Making Lemonade from Lemons

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Link to Transcript here: https://madlik.com/2025/01/03/making-lemonade-from-lemons/

The יסוד ושרש העבודה teaches that the main Yetzer Hara is to get one to despair after the sin. In fact, the word עבירה is rooted in עבר, past, since after one sins the evil inclination gets one to think of his past sins causing him to despair. In this light we can grasp הרהורי עבירה קשו מעבירה, thoughts of sin are worse than the sin itself, as thinking about one’s sin can bring him to despair.

See: Don't Think! Rabbi Yehoshua Alt, 7/7/23

R’ Shlomo Wolbe [4] writes to one who failed to protect himself from the known sin: My dear friend! Cease your searching for what the Sefarim say about that sin. The sources that you have already found and copied for yourself — dispose of them properly.

The Yetzer Hara that brings one to this particular sin is so insidious that any thoughts about the subject can stimulate one to fall again. This includes even thoughts of remorse, contrition and Teshuva. The only solution is, therefore, to take the opposite path.... To forget about the sin. That is, to give it no thought — even after stumbling. You must stop thinking about the whole subject of this sin!

How? By completely investing yourself and learning, with an attempt to be Mechadesh Torah, to develop original thoughts in learning, and specifically learning with Simcha.... This matter involves a great battle. Often you will be victorious. It is possible, however, that at times you will be defeated by the Yetzer Hara. If that unfortunately happens, don't think about it and pay it no attention!

Banish any thought about what happened and particularly beware of feelings of helplessness! This is the salient goal of the Yetzer Hara — to knock a person down and make him feel hopeless and forlorn. Don't allow him that victory! Continue to learn, and with joy, as if nothing happened! ...

The only solution to deal with this issue is to be involved in learning and to become accustomed to thinking in learning; in the street, after you go to bed, etc., as much as possible —

but also to socialize and interact with friends... In addition, forget what you've seen in Sefarim about the punishments and difficulty of doing teshuva resulting from this sin. Just look at the Siddur HaGra. What you find there should direct you in this area. I am aware that these instructions are completely different than what you have seen, but this way has the approval of the Chazon Ish.

However, it is difficult to become acclimatized to not paying any attention and to not giving thought. Thoughts of remorse, anguish and hopelessness constantly arise.

For this reason, I request that you reread this letter occasionally. Hashem should help you ascend to the heights of Torah and Yiras Shamayim until you completely forget about this sin. And with Hashem's help you'll establish a house of Torah and father children in holiness and purity. There is no reason whatsoever to be concerned that what you have done in the past will have any effect on your ability to do this. Only strengthen yourself in learning Torah with Chidush.[9]

[4} R’ Chaim Volozhin (in Keser Rosh, printed in the end of the Siddur HaGra, 133) accentuates the spiritual danger of excessive guilt in this area. He criticizes those who quote from the Zohar regarding the severity of the known transgression, yet neglect to quote the end of this same Zohar, which says that Torah study corrects this transgression. In a footnote, the Shela is quoted:אלו החסידים המחמירים לומר אין תיקון לחטא הזה ר"ל... הם המרבים פושעים בישראל ומרחיקים מלבא תחת כנפי השכינה אשר בעל העון... בשמעו אלה אומר אין תשובה לחצי דבר, וכאשר אבדתי אבדתי כו', ואלו [החסידים] גורמים גלות השכינה, ואינן נקראים חסידים כי אם חסרים ועונשם גדול למאוד.,

Those stringent ones who are stringent and state that there is no correcting this transgression... they are the ones who induce an increase of sinning among us, and cause people to distance themselves from Hashem, since the sinner, when he hears that there is no repentance for this sin will abandon all attempts to improve himself. These stringent ones cause the Shechina to go into Galus and rather than be called Chasidim (stringent ones) should more properly be called “Chaseirim” (lacking ones) and their punishment will be very severe.

"If You Have a Lemon, Make a Lemonade."

Although the first two known uses in print are by Hubbard, many modern authors attribute the expression to Dale Carnegie who used it in his 1948 book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Carnegie's version reads:

"If You Have a Lemon, Make a Lemonade."

Carnegie credited Julius Rosenwald for giving him the phrase.

Julius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund,

Julius Rosenwald had a simple philosophy when it came to philanthropy. He explained, “What I want to do is try and cure the things that seem wrong”. A major focus of Rosenwald’s philanthropic work stemmed from his desire to eradicate antisemitism in the U.S. and worldwide.

Additionally, Rosenwald was concerned about justice for all, and he believed that the plight of African Americans was deeply connected with the inequities faced by Jews throughout their history. This became even more important to him after meeting Booker T. Washington before the start of the first World War. He explained that his desire to improve education for African Americans in the U.S. when he said that “very few persons are interested in the education of the Negro that I have deemed it wiser to concentrate my efforts in that direction”. Rosenwald’s philanthropic pursuits thus combined his strong sense of responsibility to aid in social inequality with his reverence for education and learning.

After the 1906 financial reorganization of Sears, Rosenwald became friends with Goldman Sachs's other senior partner, Paul J. Sachs, who often stayed with Rosenwald during his many trips to Chicago. The two would discuss America's social situation, agreeing that the plight of African Americans was the most serious in the U.S. Sachs introduced Rosenwald to two prominent educators and proponents of African-American education, William H. Baldwin and Booker T. Washington. Rosenwald made common cause with Washington and was asked to serve on the board of directors of the Tuskegee Institute in 1912, a position he held for the remainder of his life.

In his words, written in 1911:

The horrors that are due to race prejudice come home to the Jew more forcefully than to others of the white race, on account of the centuries of persecution which they have suffered and still suffer.

The collaboration between Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald was the subject of the 2015 documentary Rosenwald, subtitledThe Remarkable Story of a Jewish Partnership with African American Communities

Over the course of his life, Rosenwald and his fund donated over $70 million (equivalent to $887,701,000 in 2023) to public schools, colleges and universities, museums, Jewish charities and African-American institutions. The rural school building program was one of the largest programs administered by the Rosenwald Fund. This program eventually was responsible for construction in the South of more than 5,000 schools and shops for African-American children, as well as homes for their teachers. These schools became informally known as "Rosenwald Schools".

See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_life_gives_you_lemons,_make_lemonade

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Rosenwald

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenwald_School