he.
A guy in a reputable yeshiva, class C, average plus, not too prominent, "a good boy from Jerusalem", three sederim, friendships, seder moser, ticking, also in his heart. He hasn't slept for a week. Very disturbed. Doesn't understand anything in the sederim, and only thinks about that question, the one he heard from "the spirit man" on the radio a week ago. He doesn't dare ask. It's unpleasant. He's ashamed. Call someone? He'll swallow his tongue in an instant. He'll mumble something. He's not used to struggling like that. It's not him.
she.
A girl at the beginning of a seminar. Deeply upset with the teacher. Unable to imagine how she will live next year with a different teacher. Depression. Fatigue. Lack of desire. She tells her parents it's just a virus. She no longer tells her friends. Ask? Her? Do you think? Who?
he.
Already in the yeshiva at the "kibbutz". Not connected. Started an academic preparatory school at one of the institutions. The world that opened up to him is dizzying. Dazzling. Making it difficult. He thought he knew almost everything and now he knows nothing. He thought his community knew everything, and now what? The new is diminishing the old, he is filled with questions that only pile up every day. Feels disconnected. Disconnects. All around are friends who have no time or no desire to "dig". He no longer believes that the rabbis have anything to give him. Trust is broken. He is just looking for an ear that will understand, that will give him a clue. That will reconnect.
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she.
Met him at the office. He's not one of ours. Such a nice guy. But really nice. Feels like something's wrong here. She just mentions that she started working. People around her start talking about matchmaking. Her head is full of it. Is it possible that something will come of this? What does she feel? Doesn't even dare to ask herself. Friends? Teachers? Parents?! She's in matchmaking!
You can continue with simple and complex soul-searching, with deep and superficial questions of faith and thought, with exciting life stories and day-to-day situations, the common thread in all of which is the need for someone to listen, the desire for an answer that understands, knows, is close, yet completely distant. An answer that will not recognize, even by voice, the questioner.
These do not fall out, and some are not at risk of falling out.
Youth is exposed, debating, and encountering increasing complexity in the circles of life around them. From the younger age and the more protected framework of a small yeshiva/seminar to the open systems, to youth encountering difficult challenges in vocational training institutions and academic institutions.
The problems are great and the shame is great. Too many create their own questions, trying to cope with a feeling of intense loneliness, or with the feeling that there is no answer, that there can be no answer, that there is no one at all who will listen, really.
More than once, those who work in the field, those who know and are acquainted with, encounter those who have tried to ask and are met with a puzzled look, a look that made it clear to them that they have crossed the line beyond which it is permissible to ponder. A look that instilled in them that perhaps even those who were privileged to hear their question do not have an answer. A look that suffocated the bundles of questions that kept piling up and becoming, at times, a threatening pile.
So it is with the struggles of thought, and even more so with the struggles of the soul, with the most sensitive issues that the young man's soul is sometimes torn apart within. In his relationships with society, in his permitted thoughts and, less so, in his passions and desires, in his hesitations and torments. He is torn within himself and does not dare to ask.
And therefore there is a need for a new tool. A tool that will allow our sons and daughters to pour out their hearts and receive an answer. Not an authoritative answer from someone who knows everything. But an answer from someone who listens, from someone who until recently could have been in their place, understands their language, the generation in which they live, the needs and difficulties, and yet from a place that is built and stable, mentally and spiritually, he listens. And from listening he tries to answer, advise, and direct when necessary.
To create a sense of legitimacy for the question. A commitment to listening. And a sincere desire for an honest answer. All this under the cloak of complete anonymity, with dedication, and at the highest level possible.
To create a home for those who ask. A home for questions. And a home for true and honest answers.
The listening house.
