BS"D, Menachem Av 5766
We currently face a collective time of difficulty in which
sonei Yisroel seek to put us in dire straits. Many
residents of Eretz Hakodesh are in constant danger and
clearly this is a time to cry out and sound the alarm that
this evil is our doing. Each of us must strengthen himself
and rectify his ways so that Our Father in Heaven will remove
this suffering from upon us. The heart knows the bitterness
of the soul.
Chazal Hakedoshim said that Torah protects and saves,
i.e. Torah study has the power to protect and save one from
all evil. We must strengthen ourselves in Torah study. Torah
has this power when studied according to the conditions of
Torah study we find in the words of Chazal: Learning with
yir'oh and in kedushoh and taharoh, not
getting drawn in by the pleasures and vanities of This World
with all the concomitant nisyonos, which demands great
chizuk. Clearly there are various dargos, but
any chizuk in this area is pleasing to Hashem [and]
gives one the merit to be protected from the evil.
. . . At a time like the present it would have been desirable
to continue the learning arrangements as usual without any
break whatsoever, and even to add more to increase merit for
Klal Yisroel, and indeed we greatly admire those
yeshivas that decided to continue the zman as usual
— happy is their lot.
All of us must take full advantage of these days for their
intended purpose — rest and preparation in order to
strengthen Torah learning. Be careful not to roam around in
the streets and in places unsuitable for bnei Torah.
At all times one who guards his soul will steer clear of such
places, but this applies all the more so during these times,
which require special chizuk because of the evil
visited upon us.
All of us must help carry the burden of all those in danger
and feel their sorrow and chas vesholom not set off on
trips and various leisure activities. The roshei yeshivos
shlita must warn their students of the seriousness of
this matter and parents must pay heed to this to ensure
nobody breaches this, removing himself from the klal
and causing chilul Hashem.
In a time like the present, yeshiva students are called upon
to join the study programs at the bein hazmanim
yeshivas near their home with fixed daily sedorim.
These yeshivas should be strengthened everywhere, to set them
up and maintain them at least like those held in Nisan and
Tishrei. We ask all generous contributors to understand and
recognize the urgency of maintaining these yeshivas during
this state of emergency and time of sorrow.
It is also incumbent upon us to strengthen our
tefilloh. First, each individual should have a fixed
place for tefilloh, keeping Krias Shema and
tefilloh times properly. One's tefilloh should
be an act of beseeching Hashem, asking the Borei Yisborach
for rachamim to remove the tzoroh from us
and from all of Beis Yisroel.
Yosef Sholom Eliashiv
A.L. Shteinman
Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz
