Living Emunah 3016
The Most Important Meeting
Sometimes a person is afraid to do what Hashem wants because he's worried about what other people will think. He may feel that if he stands up to do what's right, he'll lose an opportunity. But we must remember that the people we're trying to impress have no control over our success. Only Hashem does. Chazal tell us we have to be bold like a leopard and strong like a lion when it comes to doing the will of Hashem.
Rabbi Moshe Feller was sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Minnesota more than 60 years ago to bring Jews closer to Torah. In the beginning, he wasn't having much success. People there told him there was one person he had to meet, a prominent Jewish scientist named Professor Velvel Greene, who was working for NASA. If he could get Professor Greene involved, that would open doors for him throughout the Jewish community. Rabbi Feller tried very hard to arrange a meeting, but the professor wasn't interested. After much persistence, he finally succeeded. The professor agreed to meet him one day for 20 minutes at 6 p.m. in his office.
Professor Greene was involved in top-secret research for NASA. When Rabbi Feller arrived, he had to go through security, and armed guards escorted him to the professor's office. Imagine how Rabbi Feller must have felt. He had been struggling to accomplish his mission in Minnesota, and now he finally had a meeting with the one person everybody said could help him. This was his biggest opportunity, and he needed to make a good impression.
They began the meeting, but things quickly started going badly. At one point, Rabbi Feller looked out the window and noticed that the sun was setting, and he hadn't prayed Mincha yet. He knew that, logically speaking, if he got up to pray, it would completely ruin the meeting. But he couldn't miss Mincha, so he politely excused himself and got up to pray right there in Professor Greene's office. Professor Greene couldn't believe what he was seeing. This rabbi had tried so hard to get an appointment with him, and now he was using the time to pray instead of speaking to him. When Rabbi Feller finished, the professor told him the meeting was over. The rabbi apologized and explained that although his meeting with the professor was very important, he had an even more important meeting to attend. He couldn't miss his afternoon prayers to Hashem.
Sometime later, Professor Greene was speaking to his wife and was reminded of a conversation they had recently had about how Jews throughout history had been willing to sacrifice their lives rather than give up their loyalty to Hashem. They had wondered whether there were still Jews in the world with that kind of commitment. Professor Greene then said to his wife, "I think I found one," and he told her what Rabbi Feller had done.
The very thing that Rabbi Feller thought would ruin his chances made the greatest impression on the professor. Eventually, Professor Greene developed a close relationship with Rabbi Feller, began learning more about Judaism, and became religious himself. This helped Rabbi Feller tremendously in his mission of spreading Torah throughout Minnesota.
Years later, Professor Greene was invited to speak before hundreds of doctors and clergymen. By that time, he himself was wearing a kippah. After his lecture, the chairman announced that they had saved the best question for last. Everyone wanted to know what that little cap on his head was. Professor Greene said he wanted to melt into the floor. Imagine how uncomfortable he felt, standing before hundreds of distinguished people, with everyone staring at his kippah. But he answered proudly and said it was a yarmulke, associated with the words yarei Malka, meaning to fear the King. We cover our heads to remind ourselves that Hashem is above us at all times. To his amazement, the entire audience stood up and applauded.
We sometimes think that in order to succeed, we have to hide our beliefs or compromise on what Hashem wants. But we must remember that the people we're trying to impress have no control over our success. Only Hashem does. Of course, we always have to treat people with respect, but we never have to compromise our obligations to Hashem to gain someone else's favor. Rabbi Feller thought he needed Professor Greene to help him succeed in his mission, but it was precisely when he stopped trying to impress the professor and stood before Hashem that he made the greatest impression.