Be The Change You Want to See – It’s Easier!

Influencers is the big word these days.  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TicToc influencers attract millions of followers. In a single meme they can elevate humanity or at least a chunk of it. Unfortunately, they can also destroy or cancel someone in the same split second.

Other influences don’t carry as large an aura but make a difference through persistence and consistent outreach. It’s one by one or as the Prophet says “you’ll collect them one by one”.  

There is an advantage to each; in the former the impact is wide and the reach is broad, but perhaps not as deep. In the latter, the work is more difficult but transformation is profound and long term.

On Sunday we will begin the period known as the 3 Weeks. During this time we commemorate the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the beginning of the dispersion of the Jews into the over 1900 year Exile we still find ourselves in.

Our literature seems to have conflicting views of the current state of affairs.

On the one hand the Midrash and Talmud state that we were sent into exile in order to bring more converts into the fold.  Converts is both literal but also a metaphor for the conversion of the sparks of light that are spread throughout the world (not just the light in Israel).  

On the other hand in the Amida that we say on the holidays it states that on account of our sins were sent into exile. This would mean that if we hadn’t sinned we wouldn’t be in exile. But then, what would have happened with the work of collecting the sparks?

The Rebbe teaches that both are true.  Had we not sinned we would be like the influencers, sitting in Israel and changing the world through attraction. The sparks would come to us.  The reach would be wide and broad.

That wasn’t the case.  We did sin and as such we needed to go out into the world to find the sparks. This is our job until this day.

At a recent Chasidic gathering in honor of the Rebbe’s Yurzeit, Rabbi Kesselman of LA shared the following story.  

There was a Russian Chasid who spent years in Siberia for his efforts in saving lives and spreading Judaism.  He spent time listening to tales his fellow prisoners shared about their lives, their backgrounds.  He was a fantastic story teller who soaked in all the information from those around him.   And he found lessons in the service of Hashem from what he heard.

After he left Russia, he shared many of the stories and their lessons.  However there was one tale that he couldn’t place a lesson and as such he never shared the story.  One day however he connected the dots and then he shared.

Among the Soviet prisoners was a peasant who had been a hunter.  (He was in prison for some trumped up communist offense.)

This hunter shared how they would hunt bear in the deep Russian winter.  The bears would be nestled in deep caves in their deep slumber of winter hibernation.  Their hearts beating at 3 beats per minute in total relaxation, dreaming of their summer prey.

The hunter would bring a posse of poodles into the forest.  The poodles would sniff out the sleeping bear and would then surround the bear and begin to yip yip yip.

After some time the sleeping bear would hear the irritating sounds of the yipping poodles creep into his dreams.  Eventually, it would wake him and he would chase after the poodles and upon exiting the cave, BOOOOM, the hunter would have his catch.

Reb Mendel, said that there are Jews who are deep asleep in their slumber.  Their heart is beating with a 3 times year consciousness (the three day a year Jew).  

The Chabad Rabbis and Rebbetzins and other loving Jews yip and yip and yip, not letting up until the bear wakes.  And once the bear wakes, BOOOOM, (here is where it changes) the Jew is now awake to their connection with Hashem and will not fall asleep again.

Dear reader, we live in a time where we can’t rely on Chabadniks to be the poodles.  All of us need to be the poodles waking up our fellow Jews.  And if we are a sleeping bear, then let’s get our heartbeat up to 354, where everyday of the year we have a consciousness of our relationship, with Hashem, Torah, the Jewish People and Israel.

Good Shabbos!

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