Finders – Seekers
If we seek, we will find, and then "true wisdom will radiate to you and you will be able to draw close to God even from there."
If we seek, we will find, and then “true wisdom will radiate to you and you will be able to draw close to God even from there.”
“Even if you find yourself in a place of darkness where you might think it hard to draw close to God, true wisdom will radiate to you and you will be able to draw close to God even from there” (Rebbe Nachman).
Rabbi Yitzchak Zilber, known as the “father of the Russian baal teshuva movement” became an accomplished Torah scholar while living (if it could be called that…) in the former Soviet Union. With tremendous self-sacrifice, he took advantage of every moment to learn and grow closer to the Almighty.
While incarcerated in a Siberian labor camp, Rabbi Zilber’s job was to provide his fellow inmates with water from the nearby river. This involved carrying buckets of water back and forth from the river to the camp for over 16 hours a day. Instead of walking to the river and back again, Rabbi Zilber ran! That way, he could accomplish one hour’s work in 45 minutes – and have 15 minutes left for Torah study. He managed to bring his two precious seforim (Jewish books) to a hiding place near the river, and, in those sixteen fifteen-minute intervals, he succeeded studying them in depth.
Rabbi Zilber later commented that because his mind was clear after having exercised for 45 minutes in the fresh air, he was better able to understand and retain the material he was studying.
A fiery furnace either refines or destroys precious metals. A person’s best (and worst) traits are brought to the fore during times of challenge. There are countless stories of courage and heroism that took place during the “fiery furnace” of the Holocaust – as well as innumerable stories of cruelty and inhumanity.
In any situation, we can choose to focus on either the heroism or on the inhumanity. The focus depends on what we are seeking. If we are looking to be heroic, to grow from challenges, we will find heroism. If we are looking for an excuse to behave inappropriately, we will find inappropriate behavior.
After the war, one of the survivors told a rabbi that he had stopped believing in God because of the incredible cruelty and inhumanity that he had witnessed in the Camps. “One man,” he said, “owned a pair of Tefillin. He charged his fellow inmates half a slice of bread for the privilege of donning them. Every morning, there would be a long line of men waiting for the opportunity to hand over their rations so that they could mumble a few words of prayer while wearing the Tefillin. What cruelty! If God could allow such cruelty, then it is proof that God does not exist (chas v’shalom).”
The Rabbi retorted, “Dummy! Why are looking at the man who took the bread? Look instead at the courage and dedication of the people who were willing to give up their bread for the opportunity of donning those Tefillin!”
It is beyond our ability to fathom the challenges that were faced by the generation of the Holocaust. Many survived physically, but their faith was destroyed, while others developed into spiritual giants.
Rebbe Nachman said, “Even if you find yourself in a place of darkness where you might think it hard to draw close to God…” If we are looking for God, then there will be times that we will “think it hard to draw close to God.” But we just realize that it is difficult, we have not given up! Our focus remains on “finding God,” rather than searching for inhumanity and cruelty.
We can “find God” everywhere – in a Siberian labor camp, in a concentration camp, and, amazingly enough, even in the materialistic world of Wall Street! But our focus must be on finding the Godliness that exists in everything, rather than of looking for the cruelty and inhumanity that can always be found, side by side, with the Godliness.
If we seek, we will find, and then “true wisdom will radiate to you and you will be able to draw close to God even from there.”
May Hashem give us the strength to constantly search for Him, and to be able to see the Godliness that exists within our present situation. Amen
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