A Teacher's Influence as a Role Model | Letter #19

Good evening. Welcome to 30 letters in 30 days. Uh we are on letter number 19. Tonight is don't forget yalov. Um that means it's 11 days until niss. So, I want to let everybody know that um we're doing 30 letters in 30 days, as you know. But for those who would like a more manageable goal, we have a program called 11 letters in 11 days. No, it's not different letters. It's the same letters. It's just only 11 of them. Um and that's an initiative that's actually taking place in schools across the world. And if you want more information how to be part of the 11 letters in in 11 days program, go to the website 30lets3030days.com and that's where you're going to find everything including the PDFs that we use every night and you can print them out and uh the Shabas table companion uh guide. You can print those out there and the archives of the previous classes and everything. It's all at 30letters30days.com. And uh now you can find out information about the 11 letters in 11 days. Okay. Uh before we start tonight's letter, I want to make a correction. Um from the feedback that I get from people, people seem to appreciate the background that I try to provide regarding each of the letters. Um, yes, that's very important to me to try to explain to the best of my ability when I can uh who the person was, what the circumstances were and uh I do have a research department. Um, 30 letters in 30 days is very much a team project. I am the guy who sits in front of the camera so it looks like it's Chase towel but it really is a whole team of people and uh without that help I would not be able to give you as much background as I do. So I want to specifically thank again I mentioned them and an earlier class but uh Alex Chmp and Mendel Rosenblau who are giving me research as I come into each class. I messed up one detail last night and that was regarding the biography of Reb Yail Mikl De Bruskin to whom last night's letter was written. He was indeed a RV in Romania as I had said. Uh I also correctly said that later he came to and he was a RV in Kyifa but I got the dates a little bit wrong. He made aliyah he moved to in 1950. So when by the time that was writing to him the the the letter that we read last night was uh was 1959. He was already in Kyifa. And now it actually makes more sense why the rabbi was asking him to help with the Romanians uh who are moving to Israel because he was asking him as a person there already in the land of Israel to welcome and greet and help to uh accommodate these newly arrived Romanian immigrants. And why should he be the one to do so? Because he had lived in Romania and he spoke the language and he knew the culture and presumably he even knew some of these families. So that's uh that's important to understand. He was already in Kyifa. He had been in Romania. He had already left Romania. And the Reba wanted him to help to uh acclimate the newly arrived Romanian Jews who were coming to Erus. So just to clarify that from last night, tonight's letter, I don't know who it's to. You know, sometimes the names are completely removed and we just we don't know. And so there's no research that we can do. So, I have no information about who the letter writer is other than what I can deduce with my Sherlock Holmes soothing abilities. So, um let's let's go to Brooklyn. No, actually, I'm sorry. We do know who this is, too. It says the name right here. Okay, there you go. live television. Ladies and gentlemen, Marmika alad shalom. I should correct what I was saying. I didn't personally find information about the letter writer. Um, and if anyone does have information or perhaps uh from the family of Mar Mika Aldad or perhaps is Marika Alad himself, please let us know. But at any rate, yes. Okay. I don't know more information about him other than what can be deduced from the letter. I am hereby confirming receipt of your letter that I received after much delay. And in that letter you write about the the main points of your life like the chapters of your life. You basically give a summary of your life. that you are now currently a counselor uh acting as a an agricultural instructor. And you work within the we've spoken about that before. The rashet means the network specifically the network of labavaturure schools in the holy land that was named for the fa. Um so he's teaching agriculture in one of these kabad affiliated schools. These were publicly funded schools which um provided some degree of religious education. And these were notim this was not like the level of the official labavature uh yeshivas but uh this was uh we've explained already this was a very important uh initiative that that EBBA put a lot of time and energy and focus into as far as bringing mostly unaffiliated families into some form of kosher Jewish education. That's that's really what these schools were about. They were not catering to religious communities who had their own yeshivas and khadim that they made for themselves. This was more about uh outreach and uh reaching families who might not otherwise receive a uh a kosher kenuk. So this young man is teaching in the Rashet school in Tanakam that's which is a town in Israel and you write that you're having difficulties and problems. Okay. So this is a young man. He's teaching agriculture in one of the Russet schools and he's having a hard time. Okay, that's what we know. You think that I was going to tell him to quit? I'm just I'm just joking around with you guys. Okay. You have to appreciate egress and you have to appreciate the rabbit to think that that joke is even somewhat amusing. The joke is that there's no way in the world that I was going to tell this guy to quit just because he has uh biote just because he has problems. Okay, but let's let's find out what the dev says to him to encourage him. We know that is going to encourage. Let's let's find out how. It's no mystery what the dev is going to say. He's going to encourage him. How he's going to encourage him. Let's find out. Beta alum speaking about Hashem is getting spiritual right off the bat. For sure you know about the promise of the um that's a way that the Reb would often refer to Hashem uh the creator of the world and its conductor. Hashem didn't just make the world and then leave it alone. God forbid. He made the world and continues to conduct the world. And would explain he continues to conduct it by continuing to make it. It's being regenerated even at this moment. Something from nothing that Hashem promises he will not make unreasonable demands upon his creations. He doesn't make tyrannical demands. He doesn't make unreasonable demands. Hashem is reasonable. He makes demands, but they're reasonable. Gamla or another similar rabbitic idiom which has a a similar meaning. According to the camel is its load. In other words, Hashem is going to only give work to a person that is appropriate for that person's capacities. Hashem is not going to overburden somebody. That means every individual was given the the capacities and the possibilities. If I have to make a deal here, I feel like means your own inner capacities, your own potentials, your abilities, your prowess. Ashius is more situational like the opportunity to do something. That's that's what it seems like to me like inside and outside. So when Hashem gives you a job to do then he gives you the inner ability and he creates a situation around you to be conducive to that to fulfill your uh mission in the most. See, this is very important. The EB is not just to fulfill your mission like and get a C++, you know, like barely barely pass. I guess C++ is not barely passing, but for a Jewish student, it is. If you have a Jewish mother, C++ is barely passing. Um, but to get an A+ to do everything in the best possible way. Now, this is speaking generally about any job that Hashem gives somebody. whatever job it it it may be. So how much more so if you're talking about a job that involves education within a within a pure Jewish context. So for sure if Hashem gives somebody a job, he's already giving them the ability to do that job and to do it very well. Uh how much more so when that's a job that is so precious and so important in Hashem's eyes, the job of educating Jewish children. So Hashem is Hashem is signing the checks. Don't worry, you you've there's there's money in the account. Okay. Um uh the upon him um that in in this case really we're saying the person's teaching in the rashet that he's He's involved in Jewish education in a mised meaning an institution meaning the school where he's teaching which establishes that's what cave means or at least influences I guess cave is a little stronger mashia is a little bit less in a very prominent way on the character of the students for the rest of their lives. Right? So basically the Reb is explaining here the gravity of this responsibility. You're in a position where you are influencing, you're either cooa or mashia. Either you're establishing or at the very least you're having some influence upon the the form. That's the term that actually is the form. the form that these children's characters are, you know, their inner character, their their their kind of personalities that they're going to have, the kind of people, the kind of integrity they're going to have, that's all sort of being um influenced by you. So, this is this is serious stuff. And therefore the this is one of the Reb's common phrases. This is a rabbitic dictim or a idiom the uh the idea of the the merit of the many and uh the Reba invokes this concept quite often. So the deb is basically saying because of the importance of the work that you're doing, you have a very powerful energy behind you that's backing you up. It's called the the merit of the many because you're you're bringing merit to all of these children who you're affecting and you're affecting them as far as the direction of the rest of their lives. Uh and it's this so this is helping all of the faculty of the institution uh not just the teachers but Hano the administration and uh everyone who helps to back up to support the institution. they're all being assisted with the that they uh are acrewing by being involved in Jewish education. Okay. So that's the first thing is Hashem's not going to is not going to give you unrealistic uh jobs. But uh now that I was going to mention something else, I hope that to a guy like you, I don't even have to explain the incredible importance of the job that you have. that although seemingly agriculture, remember he's teaching agriculture, agriculture seemingly is not as an important subject as teaching actual lumes, teaching actual. But the Reb says to someone like you, I hope it's I hope I don't even have to elaborate on this point. um that even though you're teaching agriculture and not and not I'm sorry that you're teaching a skill that has to do with nature and with working the land. But it's it's obvious that even when you're teaching agriculture, uh King Solomon's advice still applies, which is know him. Know him means capital H him. Know Hashem in all of your ways. Know Hashem in all of your ways. So know Hashem in all of your ways means that even when you're not doing something that's explicitly a mitzvah um you are still able to connect to Hashem. So maybe you're not teaching, maybe you're teaching agriculture. But hey, who still applies and uh even when you're teaching agriculture, there's a way to do it where you're mindful of Hashem and you turn agriculture into a spiritual subject. So uh it doesn't matter that you're not teaching lum kesh all the the everything I'm saying about the importance of of still applies even though your subject is only agriculture probably shouldn't say only agriculture even to say only sounds dismissive that just made the whole point how important it is um there's a rule a general principle in spirituality and in the way that people behave like it's explained in the explained in the tour at length that um a person has to serve Hashem in all aspects of life not just in overtly religious or ritual. ual observance. Okay, now this is almost like a separate point, a related point, but a separate point. Now, especially that it is the nature of a student, I'm sorry, that a a a student imitates a teacher in all of his matters. even though he's only taking a class in a specific subject. In other words, you can't say, "Well, my students, since I'm teaching you agriculture, only imitate how I plant seeds because that's what I'm here to teach you." Doesn't work that way. a student imitates all of the aspects of the teacher. So now the EB is adding another dimension to it which is not only does it not matter that you're teaching agriculture because a Jew can find meaning spiritual meaning in anything including agriculture. Why not? But in addition to that, in addition to that, um the fact that you're teaching them, uh the subject is not even as relevant as the fact that you are there as a role model being observed by them and they're picking up on everything that you do. even what you're not teaching them, even what has nothing to do with the subject that you're hired to teach. So your influence is far greater than just the subject. So you need you need to know that anybody who's listening in your class about uh about farming, about agriculture, they are looking at you carefully and they're thinking about what you're doing. TA mitzvas. How do you conduct yourself in ta mitzvah? And remember this school had a lot of children who are coming from not such an observant background. So it could be in many ways the strongest impression of Jewish observance they're getting at least for many of these children might be from this teacher. So the deb is saying aside from the subject that you're teaching, these children are picking up from you all of your all of your the the ways that you serve Hashem. That's all being noted by them. they they are noticing the NE doesn't give specific examples what that might mean but like you know they they'll they'll see things like uh you're making a bra before you take a drink or they'll see that uh in that you're you're very careful about not to speak or they're going to pick up from you what it means to be an observer Jew, even though that's not really your job. Your job is to teach agriculture. This is going to affect them. And in fact, many times, in fact, nearly all times, this inadvertent influence that you have just by being who you are is going to have more influence on them than the actual subject that you're teaching, which in this case is agriculture. In many many cases it's quite common that this is a bigger influence and that is actually the nature of youth and children that roundabout oblique indirect influence. is is more easily accepted by them and more deeply accepted by them. than influence that comes in the form of putting upon them a yoke or a commandment or a decree. Very interesting here. It it sounds like now that EBA got us to a point where an agriculture teacher actually is going to have more Jewish influence on these kids than their lumes teacher. See how that built us up. First it starts off by saying well even though you're teaching agriculture it, you know, everything a Jew does is Jewish. Ultimately, there's nothing secular in the life of a Jew. you have to know Hashem in all of your ways. So even in agriculture that it's it's Jewish. Okay, that that was the first step. And then the said, "Oh, and by the way, it's not just the subject you're teaching. It's you as a as a person. They're going to be watching your behavior and learning from you what a what a Jew is." Okay. So your influence is beyond the subject that you teach. Oh, okay. So now he brought him up to like the level of alumish teacher even though that's not the subject he's teaching. But the next thing the Reb says is oh by the way you know the nature of youth is that roundabout hashbah is actually more effective. The says it's accepted more means like more pleasantly, more gently, more more easily and and the the there's more more depth. It's accepted. They they internalize it more than obvious frontal instruction where you tell them this is what I'm telling you to do. So actually the agriculture teacher because he's not teaching to he can actually have more of a Jewish influence more of a Jewish influence on the kids than their teacher whose job is overtly to teach them yishkite. How you like that? So this guy was writing about the fact he's teaching agriculture in this rashet school and that he's having problems. The Reba didn't really take away his problems, but the Reba made the importance of his job so big that the problems no doubt seem trivial in comparison. Let's continue here. By the way, uh if I had longer to sort of just fabang with you guys about these letters, I think I would at this juncture start to muse about how we can apply this as a an as a as a as a principle in education. how to find opportunities to have indirect hashbah as parents, as educators, even when you you're also teaching directly and and explicitly and clearly. But can we look for opportunities to teach things indirectly? Because the deba is saying there's a special power in teaching things in a in a more uh oblique fashion where it's not so on the nose. Okay. The takeaway from the above, if you have been conducting yourself until now according to Torah law or even a little bit beyond Torah law, meaning you've been a little bit pious above and beyond. If that's the case, right, that you've been doing everything properly or even more than properly, it's clear. But from now that the divine providence has placed you in a position of influence over many Jews, all of you have to increase So whatever level of observance you've been doing, which I'm sure is is according to law and maybe even beyond the law, but now you got to go beyond beyond the law because you're an influential guy. People are watching you. People are learning from you. People are imitating you. So you've got to step up. Alman, we said this last night. Was it last night or is it a couple nights ago? That uh the idea of something that's moist enough to make something else moist. So, I'm not going to get into the the context in where it talks about this chiefly an idea of of transmission of ritual impurity, but there's something that's wet. there's something that's wet enough that um it makes something else wet. So is if your hand is wet enough that you can touch something and the thing that you touch becomes wet that's that's called um and uh it's used idiomatically as an expression that it's in in a good way that it's not enough that you are religious but your devotion to to has to be so uh shining and so luminescent that people around you sort of by osmosis end up being lifted up to a higher level because of you. So it's not enough that you're you're you're maintaining what you need to maintain for yourself. You've got to do more so that the people in your sphere of influence are also being affected positively. and and and none of this is by strongarmming anybody or or coercing them. This is all about just being a very compelling role model and a very um compelling example, a living example. So now you got to do more so that even if they only imitate you partially, or even less than partial like they only pick up a little bit of your good stuff. They won't be lacking the proper temperament and and and conduct aligned with with the teachings of Tyra. In other words, follow this. You've got to be so piping hot that the people around you are at least warm. That see if you're just living up to the legal requirements then your students if they imitate only part of what you're doing. Well, if you're only going exactly up to what you need to be doing and they only imitate part of what you're doing, now they're only doing part of what they need to be doing. And if you're going a little bit beyond what you're supposed to be doing, still it's questionable if they're going to imitate enough of your conduct that they're going to be doing everything they need to be doing. But if you're doing way way way beyond what you need to be doing, then if they only imitate part of that, they're going to end up at least doing everything that they need to be doing. So this is a this is a very important idea for any teacher and by the way every parent is a teacher uh to think about that uh if the children who are watching me only imitate some of the good stuff I do. So, I got to be doing so much good stuff that even a partial uh imitation of it will land the the kids in a good place. God willing, you should update me with good news and the above. Certainly this merit of teaching and influencing is great enough to increase Hashem's blessings for you in your personal life as well. In other words, uh all this good that you're going to be doing is going to come back to you in the form of blessings for whatever it is that you need in your life with a blessing for a happy and kosher Passover. And uh yeah, it's veryishness. And so I'll I'll also wish you a bra for a happy and kosher Passover. And uh again, a good Don't forget the nasi tomorrow. And we'll uh we'll see you tomorrow night. Oh, for a double header tonight. Tomorrow night's Thursday night. Double double class.