This past Tuesday, the 7th of Marcheshvan, was the yahrzeit of Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the founder of the Daf Yomi concept. In August 1923, at the First International Congress of the Agudath Israel World Movement in Vienna, Rabbi Shapiro proposed uniting the Jewish people worldwide through the daily study of a page of Talmud. Under this regimen, the entire Talmud would be completed, one day at a time, in a cycle of seven and a half years. The first cycle of Daf Yomi commenced on the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5684 (11 September 1923). It is now nearing completion of its 13th cycle. A major siyum will, G-d willing, be held on January 1st. Daf Yomi has been taken up by tens of thousands of Jews worldwide. It is not easy to do and I give a great deal of respect to those who have stuck with the program.
I remarked to one of the teachers this week that I can’t believe that 7 years have flown by so quickly as I still have the little towels that were distributed at the last siyum held in the Meadowlands. It had poured non-stop all day literally until the siyyum began. Seven years - like the blink of an eye! If you stop and think about it you may wonder what did you accomplish in those 7 years? I was talking to my daughter last night - she calls me every Thursday night on her way home from graduate school - and she reminded me what I had said which encouraged her to continue her education (she is studying for a Doctorate as a Nurse Practitioner.) I told her that the two years that it takes to do the program would go by whether or not she pushed herself to do so. Two years sounds like a long time, especially when you have so much else on your plate - a job, children, family and community obligations - but two years will pass and what will you have accomplished? And indeed, she is now a quarter of the way through and is happy that she is doing so.
In Mrs. Bodkins’s six grade class this week the girls were having a lively discussion about the meaning of Midah K’neged Midah - Measure for Measure. Midah - character traits - are a measure of a person’s nature, their personality. We are taught that with most traits and proclivities we should take the middle road and not go to extremes. However, with two traits we are told to be extremely vigilant holding them in restraint - and those are arrogance and anger. One of the students proposed that anger was perhaps a good thing - as when someone is very angry about something they will do something about it. The discussion led to how a person’s passion - not anger - can be a stimulus for change. We see this throughout history - as the famous maxim states - the journey begins with the first step and certainly with the leader who takes that step.
Now we come to this week’s parsha and you can see where all of this is leading. Do you remember using as a reason for doing something the excuse - “everyone is doing it”. My father used to say to me in response - if everyone was jumping off a roof, would you follow? (and no, even if everyone is doing it, the answer for you is still NO). Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it right. Avraham Aveinu lived in a land where everyone served idols and worshipped stones. Avraham had the clarity of vision, the understanding and was passionate about his convictions and so he set off on a journey searching for the Creator, the true Master of the Universe. At first he was met with scorn; the rest of the world simply laughed at his ridiculous ideas. Avraham refused to be discouraged, and only strengthened his efforts to teach the rest of the world his message. All it took was a strong belief (and, in this case, a supporting spouse) to effect change.
It is not easy standing up for your beliefs when it appears that the whole world is against you. Can it be that the whole world is crazy and you are the only sane one? Sometimes the answer is yes and you have to stick to your convictions. Your passions will lead you to make a difference. Change starts with just one person. That one person can be YOU. The time will pass anyway and what will you have accomplished? Yes, you can be like Rabbi Shapiro z’l, like Avraham and Sarah, like any now famous person who has made a dent in the world. Harness your passions but don’t necessarily rein them in. The days and years will fly by and you can proclaim Yes, I Did It!!!
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom!
Rochelle Brand, Ed.D.
Head of School
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