President Yitzchak Herzog visited the city of Bnei Brak on Monday in honor of the opening of the new school year, visiting chadarim, yeshivos, the homes of Gedolim, and the Ezra Hamarpeh organization. He was accompanied on the tour by Bnei Brak Mayor Avraham Rubinstein.
Herzog, who is the grandson of HaRav Yitzchak HaLevi Herzog, z’tl, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, has always expressed great respect and support for lomdei Torah and the Chareidi community.
Herzog started his visit at the Karlin-Stolin Talmud Torah, where the 2nd-grade boys greeted him with singing. He then proceeded to a first-grade classroom, where he participated in the boys’ first lesson.
נשיא המדינה יצחק הרצוג מתקבל בשירת ׳אחת שאלתי׳ בלב המיינסטרים החרדי של בני ברק (ת״ת קרלין) בכבוד מיוחד לקראת פתיחת שנת הלימודים בראש חודש אלול pic.twitter.com/UZMkbnaEyU
— ישראל כהן (@Israelcohen911) August 9, 2021
שלום כיתה א: הנשיא הרצוג יחד עם ראש עיריית בני-ברק בפתיחת שנת הלימודים במגזר החרדי (א׳ אלול) בתלמוד תודה קרלין סטולין pic.twitter.com/ZlE5b2rvFU
— יאיר שרקי (@yaircherki) August 9, 2021
At the end of his visit, the Talmud Torah gave him a letter that his grandfather had written after the Holocaust to the Jewish Agency, urging them to help bring the Karliner Rebbe and his daughter to Eretz Yisrael. (All of the Rebbe’s other family members had been murdered by the Nazis.)
Herzog then continued to Talmud Torah Ohr Gaon, where he was also greeted with singing. Herzog spoke to the students of the Talmud Torah, saying: “When someone goes to school and learns and reviews, as it says in Masechtas Yoma, Ahavas Hashem, this is truly being a Talmid Chacham. So I wish to all of you that you’ll be talmidei chachamim.”
מרגש לראות את הנשיא הרצוג שאינו מחרים אף מגזר. בא, מכבד את פתיחת שנת הלימודים גם אצל המגזר החרדי. pic.twitter.com/GIt5fZtbaB
— יוסלה ברגמן🇮🇱 (@y_bregman1) August 9, 2021
Herzog then visited the older boys in Yeshivas Ohr Gaon, beginning his speech by saying: “I apologize for the bittul Torah.”
“Learning Torah isn’t another profession,” he said. “It is the secret of Yahadus, the secret of our strength and the desire of our soul.”
נשיא המדינה יצחק הרצוג התקבל בכבוד בבני ברק.
בתלמוד תורה 'אור גאון' סיפר על הסבא "הדגול", הרב יצחק הלוי הרצוג, שאת שמו "הוא נושא בגאון". pic.twitter.com/nWw0HklHXI— חרדים10 (@charedim10) August 9, 2021
“I’ll tell you about something that my grandfather said. HaRav Herzog, z’tl, dedicated his entire life to chizuk HaTorah, halacha, ahavas Yisrael and medinas Yisrael. My grandfather loved the city of Bnei Brak very much. Rav Yitzchak Gerstenkorn, the first mayor of Bnei Brak, never forgot what my grandfather told him in response to a comment made by a famous Rav: ‘I’m sure that Moshiach will come to Bnei Brak before he goes to Yerushalayim.'”
“HaRav Herzog said: ‘I’m not sure that Moshiach will actually come first to Bnei Brak but one thing I’m sure of is that if all of Eretz Yisrael would be like Bnei Brak, in the light of Torah and the preservation of kadshei Yisrael, I’m sure that Moshiach will come quickly.'”
Herzog then visited the home of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, accompanied by Rubinstein and UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni, and received a bracha.
נשיא המדינה יצחק הרצוג @Isaac_Herzog פתח את שנת הלימודים החרדית בבני ברק ועלה לרגל לביתם של מנהיגי הזרם הליטאי הרבנים קנייבסקי ואדלשטיין והרב שמעון בעדני ממועצת חכמי התורה של ש"ס כדי לבקש את התגייסותם למבצע החיסונים ושמירת הנחיות משרד הבריאות https://t.co/pd86pw5GT3
— Itamar Eichner (@itamareichner) August 9, 2021
He then visited Yeshivas Ponevezh and the home of HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein as well as the home of Chaver Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah HaGaon HaRav Shimon Badani. Herzog spoke to all the Gedolim about the importance of ensuring that their communities adhere to coronavirus guidelines.
Finally, Herzog visited the offices of Ezra Hamarpeh, where he met with the organization’s founder HaRav Elimelech Firer.
אחרי הביקור אצל גדולי ישראל ובתלמודי התורה – נשיא המדינה יצחק הרצוג הגיע כעת לביקור אצל היועץ הרפואי הבכיר הרב אלימלך פירר יו"ר 'עזרה למרפא'. pic.twitter.com/OQG42WlFsn
— איציק אוחנה (@ok125125) August 9, 2021
הנשיא הרצוג בביקור היום במשרדי 'עזרא למרפא' בראשות הרב אלימלך פירר pic.twitter.com/vpMbtgff68
— משה ויסברג (@moshe_nayes) August 9, 2021
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Israel President Herzog wears a bigger Yarmika than what Prime Minister Bennett wears. Bennett was at an outside gathering last night when a gust of wind blew his Yarmika off his head. Someone gave him a Coca Cola bottle cap to replace it.
If only the current leadership of the medinah would show this level of respect for the chareidi sector (an vice versa) even where policies diverge. The hyperbole on both sides has only gotten worse with little if any outreach to find common ground.