Rabbi's Blog - Chabad of Pittsford

Jewish Thought of the Week (06/27/2025)

Friday, June 27, 2025 - 12:49 PM

Dear Friends,

As a child growing up in NJ, our family was close enough to NYC that we were able to 'visit' the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson OBM.

These visits weren't like coming over for a cup of tea, but every Sunday from 1986 until the Rebbe's illness in 1992, the Rebbe made himself available to anyone to come by his office to receive advice, a blessing or just to introduce yourself to this venerated Jewish world leader. (Above is a picture of an 8 year old me in the summer of 1991). And this is besides the Rebbe's ubiquitous practice for decades of giving out coins to children to give to charity before prayers.

I can easily estimate that over the years, the Rebbe gave out tens of thousands of coins to as many children. Add to that the many dollars he distributed to charity during the famous "Sunday Dollars" line.

As a child, I took it all for granted. I knew it was a great privilege to see the Rebbe and to receive coins and dollars for charity, but that was something he always did. Only recently did I realize how unusual it was.

Think about it:

The Rebbe, a leader of a massive movement with branches all around the world, a Torah scholar whose teachings are still being edited and published 30 years after his passing—takes time from his hectic schedule to give a little eight-year-old a dollar for charity.

And this was happening again and again.

We estimated how many coins and dollars the Rebbe gave out—but what about his time? Every Sunday, he'd stand for hours, often 7 or 8 hours (in his late 80s!), to receive people and give them dollars for charity. The door was wide open, no appointment was necessary, and no one was turned away. If you wanted, you were able to go and receive a dollar.

Isn't that incredible?

Typically, world leaders choose to spend time only with the most important or influential people.

Yet for the Rebbe, taking a moment to give a dollar or coin to an eight-year-old was time well spent.

How did the Rebbe find the energy and time for every person, young and old alike?

Because Torah's philosophy is every soul is a whole world (see Talmud Sanhedrin 37a). You make time for a whole world.

What is even more remarkable is that the Rebbe trained us simple folk to develop that trait, at least somewhat.

Here is a related family story:

Reb Nosson “Bobby” Vogel, Rishi’s grandfather, played an instrumental role in establishing the London Chabad-Lubavitch boys’ high school. During a private audience with the Rebbe, he shared a burden that weighed heavily on him. The financial responsibility of sustaining the high-school they had built had fallen almost entirely on his shoulders, and he felt it was becoming too much for one person to bear.

The Rebbe smiled warmly and said, “I will speak to you in the language of a businessman. Imagine you are dealing in diamonds. If you had a bag full of diamonds, and I placed some additional blue-white diamonds in there, would you complain?”

The Rebbe smiled again and added, “You are carrying diamonds. Never put them down; carry on.”

From that moment forward, Nosson continued to carry the merit of supporting Jewish education for more than forty years. When asked how he managed to do so, he would often say he couldn’t really explain how it all added up—it was all with the help of G‑d.

It seems to me that the best way to honor the Rebbe's legacy is by following his example in 4 'simple' steps:

1) Realize you are a 'diamond', a soul connected to the G-d Almighty (you might need to learn more Chassidic philosophy to gain that perspective).

2) Look at others that they too are souls, precious diamonds of G-d Almighty.
3) Make room and time for your 'inner diamond' and help all the other 'diamonds' you encounter.

4) Somehow you will pull off miracles you can't explain.

Wishing you a good Shabbos,

Rabbi Yitzi Hein

Jewish Thought of the Week (06/20/2025)

Friday, June 20, 2025 - 12:00 PM

Friends,

I can’t help drawing a parallel to another operation, one we read about in this week’s Torah portion: Spies, victory, conquest.

Who: the 10 Spies Moses sent. Their task: Scout out the Holy Land. Assess the weaknesses of the Canaanites and determine the best way to victory.

Only in that operation, the result wasn’t as dazzling. The spies came back with negative reports: “We can’t do it. Mission impossible.”

The consequences? A tragedy. Forty years in the desert. The passing of an entire generation.

If not for this blunder, we’re told, the Jewish people would have marched into the Land of Israel with the Final Redemption. Thousands of years of darkness, exile, trials and tribulations throughout our history would have never come to pass.

But the Spies made a fatal error. In their mission to scout out the land, they were tasked with a basic question: How? How should we conquer? What is the best way?

But instead, they asked if. Is it possible? Can we really succeed? And that was their failure.

But the story of the Spies is more than just history. The Torah tells us the story to teach each of us a lesson that remains applicable today in 2025.

Every person is given a mission, assigned by the One Above. How do we figure out our mission? We look for clues in our background and history, our talents and interests, and—of course—the needs we discover in the world.

It is up to us to work out the how, never the if.

G‑d Almighty doesn’t expect without providing the tools we need to succeed.

The mission is timely and critical. The world relies on you to complete your part: We’re marching toward the Final Redemption, a time when peace will finally reign, and you’re at the front.

Good Shabbos/Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yitzi Hein

Jewish Thought of the Week (06/06/2025)

Friday, June 6, 2025 - 12:46 PM

Dear Friends,

Do you have an elevator pitch?

In the business world, it's a familiar concept. Imagine you're in an elevator, and next to you stands a billionaire who could fund your business and change your life forever. You have just 30 to 60 seconds to make your case. You need to be clear, focused, and persuasive.

Many people have an elevator pitch ready. Others are still working to define their mission and goals. Either way, having a strong, concise message can be a powerful tool.

This week, I discovered the most powerful elevator pitch ever created. It's only three words long.

And it doesn't come from a tech startup, a Fortune 500 company, or a nonprofit. It comes from our Parsha, Parshat Naso.

So what is the elevator pitch of this week's Parsha?

It's brilliantly simple: be an elevator.

Yes, really.

Parshat Naso is long and filled with many events and mitzvot. But even before reading the content, the name tells us everything. Naso is a command. It means: lift up, elevate. In short, be an elevator.

So who should you lift up?

Start with yourself. Could you use a boost? Then think about those around you — family, friends, even a stranger in the supermarket. Chances are, they could use one too.

We just celebrated Shavuot, when G-d gave us the Torah. That moment, 3,337 years ago, gave us purpose and direction. From then on, we were empowered to bring holiness into the world. And with it, meaning and joy.

It’s ironic. We live in the most comfortable era in history. Tasks that once took hours now take minutes. Yet many still feel low, disconnected, or overwhelmed.

The Torah recognizes this. It gives us both a command and a solution: lift up. Yourself. Others. Every day.

How do we become an elevator?

By tethering ourselves higher. When we connect more deeply with G-d, we begin to feel better on the inside. That inner strength enables us to be a positive influence on the people around us.

And guess what? Even the billionaire in the elevator next to you might need a little inspiration. Opportunities to lift others are all around us.

(Thank you to Rabbi Mendy Kaminker for sharing his wisdom with us).

Wishing you a good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yitzi Hein