How should a Torah-observant person relate to the mitzvah of
bringing wayward Jews back to the fold? Is it an optional
commandment that one may choose to fulfill if and when the
opportunity to do so arises, or, is it an obligatory mitzvah
that one should seek out and pursue?
Until recently many members of the Torah community in Eretz
Yisroel were not so sure. The prevalent attitude had been
that the mitzvah of kiruv is mainly the domain of
people who have been blessed with the natural talents
required for this sort of work, but it is not something the
populace at large can -- or should -- get involved in.
Last week, a landmark halachic ruling announced in Bnei Brak
before thousands of Bnei Torah shattered this mistaken
assumption and redefined the mitzvah of kiruv in Eretz
Yisroel.
Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein, rav of Ramat Elchonon and son-in-
law of HaRav Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, announced the landmark
decision during a question-and-answer forum he conducted as
part of P'eylim / Lev L'Achim's Fourth Annual Convention in
Bnei Brak. Rabbi Zilberstein's forum gave the thousands of
kiruv workers who attended the convention an
opportunity to ask questions pertaining to various aspects of
their work, and to gain a better understanding of the complex
halachic issues they confront daily.
Many of the questions submitted to Rabbi Zilberstein involved
extremely sensitive issues that -- depending on how they are
handled -- can determine the future of a marriage, or the
kind of education a child will receive. In addition to the
queries submitted by the kiruv workers who
participated in the convention, Rabbi Zilberstein presented
and analyzed several questions that kiruv workers had
sent to him in previous weeks.
One such query was submitted by a prestigious kollel.
Several weeks ago a member of that kollel, in
response to the call of the gedolim to set aside one
evening a week for kiruv work, decided to join Lev
L'Achim's volunteer force. The administrators had no
objection in principle to this arrangement. However, since
the kollel pays stipends to members in accordance with
their attendance record, a question was raised: should the
kollel deduct the member's new weekly absences from
his stipend, or not?
The kollel submitted the question to Rabbi
Zilberstein, and Rabbi Zilberstein in turn brought the matter
before HaRav Eliashiv. Following is a literal translation of
HaRav Zilberstein's response, which he announced in the
presence of the thousands of bnei Torah who
participated in the question-and-answer forum:
"I presented the question to my esteemed father-in-law, Maran
HaRav Eliashiv, and this is what he said to me: `Kollel
administrators who deduct [hours of absence] from the
stipend of a kollel member who goes out to do kiruv
work do so in violation of the law. Do they [the
avreichim] go [to do kiruv] for their own sake?
Of course not! They do so for the sake of all Am
Yisroel!'"
For the sake of clarity HaRav Zilberstein reiterated the
decision a second time. Judging by the excited buzz of
conversation that rippled through the cavernous hall in the
wake of HaRav Zilberstein's announcement, the significance of
this halachic ruling was not lost on the audience.
Prior to this landmark ruling, many people assumed that the
call of the gedolim to take part in Lev L'Achim's
kiruv programs did not apply to everyone (even though
the historic letter of the gedolim, signed by HaRav
Shach, HaRav Eliashiv and HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
zt"l explicitly states that it does). They had
regarded kiruv rechokim as an optional mitzvah
intended primarily for people who have a natural disposition
for this kind of work, or for those who do not mind taking a
break from their learning on occasion. HaRav Eliashiv's
ruling dispelled this notion out of hand.
By requiring the kollel administrator to pay the
kiruv volunteer his full stipend, the ruling gave
halachic recognition to the principle that doing kiruv
work one evening a week is a mandatory obligation
incumbent upon every single member of the Torah community.
There is no other way to explain why HaRav Eliashiv would
require a kollel -- an institution dedicated
exclusively to Torah learning -- to pay one of its members to
take part in kiruv activities.
The awesome array of rabbonim and rosh yeshivas that
graced the convention with their presence loudly echoed HaRav
Eliashiv's ruling. It was the largest gathering of gedolei
Torah representing such a wide spectrum of communities in
recent history.
Speakers included: HaRav Aharon Leib Steinman; HaRav Shlomo
Wolbe; HaRav Tzvi Markowitz, rosh yeshivas Karlin-
Stolin; HaRav Moshe Shmuel Shapira, rosh yeshivas Beer
Yaakov; HaRav Moshe Shternbuch, segan nassi Eida
HaChareidis; HaRav Yaakov Chaim Sofer, rosh yeshivas
Kaf HaChaim; HaRav Moshe Tzadka, rosh yeshivas Porat
Yosef; HaRav Shmuel Wosner, av beis din Zichron Meir;
and HaRav Usher Weiss, rosh yeshivas Chassam Sofer.
HaRav Boruch Shapira, a senior hanholo member of Lev L'Achim
read a letter of support and encouragement sent by HaRav
Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, who was not able to attend. In an
adjacent hall, over eight hundred female volunteers viewed
the speeches on closed-circuit television.
HaRav Steinman delivered a moving address in which he
reemphasized the importance of participating in Lev L'Achim's
kiruv activities:
"The knowledge that thousands of Torah scholars throughout
Eretz Yisroel are now endeavoring to enroll nonobservant
children into Torah schools purely for the sake of Heaven
fills me with joy. We have accomplished much, but there is
still a tremendous amount of work ahead of us, and we need
great siyata diShmaya. Know that he who participates
in this effort will earn indescribable reward in the world to
come.
"HaRav Yisroel Salanter used to say that there are two ways
to have a positive effect on others. If a person would sit
down to learn Torah in Vilna, a Jew in Paris would not
abandon his faith. Torah study affects Am Yisroel as a
whole. Yet we see that this alone is not enough, for HaRav
Yisroel Salanter himself moved to Paris to disseminate Torah
knowledge among his fellow Jews. I am certain that it was
very difficult for him to live there, but this did not
dissuade him. He did it purely for the sake of Heaven.
"We must follow his example. On the one hand, to immerse
ourselves in Torah study and in this way open the hearts of
our wayward brothers to the beauty of Torah. And at the same
time, to reach out to in the manner of the prophets of
earlier generations, who went from one city to another and
spread knowledge of Hashem among Am Yisroel.
"We live in a generation veiled in spiritual darkness, yet at
the same time, within that darkness, there is an opportunity
to bring out the light. If we will merit more siyata
diShmaya, we will reap the fruits of our labor with joy
and rescue precious Jewish neshomos from the fangs of
evil. May we be privileged to see the fulfillment of the
verse, `He will bring the hearts of parents back [to Him] by
means of their children.'"
HaRav Wolbe stirred the audience further by asserting that
"If every yungerman would contribute a portion of his
time to kiruv rechokim, every single Jew in Eretz
Yisroel will be brought back to the ways of the Torah." This
concept was expressed several times during the seven-hour
conference by a wide range of speakers.
In addition to the gedolim mentioned above, over
thirty of Eretz Yisroel's foremost rosh yeshivos
attended the event, including: HaRav Yehuda Ades, rosh
yeshivas Kol Yaakov; HaRav Shmuel Auerbach, rosh
yeshivas Ma'alos HaTorah; HaRav Shmuel Yaakov Bornstein,
rosh yeshivas Chevron-Geula; HaRav Yaakov Ben-Naim;
HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman, rosh yeshivas Rashbi; HaRav
Chaim Brim, rosh yeshivas Ruzhin; HaRav Zev Berlin;
HaRav Menachem Tzvi Berlin; HaRav Dovid Cohen, Chevron
Yeshiva; HaRav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, rosh yeshivas
Ateres Yisroel; HaRav Gershon Edelstein, HaRav Baruch Dov
Povarsky, HaRav Eliezer Kahaneman, HaRav Shmuel Markovitz,
all of Ponovezh Yeshiva; HaRav Yehoshua Eichenstein, rosh
yeshivas Nezer HaTorah; HaRav Rafael Elkarif; HaRav
Yehoshua Erenberg, rosh yeshivas Beis Yitzchok
(Chadera); HaRav Tzvi Drabkin, rosh yeshivas Grodno
(Ashdod); HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, rosh yeshivas
Slobodke; HaRav Yaakov Hillel, rosh yeshivas Ahavas
Shalom; HaRav Dov Yaffe, yeshivas Knesses Chezkiyahu
(Kfar Chassidim); HaRav Gavriel Yosef Levi, rosh
yeshivas Beer HaTorah; HaRav Dovid Mann; HaRav Avraham
Salim; HaRav Aviezer Piltz, rosh yeshivas Tifrach;
HaRav Chaim Shaul Karelitz, gaavad Shearis Yisroel;
HaRav Boruch Rosenberg, rosh yeshivas Slobodke; HaRav
Yaakov Eliezer Schwartzman, rosh yeshivas Lakewood-
Yerushalayim; HaRav Moshe Yehuda Shlesinger, rosh
yeshivas Kol Torah; HaRav Nosson Zochovsky, Ohr Gaon; and
HaRav Michel Zilber.
Rabbi Eliezer Sorotzkin, Director General of Lev L'Achim,
read a very warm letter of support and encouragement sent by
the gedolei Torah of America. The letter was signed
by: HaRav Avrohom Yaakov Pam, rosh yeshivas Torah
Vodaas; HaRav Elya Svei, rosh yeshivas Philadelphia;
HaRav Yaakov Perlow, admor of Novominsk; HaRav Aharon
Moshe Schechter, rosh yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin;
and HaRav Yosef Yitzchok Feigelstock, rosh yeshivas
Long Beach.
Hearing the names of America's Torah leaders while sitting in
the presence of the gedolei Torah of Eretz Yisroel was
a truly unforgettable experience. There was a tangible sense
of unity in the room, and for one fleeting moment, all of
Torah-true Judaism seemed to merge into an awesome,
unstoppable force.
Speakers from the ranks of Lev L'Achim included: HaRav
Menachem Cohen, Vaad Chairman; HaRav Tzvi Eliach, senior Vaad
Member; Rabbi Uri Zohar; and Rabbi Eliezer Sorotzkin,
Director General. In addition Rabbi Mordechai Neugroshell
delivered a fascinating lecture on how to find common topics
of discussion with nonobservant Israelis, and how to convey
to them the beauty of a Torah way of life.
The words of the gedolim had a palpable effect on the
audience. Dozens of onlookers who had not yet joined Lev
L'Achim filled out forms indicating their desire to do so,
and active volunteers emerged from the hall smiling from ear
to ear. A veteran Lev L'Achim volunteer, Dovid Levine from
Netivot, explained why he undertook the long journey to Bnei
Brak:
"People think we kiruv volunteers have an
inexhaustible store of resolve, and that we have a natural
talent for this work that somehow makes it easier for us.
Well, I have news for you," Dovid said. "I'm definitely not a
`natural' at this, and I have yet to meet anyone who thinks
kiruv work is easy. In fact it's very difficult, and
also we need to recharge our spiritual batteries. To be quite
frank, the thought often crosses my mind, `Why am I doing
this? Why do I close my gemora every week and leave
the beis medrash? To go out and schmooze with
non-religious people?' Once in a while I need to go back to
the source -- the Gedolim -- and regain my sense of
direction."
