R' Zecharia Wallerstein on "Save the World by Noticing Others" (New Years)

On December 31st 2015 Chazaq presented an inspiring event at congregation Ishei Yisrael with Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser and Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein. Rabbi Wallerstein spoke about Yosef and how a person can become great. He noted that Yosef was a shepherd who cared about the underdog. He defended the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah when the sons of Leah were not nice to them. Rabbi Wallerstein then pointed out that, in the Torah, when Yosef went to check on the welfare of his brothers, the angel Gavriel saw him and pointed him in the direction of his brothers. Rabbi Wallerstein said that the Torah says, “He found him and he was lost,” regarding the angel Gavriel who found Yosef. Generally, if someone is lost you ask him where he is going. Gavriel asked instead, “What do you want?” Yosef replied that he wanted to be accepted by his brothers. Rabbi Wallerstein noted that every human being is looking for acceptance. The verse in the Torah is teaching us a lesson. It says he found him and he was lost. The order is backwards. Once a child is off the derech of Judaism or a marriage is broken, it is hard to put it back together. Intervention takes more money and time than prevention. The angel asked him, “What do you want?” He realized Yosef was lost. We need to spend time with the people with whom we are having a relationship. Parents need to spend time with their children. Rabbi Wallerstein then shared that the mental disease of our generation is low self-esteem. He noted that Yosef was able to refuse Potifar’s wife for one reason. His father Yaakov refused to give up on him. When the brothers brought Yaakov the coat covered in blood, the Torah says Yaakov refused to be comforted. He refused to accept that Yosef was dead. So Yosef knew somehow that his father had not given up on him and that gave him the strength to refuse Potifar’s wife. Rabbi Wallerstein emphasized that when a person knows there is someone in the world who refuses to give up on him no matter what he does, then he will never give up on himself. He then spoke of the special role of grandparents to be a safe place for children. Everybody needs a safe place. Hashem gave this generation the present of grandparents and even great-grandparents. He then taught that Yosef asked after the welfare of his fellow inmates in prison. He asked them what was bothering them. Greatness is understanding what a human being needs. In the same way, Moshe Rabbeinu went out and saw the pain of his brethren. That is greatness: caring about another person. If we show Hashem that we refuse to give up on ourselves, on our children, our grandchildren, our marriages, then Hashem will refuse to give up on us. He concluded with a brachah to the audience that we should merit to celebrate the real new year at Rosh HaShanah and have shalom bayis, good health, and the arrival of the Mashiach. (By Susie Garber) For more information about upcoming CHAZAQ events and programs, please call 718-285-9132 or Visit https://www.chazaq.org/ Together We Can Make A Difference, To donate online to CHAZAQ please visit https://www.fidelipay.com/chazaq