My insanity is back! My insanity is back! My insa...
Gosh!
I wish I would be able to remember all the things that I thought about tonight. So many things. I had so much to write on this blog. But alas, sometimes just too much passes through my little chickpea of a brain, and I am unable to store and back up all that information for later processing into this blog. Perhaps I should get some sort of human MOZY backup program. Whatever... Whatever again... And finally, whatever.
...
While in New York, my Shlichus is a challenge. It is so easy to live here (technically) and so difficult to live there. My mind is constantly bombarded with questions and doubts.
When I am involved in the Shlichus work in Cabo, I don't have time to question and think. I am too busy doing. It seems like having too much time on my hands here in Crown Heights is not a good idea and is destroying my Shlichus mentality that I've gotten used to until now.
Anyways, I've been thinking for most of the night (quite literally) about this and need to put it down on paper (or screen) to figure it out once and for all.
This video and the whole idea has had some sort of an impression on me. When I say impression, I mean that it actually got me to thinking. Thinking and analyzing the entire concept of nominating heroes.
Let's start from the beginning.
What is a hero?
What do superman, the NYFD from 9/11 and these nominated 'heroes' have in common that put them all into the same category?
The answer is not that they can do extraordinary things like lifting buildings, saving lives... The answer is deeper, more emotional.
The reason they are heroes is because they have invested and dedicated their lives for others.
Superman cares about the needs of any human being in distress. He saves them from danger.
The firemen from 9/11 - and all firemen and police for that matter - put their lives on the line each and every day for the well being of their fellow beings.
All the nominated heroes have given of themselves for a cause to better this world and the people living in it.
Yet, the more I thought about it, the clearer it became.
Within the framework of heroism, there is a big difference between these people.
In fact, when the picture loses it's fuzziness and blur, another question arises.
You see, I've read an article about the Jewish heroes who were recently nominated, organized by the federation.
The article mentioned the fact that 11 or something of the top 20 finalists were Lubavichers. They didn't like that. They claimed that Lubavich had advertised and gotten every member of their sect to vote daily, which is tweaking the system and making themselves win. They were undermining the heroism of these Shluchim and blaming their successful nominations on a glitch in the voting system... The fact that people were able to vote every day and Lubavich was capitalizing on their ability to email every Chabad Shliach and have 4000 people vote daily... Something to that tune was their claim.
While the entire basis and theory of this article is silliness, because the article itself praises the wonderful work of the other 'non Lubavich' nominations, who used the exact same techniques to promote themselves (mass emails asking their fans to vote daily for them).
But more than that. My question is, how dare they undermine the incredible work of the Shluchim and, more importantly, how can it be that more Shluchim weren't nominated!!??
You see, a person who dedicates his life to a cause usually has good reason to do it.
Let us put forth several examples of people who want to do more for their community and would be nominate'able for this 'hero' title...
- I want to begin a foundation to help people who are poor.
- I want to begin a youth program, helping youth get together and support each other.
- I want to start an online dating website.
All these are wonderful and helpful things to do for the community. But they also come with self benefit.
- The person who wishes to help people who are poor... He feels guilty inside if he doesn't. He feels good when someone thanks him for his generosity and help. It motivates him to begin publicizing his interest and he throws himself into his cause. He actually helps people. He is a true hero.
- The person who begins the youth program... He enjoys organizing programs for people and he's also great with teenagers. In fact, he's probably figured out that he's pretty good at organizing and dealing with teenagers. Over the years, many people have told him that this is his forte, so he's decided to make it a lifelong goal of his to helping people. Wow! He is a great person who gives of himself and he is most definitely a hero.
- The person who begins an online dating website... He's always been good at web design and he's seen that his friends have had problems dating, so he found a solution and he gives his talent to the world. He feels good to help people and see the success of his work. He is a hero, giving of himself to the cause.
All heroes, yet all of these (and other examples), on a very subtle and refined level are self centered.
Isn't it interesting that to be a hero, to be great, you need to be less egotistical and more giving. Which means to say, that the more you give of yourself, the less you are for yourself and only then, the more of a hero you become!
Ask yourself this;
- If the man who started the foundation for the poor got no thanks or recognition for his work. If he saw absolutely no gain whatsoever from his project, would he continue?
- If the youth director had 2 kids show up to his program and they didn't like his personality, so they left and money wasn't coming in. He was struggling and his effort wasn't paying off with the reward he expected, would he continue his programs?
- If the website designer saw no traffic to his site and nobody appreciated what he did. If he made no money back from the site, would he continue investing his time and effort into the project?
The answer is probably not. All these people would most probably shut down their projects and pursue them somewhere else, or go into another, more successful field. They'd given a nice shot to help out, but nobody appreciated their work. There was no gain for them whatsoever, so they shut down and got out.
These people are heroes, but they have something coming for them.
Consider the Shluchim around the world, who are fighting a fight... But it's not their own fight. It's the fight of their leader and Rebbe, promising them a world that is blissful and perfect, shining with G-dliness and holiness.
Perhaps they suffer daily from their hard work.
Perhaps they don't even believe one hundred percent in the certainty of their mission and its success. (Chances are that they do believe... But it doesn't matter to them.)
Perhaps they themselves really wanted to have other jobs and goals in life.
They are not necessarily talented in any particular field.
Some of them never learned English.
Some of them never learned organizational skills.
Some of them never learned web design.
Some of them never learned how to properly deal with children.
Some of them never learned how to use technology.
Yet, because they have a mission and goal at hand, they do what is needed.
Why? Because that's what needed. Very simple. That's what will bring Moshiach.
(Yes, Shluchim who are naturally good with kids will usually work with kids in their Shlichus. Shluchim who are good with computers, will usually follow the technical, computer connected parts of Shlichus. But that's not why they're involved. If the child friendly person would be commanded to go work with the computers, he would go without question. It's his approach to the task he is given that I am speaking about)
They don't care if there is money involved or not.
They don't care if there is a nice house coming or not.
They don't care if they will be nominated as a hero on a Jewish website or not.
They care that there is another Jew who does not know about Shabbos.
They care that there is another Jew who is sitting in prison and needs physical and emotional support.
They care that the world needs more goodness and kindness to bring Moshiach.
They care that Moshiach isn't yet here.
These are absolute heroes. Nothing for themselves. All for the cause. All for their Shlichus. All for the Rebbe.
So now I ask, why weren't there 3000+ Shluchim nominated for the Jewish hero award (and Devora Benjamin)?
...
And on a separate, slightly connected note:
Who am I? ... I know, I know! But who am I really? ... Isn't that a scary question? Many people ask that question of themselves. The people that get to answer that question, have missed the whole point!
You see, the question itself is the answer. As soon as someone can answer that question, as soon as someone can define and put his existence into perspective, he has lost who he truly is.
Is he a rich man? - Is he a smart person? - Is he talented? - Is he a great guy? - Is he funny? Is he a hero?
If he thinks he is anything, then he is truly nothing.
G-d created us, and our existence is nothing more than a simple and pure question; "Who am I?"
I wish I would be able to remember all the things that I thought about tonight. So many things. I had so much to write on this blog. But alas, sometimes just too much passes through my little chickpea of a brain, and I am unable to store and back up all that information for later processing into this blog. Perhaps I should get some sort of human MOZY backup program. Whatever... Whatever again... And finally, whatever.
...
While in New York, my Shlichus is a challenge. It is so easy to live here (technically) and so difficult to live there. My mind is constantly bombarded with questions and doubts.
When I am involved in the Shlichus work in Cabo, I don't have time to question and think. I am too busy doing. It seems like having too much time on my hands here in Crown Heights is not a good idea and is destroying my Shlichus mentality that I've gotten used to until now.
Anyways, I've been thinking for most of the night (quite literally) about this and need to put it down on paper (or screen) to figure it out once and for all.
This video and the whole idea has had some sort of an impression on me. When I say impression, I mean that it actually got me to thinking. Thinking and analyzing the entire concept of nominating heroes.
Let's start from the beginning.
What is a hero?
What do superman, the NYFD from 9/11 and these nominated 'heroes' have in common that put them all into the same category?
The answer is not that they can do extraordinary things like lifting buildings, saving lives... The answer is deeper, more emotional.
The reason they are heroes is because they have invested and dedicated their lives for others.
Superman cares about the needs of any human being in distress. He saves them from danger.
The firemen from 9/11 - and all firemen and police for that matter - put their lives on the line each and every day for the well being of their fellow beings.
All the nominated heroes have given of themselves for a cause to better this world and the people living in it.
Yet, the more I thought about it, the clearer it became.
Within the framework of heroism, there is a big difference between these people.
In fact, when the picture loses it's fuzziness and blur, another question arises.
You see, I've read an article about the Jewish heroes who were recently nominated, organized by the federation.
The article mentioned the fact that 11 or something of the top 20 finalists were Lubavichers. They didn't like that. They claimed that Lubavich had advertised and gotten every member of their sect to vote daily, which is tweaking the system and making themselves win. They were undermining the heroism of these Shluchim and blaming their successful nominations on a glitch in the voting system... The fact that people were able to vote every day and Lubavich was capitalizing on their ability to email every Chabad Shliach and have 4000 people vote daily... Something to that tune was their claim.
While the entire basis and theory of this article is silliness, because the article itself praises the wonderful work of the other 'non Lubavich' nominations, who used the exact same techniques to promote themselves (mass emails asking their fans to vote daily for them).
But more than that. My question is, how dare they undermine the incredible work of the Shluchim and, more importantly, how can it be that more Shluchim weren't nominated!!??
You see, a person who dedicates his life to a cause usually has good reason to do it.
Let us put forth several examples of people who want to do more for their community and would be nominate'able for this 'hero' title...
- I want to begin a foundation to help people who are poor.
- I want to begin a youth program, helping youth get together and support each other.
- I want to start an online dating website.
All these are wonderful and helpful things to do for the community. But they also come with self benefit.
- The person who wishes to help people who are poor... He feels guilty inside if he doesn't. He feels good when someone thanks him for his generosity and help. It motivates him to begin publicizing his interest and he throws himself into his cause. He actually helps people. He is a true hero.
- The person who begins the youth program... He enjoys organizing programs for people and he's also great with teenagers. In fact, he's probably figured out that he's pretty good at organizing and dealing with teenagers. Over the years, many people have told him that this is his forte, so he's decided to make it a lifelong goal of his to helping people. Wow! He is a great person who gives of himself and he is most definitely a hero.
- The person who begins an online dating website... He's always been good at web design and he's seen that his friends have had problems dating, so he found a solution and he gives his talent to the world. He feels good to help people and see the success of his work. He is a hero, giving of himself to the cause.
All heroes, yet all of these (and other examples), on a very subtle and refined level are self centered.
Isn't it interesting that to be a hero, to be great, you need to be less egotistical and more giving. Which means to say, that the more you give of yourself, the less you are for yourself and only then, the more of a hero you become!
Ask yourself this;
- If the man who started the foundation for the poor got no thanks or recognition for his work. If he saw absolutely no gain whatsoever from his project, would he continue?
- If the youth director had 2 kids show up to his program and they didn't like his personality, so they left and money wasn't coming in. He was struggling and his effort wasn't paying off with the reward he expected, would he continue his programs?
- If the website designer saw no traffic to his site and nobody appreciated what he did. If he made no money back from the site, would he continue investing his time and effort into the project?
The answer is probably not. All these people would most probably shut down their projects and pursue them somewhere else, or go into another, more successful field. They'd given a nice shot to help out, but nobody appreciated their work. There was no gain for them whatsoever, so they shut down and got out.
These people are heroes, but they have something coming for them.
Consider the Shluchim around the world, who are fighting a fight... But it's not their own fight. It's the fight of their leader and Rebbe, promising them a world that is blissful and perfect, shining with G-dliness and holiness.
Perhaps they suffer daily from their hard work.
Perhaps they don't even believe one hundred percent in the certainty of their mission and its success. (Chances are that they do believe... But it doesn't matter to them.)
Perhaps they themselves really wanted to have other jobs and goals in life.
They are not necessarily talented in any particular field.
Some of them never learned English.
Some of them never learned organizational skills.
Some of them never learned web design.
Some of them never learned how to properly deal with children.
Some of them never learned how to use technology.
Yet, because they have a mission and goal at hand, they do what is needed.
Why? Because that's what needed. Very simple. That's what will bring Moshiach.
(Yes, Shluchim who are naturally good with kids will usually work with kids in their Shlichus. Shluchim who are good with computers, will usually follow the technical, computer connected parts of Shlichus. But that's not why they're involved. If the child friendly person would be commanded to go work with the computers, he would go without question. It's his approach to the task he is given that I am speaking about)
They don't care if there is money involved or not.
They don't care if there is a nice house coming or not.
They don't care if they will be nominated as a hero on a Jewish website or not.
They care that there is another Jew who does not know about Shabbos.
They care that there is another Jew who is sitting in prison and needs physical and emotional support.
They care that the world needs more goodness and kindness to bring Moshiach.
They care that Moshiach isn't yet here.
These are absolute heroes. Nothing for themselves. All for the cause. All for their Shlichus. All for the Rebbe.
So now I ask, why weren't there 3000+ Shluchim nominated for the Jewish hero award (and Devora Benjamin)?
...
And on a separate, slightly connected note:
Who am I? ... I know, I know! But who am I really? ... Isn't that a scary question? Many people ask that question of themselves. The people that get to answer that question, have missed the whole point!
You see, the question itself is the answer. As soon as someone can answer that question, as soon as someone can define and put his existence into perspective, he has lost who he truly is.
Is he a rich man? - Is he a smart person? - Is he talented? - Is he a great guy? - Is he funny? Is he a hero?
If he thinks he is anything, then he is truly nothing.
G-d created us, and our existence is nothing more than a simple and pure question; "Who am I?"
posted by the Mitzvah man! at Thursday, November 05, 2009
1 Comments:
Benny, you make some very good points, but I disagree somewhat.
You are making some assumptions that may not be true, and it seems to be a bit of Chabad propaganda.
Their complaint (which was invalid as you pointed out) probably also bordered around the fact that these Rabbis were JUST RABBIS DOING THEIR JOBS, while the others went above and beyond.
What I mean is that to an outsider: he is just a Rabbi, what did he do so special?
I'm sure that these guys didn't get voted in just for the fact that they started a 'dating website', otherwise you'd have to add the other 15 people who made successful dating websites.
I'm sure there's more to it and they've helped out many other people in other ways.
It's unfair to assume they ONLY did what they were nonminated for, while the Chabadniks did EVERYTHING.
This aside from the fact that for example the guy who started the youth group probably went through his fair share of problems you mentioned.
And there are plenty of shluchim who get something out of what they do. You think Devorah Benjamin for some reason doesn't feel great for doing what she does? she is, in my opinion, the one who deserves it the MOST.
But maybe these other people touch as many lives as she does too...
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