I
was recently at a Sheva Brochos waiting, as one does, for the chosson and kallah to arrive, and I had the chance to talk a bit with my old friend Reb Dovid.* R’ Dovid is a very philanthropic, wealthy, and successful entrepreneur, with whom I have had a special relationship for many years. A close talmid of Rav Shneur Kotler, R’ Dovid is a talmid chacham in his own right, has started yeshivos and day schools, and supports countless mosdos with his tzedakah. As we were waiting at this simcha , I asked him to tell me a story about his time with Rav Shneur Kotler. I was eager to learn of their interactions. He grew very emotional recounting the following incredible story that actually has an important message for all of us, especially at this time of year. R’ Dovid started wistfully, “After I got mar- ried, I was learning in kollel by Rav Shneur Kotler, to finish my smicha (ordination). As I was coming close to finishing Yoreh Yoreh , the first level of smicha , my goal, my dream really, was to have my rebbe write the ksav , the signature, on the klaf (document) of the smicha upon comple- tion. “My plan was to finish the smicha , get my Rebbe’s signature, hang it on my wall, and go into the business world. As I finished up the last of my learning days, I lined up a job with a great business opportunity and I was ready for the next step. Unfortu- nately at that time, Rav Shneur became very sick. He was hospitalized, and it seemed it was the end. No visitors outside of the family were admitted to see him in the hospital. I was heartbroken because I had so badly wanted to bring him my smi- cha and have him sign the klaf , but I also didn’t want to bother him and be burden- some to the family by asking for special favors. “My hesitations notwithstanding, I could not let the dream go. It meant everything to me. I was close with a relative of Rav Shneur who was in the hospital with him. This friend let me know when the rav was doing a bit better, and I used this connec- tion to ‘get in’ and was thrilled when I got the OK to come see the rav . “I went quickly to the hospital and indeed received a bracha , and the rav wrote ‘This Smicha is signed… etc.’ It was an incredi- ble moment for me. I folded it up and put it in my pocket, thanked him and the fam- ily profusely, and left to let the rav rest. I called my wife, elated, describing what happened and shared that I could not wait to come home and celebrate with her. I
honestly could not believe that under such trying circumstances I had managed to get this special opportunity. “As I got out of the elevator, I unfolded the paper and was shocked to see a mis- take! Instead of writing that these are the credentials of a Yoreh Yoreh -- the equiva- lent of a masters degree -- the rav had written Yadin Yadin , basically the equiva- lent of a PhD or for someone who’s ready to sit on a beis din ! All the elation blew out of me in one breath. I did not know what to do. I had the signature I wanted, but I hadn’t earned what it said. “In the days and sleepless nights that fol- lowed, my wife urged me to go back to get it fixed. I insisted that I had already used my connections and I simply could not push them for another appointment. My wife, to her credit, kept pushing. She saw my anguish and knew this was too im- portant to me. Embarrassed, I called the relative in the hospital who managed to squeeze me in again if I promised it would be under five minutes. “I went back to the rosh yeshiva and apol- ogized. ‘I think the Rav thought by mis- take that I earned Yadin Yadin . I can’t ac- cept this with the knowledge of the mistake.’ The rosh yeshiva put his hand on my face and said, “Dovid’l, I know what I wrote. I didn’t make a mistake. This is the smicha for what I believe you can become. I know that you’re planning on leaving ye- shiva to start working. I don’t know how long I’ll be here for and I might not be here to see you earn this, but i’m writing this because this is what I know you can earn in the future.’ The rosh yeshiva then gave me a kiss and a bracha , and a few days later, he passed away.” At this point in the story I was already speechless. Grateful that the chosson and kallah had not yet arrived, I asked R’ Dovid, “What did you do after that?” “I took that klaf home and called the guy that I was scheduled to start working with and told him that I could not start working that Monday as planned. He asked when I could start, and I said, ‘I can start in ten years.’ And that’s what I did. I re-enrolled in the kollel and learned for ten more years to earn that Yadin Yadin -- because Rav Shneur believed I could. After that I went into business.” This incredible story left me thinking about the concept of pushing ourselves and wanting more. These are themes of Chanukah: to push for the mihadrin min hamihadrin -- the best of the best, and
more or better than is strictly necessary. This idea of lighting the oil specifically as a reminder is a demonstration of the idea of mihadrin , of pushing ourselves to higher levels. When we think of the miracles of Chanu- kah, we talk about the Jewish people find - ing that tiny flask of oil with the seal of the kohen gadol on it and its lasting for eight days. We think about the victory of the Chashmonaim. Commentaries ask a pro- found question: The Shulchan Aruch and Gemara tell us of a concept called tumah hutra b’tzibur . While it’s true that we don’t usually use things that are tamei or defiled ,and instead we discard them, the Shul- chan Aruch writes that, if it’s for the need of the community, then that which is im- pure is allowed to be used. So that puts into question the whole story of the special flask of oil. Even if it meant that they had to light the menorah with impure oil, this would have been allowed because it was for the tzibur , to demon- strate our return to the Beis Hamikdash. The commentaries answer that the real victory of the Chashmonaim is that the Jewish people are not satisfied with the bare minimum, or “checking the box.” We are not okay just to satisfy our basic obli- gation. We are Jews, illuminated by the light of Chanukah. We live by the value of mitzvah min hamuvchar, mihadrin min hamihadrin and by the value of lifnim m’shuras hadin . We push ourselves to be the best we can possibly be, and we are defined by our dedication to uplifting our - selves and each other. As we push ourselves to our greatest po- tential, this is reflected in the story of Cha - nukah and in the story of my friend R’ Dovid. This is why we celebrate finding and using the tiny flask of the purest oil. That’s how we celebrate doing our best always. This is how our best version of our- selves is revealed and our immortality is achieved and our greatest accomplish- ments are fulfilled. So, reach for the light – because we know we can earn it.
* R’ Dovid is not his real name
Rabbi Yaakov Gibber became the rabbi and spiritual leader of the Boca Jewish Center/Shaaray Tefilla in August of 2008.
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