Friday, August 20, 2010

The Lesson Of Undigestible Food

I can't resist - another two mesholim from Maran Ztz"l.

A student once complained that he understood most of the shiur but not all of it. Rav Hutner replied "There is an interesting phenomenon. Some foods a person is unable to digest but they nevertheless help his body function well. So too, sometimes intellectual contact with concepts beyond the ken of one's understanding open up new horizens of intellectual acuity.

A student once complained that he is falling into despair. Rav Hutner replied that he should turn himself into a "shtik chiyus" - a piece of life and vitality. "A sheretz [dead insect] that falls into water is metamei the water. But if it falls into a spring, the water remains pure. A spring is alive and can't become tamei. If you have life you won't be contaminated by the sheretz of despair"