HaRav Shmuel Auerbach was among a number of roshei yeshivos and rabbonim who came together at the home of Maran HaRav Eliashiv shlita for the founding ceremony of Mercaz Chinuch. HaRav Eliashiv offered his blessings for the success of the enterprise and answered various questions on chinuch.
Based on the advice and guidance of gedolei Yisroel, HaRav Y. Lorincz, a ram at Yeshivas Kol Torah and chairman of Binas Haleiv, undertook the task of forming the new organization, which will provide professional solutions for educational, behavioral, emotional and social problems of youths.
In recent months the organizers have been consulting with maranan verabbonon shlita, particularly HaRav Eliashiv, who discussed matters of chinuch guidance with them in depth, noting the genuine need for the center when parents are in need of experienced educators to deal with questions that fall outside the routine of day-to-day childrearing. He stressed the need to deal with every question on an individual basis and to take the family's circumstances into account.
At another meeting held in the home of HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman shlita, the Rosh Yeshiva said the number of questions is increasing as the size of the Torah community in Eretz Yisroel grows. "Our generation has had the merit of increasing the number of benches in the botei medrash, yet there are also many nisyonos, making it necessary to fully address educational issues. In some cases the entire family enters complex and confusing situations by looking for who to blame rather than focusing on the proper course of action, thereby losing the ability to run the household with tranquility."
The Rosh Yeshiva also noted that experience shows oftentimes people who know how to give good advice are confounded when a problem arises in their own home, and their emotional involvement can lead them to pursue the wrong course of action.
The main Mercaz Chinuch branch is slated to open soon in Jerusalem. The center was planned to enable it to handle all inquiries with full discretion. Appointments will be made and various points of entry will be used. Counselling will be provided by rabbonim and educators trained at the Chochmas Nefesh Institute, which is run by Binas Haleiv. A system of professional oversight will accompany every case, based on the understanding that each case must be viewed as a crucial spiritual matter for generations to come.
