Congregation Shema Yisrael

The meadows don sheep and the valleys cloak themselves with fodder, they shout joyfully, they even sing!
Psalm 65:14
Tanach, Stone Edition

As for me, I am poor and destitute, O God, hasten to me! You are my assistance and my deliverance; Hashem, do not delay!
Psalm 70:6
Tanach, Stone Edition

I will sing to Hashem while I live, I will sing praises to my God while I endure. May my words be sweet to Him – I will rejoice in Hashem.
Psalm 140:33-34
Tanach, Stone Edition

This isn’t about how well you sing when praising God (though, from a human perspective, some people sing better than others), but about how our worship is received by others and by God. When we worship God in our congregations, it is only right that our minds and hearts be turned only to Him in His Highest Heavens. Nevertheless, the people around us can hear our worship and sometimes, form opinions about what they think it means about us.

I’ve been in Bible studies where everyone was encouraged to offer a prayer to God aloud, going around in a circle from one student to the next. I remember being conscious of what I was going to say and feeling distracted from God by how my choice of words in my prayer would be received by the others. I’m also not the best of singers (I sing like a frog), so it’s taken me a very long time to allow myself to sing and be fully audible to the rest of the congregation on Shabbat, focusing on praising God and not on the sound of my voice.

But this isn’t the main point of the article. I’m not talking about someone who doesn’t sing well or who is slightly, socially awkward. What about the really “odd” person among us who we can hardly tolerate and do not accept?

Consider this person and the Tchebiner Rav’s compassionate response when everyone else only offered rejection:

On today’s daf we find that the verse, “All the days of the poor are evil,” refers to one who is empathetic to others, since his heart is troubled by their difficulties. The Tchebiner Rav, zt”l, was unusual in this regard. He was especially considerate to the suffering of the lowly and downtrodden.

During his last years, the Tchebiner Rav lived in Shaarei Chessed. At that time, there was a very broken, lonely man who would collect tzedakah (charity) in the neighborhood shuls (synagogues). This person was well known – if not well liked – by all on account of his bizarre dress and strange behavior. He had his own unusual way to sing when the Torah was being replaced in to the aron kodesh. Since his voice was cracked and he could not hold a tune, this was very annoying to other people in shul. Nevertheless, if there was a chosson, he would always belt out his tune, often accompanied by bored children who immediately flocked to him and did their utmost to “help him along.”

Once, when this man was collecting in the Tchebiner Rav’s minyan, the Tchebiner Rav gave him a princely donation before they had replaced the Torah into the ark. “I am not giving you this merely as a gift,” he proclaimed. “I give this to you on condition that you make the minyan happy with your unique tune…”

The man was thrilled to his core and began to sing his special tune. But this time, since the Rav had asked for it, everyone joined him and it was actually a fitting way to return the Torah to its place. The broken man was overjoyed at his triumph and would tell everyone he knew about the admiration for him that the Tchebiner Rav had for him. Not only had he given him a big sum of money, he had even asked for his special niggun!

From Daf Digest
Bava Basra 145
Stories of the Daf
How to Empathize

Today, we might characterize this poor soul as “mentally ill” or “developmentally challenged” or some other such label, but regardless of this man’s troubles, the Tchebiner Rav shows us how God would have us treat everyone with respect and dignity, regardless of how much money they have, their social position, how they dress or act…or even how they sing.