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29 Teves 5761 - January 24, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
American Aguda's Yarchei Kallah in Eretz Yisroel
By Betzalel Kahn

"We came to Eretz Yisroel during these difficult times for one purpose: to give chizuk and to receive chizuk. Now is the time to show that only the Torah has the power to give chizuk." This is how Rabbis Shmuel Blum and Shlomo Gertzulin -- deputy Vice Presidents of Agudas Yisroel of America -- summed up the purpose of the Yarchei Kallah held in Yerushalayim last week under the auspices of their organization and attended by 180 members.

The participants, senior Agudas Yisroel members whose visit was not accompanied by much publicity, came from most centers of Orthodox Jewry: Brooklyn, Monsey, Denver, Lakewood, Los Angeles, Dallas, Baltimore, Edison, Toronto, Chicago, and even some from Antwerp. Under the simple heading, "Yarchei Kallah, Yerushalayim, 5761" the delegates left their businesses and chutz lo'oretz activities to devote themselves to gemora, halocho and mussar for three days.

The first yarchei kallahs date back to the times of Chazal. The concept was revived on a large scale by the Ponevezher Rov zt"l. Each year sees another increase in the number of yarchei kallahs organized around the world. A few weeks ago, at the Agudas Yisroel Convention, a resolution was adopted to hold this yarchei kallah. The resolution came in the wake of a letter sent by HaRav Eliashiv to the Convention, in which he mentioned the difficult times residents of Eretz Yisroel were experiencing as well as the anti-religious maneuvers of the government, and he called for our brethren overseas to be "united" (agudim) with Israeli troubles.

In addition to the gedolim who graced the yarchei kallah with their presence -- HaRav Aharon Leib Steinman, HaRav Shmuel Auerbach, and the Novominsker, Belzer, and Klausenberger Rebbes -- many important roshei yeshivosand roshei kollelim gave shiurim.

Rabbis Blum and Gertzulin stressed to me that the group did not come to engage in politics, but simply to get away from their offices and businesses for a week to hear shiurim in Eretz Yisroel from a distinguished list of rabbonim. I asked him if he thought that future yarchei kallah would also be held in Eretz Yisroel.

"I hope so. People are very satisfied, the learning is accompanied by a lot of geshmack, and hopefully things will remain calm in this country. Americans deal a lot with Eretz Yisroel-related matters. By our coming here and learning, we also intend to convey a message with regard to the issue of drafting yeshiva bochurim, which worries us a lot, namely that Torah magno umatzlo, and that Torah learning, more than anything else, is of vital importance.

"Secular Israelis say that we have to do our bit by serving in the army. We have come here to make the point that nothing is more important than Torah. Our survival in Eretz Yisroel, especially during these difficult times, is due totally to those in full-time learning. We must stress and clarify this point also to the nonobservant public."

Last Tuesday, as part of the yarchei kallah program, a special dinner was held for Keren Hashevi'is. The opening speaker was HaRav Shmuel Auerbach rosh yeshiva of Maalos Hatorah. He said that Hashem should give strength to the farmers, the giborei koach who were keeping shmittah and to the activists in whose merit there are Jews keeping shmittah today who did not do so in the past. This was no small matter, and they deserve our full admiration.

Rav Shmuel Mordechai Mintz, one of the heads of Keren Hashevi'is, read out a letter sent to the Keren several days earlier by a farmer from Gush Katif who was not doing any work in his fields this year. His wife was injured in a shooting incident, and he pointed out in his letter that, as an avreich, he was being supported by the grant from the Keren paid out to farmers who keep shmittah, in addition to National Insurance and Child Benefit payments. He explained that his situation was precarious because of his wife's injury, and he asked for help.

Rav Mintz thanked the UTJ representatives for assisting shmittah-observant farmers, and making sure that Keren Hashevi'is had constant access to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Novominsker Rebbe said that all those responsible for ensuring that shmittah was kept properly, such as Rav Efrati, Rav Mintz and Rav Mendelssohn, had the merit of reminding the Jewish people of the sanctity of Eretz Yisroel and how Hashem wants us to relate to it.

Rav Yosef Efrati, head of the Beis Hamedrash Lahalacha Behityashvut, brought a message of greetings from HaRav Eliashiv in which he praised those who observe shevi'is and the supporters of Keren Hashevi'is who help them.

Rav Efrati went on to make the point that we find only two times in Chazal that a group or individual is called giborei koach. The first time is when the Jewish people said na'ase before nishma, and the second time with reference to shomrei shmittah who abandon their fields. In both instances, the decision to fulfill Hashem's Will is undertaken in complete faith, without knowing what will happen. Everyone knows, he said, how many nisyonos are involved in observing shmittah properly.

"Some people in chutz lo'oretz," he went on, "ask why they should support shmittah observers, since they themselves are not bound to keep this mitzva. We must repeat the fundamentals which Chazal have taught us. For us Eretz Yisroel is the country in which mitzvos hateluyos bo'oretz are observed. The best way of strengthening the residents of Eretz Yisroel is by participating in the observance of shmittah, since the punishment for the lack of such observance is exile. Strengthening shmittah observers is not a charitable cause, it is a partnership with the residents of Eretz Yisroel.

"Before I finish, I cannot help but draw your attention to the importance our rabbonim, both past and present, attached to the observance of shmittah, in contrast to all those who claimed that it was permissible to annul it. There was a delegation of important rabbonim who came to HaRav Eliashiv to ask whether it was permitted to overlook vegetables which were sefichim in places where there was a non-mehadrin hechsher. The rov told them, `Would it occur to you to overlook the fact that meat that had not been salted was being served in a hotel under your hashgocho? Well, the latter is prohibited derabonon whereas the issur of sefichin is prohibited mide'oraiso according to some of the poskim.'

"Helping shmittah observers is the best way of helping Judaism as a whole, and strengthening the residents of Eretz Yisroel."

After this, Rabbi Blum presented an envelope with a banker check made out for a very large sum: the first installment of American Jewry's donation to Keren Hashevi'is. After this, Rav Yosef Lieberman and Rav Menachem Mendel Mendelssohn, rov of Kommemiyus, spoke about different aspects of shmittah.

I asked Rabbi Gertzulin why it is that Americans donate so generously to Keren Hashevi'is?

"People give tzedoko for various things, but when it comes to shmittah many donors get especially excited, and give ten times as much as to other causes! It is a rare mitzva for us, and a special feeling to be able to contribute to it. People feel a sense of fellowship with Jews in Eretz Yisroel, they consider it to be similar to the "Yisochor-Zevulun" relationship."

How do American Jews look at current events in Eretz Yisroel?

"People are very concerned for a number of reasons, but mainly because a lot of people living here do not understand that we are being sent a message from Above. We pray and hope that the nonobservant will begin to understand this. Boruch Hashem, there are a lot of baalei teshuva, dozens of new schools are opening all the time under the auspices of Shuvu, Keren Nesivos Moshe and Lev L'Achim. If everybody would be truly observant, we would not be in as bad a situation as we are now in Eretz Yisroel."

Are there Jews in America who are afraid to come to Eretz Yisroel?

"Of course. Everybody hears about the tragic events and feels the atmosphere here, and it is only natural that many people will be afraid. In practice, however, all the yeshiva boys and seminary girls came back here after yom tov. In fact, they were encouraged to go back to show that Torah offers a protection."

On Wednesday important shiurim and droshos were given by the Belzer Rebbe, Rav Nosson Zvi Finkel, Rav Shlomo Wolbe and the Klausenberger Rebbe. The evening's special guest speaker was HaRav Aharon Yehuda Leib Steinman who came especially to Yerushalayim for the event.

In his introductory speech, Rabbi Blum said that Rav Steinman had advised that anyone wanting to do something for Eretz Yisroel should sit and learn. People had taken his advice and come to Yerushalayim to learn. He expresses his intense gratitude to the Rosh Yeshiva, who had also advised the guests about sedorim and what material to learn.

The Novominsker Rebbe, head of American Agudas Yisroel spoke about how fortunate the yarchei kallah participants had been to fulfill the command to let "your eyes see your teachers" and to have heard shiurim and droshos from gedolei Yisroel.

It is with a heavy heart that all the lawyers and businessmen-cum-avreichim who attended this special yarchei kallah, the first of its kind in Eretz Yisroel, packed their bags. These Aguda activists who, despite their many private and public activities, spend their lives being kovea itim latorah, had a rare chance to spend a few days in a pure atmosphere of full-time Torah. We may assume that similar repeat events will not be long in coming.

 

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