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For Your InspirationRabbi Paysach Krohn Says All Frum Jews Have a Major Responsibility to Do Kiruv
Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn, world famous mohel, author of ArtScroll Maggid series of books and Torah lecturer related the frightening statics: out of 13.3 million Yidden, only 1.8 million are frum.
In a lecture to a group of Project Inspire Kiruv Seminar participants at the Agudath Israel of Madison in Flatbush on June 2, Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn, world famous mohel, author of ArtScroll Maggid series of books and Torah lecturer related the frightening statics: out of 13.3 million Yidden, only 1.8 million are frum. That means that more than four out of every five Jews in the world are not frum.
It is bad enough when a person (rachmana itzlan) has one child at risk. Imagine that every day, you would pass the home of a certain neighbor and you know that over the years, four of his five children went off the derech. Wouldn't your heart break for this man. Yet that is what has happened to our Father in Heaven. More than four of His five children (86%) are at risk or have gone off the derech.
Eighty-six percent of all the Yidden in the world are not frum. Who is supposed to do something about it? The obligation for this major responsibility of returning Hashem's lost children falls on us, Rabbi Krohn declared. That is why Project Inspire, an offshoot of Aish HaTorah International has come into being, in order to teach each and every one of us, whether we are baalei teshuva or frum from birth how to more effectively reach out to our brothers and sisters who are assimilated and lost from their religious heritage.
Just as Yehuda told Yosef his brother, "How can I go back to our father after 120 years without the naar, the youth (Binyomin)?, how can we as frum Jews go to our Father in Heaven, if the naar - whether it be the campus youth, or the kids at risk down the block or our second and third cousins - all these children, all the people who are the precious children of our Father in Heaven, they are not with us.
Rabbi Krohn explained that there are two types of kiruv, reaching out to non-frum Jews. The first he described as passive. It is when by one's own actions in public, one gains the admiration of non-frum Yidden. He told of how because one Yerushalmi Jew davened at the Kosel Maaravi with such sincere passion, he inspired a non-religious Jew who observed him to go back to his home in Dallas, Texas and search out for the type of shul in which that Yerushalmi Yid would be comfortable in davening.
This resulted in that non-frum Texas Jew bonding with Rabbi Aryeh Rodin and bringing other friends of his to the rabbi's shul. Not only did this group become Orthodox, but their generous donations made possible the building of a beautiful Young Israel of North Dallas. Rabbi Krohn said that after 120 years when that Yerushalmi Yid goes to shomayim, he is going to be shocked to discover that he will be greatly rewarded for his contribution of passive kiruv that resulted in the establishment of a vibrant Orthodox shul in Texas.
When a person is so passionate for the mitzvos that he does, he has a tremendous influence on others. And that is the first lesson that we have to learn, Rabbi Krohn said if we are to hope to be successful in our own efforts for that second type of reaching out to non-religious Jews - active kiruv.
Reflecting on our obligations to be active in reaching out to non-frum Yidden, Rabbi Krohn told the moshel that the Chofetz Chaim related at the first Kenessia Gedolah of the Agudath Israel movement. The Chofetz Chaim knew people were criticizing his speech calling on everyone to become involved in active kiruv. They were quoting the Gemora in which Rav Yochanan said that one must first perfect themselves before trying to help others.
The Chofetz Chaim said that now when we live in an age of raging fires of apirkosis, of raging fires of immorality, and of raging fires of Torah ignorance, we don't have the luxury of waiting till we reach the perfection of a Rav Yochanan. Rather we have to use whatever water is available to put out these destructive fires, even if they are not pure filtered water.
Today, people all over are desperately seeking in the college campuses and the work place and elsewhere a meaning for life. Even those who were once so secure with their materialism are now broken people. Many individuals have recently lost much of their wealth in the stock market crash and other financial scandals. And life without money has to have meaning.
Money is not the answer. That is why Project Inspire needs people like us to reach out and explain to the non-frum Yidden that they can have true meaning in their lives. These individuals are searching for tranquility and peace of mind. They are now desperate for people like us to come and teach them how to learn a little, how to daven, how to perform chesed and how to connect with a community. Now is the perfect time to reach out to these Jews.
Besides a passion for performing our own mitzvos, we must also have a sincere love for our non-frum Yidden or otherwise our efforts to reach out to them will never be successful. Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky noted that Yaakov Avinu before reprimanding the shepherds in Haran for being negligent in their duties, first made an effort to befriend them by calling them "Achav, my brothers."
If we truly care about our non-frum brethren, Rav Krohn said, we have to truly feel their pain and want to help them out for their own sakes. You have to love them as individuals, even if they are not wearing yalmukas, even if they are not covering their hair and even if they are driving on Shabbos. If you still make the effort to make them feel special, that is the first rule of kiruv.
For more information on organizing or joining a Project Inspire Kiruv Seminar program in your community call 646.291.6191, extension 201 or visit www.kiruv.com.
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