HaRav Berel Povarski
HaRav Boruch Dov Povarski recently offered a midrashic interpretation of the Torah world's current situation.
It says that Hashem loves the gates that are outstanding in halacha more than the botei knesset and botei medrash. This refers to the yeshivas.
When Shlomo Hamelech in his day built the Beis Hamikdash, HaKodosh Boruch Hu said, "I have come to my Garden."
This means that Hashem was saying, I once had a Garden like this. It was Gan Eden. When the Beis Hamikdash was built, it was like going back to that old Garden.
So the Beis Hamikdash is called "Gan Eden."
But it says that when the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, all HaKodosh Boruch Hu has in the world is the four amos of halochoh.
What is the four amos of halochoh? The yeshivos!
So yeshivas are the Beis Hamikdash, and the Beis Hamikdash is Gan Eden. Now only yeshivas are left, so yeshivas are Gan Eden.
"So what do we do when there is a gezeiroh that it is impossible for everyone to learn in one room in the yeshiva as has been customary?
"The Beis Hamikdash has been split up. Whoever sits in his room and learns, is still in the yeshiva. It is just that the yeshiva has been split up. He sits in his room — and where is he? In the Beis Hamikdash which nowadays is the yeshiva. Except that we have been forced to divide the yeshiva into many pieces."
That is the interpretation of the situation by HaRav Boruch Dov Povarski of Ponovezh yeshiva.
