These days being a social media influencer is all the rage. But the notion of an influencer is certainly older than social media. Parents are influencers. Teachers are influencers. Leaders in any field are influencers. Friends can be influencers. You get the idea.
Next weekend, a gathering of the largest group of Jewish influencers is taking place in New York, the annual Shluchim Conference (Chabad Rabbis). What is the secret of the success that Chabad Shluchim have in being Jewish influencers?
This week I read a pair of letters that the Rebbe wrote to Jewish educators in 1944 in which he articulates a perspective on Jewish education/influencing that is very instructive (pun intended).
He cites a passage in the Talmud that identifies three cases from which the Torah derives the obligation of adults to influence children with respect to Jewish observance. The first is the prohibition against the consumption of insects. The second is the prohibition against the consumption of blood. The third are the laws of ritual impurity.
Conceptually, age need not only be measured by one’s passport or birth certificate, but also by extent of awareness. Education is not just for children, but rather for anyone that has room to grow in awareness that leads to practice.
Hashem specifically chooses these three cases to teach us the obligation of influencing the “youth,” because in each case there is an argument against the success of that effort.
An influencer looks at a person or society that has become so corrupted that matters which are obliviously grotesque have become acceptable (similar to the consumption of insects), might conclude that it is a lost cause. Yet the Torah instructs us to get involved and influence.
Regarding the consumption of blood, the Torah says, “strengthen yourself against the consumption of blood.” Rashi tells us that this is because the people were steeped in blood consumption. When a negative practice becomes pervasive, it loses the perception of it being negative. An influencer might conclude that trying to impact in an area of life that has become so pervasively distant from observance is a lost cause. Yet the Torah instructs us to get involved and influence.
The laws of ritual impurity are entirely suprarational. A leap of faith is required to adapt them into one’s life. An influencer might say “why would I bother trying to influence people about the suprarational when they identify as agnostic?” Yet the Torah instructs us to get involved and influence.
How indeed can the Torah expect an influencer to be successful despite the strong arguments to the contrary? Here the Rebbe quotes a passage from the Rambam, one of his favorite quotes. “Every Jew wants to be part of the Jewish people, and he wants to perform all the mitzvot and eschew all the transgressions; it is only his evil inclination that presses him.”
You have to know who you are dealing with. Deep down even the self-proclaimed agnostic has a soul that wishes nothing more than a relationship with Hashem based on Torah and Mitzvot. Once you are aware of that, you simply must learn how to awaken that Neshama and get past the mirage that obstructs it.
Happy influencing!
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin