Listen to a "child's" cry! (Story of A.Rebbe& Mitteler Rebbe)

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (known as the "Alter Rebbe,") was deeply engrossed in study. His intense concentration was legendary. But something caused him to suddenly stop his learning.

It sounded like a crying infant.

He closed the holy book he was studying, and rushed to calm the newborn—his grandson.

All the while, the child's father – the Alter Rebbe's son, himself a future Rebbe – was utterly immersed in learning, oblivious to the cries.

Later that day the Rebbe had a talk with his son.

"No matter how involved one is in an endeavor," the Rebbe coached, "however lofty it may be, one must never fail to hear and respond to the cry of a child in need."
The Lubavitcher Rebbe would add that this principle applies to the call of a child in knowledge as much as it does to a child in years.

Preoccupation with all things grand and noble must not preclude the needs of those less fortunate.

Life is such that we inevitably become preoccupied with things small and large, sometimes to the point that we fail to hear the call of our very own children, let alone someone else's.

Whether we are busy with matters local or global, spiritual or mundane, life-shattering or otherwise, those suffering children, in years, in knowledge, or in opportunity, rely on us to have them in mind.

It's up to us to sharpen our senses, to tune our ears, so that we hear the tear-filled eyes and heart of a child calling out in need.