And it shall be upon Aharon when he comes to minister: and its sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he not die. (Shemos 28:35)

In his book From Volozhin to Yerushalayim (1933), author Meir Bar-Ilan asked the gedolim of pre-WWII “What is the purpose of a Rav?”. There were those Rabbis who said that the job of a Rabbi is to answer halachic questions. There were those Rabbis who said the job of a Rabbi is to take care of the needy, poor and downtrodden. And finally, there were those who said the job of the Rabbi is to be friendly with the congregation and make them all feel good.

If you ask me, all three of these are noble job tasks. While each Rav seemed to give an answer based on what he did with his position, nevertheless all three answers will bring about a raising of the level of Jewish observance in the community.

The mesorah has it that there are three times that the word “venishma” (ונשמע) is found in Tanach. The first time is “naase venishma” in Mishpatim (Shemos 24:7); the second time is in this week’s parsha, “Venishma kolo… (38:35)” and the last time is in the megillah when it says, “Venishma pisgam Hamelech.” (Esther 1:20). Each one of these can be attributed to how the leaders of klal Yisrael interacted with all people at different times and situations.

The simple logic would have it that the first time it says ונשמע corresponds to the answer of answering halachchik questions, and that this would be the highest level. The second ונשמע (in this week’s parsha) would correspond to the second answer of helping the downtrodden and this would be the second level. The last ונשמע (in the megillah) would correspond to the last answer of making everyone happy and this would be the lowest level. However, it seems to me that sometimes it can actually be the other way around. I have seen many times that just a simple “good morning” or “hello” or doing a small favor for someone could turn someone around and help them take notice of what one is supposed to be doing in life.

Mordechai, the leader of the Jewish people, initially failed in his attempt to prevent them from attending Achashveirosh’s feast. Yet by the end, he succeeded in uniting Klal Yisrael and inspiring them to do what was truly needed—teshuva. It seems to me that this was borne out from his ability to connect to people. Even though when he tried to lay down the law about going to the party, he wasn’t successful, nevertheless when it came to giving them the path that one is supposed to go on to return to Hashem, he was very successful.

In general, different people are moved by different aspects of Yiddishkeit. I would like to quote the Chazon Ish (Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz 1878 -1953), in his appraisal of three baalei musar in his times. He said about Rav Dessler that he has “yisras shamayim in his mind.” He said about Rav Elya Lopian that he has “yisras shamayim in his heart.” And about Rav Chatzkel Levenstein he said he has “he lived yisras shamayim.”

Each one of these mashgichim made an indelible imprint in klal Yisrael, but they did not all affect the same people. This is a lesson for all of us as well. Even if there is someone who has a “greater” way of connecting to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, if it was not the way you were taught to connect to Hashem, that is not necessarily the way for you to go. A person must find a way that is fitting for his nature.

Baruch Hashem we live in a time of great diversity amongst our mentors, and everyone has the capability of finding their own proper approach. The common enemy of all the approaches of Yiddishkeit is the Yetzer Hara, which is embodied in Amalek. Everyone needs to figure out the best way to eradicate his own Yetzer Hara. As we stand this Shabbos, Parshas Zachor, a time that we recharge our hatred for the negativity which Amalek brought into this world, we should merit to eradicate Amalek totally, and by doing so we should merit to have Purim in the Beis Hamikdash this year.