“Rabbi, we’ve got a problem. Our son’s in trouble, but we can’t reach him.”
Last week, to honor the Rebbe’s yahrzeit, we were privileged to host Rabbi Bentzion Butman, the Rebbe’s emissary in Cambodia. He recounted some incredible Cambodian tales, including this one: One day, he got a call from a worried Israeli father. His son was in deep trouble, abusing drugs in Cambodia and needed to return home for treatment. But the father couldn’t contact him; his son was traveling without a phone.
“I have a disconnected phone number for a Cambodian friend,” the father said.
Asked for clues to find his son, the father could only provide a picture of his son on the balcony of his most recent apartment. Rabbi Butman looked at the picture, and his heart sank. The balcony looked like an apartment building which is very common in Phnom Penh. He noticed graffiti next to the building, but finding this specific graffiti in this vast city was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
As soon as he hung up the phone, he left the Chabad House. Talking while in Hackensack, Rabbi Butman was ruminating aloud. “It makes no sense,” he said. “What am I doing? Do I believe I stand a chance to find this lost soul?” Still, he went to his car.
He explained that he got his inspiration from a story in the Midrash about Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa. Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa was a righteous but poor man. When his entire city went to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, they all brought offerings; due to his poverty, however, he could not afford anything.
Walking outside the city, he came across a rock. “This will be my gift!” he thought to himself. He chiseled and polished the stone until it looked beautiful. Next, he had to find a way to transfer this rock to Jerusalem. He tried commissioning carriers, but the price was too high. Finally, a group of angels disguised as humans showed up and offered to carry the rock for a small sum “on condition that you help us lift the rock.” He agreed, and miraculously he found himself in Jerusalem.
“Let me ask you a question,” said Rabbi Butman. “What type of story is this? Why did Rabbi Chanina work so hard to prepare the rock? He had no way to bring it up to Jerusalem!”
For him, the lesson was clear.
“You might not know the full picture of how you will achieve your goal, but you can still take the first step.
“Sitting in my office would not help this poor soul. Going and looking for him around the city might. So I have to go out and do my best.” Remarkably, after only one hour of searching, he found the young man and persuaded him to enter rehab in Israel.
Rabbi Butman’s stories were deeply impactful. And I believe it is very much in line with a famous quote of the Rebbe: “The main thing is action.” When it comes to doing anything good, ideas are great, and speeches are lovely, but the most important thing is to do. Do anything, even what seems like a small and insignificant step, but do it.
This talk struck a chord with me because we are getting closer to embarking on a big project: renovating Chabad of Hackensack. This project is long overdue and my dream is to create a beautiful space (including a mikvah!) that will be a lively home for the Jewish community in Hackensack.
It feels like a daunting task, but Rabbi Butman’s words gave me just the inspiration I needed: with Hashem’s help, we will start taking the first steps, and certainly, the miracle will happen and the dream will become a reality.
Rabbi Mendy Kaminker is the rabbi at Chabad of Hackensack. He looks forward to your thoughts and comments at [email protected].
