The heads of the Hadrat Melech yeshiva, which is intended for young men from abroad studying in the Holy Land, arrived at the 'Beit David' kollel hall, currently located in the 'Central' synagogue in the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood in Bnei Brak, led by the yeshiva's head, Rabbi Aryeh Kowalski - together with the students.
After the Mincha prayer, the yeshiva heads and students crowded around the gaon Rabbi Yitzhak Zilberstein, who was wrapped in a tallit and tefillin, as was his custom during the war to study all day with tefillin on his head - and for the Mincha prayer he also wrapped himself in a tallit.
The heads of the yeshiva told Rabbi Zilberstein that the students' parents are afraid of the horror of the war, and some want their sons to return abroad at the first opportunity - and asked to hear what to say to the parents.
Rabbi Silberstein addressed the parents with an emotional, filmed address, the gist of which was: The time we are in is the 'greatest' time for the Jewish nation, a time that is seen as a 'divine revelation,' and those who leave their children in the Land of Israel show that they believe in the coming of the Messiah.
Below is the full transcript: "To the esteemed parents of Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, and Panama. You are very close to our hearts, we are proud of you, you keep the Torah, you respect the Torah, and your children are young men of fame and glory. We all see them here, we all enjoy them very much, you really bring about the sanctification of the great name of heaven.".
""But I heard that the parents are very, very worried, and now want to take the boys back home. Let me tell you: This is not a wise thing! Now is a time when the whole world is watching to see what is going on here in the Land of Israel, and everyone wants to know, all the Gentiles want to know, Gentiles are coming to us and wanting to know - what is being said here in the Land of Israel. When they hear that the Jews of Argentina told the children to come back, then what will they say? The Jews themselves do not believe in the coming of the Messiah, so what are we... They will mock us.
Video: Ezra Trabelsi
""The Maimonides writes in the Thirteen Articles of Faith: 'I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may delay, with all this I will wait for him every day he comes.' If we wait every day he comes - we are not attracting the boys home... And especially in our days when we see the revelation of God in all its glory, we are now seeing terrible things. Who dreamed of this? Who ever thought of this? That the Jews would succeed in terrorizing Iran so much...
""They killed every minister and great man there, they killed everyone with the palm of their hand. You see that the Lord is the God. Now is the greatest time for the Jewish nation. Everyone should declare, 'I believe in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may delay now, I will wait for him every day.'".
""Every father who lives in Argentina and has a son here will write on this list that he believes in the coming of the Messiah, he believes that he will come, and the proof is that he leaves a son here, and he is not afraid.
""So then, I think that leaving the boys here today in the Land of Israel is a sanctification of God, and it will help every father and mother who cares, and they really care, and yet leave their children here. They believe in the coming of the Messiah, and they believe that God created the world, and they believe that all the Torah that is now in our hands was given to us by Moses our Lord, may God bless him and grant him peace, and in all thirteen main points they believe in this. This is a very great privilege for the residents of Argentina and all the places near it.
""But whoever is pulling his son to return home now - it is not successful, he does not believe in the coming of the Messiah who can come any day, so I suggest to the esteemed parents: Believe me, the children now need to stay here! This is the greatest time there is, this is a truly terrible time, a time when you see the revelation of God!
""And the parents will be saved from this, that's what I think. And we will bless you and everyone here, that you will gain much happiness from your children, and that you will get to marry them off. And when they ask you: Were you in the Land of Israel?, say yes!, where? Your children stayed here...
""Everyone who left their child believes in the coming of the Messiah, he believes that he can come at any time and at any hour, he believes that the entire Torah is true, he believes, he leaves his son here, what greater thing is there than that, whoever leaves their sons here will be able to say: I believe in the coming of the Messiah, and I believe that God, the Blessed, rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those who break His commandments. I believe in the resurrection of the dead from God, the Blessed One, I believe in everything, and the proof is that I leave my son here.".
""Therefore, I advise all our dear and respected parents to leave their sons here. Don't be afraid, they won't be harmed! They will only grow and grow and grow! And you will have peace, and the whole people of Israel will receive peace from you. Blessed are you and blessed is your portion. Blessed are you if you listen to my voice, not to call them, that they will be here and you will pray for them, and thanks to this you will have a long life, and we will say, Amen.".
Afterwards, Rabbi Silberstein asked the students to sing "I Believe in the Coming of the Messiah," and he sang along with them with excitement.
He added at the end to bless the parents: 'The honor of the rabbi is also with us, and we all bless the parents who married their children well and pleasantly, much happiness and let us say Amen,' and then he even blessed the young men personally.
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