Be A Player, Not A Fan - Monthly Gedolim Story
At this time of year, during the great Yom Tov of Sukkos, with the memories of an inspirational and uplifting Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur behind us, all of us want to continue to improve ourselves, just as we were doing during those recent awesome days. We want that inspiration to carry through and we all want to embrace a greater version of ourselves, every day looking to improve and be better than yesterday. For example, if one chose to bentch better this year, every time he does that, whenever the chance comes around, he wants to do it with so much enthusiasm and enjoyment, he wants to give new meaning to this mitzvah and to create a special bond and connection with it.
But sometimes, that person may slip up. Sometimes he will not bentch with as much enthusiasm as he wishes and he won't do as good as he would have liked to. Sometimes, he may even forget to bentch after one meal completely. He just won't do it, not because he does not want to, but because he just forgot to.
Understandably, that person would be quite disappointed with himself. He may beat himself up mentally and think he is a failure. He will think that all of his energy he put into doing this mitzvah so well over the last few days has been for naught. But no, that's not the case.
He must remember, that everyone slips up, makes mistakes, forgets to do things. He must get up, dust himself down and next time he does that mitzvah, rekindle that fire of enthusiasm, make it stronger and reconnect with the beauty of the words.
In other words, just like the title of the following story, he should be a player, not a fan.
In order to understand what I mean, please do read the story and it will all make sense to you soon.
Have a great rest of your Yom Tov,
Yitzy Schweitzer
But sometimes, that person may slip up. Sometimes he will not bentch with as much enthusiasm as he wishes and he won't do as good as he would have liked to. Sometimes, he may even forget to bentch after one meal completely. He just won't do it, not because he does not want to, but because he just forgot to.
Understandably, that person would be quite disappointed with himself. He may beat himself up mentally and think he is a failure. He will think that all of his energy he put into doing this mitzvah so well over the last few days has been for naught. But no, that's not the case.
He must remember, that everyone slips up, makes mistakes, forgets to do things. He must get up, dust himself down and next time he does that mitzvah, rekindle that fire of enthusiasm, make it stronger and reconnect with the beauty of the words.
In other words, just like the title of the following story, he should be a player, not a fan.
In order to understand what I mean, please do read the story and it will all make sense to you soon.
Have a great rest of your Yom Tov,
Yitzy Schweitzer
Be A Player, Not A Fan - Monthly Gedolim Story
In the early 1950s, Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson, became the seventh Rebbe of Lubavitch. Because this was in the earlier days of his time as Rebbe, he was not so popular, or well known, as he would become later on.
One day at the beginning of his tenure, a modern father came in with his young son who was about to be Bar Mitzvah, requesting a Brocho. Of course, in a second, the Rebbe knew who he was dealing with. So, they began to have a conversation and after a while, the Rebbe asked the kid a question which left the father surprised.
The Rebbe asked "Are you interested in sports?" Now, the kid looked up, with a slightly confused expression "Yeah, Rebbi, I am" he stammered. "Which sport do you follow?" the Rebbe asked him, "Baseball. I like baseball," the young man returned. "Well, is there any team you root for? Which is your favorite team?" The father, who was with his son in the room, could not believe his ears. Here was the big, great Rabbi, talking about this sport called baseball with his son. He could not understand where this man was headed.
"I'm from Brooklyn", his son began answering the last question, "So we support the Brooklyn Dodgers" (
This is not to be confused with the LA Dodgers, this was an actual team. They shut down in 1957. So back in the early fifties, they were still around).
Well, still the Lubavitcher Rebbe was not done. "Does your father ever take you to the games?" he asked. "Yeah, my dad took me a few weeks ago, oh boy, it was terrible." The Lubavitcher Rebbe responded "Oh, why was it terrible? What happened?" The boy began to explain, "We were losing. The Dodgers were losing 10-0, so we left in the middle of the game."
"Well, did the players also leave?" The Rebbe asked again. Now, the kid was really surprised, "Rabbi, the players cannot leave. I'm a fan. If I loose interest, I can leave but the players gotta stick it out."
The Rebbe looked intently at his young friend, "That's the lesson I am teaching you. You see, right now, you are a Bar Mitzvah boy. You are so excited to put on tefillin and be counted for a minyan. But you know, after a while, you may loose interest. It happens, even with adults to, when they get involved in a mitzvah, but after a while they don't apply themselves to much. Just remember, my child, all your life, be a player, not a fan."
That is the lesson of this delightful story which I heard from Rabbi Paysach Krohn. In our situation written above, our young friend who missed or struggled that one day with his bentching, if he feels down on his luck because of that, he should remember, to be a player and not a fan. The next time, in the game of life, that he has a chance to swing his bat, or score a goal, or touchdown, whatever he is playing, whatever team or game it is. he should grab the new opportunity with both hands.
Becuase, he is, just like you and I, a player, in the game G-d told him to play. He is a player and not a fan.
One day at the beginning of his tenure, a modern father came in with his young son who was about to be Bar Mitzvah, requesting a Brocho. Of course, in a second, the Rebbe knew who he was dealing with. So, they began to have a conversation and after a while, the Rebbe asked the kid a question which left the father surprised.
The Rebbe asked "Are you interested in sports?" Now, the kid looked up, with a slightly confused expression "Yeah, Rebbi, I am" he stammered. "Which sport do you follow?" the Rebbe asked him, "Baseball. I like baseball," the young man returned. "Well, is there any team you root for? Which is your favorite team?" The father, who was with his son in the room, could not believe his ears. Here was the big, great Rabbi, talking about this sport called baseball with his son. He could not understand where this man was headed.
"I'm from Brooklyn", his son began answering the last question, "So we support the Brooklyn Dodgers" (
This is not to be confused with the LA Dodgers, this was an actual team. They shut down in 1957. So back in the early fifties, they were still around).
Well, still the Lubavitcher Rebbe was not done. "Does your father ever take you to the games?" he asked. "Yeah, my dad took me a few weeks ago, oh boy, it was terrible." The Lubavitcher Rebbe responded "Oh, why was it terrible? What happened?" The boy began to explain, "We were losing. The Dodgers were losing 10-0, so we left in the middle of the game."
"Well, did the players also leave?" The Rebbe asked again. Now, the kid was really surprised, "Rabbi, the players cannot leave. I'm a fan. If I loose interest, I can leave but the players gotta stick it out."
The Rebbe looked intently at his young friend, "That's the lesson I am teaching you. You see, right now, you are a Bar Mitzvah boy. You are so excited to put on tefillin and be counted for a minyan. But you know, after a while, you may loose interest. It happens, even with adults to, when they get involved in a mitzvah, but after a while they don't apply themselves to much. Just remember, my child, all your life, be a player, not a fan."
That is the lesson of this delightful story which I heard from Rabbi Paysach Krohn. In our situation written above, our young friend who missed or struggled that one day with his bentching, if he feels down on his luck because of that, he should remember, to be a player and not a fan. The next time, in the game of life, that he has a chance to swing his bat, or score a goal, or touchdown, whatever he is playing, whatever team or game it is. he should grab the new opportunity with both hands.
Becuase, he is, just like you and I, a player, in the game G-d told him to play. He is a player and not a fan.
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