(see note at conclusion)
Create Dignity and Greater Respect From Am Yisrael
The Pageant In The Mesivta
You know that in Bavel there were great Mesivtos, great yeshivos
where the chachomim gathered to study and to teach. There was a Mesivta
in Sura where Rav was, and there was another Mesivta in Naharda’eh
where Shmuel lived; two big Mesivtos that were the center of the Am
Yisroel. And there were other Mesivtos too that functioned in Bavel.
But the Mesivta wasn’t a place where you just learned Torah and
heard shiurim. It was a very interesting experience, the Mesivta.
Everything was done with a procedure. They used to march into the beis
medrash at the beginning of the session; the chachomim marched in first,
and then the talmidim marched in behind them, and everyone took his
place; each one of the chachomim had his particular place. And there
were designated people who would make the announcement, “The
chachomim are coming in now; they’re entering into the Mesivta.” It was
mamish like a pageant; that’s how they opened up the Mesivta.
Babylonian State Of The Union
And not only in the beginning of the zman; every day was like that. It
was done with a certain panoply, like in a royal tribunal, with certain
procedures, formalities and announcements. Like in the Congress l’havdil
or in a king’s palace; it was done with the greatest kind of ceremony. And
we should ask ourselves: What was this for? Why all the fanfare?! Why
couldn’t they just get busy with learning already? Isn’t that what they
came for? It wasn’t the State of the Union address after all; it was a
yeshivah! And they didn’t do this once a year; it was every day!
And the answer is that this pomp and the ceremony was vital for an
understanding of the place of the Torah in the Am Yisroel.
In the midbar, where they all saw the Mishkan, and they all knew that
hidden inside, in the room that Hashem chose to reside in, was the luchos
and the Torah, so the entire nation lived with a tangible understanding
that it was the study of the Torah that was the core function of our people
– everybody was learning in kollel, and there was no question in anyone’s
mind that limud Torah was the function of our people. But in order to
keep that fire of kavod haTorah alive forever and to understand the
centrality of the Torah to our nation, the nation had to see with their own
eyes the glory of Torah. And so the Mesivta functioned with the
prominence it deserved and the Am Yisroel learned that the aristocracy
of our people were the ones who were studying the Toras Hashem in the
beis medrash.
The Great Kiddush Hashem
In Bavel they also established the Yarchei Kallah together with the
Mesivta. Twice a year there was a yarchei kallah, a kiddush Hashem of
remarkable proportions. You know they were almost all farmers in Bavel,
so when the farming season was over, two months a year, tens of
thousands of people came to the Mesivta. The town was overflowing with
Jews. They slept on the streets, on the roofs, and in cellars, and they were
learning all the time. The entire month they were learning Torah. And the
chachmei haTorah were there to test them, to see if they knew it!
Everybody was learning the same thing – it was a scene to behold – they
were all learning the same mesichta and the chachomim farherred them.
And it wasn’t little children we’re talking about; these were adults,
men in their forties and fifties, older than that too, men with families.
From where did this fire of dedication to Torah come? How could a nation
of so many different personalities: workers, wise men, simple folk,
intellectuals, rich and poor alike all humbly submit themselves before the
chachmei haTorah?
And the answer is that it wasn’t something that began in Bavel;
it was already engraved on our souls from the Dor Hamidbar.
The same way the Dor Hamidbar submitted themselves before
Moshe Rabbeinu, the Am Yisroel continued that practice always.
And therefore there was always a tremendous outpouring of
Torah learning, a tremendous demonstration that Torah is
everything for the Am Yisroel. We are always a nation of
Torah learners
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