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23 Kislev 5761 - December 20, 2000 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
A Chanukah Miracle in Our Day
by M. Green

Neve Shaanan is a secular suburb of Haifa, popular with the leftist, anti-religious element of the city's society. Haifa -- the very name conjures up repulsive images of restaurants selling treif meat, buses running on Shabbos, the smell of barbecues on Yom Kippur night. Who would have believed that in this sea of secularism, the light of Torah could begin to make deep inroads?

Yet unpredictably, a spiritual revolution is slowly taking place.

It began with a small evening program in the yeshiva gedolah of the area: Nachlas Haleviim.

Somehow word of the kollel erev got around and, young and old, people began coming. Mostly these were business men, highly educated intellectuals who were drawing close to Torah and recognized that a few hours of learning after work would immeasurably enrich their lives.

Many who had come just to study soon found that their priorities were changing. They now understood the importance of securing a Torah education for their children, and helping them find appropriate Torah institutions became part and parcel of the task of the kollel staff. These rabbonim, educated in Yiddishkeit from birth, were astounded by the sacrifices made by those newly returning to Torah.

But most amazing was seeing the youngsters who found their way in. In their late teens or early twenties, slick-haired with bright T-shirts (and maybe an earring or two), they would drive up in their trucks and jeeps and come inside; whether to actually learn or even just to listen in. There was no commitment yet, just an attraction like metal to a magnet. The warmth and richness they apparently felt in the atmosphere was something their high-speed secular lives could not provide.

It became clear that a more comprehensive program was needed for these boys in order to turn their sporadic visits into a lasting commitment to a Torah way of life. And so, with this in mind, Yeshivas Rinas Aharon was set up. Without means, without a building -- but with a vision.

At first it was a handful of boys. One was young Nati who was still before his army service. A firebrand, musically talented and clever, he was a popular guy in the "chevrah." How hard it was for him to leave the modern world behind and begin to build his life anew! But his yearning was strong and he eventually pulled along with him so many others.

Yigal was studying engineering at the Technion but he would come with his friends for a sweet taste of a higher world. He came at first just once a week. One day, while driving on the highway at high speed, he smashed into a bus that was out of its lane. The entire car crumpled up but he was thrown from the wreckage and landed on the road.

He relates how, when he regained consciousness, the first words that came to mind were "Shenayim ochazim betallis!"The first gemora that he had learned at Rinas Aharon reviewed itself in entirety in his mind while he lay on the road, still in shock.

When he finally got to his feet and found himself to be miraculously still in one piece, despite the utterly smashed up car, he knew with a startling clarity what was the essence of life. He became a full-time student in the new Yeshiva Rinas Aharon.

Danny, son of one of the top judges in the North of Israel, found his way into the Yeshiva where he was encouraged to attend a seminar. He left with a firm resolve to live a Torah life. But all was not so simple. His parents were even more firmly resolved not to let this continue -- after all, they had mapped out his career from the cradle.

He yielded to their pressure and left the Yeshiva. But no longer did he find any pleasure in the secular way of life. He persevered and struggled and against all odds he found his way back "home" to the security and wise guidance of his Torah teachers at Rinas Aharon.

And so, slowly but surely, the benches of the Yeshiva filled up. It became urgent to find new and bigger premises.

In a quiet corner of Neve Shaanan, down in a valley overlooking the Haifa Port and the Mediterranean beyond, stands a small shul. Its name is Beth Knesseth Baba Sali. Its golden years seemed to be coming to an end. The Moroccan community it had served was reaching an advanced age and its numbers were dwindling. Unfortunately, their children and grandchildren have left the religious way of life and shul-going was no longer in their schedules. But the shul's old rabbi still prayed for a revival.

When he met with the staff of the fledgling yeshiva in search of premises, he began to believe that his prayers would be realized. With hope and joy he gave permission for the beth knesseth to be used for Torah shiurim between Tefillos. Yeshiva Rinas Aharon moved in and the walls began to resound with the sound of Torah. As an added bonus there was now a minyan for every tefillah.

Meals were served and shiurim delivered morning, afternoon, and evening. But this was not enough. Many of the boys had to battle with parents or siblings in order to come and learn. All of them had to battle with their own lesser desires to return to their former habits, be it gambling, drinking, or Haifa's nightlife. Even after returning from seminars determined to start afresh, as soon as they went back home and met once again with old friends, they re- encountered all the old struggles and pitfalls.

It was decided to build additional rooms at the back of the beth knesseth to provide a dormitory for the boys, for only without disturbing outside influences could they truly absorb the atmosphere of the Yeshiva.

During the final stages of the dormitories' completion, Ronny's father, who was not yet religious at the time, came to see how things were progressing. Out of respect he donned his Yom Kippur cappel before entering. He looked at the rooms, then took out a measuring tape saying that he intended to outfit the new rooms with all the necessary furniture. "You saved my son," he said with tears in his eyes by way of explanation. "Ronny was hanging out with the worst elements of society, and we feared where it would lead him. Having been drawn to Rinas Aharon is the best thing that could have happened to him. You've saved his life."

With the help of Hashem, the dormitory was completed and the boys moved into their new home.

Each stage in Rinas Aharon's growth brings with it new problems both big and small. But watching the boys grow in Torah and yiras Shomayim makes it all worthwhile. Slowly their personalities develop as their lives become filled with true purpose.

Doron has been in the Yeshiva for almost a year now. Always soft-spoken and pleasant in his manner, he has now channeled his natural discipline into following the halacha in every detail. Rosh Hashanah midday, after a long davening, he arrived home to find that his mother had warmed up his dinner -- and it was Shabbos. He excused himself and ran the two kilometers to the home of Rinas Aharon's rosh yeshiva. "I don't know what to do," he explained breathlessly when he arrived. "It's not that I can't manage without eating, but I don't want to hurt my mother by refusing the food unless that's what the halachah truly requires."

On Yom Kippur, the boys' feelings came to the fore. As they stood before Hashem, each truly pleaded to have his past erased and to be given a new chance at life. A peak of emotions was reached when after the Shemoneh Esrei of Ne'ilah, the Rov banged on the bimah. "It is already nightfall," he declared. "Until now we had to rush to reach mincha before sunset. Now we have no limits, we can give ourselves completely over to our prayers.

"At the beginning of a battle, the soldiers use ammunition sparingly in case they will need it later. As the battle draws to a close, however, and the army is about to win, they use all their arms, fire everything they can at the enemy -- they are just about to conquer. Open your hearts and storm the heavens!"

His words entered the hearts of all those present. Ne'ilah continued with a new surge of emotion. The tefillah was completed an hour after nightfall.

Yeshiva Rinas Aharon, on the side of a large valley, stands opposite the Serret-Vizhnitz neighborhood which is up the mountain on the other side. Just recently the Yeshiva was visited by a respected member of the Serret-Vizhnitz community.

"I came to see with my own eyes this place where the light of Torah burns in the beth medrash until two a.m. in the morning," he explained. "Until now, we were used to the warbling sounds of Arabs praying in the wadi. To hear the song of Torah here is something new."

Just as in the days of the Chashmonaim, the fire of Torah is steadily lighting up the darkness. May Hashem bless the efforts of all of those who proclaim His Name in this world and may we merit the true light of the Geula Sheleimoh bemiheiroh beyomeinu Omein.

N.B. Certain details of time, place, and names have been changed in order to protect the privacy of those involved.

 

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