Trapped in the Psychiatric Ward | Rabbi Naftali Reich

We are all surrounded in an environment that is immersed in decadence and immorality. How do we stand strong? Let me share with you a story that took place with the legendary philanthropist the great R’ Moshe Reichmann of blessed memory. In the 1980s, he was on the top of the Forbes list of billionaires, and yet he conducted himself with such incredible simplicity and humility. At one time, a relative of his was sick in a hospital in downtown Toronto, and on a hot summer Shabbos afternoon, he left his home in Bathurst-Lawrence area and he walked to the hospital. He found the fire escape to be able to go up to the high floor where his relative was convalescing, and in the middle, on the fifth floor, he was already so exhausted, he went into one of the wards, just to sit down and relax a little bit, catch his breath. But he went back to the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't open. So he went to the nurses’ station and there was a young man over there. He asked him, He said: Sir, without even looking at him, He looked around and he realized he was in the acute psychiatric ward of the hospital. He said, Well, he said, He said, The fellow was very dismissive of him. It took a while till R’ Moshe was able to extricate himself. A supervisor came down and he was able to convince him, and they opened the door and he went up to visit his relative. And R’ Moshe said afterwards that throughout that ordeal, he never doubted his identity. He knew he’s in a ward with Meshugoim, but he is Mr. Paul Reichmann. He knows where he's coming from. He knows where he's going to. It's just a matter of time. The Mishnah in Avos tells us, Akavya ben Mahalalel says, Gaze at these three things, and you will not come to sin. Know where you're coming from. Know where you're going to. Know to Whom you're going to give an accounting. If we know, I come from greatness. I'm going to greatness. I am great. And therefore, all the deviant behavior, all the decadent behavior that surrounds me, is nothing to do with me. It's true. We may be walking through a meshuganeh house, but we are the Yid. Israel, in whom I take pride.