Tour de Force

Photos: Yossi Goldberger

When crisis hit Eretz Yisrael’s yeshivos, five of our nation’s greatest leaders took to the skies, crossing the globe to ensure the sweet song of Torah would still echo throughout batei medrash across the country. And on the other side of the world, they were greeted with passion and fervor by a public as eager to hear words of chizuk as they were to support their cause.

“Fill the void. If we don’t get this, there won’t be Torah in Eretz Yisrael or in Am Yisrael. It will be terrible for all of the sectors of Yiddishkeit. I hear the donors and thank them for their large donations, they’re filling the void, replacing what the government took from us. The same way you love lomdei Torah, the government hates lomdei Torah. Hashem should help all of those who gave, acheinu beis Yisrael, helped us save Toras Am Yisrael.”
—Rav Dov Landau

“The Chofetz Chaim says that there are times when gaivah will destroy a good thing a person wanted to do. But sometimes it’s the opposite. A person has a feeling he wants to do something big, and suddenly the yetzer hara will come and remind him of machshavos from his past. Who am I? What am I? I’m not a big person at all. I did this and that. I’m not a big tzaddik. It will cause an inferiority complex and make him think, Who am I to do this great thing? This is what happened to the Meraglim. Suddenly, they felt, Moshe Rabbeinu could do it, but we can’t do it, we’re not on the madreigah to do that type of thing. The Chofetz Chaim explains that this is one of the ways the yetzer hara gives a person an inferiority complex, and an inability to act. This relates to us today: After the initial hargashah of I want to help, I’m ready to do something big, you might start thinking, Listen, I’m not so rich. I don’t have that much money. There are billionaires around, I’m not one of them, I’m not even a millionaire. I can’t give so much. The limud is that everybody, according to his madreigah, should have the hargashah, I’m going to go above and beyond what I generally give, above and beyond, and not be afraid.”

 —Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch

“HaKadosh Baruch Hu is asking us, ‘Bni, my son, tenah libcha Li, give your heart to Me.’ The time will come when we will need to give our heart to the Ribbono shel Olam. To sacrifice money for kavod Shamayim — that is considered giving a part of life. Reb Yid, where is your heart? Where is the b’chol me’odecha? To sacrifice desires is a madreigah. The way of a person is to give his life for his sustenance, his parnassah, his money. There are two ways of mesirus nefesh. Mesiras hachayim, giving up his life, because ‘b’nafsho yavi lachmo,’ and after ‘b’chol nafshecha’ it says, ‘b’chol me’odecha.’ Klal Yisrael has endured difficult times of mesirus nefesh in the sense of giving up life. Now the time has come for ‘b’chol me’odecha.’ And that is even a higher level!

“There are very talented people here, businessmen who understand. They know: What is the way to be a true gvir? The way is to make sure the money goes toward kavod Shamayim, to the holy Torah. ‘Ani Hashem ne’eman l’shalem sechar.’ HaKadosh Baruch Hu does not remain a debtor. Anyone who will make an effort towards this — will be whole and healthy, as will all those with him.”