A teaching from Reb Zusha of Anipoli: it\u2019s possible to serve Hashem even from the lowest traits. He points to a thief and identifies seven qualities worth emulating-acting discreetly, taking risks for a goal, valuing even the smallest gain, inconveniencing oneself, acting with alacrity, maintaining hope, and persisting despite failure.<\/p>\n
The world is called an alma d\u2019shikra-a world of deception. That can breed cynicism, or it can be harnessed. The question is not whether narratives exist, but what we do with them.<\/p>\n
We live in a time when objective truth feels increasingly elusive. Every report is filtered through bias, angle, and perspective. I recently came across advertisements for a platform that compares how different outlets report the same story. It struck me-not because I consume much news-but because it revealed something deeper: “reality” is often less about facts, and more about framing.<\/p>\n
That idea stirred a memory.<\/p>\n
As a child, I once walked down Central Avenue in Lawrence thinking about the Chazal: if the Jewish people keep two Shabbatot, we will be redeemed immediately. There is another version-one Shabbat-and much discussion reconciling the two. But at the time, I felt defeated. The solution seemed so simple, yet so impossible. How could we ever get every Jew to keep Shabbat? How many don\u2019t even know they are Jewish?<\/p>\n
That question lingered.<\/p>\n
Years later, in a conversation with Rabbi Yussie Zakutinsky, I mentioned a tzaddik who spoke harshly about Shabbat desecrators in a certain city. I watched his expression shift. \u201cJust pasken that they\u2019re shomerShabbat,” he said.<\/p>\n
I was taken aback. What does that even mean?<\/p>\n
He explained, You think those Jews are holding back Moshiach? Frame them differently. See them differently. Rule differently.<\/p>\n
In other words, use the same koach (power) that the world uses to construct narratives and redeem it.<\/p>\n
This is not about \u201coutsmarting” Hashem. It\u2019s about aligning with what He wants. There is nothing more beloved than Jews advocating for one another, finding merit in one another, constructing a narrative of zechut (merit) rather than chovah.<\/p>\n
I was reminded of a story with Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz. He once encountered a secular professor on Shabbat and asked where he was headed. The man replied candidly: this is his one day off, so he buys pork and goes to the beach to relax.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Steinsaltz responded: \u201cSo you keep Shabbat in your way, and I keep it in mine.”<\/p>\n
At first glance, it sounds jarring. But on reflection, it reveals a deeper posture-not denial, but reframing. Not redefining halakha but redefining how we see a Jew.<\/p>\n