On Motza’ei Shabbos, January 6, Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, well-known speaker and author, shared a meaningful virtual shiur on Pirkei Avos as part of the program “Make Saturday Night Motza’ei Shabbos,” which is hosted by Chazaq.
The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos teaches to make the honor of your friend as dear to you as your own. It also teaches: Do not be quick to anger. A person should remember to keep his emotions in check. Rabbi Goldwasser taught that everything is decreed in Shamayim: “I thank Hashem who conducts the whole world with razor-sharp precision. Whatever happens, good or bad, I have to thank Hashem.
He added that we must be careful not to grow upset and to think to ourselves when something bad happens, that it was meant to happen, and it will be good for us. He shared the analogy of going on an airplane and trusting the pilot to take you to your destination safely. “I trust the pilot when I fly on a plane. So, too, we are all on the plane and Hashem is the pilot flying us from one nisayon to the next. I am happy because I have full emunah!”
He taught that we always have to look out for the honor of everyone in klal Yisrael. “How careful we have to be!” He shared that we must be careful with the honor of people of all ages. Children are Hashem’s guarantors in this world, so we have to be careful of what we say to them.
He spoke about the story of Yosef and his brothers. They realized that they made a mistake because they didn’t help him when he pleaded with them. This is what they regretted. The brothers had a p’sak din, however: When Yosef pleaded with each of them for mercy, they ignored it. That bit of cruelty they regretted. That is a lesson for us. The way we treat each other has to be with the greatest amount of honor, dignity, and respect. It doesn’t matter what level of Yiddishkeit people are on or if we like them; we have to trust them and to believe them. They have to know that we believe in them.
Esther rose to be Queen Esther because Mordechai believed in her. We need to let people know we believe in them, and this will raise them up.
By Susie Garber
