Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

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palace. He went out to the fields, where the Jewish people were working as slaves,
and he identified with their burdens. He felt what they were feeling. And as the
קוספ goes on to tell us, he immediately jumped into action to protect one of his
brothers.
From this explanation, we see what it really means to grow up. A child feels that
the whole world revolves around only him and no one else. A true sign of really
growing up is when one recognizes that they are not just an individual on a
remote island. We have to realize that each one of us is part of a great community.
הזל הז םיבירע לארשי לכ, all Jews are responsible for each other.
A boy once visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe together with his parents to get a bracha
before the boy’s upcoming bar mitzvah. After the Rebbe had blessed and advised
the boy and his parents, they were getting ready to leave when the Rebbe asked
the boy a very surprising question.
“Are you a sports fan?” asked the Rebbe.
בלה תובשחמ
“Yes,” answered the boy, “I am a baseball fan.”
“Tell me about baseball,” said the Rebbe. “Well,” responded the boy, “My father
and I went to a professional baseball game. It was great. But our team was
losing by a lot of runs late in the game, so we left before it was over.”
“Did the players leave as well?” asked the Rebbe.
The boy answered with a smile, “Of course not. The players would never leave
before the game is over. They always finish the game no matter what the score
is. If the players leave early, the team must forfeit the entire game.”
The boy continued, “We left because we are not players. We are fans and fans,
can leave whenever they want.”
“Interesting,” observed the Rebbe, “fans can leave, but players must stay.”
We can learn a very important lesson about Avodas Hashem from this story.
We can approach our G-d given mission in life, to make this world a dwelling
place for holiness, like a fan, or like a player.
If you approach it as a fan, then you give up and leave when the going gets tough.