An extraordinary moment occurred last night at the Ponivez Yeshiva in Bnei Brak: Eliyahu Moshe, who for the past two years has joined the Ayelet Hashachar organization's 'Chevruta' project, completed the conversion process and arrived immediately after the baptism for an official introductory visit at the Ponivez Yeshiva.
The visit was joined by Rabbi Shlomo Raanan, chairman of Ayelet Hashachar, who accompanied him along with activists from the 'Hevruta' project.
As soon as he entered the yeshiva, hundreds of young men greeted him with singing and excitement, after hearing that he was a ger tzedek who had come straight from the mikveh. Inside the Beit Midrash, in front of the Ark of the Covenant, Eliyahu Moshe greeted "Shehayinu" with excitement.
He then wrapped himself in a tallit and blessed the first time he put on tefillin, his voice cracking. Immediately afterward, the boys broke out into spontaneous dancing in the Beit Midrash in an atmosphere of a kind of Simchat Torah celebration in the middle of the year.
The visit to Ponibez is considered a symbolic and significant event for Eliyahu Moshe.
After long months of study, familiarization with the world of Judaism, and personal contact with rabbis, it was important for him to take his first step as a Jew precisely in the place where yeshiva students are, who are dying in the tent of Torah. Moshe was kindly received by the yeshiva students and yeshiva rabbis, and entered the class room, where he met with the rabbi Chaim Peretz Berman, one of the yeshiva's leaders.
He received him kindly and, for the first time in his life, excitedly greeted the blessing "Do not make me a Gentile.".
He later met with the Gaon Rabbi David Levi, one of the yeshiva's leaders, who welcomed him and spoke about the opportunity that opens up to those who choose to walk the path of Torah with full willingness. He also met with the Gaon Rabbi Shlomo Meller, who gave him the blessing of the path.
During the visit, an unusual situation arose when hundreds of yeshiva students gathered around Eliyahu and asked him to bless them.
Eliyahu Moshe greeted them excitedly, with a smile and tears of joy.
Eliyahu Moshe studies regularly with Rabbi Moshe Chaim Brenner, as part of the 'Hevruta' project. The project creates a direct encounter between people from general society and the Haredi Torah world through study in pairs.
Rabbi Shlomo Raanan, chairman of the Ayelet Hashachar organization: "It is a great privilege to see a person who chose Torah not out of habit, but out of a full choice and pursuit of truth. Eliyahu studied for a long time to understand the essence of sacred study. He came to Ponivez as a Jew for the first time. Seeing the embrace he received from the young men and the rabbis is a living lesson in the power of Torah that passes itself down from generation to generation.".
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