QUESTION:
I have a general question about the entire deep, inner and truthful approach of the Rav, and I hear this question from other people as well, who sometimes struggle with the Rav says and they have a hard time accepting what the Rav is saying. Could it be that the Rav’s approach only works for people in Eretz Yisrael, and not for Americans? Because after all, the Rav did grow up in Eretz Yisrael, where people there are generally made of ‘tougher skin’, and where the “Torah of truth” is more found, so perhaps we can assume that the Israeli audience can more easily handle the truthful approach of the Rav, whereas Americans have a harder time with the truthful approach of the Rav. Also, the Rav is speaking from a very truthful place in the soul, and the Rav often demands a lot of intense deep spiritual growth from people. Maybe Americans just can’t handle this? Because we in America grow up surrounded with tumah and mixed with the goyim, and we’re much more affected by secular culture than our Israeli counterparts. And in America, the more popular approach that works for people here is to focus on the positive, to feel good about ourselves, to constantly get chizuk.
(For example, people here of all types and of all levels love listening to Reb Meilich Biderman, who knows how to give chizuk in a way that’s very positive-focused and also through humorous stories. Everyone is drawn to him. That is the approach that speaks very much to the American crowd.) Now, getting back to the Rav’s approach, though many people feel that the Rav is speaking the truth, a lot of people in America find the Rav to be too much for them, and they have a hard time accepting what the Rav says.
So, basically my question is: When the Rav speaks, is the Rav mainly addressing an Israeli audience, who can better handle what the Rav is saying, as opposed to Americans, who can’t really handle as much what the Rav says? And in particular, is the Rav’s approach mainly for those who are bnei aliyah, who are far and few between? Of course, any person on any level can gain from the Rav’s psychological insights about the human soul, but I’m asking about the very truthful and inner approach of avodas Hashem which the Rav talks about. Can this approach also apply for those in America…? Yasher Koach to the Rav for all of the holiness and purity which the Rav bestows us with.
(For example, people here of all types and of all levels love listening to Reb Meilich Biderman, who knows how to give chizuk in a way that’s very positive-focused and also through humorous stories. Everyone is drawn to him. That is the approach that speaks very much to the American crowd.) Now, getting back to the Rav’s approach, though many people feel that the Rav is speaking the truth, a lot of people in America find the Rav to be too much for them, and they have a hard time accepting what the Rav says.
So, basically my question is: When the Rav speaks, is the Rav mainly addressing an Israeli audience, who can better handle what the Rav is saying, as opposed to Americans, who can’t really handle as much what the Rav says? And in particular, is the Rav’s approach mainly for those who are bnei aliyah, who are far and few between? Of course, any person on any level can gain from the Rav’s psychological insights about the human soul, but I’m asking about the very truthful and inner approach of avodas Hashem which the Rav talks about. Can this approach also apply for those in America…? Yasher Koach to the Rav for all of the holiness and purity which the Rav bestows us with.
ANSWER:
Even in Eretz Yisrael, most people are not searching for this [truthful] approach. There is never any one way of avodas Hashem that works for everyone, and this way [the “Bilvavi” derashos and sefarim] is only one of the ways of avodas Hashem. Each person needs to find the way that is suitable for him.
Often, people who live in chutz l’aretz are not looking for a “way” of avodas Hashem, and they are instead looking for a ‘compromise’ – they are looking for a way to have the best of both This World and the Next World at once. But there is no such way.
The way of avodas Hashem which we [I] emphasize is not in order to “demand more growth” from people. It is just to clarify and become precise about what we face, and that, in and of itself, can demand something from us….
Often, people who live in chutz l’aretz are not looking for a “way” of avodas Hashem, and they are instead looking for a ‘compromise’ – they are looking for a way to have the best of both This World and the Next World at once. But there is no such way.
The way of avodas Hashem which we [I] emphasize is not in order to “demand more growth” from people. It is just to clarify and become precise about what we face, and that, in and of itself, can demand something from us….
Categories
