This past Tuesday (16 MarCheshvan), the Jewish world commemorated the twenty-second yahrtzeit of Maran HaRav Shach, the Avi Ezri, father of yeshivos, who for many years instilled the pure Torah-view to his people. How fervently he decried false beliefs and misguided opinions. Every word he uttered was relevant not only to his times but to the coming generations as well.
Here is a small excerpt from the message he conveyed at the opening of the Yarchei Kalla Torah seminar in 5749, some thirty-five years ago, and how timely they are still today:
"It is the wholesome path which has preserved the uniqueness of the Jewish people. The generations-long path of tradition is the one we tread up to this day, without complexities, but with a pure and simple faith in Hashem, the Torah and Chazal. These stood us in good stead throughout those past generations, despite harsh decrees and pogroms, exiles and the various tribulations which befell our people. In face of all the harsh circumstances which befell us, we were able to stand strong in our basic beliefs without being thwarted by any outside factors.
"This is how it always was with our people. But today, they have cast our emunah away, over their shoulders, maintaining that this country, the State of Israel, will afford permanence to the Jewish people. They believe that the guarantee to our preservation does not lie in the Torah or in trust in Hashem. They feel, rather, that the existence of the State will assure our survival. They presume that our subsistence lies in 'my might and the strength of my hand' which would preserve us. 'We will fortify ourselves and be mighty' they proclaimed. 'We must place our trust in our own power', is what one of their leaders wrote.
"But we are surrounded by enemies on all sides like a helpless sheep amongst seventy wolves. And if in the past the nations despised us, today this has been increased and intensified on all sides.
"I remember the Zionists declaring, before World War I, that when a Jewish land will be established, Jews all over the world would benefit as consulates were established worldwide, in Russia, Germany and England. But we are all witness today to what exactly took place with the establishment of the State.
"We see that ever since then, anti-Semitism has increased tenfold. If in the past, single countries despised us, today there is not a single country which does not hate us. Who can fight the entire world?
"The heads of the country believe that they are on par with the big powers, while every thinking person knows full well that we knuckle down before America. And if this is so, they are not their own masters at all. Besides, the supporting cane is not always stable enough to provide us with real security. America is also dependent upon fickle politics. As for the 'love of the Russians' towards Israel, this is also nothing to rely upon, as we have learned in the past.
"They have arrived at this state of affairs because they abandoned the ways of the Torah and the emunah as transmitted to us over the ages and have exchanged our entire Torah for newfangled ideologies.
"We must reaffirm in our hearts that our people have survived, wherever they have found themselves, not because they have a national homeland but purely by virtue of the Torah. So long as we cleave unto the Torah, we can continue to be an eternal people, existing forevermore."
