“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Naso
13 Sivan/ May 29, 2026
Avos perek 1
This Musings is dedicated in loving memory of Rabbi Avi Oberlander zt”l – Rabbi Avrohom Zechariah Menachem ben Tzvi Yehuda – a colleague, mentor and friend, in honor of his second yahrtzeit on 16 Sivan.
TAKING IT IN
Before our wedding, someone gave me a valuable piece of advice. He suggested that sometime in the middle of the event my Kallah and I should stop to take in what’s happening. As everyone knows, you spend so much time preparing for an event that’s over so quickly.
Indeed, after the first dance, when we had our few minutes together at the head table, we reminded each other to look around and appreciate that we were at our wedding! Almost 25 years later I’m still grateful for that brief reflection.
On Shavuos night this year I had a similar experience. In real time it may be hard to appreciate the beauty of the Shavuos all-nighter. But the concept is quite remarkable. This year our family had the pleasure of spending Shavuos with my sister and brother-in-law, Daniel and Shoshana Neuwirth, and their family in Waterbury, CT. After a beautiful Yom Tov seudah, we arrived back in shul a bit after midnight. The shul was filled and we found seats and joined the chorus of Torah learning.
I must admit that I generally don’t learn so well on Shavuos night. I was exhausted to begin with, and it was hard to maintain concentration, especially as the night wore on. There were a few occasions during the night that I had to repeat the previous two lines I had learned because I had dozed off. But every time I looked around the shul, I was inspired and energized. The room was filled with people of all ages, many who spend their days involved in the business world. Everyone was learning something else – Gemara, Mishnayos Chumash, Navi, Medrash, etc. There was a chaburah with the Rabbi on one side, while on the other side of the shul a father was learning with a group of preteens. But the common denominator was that everyone was learning Torah. Why was everyone there at 3:30 in the morning?! There’s no law that mandates remaining awake learning. I felt proud to be part of such an elite experience.
Towards the end of the Torah, the Torah refers to itself as a song: “Now, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to B’nei Yisroel, place it in their mouth…” (Devorim 31:19)
What is the message of referring to the Torah as a song?
Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt’l (Derech Aggadah) explained that if a world-renown professor or doctor arrives at a town to deliver a lecture on the intricacies of his expertise, most laymen would not attend. Why attend a lecture one will likely not understand?
However, if a symphony is performing, even those who do not appreciate the fine intricacies of music will likely attend. They may not appreciate the depth and exquisite beauty of the symphony, but they can still enjoy the music in their way. That’s the beauty of music; everyone can enjoy it.
Hashem instructed Moshe to teach Torah to B’nei Yisroel as a song which can be ‘placed in their mouths’. The Torah is not reserved for scholars. Like a melodious song which can move and inspire everyone, Torah must be taught and transmitted in a manner that touches and reaches the heart of every Jew, regardless of what level he is on.
The beauty of Torah is that it’s all encompassing. Like a song everyone can sing in his own way, the Torah resonates with each person on his level.
I want to share an additional idea regarding the song of Torah that I thought about during Shavuos.
The Nachalas Yosef is a magnificent commentary on Megillas Rus. Authored by Rabbi Yosef Lipowitz, it transforms the dry facts of Megillas Rus into a dynamic drama of transformation, endurance, dedication and sacrifice.
Rav Aharon Lopiansky masterfully translated it into English, entitled Seed of Redemption.
The Megillah relates how Naomi left the fields of Moav to return to Eretz Yisroel, accompanied by her (former) daughters-in-law, Orpah and Rus. Naomi tried to dissuade them from returning with her. Orpah ultimately kissed Naomi and then returned to Moav, while Rus clung to Naomi and insisted on remaining with her.
In Seed of Redemption, he writes:
“How could Naomi’s words have had such a different effect on each of the two daughters-in-law? It must be that each one heard something different. On the surface, it seems that Orpah “listened” to Naomi, while Rus defied her. But Chazal tell us that “Orpah turned her back (oref) to Naomi, whereas Rus saw (ra’asah, i.e. heeded) her words” (Rus Rabbah 2:9). How does the Midrash draw this conclusion?
“The answer is that Rus listened to Naomi at a much deeper level. In Naomi’s entreaties for the women to leave her, Rus heard her twice use the term “my daughters” (instead of “my daughters-in-law”). A mother, protests notwithstanding, does not abandon a child. Orpah heard the words alone, and they were clearly telling her to leave. Rus, however, heard the inner ring of those words, which was the sound of a mother holding on to her children. It was the “tune,” not the “lyrics,” which expressed Naomi’s true meaning….
“Both Orpah and Rus had in their hearts a violin that played the sweet melody of chessed. But as Naomi pressed harder and harder on the strings, Orpah’s strings snapped, and eventually they sounded the harsh blasphemies of (her descendant) Golyas. Rus’s strings, on the other hand, became finer and more responsive from the pressure applied by Naomi. Very soon, this instrument would play the music of (her descendant) Dovid Hamelech.
“Orpah and Rus both accompanied Naomi, like two planets circling a sun. But Orpah turned out to be nothing more than a meteorite, which bursts brilliantly and briefly across the heavens, and then drops to earth and scorches the place upon which it lands. Rus, however, remained forever in the heavens, embodied in Dovid…”
The Nachalas Yosef eloquently describes one of the most fundamental concepts in communication. We don’t always “hear” what the other person is saying. Many disagreements, especially in marriage, begin because of a misunderstanding or lack of understanding of the message being conveyed by the words that were said. Most arguments aren’t necessarily about the actual disagreement at hand, but about what that concept represents or means to the other person. When a spouse or a friend hears the words but not the message and tune being conveyed, there is little hope for reconciliation or even positive dialogue.
Orpah heard the words; Rus heard the song. That made all the difference in the trajectory of their own lives and that of their descendants until the end of time.
Perhaps the Torah refers to itself as a song to symbolize to us that it’s not sufficient for us to learn the words of Torah, though that is obviously the starting point. Rather the goal is for us to recognize the “song”, the message, that the Torah wants us to live by.
Ramban (Vayikra 19:2) warns that a person can fulfill all the mitzvos including being Torah observant and yet be an uncouth boor who violates the spirit of the law constantly. The antidote for such behavior is to learn the song of the Torah, to internalize its message and to personify its values.
Compared to the other major holidays of the year, Shavuos is very brief. But we emerge from Shavuos singing the enteral song of our people. Everyone sings it in his own way with his own unique touch, and that’s what makes it the most beautiful song of all time and for all time.
Yeshiva Heichal HaTorah had the zechus of being Rabbi Avi Oberlander’s final chinuch position and we learned so much from his sterling example during the 2-and-a-half years that he was our menahel. He personified the message of this essay that every talmid, and every Jew, has his own unique portion and song of Torah, and it is incumbent upon us to help him discover that song within himself.
He influenced countless individuals, including this writer, who continue to miss him deeply.
May his memory continue to be for a blessing.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
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