High Aspirations

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

Rav Tzadok HaKohen wrote in his sefer, Tzidkat Hatzadik, just like a person has to have emunah in Hashem, he also has to have emunah in himself. Hashem gave every single one of us a נשמה טהורה , a pure soul, a piece of Himself that is eternal, and thus we have endless potential. The Chafetz Chaim once said about himself, he wanted to change the world for the better, but was unsuccessful. Then he tried to change his city, but again was unsuccessful. Then he tried to change his town, but once again was unsuccessful. Then he said he's just going to try to change himself, and with that he was successful. Eventually he changed the entire world. Every single Jew has improved due to the seforim of the Chafetz Chaim, including Mishnah Berura, Shemirat Halashon, Ahavat Chesed, and the list goes on. It is not only the Chafetz Chaim who has this ability. Every single person can affect the world, but he first has to work on himself. The Abudarham writes, if a person was successful in making teshuvah during the yamim noraim, Hashem considers it as if he is starting anew in the world. At this time, after Yom Kippur, we should all feel like a new creation, getting a clean slate. The Seder HaYom writes, the minhag is to say Birkat HaLevana after Yom Kippur, because it is then that we are similar to angels and are worthy of greeting the Shekhinah. Every person can become so great, and now especially when we are so pure, it is easier to bring out the greatness inside of us. We were all created for such lofty missions. There is so much more to life than just seeing how much money a person could amass. We have to aspire to be people with values, rising above the norm, to do what is right in the eyes of Hashem. Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman told a story which, besides being miraculous, shows the purity of a Jewish neshama. The rabbi said, two years ago, a man handed him a bag of thirty thousand dollars in cash, saying it was a donation to his yeshiva. The rabbi at that time was about to go to a wedding and didn't want to keep the money lying around, so he called the yeshiva's administrator and asked him if he could take it to the safe in the yeshiva. The administrator was at that same wedding. He came to pick up the bag and drove to the yeshiva. Then he felt that he didn't spend enough time at the wedding, so he went back and left the money in the car. When he walked back into the lobby, a man who was very close to the Ribnitzer Rebbe approached him and said he needed help. He explained that he had a special kiddush cup that belonged to the Ribnitzer that he had to give to someone as collateral, and if he didn't pay back thirty thousand dollars cash that night, he would lose the cup forever. The administrator was floored that he came to him asking him for that money. There was no way that he could have known that he had that exact amount on him. The man said he had just gone to the Ribnitzer's kever in Monsey and prayed for aw salvation. He felt after his tefilla, he should go to this wedding and look for someone there. While the Ribnitzer was alive, he was known to help people with miracles. On one occasion, a woman brought him her blind son for a beracha, and the rabbi said, "He sees." Miraculously, the blind boy began seeing. People who were medically unable to have children got a beracha from the Rebbe and miraculously had children. Anyway, the administrator asked Rabbi Wachsman what to do. They verified that the cup was indeed worth thirty thousand dollars, and so they made a contract with this man stating if he didn't pay back the money in a month, he would give the cup to the yeshiva. A month went by and he was unable to pay. They gave him another month and another month, but then he had to give up the cup. The cup has been in the yeshiva safe since. A few months ago, Rabbi Wachsman was at the home of a very wealthy man in another city, and the man was showing the rabbi his collection of various articles from different rebbes. The rabbi mentioned the kidush cup that he had from the Ribnitzer. The man said he would love to see it. The rabbi told him they were looking to give it to someone who would donate a large amount of money to their yeshiva. Last week, this man came to Monsey to go to the Ribnitzer's kever, and while he was there, he stopped by Rabbi Wachsman's house. While he was there, he asked to see the cup. When the rabbi got the cup, the man's eyes were popping out. Someone who is the collector of these things has a special love for them, especially when he sees something of this caliber. Then he told Rabbi Wachsman something amazing. He said he wanted to donate many times over the value of this cup to the yeshiva, and then he wanted the cup to go to the man who lost it, because he couldn't pay back his debt. The rabbi couldn't believe this man's care for another Jew, someone he didn't even know. Look at the purity of a Jewish neshama. We can all become so great. Let us start the new year off with high aspirations.