Create a personal relationship with Hashem

Chovas Hatalimidim – Week 9

By Harav Y. Reuven Rubin Shlita

As a young student I had the merit to be invited by many special Yieden to share their Shabbos meals. In those long ago days, talmidim in Yeshivahs would have to make arrangements for their meals on Shabbos and we soon learnt where the best addresses were. Most of our hosts were yieden who had survived the Churban, and you could be sure that their Shabbos seudah would always be special. Sitting at just such a Friday Night meal  the head of the house spoke nostalgically of his own youth back in Poland. This special Yied came from a chasidic home, his parents were hardworking souls who were very much part of the rich tapestry that was Chasidic Poland back when every home was rich in spirit although poor in the material.

His words transported us all to another time, softly he took us to his father’s shabbos table.

“By der Tatta’s tish we could feel the Shabbos caressing each of us. When der Tatta would give a sigh ‘Rebbonah Shel Olam, Tatte Zizsa’ you could actually feel Hashem’s love touching your heart. There was no question that there was a G-d, nor that we were closely connected.”

This intimacy with Hashem is what gave those courageous souls the ability to rebuild and create the world we now see as our reality.

Is such a connection possible today? Do we stand a chance of touching such divine simplicity given all the noise that constantly rushes through our heads?

Hashem has never left us alone, His essence resonates constantly no matter which Golus we find ourselves in. Our responsibility is to work on connecting with this truth. Our young are struggling even more than us, theirs is a world with so many excitable currents that they can easily lose their way. Somehow we must give them a way to connect with a real sense of being Hashem’s beloved child.

Our children have holy neshomahs, their DNA is the stuff of generations of Kedusha

The Rebbe ztl strove to open up the hearts of his students and saw as one of the greatest tools personal tefillah. He advised his young students:

‘Try to set aside a certain amount of time every day when you daven to and praise Hashem in your own words. The more you get used to this kind of “soul-talk”, the more your heart will soften, your spirit soar and your soul will become closer to Hashem.”

In this sterile world of technological haze and apps that seem to have all the answers, our young (and not so young) feel left adrift. They bob in an ocean of materialism seeking a lifeline that keeps escaping their grasp. Walls between ourselves and our Father In Heaven are created through the silence of our emptiness. We find it difficult to relate to His awesome greatness. This is no surprise, every generation must forge its own path towards such closeness. We flounder because ours is a world devoid of real interaction with our inner selves. Everything is a facade, two-minute snatches of words that have no depth of emotion.

How do we then ask our students to break through so many barriers and begin to have a conversation with Hashem? Maybe by talking about such matters when we are together. Shabbos Kodesh is a gift of time that is free of all the material noise that means nothing. Parents, children, talking about these life affirming matters, around a table, candles lit, chalahs shared. You couldn’t ask for a better starting point. Instead of canned “verta” without any thought, why not leave the script behind and shmooze about what is real to your world. We can introduce our young generation to a personal relationship with kaviuchel the Eibishter.  Yes, kids may question, you yourself may have challenges, but isn’t that what life is about? We should share our thoughts, talk about a living Ribono Shel Olam.

Family dynamics can often bring worries and difficult moments. The Rebbe zt”l brings a Medrash that tells us:

“Not only is davening not a consequence of our worries and troubles; sometimes, Hashem sends us worries just to motivate us to daven and draw closer to Him.”

Talk about what it is to be a Yied, tell the young that Hashem wants their prayers, in their language with their uniqueness. Creating a space where young souls can begin a lifelong conversation with Hashem is a gift that goes beyond anything sold in today’s temples of materialism.

We may not have the ability to recreate the ambience of that special Yidel in Poland, but our children have holy neshomahs, their DNA is the stuff of generations of Kedusha. The Rebbe reaches out to them, his seforim whisper about the simple grandeur of a connection with Hashem on a personal level.