Part I
I
The posuk tells us in Haazinu, "Binu shenos dor
vo'dor" -- strive to understand the years, i.e., the
nature, of each and every generation. Each generation is a
subject unto itself and requires careful study in order to
comprehend it. When one does understand the generation, one
comes to grasp also what its task is and what its goal is.
Through this it becomes possible to assess and to clarify the
particular mode of conduct that the generation demands.
If it required a great deal of wisdom to understand previous
generations, all the more so our own, the post-Holocaust
generation which has experienced so many transformations and
upheavals. In previous times, such great change [as we
witness] did not occur even over hundreds of years. But
nowadays the multitude of unanticipated events, the increased
pace of change, can bewilder even an intelligent observer.
The phenomenon we see today of so many avreichim in
kollelim who seek to devote their lives to learning
Torah is also one of the wonders of our generation and is
very difficult to explain in any simple manner. How is it
that so suddenly, Boruch Hashem, such a revolutionary
change (which is still gathering momentum) has taken place,
especially in the last ten to fifteen years? Most
avreichim now remain in the tents of Torah and this is
their entire goal in life.
Anyone born in our times may not realize just how wondrous
this is. But one who did see the previous generations, stands
amazed and astonished at the wondrous vision that is
unfolding before our eyes, as if it came about by itself.
It is difficult to describe the situation in Eretz Yisroel as
it was when we came here in 5695 (1935). What a dark
generation it was for Torah then! The benches of the yeshivos
had emptied out, the few who learned Torah were largely the
elderly remnants of the bygone generation. Those avreichim
who did dedicate their lives to learning were very few
indeed.
And the general atmosphere -- what derision there was for
anyone who wished to devote himself exclusively to Torah!
What conditions he had to accept in order to carry this out!
He had to live literally on bread and water and little else.
Torah could not be sustained except by one who would
literally sacrifice his life for it.
At that time, the frightening question gnawed at our hearts --
will Torah, chas vesholom, be forgotten from
Israel?
But lo and behold, Hakodosh Boruch Hu helped and there
was a change -- not a change, but a revolution! The tribe of
Levi came back to life, that special group that carries the
burden of Torah, and without whom the entire Jewish nation
could not exist. Many thousands of avreichim are
dedicating themselves and their best energies to learning; it
is their only calling, and among them are true gedolei
Torah. The standard of living, Boruch Hashem, has
also improved. Bnei Torah, relatively speaking, live
honorably, similar to the way that their contemporaries live,
even though their budgets are somewhat more limited.
There is no doubt that this is one of the special
illuminations that Hakodosh Boruch Hu has bestowed on
the orphaned generation of the Holocaust. It is impossible to
explain it in any natural manner; we see in this phenomenon
the hand of Hashem. We see that Hakodosh Boruch Hu
wishes to grant this generation a bounty of Torah, which is
the surest means of growing in the service of Hashem in our
times.
II
Nevertheless, it is clear that this new world of avreichim
and kollelim still lacks much before it can be
said to have reached its full potential.
The reason for this is that the world of the kollelim
as we know it today came into being very differently from
the way the yeshivos came into being. The yeshivos were
founded by the greatest chachomim of the past
generations (as is known to those familiar with history). The
gedolim themselves established them and determined
their paths, each one in accordance with his own method. The
yeshivos today are merely a continuation, following on the
foundations laid by the great men, the receivers of the
tradition of previous generations.
On the other hand, many of the kollelim were not
founded davka by gedolim but it is almost as if
they sprouted up by themselves.
To what can this be compared? To a building that is
constructed without a blueprint; one keeps building on rooms
and more rooms, but without any particular order or plan.
Such is the world of the kollelim (those whose main
limud is study in depth, -- not including those that
concentrate on halochoh, or on finishing the entire
Shas). "Iyun" (in-depth) kollelim are as if
built without an architect: An avreich, himself a
talmid chochom, gathers around himself a number of
other avreichim and opens up a kollel.
But when there is no architect there is no plan. When there
is no plan, this one learns one subject and this one learns
another, and there is no unified goal or objective. The
kollelim carry on without any clear policy. What is it
that is expected of an avreich? How much is he to
develop himself? What is he expected to work towards? And
what are the subjects that he should master during the time
he is in kollel? This is the general picture today.
Of course, the true bnei Torah who have already
merited to taste from the sweetness and delight of the Holy
Torah, do not suffer from these deficiencies. As the Or
Hachaim Hakodosh says in parshas Ki Sovo, were people
to taste the delightful sweetness of Torah, they would become
so inspired that they would enthusiastically pursue it with
all their strength. Anyone who has already merited to taste
from this, knows that all parts of the Torah are of equal
significance, and it makes no difference to him whether he
learns one subject or the other, so long as he is occupied
with Torah. Every single day, new horizons open up to him; he
himself is mechadesh chidushim and is in a state of
constant aliyah, spiritual growth. To the true ben
Torah, the learning of Torah itself is his greatest
motivational force, and he needs no other incentives.
But what of someone who has not yet reached this level? One
of the new features of our generation is that even those of
ordinary ability desire with all their hearts to remain in
learning, and it is they who suffer from the aforesaid
problems.
For the acquisition of Torah demands complete commitment;
divrei Torah cannot be sustained except in someone who
is willing to dedicate himself fully to them. Lacking this,
there will be something missing in his acquisition of
Torah.
Part of this complete commitment, is to be among those who
rise early and continue learning until late, to be totally
engrossed in Torah. It is obvious that a person must have
strong motivation and will to remain in the beis hamedrash
morning and night, to make the most of the time
available. This is facilitated when, for instance, he has
taken on a commitment to learn so-and-so much material, or to
clarify particular subjects -- but not when he learns without
any definite plan or goal.
Certainly someone who is immersed in Torah with his entire
being does not cease to contemplate the subject or sugyo
which he is the midst of learning. But one who lacks this
motivation -- what will give him the ability to rise early,
or to make a greater effort? All the more so, will he not
find the motivation to dedicate himself totally to Torah.
III
Considering these circumstances, it is necessary to devise
strategies and to formulate a plan by which every avreich,
in every zman, should aim to acquire knowledge of
a new Torah subject. This will give him the impulse to
analyze and clarify the subject thoroughly and to be
mechadesh chidushim. Undertaking such a commitment
forces a person to be immersed in Torah day and night, until
he "steals sleep from his eyes." As the Rambam writes, the
path to acquiring Torah is only through total dedication to
it, to the point of constantly denying oneself comforts and
denying sleep to his eyes.
The single most important strategy that we see, is to
encourage those who study together in the kollel to
produce chidushei Torah in the course of their
learning. It is well known that once one undertakes a fixed
obligation to say chidushim in the kollel, Hakodosh
Boruch Hu helps, and in the end there is what to say. But
when there is no such obligation, there is truly nothing to
say.
As Maran HaRav Isser Zalman Meltzer zt"l expressed it
in his time, the same Hakodosh Boruch Hu who sends
parnossoh to all the tailors and the shoemakers, also
sends shiurim to all the Roshei Yeshivos so that they
should have what to say, because this is their parnossoh.
But an avreich who does not have this pressure on
him, can go through an entire zman without being
mechadesh anything.
It should be known that the saying of chidushei Torah
is a powerful tool for enabling an avreich to
develop and raise the level of his learning. And so long as a
person is not himself mechadesh chidushei Torah, he
will not understand, and will not be capable of
understanding, the chidushim of others.
End of Part I
Harav Sholom Noach Berezovsky zt"l, was the Slonimer Rebbe
and author of Nesivos Sholom. The material was
arranged for publication by Rabbi B. Yisraeli.
