Draw Close Every Ben Torah

Rav Bromer of Sanik related in the name of the Mahari of Belz that in earlier generations Chassidim had a custom of distancing themselves from anyone whose learning was not leshem Shomayim (for the sake of Heaven). That was when secular subjects were foreign to the Jewish world and not widely studied.

In our time, he explained, secular subjects are widely studied and Torah learning has weakened. Therefore we should draw close every ben Torah, from whatever background, even one who does not yet learn leshem Shomayim, in order to turn the masses away from secular studies and discourage their spread.