{"id":32970,"date":"2013-07-02T15:23:19","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=32970"},"modified":"2013-07-02T15:24:14","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T15:24:14","slug":"all-that-glitters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/all-that-glitters\/","title":{"rendered":"All That Glitters \u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rabbi-Eliyahu-Safran_avatar\"<\/a>Not terribly long ago, during a period of particularly crass consumerism, there was a message loudly proclaimed by many, \u201cHe who dies with the most toys, wins.\u201d\u00a0 I was always saddened when I would hear this message, or see it on tee shirts worn by ever-growing numbers of young people.\u00a0 Win what? I wondered.<\/p>\n

Although that period of consumerism passed, others have arrived.\u00a0 Indeed, the desire for things is a constant tug in our human experience.\u00a0 We spend a lifetime accumulating<\/i>.\u00a0 There are stories which scrutinize the lives of hoarders, people who cannot relinquish any <\/i>of what they\u2019ve accumulated.\u00a0 They are sick storehouses of the flotsam of things.\u00a0 Yes, they are the extreme, but all of us accumulate too much.\u00a0 Unlike the hoarders, every so often, we clear out our closets and drawers of the things we no longer \u201cneed\u201d so as to make room for those things we do.<\/p>\n

Over and over.\u00a0 Accumulate.\u00a0 Clean out.\u00a0 Accumulate.\u00a0 The pattern repeats.<\/p>\n

What do we \u201cwin\u201d?<\/p>\n

In Pirke Avot (6:9) Rabbi\u00a0Yose\u00a0ben\u00a0Kisma teaches an important lesson. \u00a0As he walked along the road, he encounters a man who greeted him warmly.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are you from?\u201d the man inquired.\u00a0 Rav Yose responded that he hailed from \u201c\u2026a city of great scholars and sages\u201d, where the focus is on learning and constant accumulation of knowledge and wisdom.\u00a0 The man could easily see that Rav Yose had few worldly possessions, only those things he absolutely needed to live his life.\u00a0 He also recognized in him a special quality.\u00a0 So, the man asked him, \u201cWhy spend a lifetime in your town among all those many scholars and sages? \u00a0Come with me to my town, where you can serve as our honored rabbi.\u00a0 We will provide you with all things you could ever need \u2013 thousands upon thousands of golden dinars, precious stones and pearls.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will never want for a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rav Yose promptly refused. \u201cEven if you were to give me all the silver and gold, precious\u00a0stones and pearls in the world,\u00a0I would dwell nowhere but in a place of Torah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as a fish cannot live out of water, Rav Yose made clear that a spiritually-motivated Jew cannot survive away from a dynamic, honest, ethical and moral Torah environment. \u00a0Nothing of the world, no gold, silver, luxury or technological toy can substitute for \u201cthe Torah of Your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

For what do we win?\u00a0 When life is done, what will become of all that we\u2019ve accumulated?\u00a0 After things have broken, fallen into disrepair, become outmoded and uninteresting, what\u2019s left?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a man departs from this world,\u201d Rav Yose continued, \u201cneither silver, nor gold, nor precious stones nor pearls escort him, but only Torah and good deeds…\u201d<\/p>\n

The truth of his words are self-evident to all of us.\u00a0 We know the superficiality of so much of what we seek in this world.\u00a0 What worth are things <\/i>as compared to eternal truths and spiritual values?<\/p>\n

We know these things to be true.\u00a0 Yes, if we know these things to be true, why is the lesson so difficult to teach?<\/p>\n

Rebbeim<\/i> tell their students to be ever vigilant about who their friends are, where they spend their time, and what influences their lives.\u00a0 Yeshivas try everything to convey the message that golden dinars, precious stones and pearls can never measure up to Torah\u00a0u\u2019masim tovim.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why do they not always succeed?\u00a0 What is missing in the message?<\/p>\n

Such a simple, straightforward message.\u00a0 But, as it turns out, not as straightforward as it seems.\u00a0 If it were,\u00a0Rav\u00a0Yose\u00a0ben\u00a0Kisma would have accepted the man\u2019s offer.\u00a0 He would have taken the fortune offered by the generous man and opened a yeshiva, turning the man’s town into a place of Torah.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t you and I have done that?<\/p>\n

Build a building.\u00a0 Fill it with caring, genuine teachers.\u00a0 Convey the message of Torah.<\/p>\n

But something is missing.\u00a0 In our time, yeshivas and\u00a0rebbeim <\/i>are relentless and sincere in trying to convince their disciples to choose Torah over mere things. \u00a0They are teaching, but their students are not all \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0learning.\u00a0 What\u2019s missing?<\/p>\n

Choice.<\/p>\n

We choose to teach.\u00a0 Our students have not chosen to learn.<\/p>\n

When asked, \u201cWhat happened to all those mussar schmussen <\/i>you sat through?\u00a0 What happened to all those blat Gemarah <\/i>you learned and knew so well?\u201d how many of our contemporary drop-outs respond, \u201cIt never became part of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning was imposed upon them<\/i>.\u00a0 They never chose it.<\/p>\n

We know from trying to help so many who struggle with alcohol or substance issues that life changes only occur when the person is ready and wants <\/i>to change.<\/p>\n

L\u2019havdil <\/i>but so too with Torah.<\/p>\n

It must become their choice.<\/p>\n

In Bamidbar 22:18, when Balak offers\u00a0Bilam all the silver and gold in his possession just so he would curse\u00a0Klal\u00a0Yisrael<\/em>, not only does he refuse but he speaks with the same voice as Rav Yose.\u00a0 All the gold and silver cannot dissuade him.<\/p>\n

How is it that\u00a0Bilam’s response is viewed as an indication of greed, while\u00a0Rav\u00a0Yose’s refusal is held up as a model for all to emulate?<\/p>\n

The difference between the two is very subtle.\u00a0 Bilam\u00a0said, Lo\u00a0uchal<\/em> \u2013 I cannot transgress\u00a0Hashem’s word.\u00a0 In other words, I would if I could, but I can’t.\u00a0 But Rav\u00a0Yose would not even though he could.\u00a0 \u201cI would dwell nowhere, but in a place of Torah.\u201d\u00a0 Rav Yose chose<\/i>.\u00a0 It was his choice to remain in a strong, dynamic and embracing Torah environment. (See\u00a0Sfas Emes<\/i>)<\/p>\n

Rather than telling <\/i>our students which choice is the one they should make, our goal should be to focus on, and develop, methodologies that encourage our graduates to want to choose <\/i>Torah values, rather than to feel as though it is a coerced way of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just as a fish cannot live out of water, Rav Yose made clear that a spiritually-motivated Jew cannot survive away from a dynamic, honest, ethical and moral Torah environment. Nothing of the world, no gold, silver, luxury or technological toy can substitute for \u201cthe Torah of Your mouth.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":363,"featured_media":32468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nAll That Glitters \u2026 - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/all-that-glitters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All That Glitters \u2026 - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just as a fish cannot live out of water, Rav Yose made clear that a spiritually-motivated Jew cannot survive away from a dynamic, honest, ethical and moral Torah environment. 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