One Visionary's Light: Rav Noach Weinberg's Legacy and the Inspiring Lessons of Chanukkah

0:03 Good morning. It's great to be able to have a home studio now so we're able to wake up early in the morning. We don't want to talk too loud to wake up the sleeping people in the home, but a good morning to you. Welcome into the Motivation Congregation. And I'd like to pose the question of what are your notes that you took home from the Hanukkah Expo? You went through a spiritual high, a holiday, and it had many lessons. It was preaching, but what was the one most fundamental lesson that you took to heart to carry you through this winter? And before I tell you mine, or at least one very crucial lesson that we should learn from Hanukkah, I'd like to tell you about a great Torah sage whose name was Rabnoach Weinberg.

0:51 Surely you've heard of him. His legacy is Eish HaTorah Torah sage. His father, aslanomer Chassid, his mother a direct descendant of the Nesivos HaMishpat, so the perfect joining of Ahavas, yisrael and Torah and Yerushalayim all in one big nucleus of a person. He studied by Yeshivas Chai in Berlin, neri Yisrael, gatz Micha, and when he traveled in 1953 to Eretz, yisrael to ask the Chazanesh what should be done about the problem of so many Jews assimilating, going off the derech, not caring about their almighty father in heaven.

1:47 He never reached the Chazanish because the Chazanish died while Rabnoach was en route. He never got the answer, but Rabnoach his legacy, what he chose to do about the matter with an absolutely astonishing success. He chose to do about the matter with an absolutely astonishing success. He chose, with the most over-bubbling, outpouring, infectious type of Avas Yisrael, to unite millions of Jewish people. His Avas Yisrael and Avas Hakirov and Avas Hashem was more contagious, if you've ever met him, they say, than a yawn at the office at 4 pm.

2:29 Which is to say he was very contagious. And Rabnoach one of his most famous lines. He lived by this. It's quoted by many, this line Rabnoach would say that if one person in the world can kill six million, six million Jews, and one person can also save six million Jews. Reb Noach lived with this mindset of one person. The greatness of a yachid, the greatness of the ability of a yachid, the greatness of the ability of a Rabin B'yad Ma'atim is what Hanukkah tells us that it doesn't take much to change a lot, maybe even change the world.

3:15 And that's what Rabinoach did and that's a lesson that I'd like to share with you. That Hanukkah continues to teach that Rabin B'yad'atim, utmeyim b'yatahorim. They may have more people, they may be great in numbers, they may have more strong men in artillery and machinery. We may be ma'atim, we may be 12 angry men or we may just be one, but noach matzach ein be'enei Hashem Noach. One person found favor in God's eyes, but noach Weinberg found favor in God's eyes. You find favor in God's eyes and you can change the world.

3:56 Hanukkah taught us that it only takes one to tango. It only takes one to change the world. And you may be Ma'atim, but you can still change the world. You.