The Sifri (Parsha 32) comments, Ahaveihu al ha’brios k’Avraham… “Make Him beloved by people as Avraham Avinu did.” Our Patriarch was not satisfied merely with his relationship with Hashem. He wanted everyone in the world to have such a relationship with the Almighty. He taught the world about its Creator because he wanted them to love Hashem and observe His precepts. This idea of reaching out to others, bringing them closer to Hashem is echoed by Rambam (Sefer Hamitzvos 3 and Sefer HaChinuch 418). A Jew who loves Hashem cannot remain at ease while others are distant from Him. His heart, aflame with the fire of emunah and love, longs not only for personal transcendence, but for others to also bask in the shelter of Hashem’s protective wings. The joy in mitzvah performance, awe of the sanctity of Shabbos, and the closeness and emotion felt and expressed during tefillah are all too powerful to keep within oneself. One’s ahavas Hashem should be the catalyst and bedrock of his ahavas Yisrael. How can I not want my brother to feel as I do?
Horav Moshe Shternbuch, Shlita, posits that, in order to fulfill the mitzvah of kiruv rechokim, outreach, one need not travel to far-off places off the beaten path, or even within his city – but to a different cultural milieu. Indeed, each and every one of us can carry out the mitzvah by just acting and dressing the part of a ben Torah. Attending minyan on time, actually davening – not walking around shmuessing; dressing as a ben Torah who studies Torah all day. People will notice his presence and will consequently have a positive attitude towards Torah. When a person acts in such a manner, it causes people to speak positively, “I would like my son to act in such a manner! Torah obviously refines a person – after all – look at so and so. He is a Torah product.” These are positive comments. Sadly, there are those who look for anything negative they can find. Their comments are hurtful to all of us. In most situations, it is the circumstances. A situation as viewed by an observer with a jaundiced outlook on everything and everyone that has the misfortune of crossing his path. Nonetheless, it does not justify one to allow his actions, behavior, mode of dress to be misinterpreted by someone seeking to assuage his personal insecurity issues. When we act appropriately and learn as we are supposed to, we cause Hashem’s Name to be glorified and loved.
Rav Shternbuch quotes his venerable Rebbe, Horav Moshe Schneider, zl (Rosh Yeshivas Toras Emes, London), who commented concerning those chosheveh, distinguished, bnei Torah, who, after years of learning in kollel (al haTorah v’avodah) are unable to find a suitable position in the field of chinuch. These young men are accomplished talmidei chachamim, scholars who have published, but the market is such that only a select few chosen ones make the grade. Both the kollel fellow and his growing family are understandably down as a result of his rejection. “Truthfully,” the Rosh Yeshiva said, “this is a mistake. One should not be upset, because every kollel fellow who is studying diligently in beis ha’medrash and shteiging, growing greater and greater, is in effect a rosh yeshivah. Even though he does not have the position in name and paycheck, he remains their rebbe. He is their moreh derech, because, by his endeavor, he is modeling how a Jew is to live and learn.”
While this will not put food on the table or grant him the title and position he sought, in Hashem’s Olam Ha’Emes, he is a rosh yeshivah who has taught the countless students that watched him grow in Torah. That is where it really counts.
