Meir Ettinger – Rabbi Yitzhak Ginzburg is for Me

Rabbi Yitzhak Ginzburg is for Me (a very lacking google translation)

Meir Ettinger talks about the first encounter with the teachings of Rabbi Ginsburg. The willingness to deal with questions without answers, a never-ending Torah and a special leader who sees them all as equals

The "Gal Eini" organization is currently making a campaign to raise money for the purpose of increasing the Torah distribution of my teacher and Rabbi Yitzhak Ginzburg, in quality and quantity. Rabbi Yitzchak, I love him very much and asked the students to help the success of the campaign.

Asking for money from people is not my strong point, and I am very ashamed to personally ask you to help, so I thought of writing who Rabbi Yitzhak is for me, and why I think he teaches in a way worth investing in. And if it made someone contribute, it would make me very happy.

| The most real Jew

When I was a yeshiva student, I had a lot of questions about Judaism and its relevance today. I read a lot of books, I searched character within, but at the end of the day I felt that the questions were better than the answers, and in general the experience was that the rabbis dealt with self-denial and self-denial, I loved the Torah very much.

At the end, the Rosh Yeshiva told me, something like "You should go to Rabbi Ginzburg, only he can help you." It took me a few years, after they got me out of the yeshiva to know how right he was. Did I find answers to all the questions in Rabbi Yitzchak's response? No. But I found equanimity and calmness in front of the questions, courage to respond to the challenge they pose, and the Torah is "longer than a land of measure and vastness" that can contain them.

The truth has several forms, there is truth that says everything inside, the truth of answers. There is a truth of constant search, of penetrating questions, out of a belief in the existence of true answers. In my opinion, Rabbi Yitzchak is the most real Jew in the world. As if you engraved the flag of David to Solomon, "Know the God of your father and worship him wholeheartedly and willingly ... If you are asked, he will find you"

Who still believes this today? That "if we are called you will be found?”

Every generation has to translate the Torah into the language of the generation, but if every 2-3 generations a spiritual giant who sews new clothing for the Torah rises, today he needs new clothing every five years.

In my sense, the way Rabbi Yitzchak teaches Torah is the only form that can provide a solution to our special generation. The courage, the loyalty and the lowliness create a mixture of experience as if you are not only immersed in the sea of ​​Torah, but you put your hands on the fountain itself (source/wellspring).

| The lowliness of a spiritual teacher

In our generation, we learn every few months the plain meaning of the verse, "Stop man from you, for what is he considered?" The tone of admired figures is revealed every now and then, and the confidence we give to leaders is diminishing. On the other hand, we are also aware of our own limitations and the need for guidance, study and even leadership.

In my opinion, I found in Rabbi Yitzhak a delicate combination of things. On the one hand, you are faced with a person who sees you completely as an equal to him, does not give instructions, does not give orders, and even enjoys being arrogant or not counting him. A person who gives full confidence to anyone who is connected to him allows him to make a mistake and expresses his opinion only when asked (even with difficulty). And on the other hand he has the courage to take responsibility, in a place where there are no people, and is willing to bear the heaviest burden if he is asked.

Rabbi Yitzchak never wants you to listen to him. He is looking to turn you into a messiah, this is called transformational leadership, no wonder that few remain with him, the rest is the urge to spread wings and be independent

When I imagine a Jewish leader, when I imagine King David - that's how he looks.

| God's work and / or humor

Rabbi Yitzhak is the funniest rabbi there is. For those who do not know, it sounds strange. I did not mean that he has laughs and tearing jokes, but I have never met a rabbi whose Torah is so steeped in humor. It is medicine for our generation. When you learn Torah from him, you see what it means that the Torah is liveliness(?).

| The public answer

We are accustomed to the tension that exists between dealing with the individual and dealing in general, between politics and faith, between worshiping God and social involvement. But for Rabbi Yitzhak, this tension does not exist at all. In my opinion, he is the most private Rabbi - in the sense that he deals with the most personal hardships and aspirations, without disconnecting the person from being self-aware, attentive to himself. On the other hand, the most general rabbi. When you speak to him you really understand that the public answer is entirely part of God's service, which is a direct continuation of prayer and the lesson of Hasidism. You will admit that this is rare, in my opinion only such an experience will produce a revolution.

That's it, this is my Rabbi Yitzhak in a nutshell. I really believe that his Torah - if they only know her, can really give medicine (heal) many broken worlds, and that she (the Torah) has a message for each of us and all of us together, and that she (the Torah) is worth the investment. If I made someone to participate - Ashray!