L’iluy nishmat HaRav HaGaon Chaim Zev HaLevi ben Avraham Aharon ztk’l
BS’D
In chapter 1, Mishna 16 Rabban Gamliel teaches a most important lesson for all Jewish people to follow “Make a Rabbi for yourself and remove yourself from doubt”. Rashi comments this to mean do not learn on your own from your own logic, rather from a Rabbi and from the Torah tradition.
However, the Sages use an interesting description; “make” for yourself a Rabbi. This is commonly referred to someone from whom we can learn, we are being instructed to make for ourselves a teacher from who we can seek guidance from. But what can be some of the guidelines we can refer to in order to help us feel comfortable and trust in a Rabbi?
Hashem blessed me to find such a holy individual to call ‘my Rabbi’ – Rav Chaim Zev HaLevi ben Avraham Aharon ztk’l who recently passed away Thursday, Nov. 21, 23 of Cheshvan. May his memory be blessed and his soul bask in the Divine radiance among all the righteous who have departed from this world, Amen.
The words that follow after ‘make a Rabbi for yourself’ are the guiding principle as to why each one of us needs to apply this Mishna – in order that you ‘remove yourself from doubt’. We walk through life uncertain of our steps, asking ourselves if we are fulfilling our soul’s mission. Who can say they are certain they are? Who can assume they properly observe Torah values and commandments day to day? I quickly realized after returning back to Torah living that I couldn’t rely on my inner gut to be my guiding light.
But the idea of ‘making for myself’ does strike a question, how do we ‘make’ a Rabbi? Is he meant to ‘make’ decisions? Is he supposed to ‘judge’ me? Is he just supposed to be better than me and therefore I can rely on him?
In learning and teaching emuna I came to realize three key points in ‘making a Rabbi for yourself’:
The Rabbi whom you choose should be
- on a higher level than yourself
- you must believe he speaks the truth and reveals Hashem’s hidden wisdom to you
- you must trust that his advice is in sync with your particular soul
Rav Malinowitz ztk’l upheld these three levels for me and countless others.
It became quickly apparent to me when I first met the Rav personally that he is a Torah scholar and able to render decisions in questions of Torah halacha. He had the ability to grasp each question from the perfect angle and answer each question from a widened knowledgeable place. Yet his soul was huge enough to even answer at times “I don’t know enough about it to give my opinion on it”.
Truth has no legs; it stands firmly on the ground and cannot be swayed. Many times, my questions required hearing a painful truth which I prepared and accepted upon myself to receive and follow. With Rav Malinowitz ztk’l this was not a challenge for I trusted so much in his wisdom and found tremendous security knowing that he is a messenger to reveal Hashem’s hidden wisdom and truth to me. In essence, a Rabbi reveals a veiled wisdom out into the open, taking something that is already there and showing it to us. We need a Rabbi to transmit Hashem’s will so clearly that all doubt is removed from the issue we are addressing.
It is vital for each of us to feel that our Rabbi is talking with us, for us and to us. Rav Malinowitz ztk’l was exceptional at this. One particular incident that comes to mind is the time I called him Erev Shabbat. I was crying over an emotional upheaval I was facing, not understanding ‘what G-d is asking me to do’. He was on a bus and took the time to calm my anguish and halachically advise my next step; his tender heart dismissing the pressure of time.
As a teacher of the Daily Dose of Emuna I regularly receive requests for advice and guidance. It is certainly humbling and can be overwhelming to address the many different questions in a timely fashion. A Rabbi can sense the greatness of Hashem and convey direction beyond human logic. A Rabbi is a holy messenger of Hashem who removes the fog from the picture.
A Rabbi must be an exceptionally learned person who has studied Hashem’s will in depth and knows how to properly and faithfully apply his knowledge in contemporary circumstances and act ‘above reason’ with complete emuna. He must be able to reveal belief in the complete good of another amidst a person’s trying times.
Another time I consulted Rav Malinowitz ztk’l on how to advise parents of children who currently struggle keeping to the Torah path. His answer was, “I am from the old school so I am not sure you want to take my advice; maybe you want to consult with … and get a more widened current perspective on this matter”. How wise he was to present his belief yet enable me to see it from another angle. He was subjective yet gave objective advice.
He was my mentor who turned me into a mentor myself, teaching me to think for myself, with perspective. He enabled me to grow into a person that can teach others. It wasn’t about him telling me what to do, but about encouraging me to see the objective truth by myself. He enabled me to see what I was blind to.
The paper is too short and the words are too long to elaborate on the areas in which he was instrumental in my personal life. Living in Ramat Beit Shemesh Alef on the other side of Beit Tefillah, the shul he was the Rav of, was a challenge as I was not a ‘regular’ of the community. However, I always felt like an ‘insider’ when I called or emailed the Rav.
It was at the hespedim that I realized the larger impact Rav Malinowitz ztk’l had. As I spoke to some of the women each person had the same words to say about our dear Rav; he impressed on every individual that he was there just for ‘me.’
I am now left with the important lesson of making for myself a Rabbi. A Rabbi plays a vital part in every Jewish person’s life since he ‘makes’ each of us into who we are. By making for yourself a Rabbi you mold yourself into being that which G-d intended for you to be when He created you. In seeking out a Rabbi, you aspire to find the wise truthful counsel of someone you can look up to and wish to emulate.
Make it for yourself and remove the cloak of confusion. Pursue it and you will find it is undoubtedly one, if not the most important aspect in defining a true wholesome Torah life.
Thank you Rav Malinowitz ztk’l for showing this to me. My heart is in pain but my comfort is in remembering the lessons you taught me and countless others. I will continue to ‘make myself’ into that which you have shown me lives within me.