On Monday, September 16, the Young Israel of Fort Lee hosted Rabbi Ron Yitzchak Eisenman speaking on the topic “Preparing for Rosh Hashana: Feeling the Pain of Others.”

He led off by saying how emotional this visit to the Young Israel was for him, as his late parents, Moshe and Lorraine Eisenman, z”l, were long-time active members of the shul.

He spoke of how Yom Hadin, the Day of Judgment, was a case we wanted to win. How we react to others is the way Hashem reacts to us. Feeling the pain of others is a reflection of Hashem feeling our pain. The midrash tells us of Hashem wearing a brick, demonstrating His feeling the hardship of his people’s slavery.

Rabbi Eisenman explained that empathy is not necessarily a trait we are born with but rather a trait we develop over time. He gave examples from the Tanach of the empathy of various personalities: Noach not allowing the family to stay together as a family while the world was being destroyed. Daniel was in Babylonia while the Temple was destroyed and he refused to eat regular meals.

It was truly a wonderful afternoon of chizuk for the large crowd at the Young Israel of Fort Lee.

For any information on future speakers please contact Rabbi Dr. Saul Landa at [email protected].