“Strengthening one area of avodas Hashem shouldn’t be seen as an impediment to growing in other areas”
Doing something with a group helps with motivation and keeps the momentum going. You feel part of something bigger than yourself, and the encouragement you receive as part of the team can propel you to success. While it’s true that a group endeavor may not address a specific person’s flaws, growth itself, in any area, is key. The more we grow, the more we want to grow. When we participate in a group effort, we strengthen our growth muscles, which will ultimately make it more feasible to later tackle those areas that we may be avoiding working on.
Chazal teach us: “Tafasta merubah, lo tafasta; tafasta miutah, tafasta.” We generally understand this to mean that if you grab too many things, you don’t end up holding on to anything. However, if you grab a little bit, you will be successful in holding on. Perhaps we can also look at this Chazal as telling us that if you grab “merubah,” one thing that’s really big, you won’t be able to hold on to it; however if you grab “miutah,” something that is small, you’ll manage to hold on to it. It’s important to work out our growth muscles, slowly building our abilities to overcome challenges and grow, so that one day that merubah, that big thing, morphs into something that is now miutah, small and manageable.
Is it better to join a group movement than to tackle the issue that you know that you have and are avoiding? I don’t think it’s a matter of better or worse, I think it’s a matter of what’s going to be the most productive. If you’re able to take on the group effort as well as a personal endeavor, go for it! However, let’s be realistic in where we’re at and take on what we can, slowly but surely developing ourselves in order to continue growing.
Rav Gav is a maggid shiur and international lecturer who travels around the world helping Yidden deepen their relationship with Hashem.
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