Inspire Others!

“You are all standing this day before the Lord, your God”. (Devarim 29:9)  
 

Meeting of Faith

R’ Avraham Yaakov of Sadigura, zt”l, once spent hours meeting with a simple, uneducated Jew who had lost his faith. After hours of discussion, the Jew left with his faith once again restored. 
 

One of the Rebbe’s closest Chassidim asked the Rebbe in bewilderment, “There are thousands of Jews who eagerly wait weeks for the opportunity to meet with the Rebbe for even a moment. These are scholars, righteous men, and leaders of the Jewish global community! Yet, the Rebbe spent seven precious hours with a simple, uneducated Jew!” 
 

“This is true,” the Rebbe answered, “it is more worthwhile to spend seven hours with the simplest Jew trying to infuse within him a spark of faith, even if it is only a small spark.” 
 

During the twilight of his life, the Chafetz Chaim, zt”l, stopped traveling far distances. However, when R’ Chaim Ozer, zt”l, asked him to travel from Radin to Vilna to discuss and strengthen the community’s understanding and commitment to family purity, he accepted. 
 

The Chafetz Chaim addressed the community on Friday night and Shabbat morning, and in the afternoon, he met with individuals who wanted his guidance and blessings. Among the people who came was one man whom the Chafetz Chaim spoke extensively with about emunah, faith. When he felt that his words were having an impact, he said to himself, “It was worth traveling from Radin to Vilna just to strengthen one Jew’s faith.” 
 

Helping people strengthen their faith is of the utmost importance. This is something every Jew can do. Everyone can impact the faith of those around them and spread Hashem’s glory throughout their surroundings. And this does not require grand gestures. He can to it just by accustoming himself to saying things like: “God willing”, “with Hashem’s help”, “gam zo l’tova” etc. When you utter these simple phrases, those who listen are reminded of Hashem’s presence and Divine Intervention, His hashgachah pratit.  
 

Faith is Ahavat Hashem

When you help others strengthen their emunah, you are fulfilling the unique mitzvah of Ahavat Hashem, loving Hashem. 
 

Chazal taught (Sifri Va’etchanan, 7) that the pasuk says (Devarim 6:5), “And you shall love the Lord” means that should inspire others to love Hashem just as Avraham Avinu did. As it says (Bereishit 12:5), “and the souls they had acquired in Haran…”
 

The Rambam writes in Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 3) that this mitzvah requires that you love and have faith in Hashem. And, just like when someone loves someone, they praise that person and desire that others love him as well, so too, with Ahavat Hashem. The obligation does not stop with you. But you must desire for others to know the truth and love Hashem as well.  
 

A Gift for Hashem

This is the greatest gift a Jew can give to Hashem. 
 

To illustrate this, the Seforim HaKedoshim offer an analogy of a king who rules over a vast kingdom with many provinces that stretch to the most distant lands. There is nothing any of his subjects can offer as a gift since, in essence, everything belongs to the king. However, when they offer new lands, with new people who can serve as new subjects, when they expand the king’s sovereignty, that is the greatest gift of all. 
 

Everything in this world exists and is sustained by the King of Kings, Hashem. Therefore, there is nothing we can offer that wasn’t His already! However, when a Jew helps another Jew become pure and holy, when they help heal the wounds in their soul to make them an appropriate vessel to accept Hashem’s sovereignty, this is considered truly a gift for Hashem. For, this is one of the main purposes for the creation of all the worlds: to recognize Hashem’s kingship and reign. After all, there cannot be a king without a nation.  
 

The Great Reward

Since Hashem has such an incredibly powerful nachas (gratification) from a Jew who helps others find and strengthen their faith, the reward for such work is also tremendous. As is known, the Zohar in Parshat Terumah explains that this mitzvah merits an incredible reward. Everyone who partakes in this effort fulfills what the pasuk says (Tehillim 112:2-3), “His seed will be mighty in the land, a generation of upright ones, which shall be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever”. 
 

What greater reward can there possibly be? When you help strengthen another Jew’s emunah to  thereby avoid sin, Hashem accepts your teshuva and forgives your sins. As Rabneinu Yonah wrote in Sharei Teshuva that one of the tenets of teshuva is to help others return to the best of your ability. As it says (Yechezkel 18:30), “Repent and cause others to repent of all your transgressions”… We also find that Dovid HaMelech wrote about his own teshuva (Tehillim 51:15), “I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You”. 
 

This can help us understand the deeper meaning of our pasuk that began: “You are all standing this day”… The phrase “this day” is referring to Rosh Hashanah, as the Zohar explains (Volume III, 231a). When you are “standing” on Rosh Hashanah, every Jew must make every effort to inspire and ensure that “all [of the Jews] standing this day before the Lord, your God“…You must help other Jews forge a relationship with Hashem by strengthening their faith. 
 

This is a unique time to inspire proper teshuva, and it is a fitting time for every Jew to strengthen their emunah, while inspiring of others through speaking about faith and Yiddishkeit, so that they too will return to Hashem through teshuva. Then, your own teshuva will be accepted, and you will merit to be written and sealed in the Good Book on the Day of Judgement. 

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The Kalever Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, and later learned under the Maggid of Mezeritch zt”l. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years and writes weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. Sign up at www.kaalov.org.