Author: ArtScroll Staff

We spoke to Rabbi Yaakov Feitman about his new book, Blueprints. Here’s what he had to say about this unusual, groundbreaking book.

“A blueprint is used by an architect to design and plan a building project. Although, of course, Hashem did not need a blueprint, the Zohar teaches us that ‘Hashem looked into the Torah and created the world.’ This means that there is absolutely nothing in the world that is not explained by the Torah. I have always been fascinated by the myriad examples of this in our history and daily lives. If something is a part of our world, we can always find direction from the Torah for how to understand and even deal with it.

“The format, of pointing out a blueprint from the Torah and its application in real life, demonstrates how a Torah Jew can interface with the world around us. On the one hand, we need not accept secular interpretations about world events or scientific discoveries. We have a document — the Torah — that precedes them all. On the other hand, we need not ignore or escape from facts, figures, or occurrences. All we need to do is to look into our Torah. Of course, we cannot always do this for ourselves. Our gedolei Yisrael have always provided us with the applications of the Divine, from which we can derive the proper understanding of virtually anything that comes our way.

“Over the years, a process has emerged that entails identifying a ‘blueprint’ and discovering what we can learn from it on a practical level for our lives. I haven’t actually looked for these topics. They always find me. An article in a newspaper, the report of a scientific discovery, and many other human-interest events shout out to me, “This is a blueprint,” which turns into an article — and grew into a book.

“I must confess that each topic is as precious to me as a child, but if I had to choose, I love learning new things about the animal world and shining the brilliant light of the Torah upon each revelation. I hope that I have helped my readers to apply the Blueprint to the world and I would love to hear from them about their own applications.”

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AS: The Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation created a revolution in our shemiras ha’lashon. Your new book, Live the Blessing, explores making peace between people. Why shalom? Why now?

CCHF: Without shalom, shemiras ha’lashon will last only so long. People who are involved in personal disputes might try not to speak negatively about each other, but it often is just a matter of time before someone’s feelings leach out into the words they say. In addition, without shemiras ha’lashon, shalom doesn’t have a chance. Even if a dispute starts off as a reasonable difference of opinion, once the parties begin talking about each other it will turn into a machlokes. When we focus on shalom, we are not tempted to denigrate other people. This book is meant to show people what shalom and machlokes look like in real life, and to give them tools to choose the right path.

AS: Does making shalom mean we all have to think alike?

CCHF: Not at all. It means making space in our world for other people’s thoughts and perspectives. It doesn’t mean agreeing all the time, but rather, learning to disagree without personal animosity. We need only look at the Twelve Shevatim to know that Hashem had no intention of creating a nation that was all of a kind.

AS: There are chapters about peace between husband and wife, parents and children, neighbors and friends, even between divorced couples. Can we really make peace with everyone in our lives?

CCHF: The chapters give readers a peek at what happens to people’s lives when they stoke conflict and what happens when they work to resolve it or at least cool it down. In any situation, whether it’s family life, marriage, friendships, business relationships, or divorce, shalom brings blessing and machlokes brings destruction. Once we’re convinced of this, we still have much work to do to change our reactions and reframe what we tell ourselves about the people in our lives. We hope the book’s daily readings will spur people to realize that this is the right path — and to take it.

AS: Each chapter also contains advice from prominent rabbanim, therapists, and educators. They are very varied in their perspectives, but is there a theme that unites them?

CCHF: The most prominent common thread in their advice is this: Nobody has ever gained by stoking machlokes and nobody has ever regretted seeking shalom.

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