Good morning, Shalom Aleichem Rabbosai. I hope you are well. I hope you had a as good a Yom Tov as one what one could have under the circumstances. We're going to look Im Yirtzeh Hashem Bli Neder this morning at סימן קלט in Igros U'Kesovim, actually a letter written in Yiddish.

I'm not sure why it was written in Yiddish rather than Lashon HaKodesh. And as the title indicates, it was a letter written to a convention of alumni of the Yeshiva of Chaim Berlin. The main thrust of the letter contains criticisms of things that were discussed in the speeches and the presentations at this convention and clearly that's I think the main tochen that Rav Hutner was looking to convey. Nevertheless, he begins on a very positive note.

In general, that's a very important yesod. Whenever one has occasion to be sharing even what's intended as constructive criticism, it's very, very important in order for that to be, in order for that criticism or tochocha, whatever the case may be, to be a davar hanishma. It's very important that it be combined together with some positive tochen, with not, not chanifing, but legitimately and appropriately complimenting and being mechazek. And the reason for that is that it's easy when we're on the receiving end of tochocha, when we're on the receiving end of criticism, it's easy to sense that, not necessarily correctly or appropriately, but human nature being what it is, it's easy to sort of feel that the person who's being mochiach, who's offering the criticism is just focusing on the negative and just harping on the negative.

And if the person or people or group of people who are on the receiving end have that sense, then it's much less of a davar hanishma. So, again, this there are countless or almost countless scenarios where this yesod is relevant. Let's say to give an example. Let's say as a parent in a Yeshiva and you feel that there's a problem in your child's class.

You feel that there's a situation that the Rebbe or the Morah is handling inappropriately and that's to the detriment of your child, the detriment of other children as well perhaps. So you do need to, again, depending upon the situation, maybe the right thing to do initially is, often the right thing to do initially is to try to speak with the Rebbe or Morah first. Maybe sometimes the right thing to do is to go directly to the Menahel or Menaheles as the case may be. But it is very important to also be able to say something, again truthfully, not bederech chanufa Rachmana litzlan, to be able to say something truthfully positive, to express appreciation for the things that are being done well, for what the child is gaining from the Yeshiva, how the child is growing, and then in that context to share the concern and to share the criticism.

whatever constructive criticism may be warranted and it's much more of a davar nishma and that's the tactic which is being employed in this letter and it's a big, big yesod in our in all all relationships family relationships again relationships in in in work relationships in educational settings vechulu vechulu. Then after after beginning with with the on on that positive note maybe we'll come back to to some of that. Actually maybe just to look just at the very beginning of the letter. So he begins by quoting the pasuk where Shmuel Hanavi says to Shaul Hamelech that אם קטון אתה בעיניך ראש שבטי ישראל אתה meaning that a person certainly everyone every one of us has to be an anav.

The the goal really is to strive to be anav me'od and yet notwithstanding a person also has to recognize what position he occupies and what responsibility he has. And and it's not anava for a person to shy away from carrying out those responsibilities which are consistent with with the position that he holds. If he shouldn't be holding that position that's a different story. But assuming as as was the case with Shaul Hamelech that he was anointed על פי נביא השם so obviously he is supposed to be occupying that position.

So then one's one's correct and legitimate sense of shiflus ve'anava isn't supposed to translate into shying away from from carrying out the responsibilities of of that position. And that's what Shmuel is telling him אם קטון אתה בעיניך ראש שבטי ישראל אתה. You should have stood up to the people. The people wanted didn't want to carry out the tzivui to eradicate Amalek there was this misplaced sense of rachmanus as it were kiveyachol.

No you're the ראש שבטי ישראל אתה you should have you should have imposed your will upon them because you're the meshiah Hashem who was charged with with this mitzvah. Then the footnote goes on to say that in that נאכדעם מצב פון היינטיגן דור that because of the state of affairs in in this generation איז יעדערמאן א ראש שבטי ישראל. That this bechina of being a representative or even a leader is something that's true for for each and every one of us. Each and every one of us because shomrei Torah mitzvos are unfortunately ba'avonoseinu harabbim such a a small and distinct minority.

So each and every one of us are representatives and spokesmen and there's bechina of rosh shivtei Yisrael for each and and every every one of us and and we we have to we have to realize that. I think somewhere I don't remember where but but I think many many years ago I I saw in the כל כתבי חפץ חיים that the Chofetz Chaim again there's no date on this letter so I'm not sure exactly what the how much earlier the Chofetz Chaim was writing but I don't know I guess possibly anywhere from fifty to a hundred years earlier. The Chofetz Chaim's point of of departure if if I'm remembering correctly was the Rambam at the end of perek hey of Yesodei Hatorah. When when the Rambam writes after talking about the other two types of chillul hashem rachmana litzlan and although kiddush hashem, so then the Rambam concludes in perek hey of yesodei hatorah that שיש דברים אחרים שהם בכלל חילול השם.

But this category of chillul hashem, the Rambam says, is limited to והוא שיעשה אדם גדול בתורה ומפורסם בחסידות. A person who's again he's a gadol, he's an adam gadol, and and he's known to be a very devout person. And he does things despite the fact that they're technically muttar, but they're דברים שהבריות מרננות אחריו בשבילן. And ואף על פי שאינם עבירות, even though the truth is that they're not intrinsically aveiros, but the fact that they that they stimulate, that they provoke that type of skeptical, cynical, gossiping reaction הרי זה חילול השם.

The Rambam gives examples from the Gemara in Yoma, such as when if the if the chacham buys on credit and then his his creditors need to come after him to collect, so he didn't do anything, he didn't do anything wrong, but it tongues begin wagging that oh look, look at this adam gadol, so-called mefursam b'chasidus and he's not making good on his debts etcetera. So the Rambam clearly says that that only an adam gadol who's mefursam b'chasidus can create rachmana litzlan a chillul hashem in this fashion because it's only a person of his stature whose actions reflect upon Torah and and therefore can create either a kiddush hashem or or the opposite rachmana litzlan. So k'midmani that the Chafetz Chaim writes that bazman hazeh it's true for all of us. All of us, when we're in the workplace, it may be a doctor's office, it may be a law office, it may be an accounting firm, whatever whatever the place, whatever the context, a person's wearing a yarmulke, which he should be at all times, on job interviews, at work, at all times.

A person's wearing a yarmulke, so he's a representative, he's a spokesman. And the fact that that that each of us, you know, bein adam l'atzmo knows how unworthy he is to be such a representative, that doesn't change anything. The reality is that the people who look at us see us in that capacity. And we have to have the sensitivity to measure what we do, how we behave, how we speak, how we conduct ourselves, how we dress, etcetera with with that in mind.

That again, that's not supposed to... a person is not supposed to internalize that in the wrong way. He's supposed to internalize it in the right way. He's supposed to internalize it again in the sense of l'maiseh, l'maiseh, if I do something wrong, people are not going to correctly say, "Well, what do you expect from that pashuteh am ha'aretz?" No, they're going to say, "Look at what that guy with the with the yarmulke and the beard, look look what he did, look how look how he behaves." So that sensitivity a person is supposed to internalize.

But not chas v'shalom to internalize it in the wrong way, to think that, "Oh, you know, I'm taka, you know, oh, I am someone that that people should be looking to." No, it's not. A person recognizes who he is and what he is and it's not that it's not that one deludes oneself into thinking that people should be looking to me. It's just that one recognizes the reality that despite the fact that they shouldn't be, they do. And in this case, it's the, you know, it's the de facto which creates the de jure, the de facto that people look to each of us in that way creates the halacha and and the need for us to be very, very sensitive to again how we conduct and how we comport ourselves and and.

and to make sure that everything is that we hold ourselves to the to the highest standards. It for us internally it's not a defense if chas v'shalom you know there are groups in our communities in Torah communities where there's an occasion or occasions chas v'shalom let's say in the current context of violating the social distancing for ourselves it's no defense that well others are doing it also and it's happening in other communities also. That's not we don't hold ourselves to such relative standards. We have to hold ourselves to a standard again because of this because the fact that yeder Ben Torah every Ben Torah each Ben Torah has a בחינה ראש שבטי ישראל that every person as undeserving and as unworthy but makes the same impression that once upon a time only an אדם גדול ותורה ומפורסם חסידות made so we have to have our own standards not standards that we you know that we adopt from others not standards that are relative to others in this type of context.

Okay there's much more much more in this letter to talk about so maybe בלי נדר אם ירצה השם we'll talk a little further about this tomorrow morning בלי נדר אם ירצה השם for all those who in lieu of a final would like to have such a letter to translate without having seen it before so please do you can send an email to Jonah and he'll pass that news along and and that alternative final will be available to all. Okay on a different note I leave it to you to decide whether more serious or less serious on a different note so בלי נדר אם ירצה השם I hope we'll resume at at 1:30 בלי נדר אם ירצה השם with the limmud in Chullin. Okay have a wonderful productive morning rabosai be well be safe.