The silent message of “v’hagisa bo” was louder than the most eloquent lecture

Living Higher

R

av Yeruchem Olshin, rosh yeshivah of Lakewood’s Beth Medrash Govoha, was in Houston, Texas last week for an Adirei HaTorah fundraiser. The initiative, spearheaded by philanthropist Leizer Scheiner, aims to impress on Klal Yisrael the value of lomdei Torah and increase the monthly kollel checks given to yungeleit learning in the Lakewood yeshivah.

Prior to the actual fundraiser, community representatives took Rav Yeruchem on a whirlwind tour of the Torah locations in Space City. The Rosh Yeshivah made a stop at Yeshiva Torat Emet, the local elementary school, where the student body and faculty came out to greet him. Later, he stopped at the Mesivta of Houston, where he was once again greeted by talmidim and rebbeim who sang and danced as he alighted from his car. And at the evening fundraiser, donors and supporters gathered around Rav Yeruchem reverentially as he delivered the keynote address.

The next morning, when community members arrived at the 6 a.m. Kollel Boker, they saw Rav Yeruchem once again. This visit wasn’t an official stop on his itinerary, nor were there cameras, singing, or dancing. But as the men observed the Rosh Yeshivah, sitting with a chavrusa at an inconspicuous table at the back of the beis medrash, hunched over a Gemara, the silent message of “v’hagisa bo” was louder than the most eloquent lecture.

Enduring Influence

“Rav Hirsch would stress the idea that we each have an obligation to contribute to the klal. In his peirush on Devarim, where the Torah delineates the various brachos and klalos, Rav Hirsch writes that ‘one who does not deeply involve himself in promoting [Torah], does not act with all his might to promote the fulfillment of the Torah, even if he learned, taught, and observed the whole Torah, [if he] was able to encourage others to do likewise but did not do so, he, too, is subject to the Torah’s curse of arur asher lo yakum es divrei haTorah hazos.’

“Today, we have countless organizations and institutional sponsors for every initiative and good cause. It can seem hard for us mere individuals to contribute. But Rav Hirsch tells us that each one of us has a role to play. It could be something as small as coming on time to davening or encouraging others to learn a bit more, but only then will we merit the Torah’s brachah.”

 —Rabbi Tzviki Rubinfeld speaking in Lakewood this past Sunday evening, the 27th of Teves, marking the 137th yahrtzeit of Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch

Overheard

“Never before has so much been owed by so many to so few.”

—Rav Uren Reich speaking at a conference for Midwest rebbeim, paraphrasing a famous quote by Winston Churchill. While Churchill was praising the British Royal Air Force whose fighter pilots and bomber crews established air superiority during World War II, Rav Reich drew a parallel to the heroic rebbeim of our schools. With the ruach and enthusiasm they infuse into their classrooms, they, too, are establishing air superiority as we wage battle against the influences of the outside world.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1047)