Bris of Chaim Yisrael Haber

My remarks at the bris of my son Chaim Yisrael, 10 Av 5784

If this past year has taught us anything, it's the importance of not taking things for granted. With that in mind, I want to give a special welcome to Abba and Ema, and express our heartfelt thanks for making the trip. Your being here is deeply appreciated, and it means so much to us.

I also want to thank Abba and Mommy for everything and living close by is not something we take for granted. 

The greatest gift parents can give their children is the knowledge that they always have your back, and we both feel that deeply.  — Thank you 

It’s a big z'chus to bring another child into this world, it is also something we should never take for granted.

As I mentioned at the Shalom Zachor, we need to look at the world with awe and wonder at how everything happens and develops exactly as it’s supposed to, in the right time.¹ Even the gathering of the people in this room is not something to be taken for granted; it is all part of the master plan of the Ribbono Shel Olam, and we must give hoda’ah to Hashem for that.

Chazal teach us that there are three contributors to the birth of a baby: Hashem, the mother, and the father. The seforim explain that when a child is born, we clearly see the work of Hashem and the mother, while the father's role may seem less visible. So after thanking Hashem, I want to take this moment to thank Chedva for being an incredible mother and wife.

A life well lived is a life where you recognize and move past whatever challenges face you. 

When you start thinking about life, you realize that it’s really complicated. Ari Fuld used to say, "If life is easy, you’re living it wrong." Life is meant to be challenging. Challenges produce growth. 

To be growth oriented is to embrace life. 

There’s a general rule that to understand the essence of something, you look at the first place it’s mentioned. The first time the word chaim is mentioned is in Parashas Bereishis, where the Torah describes Hashem giving Adam a nishmas chaim.

The question arises: Why is chaim plural, while later we see the term chayah in the singular?

The Netziv explains that all animals are taken from one place on earth and are therefore localized to those regions. Adam, however, was created from earth from all over the world and can, therefore, adapt to different circumstances and challenges.

Perhaps the plural form of Chayim teaches us that life has many facets—emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and more. All of these aspects come together to form a complete life. We may not always understand how or why things happen, but part of the process of growth is realizing that life is chaim—a realization that all these different elements are meant to come together. Hashem will iron it all out and make it make sense, which is reflected in the name Yisrael—Yashar-El.

Chaim Yisrael is named in the z’chus of several people, representing different elements of life and how it all comes together. These were people who, while seemingly different from one another, were so much the same, they were growth oriented, they each faced their own challenges but becoming gedolim in their own ways.

There are a few people with the name Chaim who have influenced my life. The first is Rav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, zt”l. It’s not easy to become a Gadol HaDor, but he did it with humility and was always approachable.

Uncle Willie (Chaim Zev Quinn) was, in many ways, like a grandfather to us when we lived in Monsey.

When I was 15 and the family moved to Eretz Yisrael, I spent about a year living in Uncle Herman’s house. Both Uncle Willie and Uncle Herman (Chaim Fialkoff) were very different, but each was a sincere mevakesh Hashem, facing their own challenges but growing greater through them.

Chaim Yisrael is also named in the z’chus of Chedva’s great-grandfather, Chaim Yechiel Meir Orowitz, whom I did not merit to know, but who left everything behind in America to move to Eretz Yisrael, which is a zchus in it of itself. 

The name Yisrael is named in the z’chus of Eretz Yisrael and Klal Yisrael, but it too goes even further.

The first time Yisrael is mentioned is when the malach gave Yaakov the name Yisrael:

ויאמר לא יעקב יאמר עוד שמך כי אם־ישראל כי־שרית עם־אלהים ועם־אנשים ותוכל

No longer will your name be spoken of as Yaakov, but as Yisrael, for you have contended with God[ly beings] and with men, and you have triumphed.

Overcoming challenges is what gives you the name Yisrael. Only because we are Yisrael, and we recognize that life is a multifaceted journey, do we have the ability to overcome challenges and realize that everything is possible.

Together with Chedva and all of you, I would like to give Chaim Yisrael a bracha that he should always understand the essence of his name and that he too should become a Gadol in his own unique way.

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My notes from the Shalom Zachor:

As Moshe Rabbeinu recounts the story of the Meraglim, he says that the reports came back that there are giants there and cities with towers reaching the heavens. 

What is the meaning behind this exaggeration?  It's not the Torah way to speak in exaggerated terms. 

The Ksav Kabbala explains that the Torah does not use expressions of lesser value with exaggerated statements. but ‘shammayim’ indicates astonishment and wonder, as in Hishtomem 

Here, the meaning is the greatness and strength of the cities in a manner that is wondrous, causing a person to be astonished by them. 

Similarly, in Hallel, ‘השמים ‘שמים להשם - the second ‘שמים’ also indicates astonishment and wonder, meaning the שמים were created by Hashem for people to be astonished and amazed at His greatness

When one sees the great and awe-inspiring works of Hashem in the שמים above, the size of the planets, the rise and setting of the sun and moon, and all that we see in outerspace - you can't be amazed enough as there is always more to see, more to be Hishtomem from Hashem's creations 

Surely, a person will be astonished at the supreme power that created all these, and from the greatness and glory of these creations, he will be filled with awe and reverence for Hashem. 

The Passuk continues, ‘והארץ נתן לבני אדם meaning that just as the earth was given to people, so were the heavens created for Hashem. Meaning, when a person sees the world built with innumerable particular creations, all fitting together with wondrous wisdom, surely their heart will be astonished and proclaim that the God above is beyond everything.

Everything in the earth, the sea, and the dry land, even the smallest creations,are complete creatures perfectly equipped with the organs they need. This includes those which even if they were a thousand times larger than they are, the human eye would not see them except through magnifying devices!

The structure of the passuk is poetic, with phrases serving dual purposes to convey the relationship of heaven and earth in reflecting God's majesty. The interpretation aims to explain that God has not abandoned the earth, instead the focus is on the continuous Divine involvement and the wonder it inspires.

Besides the obvious lesson that we must not take things for granted, we must also see the astonishment of bringing a life into this world.