In this week’s Parsha, the Jewish people go out to battle. The Torah says that if one solitary soldier feels fear or anxiety, he must be sent home. Why? Because we are afraid that he will lower the morale of his fellow soldiers. We are afraid that his misgivings and apprehensions will spread to the other troops. The entire battalion may be weakened by this one person’s feebleness, nervousness, or negativity.
I would like to share with you a very powerful and inspiring idea that I heard from my father, Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlita: The Imrie emes says that if that’s the case with someone with negativity, if a negative or even nervous person can lower the morale of his fellow soldiers, then how much more so can one impact others when he is full and bursting with positivity.
If there are people who are sad and need encouragement, if there are people who are negative, that can all change. All you need is one positive person. If one buoyant and joyous person comes into the picture, he can save thousands of people. If one person projects and exudes positivity and happiness, he can bring back thousands of people. He can raise their morale, boost their spirits, and make them feel great.
How many times do we underestimate the power of a warm smile, a good deed, or a good word? One encouraging hello or one warm compliment can be contagious and uplift an entire group! It can transform an entire army! This, says the Imrei Emes is the power of every Yid, the strength of every Jew. We can positively transform our surroundings! The question is who that one person could be. That one person with the positive vibes – the one person with a big smile. That one person who shares joy could be you! You have the power. You can change the world!
In 1938 Rav Avraham Bender zt”l, a roving rabbi, who was raising funds for his yeshiva ventured beyond his normal route into a less affluent suburb of east Pittsburgh. Of all the city’s Jews, Rabbi Bender trusted the kashrus (kosher certification) of just three Pittsburgh families. One of those families was the Scheiner family, whose teenage son Isadore had just graduated from Peabody High School and was planning on going on to college to study mathematics. Isadore’s dream was to become a mathematician.
As Rabbi Bender spent time together with the Scheiner family, he saw the potential in Isadore. One day Rabbi Bender asked his host Mr. Schneier If he would send his son, Isadore to yeshiva. After much thought, the Scheiners agreed to send Isadore – their only son with Rabbi Bender, who accompanied Isadore back to a Yeshiva.
Now, as they say, the rest is history. Isador, the public-school graduate from Pittsburgh who wanted to become a mathematician went on to become the great Rav Yitzchak Scheiner zt”l the world-famous Rosh Yeshiva of Kamenitz in Yerushalayim! We see from here the incredible power of reaching out. We see the power of positivity. One has no idea how far his actions can go. Rav Yitzchok Scheiner went from a public school boy to one of the great Torah leaders! Why? Because someone reached out! Someone took a positive interest in him! To receive our weekly email, email us at parshaknowledge@gmail.com.
