Q:
What do you say about davening vasikin every day?
A:
There are tzaddikim who daven vasikin; they daven very early and that’s excellent! But I must make one remark.
They daven Shabbos also vasikin and they miss the opportunity, however, to hear a little bit yiras Shamayim from somebody who speaks. They come together a minyan, they daven fast. And they go home.
If you daven in a place where there’s a rav, sometimes he speaks a few words divrei mussar, it’s a valuable opportunity. And it’s more important than vasikin. Aseh lecha rav means always be in a place where there’s a rav. Somebody who will tell you something. Don’t think you know everything. There’s no end to the information that we require to know the derech Hashem.
But those people who go Shabbos morning to vasikin, they’re so proud and happy, they come out early. And they come out without any kind of lesson. They’re not better than they were last week.
Nobody will tell them anything wrong about themselves. A person walks in blindness all their lives. You know how many faults people have? Someone has to criticize you. You have to have some kind of instruction, something about the truth. It’s a world of darkness! הנה החשך יכסה ארץ – The world is covered with darkness (Yeshayah 60:2). Only because somebody is teaching you – you have to have somebody to tell you. There’s nobody there to tell them in vasikin.
They probably think it’s the very best thing. Well, I don’t think it’s the very best thing.
May 11, 2000
