“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Re’eh
24 Menachem Av 5786/ August 7, 2026
Mevorchim Chodesh Elul – Avos perek 6
GIFT OF PERSPECTIVE
“The task of a rabbi is to provide perspective and vision, to be the great communicator, to take his congregants and connect them to Sinai and that they feel proud to be Jews.”
-Rabbi Berel Wein
This week, 22 Av, marked the first yahrtzeit of my rebbe, Rabbi Berel Wein zt”l. To say that he made a significant impression upon me and my outlook on life is an understatement. His messages and lessons continue to resonate within me. I hear his voice in my ears constantly, and I find myself quoting him numerous times daily.
If I had to sum up his message in one word, I would say that he imparted to his students a sense of perspective. He taught us how to view life and its vicissitudes through the prism of Torah. He would remind us that the message of the Torah and of the prophets are contemporary and that they are speaking to us in our time.
He would relate that a Jew has to be sophisticated. Other than a yeshiva bochur’s mode of dress, nothing in life is black and white. Therefore, one must be able to think for himself and understand the “fifth section of the Shulchan Aruch.” (There are only 4 sections of the Shulchan Aruch. This witty quip about the fifth section refers to one’s own intuition and understanding.) He would lament those who “just don’t get it”, referring to those satisfied with a superficial view of the world.
He constantly related stories about his rebbeim and his encounters with Gedolei Yisroel. In fact, his final book, published posthumously, contained his personal recollections of his rebbeim and other great Torah leaders.
One of the stories he was fond of relating was from when he was a student and his rebbe, Rav Mendel Kaplan, walked into the classroom on the first day of the school year. The unbridgeable spiritual divide between rebbe and students was immediately apparent. The European Rav Mendel barely spoke English and was cometary unfamiliar with the mentality of American kids. But the next day Rav Mendel walked into shiur carrying a Chicago Tribune tucked under his arm. He announced to the class with his deep European accent, “Boys, today you are going to teach me English, and I am going to teach you how to read the newspaper like a mussar Sefer.” Rabbi Wein shared that in that moment Rav Mendel “had them” and became a rebbe for life. Each day, the class read the articles and taught Rav Mendel what the words meant, and then Rav Mendel would share the Torah perspective of how to view the news stories they read.
Rabbi Wein related that on one occasion he and his wife went to purchase a toy for a grandchild celebrating his birthday. They spent a considerable amount of time picking out a toy they felt was educational, economical and age appropriate. When they presented the gift to the child however, they were surprised that he barely gave the toy half a glance. The grandchild then spent the next hour playing with the box.
Rabbi Wein would ruefully share that that’s our story as well. So often we are too busy playing with the box. We get distracted by externalities and trappings and never give proper attention to what’s truly important.
I want to share two of the many pieces of advice Rabbi Wein shared with me.
A shul Rabbi must constantly contend with challenges, often internally. When I asked Rabbi Wein his advice on how I should deal with such situations, he invariably suggested that, as much as possible, I not reply.
He was emphatic that I had to realize that it was not personal. When I countered that it sure felt personal, he quipped that it was not about me. There’s always a personal agenda or motive behind every negative encounter.
I was amazed by what he told me because it was clear to me that he was speaking from personal experience. When Rabbi Wein first founded Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Monsey, there was an individual in the Monsey community who was very bothered with the new yeshiva. He sent letters to much of the Jewish community in Monsey maligning Rabbi Wein and the new yeshiva. Rabbi Wein had opened the yeshiva with the advice and blessing of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenesky. But all that didn’t matter to this individual who felt he was acting as the agent of G-d. I cannot imagine how painful that ordeal was for Rabbi Wein.
Yet Rabbi Wein never responded in any way. When I referenced that painful story to Rabbi Wein, he noted that when it happened, he recognized that it wasn’t about him. As shaming and egregious as it was, Rabbi Wein understood that it was more about the perpetrator’s ego and desire to feel religiously motivated, and he (Rabbi Wein) was merely the recipient of the man’s misguided zealotry.
On another occasion, Rabbi Wein suggested that I create a website to have a central place for my writings and lectures. He cited the pasuk in Koheles (11:1), “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it.” In other words, I should seek to spread my teachings and writings to as wide of an audience as possible because one can never know how far reaching they will be and who may be influenced by them down the line.
In that advice too I felt he was speaking from personal experiences. Over his illustrious life teaching Torah, Rabbi Wein used every means possible to teach Torah and to inspire others. His Jewish history lectures were the first cassette tape series, from which hundreds more followed. He was an author of many books and seforim and was a weekly columnist on the Parsha and all topics in various newspapers. He produced videos on the lives of Rashi, Rambam and the Abarbanel to reach and inspire people who have little connection or appreciation for their heritage. He produced Jewish history videos, created a Jewish History crash course (though he cautioned that crash courses often crash…), and created a Jewish history curriculum for schools. He published cartoon books of his Rashi and Rambam videos and of stories of Chassidic leaders. This was before the proliferation of Jewish cartoon books that are available today. He was from the first to create a website, produce mp3s and was always up to date with technological production.
He left behind thousands of hours of recorded lectures, both video and audio, dozens of books, and a plethora of multimedia resources. He truly cast his bread upon the waters, and tens of thousands throughout the world continue to benefit from them.
Rabbi Wein was a master orator. He knew how to utilize a story and humor, often self-deprecating, to enhance his point. Listening to him speak for an hour often felt like it was just a few minutes. He was unabashed to say what he felt was the truth. He urged us to accept life on life’s terms and to deal with the reality that is. In other words, stop trying to be smarter than G-d. There is a reason and a rhyme for all that occurs and our responsibility and mission is to fulfill our role to the best we can.
He taught us to always have a sense of mission and responsibility to the Jewish people, to the Torah, and to our families. He had an incredible sense of balance and would caution against extremism. He would often quote the pasuk, “its (the Torahs) ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its pathways are peaceful”. That verse must always be the barometer against which we measure our actions.
May his memory be for a blessing.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
STRIVINGHIGHER.COM