26 Oct Becoming Hashem’s Ambassadors
In this week’s parsha, we are introduced to the father of the Jewish people Avraham Avinu. Since he is our founder, it is understandable that we can derive many fundamentals about Judaism from his behaviors. One such example is what the Torah says about him and Sarah, “V’es hanefesh asher asu b’Charan – And the souls that they made in Charan.” Rashi explains this refers to the men and women that Avraham and Sarah respectively brought under the wings of Hashem. We see from this how important it is to be a m’zakeh harabim, to influence and improve other people.
The Gemora teaches us that when Elkanah traveled to Yerushalayim to fulfil the mitzvah of aliya l’regel, to visit Hashem three times a year, he would lodge on the road along the way. Passersby would ask him where he was going and he would say, “To visit the Lord,” and he would exuberantly encourage them to do so as well. The Gemora reveals to us that it was in this merit that Hashem blessed him with his great son Shmuel, who was an equal to Moshe and Aharon. Once again, we see how worthy and valuable it is to influence others through our actions and our words.
There is a beautiful story of an elderly man who would walk every day along the main thoroughfare carrying a large heavy Gemora to his Daf Yomi shiur. A good friend approached him and said, “I’ve been wondering about a few things that I’ve wanted to ask you for a while. I noticed you carry your heavy Gemora to shul every day. You’re getting on in years and in the heat, it can’t be easy. Why don’t you just leave the Gemora in shul instead of lugging it around every day? If it’s because you need it at home as well, why don’t you get a second Gemora for the house or at least a smaller one to carry each day. Also, I noticed that you take such a long route to get to shul. There are three different shortcuts from your house that will get you to shul faster. Why do you go on Main Street which is such a long and circuitous route?”
The old man smiled at him and said, “Do you know how many people stop me and ask me about my Gemora? Do you known how many people notice me lugging around my big tome while walking on Main Street? Over the years, I’ve convinced many people to try out the Daf Yomi with my advertising. That’s why I carry such a heavy Gemora and that’s why I don’t go by way of the back roads. I deliberately want to be very conspicuous.” Here’s a man who is an Ambassador to the Torah and is walking in the footsteps of Elkanah.
We can all practice this in whatever we are doing. When I start playing a game of doubles in tennis, before hitting the first serve, I say to the foursome, “It’s a pleasure.” That kind of friendship is infectious and people learn to do the same. When you walk out of shul on Shabbos and you see your wife exiting from the women’s section and you say, “It’s so nice to see you, I’m so happy to walk home with you,” people take note and learn to do the same. When you answer a thoughtful amein with feeling, people notice and imitate such behavior. When they see you by Va’yevorech Dovid walking over to the pushka to put in a coin as is the custom, they might be motivated to do so as well. And when they hear you go over to the chazzan and say, “What a nice davening that was! I appreciated the effort and it really inspired me to daven better,” people will learn to take the time to give a compliment as well.
There is no end to the opportunities to be m’zakeh es harbim, to influence others. Let’s remember that this was the way of our father Avraham, and let’s look for opportunities to model good behavior and make an impact on those that we come across. It can be backing out of a shul instead of turning our backs on the Aron Kodesh, it can be kissing the mezuza (when COVID finally departs). It can be that we keep our children sitting next to us in shul instead of letting them running all over the place. Remember, we get credit for the actions of all those who we influence by our example. In the merit of becoming Hashem’s Ambassador, may Hashem bless us with long life, good health, and everything wonderful.