57) OUTREACH ALTRUISM AND MAGNANIMITY?

Some of our leaders are very dedicated to spreading Judaism. They really want to fill their institutions with eager students thirsty for Torah knowledge.

The Kotzker recognizes the nobility of such a pursuit. But he also cautions that there may an ulterior motive that spoils the apparent altruism. The outreach world may not always be as spiritually philanthropic as it appears. 

Often the unspoken sentiment of spiritual emissaries is that Torah institutions should be well attended as long as they are their institutions.

He said; “You are claiming spirituality? But (like Korach who ‘also wanted the priesthood’) you really want to be the Leaders!” [1]

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[1] Amud HaEmet p. 92, par.4

56) SPIRITUALITY MUST ALWAYS BE NORMATIVE:

The Kotzker Rebbe suggested that the reason why Korach and his rebellion against Moshe was misguided, was simply because Korach was a fanatic.

He asked Moshe whether a house filled with holy books required something as insignificant as a Mezuzah.

The Kotzker explained; “A ‘house filled with books’ represents the concept of spiritual overreaching. No matter how many books a house has it always needs a small Mezuzah, to remind us that spirituality is a slow, natural and incremental process.”[1]

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[1] Amud HaEmet p. 81, par. 3

55) ONE MUST BE WORTHY OF A DRESS CODE:

The Torah tells us that the two good spies 'tore their clothes' when they returned from their mission, as a sign of mourning and protest against the other ten spies who had brought back a bad report.[1]

The Kotzker Rebbe, is his typically direct manner, waxes lyrical; “The spies were the religious leaders of the nation, who wore (the equivalent of what today would be) fur hats with white frock coats. When Yehoshua and Calev saw how they had behaved, they tore their clothes (i.e. not their own clothes, as is commonly assumed - but the very visible statement-making fur hats and white frock coats of those who had misrepresented them in the name of religion).”[2]

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[1] Vayikra 14:6

[2] Amud HaEmet p.80, par. 5 The Kotzker actually says that they ‘tore off the cloths from them’. (karu... bigdehem me’alehem)

54) KEEPING THE PRIMARY, PRIMARY:

It is sometimes very difficult to know from whom to receive guidance. 

So we turn to the ‘pious’.  

But every teacher has an agenda. 

The problem is that it’s impossible to know which agenda is closest to the truth.

The Kotzker Rebbe said regarding the ‘pious teachers’: “They turn the Secondary into the Primary, and the Primary into the Secondary.”

You know you’ve found your teacher when you walk away with the Primary remaining Primary. 

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53) KEEP IT SIMPLE:

The leaders of the Jewish People were selected to be the spies who would scout out the land of Israel. They brought back a bad report and as a result we spent forty years wandering through the desert.[1]

The Kotzker Rebbe says; “Had Moshe selected just ordinary simple people (instead of great leaders), we would have entered Etetz Yisrael immediately.”[2]

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[1] Vayikra 13.

[2] Amud HaEmet p. 80. Par. 1.(He goes on to say that the reason Moshe selected Leaders was to show that Israel can only be acquired through great self sacrifice.)

52) KOTZKER TRUTH:

The Kotzker Rebbe says; “What was the sin of the spies? They spoke the truth (about what they saw. How is speaking truth considered a sin)?

However, ‘truth’ does not just mean speaking what you see. That would simply be ‘not lying’.

‘Truth’ (in a religious sense) means that if one understands what it is that G-d wants, then one must exhaust oneself to find a genuinely truthful way of expressing (or explaining) G-d’s word.”[1]

There is no value in promoting G-d’s agenda, as noble as it may be, through holding back on the truth or suppressing or censoring it. 

Rather one needs to ‘exhaust oneself’ to find a way to reconcile G-d’s will with absolute unadulterated truth and with substantive facts as we know it.

Truth is its own witness and any tampering with it, even to fulfil a righteous religious agenda, is no longer considered ‘religious’.

This is why Kotzker truth is so hard to attain. -Because it is not always easy to reconcile G-d’s truth with ours.

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[1] Amud HaEmet p. 80, par 1

51) WHY AM I, I?

Being fiercely independent and true to oneself is the cornerstone of Kotzker philosophy. 

The Kotzker Rebbe famously said: “If I am I because you are you, and if you are you because I am I - then I am not I and you are not you.

But if I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you – then I am I and you are you.”

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