Listen please to this description of King David’s youth: “Sent from his … home, a pariah in the community… Dovid found rich pasture and clear, flowing water for his soul -- which thirsted for Hashem -- in the wilderness to which he fled. There, where no one … saw him, he sought to draw close to G-d…. How beautiful is the wilderness! The vast skies and clouds above, every grain of sand … they all joined Dovid in songs of praise to G-d. No sound or echo is heard of any voice, other than the voice of song.” (Kitov, Book of Our Heritage)
Dovid was alone in this world, alone with Hashem, and that is how he found Him.
Without claiming any merit for myself, I want to say that I grew up with this sense of being totally alone. As I have mentioned countless times, I grew up in New York City among Jews who wanted nothing more than to run away from their heritage and blend in with the surrounding population. They lived in affluence, but their souls were tortured, “shackled in affliction and iron,” (Psalm 130) in the immortal words of King David. I could not live like this. Every minute I felt alone, as if I were in the wrong galaxy, but I could not find the way out until Hashem sent Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, who opened the doors of Torah for my wife and me.
Avraham Avinu is the universal prototype of the lone man. Don’t feel sorry for him; he did not feel sorry for himself. The world is “havail havalim,” and to be alone is a bracha, because it means that we are trying to separate ourselves from the empty world which worships false gods.
But being alone requires incredible emotional and spiritual strength, not once but every second of life. The “call of the wild” surrounds us, the glitter, the wealth, the pursuit of pleasure, the admiration of friends and acquaintances. It all calls out: join us in our pursuit of happiness, money, fame and fun!
But no, says the man of G-d! No! That is not life. I want the life which is eternal! I want the life which is attached to the King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe. I want Truth!
I personally can feel when the Yetzer Hara is pulling me. Every time – literally – when I want to make a bracha with kavana, I hear the Yetzer Hara whispering, “You can’t do it!” or “You don’t have time now” or “You are not on that level! Be normal!” So I try to ignore that deadly voice and to cleave to Hashem with all my power.
Avraham Avinu was the supreme example of cleaving to Hashem and tuning out the allurements of the world around us. There is an amazing sentence in the tefilla we say just before putting on the tallis: “Through the commandment of tzitzis may my life-force, spirit, soul and prayer be rescued from the external forces.”
Wow! Those words encompass everything dangerous. They are purposely vague because obviously the Anshe Knesses Hagdola wanted to include everything in our surroundings which, if we desire it, pulls us away from Hashem. So these words encompass a beautiful, fascinating, alluring, gripping, exciting universe, but it is a universe which is not Hashem and therefore will lead us to a life of frustration and dust.
Avraham Avinu could have had it all, but he chose Hashem, and he became the ultimate man of strength, who realized that the spiritual world is the Reality through which the material world is created. The closer we are to Hashem the more the material world becomes our servant instead of our master.
The following story may seem out of place, but I think it is unparalleled mussar … from a non-Jew named George W. Bush. Bush married early. He was young, handsome, and wealthy, son of an oil millionaire. The young George W. and his wife lived the “good life” in Texas; every night there were parties.
One day his wife said to him: “George, do you want to become something in your life or do you want to be a nothing? If you want to become a somebody you had better stop drinking! Every night you are drunk! That is a sure recipe for a wasted life!”
Obviously, she said it with love, because he listened. According to his own account, he literally never touched a drop of liquor again. Nothing! And he started to become sincerely religious. He changed his life. He went on to become the two-term governor of Texas and then the two-term President of the United States. And he gives all the credit to his wife! Here is the future President doing teshuvah because of his wife and then giving her public credit! (From his autobiography, Decision Points) George Bush chose a difficult path and succeeded. This is something which each person is capable of doing.
Ironically, I once had the opportunity to meet President Bush at the White House. I opened our conversation by saying, “Mr. President, may I give you a blessing.” I learned this from our Father Avraham, who introduced blessing into the world. As Hashem told Avraham, “All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.” (Beraishis 12:3)
Because he was not afraid to be alone in this world, Avraham Avinu merited to become the Father of the Jewish People, who bring blessing into the world. May Hashem give us the strength to follow in his footsteps!
The Author Speaking with President Bush
GLOSSARY
Anshe Knesses Hagdola: group of great men who composed our prayer service
Avraham Avinu: our Father Abraham
Bracha: blesssing
Havail havalim: futility of futilities (quote from Koheles/Ecclesiastes)
Mussar: spiritual guidance
Tefillah: tzitzis
Tzitzis: four-cornered garment worn by Jewish men
Yetzer hara: evil inclination
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