Broken Heart and a Limp
BY MOSHE KATZ 
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

January 13, 2025, Israel

These days I am experiencing a little bit of pain, but I am not troubled by it. I survived a car accident; it could have been much worse. I am grateful. In addition, we are all dealing with the constant emotional pain of the loss of life in this conflict. Over the weekend we lost another young man from our town. He was only 21 years old. The heart aches.

And I thought of a famous saying from the Kotzker Rebbe of Poland. "There is nothing more complete than a broken heart, and there is nothing more upright than a crooked ladder." (Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, 1787–1859) 

And I thought of the late Reb Shlomo, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, whom I had the privilege of meeting. He used to say, After the Holocaust, we are limping, but we are limping towards the land of Israel. We are limping towards our goals. 

I put these two saying together to form my own, with a broken heart and a limp. And I say, with a broken heart and a limp, we continue, we move forward, and we continue doing good work. We continue serving mankind and making this world a better place. 

The Kotzer Rebbe said that a broken heart makes us complete. That sounds like a statement and its opposite. How can you declare something broken and only then call it complete? I feel the message is that until your heart breaks, until you feel the pain of others, you are not a complete human being. And until you can walk with a limp, you are not truly moving forward. 

Do you want to be a judge? You must know pain; you must know compassion. Do you want to be a teacher? You must understand a broken heart. For until your heart is broken you will never be complete. 

As Krav Maga instructors we must feel the pain of others. We must understand why they are training, what is incomplete in their lives, why they came to us. We need to understand their difficulties as well, to start something new, to learn something new, to break out of old habits. Otherwise, we are just teaching them physical movements. 

To feel pain is a blessing. My knee hurts but I can still walk, I can still teach. When my knee was really bad, we developed techniques using a cane, a walking stick. When I feel broken, we develop techniques that can be used by broken people, and after all we all a little broken. We are imperfect, and yet we contain perfection within us. The heavens are heavenly, but we can make ourselves closer to heaven. 

 Remember, the crooked ladder reaches its goal. 

Why do you call out to G‑d and beseech that He have mercy on Israel? Better to call out to the people that they have mercy on G‑d!

The heavens will always remain heavens. But the earth we can elevate and make heavenly.

(The Kotzker Rebbe, Poland)

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Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt hall of fame, USA and Europe.

Understand the Israeli Fighting Mentality - Israel a Nation of Warriors by Moshe Katz

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