“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Ki Sisa/Parah
21 Adar 5781/March 5, 2021
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לרפואה שלימה נטע יצחק בן רחל
IN YOUR DREAMS
The
Wednesday morning before Purim, when I woke up, I told my wife that I had a
most fascinating dream. I should preface by saying that I hardly remember my
dreams and when I do, I am always annoyed with them because they are scary and
nonsensical. That made this dream all the better.
I
dreamed that I had gotten the Covid vaccine. The intriguing part was that I
knew I was dreaming. In my dream I thought to myself that if I got the Covid
vaccine in my sleep, what can I tell people? And in my dream, I thought to
myself that I could tell people that I can now go to sleep without a mask!
When I
woke up, aside for my arm hurting a bit, I was impressed with my subconscious
humor. Even in my dream I was in a Purim mindset.
There is
a dream many are unfamiliar with that was significant in the unfolding of the
Purim story.
The
Medrash relates that in the second year of the reign of King Achashveirosh,
before the events of the Megillah even began, Mordechai hatzaddik had a dream.
In his dream, there was a tremendous upheaval, and screams. Then two massive
sea monsters began to skirmish, as the whole world looked on in terror. In
between the two sea monsters was a small nation, which all the other nations
wanted to swallow up. The nations would act towards that small nation with
great cruelty, and the members of that small nation cried out and davened to
Hashem with all their heart and soul.
Meanwhile the two sea monsters continued to fight, and no
one could intervene. Suddenly, a small stream appeared, trickling in between the
two sea monsters, separating them from each other. Within a short time, the
trickle became a raging river that kept widening until it swept away the entire
land. The sun then shone in the sky and the small nation became glorified and
elevated, as peace reigned upon the land.
Mordechai
recounted the dream to Esther, but not to anyone else. When Haman was promoted
to prime minister a decade later, and passed his evil decree against the Jews,
Mordechai sent a message to Esther that this must be the fulfillment of his
dream. It was then that he instructed her to go before Achashveirosh unlawfully
and she instructed the Jewish people to fast for three days.
The
commentaries explain that the sea monsters symbolized Mordechai and Haman and
the small, persecuted nation were the Jews. The little steam that became a
raging river symbolizes Torah or teshuva. It was that spiritual resurgence
which began with a small step in the right direction that swept Haman away and
obliterated all our enemies.
All
great accomplishments begin with a dream which is followed with the first small
step in the right direction. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step.” It takes tremendous effort to initiate, but once one gets the
ball rolling, the small trickle can become a raging river.
All
great people, projects organizations and institutions start with humble
beginnings.
This
week, I went to pick up our Chasdei Lev order. For those unaware, Chasdei Lev
is an organization founded to show appreciation to Rebbes, Morahs and those
involved in the education of our children. On the organization’s website it
explains: “We achieve this goal by partnering with yeshivos, manufacturers,
and distributors to provide rabbeim with food and household
necessities for yom tov in a dignified and respectful manner.
We
strive to ensure that the Rebbeim of our communities are able to go into Yom
Tov with peace of mind. Yom Tov on any budget is expensive, for Rebbeim with
large families and on a typical Rebbe’s salary – it can be daunting. Chasdei
Lev’s goal is to help alleviate that strain.”
The most
beautiful part of all is the next line which states: “35k family members
assisted, 1k volunteers, 0 paid members.” Zero paid members! Whoever heard of
such a thing?
I should
add that when I went to pick up my order it was raining. Yet, the volunteers,
which included many local young men, were working diligently and excitedly to
load each car up as quickly as possible.
My dear
friend, Yossi Weimer, who volunteers for Chasdei Lev, informed me that he was
up the entire previous night and through the day helping set up. He was not the
only one.
At each
station, after loading the car, the volunteers thanked us! When the entire
order was loaded, before pulling out each educator received a free gift, another
thank you, and wishes for a beautiful Yom Tov.
Having
received Chasdei Lev for the last few years, I have to step back and remind
myself just how incredible the organization is and what the volumes it speaks
about our community.
When the
pandemic hit, there was much discussion about essential workers. In our
communities one of our primary focuses was to ensure our children’s education
would continue as quickly and efficiently as possible. Tremendous effort was
expended to train teachers and set up Zoom, Google Classroom, and phone
meetings. We made sure to get our yeshivos back open as soon as it was safe to
do so. That tells you about what we value and prioritize.
When the
larger community rallies to be part of an organization which shows appreciation
and hails educators as true heroes, it strengthens our resolve to dedicate
ourselves to our children’s chinuch above all else.
In an
inane society which prioritizes making Mr. Potato Head gender neutral and is
banning classic Dr. Seuss books because they are now deemed offensive, we continue
to prioritize building the future.
Our
dream is to strengthen the next generation of those who bear our immutable
Torah values. We do so by seeking to inoculate our children from the heretical
ideas around us.
We
celebrate the fruition of the dream of Mordechai each year on Purim. The dream
which began as a trickle but is now an unstoppable force.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum