Take Action

By: Jeremy Yonteff

The first time I had a meeting with Rabbi Levi and expressed my desire to live a religious life unlike the liberal upbringing I had in my family, I spent about ten or fifteen minutes expressing my unwavering faith and desire to learn the things i needed to know...

At the end of my monologue he told me a joke that i have since repeated countless times...

"Do you know why we are supposed to be buried 6 feet down before we go to Hashem? Because "Deep Down" we are all good Jews"

He then explained that Hashem wants more than for us to believe and to study, that primarily Hashem wants us to take action, to fulfill his commandments...

He couldn't have known how important this advice would continue to be even until today. My wife would be the first to tell you that I can take intellectualism to a dysfunctional level. Whether i am contemplating Torah or politics she often catches me lost in my head making hand gestures to an invisible alter ego in a heated debate... Often by the time i arrive at the proper conclusion the moment of oportunity has passed... I am often guilty of offering Sage advice that I fail to put into action In my own life...

I recently heard that the Rebbe described this generation as a burning building, that we should not pause to think or look for someone stronger than ourselves but save as many people as we can... Rabbi Levi was one who never hesitated to run into the fire and saved countless people including myself.

Today thanks to Levi i live i life i could not have imagined before i met him those years ago on a sidewalk in Tyson's Corner. Anytime I find myself contemplating the dynamics of a situation and failing to act, it is Levi's advice that pushes me forward to run into that burning building.