They’re running to the beis medrash — it just has the form of a bus

When the Jewish People moved on from their encampment at the foot of Har Sinai, it was done with a level of enthusiasm worthy of Chazal’s criticism. “K’tinok haboreiach mi’beis hasefer,” the Midrash tell us, they left like a child running from the schoolhouse, fearful lest Hashem give them more mitzvos. Passersby outside the Mir Yeshivah at the conclusion of second seder might be tempted to apply the same critique.

Daily, as afternoon wanes and the swell of kol Torah begins to fade, the hundreds pouring out of the yeshivah and its adjoining batei medrash break into a sprint toward the scores of buses waiting to take them home. Those who don’t know better might be tempted to diagnose the rush as “k’tinok haboreiach mi’beis hasefer.” But that, of course, isn’t the case at all. As Rav Binyomin Carlebach, rosh yeshivah of Mir Yerushalayim observed, “Bystanders often wonder why accomplished talmidei chachamim are seen rushing to their buses as though they’re eager to leave the beis medrash. But the truth is that they’re running to their chavrusas on the bus.”

In short, they’re not running from the beis medrash. They’re running to the beis medrash — it just has the form of a bus.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 914)