A policeman sees a drunk man searching under a streetlight and asks what he's lost. "My keys," says the man. After searching together for a few minutes, the officer asks: "Are you sure you lost them here?"
"No," admits the man. "I lost them in the park."
"Then why are you searching here?!"
"Because," answers the man, "this is where the light is." -the principle of the drunkard's search.
We look for meaning in the familiar, connection in the convenient and our Jewish identity in the places that are easy, comfortable, and already lit up. However, sometimes, the real treasure is somewhere that requires us to do a little more work to illuminate.
In 1907, the Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch, was at a health spa in Würzburg, Germany. A group of Chassidim came to spend Shabbos with him. After kiddush and a few heartfelt l'chaims, Reb Yosef Yuzik Horowitz asked a seemingly simple question:
"Rebbe, what is a chossid?"
"A chossid," said the Rebbe, "is a lamplighter. He walks the streets carrying a flame at the end of a stick. He knows the flame is not his. And he goes from lamp to lamp to set them alight."
"What if the lamp is in a desert?" questioned Reb Yosef Yuzik.
"Then one must go and light it. And when one lights a lamp in a desert, the desolation becomes visible. The barren wilderness will then be ashamed before the burning lamp."
"What if the lamp is at sea?" continues Reb Yosef Yuzik.
"Then one must undress, dive in, and go light it." Answered the Rebbe.
"But Rebbe, I do not see the lamps!" Reb Yosef Yuzik cries out.
"Because," said the Rebbe quietly, "you are not yet a lamplighter."
"How does one become a lamplighter?" asked Reb Yosef Yuzik.
"First, you must reject the evil within yourself. Start with yourself, cleanse yourself, refine yourself, and you will see the lamp within your fellow. When a person is himself coarse, G‑d forbid, he sees coarseness; when a person is himself refined, he sees the refinement in others."
Reb Yosef Yuzik then asked: "Is one to grab the other by the throat?"
Replied the Rebbe: "By the throat, no; by the lapels, yes."
Every single one of us is both a lamp waiting to be lit as well as a lamplighter for someone else.
Not everyone inspires the same way. Some, like my childhood rabbi, Rabbi Raichik of Los Angeles, led with such tenderness. When he had to tell you something wasn't kosher, he would sigh first as he genuinely wished you could have enjoyed it. His path was kindness.
Others inspire with rigor; a spiritual personal trainer who pushes you because they see what you're capable of.
Both are valid. In fact, there are seven pathways, like the seven branches of the Menorah, each casting its light at a different angle. Each illuminating something the others can't quite reach. The same soul may need a different flame at different moments in life.
Sometimes we inspire directly and at other times, the most powerful thing we can do is simply live in a way that makes others lean toward the light.
The Mishnah in Avot says: Be among the students of Aaron; loving peace, pursuing peace, loving people, and drawing them close to Torah. Not compromising the Torah. Attracting people toward it without watering it down.
It’s our job to be a lamplighter; to do whatever it takes to bring the light of Hashem and His Torah to others.
Where in your life are you searching under the streetlight, when your real keys are somewhere that needs you to bring the light?
Who do you know that might be an unlit lamp, waiting for someone to show up and light the way? You don't need to be a scholar or prepare a polished speech. Just carry the flame and walk toward them.
Even a genuine invite counts, we're 14 RSVPs from our goal for Shabbat100 😉.
As the Rebbe teaches: "By the throat, no. By the lapels, yes."
Warm regards and a bright Shabbos,
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman
P.S. I'm curious how/if you see this as relevant in your own life.