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The Short Vort- -“Yesterday….” (7/22/10)
The Short Vort
Good Morning!
Today is Thursday the 11th of Av 5770 and July 22, 2010
Yesterday….
I am sure that many of my loyal readers are wondering where I was yesterday.
The day after Tisha Bav; where was Rabbi Eisenman?
Did he need a day to recover from the grueling fast?
Was he ‘spent’, exhausted and worn out?
Maybe; however, that was not the reason for not writing.
I did not write because I was not here in Passaic at my desk.
Where did Rabbi Eisenman escape to?
No doubt to some faraway get away; to a place where he can get rest and relaxation.
I am sorry to disappoint you; however, neither is the case.
Truth be known, I was invited already before Tisha Bav to speak in a ‘kiruv camp’ on the day after Tisha Bav. Therefore, yesterday, I jumped in my car and off I went to Falsburg, New York to speak for the staff of Camp Nageela.
The camp -which appeals to children, who want to discover their Jewish roots-, is a hotbed of kiruv activity.
Many girls who previously had been ignorant of Yiddishkeit and of Torah and Mitzvohs are awakened to search out and reconnect with their ‘birthright’.
After speaking to the staff about the need to want and yearn for Hashem in this world.
And after explaining to the staff the necessity to recognize how wonderful and meaningful life would be with the Beis HaMikdash- as we would therefore be able to feel Hashem’s presence in a real and powerful way; I was shown around the camp.
One of the girls pointed out to me a model of the Beis HaMikdash which the girls have built with their own ‘bricks’.
The bricks were small notes which were taped to a large model of the Beis HaMikdash hanging on the wall.
What was written on these ‘bricks’?
These bricks contained precious desires and resolutions which the girls have accepted upon themselves in order to hasten the arrival of Mashiach.
As I looked at the various ‘Kabbolas’ (resolutions) which the girls had accepted upon themselves, one of them in particular screamed out at me.
While the majority of the girls wrote that they wanted to be more careful in doing nagel vasser or in bentching or in being more tznius; one girl wrote something very different.
On one of the bricks was written “to become closer to Hashem”.
I stood there locked in my place.
Here was a girl who had never grown up with Torah and Mitzvahs, however, she understood more than anyone else what is the real desire of a person in this world.
What exactly does a person need?
We need to be close to Hashem; to feel His comforting and consoling presence.
We need to feel the proximity of His being in our very being.
We need to be able to connect with our creator in a real and meaningful way.
We need to be close to Him.
This young girl who has just been introduced to Judaism understood what it is all about.
As Dovid HaMelech says in Tehillim 42:3: “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when will I come and appear before God?”
We need to have a thirst for Hashem; we need to desire His presence with all of our being.
As Dovid says some beautifully later in Tehillim (42:2 and 63:2):
“As a gazelle cries longingly for rivulets of water, so does my soul cry longingly to You, O God.”
“O God, You are my God, I seek You. My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You, in an arid and thirsty land, without water.”
This young girl understood what Dovid HaMelech said so many years ago.
As usual, yesterday I thought I was going to inspire others; however, I ended up the one who was inspired.