Rabbi Sternbuch: Every Torah scholar should be proud that he is learning morals

23 November 2023   

Thousands of Mir Yeshiva students, along with hundreds of participants in the Mir Yeshiva's annual 'Yirchi Kallah', celebrated the joy of 'the end of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Shas' in the yeshiva's 'central' Beit Midrash hall. The event was graced by the presence of the Grahm Sternbuch, who carried the central burden, the righteous Rabbi Shimon Galai, the Rosh Yeshiva and member of the Council of Torah Scholars the righteous Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, the yeshiva's supervisor the righteous Rabbi Binyamin Finkel, and the rabbis of the Mir Yeshiva and its institutions. The event opened with the reading of the Psalms verse by verse by the rabbi of the Mir Yeshiva, who read the Psalms in a weeping voice for the salvation of the Jewish settlement in the Holy Land and the return of the abductees. At the conclusion of the Psalms, the thousands stood to their feet as the Grahm Sternbuch entered the yeshiva's hall. In his words, he called for restoring the glory of the old days so that everyone would know Shas: "This status of the completion of the Shas is a 'warning' to everyone who is obligated to study the entire Shas. Unfortunately, there are those who think that it is enough to study three or four pages at a time, and when they recite a few verses in learning, they feel like 'scholars of Torah.' But this is a big mistake, because along with the study of the איין, there is an obligation to study proficiently." The גרמ'מ brought various קבלה that he heard and saw with his own eyes from his rabbis, the Gaon Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman, the Giri'z of Brisk, the Gaon of Tzevin, and the Gaon Rabbi Aharon Kotler, and added: "Blessed be G-d here in Yeshiva Mir, there are kollels for studying the entire Shas, and this is very important." In the center of his speech, he addressed the status of yeshiva students in Israel during the war, and urged that yeshiva students should come with "and lift up their hearts in the ways of God" and not feel "inferior in rank" for not serving in the army: "The great trouble is that there is a lack of 'pride and holiness.' Every Ben Torah student should be proud that he is a Ben Torah student and that he is chosen, that God, the Blessed One, benefits from what he gives his soul [to the Torah] and adds strength and valor to the Creator of the universe, and to know that thanks to the Torah of the people of Israel who study in holiness below, God, the Blessed One, pours out an abundance of mercy upon us." He concluded his speech with a surprising statement about the current period: "We are already standing right next to the Messiah, 'Behold, he stands behind our walls,' the Messiah is already standing behind our walls, watching from the windows, peering through the cracks, and waiting for when he can come." Upon the conclusion of his main task, the multitudes of participants in the yeshiva hall burst into song, "For the light of the Lord is upon us." Days' and then began the work of the righteous gaon Rabbi Shimon Galai, who inspired the public to strengthen themselves in Torah and prayer.

Photos: Shmulik Drey and Kobi Har Zvi

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