Subject: In Memory of Baruch Yitzchak ben Yirmiyahu (Barry Pessin)
From: Heath Berkin <heath.berkin@gmail.com>
Date: 9/9/2016, 6:13 AM
To: Heath Berkin <heath.berkin@gmail.com>
BCC: menachem@alonsystems.com
The Mishna in Avos (4;11) says R'Yochanan HaSandlar said, "any gathering for the sake of Heaven will thrive while any gathering not for the sake of Heaven will fail".
When a group of people join together for a common cause, for the sake of Heaven they leave behind their own specific interests and desires and work for the common goal for the sake of Heaven. If on the other hand they gather for some other purpose it is impossible for their agenda to thrive because each person has a different interest. This divisiveness will ultimately cause everything to fall apart.
Although it might seem simple to make sure we don't gather and meet for a person other than for the sake of Heaven, I think there is a deeper point to this. Lets take for example the common shul board meeting which we would all assume is for the sake of Heaven. While it may be true that the stated goal and purpose of the meeting is to further the institution for the sake of Heaven for there to be real success the people joining must be doing it for the sake of Heaven as well. If John is coming to the meeting because he likes honor and wants to be president, Laura is coming because she wants to be hired as the secretary and don't forget Paul who is coming because of course he wants to fire the rabbi, this means the meeting isn't for the sake of Heaven. Each person's agenda is primary and the sake of Heaven is really secondary if it is being considered at all. When in truth everyone has their own agenda finding common ground and accomplishing anything will be short lived.