Rabbi's Blog

There is nothing in life which doesn’t require ‘Siyata Dishmaya’ - Heavenly assistance. Every waking minute, from the time we open our eyes in the morning until we rest our heads on our pillows at night God helps us with everything. But as the old saying goes, “God helps those who help themselves”. For me - in both my personal and my professional life - I try to manage things on my own with direct assistance from the One above. Nevertheless, there are emergency situations that none of us, me included, can manage alone and require the assistance of others. One such emergency is when then local eruv goes down at a point in the week which is past the ordinary time that we would be able to fix it. Due to the late hour, our eruv maintenance company can’t schedule the job to fix it in time for Shabbos. HELP! I need Siyata Dishmaya, but I need the help from others. Baruch Hashem I have some great people around to help, think, and brainstorm for a solution. As you are most likely aware, it sure has been storming in Southern California lately, and I have been racking my brains to keep the eruv as operational as possible, at least for Shabbos.

What is the definition and history behind the word ‘brainstorming’? Alex Faickney Osborn (1888–1966) was an advertising executive and the author of the creativity technique named “brainstorming”. Osborn began developing methods for creative problem-solving in 1939. He was frustrated by his employees’ inability to develop creative ideas individually for ad campaigns. In response, he began hosting group-thinking sessions and discovered a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of ideas produced by employees. Osborn outlined his method in the 1948 book Your Creative Power.

Osborn claimed that two principles contribute to "ideative efficacy", these being: deferring judgment, and reaching for quantity. Following these two principles were his general rules of brainstorming, established with intention to:

• reduce social inhibitions among group members.
• stimulate idea generation.
• Increase overall creativity of the group.

1. Go for quantity: This rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facilitate problem-solving through the maxim quantity breeds quality. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas generated, the bigger the chance of producing a radical and effective solution.
2. Withhold criticism: In brainstorming, criticism of ideas generated should be put 'on hold'. Instead, participants should focus on extending or adding to ideas, reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, participants will feel free to generate unusual ideas.
3. Welcome wild ideas: To get a good, long list of suggestions, wild ideas are encouraged. They can be generated by looking from new perspectives and suspending assumptions. These new ways of thinking might give you better solutions.
4. Combine and improve ideas: As suggested by the slogan "1+1=3",it is believed to stimulate the building of ideas by a process of association.

Osborn notes that brainstorming should address a specific question; he held that sessions addressing multiple questions were inefficient. Osborn envisioned groups of around 12 participants, including both experts and novices. Participants are encouraged to provide wild and unexpected answers. Ideas receive no criticism or discussion. The group simply provides ideas that might lead to a solution and apply no analytical judgment as to the feasibility. The judgments are reserved for a later date. Ultimately working together makes people learn, grow, and offer solutions to challenging situations which they would unlikely be able to resolve on their own.

So now back to our very stormy weather and the eruv situation. After much brainstorming with some of the best and brightest minds of our generation, we were on our way. It took a good number of hours during the week to come up with a plan of action that is far from perfect but hopefully will be a stop gap measure to temporarily keep the eruv up in that section. I’m not sure that I alone would have resolved the issue; this was a collective effort that met success. As there is nothing new under the sun, where in the Torah do we find the strategy of brainstorming?

1. will take literary license to point out a very subtle scene that is overlooked by most of the commentaries regarding Moshe brainstorming the plan to take the Jews out of Egypt. In this week’s parsha Shemos the Torah states in 4:28: “Vayagaid Moshe L’Aharon Eis Kal Divrei HaShem Asher Sh’lacho, V’Eis Kal Ha’Osos Asher Tzivahu” - “Moshe described to Aaron everything that God has told him about his mission”. 4:29 “Vayeilech Moshe V’Aharon, VaYa’asfu Es Kal Ziknei B’Nei Yisrael” - “Moshe and Aharon went to Egypt, and they gathered all the elders of Israel”. At first Moshe tells Aharon, his brother, all that Hashem had told him. Then both Moshe and Aharon gathered the elders of the Jewish people. Why was all this necessary? The Ramban is one of the few commentaries to perhaps shed some light on this situation. Ramban explains which words Moshe told over to Aharon, which in turn were told to the elders. Moshe told Aharon all the words that were spoken between Him and God and all about how he resisted the mission! Moreover He, Moshe, had been sent against his will. This is the meaning of the word Kal/All. Moshe told Aharon not only what he had been instructed to do and say in Egypt, but all the words – even those surrounding Hashem’s choice of him (Moshe) to be His emissary. Perhaps Moshe was still unsure of his ability to lead the Jews out of Mitzrayim. Perhaps he wanted to discuss the situation with his older brother and with the elders, those whom he, Moshe, looked up to as well. Presumably Moshe went to inform and discuss the plan of Hashem that Moshe was the man tapped for this job, but he was either still looking for a way out or a way to get confirmation through the discussions that took place. I believe this is true, as it signals Moshe’s humility in another and continuing fashion as he did throughout his life.

13031. method of ‘brainstorming’ is a tool that not only could be used in business but it is an incredible instrument for family building, classroom and student unity, and overall team development. Once again, we detect Moshe Rabbeinu teaching Am Yisrael through being the role model and going through the experience of brainstorming and not solely relying on himself. This, in it of itself, is a sign of Anivus - humility something we can all learn to take a dose of once in a while.                                              Ah Gut Shabbos                                                   Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky

Rabbi Bogopulsky’s new book “Developing A Torah Personality” is available for purchase directly from him or Amazon