T he holy words of Chazal require each of us to try to draw close the hearts of those far away to our Father in Heaven and not to remain enclosed in his home worrying only about his own Olam Haba” declared Rav Chaim Kanievsky at the annual convention of Lev L’Achim in Bnei Brak last week.
Rav Chaim didn’t say so explicitly but strongly implied that even on its own terms the focus only on one’s personal Olam Haba is doomed to failure and will only decrease that Olam Haba. After all if one truly loved Hashem he would want every other Jew to do so as well.
As the author of Chovos Halevavos writes (Shaar HaBitachon Chapter 4): “A person’s good deeds alone do not make him suitable for the reward of the World to Come. G-d considers him suitable only because of two other factors in addition to his good deeds. The first is that he teaches others about the service of G-d and guides them in doing good….”
Were we to take Rav Chaim’s words seriously both as individuals and as a community I believe that we could do a great deal to improve the image of Torah and Torah Jewry among our fellow Jews. The first step as always would be to do no harm and to file a metaphoric kiddush Hashem impact statement prior to every action. That would be enough to end a host of recent actions that have both infuriated and appalled the general public (including fellow chareidim) in Israel such as demonstrations closing major thoroughfares and physical assaults on soldiers wearing yarmulkes.
