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May 29, 2008
The miracle of the Torah world's resurgence
Rav Gershon Edelstein, one of the Rosh yeshivas of Ponevezsh Yeshiva, in a talk with avreichim and educators, said the following:
....The whole Torah world itself is an open miracle...(source: Mishpacha newspaper)
In the last 200 years, the Torah world has suffered tremendous troubles and difficulties from within and from without. People would shame those who learn Torah. That is the way it was in all generations: the enlightenment, with the heads of the Zionist movement in the Diaspora, and all the rest that chased those who learn Torah. They were successful in their battle and many Torah observant people abandoned the source of fresh water [i.e. the Torah]. All this was up until the post-holocaust era.
In the past 50 years, the Rosh Yeshivas re-established the Torah world, and the people began to respect those who learn Torah. the Torah world has thrived, despite the troubles and disturbances that have arisen due to the development of the western world. There are large Torah centers in places that there were never before, and the nation of Hashem is thirsty to hear the word of Hashem.
We need to give thanks every dayfor the miracles that we see how the Torah world survives despite all the difficulties, both spiritual and physical.
These are open miracles and we need to give thanks for them every single day.
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The miracle of the secular Zionist government which pays for the yeshivas to run...
ReplyDeleteWhat's so remarkable here that makes it worthy of being posted?
ReplyDeleteIt's standard fare.
The world is black and white: Those who fight for Torah and everyone else, who fight to destroy it.
Thank HASHEM and the Rashei Yeshiva, do not thank or recognize the fact that Israeli society not only funds the yeshivos, but funds the social infrastructure that sustains and helped create this rebirth of Torah (B"H).
I thought it was interesting.
ReplyDeleteI had the same thoughts, and the Israeli government throughout the years has much merit in the way it supported Torah learning to the point where we have more the greatest numbers in Torah learning than any period in history, whether the quality is the same or not is a different issue.
But I do not know what the background was for the talk he was conducting. Maybe it was mentioned, but not in the article (I doubt it though), or maybe it was not mentioned because it was not relevant to whatever point he was trying to get across.
Rafi-thanks for putting this up.
ReplyDeleteThis can also refers to the rest of the world. But the Israeli gov deserves credit,too.
The miracle is in the results, but the criticism is still there.
It may be more accepted in some circles,and it is certainly more common, but it is criticized and looked down upon by many.
Some criticism is only for "those who...."(fill in the blank, take money from the government,don't support their family,waste time,come late, whatever)
So maybe you can differentiate between criticism that learning is worthless vs. learning is great for the elite/serious but you're not it.
Husband to your babysitter.
Unfortnately, this "respect for Torah scholars" is not so prevalent in his back yard, or else he wouldn't be "one of the roshei yeshiva"
ReplyDeleteRealist - your דיוק is wrong. When I learned n Telshe there were three Roshei Yeshiva. Many yeshivas have more than one.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is though that you are right. The fighting in Penevezch has been a terrible bizayon of kavod hatorah, which ironically, is what they are fighting to protect (each group of students thinks it is more kavod for his rebbe to be the rosh)
Not only is there a lot of selective memory going on here, the argument about miracles gets downright silly:
ReplyDeleteIn the last 200 years, the Torah world has suffered tremendous troubles and difficulties from within and from without. People would shame those who learn Torah.
Whereas the Torah world embraced the Maskilim, Reform, apikorisim, etc. with open arms, of course.
That is the way it was in all generations: the enlightenment, with the heads of the Zionist movement in the Diaspora, and all the rest that chased those who learn Torah.
So there's only Torah and anti-Torah. Good to know. (Guess they never heard of Mizrachi.)
They were successful in their battle and many Torah observant people abandoned the source of fresh water [i.e. the Torah].
None of which, of course, had anything to do with any negative feelings or experiences in the Torah world.
Sorry, I don't see what's so miraculous about the Torah world still being around- if you continually push out non-conformers and draw your boundaries ever-tighter, keeping your community physically intact will not be that hard- particularly if you have a lot of kids to replenish your ranks, and even more so if you have financial assistance to let you live the life you want without needing to choose between kollel and food.
If there are miracles here, perhaps it is that there are still some people that the Torah world has yet to alienate- the families that stay in it, and everyone else who keeps paying to sustain it.
What narrow minded nonsense.. Where was he when chabad started doing mivtzoim? I bet he was there blasting them!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
You argument dont hold water, there are many in the yeshiva / chareidi world that pay taxes..rafi pays taxes..
oh I wish I did not have to!
ReplyDelete