Today, we are very occupied with respecting people’s privacy, preferences, and rights. Many youth today aren’t being shown the true Torah path because people are afraid of infringing on their freedoms. Perhaps we can learn a lesson from Reb Levik and have more faith in our youth.
By Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier – The Beis Medrash
In 1937, there was a Population Census in the Soviet Union. One of the mandatory fields was “Religion,” i.e., do you believe in G-d. Out of fear of losing their jobs, or worse, many Yidden answered that they weren’t religious.
The Rebbe’s father, Reb Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, whose 80th yahrzeit is this Shabbos, the 20th of Av, was a prominent rabbi in the Ukrainian city of Yekatrinoslav. When he became aware of what people were doing, he gave passionate sermons boldly encouraging Yidden to answer “yes” and explained that doing otherwise is literally avodah zarah.
As a result of his words, many Yidden did indeed change their answer—proclaiming themselves to be religious. There was even a Yid with a prominent government position whose wife had already filled out the census claiming to not be religious, but after hearing Reb Levik’s words, he went down to the Census Bureau and changed the answer on his form.
Two years later, Reb Levik was arrested for his activities on behalf of Soviet Jewry. During one of the interrogations, he was asked about these sermons—which had been relayed to the authorities by their spies in shul. “Did you not promote religious beliefs from your pulpit?!” they accused. Reb Levik replied: “I merely reminded my people that the government doesn’t want lies and everyone must answer what they truly believe. These Jews believe in G-d.[1]
Today, we are very occupied with respecting people’s privacy, preferences, and rights. We do this for people of all ages, and in areas ranging from education to entertainment. There is a lot of good that comes from this, but there are also drawbacks. Many youths today are not being taught right from wrong and not being shown the true Torah-path because people are afraid of infringing on their freedoms. Perhaps we can learn a lesson from Reb Levik and have more faith in our youth. Tell them the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Do this with love and with compassion and don’t be surprised when they decide to make the right decisions, even when it’s inconvenient or unpopular.
[1] Toldos Levi Yitzchak vol 1, pg. 182, and vol 2, pg. 277
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