In a Jewish school in Charkov, Ukraine, there was a history teacher who was an ardent Communist. Her gods were Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. She had no soft spot for Judaism, but because she was a terrific teacher and knew her stuff, they hired her in the Chabad school, on condition that she sticks to her subject and stays off the topic of religion.
One day she quizzed her students on the period from the end of the 18th century to the end of the 19th century. The teacher asked: Who knows what was the most important historical event of the year 1799?
One child raised his hand and said that was the year Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, author of the Tanya, was released from Czarist prison.
The teacher yelled: What?! Who’s this R’ Shneur Zalman? And did he really live? And if he was arrested, they shouldn’t have freed him, and if they freed him, who cares? Today there is a new world order which will save the world. Judaism is obsolete. What happened in 1799? That’s the year Alexander Pushkin was born! He was one of the outstanding Russian poets and thinkers. (Pushkin was an extraordinarily talented gentile who died at the age of 36).
Next question. The teacher asked: What happened in the year 1800, 1801, and so on, until she got to the year 1812. Who knows what happened in 1812?
The same boy raised his hand and said: “That year, Pushkin became bar mitzvah!”
Abraham has just triumphed in a massive conflict, in which he defeated four powerful kings, liberated the hostages of Sedom, including his nephew Lot. Following the extraordinary victory, the Torah tells us:
And Abram said, "O God, what will You give me, since I am going childless, and the steward of my household is Eliezer of Damascus?"
It is a strange exchange. Three times already, G-d promised Abraham he would have a child. Why does Abraham still doubt G-d? And why is Abraham suddenly “eulogizing” Eliezer, telling G-d where he comes from. Why is that relevant to his please for a child?
The Rebbe sheds new light on the entire story and captures one of the grand themes in Abraham’s legacy.
Abraham was not only complaining that he is childless; he was also acknowledging the blessing of having a person like Eliezer as his chief steward.
There are various forms of influencing the world—and in a very general way, they can be divided into three categories. Some individuals become great business tycoons—creating financial skyscrapers, literally or conceptually. Others are worriers, conquerors, generals, great military or political leaders, who conquer and lead countries. While others are great ideologues; their ambition is to change the landscape of the human mind and heart, in the scientific, artistic or moral sense.
Few have combined all three qualities in one person. We have Noble Laureates for economics, for peace, and for literature. Rockefeller was no Einstein, and Einstein was no Churchill. Abraham embodies excellence in all three and the Torah makes sure to delineate all three aspects of his life. He was a successful financial tycoon, wealthy and influential, and became a paradigm of philanthropy and generosity. He was also a warrior, a commander-in-chief, as the Torah articulates in the preceding story of the battle he waged. But, above all, he was a true ideologue, who successfully changed the moral landscape of humanity for eternity.
But nobody can do this work alone. The greatest tycoon needs a skilled CEO and CFO to run the business. And the most skilled commander-in-chief needs generals. And the most extraordinary mind needs disciples to further communicate the message. Abraham was blessed with a man, a towering figure, Eliezer, who embodied these three roles.
This is what Abraham was expressing here to G-d: and the steward of my household is Eliezer of Damascus?’"
First, Eliezer was the steward who oversaw Abraham’s entire household. He was Abraham’s, Chief Executive Officer.
Furthermore, he was from Damascus. This, as Rashi explains, is a hint to one more quality of Eliezer. Why does Abraham suddenly mention here, in his conversation with G-d about a child, that Eliezer came from Damascus? Abraham is intimating precisely here that Eliezer, his chief servant, was the man who pursued the enemy till Damascus and scored a victory, for he was a brilliant warrior, a skilled military general, and a fearless fighter.
Eliezer, besides his other qualities, he was a brilliant student and an articulate teacher. He served as the chief disciple of Abraham, the man who knew how to present the teachings of Abraham to the masses.
And yet, the founding father of Judaism is still deeply pained. The Rebbe suggested, that here—for the first time in Torah—the first Jew introduced a unique and vital message. You can achieve enormous success in every field which you have put your mind into. Yet, Abraham says, that is only half of the success.
For a person to truly feel a contentment from all his or her life’s work it is when he or she gets to see a child who continues to walk in that same path, dedicated to similar ideals and values.
So even after acknowledging the tremendous blessing of having Eliezer who will continue all the work of Abraham, Abraham says to G-d something that is expressing one of his most fundamental teachings: All the rewards in the world still leaves me with a void in my heart. I yearn for a child who will perpetuate the truths and ideals I fought for and invested blood, sweat, and tears.
This has become one of his great legacies. Often in history, some of the most known figures renowned for their achievements impacted many a stranger, but their own children neglected their fight. It meant nothing to their own family. And at the end of their life, they felt a deep void, that their battles were futile; their life-long dedication was in vain.
In Judaism, beginning with Abraham, the greatest emphasis has been placed on education: to reach the hearts and minds of our own children, that they may loyally continue those values Jews have fought for and sacrificed for, over three millennia, through thick and thin, over the span of generations and continents.
“I do not want to only be a world figure,” cries, Abraham. “I want to have a child to give it all over to.” Only then, will it really endure forever?
Let’s face it, it is not easy. It is easier to inspire strangers, to be a “universal soul,” to be a hero on Facebook and Youtube. Throughout history, some of the most legendary figures were revered by millions yet loathed by their own children. Some of our own tribe members, who were not steeped in Judaism, made the same mistake. Albert Einstein was coined by TIME magazine as Man of the Century, yet his children saw him as a traitor. Theodor Herzl transformed the landscape of modern Jewish history but could not inspire his own children to embrace his legacy. Karl Marx did not have the courage to acknowledge his own son as his. Can you believe his theories on the poor when you learn that the only proletarian Karl Marx ever knew in person was the poor maid who worked for him for decades and was never paid?
Ludwig Beethoven rocked the world with his 9th symphony, but his own family situation was ugly. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Henrik Ibsen, Leo Tolstoy, Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre, as well as Marx, is responsible for shaping modern society and modern thinking. They have become idols for millions and icons of modernity, yet their behavior toward their closest family members was despicable. Their abuse of their wives and children is a sad commentary on how great minds can be so morally impoverished.
For Jews, this was not luxury; this meant everything.
We see this most in the Shema. The Torah commands us to read the Shma twice a day—containing the fundamental deceleration of Jewish faith, Monotheism, and love to G-d.
And yet, in the first and second section of the Shema, the Torah states: “Teach it to your children, Our entire day is sandwiched between the morning and evening recitation of Shma, since this is the Jewish mission statement and our fundamental moto. But it is only valuable and real if I dedicate my time and energy to implant this in the heart of my children.
So Jews became the only people in history to predicate their very survival on education. The most sacred duty of parents was to teach their children, the handing on of memory.
You have to be there for them emotionally to be able to help them face adversity and embrace their true spiritual and emotional potential.
In one of the great speeches of the twentieth century, a distinguished American justice, Judge Learned Hand, said:
“I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.
“Therefore we must place as our highest priority educating our children in our ideals so that what we begin they will continue until the world changes because we have changed.”
Abraham understood this: If you plan for a year, plant rice. If you plan for a decade, plant a tree. If you plan for posterity, educate your child.
This was Abraham’s plea to G-d. Allow me to have a child and to educate and inspire my child. And G-d agreed. G-d says to him: “This one will not inherit you, but the one who will spring from your innards-he will inherit you." You will enjoy a hair who will come from your “innards,” your own child who will continue your life.
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.
To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities that went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son whom he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had a good education and all his needs taken care of. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son: he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. He wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his own tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. He testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. On Nov. 8, 1939, a week before Al Capone was released from Alcatraz, O'Hare was shot to death while driving.
But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a poem clipped from a magazine.
The poem read: "The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at a late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."
The story is not over.
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.
He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.
He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.
His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside from all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.
This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action, Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.
But a year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, The O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
So what do these two stories have to do with each other?
Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
In the sacrifice of his father he discovered integrity, honor, duty, and country. And that became his calling too.
Thank G-d, today most of us need not make such sacrifices. But we must make other sacrifices: Put away my phone when I come home in the evening and spend time with my children; bring them to shul on Shabbat, and make a kosher home, a Jewish home, living the values of Torah; send them to Jewish schools; be a living example of how a Jew lives on a daily basis. I need to become a paradigm of love, caring and dedication, a true mentor and parent.
I must learn how I can truly give my children the emotional and spiritual confidence they need to face their own challenges and polish the Divine diamonds entrusted to me.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoseph Geisinsky
Tom Peacock wrote...