“RABBI’S
MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayeshev
20 Kislev 5775/ December 12, 2014
On one occasion Rav
Lazer Shach zt’l was not feeling well and slept past the early time of Kerias
Shema. The following morning he was inconsolable. He related that he felt like
one who went to sleep on the first night of Pesach and woke up the next
morning, having missed the Seder and all of the mitzvos uniquely endemic to
that night, including matzah, marror, and the four cups of wine.
For a number of summers
during my early adolescence I attended Camp Torah Vodaas in Highland , NY
It was also there that
I first met Rabbi Mordechai Finkelman. Today Rabbi Finkelman is one of our
family’s foremost Rabbeim and guides for life. Back then he was the Head
Counselor of Camp Torah Vodaas. When the camp closed its doors in 1997, and I
headed back to Camp Dora Golding, Rabbi Finkelman migrated there as well.
One of the many special
memories I have of Rabbi Finkelman from our days in Camp Torah Vodaas involved
an early wake up call on Shabbos mornings.
There is a notable
dispute between the Magen Avrohom and the Vilna Gaon as to how late into the
morning Kerias Shema may be recited. The halacha states that it may be recited until
three halachic hours into the day (when the daylight hours are divided into 12
equal segments). They dispute when those three hours begin – dawn or sunrise.
The halacha follows the later time, as ruled by the Vilna Gaon. However, those
who are meticulous will be particular to recite Kerias Shema before the time limit
of the Magen Avrohom.
The truth is at that
time I don’t think I even understood what ‘the earlier zeman Kerias Shema’ was,
nevertheless I asked to be woken up. Rabbi Finkelman wrote down my name, bunk
number, and where my bed was situated in the bunk on a little notebook. Every
Shabbos morning he would walk into the bunk with that little notebook and
gently tap my arm and whisper “Good Shabbos; it’s almost the first z’man Kerias
Shema.” He would then go to each camper whose name was written in the bunk, before
he proceeded to the next bunk.
To be honest there were
many Shabbos mornings when I fell back to sleep without saying Kerias Shema,
but it made a deep impression on me. Now I try to be particular to say Shema
before the earlier time.
When the Maccabees
entered the Bais Hamikdash and found the one jar of pure oil they rejoiced
because they had the ability to perform the mitzvah of lighting the menorah in
pristine purity. They could have employed many leniencies to perform the
mitzvah, but when re-inaugurating the long dormant mitzvah they wanted to
ensure that it was performed on the highest level.
A Rebbe of mine used to
say that Chanukah separates the men from the boys. It is a time when we look to
‘up the ante’. We seek to not be satisfied with getting by in our spiritual
pursuits, but we look to perform on a higher level, beyond our obligations.
It is amazing to me
that Rabbi Finkelman took it upon himself to walk around each Shabbos morning
to give a few young men the opportunity to perform a mitzvah in a more optimal
fashion. Without his efforts everyone would have been able to fulfill the
mitvah perfectly well, albeit without that extra level of fulfilling a more
stringent opinion.
It’s one thing to
perform a mitzvah on the highest level of mehadrin min hamehadrin. It’s
another thing to live it!
Shabbat Shalom &
Good Shabbos
Freilichen
Chanukah/Orot Sameiach,
R’ Dani and Chani
Staum