Pipeline Torah Gem #911 2026-01-21: Concern
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Vaughn Seward
Jan 22, 2026, 10:14:26 PMJan 22
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Concern
The lofty attitude of the false leader, the scholars who stood apart from the people, has been characterized as one of contempt which stemmed from pride, justified seclusion and contributed to the prevailing condition of 'perud'. The attitude of the true leader, the zaddik, can also be characterized by a term—concern. Humility makes concern possible, because it implies the awareness of the other's existence. But concern is more than awareness of another's existence. It means to care: to go out of oneself toward one's fellow man, to help him, to heal him, to raise him. It means the drawing together of what has been shattered. It means that a man alone is incomplete, only half a man, and that he must feel for another in order to be whole himself. Only by helping to heal others is he himself healed. "The essence of returning to God is to turn others also." It means that the outpouring of God's concern for man overflows the zaddik's heart, reaching out to touch other men. God's concern for man becomes the zaddik's concern for God's concern and, therefore, concern for man himself. "The zaddik thinks that each Israelite is a limb of the Shechinah," and thus, concern for the anguish of the Shechinah becomes concern for the anguish of the people. Concern means love and compassion. The zaddik loves the people and finds even among the plainest of them signs of holiness. Adapted from The Zaddik, by Samual H. Dresner, 1960, page 154. Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/torahtidbits
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Yiddish Corner
Es iz nishto keyn miese kale. There is (no such thing as an) ill-favoured bride. Khosn doyme lemelekh. A bridegroom is likened to a king. Afile in gan-eydn iz nisht gut tsu zayn aleyn. Even in paradise it is not good to be alone. Fri oyfshteyn und fri khasene hobn shat nisht. To be up betimes and to marry early does no harm. Itlikher shidekh vos me tut iz gut, nokh a yor vert men gevor. Every match is a catch, after a year it becomes clear. [From "In Praise of Yiddish" but Maurice Samuel]
The lofty attitude of the false leader, the scholars who stood apart from the people, has been characterized as one of contempt which stemmed from pride, justified seclusion and contributed to the prevailing condition of 'perud'. The attitude of the true leader, the zaddik, can also be characterized by a term—concern. Humility makes concern possible, because it implies the awareness of the other's existence. But concern is more than awareness of another's existence. It means to care: to go out of oneself toward one's fellow man, to help him, to heal him, to raise him. It means the drawing together of what has been shattered. It means that a man alone is incomplete, only half a man, and that he must feel for another in order to be whole himself. Only by helping to heal others is he himself healed. "The essence of returning to God is to turn others also." It means that the outpouring of God's concern for man overflows the zaddik's heart, reaching out to touch other men. God's concern for man becomes the zaddik's concern for God's concern and, therefore, concern for man himself. "The zaddik thinks that each Israelite is a limb of the Shechinah," and thus, concern for the anguish of the Shechinah becomes concern for the anguish of the people. Concern means love and compassion. The zaddik loves the people and finds even among the plainest of them signs of holiness. Adapted from The Zaddik, by Samual H. Dresner, 1960, page 154. Archives: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/torahtidbits
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Yiddish Corner
Es iz nishto keyn miese kale. There is (no such thing as an) ill-favoured bride. Khosn doyme lemelekh. A bridegroom is likened to a king. Afile in gan-eydn iz nisht gut tsu zayn aleyn. Even in paradise it is not good to be alone. Fri oyfshteyn und fri khasene hobn shat nisht. To be up betimes and to marry early does no harm. Itlikher shidekh vos me tut iz gut, nokh a yor vert men gevor. Every match is a catch, after a year it becomes clear. [From "In Praise of Yiddish" but Maurice Samuel]
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