Under All Circumstances

A myseh they tell about Mickey Mantle. I read it in Roger Kahn's book when I was in America and found myself in a place where Talmud Torah is forbidden:-).

Mantle was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He was also a big drinker [that is probably why he died relatively young. I like to say that when he died he was "dismantled"]. In the olden days most of the games were day games and that enabled the players to drink their nights away. Today of course this is no longer a problem as we have daf yomi and "Dirshu" and so many sefarim in English and shiurim on the Ipods and apps [did I write that word correctly - not sure what it is..]. So after the games the players go off to learn. But back in the day, due to the great physical thirst of the players [which today has OF COURSE been supplanted by a spiritual thirst צמאה נפשי לאלקים] they would drink heavily.

Mantle would always arrive at the game no matter how smashed [I love the way Brits say that word - Smaaahhhhshed] he had gotten the previous night. One time he was feeling so rotten that he only got to the game in the fifth inning [for those of you pure Yidden who don't know what that means, it is sort of like coming to shul at Yishtabach:-)]. The manager [either Casey Stengel or Leo Durocher] said to him with great annoyance "Yer late. Get up there and pinch hit".

Mantle took a bat, stepped up to the plate and promptly smashed [there's that word again:-)] a 425 foot home run. He wobbled around the bases and when he came back to the dugout he said to his manager "You have no idea how hard that was".

He then went to lie down. 

What is the mussar haskel?

Every day we ask Hashem ותרגילנו בתורתך - make me accustomed to learn your Troah. It should be a natural habit. No matter how we feel or how much we slept the previous night, we still must learn as a matter of habit. And if we are feeling really sick and learning is part and parcel of who we are we can still learn on a high level because it is so natural to us. Just like Mick who was such a good ball player he was able to blast a homer while suffering physical distress. Many great Torah has been learned under the most horrible of circumstances, be it religious oppression, poverty or illness.

Ahhhhh - that reminds me of a myseh with Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz. For another post bl"n. Remind me... :-)

Love and blessings,

Me