Last night Rabbi Yechiel Levitansky, Rabbi in Sumy, Ukraine spoke for over 1000 people on zoom. He spoke about his inner joy and calmness, while simultaneously sharing the struggle to figure out the right thing to do. Is his responsibility to remain in Sumy, Ukraine and support the community, or should he leave and have a bigger impact on getting them their basic necessities.
When asked if there is a special mitzvah he wants people to take on, he responded: “this war is an illogical war, it makes no sense, it’s crazy! Do a mitzvah that is crazy for you to do, one that makes no sense (Sorry Rabbis' I'm giving you more work)… ever thought of koshering your kitchen? It’s a crazy idea! Me? Kosher Kitchen? But the way to fight crazy tyranny is with crazy good.”
I found this sentiment personally powerful. Trying to make a positive impact on everyone I meet, and on Judaism in Harford County, at times seems crazy. However, seeing the amazing good that has come from it, shows how inexplicable results can come from crazy positive behavior.
A wealthy man once offered a large amount of money to the Lubavitcher Rebbe to support “a big project”. The Rebbe told him to sponsor the Shmurah Matzah for the Pesach Seder project in Israel. G-d willing, this year we will do something crazier than ever before. Seeing how important it is to have Shmurah matzah, we plan on ensuring over 500 local Seders have handmade Shmurah Matzah.
It’s crazy. It’s expensive. But we got to do something crazy. As the old Apple ad says: Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Join me in doing something crazy good!
Have an amazing shabbos.
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman