PARSHAS TAZRIA-METZORA 5777

“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh
Parshas Tazria-Metzora (17th day of Omer)
2 Iyar 5777/ April 28,
2017 – Avos Perek 2
I feel blessed and privileged to have
many wonderful rabbeim and mentors who have had a strong impact upon my life. I
have learned from them not only how to learn Torah, but also how to live my
life within the guidelines and blessed confines of a Torah lifestyle.
One
of those rabbeim was my eleventh grade rebbe, Rabbi Aryeh Feuer. His
meticulously designed shiurim, his ability to get lost in thought when asked a
question, and the way he explained deep ideas, had a profound influence upon
me.
Over
the years, I have maintained a relationship with Rabbi Feuer. He was present at
our chasuna in Lakewood, and was at the brisim of our sons.
Rabbi
Feuer is a talmid of Yeshiva Chaim Berlin, and has a very close relationship
with the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Aharon Schechter shlita. Throughout eleventh grade,
whenever Rabbi Feuer quoted “my rebbe” it was understood that he was
referring to Rav Aharon.
This
week, I attended the chasuna of Rabbi Feuer’s daughter. Rav Aharon, who requires
a wheelchair for mobility, was there. Despite his apparent weakness, his smile
was as radiant as ever.
For
me the highlight of the night was watching my rebbe dancing with his rebbe. Rav
Aharon was mostly being supported by Rabbi Feuer, as he held his hands with
noticeable joy and a smile upon his face. Rabbi Feuer’s eyes were tightly
closed, during what was obviously a deeply emotional moment. It gave me an
interesting feeling of connection – a personal link to prior greatness.
In March 2013,
the New York Times published an article entitled “The Stories That Bind Us”.
The article seeks to understand the
age-old question of what holds families together? “What are the
ingredients that make some families united, strong, resilient, and happy, while
others are in disarray, fractured, broken, and fragile? Why are some families
functional and others utterly dysfunctional?”
The article quotes the research of Dr. Marshall
Duke, a psychologist at Emory University, who concluded that those who know a
lot about their families do better when facing challenges. Children have the
most self-confidence and resilience when they have a strong “intergenerational
self.” They know they belong to something bigger than themselves. 
Dr. Duke therefore recommends that parents
pursue opportunities to convey a sense of history to their children.
Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, Rabbi of Boca Raton
Synagogue, writes: “When I saw this
article and read about Duke’s research, all I could think of is the Pesach
Seder and the wisdom our sacred tradition. This new research simply
affirms what we knew and have practiced for millennia. When we sit at the
Seder and tell the story of our people, our children feel part of something
larger than themselves. When they hear our personal stories of ups and downs,
bitterness and sweetness, they feel part of something larger and greater than
themselves. They don’t see their own circumstance in a vacuum or feel the
need to face their challenges alone. When they see themselves as part of
our collective history and our family’s personal narrative, they are
encouraged, strengthened and uplifted.”
I would venture to add that, as Torah Jews, we actually have
two senses of tradition that we connect with. Our initial connection is with
our physical, nuclear family – our biological roots. That is what we celebrate
and revitalize on Pesach. The korbon pesach had to be eaten with a pre-arranged
chaburah (group), which consisted primarily of one’s family. Redemption and
hope for the future can only occur when we are able to create and foster strong
families.
But we also have another component of connection, and that is
the tradition of Torah transmission, from rebbe to student.
For those raised in Torah observant homes, there is an
obvious overlap between these two senses of tradition and connection with the
past. One’s parents are an obvious vital link to one’s spiritual past. But
being part of the transmission of Torah traverses our biological families. Our
rabbeim and Torah teachers ensure that we are a link on the continuing chain or
Torah transmission.
My older brother, R’ Yitzie, is a student or Rav Henoch
Leibowitz zt’l. Like all of Rav Leibowitz’s talmidim, he is proud to recount how
he is part of the tenth generation of Torah transmission (rebbe-student) from
the great Vilna Gaon. Such knowledge infuses a person with an equal sense of
pride and responsibility.
Like Pesach, the Yom Tov of Shavuos, also celebrates and
revives our personal story. However, while Pesach reconnects us to our physical
past, Shavuos reconnects us with the story of our spiritual past.
Father to son represents one unbroken chain, while Rebbe to
student represents an equally unbroken chain. The intertwining and confluence
of those two chains is what has maintained our eternal nationhood, the Torah
people, from Sinai until the end of time.
It’s a story that transcends all time and place, a story we
must never forget.
Shabbat
Shalom & Good Shabbos

            R’ Dani and Chani Staum        

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