R' Dovid Ordman, a lecturer for Arachim was an avel for his father. Due to the traveling he does for Arachim, being able to daven for the amud every day was very difficult. He went to R' Chaim Kanievsky to ask him what he should do. R' Chaim asked him what do you want to do? He said, maybe I should take off a year of traveling ....
"R' Chaim grabbed my sleeve and shouted ZIKUI HA'RABBIM (bringing merit to the masses) IS WORTH THOUSANDS OF KADEISHIM!"
Concluded R' Ordman, "Saying a shiur, being mekarev a Yid ... He woke me up to see the priorities."
It just leaves me wondering why R' Chaim is not urging all bnei Torah to be mezake the rabbim by being mekarev them. If it's because he thinks that sitting and learning is zikui ha'rabbim, he could have approved of R' Ordman's taking off a year of traveling and learning instead ...
I imagine he was thinking: Not everyone is cut out to spread Yiddishkeit full time. They can help in other ways, such as through donations, hospitality on Shabbos, and so on. This fellow was already having hatzlacha in it, so he wasn't allowed to stop.
ReplyDeleteBut indeed, reaching out to the not-yet-frum should be recognized as a tremendous priority.
Chabad shluchim do far more than miss a few kadeishim: Many live in places with no frum community, no minyan at all, no men's mikveh, no schools for their kids, no fresh milk or meat, and no women's mikveh without taking a very long trip.