Rabbi Menachem Greenbaum: Tending to Our Students' Needs

00:00 Speaker 1 Hi, I'm Zalman Schneer. Welcome to the Everything Chinuch Podcast, brought to you by the Menachem Education Foundation. Here, you'll find farbrengens, workshops, live interviews, and more, all to inspire you, the Chabad educator. We hope you enjoy today's episode. This episode, Rabbi Mandy Greenbaum addresses how to tend to our students' needs.

00:25 Speaker 2 An inc-- a story, an anecdote that took place, uh, the last week of Teves, 5735, when the first shluchas, um, the group of Hasidim, shluchim, and haskanim were traveling to Russia at the start of trying to retri-- to, um, retrieve the seforim that are still in captivity in Russia. Amongst them was Rabbi Kunin, a shliach here in California, and, uh, Rabbi Nissan Mandel, one of the Rebbe's secretaries, was part of that first group. Um, Rabbi Levin, the Rebbe's librarian. Uh, and before they left, it was the last week of Teves 5735, they had a semi-yechidus with the Rebbe in Galied Matachten, outside of the Rebbe's door, and the Rebbe spoke to them, and the Rebbe gave them brachos. And then the Rebbe had them wait for a moment, and he went back into his room, and he brought out from his room the-- what's called the Ale Ha'ga, the, um, the sheets of a maymer that was going to be released in honor of Chavdalah Teves that week, that the Rebbe just finished editing, and they just printed a copy of the galleys for the Rebbe. So this was, I guess, like a sheet that was larger than a regular sheet that had two, I think like four, um, pages on each large sheet. And the Rebbe brought these out from his room, and the Rebbe gave one sheet of the galley to each one of the members of the group that were there at the time in Galied Matachten. And it was-- the, the

02:26 Speaker 2 actual maymer wasn't yet printed in a formal kontras for them to be able to learn that way, but the Rebbe gave it to them in this manner. Each individual got one sheet. And the Rebbe said to them, "Ach zu lernen der maymer, veln ir dafen onkomen enem fun sveyten." In order to be able to learn this maymer, you're going to have to rely one on each other because each one of you only have a part of the maymer. So in order for you to learn it in completion, you're going to need each other. And I think that this concept, especially when it comes to the area of chinuch, is such a powerful idea that the only way that we can truly be matzliach in the field of chinuch is really by being mesached, by learning one from another, by being mechazek one another. Um, this really gives us that ability to be able to forge ahead in a area that can be fraught with many challenges and difficulties, and being there for one another, farbrengen in the manner that's taking place here, is certainly a manifestation of ach zu lernen der maymer that ir onkomen enem fun sveyten so that we strengthen each other and we grow for-- we, we grow mechayel el chayel in this manner. So it's like I said, it's a tremendous chutz. I think that we can build a little bit on what, um, Mrs. Landa was farbrengen about the long-term implications of our leadership as it relates to the idea

04:13 Speaker 2 of Yud Shvat, um, and the Rebbe's vision for his Hasidim. Everybody knows the famous statement that Jonathan Sacks has made, and it's become this, this, this standard line of how he's met many leaders, and most leaders may have followers, but the Rebbe is a leader who created leaders. Um, and this is something which is not a dover, a dover chadash by us, but certainly in the realm of chinuch, this is the case. And the Rebbe expressed this quite clearly in the farbrengen of Yud Shvat 5735, where the Rebbe speaks about the idea that we say after the passing of a tzadik, and in the case of the Friediker Rebbe we say, "Ma zarie b'chayim, ach hu b'chayim." Because his offspring are alive, so too the tzadik is alive. And the Rebbe asks the question that there are so many ways to express this idea that someone's children are alive or their offspring are alive. You could say, "Ma banav b'chayim, ach hu b'chayim." You could say, "Ma yotzei chalotsov b'chayim, ach hu b'chayim." Or in the case of a Rebbe, and in the case of Yud Shvat, in the case of the Friediker Rebbe, you could say, "Ma talmidov b'chayim, ach hu b'chayim. Ma chassidov b'chayim, ach hu b'chayim." Why is the lashon that we use, and in particular about the Friediker Rebbe, the Rebbe says, "Ma zarie b'chayim"? And the Rebbe says that what is important that we need to focus on is that when Yaakov Avinu, and in the case of a Rebbe,

05:57 Speaker 2 that's the Nosi B'Yisrael, netzutzo shel Yaakov Avinu, when they have- talmidim, and they establish them and they guide them. It is actually important that it's in a manner of zarai. The word zarai is milashon zera, a seed, a planting, a sapling. The way that the Rebbe expects a student of his to conduct himself is not that, "Oh, I'm a student of a Rebbe, and therefore I am going to, on my own, learn. I am on my own going to conduct myself in a manner that's appropriate." But rather just like when someone plants a seed, it's not so that one more seed should come forth from that. There's no need to plant the seed for only one more seed. But the purpose of planting a seed is so that a etz pri, ois pri leminehu should grow forth from that which leads to hundreds of other seeds coming forth from that original seed that was planted. And that is how the Friediker Rebbe, and by extension the Rebbe, view the investment that they invest in their talmidim and talmidot. That it's not sufficient for that individual to be a gute, fine, a sheine Yid, or a wonderful rebbetzin on their own, but rather that they should be in a manner of zarai, that they are going to take care of implanting the ideals, and the teachings, and the guidance of the Rebbe, and share that with others. Share that in particular, the Rebbe says in that farbrengen with talmidim, particularly with talmidot. And the Rebbe points

07:55 Speaker 2 out that we see that the Friediker Rebbe in his own nasius over the course of his lifetime involved himself in chinuch al tarus hakodesh on every level. From chinuch that was for adults to chinuch for bachurim in the yeshiva when he served as the menahail of Temimim, to ensuring the teaching of alefbeis to those who didn't even know alefbeis. But the purpose, says the Rebbe there in the sicha, of him even teaching alefbeis, or ensuring the teaching of alefbeis to the child, was not just that that child should know alefbeis, but so that that alefbeis child should then ultimately be a pri-- a etz pri, ois pri leminehu. And that is the zchus that we have, that we serve in a very overt and a very direct manner as that extension and that type of hasfa'ah that we have on our talmidim and talmidot is literally a manifestation of ma zarai bechaim, afu bechaim. When the hasfa'ah is in this manner, that's when we say that the nasi is bechaim. So when it comes to our education, it's important to look at the guidance that we have from the Rebbeim, obviously, on how that education takes root, and to look at their leadership and to apply that into what it is that we need to be doing in our classrooms and our surroundings. So what's interesting is that I quoted a-- from a farbrengen of Yitzvat five Tammuz, but a short time prior to that, two weeks earlier, in, um, during the week of Parshas

09:54 Speaker 2 Wayes, the Rebbe shared what it means, or what it takes to actually have a effect, how to be a, how to be a leader who is going to have a true effect on those that they're caring for. And the Rebbe points out that it says in the pasuk in Parshas Wayes, U'Moshe ha'yeruah, that Moshe was a shepherd. And the Midrash has two explanations about the U'Moshe ha'yeruah. One point the Midrash says is that Moshe was born-- He was a born leader. He was a born shepherd. That's what the Midrash says on the words U'Moshe ha'yeruah. The other Midrash is more well known, and that's the Midrash that says how the Aibishter tests the Rohei Yisroel, and in order for-- to see if they're going to be, um, good leaders, he tests them with being shepherds. The Rebbe questions the first Midrash and says, "If Moshe Rabbeinu was a born leader, if he had that quality, why was it necessary then for him ultimately to actually be a shepherd? Why did he have to get stuck being a shepherd, and not just for a short period of time?" It says in the Midrash Tanchuma that Moshe was a shepherd by Yisro for forty years. So for forty years, Moshe Rabbeinu, an individual who represents the highest levels of Nevuah, the highest levels of Chochmah, had to go and deal with the sheep for forty years. Why was that necessary? And the Rebbe explains it based upon an interesting statement from the Baal Shem Tov. And the

11:38 Speaker 2 Baal Shem Tov says that the sheep of Yisroel actually had within them some of the ntzotzos, some of the sparks of the neshamas of those Yidden that were gonna be in the midbar with Moshe Rabbeinu for forty years. And that's why it was necessary for Moshe Rabbeinu to be a shepherd specifically of Yisroel's sheep, and specifically for forty years. Because in order for a leader to take care of the spiritual needs of his flock, he first must take care of their physical needs. And that's why Moses Rabbeinu for forty years was taking care of the physical needs of these Shepsilach, so that he should be able to then be the Raiyeh Mehemna in the Midbar who would give the Yidden the Torah and sustain their Emunah and do everything else it is spiritually that we know was the Tafkid of Moses Rabbeinu. And the Rebbe points out that this is something that we find to have been the case by many leaders, starting with the Baal Shem Tov, that we know that the, uh, Baal Shem Tov and his Chaverim, some of the, uh, Tzaddikim Nistarim in his time, got together to specifically-- in the Hatamim, there's a whole Arichas there of how the Baal Shem Tov did this, but they got together specifically in order to take care of the physical needs of Yidden who were suffering physically in that period of time in Eastern Europe. And it was only, says the Rebbe, once the Baal Shem Tov took care of physical needs of

13:19 Speaker 2 Yidden that he then rose and revealed himself to take care of the spiritual needs of Klal Yisrael. Similarly, the Alter Rebbe, as soon as he got married, what did the Alter Rebbe do with his dowry? He went ahead and he took the Nadan that his father-in-law gave him, and he established the Gemilas Chesed Hagmach in order to help support yungolite that didn't have Parnassah. And once that was the case, said the Baal-- that the Alter Rebbe was taking care of the physical needs of Klal Yisrael, only then afterwards did he go on to becoming the Alter Rebbe who wrote the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch and took care of the spiritual needs of Klal Yisrael through being the Galach Chiddush Habad. What's interesting is, the Rebbe doesn't mention this in the Farregan, but if we think about the Rebbe's Nesius began with the saying of the Meimer Bas Yisroel Gani. I think it's probably the only time that we would find that in the middle of a Meimer, the Rebbe stopped and he began sharing stories of each one of the Rabbeim. Right? Famous stories that the Rebbe says in the Meimer Bas Yisroel Gani of each Rebbe. I don't know that that is a common occurrence in any, uh, other-- the Rebbe's Meimarim, to stop in the middle of a Meimer and share a story. Meshulam we have in Meimarim, but to share a story is, I think, a little bit unique, especially sharing six stories. And what's interesting about each one of those

14:48 Speaker 2 stories is that each one of them talk about the Alter Rebbe taking care of the physical needs of the woman who gave birth on Yom Kippur, and the story of the Mitler Rebbe showing physically how he's affected physically by certain physical things that a Chassid was doing, and the Tzemach Tzedek giving a Gemach, and the Rebbe Maharash traveling, et cetera, et cetera, all things to take care of physical needs or doing physical acts. And this was the Rebbe's introduction to the Meimer of leadership, the Meimer that's empowering their Ashvi and telling them that we're going to partner together. This is not going to be something that I'm going to be doing on my own. But what is necessary for us to understand what is the Yisroel? That if you want to be able to have a Shpa on somebody, if you want to be able to have some sort of Kirva Das, that they should be open and willing to be Mekabel from you, take care of their needs. And when you translate that and bring that down into the leadership of a Mechanech or a Mechaneches in a classroom or out of the classroom, the, the word social-emotional learning, social-emotional needs was mentioned earlier. This is probably an early, um, reference to this idea that if we want for our students to be able to be Mekabel from us, when they see that for us, their physical needs, their mundane matters that they care about that are important to them, are valued by us,

16:30 Speaker 2 are respected by us, we care for them, we take care of the Kleinigkeiten, and we're not just focused on meeting goals and feeding information. When they see that we care, that's when they will be open and connected to be able to receive from us as much as it is that we are able to give them the Ruchnius in material, in, in, in information and in knowledge. But the prerequisite for that is U'Meish HaYareia, is the idea of connecting with them and taking care of their physical needs, their emotional needs, and then they'll be open recipients to what we have to offer them. Um, there's, there's-- everybody has, I think, their, their one thought or their one Varteira or story that talks to them. And there's one word from the Rebbe about Parshas Beha'aloscha, actually, which to me is one that resonates very deeply, and I like sharing it when I have the opportunity. It's based upon a Sicha that's actually not Muga. Uh, part of the Sicha actually is, is a Muga to the Sicha. But in regards to Beha'aloscha Sanheiress, we know that Rashi points out to us that Chol Shedata shel Aharon. Aharon Hacohen felt very bad when he saw the Chanukah Miskan happening, and he saw that he didn't have a Chelek in the Karbanos Anasiyim. Lo Hu V'Lo Shifto. So the Aibishter says to him, "Behalos Chasaneres, you're gonna have this zechus to light the Menorah in the Mishkan." And he says to him, "Chayecha," which means I swear to you,

18:24 Speaker 2 that "shelcha gedolah mishulehem", that your portion is greater than theirs, than the Nesi-im, "she-atah metiv vemadlik et ha'neiros", 'cause you prepare and you kindle the candles of the Menorah, the lights of the Menorah. So the Rebbe has different questions on the Rashi, but one of the questions the Rebbe asks is why does Rashi use the uncommon term chayecha? It means I swear to you, I promise you, but there are other ways of expressing that. And what the Rebbe says, based upon Chassidus, is that Chassidus teaches us that Aharon Hakohen was told that his job is behalos chasaneres. Your job is to kindle the soul of Neshamas Yisroel. Your job is to be mechanech, to kindle the souls of your mechunachim. Chol shada et ha'shul Aharon, when Aharon heard this, he felt, "Oy gevald, how am I gonna be able to do this? This is the job you're giving me? To educate?" A, a, a, Yid has bechirah chofshis. If they wanna be able to learn and to grow, they can do it on their own. If they don't want to, how am I gonna be able to affect a change? And to this, the Aibishter said to him, "Chayecha." If it's negeia to your life, if you treat it as something which is the most important thing in your life, chayecha, and chayecha, you put all of your koich os and chayas into it, you'll be matzliach in kindling those neshamas. And when you do that, shelcha gedolah mishulehem, your portion and your zechus is

20:08 Speaker 2 gonna be much greater than everything else that the Nesi-im were able to bring to the Mishkan. Sure, they brought korbonos, and that was elevating the animals of the world. Sure, they brought flour and oil, being ma'alah, um, you know, the min ha-- min, min ha'tzemeyach. They might have brought precious stones, which was ma'alah min ha'domam. But atah madlik ometev et ha'neiros, you're kindling the min ha'medaber. You're kindling the precious neshamas of Klal Yisroel. Shelcha gedolah mishulehem, you have the ultimate zechus. So we, mechanechim, mechanechos, have been entrusted with the ultimate job of what the Friediker Rebbe put himself into, the chinuch of the next generation. The ultimate of what the Rebbe wants to see, the idea of the zria that is going to be something that we're going to see for generations to come. As Mrs. Landau just, uh, shared with us, a seed was planted in a classroom in Minnesota forty-four years ago, and now it's spread all over the world. The ultimate im zara becha'yim, af hu becha'yim. So I'll leave you with one last story. We talk about our live-- our lives that we dedicate, that we have the zechus to dedicate to chinuch and to the outcomes that affect those that are mushpa'a from us. There was a Yid who lived in Crown Heights, and maybe there are some grandchildren of his on tonight's Zoom, I don't know. But he was known by his pen name, Zvi Yoier, Rav Tzvi Steinmetz, um, who was a poet in, um... He was a

22:11 Speaker 2 real estate agent, or he dealt with real estate in Crown Heights, but he was also involved in-- He enjoyed poetry, and he would write poetry, be printed in the Kfar Chabad. He had different, uh, area-- places that it would be printed. He also had a custom at some point in time that his shul that he would daven in on a regular basis was the shul on the corner of Montgomery and Kingston called Chevre Shas. And he would, after the farbrengen in the summer times, would go to Chevre Shas for Mincha-Maariv, and in middle-- and between Mincha-Maariv, he would review, chazar, sichas that the Rebbe spoke at the farbrengen that day for Yidden that were not necessarily, um, a hundred percent Chassidim Chabad who daven in the Chevre Shas. When it came wintertime and the days got shorter, and especially later years, the farbrengens became longer, he ran into a little bit of a dilemma. On the one hand, he felt a certain responsibility because he would share the Rebbe's Chassidus with those Yidden that davened in Chevre Shas. On the other hand, to get there in time to Mincha-Maariv to chazar the farbrengen, he would have to leave the Rebbe's farbrengen early. So he sat down, and he penned a letter to the Rebbe, and he wrote it, he wrote it in a bit of a poetic style, as was his style. He wrote, "Nachshii beshei losi. Chayei mi kodmin?" He's asking the Rebbe, "Whose life takes precedence? Chayei, is it my life? Oy chayei

23:50 Speaker 2 elu hatsmeyim lishmoya divrei haRebbe. Or the life of those who are thirsting to hear the words of the Rebbe?" And then he articulated the problem. So the Rebbe's response, and the Rebbe's typical response, the way of responding, was the Rebbe circled the second part, chayei elu hatsmeyim lishmoya divrei haRebbe, but the Rebbe added on top of that two words. And those two words were heim chayav. You made a distinction, your life or the life of those that wanna hear Torah from the Rebbe. The Rebbe circled those that wanna hear Torah from the Rebbe, but the Rebbe pointed out that because you have that opportunity and that zechus to be their mashpia, heim chayav, they're your life. They're not something that's separate from you. Our talmidim and talmidos that we have been entrusted with, that we have the zechus to guide and to lead, the Rebbe tells us are chayecha. This is our life. This is our mandate. This is our zechus that we have. And the Aibishter should help that we should tap into the koichos that our rabbeim invest in each and every one of us as mechanechem mechanchois, as those that have the zechus to care for their precious tzoin kodshim, to connect with our talmidim and talmidois, to provide for them their physical, mundane, day-to-day grind that they need, and their-- to, to listen to their, to, to their issues, and to care for their things that seem to be kleineikeiten. But when we do that, we'll be able to connect with

25:41 Speaker 2 them and be able to be mashpia to them this that they are truly thirsting for, lishmoya divrei haRebbe, lishmoya devar Hashem. And then we will be zocheh to have those students grow into being a ilon osei peri and true, true sources of nachas to us, to themselves, and to our Rabbeim. L'chaim.

26:09 Speaker 3 Thank you for listening. Wishing you much hatzlacha in your vital shlichas.