HaRav Lando meeting with the heads of Lev Shomeia
This past week, the rabbonim and heads of the Lev Shomeia organization — chairman HaRav Eliav Miller; HaRav Eliyahu Eliezer Kellerman, Mashgiach in Yeshivas Ponovezh; HaRav Mordechai Fish, Mashgiach in Yeshiva leZeirim Ohr Elcchanan and Ateres Shlomo, and others — paid a visit to HaRav Dov Lando in his home in order to present him with central questions regarding the spiritual world of Torah students and their pivotal role in reinforcing the position of the Jewish people in the merit of Torah which protects and saves us.
They were privy to over an hour of spiritual renewal and reinforcement from the answers to questions brought up by the students and their parents regarding the daily contention with the challenges of these present times.
At first, HaRav Lando shlita stressed his desire that they convey to the yeshiva students that "accomplishments are fine and good, but that a student is not measured by these but rather by the extent of his dedication to his study. We must be engrossed in study to the utmost, without distractions and anxieties, without striving for excellence. Study must be a prime preoccupation, each according to his strength. This is what the Jewish People need for this is what constitutes a true Ben Torah."
Lev Shomeia: How must we relate to all the clamor and incitement of the street against Torah students?
"The noise of the street is a big problem. But there is a solution which we have already addressed in the past and today is universally acknowledged.
"The situation in the land is the very fact that the many Arabs did not arise and sweep through the land, and did not murder us all R"L. It has no logical reason because they are numerous and bloodthirsty. It is ausgeshpart, as HaRav Boruch Ber said, that there is something unique which protects the Jewish settlement, and there is nothing else upon which to explain the phenomenon — except for Torah study.
"There are many secularists who honestly cannot explain the question of 'What is going on here?' The country is surrounded by enemies, people filled with hatred, believing that their land was taken from them. Ostensibly, they should be taking the most drastic measures, but they don't do this.
"There is no logical reason why they did not rear up and do so because by nature, Arabs are barbaric, living by the swords of revenge. The only explanation is [the protection supplied by] Torah study. This coincides with the verse 'And [the land] shall not spew you out because they defile it.'
"The fact that Jews have resided here for so many years while following a life of profligacy against the Torah and its commandments should have caused the land to oust them, while in counterpart, there is only the minority of Torah students. This should make it clear to all at this very time, that only Torah study is what protects and saves Eretz Yisroel."
He further stressed: "These words are simple and apparent and all the incitement of the street comes from hatred and ignorance. The problem is that the secularists of today are not like the ones I remember. I have been here for a good many years and the ones I remember were those who 'defected' from Jewish practice, or never knew about Yiddishkeit at all. The secularists of today were never exposed to Yiddishkeit. They are bereft of everything. They are an altogether different breed of secularists.
"In my early years, I lived in Rechovot and I remember the secularists of those times. Today, they are people without any connection to Jewish tradition whatsoever. There are occasional exceptions but because they are so ignorant, there is no one to whom to talk. All of their beliefs are founded on apikorsus and this is what they were fed from their early years.
"There is something which is unpleasant and difficult to say: To our regret, our Arab enemies do believe in a Creator, which comes to condemn our people. The fact that they believe in this truth is painful and worrying and constitutes an accusation against us. In a response, the Rambam admits that they observe certain things to the fullest like abstention from wine etc.
"It is harmful to us that these barbaric people speak in the name of Hashem. In my eyes, this is a gross desecration of Hashem's Name. We must be thankful for all the baalei teshuva, but the fact that our people created a land of shmad and apostasy, is a tremendous accusation against us."
He added and sharpened, "Those who delve in Torah and are immersed in it — they are the very ones who give us a foothold to live in Eretz Yisroel. This alone.
"And I plead with you that you find the words to convey this principle to all the bnei yeshivos."
He added, "We must tell the youth who ask: surely, the Arabs could have united; They have no qualms about killing because their wild nature is disposed to murder, but this does not happen.
"You students of Torah protect and save us. Otherwise, there is no explanation why the Arabs do not unite to overrun the country and wipe us all out. There is no logic behind this. Even the secularists say this. The only reason is that Torah truly protects and saves."
