“RABBI’S MUSINGS (&
AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh
Parshas Naso –Avos Perek 1
11 Sivan 5778/May 15,
2018
My parents were born and bred on New York’s legendary Lower
East Side. It’s where my grandparents lived when they came to America as well.
For the first seven years of my life, my family lived at 550
Grand Street, a block away from the FDR Drive and the East River. Before we
moved to Monsey the summer before I entered second grade in August 1988, I
attended Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim (MTJ). I don’t have too many memories of
those early years, but there are a few that I cannot forget. I remember getting
in trouble in Pre-1A for blowing out the Shabbos candles during a Friday
morning Shabbos party. I think I’ve gotten past that trauma.
My first grade rebbe, Rabbi Blank, was a wonderful rebbe, and had some unique idiosyncrasies. One of his famous ones was that whenever he would pour milk for a student, he would lift his hand as he was pouring. By the time the cup was filled, he would be standing on a chair pouring with perfect precision so that not one drop fell outside the cup.
My first grade rebbe, Rabbi Blank, was a wonderful rebbe, and had some unique idiosyncrasies. One of his famous ones was that whenever he would pour milk for a student, he would lift his hand as he was pouring. By the time the cup was filled, he would be standing on a chair pouring with perfect precision so that not one drop fell outside the cup.
On one occasion, Rabbi Blank went beyond the chair until he
was actually standing on the table, all the while still pouring. At that point
the student decided that was enough milk for him, and he promptly pulled away
his cup, causing a messy flow of milk to spill everywhere.
The Kotzker Rebbe notes that in our davening we refer to
Shavuos as the holiday of the giving of Torah, not the holiday of our accepting
of Torah. This is because on Shavuos each year Hashem offers us the Torah anew.
Whether we decide to accept it, and to what degree we invest the effort to
reaccept it, is our prerogative. We are like the child holding the cup as the
milk is being poured. If we decide to pull our cup away, we will be depriving
ourselves.
The analogy is apt because of the well-known custom to
partake of milk and dairy products on Shavuos.
One of the many reasons for the custom is that an infant
after birth requires no other food or nourishment aside from its mother’s milk.
Amazingly, studies have shown that when a child nurses from its mother, the
milk adapts to the child’s system causing the mother to produce needed
antibodies to ward off infection in the infant. Thus, the mother’s milk not only
nourishes, it also protects, and helps the child develop and mature.
On the day when we celebrate the giving of the Torah we
celebrate the fact that the Torah alone provides our spiritual nourishment and
spiritual protection. When we commit ourselves to Torah learning and Torah
living we don’t need anything more for our spiritual development.
One final point about milk. Cholov Yisrael companies produce
three types of milk. Regular milk has a red cover, skim milk has a blue cover,
and 2% fat has a green cover. Based on those covers it has become common lingo
for people to ask for green, blue, or red milk, depending on their personal
preference.
Someone noted that if there really was green milk no one
would go near it. The reality is that all milk is white; the difference is only
in regard to fat content.
The Torah too presents to us many colors - there is no one
“flavor” of Torah. Some find their souls ignited by chassidus, others by
mussar. Some are inspired by a vort on the parsha or an incredible story, while
others seek intricate intellectual lomdus. Some enjoy Iyun - delving into a
Talmudic topic in depth, while others are more inclined towards bekius - a more
basic understanding which allows for more rapid learning. There are master
Poskim whose breadth of knowledge allows them to state on-the-spot halchic
rulings with conviction, while others may be able to share the “raid on the
sugya” without having a definitive conclusion. As long as it’s all nourishing
milk, the color doesn’t matter.
It’s only if the milk itself begins to change color, that we need to maintain our distance. Such milk can cause great risks to our spiritual health.
It’s only if the milk itself begins to change color, that we need to maintain our distance. Such milk can cause great risks to our spiritual health.
Shavuos has passed, but the beautiful lesson and inspiration
should remain with us all year.
Shabbat
Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum