“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Shoftim
Rosh Chodesh Elul
1 Elul 5783/August 18, 2023
VALUED RECOGNITION
One of the WhatsApp chats I am subscribed to is the daily Torah thoughts
of Israeli journalist Sivan Rahav-Meir. In her bio, aside from being well known
in Israeli media as a reporter, Mrs. Rahav-Meir proudly touts the fact that she
is a ba’alas teshuva. She is becoming increasingly popular for her
inspirational lessons and perspectives through her lectures and books.
One morning this week she disseminated the following profound thought:
“Have you ever
thought about the hobby of the guy who cleans your street? Or his dreams? The
city of Akko, as reported by journalist Yair Kraus, has put up new signs which
make its sanitation workers into stars. And so, we discover Sammy’s love for
his grandchildren and for swimming, and learn that Victor goes fishing at least
once a week. “Behind every clean neighborhood, there is a story” is the
motto of this delightful campaign.”
It reminded me of a story I read about students in a graduate program who
were about to take their final exam.
Until that point the exams had been challenging but manageable and
students were anticipating the same for the final. Pay attention in class,
study your notes and you should be fine. When they saw the final question on
the final however, their eyes widened in surprise: “What is the name of
the custodian who cleans the school building every day?” The question was
worth 25% of the final grade.
The students were stunned. How could they be expected to know the name of
the school janitor? When was that ever discussed in class? When the students
questioned the professor if the question was really worth a quarter of their
grade, he replied that it was indeed.
He explained that in life one encounters many people, some daily, but
hardly stops to notice or pay attention to them. He told his students they if
wanted to achieve effective leadership positions, they had to train themselves
to recognize and value the contribution of every person they encounter. How
could they not know the name of the custodian who cleaned their building every
day? How could they not occasionally thank him and wish him a personal good
day?
In January 2020 at the dinner of Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway,
the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yaakov Bender, made a surprise award presentation to
Mr. Everett Fortune, the Yeshiva’s veteran chief of security.
Mr. Fortune, a non-Jew, had been the yeshiva’s security guard for 30
years and earned the trust and friendship of the Yeshiva’s students, staff, and
parent body. Visibly surprised and moved, Mr. Fortune was at a loss for words.
He thanked the Rosh Yeshiva and the Yeshiva for being so special to him.
During my days in Yeshiva Shaarei Torah, the yeshiva cook, Chris, was
very appreciated among the Rebbeim and bochurim. Aside from the fact that he
knew halachos of kashrus better than most of the bochurim, the culture of the
yeshiva was to value and appreciate its workers. It trickled down to the
students because that is how they saw the Rosh Yeshiva and Rebbeim interact
with him and the other workers.
Aside from the extremely important aspect of creating kiddush Hashem,
noticing and valuing others helps make us better people.
Mrs. Rahav-Meir continued, “This week’s Torah portion lodges a protest
against the idea of “invisible” people. A situation is described in
which the body of a murder victim is discovered without any clue as to the
circumstances of his death. In such a case, the leaders of the nearest town
break the neck of a calf (the egla arufa ceremony) where the corpse was
found. Why? The animal’s sacrifice is meant to atone for the negligence of the
townspeople in not providing the victim with hospitality, in not being concerned
for his welfare. This is public negligence of the worst kind.
“Our commentators explain that such a tragic end is preventable. They cry
out to us to pay closer attention to those around us, to find out who they
really are and the story behind them. So, what’s the name of your street
cleaner?”
One of the common traits I noticed about the great people I have had the
good fortune to know is that they don’t take things or people for granted. In
addition, they value others and see them for who they are, not merely for what
they do.
As the month of Elul begins it’s a perfect time to be more mindful of
those around us, especially those whom we take for granted. We can lift
someone’s spirits and brighten his day just by noticing and valuing him,
particularly when we are the beneficiaries of his contribution.
Chodesh Tov
& Good Chodesh
Shabbat Shalom
& Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani
and Chani Staum