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Kayitz Zman 5770
Over the course of Sefirat HaOmer, in this first portion of zman kayitz, the bet midrash continues to reverberate with the echoes of Torah learning and tefillah. While our road from Pesach to the Shavuot has been anchored in the familiar yet rigorous routine of talmud Torah, the calendar has given us a number of occasions to pause and reflect on monumental events and people in our proud history.
Before returning to the yeshiva to continue towards the goal of completing Massechet Ketuvot and in-depth study of the third perek, Elu Naarot, the Overseas students further expanded their horizons and toured Israel’s breathtaking and serene Golan region. Accompanied by a number of staff members, the talmidim took advantage of the chance to supplement the spiritual air of Israel with the physical air over the course of a three-day excursion.
Over the last month, the bachurim have become more intimately acquainted with the twists and turns of the sefirah calendar. On Yom Hazikaron, the national day of honoring Israel’s thousands of fallen soldiers and terror victims, many students participated in programs and cemetery memorials that reminded them of the heavy price we have paid for the right to live and learn in the Promised Land. In the transition to Yom Haatzmaut, Rosh Hayeshiva Rav Greenberg, shlit”a, spoke of the ideal and the dream of a Jewish society, in which the Chosen People model ethical and holy government and governance in our land. The founding of the modern State of Israel affords us a chance to serve as a proper example for all of mankind, a goal for which we continue to strive. The Rosh Yeshiva’s talk was preceded, on the previous motze Shabbat, by a talk in English from Rav Yehoshua Magnes, a Ram at Mercaz Harav in Yerushalayim, in which the foreign students were oriented to the religious significance of Yom Haatzmaut.
After a spirited holiday tefillah in the bet midrash, the yeshiva hosted historian and author Rav Shmuel Katz, who lectured on the heroic efforts of Rav Yitzchak Isaac Halevi Herzog, zt”l, to help European Jews during the Holocaust, as well as the history of Yom Haatzmaut observance. During the day, the yeshiva took students to Kever Rachel and into Gush Etzion. Yom Haatzmaut concluded with a seudat hodaah barbecue, spearheaded by sgan mashgiach Rav David Zahtz and with tremendous words of chizuk given by Rav Yonatan Kohn.
Just a few nights ago, we observed Lag BaOmer, which marks the end of the plague that struck Rabbi Akiva’s students and the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Celebrations on motze Shabbat brought talmidim back from the out-Shabbat for a traditional bonfire on yeshiva grounds, with song and reflections led by sgan mashgiach Rav Zev Bannett. Incidentally, Rav Bannett had celebrated the birth of his daughter Avigayil just a few days earlier. Mazal tov!
Finally, before Shavuot, we are still looking forward to Yom Yerushalayim in the coming week. Celebrating 43 years since the liberation of Yerushalayim, including the Kotel, and significant portions of the rest of the Land of Israel, the yeshiva will again conduct special holiday tefillot and a special, yeshiva-wide seudah. Talmidim are also looking forward to a program of unique shiurim, many of which will be in English, which will bring together students from a number of yeshivot under one roof at Mercaz Harav. It goes without saying that we are also looking forward to a special tefillah at the Kotel.
We pray that these special days propel us forward to expanded celebrations and the wide establishment of a Torah-observant Jewish commonwealth in the Land of Israel, with the Bet Hamikdash built in its midst, for the benefit of all the peoples of the earth, speedily in our days.
Over the course of Sefirat HaOmer, in this first portion of zman kayitz, the bet midrash continues to reverberate with the echoes of Torah learning and tefillah. While our road from Pesach to the Shavuot has been anchored in the familiar yet rigorous routine of talmud Torah, the calendar has given us a number of occasions to pause and reflect on monumental events and people in our proud history.
Before returning to the yeshiva to continue towards the goal of completing Massechet Ketuvot and in-depth study of the third perek, Elu Naarot, the Overseas students further expanded their horizons and toured Israel’s breathtaking and serene Golan region. Accompanied by a number of staff members, the talmidim took advantage of the chance to supplement the spiritual air of Israel with the physical air over the course of a three-day excursion.
Over the last month, the bachurim have become more intimately acquainted with the twists and turns of the sefirah calendar. On Yom Hazikaron, the national day of honoring Israel’s thousands of fallen soldiers and terror victims, many students participated in programs and cemetery memorials that reminded them of the heavy price we have paid for the right to live and learn in the Promised Land. In the transition to Yom Haatzmaut, Rosh Hayeshiva Rav Greenberg, shlit”a, spoke of the ideal and the dream of a Jewish society, in which the Chosen People model ethical and holy government and governance in our land. The founding of the modern State of Israel affords us a chance to serve as a proper example for all of mankind, a goal for which we continue to strive. The Rosh Yeshiva’s talk was preceded, on the previous motze Shabbat, by a talk in English from Rav Yehoshua Magnes, a Ram at Mercaz Harav in Yerushalayim, in which the foreign students were oriented to the religious significance of Yom Haatzmaut.
After a spirited holiday tefillah in the bet midrash, the yeshiva hosted historian and author Rav Shmuel Katz, who lectured on the heroic efforts of Rav Yitzchak Isaac Halevi Herzog, zt”l, to help European Jews during the Holocaust, as well as the history of Yom Haatzmaut observance. During the day, the yeshiva took students to Kever Rachel and into Gush Etzion. Yom Haatzmaut concluded with a seudat hodaah barbecue, spearheaded by sgan mashgiach Rav David Zahtz and with tremendous words of chizuk given by Rav Yonatan Kohn.
Just a few nights ago, we observed Lag BaOmer, which marks the end of the plague that struck Rabbi Akiva’s students and the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Celebrations on motze Shabbat brought talmidim back from the out-Shabbat for a traditional bonfire on yeshiva grounds, with song and reflections led by sgan mashgiach Rav Zev Bannett. Incidentally, Rav Bannett had celebrated the birth of his daughter Avigayil just a few days earlier. Mazal tov!
Finally, before Shavuot, we are still looking forward to Yom Yerushalayim in the coming week. Celebrating 43 years since the liberation of Yerushalayim, including the Kotel, and significant portions of the rest of the Land of Israel, the yeshiva will again conduct special holiday tefillot and a special, yeshiva-wide seudah. Talmidim are also looking forward to a program of unique shiurim, many of which will be in English, which will bring together students from a number of yeshivot under one roof at Mercaz Harav. It goes without saying that we are also looking forward to a special tefillah at the Kotel.
We pray that these special days propel us forward to expanded celebrations and the wide establishment of a Torah-observant Jewish commonwealth in the Land of Israel, with the Bet Hamikdash built in its midst, for the benefit of all the peoples of the earth, speedily in our days.