Jerusalem: Ultra-orthodox Jewish men, some in costumes, as part of a celebration of the Jewish Holyday Purim, in the Mea Shearim neighborhood, Jerusalem, Israel

Why I Don’t Regret My Yeshiva Education

My internal debate while observing a Yud Shvat farbrengen in 770:

I’m observing a sea/ of shlumpy teens
Their jackets are ripping/ at the seams
They’re stuffing their faces with/ tuna and beans
Yet their faces glow/ their faces beam
In spiritual terms/ they’re the crop of the cream
Their devotion to Hashem/ is almost extreme

They have decided/ the spiritual comes first
To do G-d’s will/ they’ll endure the worst

They strive to fulfill/ the Rebbe’s ratzon
They’re the only ones I know/ who avoid the smartphone

Left ventricle: (animal soul)
But they’re just a leftover/ from a time bygone
They’re merely a stanza/ in an old nostalgic song
But there’s no real way/ that they can last long
Hate to burst your bubble/ but olam hazeh’s too strong

One day reality will hit them/ like a slap in the face
They’re all gonna join/ the big rat race
And if they don’t start soon/ they’ll be last place
Start the secular studies/ no time to waste

The world has a cruel way/ with young idealists
If u wanna taste success/ be a cynical realist

Keep the religion/ stuffed in the box
Restrict it to a breakfast/ of bagels and lox
To win in this world/ u must think like a fox
Or else you’ll spend your life/ schlepping heavy rocks

So throw your child/ into the Nile
He’s only two/ but before a while
You’ll have to stop living/ in your denial
I’m trying to save you from/ agony and trial

Society will devour/ your ideals alive
For material success/ you gotta strive

Brain: (G-dly soul)
No! They say/ we refuse to die
Even if we’ll grow up/ under open sky

True we don’t know/ how each bill will be paid
But that’s no cause/ to be afraid
We trust our Father in heaven/ the earth He made
It’s solely His decision/ how much we’ll be paid
Or if off of our jobs/ we will be laid
Yeah our mom gave birth to us/ under apple tree shade

Because King Pharoh/ doesn’t run our life
And tell the stock market/ that it can go fife
The doubts might poke you/ like a knife
I don’t know exactly how/ I’ll support my wife

But my first responsibility/ in this world
Why for seventy years/ my soul does toil
Not to spend my life/ focused on money
But to transom the exile/ to milk and honey

The Rebbe says the youth/ gotta be pure
To preserve our fire/ forever more
Cuz how did we survive/ from dor l’dor
It doesn’t make much sense/ that’s for sure

But our Father in heaven/ fought for us
He never threw us/ under the bus
All the nations make noise/ they make a big fuss
They build huge cities/ but they turn to rust
Like a big balloon/ they blow up then bust
But we were trampled on/ just like the dust

Yet despite our small size/ we last forever
There isn’t a storm/ that we didn’t weather

Our strength is from boxes/ made of leather
And the mitzvos are/ our secret treasure

Here’s some background/ so you don’t get fazed
A little glimpse at Hashem’s/ incredible ways
It’s a story of a war/ we won in six days

Was 100 million Arabs/ and just 3 million Jews
According to all odds/ we were going to lose
This time they’re finished/ the nation’s muse
Yet the Rebbe declares/ “It’s all a ruse

The Guardian of Israel/ doesn’t slumber nor sleep
And it’s tears of joy/ that we’re gonna weep

Hashem’s really sounding/ the great Ram’s Horn
A spark of return/ in our hearts is born
And there’s no reason/ to be forlorn
So better just ignore/ all those who warn”

Open miracles/ our eyes did see
The Western Wall/ from captivity
A time of incredible/ joy and glee
Jews in Russia/ would soon go free

Hashem is protecting/ His only son
So it doesn’t matter/ if it’s 100 to one
Cuz he invented/ the plane and the gun
He knocks around nations/ just for fun

(So back to my point/ in this conversion
And I do thank you/ for being patient)

When you raise your child/ you must know
That when you gaze/ at the menorah’s glow

Realize that the holiday/ isn’t just for show
We have the power to fight our foe
Not only those who/ want us killed
Even our yetzer/ who wants us chilled
Saying “chinuch with tahara/ is simply vild”

We say Hashem has shown/ time and again
Though we don’t know how/ we don’t know when
Only with Hashem’s help/ is “yes we can”
So we don’t rely/ on the might of men

We’ll raise our child/ in holiness
That’s the secret/ to lasting bliss
They’ll learn Torah/ and Hashem they’ll kiss
They won’t lose out/ there’s nothing they’ll miss
Trusting Hashem/ is not a risk

Yiddishkeit’s the only/ real guarantee
Only through Torah/ can we really be free
And my child knows/ life’s not about me
He’s spared the selfishness/ of society

We’re casting our bread/ upon the water
Pharaoh will not get/ to raise my daughter

She’s meshichuy/ yeah she’s anointed
By the Rebbe/ she was appointed

She was handpicked to be/ a part of the force
That through staying connected/ to the source

Brings light to distant corners/ of the earth
Uplifting Jews from Alaska/ all the way till Perth

With a self sacrifice/ that’s world renowned
Their goal in life/ is to bring the Shechina down

Out performing their educated/ counterparts
Who scratch their heads at these/ Chassidic upstarts

Though they’re not models of/ sophistication
Yet they build vibrant and joyous/ congregations

[sc name="ad-300x600"]

Their words come straight/ from the heart
And they help each Jew/ do his unique part

Their pure foundation/ is the key
To their spiritual/ victory

Now I’m not saying/ you can be lazy
To wait for a miracle/ is indeed crazy
This is no excuse/ to be a slouch
To go on welfare/ while you sit on the couch

The deal Hashem made/ with the Jew,
Is that He will bless you/ but you gotta do
Of course a man/ has got to work
His responsibilities/ he must not shirk

So make a natural channel/ but don’t be a fool
Cuz nature in His hands/ is just a tool

So spend the formative years/ on what matters most
And then in Jerusalem/ we’ll drink a toast
At the end of the day/ the Rebbe’s always right
He’s got a gift/ called prophetic sight
Guided by his vision/ we’ll light the night!