[Avodah] Rav Gustman on Not Becoming a Pulpit Rabbi

Professor L. Levine via Avodah avodah at lists.aishdas.org
Sun Mar 5 12:09:58 PST 2017


Those who are not familiar with Rav Yisroel Zev Gustman, ZT"L, should read the write-up about him at

http://matzav.com/rav-yisroel-zev-gustman-ztl-on-his-20th-yahrtzeit-today-28-sivan/


He was truly an outstanding Talmud Chocham and an exceptional man.  He was the only Vilna Dyan to survive WW II.


More than once people have referred to me as "rabbi,"  which I am not.  When they do, I jokingly  say,  "Being a rabbi is no profession for a Jewish boy." and then say that I am not a rabbi.


The following is from a biography about him that was recently released by ArtScroll.

I have a feeling that Rav Gustman would have agreed with my quip about being a rabbi.


On another occasion, a student who excelled in his learning
received semichah from the Rosh Yeshivah. The student thereupon
decided to become a congregational rabbi. R' Gustman advised
him against doing so. If the student were to accept a position as a
congregational rabbi in America, the Rosh Yeshivah counseled, it
would mark the end to his spiritual growth. He would be too busy
dealing with the demands of his congregants to find time for learning.
Moreover, in a culture in which "money talks," the congregants
would run the rabbi rather than the rabbi running the congregation,
dictating to him rather than the other way around.

R' Gustman told him, "In your case, it is better to be a truck driver
than to be a congregational rabbi, because being a truck driver will
not be a source of constant aggravation. You can leave your job when
you step out of your truck, and you will therefore have an unburdened
mind to learn Torah in peace in your free time. In addition,
you will not be required to sacrifice your health for the capricious
demands of the synagogue board members and lay leadership. This
will be a hardship for you."

The talmid did not heed R' Gustman' s advice. Even after the
student assumed his rabbinic post, the Rosh Yeshivah conveyed his
dissatisfaction with that choice. As it turned out, after a few years,
the student found himself unable to withstand the headaches and

the heartaches of his position and determined to leave the rabbinate.
He asked forgiveness, which was immediately granted, for not having
heeded R' Gustman's advice. The student became a successful
businessman who had time to learn, time which he had never found
as a congregational rabbi.
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