Elul 5784: Journey to Self 

In honor of Rosh Chodesh Elul… an exploration of the yeshivah — past and present, form and function, haven and home

Step into a yeshivah, and you enter a world of its own.

Some compare it to a teivah – that single safe refuge hermetically sealed from a world flooded with debasement and immorality.

But the yeshivah is also akin to a workshop providing each student with the right environment, tools, and mentors to produce an enduring work of infinite value: the masterpiece that is his very identity.

In honor of Rosh Chodesh Elul and the return of our yeshivah bochurim to these portals of spiritual potential, an exploration of the yeshivah – past and present, form and function, haven and home.

Power & Potential — The Yeshivah

With an intricate structure, wide range of sources, and rich trove of anecdotes, Rav Aaron Lopiansky’s newest sefer provides a guide for yeshivah bochurim embarking on their pivotal journey of self-discovery. And along with the big-picture map he paints, there’s a missive as well: for today’s yeshivah bochur to realize his potential, he must take an active role in the journey. Because while the yeshivah provides him with tools, mentors, and support, ultimately the ben yeshivah must exercise his own initiative to chart the path to his destiny

“Going to yeshivah today is as expected as going to Brooklyn College was in my day.”

So says Rav Aaron Lopiansky, rosh yeshivah of Yeshiva Gedolah of Greater Washington.

Had Rav Lopiansky followed the standard path of his era, much would look different today. It would likely be someone else serving at the helm of Yeshiva of Greater Washington, various Torah websites would have thousands fewer shiurim, and seforim stores would be stocked with significantly fewer seforim.