Knowing Our Holiness
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Knowing Our Holiness
Harav Y. Reuven Rubin Shlita
“Aller Yieden zenen heilig” All Jews are holy!
These words were etched into my heart when I was young by tzadikim who had endured the darkest years of Golus and survived with their faith, warmth, and love for every Yid still shining brightly. I have often wondered how people who witnessed such devastation were still able to greet others with simcha, kindness, and hope. The grainy images we see from those terrible years feel worlds apart from the warmth those survivors radiated to the next generation.
As time passes, that remarkable era of rebuilding Klal Yisroel slowly fades into history. The great lions who carried our people forward are leaving us, and we are left with their stories — glimpses of heroism, sacrifice, and unwavering faith preserved in books and memories. Yet behind all their greatness stood one simple truth: every Yid possesses a holy neshamah, regardless of appearance, background, or circumstance.
That understanding gave them the strength to gather thousands of broken souls back into the embrace of Torah and restore life where there had once been despair.
Today we live in what many call a “post-truth era,” a world where perception is often shaped more by media and popular narratives than by truth itself. In such a climate, it becomes harder to hold onto the eternal truths our Gedolim taught us. The belief that every Yid is precious and holy can become buried beneath noise, cynicism, and division.
Shavuos reminds us of something deeper.
The Torah was given to us when we stood together at Har Sinai with one heart and one soul. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Hashem connected to each individual through the unity of the nation as a whole. Golus, by contrast, seeks to pull us apart — replacing connection with anger, selfishness, and fragmentation.
Our generation has been blessed with material abundance beyond anything previous generations could imagine. Yet tragically, the more we possess materially, the further apart we often drift spiritually. Many young people grow up without a deep sense of their own holiness or the understanding that they were sent into this world with a unique purpose and tikun. Their neshamah lies dormant beneath layers of distraction and emptiness.
We cannot teach holiness only through words. We must live it. We must show what it means to be a heiliger Yid through the way we daven, the way we speak, the way we treat others, and the way we bring Torah into our homes. Our souls long for authenticity, meaning, and connection, yet so much of modern life numbs that longing instead of awakening it.
The Aish Kodesh, the Piasetzna Rebbe zt”l, wrote powerfully in Tzav V’Zeruz:
“As a torrent river surges forth, sweeping with it all that lies in its path… so does the torrent of public opinion sweep along the individual mind.”
His words feel astonishingly relevant today. Powerful forces shape culture, values, and even identity itself. Without realizing it, people are carried along by currents that slowly distance them from truth and from their own inner selves.
The Rebbe continues:
“You cannot remain static in this torrent river just by standing firm in your place; you must actively swim against the flow.”
That is the challenge of our generation. Shavuos cannot remain merely an inspiring memory or a yearly symbol. Kabbalas HaTorah must become alive within us. Every sincere tefillah, every meaningful Shabbos seudah, every act of kindness, and every moment of genuine Torah living uncovers the holiness buried within the neshamah.
We have countless opportunities to return to ourselves. The Torah is alive, and our neshamos are waiting to breathe again. If we truly believe that every Yid is holy, then we must begin by revealing that holiness within ourselves and helping others rediscover it within themselves as well.