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25 March 2024

ALL Yeshivos and Kollelim Should Do What They Did in Sura and Naharda’eh

(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



MAIN SOURCE: https://torasavigdor.org/ 
BASED ON: https://torasavigdor.org/parshah-booklets/pekudei-5784/ . .

A  further idea came to me.
For all the residents of Yehuda and Shomron, that the Biden adm has caused a loss of income from their farming settlements, these religious builders of the Land of Israel, should be invited to join a Yeshiva during their “punishment duration” and be given a double stipend for their learning, as compensation for the upkeep of their family and duties. Of course a Talmud from that Yeshiva should be selected to assist him to acclimate to the schedule. 

This is just an idea I had, and the details need to be compatible with all concerned.  

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