In time for the Yomim Noraim, bnei yeshiva of
the Beis Medrash Elyon as well as local avreichim,
merited to listen to a his'orerus lecture by HaRav
Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz.
Beis Medrash Elyon was founded over fifty years ago in
Monsey. A year-and-a-half ago, it founded a branch in Bnei
Brak on Kushiner Street. Since then, it has become a focal
point for outstanding bnei aliya who pore over their
studies day and night, out of the sincere ambition to achieve
greatness in Torah and yirah.
The yeshiva was founded with the encouragement and blessing
of HaRav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz. In his great concern for
klal Yisroel and dedication to the goal of spreading
pure Torah -- especially to students of yeshivos
ketanos about to enter yeshivos gedolos -- HaRav
Lefkowitz saw the need for this new mokom Torah, which
adheres to the approach transmitted to us by our great
rabbonim from generation to generation.
At the dedication ceremony, HaRav Lefkowitz laid the
foundation and cornerstone. Since then he has been closely
linked to the yeshiva: guiding and overseeing its remarkable
development. The entire yeshiva functions according to his
directives, and he often visits and delivers words of
chizuk and his'orerus.
In his discourse to the yeshiva students, HaRav Lefkowitz
spoke about the great merit of davening during the
Yomim Noraim in a pleading manner, out of submission
and yiras Shomayim. As Chazal have said, "Every year
which is destitute in the beginning is affluent at the end."
By such davening, he said, one also fulfills the
words, "tamlichuni aleichem," which denote submission
and yiras Shomayim and equate us to a servant before
the King. He then continued to explain that the
acknowledgment of the Creator which results from toil and
immersion in Torah enables one to reach the level of
submission to Hashem. He then reminded his listeners of
Rabbenu Yonah's words that, "One who recognizes his Creator
knows how lowly and base is the person who transgresses His
words," and added that this recognition leads to yiras
Shomayim.
