The Importance of being aware of personality types including one's own

I grew up thinking, feeling and being taught that what's most important is to follow the rules, or what's called in our vernacular קבלת עול. 

Boruch Hashem, obedience is within my nature, hence it is a lot easier for me to follow rules (many friends thought I am some kind of tzadik, when the reality is, I just have a different kind of animal then them 😉, as I will explain).

Only a while after Yeshiva did I realize that it is important to find out my distinct personality, as well as be aware of the plethora of personalities. It is important both for the sake of shidduchim, to have a better idea who am I more likely to have a משיכת הלב to, and for the sake of finding a keili for parnoso, or what we call a career path or even a shlichus. Someone pointed out to me that חובות הלבבות  writes that the keili should be something that the individual is naturally drawn to, which implies that each individual has to know what he would be good at and what he would like. For many this comes easy but for some, like myself this did not come easy. 

The rulebook of Chabad says, be the Rebbe's shliach, or at least become a teacher. 

What I didn't realize is the full import of being a shliach, one has to understand what it means financially,  one has to be on the same page about it with one's spouse, and one must be very ambitious  and determined to go through hardships and not to wait for the perfect option to appear....

In addition, when one knows his natural strengths particularly in how he benefits others, it will give him more confidence to use his nature to help others in his shlichus and they will appreciate him and support him for that. The fact is that this is how one chooses a career. He determines where will he be of most benefit to others, and he can charge for that value, so for a shliach he can use it to help and ask people to support him for that, it shouldn't be much different. Other than the fact that one has to raise enough to start out for the first couple years and then after he makes an impact he can get people to support him. Once one has a larger family this becomes much more difficult...

This is one of the (perhaps most important) things I wish I was told when I was younger

I therefore feel it imperative to let others know and perhaps it will reach someone who can benefit from this.

Recently I went through a program which taught me that a very good way of determining my character,  what I am good in, and how I can benefit others, is by thinking through the past many years and reminding myself of the times I helped someone else out and was excited about it, and see what it is that I was excited about. Also by getting a nice of family and friends to write down instances in which I helped them and where they saw me thoroughly engaged. This gave me a perspective of how others view me, which I believe is very beneficial. 

Praise for Videos that I am a Fan Of

I have been showing my kids a series of videos called quest of oiz by chayolei tzivos Hashem on chabad.org, though in general I am not a fan of showing kids videos frequently, these were done very professionally and typical nowadays kids who begin to really care about things that are important! Such as being in Hashems army and caring about yiddishkeit etc 

Something that is not an easy feat in this day and age! Kudos to Rabbi Shimmy Weinbaum!

Another one, which I've watched as a child but I learned to value more since covid. I speak of those put out by small wonder puppet theater, or small wonder puppets of the makers or uncle pinchey! With all the kid videos out there, I feel there is something pure about these, some innocence, some yiras shomayim imbedded! Kudos to Rabbi Dovid Horowitz!

Another one which my kids have told me about as they have been shown in yttl Montreal, is the Generation 7 series from the Lubavitch Yeshiva yttl of Crown Heights. They really did a phenomenal job of bringing to life some the frierdike Rebbe sichos!

PS Obviously I would only encourage these instead of watching other things or one feels there is a need to show the kids, whether it is a reward for hard work, or when the kids have a long vacation and the parents are busy etc and there is no other better productive practical way of busying the children with real life learning or work etc otherwise, for example I'd the child is more obedient and dicsiplined, have him learn 12 perakim Tanya, or even have him practice an instrument or do exercise,  I strongly believe all of these are so much more valuable and important than any lessons gained from watching videos, however good they may be they get the mind and the child used to being lazy etc...

Let's make sure we SEIZE this moment in History!

 BH 

I'd like to share with you part of a fascinating correspondence of Rabbi Chaim Gutnik AH and the Rebbe shortly after the 6 day War. 

*This correspondence he related publicly in 770 soon after his Yechidus, and that was recorded and transcribed.

Rabbi Gutnik told the Rebbe that he wished to respond to a question that was put to him by the Rebbe three years prior in Yechidus and at which time, he said nothing. 

The context was that Rabbi Gutnik was asked to ask the Rebbe if he felt that the establishment of the state of Israel was the אתחלתא דגאולא. The Rebbe responded that the Rambam is the authority who tells us how the גאולה will take place and in what order. First, says the Rambam, a king from the house of David will come… and compel all Jews to follow Torah and Mitzvos. Then the Rebbe asked pointedly to Rabbi Gutnik, “do you know of such a man?” To which Rabbi Gutnik remained silent.

So at this Yechidus Rabbi Gutnik told the Rebbe that it bothered him afterwards that he remained silent and he therefore wants to answer the question now. So Rabbi Gutnik tells the Rebbe “I do know of such a man, it is the Lubavitcher Rebbe!”

The Rebbe responded [paraphrasing] “I know that there are people who has such טענות against me [that I should reveal myself as Moshiach] and I see that you also do. But guess what, I also have טענות towards the world and to you. 

You need to tell your community that the Jewish people need to return to Torah and Mitzvos. 

When you return to Australia, give a sermon about tefillin, kashrut, and Shabbat. 

The Rambam's statement that there will be one who will go and compel the Jewish people to observe Torah doesn't mean that he alone will go to each and every Jew because that is impossible, rather the intention is - through Shluchim and Shluchim of Shluchim even up to a hundred! 

It would be enough for me if you would go and say that they need to return to the Torah. This will help the requirement of me to compel the Jewish people to follow Torah, and then we can talk about אתחלתא דגאולה - the beginning of redemption.

Rabbi Gutnik countered “I don't see how it would be possible to compel every single Jew, even with the shluchim, perhaps the Rambam's intention is that there will be an individual who is busy with getting Jews involved with Torah observance.”

The Rebbe responded “I am taking the Rambam [a book of Halacha] in the literal sense, and you are interpreting it in the non literal sense. As for the halacha, none of the poskim disagree with the Rambam, and the halacha is - as it says in the Rambam - ‘there will be one who will compel all of Israel’ maybe not all of them, but at least the vast majority of them.

Rabbi Gutnik: how will they do this?

Rebbe: Don't be ashamed and repeat the sermon you gave last year that Jews should keep tefillin, kashrut, and Shabbat.

Rabbi Gutnik: Even If I return to my community and tell them, “Jews! All the miracles we saw in Israel are being performed to send a message to the Jews that they need to return to the Torah”, but that's not all of the Jews?

Rebbe: First, if you do it, another will do it, and another, and who knows how far it will go. Second, there is a ruling from Maimonides that one should think that in his own action he can tip the scale. What exactly is necessary to fulfill the qualification of compelling all Jews to follow torah, I cannot know, and I do not know, but when you go back and influence a Jew to keep the Torah, perhaps this Jew, in keeping his Torah, will tip the scale!

Rebbe: I am not afraid if they say I am a Zionist. Three times in the past 20 years, God has given us the opportunity to merit the beginning of redemption and we missed the opportunity. 

The first opportunity was (as if he said that the leaders were to blame for this) in 1948.

.- You know I am very involved in learning and explaining Rashis. Rashi states regarding the flood that when it began, it was initially a shower of blessings and God waited to see how they would behave, whether the rain would continue to be a shower of blessings or vice versa. -

 In 1948, God sent a shower of blessings and the leaders began to argue about whether to mention the name of God or not. 

It was the time of opportunity and they lost it. 

In the Sinai operation it was the second time that we were given a test, if Jews had believed that it was not the French MiGs or the English planes that brought salvation to Israel, it would have been different. 

And now again, never before has there been such an opportunity and such an awakening as there was in these four days before the Giving of the Torah [Shavuos], when the entire Jewish people stood in a state Naaseh Venishma, and if the leaders of Israel had taken advantage of the Jews who were inspired and ready to change, the situation would have been completely different today. 

Rabbi Gutnik: Have we completely missed the opportunity, is it too late?

Rebbe: No. Now it is August if they do what is necessary and the Shluchim carry out their mission and tell the world the truth, the Yakuf kol yisroel can take place.

Powerful words! I'll let the words speak for themselves! Its up to us to implement it!

Praise for Venting on a Blogspot

Sometimes you see something that bothers you, and you feel you need to get the message out, or get it off your chest, but it could involve lashon hara, it could be people won't really understand you, I therefore think a blogspot is a great way and place to vent! In general writing is a much more productive way to communicate negative emotions, I feel. One has to put feelings to words, and has time to choose the correct words and this process already narrows down and limits the feeling, and can pinpoint the issue, which is more likely to lead to solutions. And a blogspot can have an large audience and find the people that these words would be meaningful to. It would also not be taken personally because the writer has no one in mind. Kudos to the blogspot creators!

Praise for not popular seforim and What I would Love to See in the Torah world

I am a fan of Aggadita Gemara! The Alter Rebbe says that most of secrets of Torah are hidden there! I think it woul be a huge contribution to the "world of Torah" if someone would make a mafteach on gemara, or particularly on ein Yaakov to all of Chassidus from the Baal Shem Tov, to our Rebbe. There are many cryptic and hard to understand stories and messages which I am sure Chassidus has material to enlighten.

There is one set I saw from a Daniel Bitton , collecting from Maharsha, Maharal, Ben Yehoyada and a number of others, which is the best I've seen yet, but it I still short.. and I am sure Chassidus would explain certain things differently as well!

It seems that עוז והדר is beginning such a project but including also many poilishe seforim, I hope they include all there is from chabad as well.

If I had time and finances I would love to do it myself or be a part of it!

Praise for Praising

I realized I am bteva a mara shchora, and naturally find faults and areas that need correction, and that's what I felt needs writing about and bringing awareness, but I realized most people don't appreciate that, so instead (or at least in addition 😉) I've decided to write about people and things that I do like and appreciate,  especially that I don't feel people notice or notice enough!

Praise for People that I am a Fan Of

Rabbi Yossi Paltiel, above all else, has a very unique quality of talking the reality we experience, the way we think, bringing chassidus and the Rebbe's messages in this realm in a very real way and at the same time very much on the 'right', meaning keeping to the values of chassidus, himself davening like a chossid and raised a family of chassidim!

In general they seem to be mutually exclusive, those on the right say the oisios harav and things are more kabolas ol and less Havana of the nefesh habehamis,  while those that do bring things down and speak on our terms in our world tend to be a bit liberal about chassidishe values etc, what some call, dor shishi, but hey, this is what keeps a family really chassidish and is really what the Rebbe wants! 

Another amazing מעלה which I appreciate is that he is so thoroughly and absolutely honest, genuine and authentic! It is refreshing to see when nothing is a show to catch people's attention etc, it's just his honest truth of the way he feels and understands without any pretext!

Kudos to Rabbi Yossi Paltiel! May there be many more like you!