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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 10, 2025, 14, Tamuz 5785**
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PLEASE BE MISPALLEL FOR MY DEAR CHASHUVA MECHUTAN
NASSON BAUMANN FOR A REFUAH SHELEIMA
Nasson ben Raitz
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Epilogue: The concluding story of the “lost bag”

Where is G? Where is He and what is Kedusha

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In my recent article I mentioned that I might have lost a small black bag that had important contents but that I was neither anxious nor upset. What was I to do other than make inquiries about where I might have forgotten or lost the bag etc. Getting upset would not help getting the bag back or solve anything. Of course, davening to H would be a great idea. I didn’t give up having hope. So nu, what happened since then? Well, I received a call from the host where I stayed while I was out of town to tell me he found my bag. Ok so where did he find my bag? Well, here goes, the bag was in a space that is between the driver and the front passenger where a can of drink and other items are kept. There might have been something covering the bag. When I left the car to go to the train station I forgot about that bag, that is until the next day when I was already home. A happy ending to the missing bag. The moral of the story, keep one’s cool! The items could have been replaced. Prescription sunglasses, a portable phone charger and some other items. Collectively it would have been expensive to replace any or all of those items. Again, what would I have done if the bag would truly have been lost, or if I already replaced each item? Call it a kapara, it was meant to be. Of course, we all have feelings about various things in life but being overly upset, blaming oneself or what am I going to do without those items would not bring the bag back. The moral of this story is, Keep Cool !

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Do you really know where G is? Do you really know where Kedusha is?  Do you really know what Kedusha is? We often go through life with our daily activities not thinking about where G is or that we are in His presence. Often that awareness does happen when a person is going through a challenging time and is seeking G’s help and His Blessings. For many, the question is where is G? Where is G when I needs Him most?  If a person has emunah, faith and betachon, trust in H,.” then why have such a question as to where is H especially when the person needs Him the most. A simple answer could be “but I’m only human.” That is true but all of us have to try to remember where G is and that we are in His presence always not just when we need His help. That is where chizuk, encouragement, sincerity comes in by the rabbi, the rebbetzin or the chaplain. However, if a person does not have that ongoing relationship of being able to reach out to H they should be encouraged to be mispallel to make their relationship stronger to H and develop a meaningful and strong connection.

From: Food for Thought- BAFUFSTIKS by Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger. YatedNe’eman, July 4, 2025, Page 46 “It was just past sunset in Yerushalayim and a soft orange light still clung to the stones of the Old City.

In his bais medrash, where hearts were opened and questions were never feared, sat Rav Noach Weinberg zt”l the revered rosh yeshiva of Aish Hatorah, the man who greeted every doubt not as a threat, but as an invitation. He had heard them all before-every accusation, every “gotcha” from bright-eyed, spiritually hungry tourists who came searching for truth..or at least for a good debate.

That night, a tourist walked in. He looked unmistakably American, but not in the freshly- pressed bochur way. His hat was…interesting, his hair gathered in a sort of philosophical mess, and his hat was an interestingly mess, and he had the unmistakable air of someone who read too many books and trusted very few of them.

Before anyone had a chance to ask, he made a beeline for Rav Noach.

“Are you the rosh yeshiva here?” he asked, his accent crisp, his tone bold.

Rav Noach nodded warmly. “Yes, welcome.”

“Rabbi, be honest with me,” Are we really standing in the Holy Land?”

“Absolutely,” said Rav Noach. “This is the Holy City, in the Holy Land. The entire land you stand on is Eretz Hakodesh, a land constantly watched over by H.”

The tourist raised an eyebrow.

“See, that’s the thing,” been here for over two weeks. I’ve been to Yam Hamelech, to Ein Gedi, to the mountains of Yehudah and Shomron, the depths of the Negev and the peaks of the Galil. I went to Tiveriah and I stood at Rosh Hanikrah. I’ve seen a lot. But I haven’t seen a single shred of holiness. Not in the north, not in the south. To me, it just feels like another country. So tell me, rabbi, where’s the holiness of the Holy Land?”

Rav Noach didn’t flinch. He leaned forward with a curious smile and asked a question.

“Tell me, during your touring, did you see any Bafufstiks?”

The tourist blinked. “Excuse me?”

“The Bafufstiks,” Rav Noach repeated with a straight face. “Surely you came across them. You’ve been everywhere, haven’t you?”

“I, uh…”the man stammered. “What exactly is a Bafufstik?”

Now Rav Noach raised his eyebrows, mock disbelief painted across his face.

“You mean to tell me that you’ve been all over Eretz Yisroel, to nearly every region and city, and you didn’t see the Bafufstiks? Not even a single Bafufstik?”

Now Rav Noach raised his eyebrows, mock disbelief painted across his face. “You mean to tell me that you’ve been all over Eretz Yisroel, to nearly every region and city, and you didn’t see the Bafufstiks? Not even a single Bafufstik?
“I-I didn’t say I didn’t see it,” the man said, clearly flustered. “I just…I don’t know what a Bafufstik  is. Maybe I saw it. I just don’t know what a Bafufstiky is. Maybe I saw it. I just don’t know what.”

Rav Noach let the moment sit”

And then he smiled.

“You see,” he said gently. Gently, “you admit you may have seen a Bafufstik, but didn’t recognize it because you don’t know what it is. Yet you’re so sure that you didn’t find Kedusha here. But tell me, do you even know what  kedusha is? Are you equipped to recognize it when you see it? Can you even describe to me what this kedusha is that you say you searched for and didn’t find?”

The tourist stood there, his face slowly paling, the bold confidence fading as the question hung in the air like a challenge from Heaven itself.

Because Rav Noach had said nothing more than about the truth.

Before we dismiss the kedusha, the miracles, or any element in a moment, person, or place, we must ask ourselves: Do we even know what we are looking for? Or are we like the tourists, wandering among holiness and miracles and asking where they are?

If you don’t know what you are looking for…how would you ever know if you’ve already found it.” 

Often we don’t recognize the kindness, the goodness and the diamonds that are right in front of us due to the clouds of uncertainty or even a lack of positivity. As rabbis, rebbetzins and chaplains we are to be supportive and convey our encouragement to those who we minister to that they are not alone. G is always there for them and we can hold their hands up just as with Moshe Rabbeinu whose arms were held up high to H and supported by Aharon Hakohen and Yehoshua during their battle with Amaleik after having left Mitzrayim.

May we be zoche to be the inspiration for those we minister to and for Klal Yisrael. May we be the ambassadors of good will, making a Kiddush H throughout the year.

Sincerely, Rabbi Yehuda Blank