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The 5785 Agudah Convention
This past weekend, December 5-8, Shabbos, Parshas VaYeitze, a large crowd gathered in Stamford, Connecticut, for the highly anticipated annual Agudah Convention. Held at the Armon Hotel and Conference Center, the weekend, whose theme was "Emunah: We Are Here Because We Believe," was an incredible opportunity for chizuk, inspiration, growth, and connection to some of the leading voices of our generation. The convention brought together gedolei Torah, rabbonim, and lay leaders, providing a platform for meaningful discussions and fostering a unique sense of achdus.
The zchus of spending Shabbos in the presence of the members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisroel of America, along with other esteemed gedolei Torah, was a truly inspiring and hisorerus-filled experience for those present. The chochmah and piety of the gedolim, and their unwavering commitment to Klal Yisroel, permeated every moment of the weekend, creating an atmosphere of profound ruchniyusdike elevation. To be in their company and to hear their divrei his'orerus was a unique privilege that left an indelible impact on all who attended.
The convention focused heavily on the situation in Eretz Yisroel, specifically addressing the aftermath of last year's devastating attack on Simchas Torah and its impact on acheinu bnei Eretz Yisroel. Feeling the pain of those who have been impacted by the attack and the subsequent war was a focal point of the convention keynote sessions. These discussions were framed within the broader and critical context of emunah and bitachon, as the gedolim and other speakers sought to guide Yidden in navigating these challenging times with steadfast faith and trust in Hashem.
Keynotes Set the Tone
The convention featured impactful keynote addresses that laid the foundation for the weekend.
We are living today in the midst of the exile of Islam which seeks to annihilate us, and suffering from it exceedingly. This period actually belongs to the Edomite exile, the last of the four stage exile, and we find ourselves in its final stages. The Maharal relates to the Exile of Edom, saying that it encompasses all of the previous three exiles, the first of which was the Greek exile.
The Greek exile was not a struggle over material issues but one of ideology, as opposed to that of Yishmoel, which relates to the body itself, as HaRav Chaim Vital writes in his commentary on Tehillim, chap.124.
The Greek goal was to abolish the holiness of Jewry and the barrier which separates Jews from the other nations. It was a battle of heresy against all that was holy, trying to transform it to profane. During part of this exile, they sought to make us "forget Your Torah." Their perception was that Torah is external, a branch of knowledge which has no internal value or sanctity. True to this philosophy, they waged war against Torah, to abolish its holiness and equalize it to all branches of knowledge.
In one fell moment, we forgot all of the incidents of the past which fully preoccupied us only a few days ago, and suddenly, all interest is focused upon the historic events in Syria. History is actually unfolding before our very eyes and we are at a loss to fathom it. The Middle East, which was familiar only a short time ago, is undergoing a qualitative change and we cannot even imagine what the future holds in store, which hopefully will not be a repeat of the past. At the very least, we attempt to understand the present, and that is a doubtful exercise at best.
Iran, the arch-enemy of Israel which declared its blunt, outspoken and ultimate goal to destroy the State of Israel, has invested for many long years billions of dollars in planning a death trap, a stranglehold upon the country it despises. It armed Hamas in Gaza, ordered huge, actually incredible amounts of weaponry for Hizbullah in Lebanon, deployed the revolution in Syria, and thus, persistently and steadily prepared all of these factors for the day that it would simultaneously activate them all against Israel and trap them in a clamp.
Among the great tzadikim and gedolim who illuminated the Torah world in the generation before the Second World War, a select few stand out as the major path finders of Klal Yisroel, and whose every thought and deed was given over to help Klal Yisroel as a whole. They made the important decisions and carried the heavy burden on their shoulders.
One of these select few was the Chortkover Rebbe, Rabbi Yisroel Friedman zt'l. His chassidim numbered in their tens of thousands, and included quite a few famous Rebbes and rabbonim. The poseik hador, Reb Meir Arik of Tarnov and also the Lubliner Rov, Reb Meir Shapiro zt'l were faithful chassidim of the Rebbe of Chortkov, as were the rebbes of Slonim, Amshinov and Radomsk. It was not an uncommon sight to see up to 200 rabbonim sitting at the Rebbe's tish.
Part I
Born on the tenth of Iyar 5614 (1854) to Reb Dovid Moshe zt'l, the first Rebbe of Chortkov (who was a son of Reb Yisroel, the Rebbe of Ruzhin), it was immediately apparent that he was destined for greatness.
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Opinion & Comment
"And behold, he is coming towards us" (Bereishis 32:7).
The days of Jew-hatred upon this world parallel the number of days of Jewish existence. Wherever there have been Jews - there, also, has antisemitism existed, at all times and in all places. It is an irrational, inexplicable animosity and antipathy.
At times it was due to the fact that we were "a nation came out of Egypt," that is, a tribe of despised slaves described by antisemites as lepers, a subhuman race. At other times, it was because "they covered the eye of the land," that is, we were seen as ubiquitous; we could be found in every prestigious position, every strategic office, in each economic niche and every scientific chair. We were often hated for being downtrodden and destitute, and at other times, for being the tribe of the wealthy who sought to throttle the world economy.
The Jew is persecuted in his exile for being scattered and dispersed among the nations, or for being clannishly cohesive. No matter what - he is ever the butt of hatred, even when he dwells separate in his own home, in Eretz Yisroel.
"It is an axiomatic halochoh that Eisov despises Yaakov." HaRav Menachem Ziemba zt'l Hy'd who was, himself, a victim of that brutal antisemitism, used to interpret the above homiletically:
What is the meaning of the word `halochoh' in the above context? Why is this specific term used where a general, figurative meaning is apparently implied?
And he would explain:
The above was said by the saintly R' Shimon bar Yochai who, it should be remembered, used to attempt to fathom the literal explanation of the Torah text. When he attempted to explain the rationale behind antisemitism, he could find no rhyme or reason for it that made any sense. The word halochoh refers to a Divine law of the Torah as transmitted through Moshe from Sinai, often an arbitrary practice which we must not question nor seek to understand. This is in distinction with those aspects of Torah which we are permitted - and even encouraged - to polemicize with, to argue, dispute and contend with, through human logic. But halochoh must be accepted as is. It is contained and final. Immutable and irrevocable.
Opinion & Comment
Some people live with the illusion that things in life can, by nature, run of themselves. Such feelings are actually educational sleeping pills, and those addicted to them are, choliloh, liable to wake up one day and find themselves headed for disaster. Through their indifference they have lost the chance to halt their children's degeneration.
Our children's education requires us to be constantly on guard. We must look objectively at the situation and attempt to fulfill the Mishnah: "Which is the proper way to which a person should cling? . . . R' Shimon says: `One who considers the outcome of a deed'" (Ovos 2:9). We must not maintain exaggerated trust in our children, which might cause us to relax in our educational mission. Similarly, we should not have an inflated trust in the quality of the environment in which they are growing up, or in the value of the education they are receiving in our educational institutes. If we do so, we are abandoning them, choliloh, to a foul stream of temptations that can wear away their worth.
Are we permitted to overlook life's snares by assuming our children are fine? Are we allowed to refuse to hold an impartial view of man's natural weakness of character, his lack of strength to resist the enormous might of the enticements today labeled as strictly kosher? Is this not as if we are surrendering? Withdrawing from the battle for our children's souls?
By looking for momentary ease - ignoring what is liable to happen - and not strengthening our educational walls in the face of the poisonous streams that may overflow into our own homes - it is as if we are deciding to raze these walls ourselves.
Dear parents! If you yourselves are not careful at home about what you demand from your children or what they are taught in the schools where you send them, you can definitely not expect them to be any different from yourselves. "A child says in the marketplace what he hears from his father or mother" (Succah 56b). We are all aware that from a child's example we can know what sort of house he is growing up in. The child's way of speaking echoes what he hears at home and his thought processes accurately portray his home's outlook on life.
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