Almost thirty years after then Chief of Staff Mota Gur
prohibited IDF soldiers from visiting yeshivos and a number
of years after the IDF prohibited rabbonim from visiting and
lecturing at IDF bases, last week this barrier was finally
dismantled. A group of thirty soldiers from an elite unit
paid a visit to Yeshivas Ashrei Ho'ish in Jerusalem, where
they heard a lecture by the rosh yeshiva and held
discussion groups with talmidim at the yeshiva--recent
ba'alei teshuva themselves.
Yeshivas Ashrei Ho'ish, located in the Bayit Vegan
neighborhood, was founded several years ago by Rav Yosef Tzvi
Ben Porat, one of the generation's leading figures in the
teshuva movement. The yeshiva takes in a large number
of highly educated ba'alei tshuva including army
officers. One talmid had a relative serving in the
elite unit and heard that a group of soldiers was scheduled
to participate in a guided tour of several Jerusalem sites
last week.
One place on the itinerary was Har Herzl, whose proximity to
Bayit Vegan helped convince the unit's commanding officers to
accept an invitation to step into the yeshiva for a short
time. Yet the small geographical separation belies a very
real separation in the essence of both places. Upon their
arrival the soldiers went into a hall near the yeshiva's
heichal where they listened attentively to a half-
hour talk given by Rav Ben Porat.
"In the course of your military service," he said, "you are
used to studying the other side, to assess what it wants. To
find out what it is planning. But it must be kept in mind
that the first step is to understand and know oneself.
Judaism is based on an understanding of the `I.' "
He then cited sayings by Chazal, such as the Ramchal's famous
introduction to Mesillas Yeshorim on the individual's
obligations in the world, Hillel Hazoken's pronouncement in
Pirkei Avos, "Im ein ani li, mi li," and more. He then
proceeded to a lengthy discussion of the Jewish nation that
survived innumerable wanderings and persecutions throughout
the generations, while many other peoples vanished entirely.
"Entire nations disappeared because they did not have
anything in common. Everyone went off in a different
direction. For thousands of years Judaism has been built on
firm, concrete foundations, without varying, with very clear
principles, and this is what held and holds the Jewish people
together."
He also presented them with the yeshiva mode of study
compared to the university's approach to learning. "A person
sits in the university, in the library, in a lecture hall
where you're not allowed to make any noise, and studies. In a
yeshiva, in a kollel, on the other hand, two people
sit together in a chavrusa, studying berischo
de'Orayso. They shout at each other, while maintaining
respect and mutual esteem, and if they do not come to even
ground, they turn to other people who can help them reach the
truth of the matter, and they even argue with their rov
berischo. Here lies the difference: There you learn
what's written down, with blind obedience, swallowing the
material and accepting it as a foregone conclusion. Here we
examine the text carefully, evaluate what's written, and when
something doesn't make sense, when three pages ago the
gemora said something different, when Tosafos argues
with Rashi, we ask questions, discuss, debate until the
correct conclusion has been reached.
"Do you think that at the university they teach students how
to raise their children? How to lead one's life? Absolutely
not. At a yeshiva, on the other hand, Judaism educates the
individual in all of these things from scratch. Yeshiva
studies also develop the student's mind immeasurably more
than their university counterparts," he told the soldiers.
Later Rav Ben Porat arranged meetings between the soldiers
from the elite unit with an elite group of talmidim
from the yeshiva. After dividing into groups the soldiers
were given an opportunity to pose questions to
talmidim. Many of their questions focused on
fundamentals of emunah and were met with ready
answers. The brief exposure to the yeshiva world obviously
had an impact on the soldiers, based on the open-mouthed
expressions on their faces as they left.
Their questions were interesting less for the content
(questions are typically all the same in such encounter
groups) but rather the style. Generally arguments between
secular and chareidi Jews eventually lead to political
debates and harsh words. Here this was not the case. The
soldiers, whose conduct showed they were from a select unit,
asked probing questions, but in a polite manner. They were
driven more by an urge to hear answers and receive
explanations than by a desire simply to have their questions
heard.
They were also astonished to meet with young men who had shed
their army uniforms just a few years ago and were now decked
in beis medrash-style attire. One such talmid,
a navy captain formerly in command of a Dabur ship, astounded
the soldiers sitting with him when he flooded them with
answers to penetrating questions. It was hard to fathom that
a short time ago this avreich had been an officer on
active duty while today he sits on the other side of the
fence.
One fact was inescapable: The soldiers arrived at the yeshiva
with little idea of what to expect, absorbed a relatively
large dose of Yiddishkeit and, after just an hour-and-
a- half in the yeshiva, showed an interest in returning. And
indeed an hour later they were back. The army rations that
had been prepared for them were rerouted from the lunch spot
originally scheduled and brought to the yeshiva, where the
soldiers then sat down to continue their conversations with
the talmidim and rabbonim.
