Torah Umesorah Address | A Paradigm Shift in Education

the yeshiva.net [Music] I was invited some time ago to a dinner in Montreal of a particular Community which was a s community and a particular community that was Notorious for coming very late to events so when they told me that my speech is going to be 7:30 I assumed it would be 8:30 9:30 I was sitting there was 11:30 and the guest of honor was just called up to speak and he liked to hear himself it was almost I turned to the rabbi who invited me and I said not on me but they he be lying he says no no no I want the full speech I said 5 minutes he said no I hired you for an hour I want you to speak for an hour I said you're nuts you'll forgive me but you're crazy this is suicidal for you do it no I get up I look at the just looking at me I could feel the agony in their eyes the suffering you know what I mean I was basically the last thing between them and their mattresses it was M I didn't know if it's a that was because there was a lot of food that night so it could be it was a different get there but it wasn't a comfortable position to be in so I get up I say G to tell you there was once a fellow who was invited to speak somewhere there was a Jewish event and there were a lot of speakers before him anyway he speak speaks and he gets into it they gave him an hour he spoke for four NOP the first hour half of the people leave the next hour another 20% the next hour another finally the last hour two guys stay the last half an hour one guy that one guy remains comes over to him after his speech and he says Ah all my life I was looking for the talmid mik had ala I was looking for the Quint essential student who would carry my legacy for eternity finally I have found him come you'll follow me wherever I go and be what do you say about my Brilliance the man says truthfully I wasn't listening he says you weren't listening so why did you remain four hours till the end he says cuz I'm the next speaker so I have for you good news and have bad news the bad news is I'm the next speaker the good news is I'm the last speaker but I'm the thing that stands between you and the barbecue so I do understand the significance of my position I am the that is being and and it's not a comfortable position to be in especially after people who have been starving and dehydrated a whole shabas between the te- room and the Grand Ballroom how would I be in such a position okay so that's that so I will try not to be MAF between you and the malava Mal but to try to be theere the appetizer before the main course of the malava Mal so since the says that would say before every he wanted the rabbis to laugh why did he start off a she with an anecdote I don't think it's the meing in the yeshivas today that the Riva starts off with an anecdote one reason is maybe he wanted them to come on time if they would come late there miss The Jug but probably there was a deeper reason than that so I'll also begin with a there was once a Jew and a Hindu and a politician who went hiking in Texas they get lost on the hike KES the sun sets and there's no Hotel no Motel to stay they find a home and they figure Southern Hospitality will do them well they knock on the door and a classical classic Texan farmer opens the door how can I help you and they tell him their predicament they need a place to sleep can they stay in this house for the night he says sure my pleasure my delight it would be my privilege the only problem is I have two beds in the house so one of you fellows will have to sleep in the barn okay the Jew is not going to sleep in the barn the politician is not going to sleep in the barn the Hindu he goes to the barn 10 minutes later he knocks on the bedroom the Jew and the politician open the door the Hindu is there they say what's going on he says there's a problem there's a cow in the barn as a Hindu there's no way I'm allowed to sleep with a holy cow Hindus worship cows there's no way I could sleep in the same room like a count okay they turned to the Jew the Jew says I'll go sleep in the barn 10 minutes later there's a knock on the door the Jew is there what's the problem the Jew says there's aaz in the barn there's a in the barn there's no way a Jew a Jew can't sleep with a pig in one room I'm sorry I need oops that's exactly what it sounded like I'm sorry I need a bet the politician says okay I guess I'll go to the barn so the politician goes into the barn and 10 minutes later there's a knock on the door the Jew and the Hindu open the door and the Pig and the cow are standing there I share with you this uh us Americans are coming from a very heated political uh atmosphere and ambiance and I'm not choosing sides here in any way or form or fashion but politics is politics is politics and I think at such an event and such a shabas and such a shabas it's important to be able to extricate ourselves from it even though we're human and we have that component what we call bias egotism corruption Etc they tell us story that there was an immigrant immigrant came to the United States didn't know a word of English but he wanted to become a citizen so he asks his friend he says yank V verman how do you become a to become a citizen of America I'll hook you up with a clerk he's been asking the same five questions for the last 50 years from every WN to be citizen you don't have to know English you don't have to learn history you have gar your's WR and you have to memorize five responses in English verbatim and you'll pass the test you'll become a citizen he says what are they says the first question he always asks is what's your name the moment you hear what's your name you don't have to understand you'll say m okay second question is always how many children do you have you'll hear that you'll say five the third question is who was how many how many states are there in the United States you'll say 50 the fourth question is who is the first president of the United States of America and you'll say George Washington his last question is do you have parents and you'll tell him thank God both for three monthsa is memorizing the questions and the answers for B him to be able to become a citizen he goes in for the interview and the old clerk looks at him and says I have five questions we'll do this very very fast first question I have for you is what was the name of the first president of the United States of America without skipping a heart's beat he says says my next question is how many states are there in the US he says five he says tell me how many children do you have and the man says 50 he says now tell me looks at this Jew came with he says tell me what is your name he says George Washington the man on the other side of the desk understood immediately what is transpiring before his eyes he says tell me who is muga in this room you or me and he says thank God both so I so here's the deal I want to share with you a story the story is let's try to understand in the story T shimad was a for 40 years 40 years was his tenure in the beginning of he would say one day told his students one year he came out Kipper from the and he told his I'm going to die this year they said why why do you say this how do you not he said every when I walk into who walks in with me an old man beded in white covered in white walks in with me and he walks out with me but this year y Ki I went in and what did I see an old man also walked in with me but the old man was as he was completely eclipsed and covered in black and therefore I know that my mission is over pass and a week later returned his soul to its maker that's the end of the story and I ask you [Applause] tonight the whole leadership of on all levels what is the meaning of the story first of all how does that prove to him that he's going to to pass away second of all who's this old man who's walking in and out with them white black isn't there [Music] a even the are not let it be there is not only down here even the so to speak to be there who's the that theor leaves to our imagination our understanding and I want to ask another question I want to ask another question I I want to know what you would do if you were in the position who we know from was beyond hand handsome the VIS of was stupendous and is bathing where in the Jordan River in the yarden anybody here went bathing in the Jordan River okay was in the yardish who in simple English was a gladiator a powerful muscular mafiosa man who got his paros not from very refined and Noble Feats sees and because of his physical strength and power he leaps into the Jordan right near why did he leap in you know what his kavana was so the maue either he thought was a woman and he was seeking promiscuity or actually he was seeking so he's right there if you're the the editor of living in in the third Century after the Common Era in the yard and this gangster this Gladiator standing there seeking one particular thing which is Yar Y what would you say to this man one would think would look at him and say 911 you did or whatever call the police try to fight him run away none of the above in full composure he says two words and these two words probably contain volumes of pedagogy of psychology of Education of as two words and the two words are such power such strength such creativity such enormous personality it belongs to tylish was no dumb man he looks at he says and your beauty belongs to women you're telling me I'm in the wrong business you're in the wrong business you don't belong in the B you could be doing much better for yourself what does say what do you think would say astounding he says you think I'm gorgeous wait till you see my sister ah as your Bubba would say a wait till you see my sister and you know what if you change around your life I'll suggest you for my sister and we all know the end of the story Lish does that and he marries sister and him and become the two spiritual T Giants of the generation andw learning their debates and arguments discussions and disputations explanations crown and adore every numerous numerous times in bavi and of course Yi which they themselves worked on and I ask one question number one how in three seconds did Rish transform his life what happened from a gladiator from a gangster literally from a person who was ready to do this to a man who metamorphosized his Destiny for eternity shim from our greatest spiritual Treasures in Jewish history and of course some of you leaders of Institutions supporters of Ty institutions activists for tah day schools and Torah education for decades and decades have seen various Educators and their approaches various rebies moras teachers and you know the answer Rish asked himself one question this man is ready to give me his sister really you would offer your sister forish wow he believes in me so much but he understood when said he wasn't joking it wasn't acute euphemism you're so powerful you should start learning no looked at him he sized him up and he said Rish I want you to seize the day I want you to suck the marrow out of life I want you to be more powerful than you are today I want your full creativity Unleashed physical psychological emotional spirit you know you'll be able to do it comes from the it has the power to unleash a in the person somebody once asked me how do you explain the extremism of Jewish liberalism you know there's no atheist like Jews because Jews are atheists in a religious way they deny god with religious fervor it's a unique type of atheism so imagine Mozart growing up in a home without a piano what would have happened to Mozart the genius has to go somewhere but we thank God he grew up in a house with a piano so the world was enriched by Mozart a Jew laav growing up without turra is a Mozart but a Mozart without a piano Jew summon that to change the world so what is the outlet sometimes the outlet becomes saving the whales in Indonesia sometimes the outlet becomes dealing with turtles in New Zealand and sometimes the outlet becomes dealing with the underdog supposedly was trying to destroy your own Homeland and your own brothers and sisters looked at him and said and I'm serious I like you I love you I see you I'm ready to ask my sister to give you a chance somebody Believes In Me to that magnitude to that seriousness said am in the rest is history we did there be learn this from I don't know but the Compares said about himself why he could be by the I'm from the children of isn't this the whole story that faithful day remains alone she grabs him by his cloak lay with me he says take my bagot I'm out of here says he saw the image of yov his father what happened there what image did he see he didn't know what jakov looked like before what image did he see what's the we have here contained probably one of the most vital messages for the future of toy M and Jewish Education and toyra education in the 21st century in the United States of America and the World At Large namely we have every story is also a metaphor here is the Jew here is the kid ysf throwing into to a pit sold into slavery but at the moment of truth the says he refused and there a that's going to be read next week one of four in the there's only three more he refused and it wasn't simple he succumbed but he saw the image of yov his father what happened friends there's one more there's one more right before everyone comforted him for the dead kid he said no why not wasn't dead he couldn't close the chapter he couldn't say kades and say this is it he couldn't forget but you mindless what does it mean spiritually what does it mean spiritually perhaps it means there's a family there's a community that has a child and the child falls into a pit of abyss of addiction an abyss of pain of Agony of suicidal thoughts of deep abuse sold into slavery doesn't even belong to himself anymore and everybody tells yakob okay but you have 11 beautiful kids and you have 12 beautiful girls look who they are don't call my boy dead Y is not dead Y is alive I know YF YF is not dead don't write off my child he's alive he refuses to be comforted and close the chapter on YF and say let's move on you know what happens miles miles miles far away entrenched in the abyss of a 17-year-old lad alone in the universe without a mother father brothers sisters Community Yeshiva support Tor without anybody alone in the world and the wife of describes in graphic detail how she changed her uniform three times a day paa's credit card was quite maxed out this lady was doing a lot of shopping breakfast lunch dinner she came with a new uniform she promised of the world for five minutes and she threatened him with with the worst torture if he doesn't obey what gave him the fortitude to say no the answer is you know why he refused because at a Moment of Truth he saw that he has a father who believes in Him is what prompted y means refus comes from the word IM confidence trust he had a father who empowered him who believed in him who trusted in him and that's why in The Abyss he could look up and see an image of that father listen to this boade why is begot called in Hebrew a begot you know what a b is yeah in yish a for those who still know yish AAR a traitor a begged betrays I could be AAR but I wear Roth child's go I could be on but be a homeless garment people invest a lot of energy into their clothes the look the label design the image you project the type of suit the type of tie the type of knot type of glasses and it's p beg is Bo n with truth with truth God them conceal you know what she did you know how she like many of us like him by his by his down moments she said look at you you know that your brothers hate you you know that your father may be the one who did it to you you are you were dreaming about things you Brothers weren't dreaming of go all the way let it go enjoy life isn't that the message that many a child here you're anyway not going to be the god you're anyway not going to be like your he already he finished three masas this year and you're having a hard time one with Rashi and we know how much percent of the class is it your IQ is anyway not like him you're not a bookworm like him you're a social animal you're dreaming of taking over the world you're not going to succeed and how many boys and how many girls their energy is sapped out of them because of that message You're a boade somehow we equate academic Excellence with a relationship with God I don't know who invented that Idol who invented that Idol the fact that somebody is less social and has a better IQ and could sit at a book for more hours makes him Superior in the eyes of the I'm not a I'm a child of he went out of all of the limitations the predictions the definitions that society and sometimes from society puts on him that's where learned how to speak to you're not a it's not true do you have Downer moments of course do you have struggles do you have challenges of course and who says is afraid of people who have challenges how do you create a society of Perfect People how do you create a your normal healthy Yeshiva where boys or girls are not to speak about their struggles and to speak about your struggles May cost you a how can people be healthy that way it creates neurotics psychotics they said what's the difference between neurotics psychotics and psychiatrists so neurotics build castles in the air psychotics live in those castles the psychiatrist collect the rent from both of them and the rent is very very high it's very very expensive tells me there was had a real the boys tell him Saturday night he goes to the theater now you understand that in that's like some other places of it's a separate but there so he tells them he says next them all next time he leaves so you know boys they could get close to the R by informing on somebody else it's a great Temptation right we used to have our Nam for them in Yesa we won't talk about it but you all know that classmate right you still love him and uh it's a certain type of tpus and they never change usually when you're 60 it happens in another ways but there's bit there's psycholog profile so uh so they excitedly they gate gate he's going he's going he's taking the train to the theater so his name wasak he goes takes a taxi I'm on it and he goes to the movie theater the poor kid is innocent he comes out of the train confidently you know he's out of the of the Saturday night party time and he walks into the theater and who's standing there at the front door right there by the signs you know all the titles Etc he looks he's pale he's red he's green he's white right there by the entrance he wasn't up the corner away saying he's going to his grandmother's sister's L was right there Riva looks at him says I don't understand he's like it's winter and those of you who escaped from New York to Florida know exactly what I'm talking about s those guys a how do you go without a coat you can't go without a coat where's your coat why didn't you come with a coat look takes off his coat you as a good Foo you know those rebers the Footers the good fur coats you know what I mean I don't know where they pick them up but they pick them up it's it's like the male minks that they create and uh he takes off this this coat he puts it on the boy and he says listen Zan have fun tonight but nor the mantle don't go anywhere without the mantle I don't want you to get sick enjoy yourself the mantle he says Reb you need a coat he says no I'm already on the way home I had to be here I'm on the way home I'm taking a taxi I'll be fine tomorrow morning whenever you come back you leave drop off the coat in the yesha's office I get gives him a kiss and he leaves the B told over the story he says I went to the movie theater I sat down I'm looking at the C looking at the stage at the play I couldn't see anything all I was thinking for two hours was the yakov's mantle my riva's coat that's all I was thinking about ah this coat this coat this coat changed his life it changed his perspective we live in a generation today and maybe old Generations our boys and girls need the coat they need the information they need academic Excellence they need to be challenged intellectually and stimulated intellectually no question but above everything else they need to hear that God loves them unconditionally they need to hear that he believes in them unconditionally and they need to hear that despite mistakes and sins and transgressions there's a relationship that will never ever be tarnished as we live in it's time to remember the and you could look it up says I met a and he says listen there's two things I love with all my heart what are the two things and the Jewish people what's he says but I want to know what's the which one comes first both I love the only things that preceded the world and he brings [Music] the that's I call most people say turn to perceive the Jew I want to know what's the what's the perhaps it's two hasas two realas number one the of everything is to that comes before everything you want to have a good life you want to have a relationship with hasem you want to live up to his expectations you have to to gives you legitimacy to justifies Your Existence and what happens if you don't have TOA you're worthless you're a piece of garbage one approach says this is and just like nothing can destroy nothing can destroy the K the Holiness of a Jew and his ensal relationship with Hashem and just like no mother sitting here looks at her boy or girl and says you're too dirty I'm not your mother anymore Hashem will never say that about a Jew that's to is hashem's gift to the Jew you want to be able to live this love 24 hours a day you want to be able to breathe in this relationship your whole life you want to be able to reveal this connection so you have you have galinski was my cousin he said over that he heard this from the STI gone I've said it and people told me can't be I don't know said he heard it from the stier so I'm telling you the vort listen to the vort you never asked the question yob is sent by his Rich father very rich father to go find a sh without $5 in his wallet who does this to a son a stick elzar goes for three days to find a girl and a gives him half of Switzerland y sends his son for 20 years to settle epis something no not $10 to start off and he knows the crook he's going to be dealing with what's everybody knows the classic rash every knows every kid knows every girl knows what does Rashi say yob went with a lot ASA sent his son alas to kill him he comes to Yakov and he's ready to kill him what does he say I can't why he grew up in the he couldn't touch but that's what it sounded like again I'm just doing you know graphic illustrations to keep you awake remember in as's family K was no small thing the right the was Mak and this whatever my father's my father's not the okay but wasn't so what does yov tell him y should have told him you father's a criminal he's a murder get out of here yakob starts giving him aeres I have for you take away my money killed me was a of killing me and now you you can go home and you know what he does that he does that takes away the money I'm left with M I ask you a question say told was a was he was the strict one y was not the type that we call you know the forgiving liberal open-minded so open-minded that there's nothing left inside who does he have raised in his bosom who was this called alas so if you follow the last Aliyah which the last two aliyas today but end of let's face it most people it's like whoa after you're done with Dina and everything else it's like the drama doesn't stop people are not busy analyzing the genealogy of as but the r says that have the same wants you to know he also wants you to know exactly who's kids were every one of them and who the pilim Were Somehow God thinks it's important important information who was this tat called alas so the Goran and and Rashi quotes a little bit of it he was quite a interesting figure for starters he decided to go to his father's wife and have a baby with her and he named The Baby K so even his father's wife it's not enough for him he goes to another married woman take goes with her and has another baby the baby is called timna that's not enough he marries his own daughter and who do they produce aik describing to you a little bit of this T this T called alas should have looked at alas even when he was young he was a Nai and say this kid enough that had with his father now the Next Generation elas you go somewhere else he kept him in his bosom he kissed him he loved him he embraced him okay so you'll say he wasted his time he wasted his time look what he did he wasted his time because love the Jewish people were saved for eternity because if not alas would have killed Yakov and not one of us would be sitting here today is would have not emerged into history the reason CL was saved was because what did for alas don't underestimate it even though alas did not turn out to become the quential RAB and even the title of a even he wouldn't fit into he went to the Other Extreme don't underestimate what accomplished if this is the case come back with me to shimik shimik was a as mentioned the end those are the words of the and he even says being if he dedicates himself to Hashem theim 40 years he's serving in by his sheni but you know what happened in his times Alexander the Great conquered the world helenm began and shimad saw the process that will lead to the story of the MIM and ultimately the Revolt which would give us AEK shim sadik lived in a great day it wasn't dark yet but it was getting there and as all Jews in different Generations he had his feelings of pessimism what's going to be what's going to be the future as we heard over shabas and generally when Jews meet we give a what's going to be every generation with its and challenges but he walked into the kadash you know what he saw he saw an old man I'm not sure the old man was an old man it was it was the spirit of the Jewish people that is very old he saw and was it was white was beautiful was bright and he realized when you walk into the when you walk into the of the year when you walk into the of the of a place of the bikes you see whiteness and he came out inspired invigorated empowered and he went on another year as the spirit spiritual leader of one year he walks into and you know what he sees he sees an old man and the old man is black and he comes out and he says I'm dying this year I'm not going to live what happened he looked at the Jewish history at the Jewish story and he saw Blackness he saw Darkness he saw the sun setting he saw a dark future and he told his students I'm going to leave the world and that's what he does what happened why the answer my dear friends is simple and deep if you want to be a Jewish leader if you want to be a Jewish educator if you want to be a byen an active a supporter one prerequisite and the prerequisite is you have to be able to look at your generation and see the whiteness of your children see their brightness see their beauty see their Splendor see their luminescence see their sacredness see their infinite potential but if I look at a generation and I say aand it's not like it used to be I see Blackness I see a doomed future I see negativity I see problems I see flaws and I cannot identify the glory of my students of my children of my communities of my people of my constituents I have to evacuate a seat and I have to give it to somebody else I cannot be a Ken God yes I have to be honest about everything one of our challenges there's a lot of pain and there's a lot of things we shoved under the carpet for many years that we have to confront now painfully we all know what that is or don't know what we'll find out we know that there's a lot of challenges financially emotionally socially Etc but my underlying premises ah look at these kids look at this nation look at these children look at these students look look at them see the light see the brightness when they saw a fox coming out of the end of marus everybody's crying besides one man who why he says listen I know there's a fox coming out of you know what a fox is leaving the I know that but who is the responsible the says the whole T goes according to from says you want a whole T you have to be able to be M you have to be able to look at our future and raise your spirits with joy with confidence with determination with optimism you have to be able to see Zion was plowed like a field but you also have to be able to see and as says in stands for two [Music] words complete complete year so here's the deal all of us sitting in this room in one way or another are serving every person is a every Jew is a everyw every Jew is a ech there comes Our Generation we more than any other time we have to go into the of our children and see the and for this we have to remember a few of the biggest number one sh is not afraid of diversity why does anybody associate religious commitment with everybody being the same who ever heard of such a thing thear sanin says a is not so small don't turn to into a box and make children feel that if they don't fit into my box they have no relationship to God Infinity has no boxes Hashem could have made a uniform world he did not 9,000 species of birds Milli hundreds of millions of insects different types thousands of mammals even animals no two the same and we really think our children are all going to be the same look the same think the same diversity is woven into the fabric of is and of entire universe what is more is not afraid of struggle it in marriage a good marriage is when you have a wife who disagrees forgive me in it says Isen didn't want to be alone he wanted we should help him by creating opposition is not the void of struggle a life of is not the void of struggle to encompasses struggle as they connect that's my path we all have our challenges internal psychological emotional let's not stigmatize people cuz they're not perfect who creates societies of Perfect People you can't we need to create space for people to be real honest authentic raw emotionally exposed to the right people in the right situations so they can grow organically holistically naturally and to is not afraid of creativity we don't have to stifle creativity toyra allows for emotional creativity physical creativity spiritual creativity all forms of creativity it enriches to doesn't threaten to and Hashem wants people to be successful and happy and maximize their potentials every child should understand that the great objective of T and of Y is to make him or her the most successful happiest person in the world somebody that lives every day to the fullest lives with their soul lives with their body to the fullest so yes there's a lot on the agenda and a lot ahead of us but every single person here who's going to go home back to our Corners back to our communities back to our schools back to our work back to our constituents remember sometimes you look at yourself and you see yourself as small and ins ific remember the power that every single person has to look at a teenager to look at a child to look at a girl to look at a young man or look at a young woman somebody we're connected to in one way or another way and be able to empower them individually and collectively with those two words of see the whiteness see the infinity see the bright future and see the thank [Applause] you this class is brought to you by the yeshiva.net please help us continue the classes make even a small contribution at ww.the yeshiva.net /d donate