After commanding the Jewish people to contribute to the construction of the mishkan, the Torah discusses the various components and vessels to be kept there, the first of which is the ארון, the Ark that contained the Torah.
It was made out of shittim wood upon which the Torah says וצפית אתו זהב טהור מבית ומחוץ תצפנו, you shall cover it with pure gold, from inside and from outside you shall cover it.
Rava elicits from the fact that it says from inside and from outside you shall cover it, that any Torah scholar whose inside is not like his outside, is not really a Torah scholar.
The Gemara relates that during Reb Gamliel’s leadership, he said that any student whose inside isn't like his outside can't come to the Bais Medrash to learn and established a guard to implement his policy. It was only after Reb Eliezer took over, that he reversed that decree and removed that guard, so that anyone who wanted was allowed to come in to learn. The Gemara concludes by saying that on the day that Reb Eliezer took over, hundreds of benches were added to the Bais Medrash.
Now it's difficult to understand who this doorman was and how he knew if someone’s inside was the same as his outside. Who knew what people's innermost thoughts were? הזקן מסדיגורה explains that the doors to the Bais Medrash were locked with a bolt; however, those that really wanted to learn, figured out a way to get in. The ones that would get themselves in by any means were the ones who were the same on the inside as they looked on the outside. הג”ר גדליה אייצמן asked why does it say that on that day they had to add benches to the Bais Medrash? Why didn’t it count the number of people that were added rather than the benches? He answered that the increase of benches isn’t meant to tell us about the increase in students. Instead, it tells us about the type of student that now came. Whereas, prior to Reb Eliezer, the students just wanted to learn; they didn't care whether there were benches or if it was comfortable. Their total desire was to learn. Now, however, a different kind of student was admitted to the Bais Medrash who needed creature comforts. Therefore, it was the increase in benches that was significant, not students.
The Gemara also states that when Reb Gamliel saw how many more students there were, he became fearful that he might suffer divine punishment for keeping so many students away from the Bais Medrash. Now, we know that these weren't the ideal students, so what caused him to reassess his position? The Chidushei Harim explained that this influx of new students who initially weren't qualified to come into the Bais Medrash now started to learn, they were transformed into students whose insides matched their outside. The Torah had such a powerful effect on them that they were transformed; When Reb Gamliel saw this he was fearful that he would be punished for not having given them the opportunity to succeed.
The Chazon Ish was very critical of those that insisted on elitist standards for those who should be allowed into a yeshiva. When Reb Shlomo Wolbe asked him to recommend good boys for his yeshiva, he said, “good boys don't need a yeshiva”; the point is to take regular boys and turn them into good boys!
What the Torah is teaching us here, is not to be judgmental. That the way to inspire is not to shun but to draw close. Even if we see people that seem far away from what we interpret as the right way, we have to befriend them and inspire them. By so doing, we will be part of the transformation, taking people who may be struggling on the inside and giving them the chance to excel!
It was made out of shittim wood upon which the Torah says וצפית אתו זהב טהור מבית ומחוץ תצפנו, you shall cover it with pure gold, from inside and from outside you shall cover it.
Rava elicits from the fact that it says from inside and from outside you shall cover it, that any Torah scholar whose inside is not like his outside, is not really a Torah scholar.
The Gemara relates that during Reb Gamliel’s leadership, he said that any student whose inside isn't like his outside can't come to the Bais Medrash to learn and established a guard to implement his policy. It was only after Reb Eliezer took over, that he reversed that decree and removed that guard, so that anyone who wanted was allowed to come in to learn. The Gemara concludes by saying that on the day that Reb Eliezer took over, hundreds of benches were added to the Bais Medrash.
Now it's difficult to understand who this doorman was and how he knew if someone’s inside was the same as his outside. Who knew what people's innermost thoughts were? הזקן מסדיגורה explains that the doors to the Bais Medrash were locked with a bolt; however, those that really wanted to learn, figured out a way to get in. The ones that would get themselves in by any means were the ones who were the same on the inside as they looked on the outside. הג”ר גדליה אייצמן asked why does it say that on that day they had to add benches to the Bais Medrash? Why didn’t it count the number of people that were added rather than the benches? He answered that the increase of benches isn’t meant to tell us about the increase in students. Instead, it tells us about the type of student that now came. Whereas, prior to Reb Eliezer, the students just wanted to learn; they didn't care whether there were benches or if it was comfortable. Their total desire was to learn. Now, however, a different kind of student was admitted to the Bais Medrash who needed creature comforts. Therefore, it was the increase in benches that was significant, not students.
The Gemara also states that when Reb Gamliel saw how many more students there were, he became fearful that he might suffer divine punishment for keeping so many students away from the Bais Medrash. Now, we know that these weren't the ideal students, so what caused him to reassess his position? The Chidushei Harim explained that this influx of new students who initially weren't qualified to come into the Bais Medrash now started to learn, they were transformed into students whose insides matched their outside. The Torah had such a powerful effect on them that they were transformed; When Reb Gamliel saw this he was fearful that he would be punished for not having given them the opportunity to succeed.
The Chazon Ish was very critical of those that insisted on elitist standards for those who should be allowed into a yeshiva. When Reb Shlomo Wolbe asked him to recommend good boys for his yeshiva, he said, “good boys don't need a yeshiva”; the point is to take regular boys and turn them into good boys!
What the Torah is teaching us here, is not to be judgmental. That the way to inspire is not to shun but to draw close. Even if we see people that seem far away from what we interpret as the right way, we have to befriend them and inspire them. By so doing, we will be part of the transformation, taking people who may be struggling on the inside and giving them the chance to excel!
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