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The Gedolim Speak

For Your Inspiration

Motzei Shemini Atzeres, 5757 (October 5, 1996)

"... In the month of Tishrei, we pray constantly for G-d to reveal His glorious malchus (sovereignty). In the musaf services of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we include this familiar prayer (from Aleinu): 'Therefore we put our hope in You, Hashem our G-d, that we may soon see Your mighty splendor... to perfect the universe through the Almighty's sovereignty. Then all humanity will call upon Your name, to turn all the wicked people of the earth toward You. All the world's inhabitants will recognize and know that to You every knee should bend... And they will all accept upon themselves the yoke of Your kingship.' Think about what this prayer implies.

We know that the mitzvos and good deeds that the Jewish people perform create a crown for the Almighty. This is particularly true with respect to those deeds that we perform during the holy month of Tishrei. When fashioning a crown for a king, the objective is to produce something magnificent and extraordinary. Therefore it is customary to seek out precious stones and rare gems that are buried deep in the earth in far away places. It is necessary to mine the depths of the earth in order to extract these jewels, which need to be cleansed and polished from the mud. Finally, these treasures are inlaid in the king's crown. If the craftsmen would use common stones that are easy to acquire, the result would be ordinary. It would be a dishonor to the king.

It works the same way with the Supreme King, with G-d's crown. We must seek out precious stones in far away places, distant and despondent souls, and bring them closer. The royal crown needs to be built with them. This is the meaning of the prayer that we say on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, 'And the distant ones will hear, and they will come, and they will present You with a royal crown.' G-d's crown will only be complete when the distant ones declare His sovereignty.

Sparks of holiness are all around us. These holy souls have drifted so far away from their source that they have become opaque, dark, and filthy. But ultimately, they are holy souls, precious souls, souls that derive from Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yakov. How can we remain indifferent to them? How can we withhold any of our personal resources from those people who are involved inkiruv rechokim? They need our financial assistance and they need our direct participation, which is far more valuable than money. Even though it is obvious that a person should not put his own spiritual wellbeing in danger in order to strengthen others, how can we possibly remain passive when thousands of unaffiliated Jews are yearning, thirsting, and starving to hear the word of G-d?

We are still standing in the days of teshuva. Dovid Ha'melech wrote in his own song of repentance (Tehillim, 51:15), 'Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall repent to You.' Guiding others is one of the most important corrective exercises in our own teshuva processes (See Sharei Teshuva, 1:50).

Imagine if an individual missed the proper time for kriyas shema one day, G-d forbid, or neglected to study Torah or put on his tefilin for an entire day. The Gemara (Brachos, 26a) considers these transgressions to be irreparable. There is no way to replace what is missing because each of these obligations reoccurs daily. There is a new and different commandment to perform these duties tomorrow... However, when we return unaffiliated Jews to G-d-'I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall repent to You,' and we enable them to recite kriyas shema, study Torah, and wear tefilin, we can compensate for what we are missing.

In addition to this, throughout the entire month of Tishrei our holy teachers would discuss the various ways to repair the transgression of chillul Hashem. This practice is rooted in the Zohar (Volume 3, 231a), which says that the judgment of Rosh Hashanah focuses primarily on the transgression of chillul Hashem. So let's ask ourselves: Is there anything in the world that brings greater honor to the Almighty and causes greater kiddush Hashem than kiruv rechokim?

I do not want to speak at length right now. Most of you are already aware of the Rambam's entry in the Sefer Ha'mitzvos (mitzvas aseh 3) regarding the obligation to love G-d. (The Rambam explains that a person who loves G-d will naturally strive to bring other people closer to Him.) You know what is written in Ohr Ha'yashar (amud ha'Torah, Chapter 8): 'People of Torah who fear the word of G-d have an obligation to look after sinners and redirect them toward the proper path. This concept is elucidated by the Zohar (Volume 2, 129a): The reward that a person receives for bringing people back to the Almighty's service is completely immeasurable... It is an even greater mitzvah than providing charity for the poor... And with his efforts, he elevates G-d's throne, fortunate is he and fortunate is his lot.'

You also know the words of the Chovos Ha'levavos (Sha'ar Ahavas Hashem, Chapter 6): 'My brothers, it behooves you to know that the merits of a person, even a person who purified himself to the greatest degree possible, a person who is nearly as perfect as the angels in character, manners, devotion, and love of G-d, are not comparable to the merits of a person who brings wicked people back to the service of the Creator. This is because the second person is constantly accruing additional merit for the deeds of the people that he assisted...'

It says in the Torah: 'On the eighth day, it will be an atzeres for you.' Onkelos translates the verse to mean that it will be a time of gathering. Is it referring to a shul gathering or a family gathering? Clearly it is referring to a time when all the sparks of holiness will be united together. This is the task on Shemini Atzeres-'Draw our scattered ones near from among the nations, and bring in our dispersions from the ends of the earth.' If we will collect those distant souls that are in front of our eyes and return them to the Almighty, then in heaven they will gather all the dispersed holy sparks and return them to their source."

For more material in Hebrew, click here for a kuntrus written by the Belzer Rebbe. http://oznidberu.com/files/The_Belzer_Rebbe_on_Kiruv.PDF