A very special, heartwarming Chanukah mesibah took
place in the Ezras Torah shul in Sanhedria Murchevet,
Yerushalayim. Over two hundred bnei Torah came from
all over the country and sat together with men who are just
beginning to learn about Judaism -- ke'ish echod beleiv
echod.
"My blessing is bestowed upon the avreichim who
undertook to increase the light of Torah in alleys that are
still dark," HaRav Eliashiv wrote in his words of
brochoh for the gathering. Many of those who were
"drawn" from the dark alleys to the light attended the
Chanukah mesibah. The mesibah proclaimed, by
its very existence, that a jug of pure olive oil still
remains, and it lights up the hearts of thousands who came
from that "Hellenist" country Russia.
For many years, since he came to Eretz Yisroel, HaRav
Yitzchok Zilber is a central address for the tremendous
ruchniyus activities for Russian Jews in Israel. His
house in Sanhedria Murchevet in Yerushalayim bustles with
activity day and night -- brisim, chasunos,
shiurim, heart-to-heart conversations, far reaching
efforts to free agunos, and much more. His ma'asim
tovim could fill volumes.
Today, there are thousands of families from Russia who are
shomrei Torah umitzvos. At the forefront of all these
kiruv activities stands HaRav Yitzchok Zilber.
@SUB TITLE=Founding Toldos Yeshurun
About a year and a half ago, Toldos Yeshurun was founded. A
number of avreichim who are close to Rav Zilber
founded the organization when Rav Zilber was seriously ill.
They took upon themselves to open a mokom Torah for
those who don't even know the basics of Judaism and to be
mekarev them through the Torah itself. Rav Zilber then
had a miraculous recovery.
The organization has grown to include a wide range of
activities. The core of its many activities is a group of
about 250 young avreichim who learned in yeshivos in
Eretz Yisroel and abroad, true bnei Torah who are full
of energy and good ideas how about to widen the circle of
bnei Torah among those from the former Soviet Union.
This group of avreichim is very concerned about the
"Russian street," and it is natural that they should be the
driving force of the kiruv, as well as rabbonim and
communal leaders in Eretz Yisroel and abroad.
A kehilla was established in Beitar Illit, led by Rav
Nochum Hoffman, which now has a night kollel. Rav
Nochum Farber founded a special program called "Sons and
Fathers" in which avreichim invite their parents to
learn Torah and halocho with them bechavrusa.
Kiryat Sefer also has a kehilloh and a night
kollel under the leadership of Rav Eliyohu Litvak; Rav
Yehuda Leib Avreich shoulders the main burden of Toldos
Yeshurun.
Beit Shemesh has a night kollel and shiurim for
beginners and women, under the auspices of Rav Yosef Shupak
and Rav Chaim Levin. Neve Yaakov has one under the auspices
of Rav Yisroel Man. Rebbetzin Cooperman founded and runs a
network of shiurim for women in and around
Yerushalayim.
Toldos Yeshurun recently organized a network of
shiurim for beginners in various cities where many
Russian immigrants live, under Rav Asher Kushner. There are
many more such avreichim who devote their whole hearts
and means to establishing additional kehillos, such as
Rav Don Bordan who began to establish a night kollel
in the North, Rav Tzvi Cheifetz in Beer Sheva, Rav Shmuel
Koran in Tel Zion, and more. Rav Avraham Cohen is the
supervisor of all the branches.
The heads of Toldos Yeshurun repeatedly stress that their
goal is not to be an umbrella organization for all the
branches, but just the opposite. They want to establish more
places of learning -- but each one should be independent and
geared to the individual needs of the place. The goal is to
increase Torah learning.
There are many bochurim who are on the streets,
without any educational framework. As long as they are not
learning in yeshiva on a regular basis or are not married,
even if they are already frum, they are in danger of
being blown like a leaf in stormy winds. Difficult
nisyonos abound, and any set framework for them, even
if it's only at night, is very beneficial.
Rav Zilber's kiruv method is to sit down with anyone
interested in Judaism and actually learn Torah with him, if
possible in Russian. The talmidei chachomim who become
the "chavrusas" of the beginners invite them to their
homes for Shabbos and become their mentors for the whole
journey back. Usually, the light of Torah brings them back to
its fold.
There is a tremendous thirst out there. Women are also asking
for shiurim. It often happens that baalei
teshuva get married when they are at the beginning of
their journey and they subsequently need guidance on all
aspects of Torah life.
Many Russian baalei teshuva are not young boys. They
are in their thirties, in the middle of life, with a family
and home and sometimes their own children. It takes
mesiras nefesh to learn, to acquire basic, fundamental
knowledge and compensate for years of ignorance. After a full
day of tiring work, the chavrusas come out and spend
another hour learning Torah.
In Sanhedria Murchevet, where the Chanukah party took place,
is Rav Yitzchok Zilber's home. He gives shiurim and
shmuessen there and devotes his precious time to
counselling and guiding baalei teshuva and
avreichim. The secret of the organization's success is
in a large part him. A kollel is now learning in the
shul under the auspices of his son Rav Ben Tzion
Zilber. In the past year, twenty men from that kollel
went on to learn in yeshivos and kollelim full
time!
Thanks to one of the avreichim, Rav Michoel Guchberg,
five of them went to learn in Yeshivas HaRan, one of the
largest Torah institutions in Yerushalayim, where he now
gives them a regular shiur.
The Chanukah Party
To return to the impressive Chanukah party: Rav Zilber opened
his speech with a comparison between what is being done today
versus thirty years ago. Then, there were almost no programs
for Russian immigrants, whereas today there are many Russian
bnei Torah. We must thank and praise HaKodosh
Boruch Hu for this. He elaborated on the miracle of
Chanukah and spoke (in Russian) about his personal "nes
Chanukah," when the cursed Communists tried to argue him
out of his belief in Hashem and keeping Torah and mitzvos.
A Personal Chanukah Miracle
On the first night of Chanukah in 5720 (1960), which was on
erev Shabbos, reporters came to Reb Yitzchok's house
to prepare an article about the family whose father is a math
teacher and mother is a physics teacher. How could it be that
these parents believe in the Creator of the world, and even
more, actually keep mitzvos?
The journalists not only came to the house, but even
published a huge article under the title, "Who Are They?" The
article described how "the mathematics teacher Yitzchok
Zilber is a believer and brings up his son and daughter the
same way."
Among other things, the article said that because the family
needs "holy clothing material" the daughter is very neglected
and has nothing to wear. (They were referring to
shatnez.) The article was instigated by the government
and the administration of the schools in which Rav Zilber and
his wife a'h taught.
They were summoned to a special meeting -- each one in his
respective school -- to undergo interrogation, which meant an
attempt to put them on the "right path." Rav Zilber related
that the meeting took place two weeks later, on 9 Teves. He
barely had time to daven and eat a quick Shabbos
seuda before he hurried to school, where over thirty
people were waiting for him.
Over and over, he was asked if he believes in Hashem, and his
answer was sharp and clear: Yes. They tried to convince him
that it is not fitting that a man of his stature, with whom
his colleagues want a pleasant relationship, should be a
believing man. Afterwards a woman got up and said, "Youth is
the most important time of a person's development, but
Yitzchok Zilber's children don't have a childhood. They have
to say something before and after they eat; they don't have
friends. As a mother I think that for the children's sake, we
must take them out of the house. In the end, even Zilber and
his wife will thank us for it."
At the end of the interrogation, which lasted about eight
hours, they took a vote and unanimously decided to fire him
and take his children out of his home. A similar
interrogation took place in the school in which Mrs. Zilber
taught and she was also fired.
Somehow, she managed to nullify the decree about the
children, but Rav Zilber and his wife remained unemployed.
Being unemployed in Russia meant very difficult times ahead.
If this was not enough, Reb Yitzchok and his wife were
summoned by the KGB to their office.
Reb Yitzchok could not decide if he should go or not.
"Everyone knew when they went into the KGB, but no one knew
if he would come out," Rav Zilber related. At one point, he
consulted a lawyer who told him that according to the law, he
was not required to answer the summons if he was not in the
city. Reb Yitzchok borrowed some money and fled to Moscow
until the storm blew over.
Brochos and Speeches
Rav Efrati then read the letter of brocho from HaRav
Eliashiv and spoke. HaRav Shmuel Auerbach gave the main
speech.
Rabbi Pesach Krohn, who arrived in Eretz Yisroel only an hour
before the mesibah, spoke as well. He said, "The
nes Chanukah was that Hashem left one jar of pure
olive oil, and from that one jar came a lot of light. In our
generation Hashem left a jar of pure oil in Russia, Rav
Yitzchok Zilber, president of Toldos Yeshurun, which is also
a nes Chanukah, because from this pure pach
came so much light for Russian Jewry."
Rabbi Krohn's son, Reb Avrohom, an avreich in Yeshivas
Mir, is one of the only ones involved in Toldos Yeshurun who
does not speak Russian, and he devotes time and energy to be
mekarev Russian immigrants.
HaRav Polichuk of Yeshivas HaRan and HaRav Misbin, head of
the Russian bnei Torah community in Ofakim, also
participated in the gathering.
The Chanukah mesibah was an expression of hallel
vehodo'oh to Hashem for the tremendous success of Toldos
Yeshurun as well as a chizuk for the future, with the
hope that the light of Torah will spread and shine in more
and more Jewish homes.
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HaRav Shmuel Auerbach: "These Precious Avreichim are the
Answer to the Hellenists of our Generation."
HaRav Shmuel Auerbach gave the keynote address at the event.
He elaborated on the depth of the miracles of Chanukah and
the essence of the Greek war of secular wisdom against the
Torah. In his speech he said:
When they came to invite me to this mesibah, I felt a
great happiness, true simchas Chanukah, that we are
zoche to see these avreichim with such a
heoras ponim. Their whole business is Torah; they are
expert talmidei chachomim who are rooted in Torah,
full of luster and producing light. They told me that if I
come, it would be a chizuk, so I felt an obligation to
come. This gathering is definitely in an appropriate time and
is a special time of happiness.
What a tremendous zchus it is that we are gathered
here specifically on Chanukah. The Greeks wanted to distance
us from Torah; choshech al penei tehom refers to the
Grecian Empire, who darkened the eyes of bnei Yisroel.
Here in front of us are precious avreichim who are
doing the exact opposite of what the Greeks intended. And it
is all on the koach of Rav Yitzchok. Although he says
he doesn't do anything, it's those who say they do something
who really don't do anything and those who say they don't do
anything are the ones who are really doing. HaKadosh
Boruch Hu should grant him strength to continue.
These precious avreichim are lighting up the eyes of
Yisroel. A little bit of light banishes the darkness; even a
little Torah learning banishes the darkness. This is
especially so when there is a special framework in which they
guard their purity, the pure Torah in the manner we received
it, and the jar of oil in its purity; where they sit in the
beis medrash all day and only the Torah is what guides
them.
The essence of Chanukah lies in the great nisoyon of
the Greeks, who tried to attract everyone to the wisdom of
humanism and science and to nullify the wisdom of Klal
Yisroel, the Torah. Because the Greeks were jealous of
the divine wisdom and the Torah bothered them, they tried to
darken the world. This is really the great nisoyon of
the "yafyefuso" of Yovon, because wisdom is
very enticing as a person is drawn to any wisdom.
We already saw that specifically when they fight with the
wisdom of Yovon, secular wisdom, then Klal Yisroel is
zoche to exalted matters and achievement in Torah.
Behold the evil power of secular wisdom and the Hellenists
remain in full force in all generations. We vividly saw it in
the period of the Haskalah, when many were drawn after new
revelations in the secular world and there were tremendous
temptations, masqueraded as livelihood and wisdom, and
attempts to `come close' in ways other than the Torah. It was
davka in those times, when nisyonos were so
difficult and the yereim ledvar Hashem distanced
themselves from it with all their might. They knew well that
the Enlightenment is dangerous and one must stay away from it
with all his strength. It was then that Klal Yisroel
received the chiddushim of Rabbi Akiva Eiger and the
Ketzos.
The same thing continues until today -- Hellenists try to
entice in all kinds of ways and to darken the eyes of
Yisroel; they are jealous of Torah scholars and try to
diminish Torah learning and its influence in all possible
ways. This is a continuation of those Yevonim and we
must strengthen ourselves against them.
Boruch Hashem we were zoche to see these
precious avreichim who are the answer to the modern
day Yevonim. The avreichim guard their
taharoh and give others a taste of the sweetness of
Torah as well, through which they push away the darkness. How
we hope to not hear more pain and tzoros in spiritual
and physical matters, because today one needs much
rachamim. We must strengthen ourselves and know that
our only anchor is the Torah, Torah in taharoh, and
the more we strengthen ourselves in Torah, in this
zechus we will merit the geula bemiheiro
beyomeinu.
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