer a variety of interpretations. Some say it refers to this world, while others suggest it means the World to Come. Regardless, they seem to agree that it is intended as a blessing, rather than a curse.
So, it appears that alone does not necessarily mean lonely. Thus, alone may be understood as distinctive, exceptional, and unique.
In March 1972, when former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was Israel’s Ambassador to Washington, he received a request from then President of the Israeli government Zalman Shazar to convey the blessing of the President and Israeli government to the Rebbe on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
The Rebbe asked Rabin if he did not feel alone as the Ambassador of Israel among the 120 countries represented in Washington. Rabin said it was an honor for him, even if he did feel lonely at times.
“We have to realize the uniqueness of the Jewish nation,” said the Rebbe, and quoted the above Torah verse describing Israel as “a people that dwells alone.”
He asked Rabin whether it is by our own choice or by outside forces that Israel dwells alone among the other nations of the world. Is it a blessing or a curse? In short, is being alone a positive or a negative?
As their conversation continued, the Rebbe answered his own question.
“Being alone is both our own choice and forced on us by the nations of the world. On the one hand, we choose to hold fast to the Torah, our faith and traditions. This has preserved our uniqueness through millennia of persecution and wandering.
“On the other hand, external pressures have strengthened the core of Jewish belief and our loyalty to our traditions. In instances where a Jew may have been embarrassed by his Judaism and tried to hide it, there were external elements that forced his Judaism upon him, and this, too, prevented assimilation. So, it is a combination of both- choice and force-which has kept us alone among the nations- a combination of positive and negative.”
Rabin shared with the Rebbe that even the Russians had a begrudging respect for Israel. “The Russian ambassador once told me, ‘You are a small country, but you are a proud country.”
Yes, we may be alone. But we are distinctive in our Jewish pride, and even in our defiance when necessary. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We have nothing to be prouder of than our distinctive Jewish values and way of life. We may be alone among the nations, but we are not at all alone, for G is with us protecting us, and guiding our destiny.
May we all realize that “a people that dwells alone” is not a curse, but a most beautiful blessing.”
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Hope is what we need.
A review of Hope.
“The Power of Hope”
“One Essential of Life and Love”
By Rabbi Maurice Lamm
Rawson Associates Scribner/ Simon & Schuster Inc.
Looking for People Who Live on Hope? Look Around You.
Hope is natural
We all possess it. It needs only to be uncovered, not discovered.
Everyday Hopes for Everyday People
I hope I see each day as a brand – new challenge. I hope
I never wake up saying I’m tired.
I hope I’ll never be content just to pass: I hope I’ll aim
for the highest marks in the class.
I hope I can tempt fate, no, seduce it, and win- but
that I never blame G if I lose.
I hope I have good luck in life – but that I not depend on it.
I hope I’ll always be the little engine that could.
I hope never ever learn the word can’t.”
“Simply incline your ears and listen; as so many of us yearn to. We have a spiritual need so strong that it is a craving, a cry for meaning in a senseless world. Often it is a need that has nothing to do with formal religion. We are reaching out to somehow make a connection, unaware that even as we do that we are speaking to G. We move from here to there to what Judaism calls kavanah – a feeling so profound that it transforms a mere connection into a relationship. When you ask G for something you cannot do it without, you do it with kavanah.
You might even begin your plea by apologizing for what, to Him, must be trivia.
You might admit that you don’t that you don’t deserve what you want, that in fact there are some things you did that need to be forgiven before you are entitled to anything from Him.
When you are doing this, you are saying, “G, You are the one who can change my life. Now help me.” This is a profound tribute, and the results can be astonishing. Say the following every morning, say it every night.
I know You care and I trust You.
I will try to be the person You want me to be.
I will work at growing closer to You.
I love You. I hope You love me.
I will return Your kindness.”
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From:
Motivated by the Maggid
“The Emunah Movement”
By Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn. Artscroll Series Mesorah Publications Ltd. “The Emunah Movement” Pages 135- 136. “Over the last number of years, I have had the opportunity to lead tours to areas where Yiddushkeit once flourished. We have gone to Poland, Lithuania, Prague, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Austria, and other interesting places, but in 2017, for the first time we went to Ukraine. That is where the first Chassidishe Rebbeim lived and founded the Chassidic movement. (Many of these areas at the time were part of Poland.)
I knew from the start that we would be spending Shabbos in Uman, but it never occurred to me that we would have the extraordinary opportunity to meet one of the founders of the Emunah Movement today, Rabbi Sholom Arush, author of the legendary sefer/book, The Garden of Emunah. Translated into many languages, the book has sold over a million copies.
When Rabbi Arush is in Eretz Yisrael, it is very difficult to get to see him, as hundreds are always online to hear his counsel. However, that weekend he was on a quiet vacation in Uman with his wife, and I was fortunate that Rabbi Mota Frank, who joined us on the trip, introduced me to Rav Arush as he was walking quietly on Shabbos afternoon.
Rav Arush and I walked alone for close to half-hour, and I found him to be a warm, caring, sensitive individual. I asked him if he would address our group at Shalosh Seudos, and graciously he agreed.
The first words of his speech were startling. “I am a baal teshuvah,” he announced. It astounded us. We would never have imagined it, as he surely did not look the part. Rav Arush has extremely long, flowing peyos and was dressed in a long, gold bekeshe. He looked as though he had been a Yerushalmi all his life. However, he told us he wasn’t religious as a child and had enlisted in the Israeli helicopter unit. One day five of his friends died in a helicopter crash, and he was devastated. For days, he walked around shocked and stunned, agonizing over how quickly and suddenly life had ended for his friends.
He began to think about the meaning of life and why we came into this world in the first place. There had to be a purpose. It could not just be to have fun and frolic and then age and die. He pursued this question, seeking answers from everyone he could find. Eventually, he found the answer in the sefarim and the teachings of Rav Nachman of Uman, He became a Breslover chassid.
After much study and thought, he began to teach others, and he built a tremendous following. As noted above, he wrote the sefer that changed the lives of tens of thousands around the world, The Garden of Emunah, which was translated into English by Rabbi Lazer Brody. In a sense, Rabbi Arush is the founder of the current Emunah Movement.
The Emunah movement has followed two great movements. More than 30 years ago, the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, headed by the young, dynamic Michael Rothschild, began a strong shemiras halashon program. It became a vibrant, energetic movement, spurred by the help and encouragement of the Manchester Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Yehuda Zev Segal and the Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Sheur Kotler. At the initial major Kinnos of shemiras halashon, held in Brooklyn, in September 1989, I was fortunate to be one of the first speakers, together with Rabbi Yehuda Oelbaum. After a while, schools throughout America and Eretz Yisrael focused on shemiras halashon, articles were written, magazines were created, curricula were formulated, and the legendary Tisha B’ Av shemiras halashon video presentations began, which today are watched by close to 70,000 people around the world.
Following Mr. Rothschild’s great ongoing efforts came the Daf Yomi movement in earnest. Though Daf Yomi started its first cycle back in September 1923, decades ago, not many people -certainly not in America-were learning Daf Yomi. However, I recall that when I was a child, my father Rabbi Avrohom Zelig Krohn, would listen to the radio every Motza’ei Shabbos, tuning in to the stalwart Rav Pinchas Tzitz, who would “learn a blatt Gemara,” hoping to inspire people in their learning of Shas. Through the efforts of Agudas Yisrael, headed by Rabbi Moshe Sherer, a major Sium HaShas event, the eight cycle of Daf Yomi, was celebrated at the Felt Forum in 1982, attended by 5,000 people. In April 1990, at he ninth Siyum HaShas, 20,000 filled Madison Square Garden. At the end of each forthcoming cycle, the numbers grew, as siyumim were held throughout the country and throughout the world. Seven and a half years later, in 1997, there were so many participants that the siyum had to be held at two different venues. Tens of thousands around the world were learning Daf Yomi, helped immeasurably by Artscroll’s great work of the Schottenstien Talmud. Daf Yomi learning grew to the point that there were more than 90,000 participants at the twelfth Siyum HaShas at MetLife Stadium in 2012.
Today the Jewish world is being embraced by the Emunah movement. Aside from Rabbi Arush’s work, a young Sephardic talmid chacham, Rabbi David Ashear, authored Living Emunah (ArtScroll) that captivated tens of thousands of Jews seeking to connect to H. Rabbi Ashear has now written two more volumes of Living Emunah and produces a daily recording on emunah that is emailed from Yeshivas Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway; it is heard by close to 30,000 people every day.”
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Often when a person is faced with a dilemma of what to do whether it be a medical question, regarding a shidduch, about one’s children, or plain and pashut, what should I do in life, who does one turn to? Often a person feels alone in the world, or perhaps can even begin to cry because he or she feels lonely despite family or friends. If someone has a close relationship with a Rebbe, a Rav, a Rebbetzin or a Chaplain or someone he/she feels close to, it can be of help. It is not uncommon to feel alone at one time or another but not lonely. When a person has had a close relationship with a loved one, especially in a marital relationship, that emptiness of missing a loved one can be present. As time goes on, the emptiness tends to dissipate and the feelings of being alone as well. The above is often found where an adult child who was the caregiver of a parent who died and is now living alone without his or her parent to care for. It is possible for a person to have prolonged grief and or feelings of sadness for an extended period of time. It is not embarrassing to seek the help of a mental health professional or a grief and bereavement counselor. It is definitely recommended to do so where unhappiness continues to have an impact on one’s quality of life. We are mispallel for simchas hachaim but for some it might take a little more than time. We do not know why things happen but with our emunah and betachon we will l better comprehend the importance of what H does which ultimately benefit our lives.
We are not alone. We are always in the presence of H 24/7. Our emunah, our faith and our hope will continue forever and ever. We just have to uncover and not discover that which is in our hearts. We must never give up.
May we be zoche to find goodness, kindness, simchas hachaim for ourselves and for Klal Yisrael and may we never feel alone.
Sincerely, Rabbi Yehuda Blank