by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

In his Zos Chanukah tisch, the Stoliner Rebbe, Rav Boruch Meir Yaakov Schochet, discussed the obligation of Ahavas Yisroel toward all of Klal Yisroel who are suffering tremendously in the current war.  He spoke in Yiddish and said the following words:

“There are so many broken and destroyed families in Klal Yisrael. Among them are those who, unfortunately, the worst has happened to them and they have lost a family member, some of them the father of the family is not at home, The daily stress and pressure are entirely beyond description.  They have no day, they have no night. Thousands of families have been displaced from their homes, tens of thousands of people are in danger and in need, including those who have been kidnapped and are being held in extremely dangerous places,” said the Rebbe.

“Fortunately, there are many who have come together to help them and help. It is clear that those who study in a yeshiva or kollel should only study Torah, but those who have time for this and are engaged in making a living should join in helping and supporting our brothers who are in trouble. We must stand by their side and multiply by doing simple acts of Ahavas Yisrael.”

“There are those who do not connect with this and wonder what happened that we were called to increase our love for Israel at this difficult time. We will explain this and it includes several other paths in our lives. We have a path in our Hasidus that we have been walking for over 250 years, which was paved by our Rebbes and our elders, and we know our position and where our leadership stands.”

“In years gone by, the communities were scattered among themselves throughout several countries in the world, as is the way of the world, each Hasiduss and each community had its own ways of worshiping Hashem, and there are seventy faces to the Torah and many ways to Hashem.

There is no one who can say that only my way is right and that of others is not. Our way was known and recognized over the years. Our Rebbes who paved the way and those who were close to our ways, advocated increasing the Ahavas Yisroel and we are following in their footsteps. Today they would define this way as “extreme” but this is the Ahavas Yisroel that they practiced, including looking for ways not ways of how to be good to others without restrictions without checking which suit He has and what kind of Shtreimel he wears.”

“They helped and assisted every Jew, regardless of who he was, without calculation and without filtering. This does not mean that our ways are not different from theirs, but we are all Jews, each in his own degree and we must be together in love for every person from Klal Yisrael. Charity and kindness is a duty for every Jew, even without knowing him or know his identity. Is it necessary to help only those who know and look like us? It is an obligation to support and help every person. Beyond the fact that this is the sanctification of Hashem and bringing others together. What will become of us? It is forbidden to help Jews? Where does this sound like? How can we stand against it?”

“Our elders used to follow their own ways and did not exclude others. Our Rabbis’ article is well known, “I wish we would love the greatest righteous person as much as Hashem loves the greatest evil one”, and we are required to act in his ways, including in his love for every Jew, so we are also obligated to follow Hashem’s ways and love literally every person from Israel. We have nothing to be ashamed of in our way and in the way that our masters used and paved for us. And we pray (based on Tanna s’bei Eliyahu 25:1) , “When will my actions reach the actions of my ancestors”, even just to come close to doing them. We must act and do for them and for every person. And thanks to this we will be blessed with salvation and a good year.”

Rav Boruch Meir Yaakov Shochet shlita, lives in the Givat Ze’ev section of Yerushalayim. Most of the Karlin-Stolin Hasidim live in and near Yerushalayim; there are also Stoliner Kehillos in Beitar Illit, Bnei Brak, Kiryat Sefer, Brachfeld, Tzfas, and Tveryah, as well as in Borough Park, Brooklyn, Monsey, New York, Los Angeles, California, Lakewood, New Jersey, London, and in Ukraine and Belarus.

The author can be reached at [email protected]