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HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch came to the halls of Yeshivas Ohr Yisroel in Petach Tikva to deliver an especially rousing talk to the yeshiva students, alongside the Roshei Yeshiva, the students and residents of the city.
He was cordially received by the Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Yigal Rosen and the staff of the yeshiva rabbonim, after which he delivered his talk, which contained a quote from the gemara which states, "Were it not for this great day (of Mattan Torah), how many [common] Yosefs would there be in the 'marketplace'"
He presented a series of questions, which he went on to reply with one comprehensive answer, proving that the sum of them create a reality of closeness to Hashem through the Torah.
"This is what Rashi says there: 'I have become elevated, as is defined by the Ramchal in Derech Hashem, that there is an impression and impact, greater than all of those found in the very Creation, a form of His representation and reality which are present when one is engrossed in Torah study through holiness and purity into which he can personally tap.'"
The world's largest Aron HaKodesh has been completed at the Yeshivas Ateret Shlomo campus in Rishon LeZion. This monumental project is entirely handcrafted.
Key Features of the Ark:
The ark spans an area of 120 square meters, measuring 20 meters in length and 6.5 meters in height.
Crafted from over two tons of pure silver, it has gold-plated sections adorned in 24-karat gold.
There is no limit to the cynicism of Hamas, and this is what the IDF spokesman is attempting to publicize throughout the world.
The headquarters of the military arm of Hamas was located seven or eight meters under the preemie nursery of the European Hospital in Khan Junes. Hamas heads used this nursery of day-old newborns as their human shield. The chief heads of the Hamas military arm felt that they were thus well protected against the IDF. Their secret hideout, in their eyes, was optimal.
They built a network of tunnels directly under the European Hospital, a huge and central hospital in the southern Gaza Strip. The control center of Hamas commanders was situated directly under the hospital's preemie nursery, with the war secrets precisely beneath the hospital surgery rooms at a depth of 7 to 8 meters underground.
The assumption of the Hamas commanders was that the IDF would surely not bomb a central hospital where hundreds of sick and wounded people lay.
Part IV
This essay first appeared in 1996, 29 years ago.
Part 1
The approach of R' Chaim of Volozhin, adapted from the Hebrew book, Avi haYeshivos.
The gaon, R' Yosef Zev Soloveitchik of Brisk, once enumerated the great sages of his time. When he mentioned the Chazon Ish, he said: "Among the great students of the Gaon of Vilna, two students with totally different personalities, were outstanding. One was R' Chaim of Volozhin who, despite his great stature, was able to descend to the level of the people in order to influence them. The second, R' Menashe of Iliya — a unique person — was reclusive, and very rarely came in contact with the public. The Chazon Ish is like Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin in this respect."
Torah is Engraved On the Tablets of His Heart
R' Chaim of Volozhin was the Gra's foremost student, and is considered the greatest transmitter of his legacy.
"His soul," the Gra once said, "derives from the `palace of wisdom.'"
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Opinion & Comment
"And Hashem appeared to him . . . `Live in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you . . . and establish the oath that I swore to Avrohom your father . . . because Avrohom obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws'" (Bereishis 26:2-5). "Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your seed for My servant Avrohom's sake" (v.24).
The Alter of Kelm writes (Or Rashaz, parshas Toldos, 132) that it took him many weeks to understand the above pesukim correctly. Why did HaKodosh Boruch Hu rely only on what He swore to Yitzchok's father Avrohom? Why was Yitzchok's own zechus insufficient, and it was only "My servant Avrohom's sake" helped? The answer to this he found in the following explanation of the Sforno (v. 5):
"Hashem, in this instance and similarly later (26:24), when Hashem said `I will multiply your seed for My servant Avrohom's sake,' helped Yitzchok in the zechus of others. Neither Yaakov nor, surely, Avrohom needed to rely on others' zechuyos.
"This was before Yitzchok awakened himself to call in the name of Hashem, but after he called in the name of Hashem (`And he built an altar there and called upon the name of Hashem' -- v. 25) the Torah writes (v. 26-29) `then Avimelech went to him from Gerar . . . We indeed saw that Hashem was with you . . . you are now the blessed of Hashem.' After that Yitzchok did not encounter hardships from fanatics or suffer from quarrels as before.
"Yaakov, however, did not need to rely on the zechus of others at all, since from the time he was young he sat within the tents of study and taught others da'as. In particular he studied in the tents of Shem and Ever, where all those who truly loved Hashem came."
We ourselves would have been apprehensive even to suggest such an explanation.
Opinion & Comment
When we see a freight train transporting goods to urban areas, we can't help noticing the different types of cars and compartments, be they open or sealed. There are the grain cars in which vital food is being brought for daily sustenance. Then there are cars with cartons of clothing, a less necessary commodity. What probably takes up the least space are the white cartons of medicines for the sick, since only a small segment of the population requires them; important as they are, they are not a universal need.
If we do notice anywhere a train load full of medicines, bandages, ampoules, salves and so on, we will immediately understand that an epidemic or war is under way. Many people have been injured, wounded, are dying -- and they depend on these medicines for their very lives.
This example is presented by HaRav Leib Chasman zt'l in his work, Ohr Yahel, III, p. 163. Its lesson, he says, is very crucial. "And thus is it, my brothers -- why it is so necessary to study mussar, which is the only medicine that can heal those who are afflicted with [bad] traits. Every tzaddik in his generation, every sage amongst his own flock, has never ceased to cry out and rebuke the hearts of his followers, verbally and in his written works and letters. From Shlomo Hamelech in Mishlei and Koheles down to the latter sages in our own generation --
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