An Interview with Rav Nissan Kaplan by Nachman Seltzer

I met Rav Nissan Kaplan when I first began learning at the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim almost twenty years ago. I joined his shiur and spent many Shabbos seudos around the Kaplan family’s Shabbos table. Since those early days when the shiur was located in the dining room of the Mir Yeshiva and through my many subsequent years at the Mir, our families have become extremely close and we share a very warm relationship. I was given the unique opportunity to witness my Rebbe’s incredible success around the globe from up close. With so many changes in Rav Nissan’s life, it made sense for the two of us to sit down together and discuss Daas Aharon – his new yeshiva, his goals for the future and how he is capable of serving both as a Rosh Yeshiva and a rav to his kehilla in Ramat Eshkol/Givat Hamivtar at the same time.

I’ll begin with a question that has been on many people’s minds around the world. You, Rav Nissan Kaplan, were known to have been incredibly successful at the Mir. With thousands of talmidim around the globe who have remained in touch with their rebbe and with a shiur comprised of hundreds of bochurim – why leave to open a new yeshiva? For your talmidim, hearing the news of the new yeshiva was without question shocking and unexpected. What was the purpose and the goal for such a thing?

Rav Nissan: – The idea for the new yeshiva came primarily from my father shlita. He discussed the concept he had in mind with a number of gedolim in Eretz Yisroel who agreed with him. He then asked me to accompany him to meet with them. At the meetings, I was told that they wanted me to open a new yeshiva.

I told them that I wasn’t interested in opening a new yeshiva and was more than happy to remain at the Mir. I was very comfortable at the Mir and I had no reason to even think about leaving a place where I had grown so much and which had treated me with such warmth.

But no matter how I argued, they remained steadfast in their agreement that I had to leave and start my own yeshiva.

“Why is this so important,” I asked them. “There are so many yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel! Why do I have to open yet another one?!”

“There is a tremendous amount of Torah being learned in Eretz Yisroel right now,” they said. “The hasmada is unbelievable. But many of the top bochurim – the metzuyanim who are learning day and night – are missing the “Rebbe” element in their lives – the Rebbe who can teach and guide them to greater heights in lomdus and havana on one hand, while giving them warmth and love on the other. And while there are rebbeim who give love and warmth to bochurim who are off the derech or weaker in learning, it is very difficult to find a first-class yeshiva that offers that type of warmth to their bochurim. And that is exactly what is lacking.

In the end – after months of not giving in, I had to admit that they were right.

I want to give you an example of what I mean when I talk about combining top level learning and Avodas Hashem with authentic warmth.

Yeshivas Daas Aharon was established last summer zman with a group of bochurim who were hand selected from some of the best yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel. This Elul, we welcomed our first shiur aleph. I can’t begin to describe what was happening in the yeshiva during that time. Every bochur is a gem and I looked around the Bais Medresh and felt the fire of Torah burning inside me like I hadn’t felt in many years. There were over a hundred bochurim learning in the yeshiva alongside a kollel of thirty yungeleit. The kol Torah was fantastic!

The boys were learning with intensity deep into the night. They were showing up on time to every seder. Like I said, there was a veritable fire in the air. I joined them in the Bais Medresh and spent time talking in learning with every bochur – every day! And because they were on such a high level of learning, I washaving to spend a lot more time preparing for shiurthan I’d done in a while… All things considered, the milchamta shel Torah cannot be accurately described.

And then we hit the days of Selichos.

We instituted a mussar seder after Shacharis and an additional mussar seder before supper. Every bochur was there.

Davening lasted for three hours on erev Rosh Hashana. There was no breakfast that day because the Rema writes that it’s a mitzvah to fast until chatzos. Looking around me, I felt that if I struck a match in the Bais Medresh, it would catch on fire from the incredible energy emanating from every boy.

I asked the yeshiva staff to prepare over a hundred bags in my office – a bag for every boy. There were two bottles of soda in every bag, a fresh honey cake from Avichayil bakery, a large bag of Bisli and a large bag of Bamba. After davening, I approached one of the bochurim and told him (with a very serious face) that I wanted to see every single bochur in my office, one by one.

The bochurim had no idea what to expect.

They entered my office, bochur after bochur. I handed each one a bag, telling them it was a gift from the Rebbetzin for Rosh Hashana. I can’t begin to describe the smiles I saw on every face! Fifteen minutes later my wife called me.

“The phone hasn’t stopped ringing,” she said.

“Why, who’s calling,” I asked her.

“The parents of every talmid. The boys called their parents – yes, boys who hadn’t called home all Elul got on the phone and called home. They couldn’t stop themselves from calling their mothers and fathers to report, “That the Rebbetzin gave them a giant bag of Bamba for Rosh Hashana!”

That was the introduction to our Rosh Hashana. The highest level of kedusha – accompanied by a smile stretching from ear to ear. That’s our yeshiva. A very high level of learning. Intensely focused bochurim. And lots of love and warmth.

Some of these bochurim know half of Shas. And they feel warm and loved because the Rosh Yeshiva and the Rebbetzin gave them a bag of Bamba. Between me and you, I have a feeling that next year all the yeshivos will do the same thing….”

How long did the gedolim and your father Rav Naftoli think it would take for such a new and ground-breaking type of approach to catch on in the Lithuanian style of the Israeli yeshivos?

Rav Nissan: They thought it would take years. The methodology of the yeshiva was very different from the average approach. But what can I say…. My phone doesn’t stop ringing with people trying to get their kids into the yeshiva. They want their children to shteig and to grow in Torah and to have a Rebbe who knows what it means to have a warm kesher with his talmidim! They are calling me because when people ask our talmidim – “What’s so special about the yeshiva,” they answer, “We learn Torah from morning till night B’simcha.”

And a lot of that simcha stems from having a Rebbe who loves people, loves his talmidim, gives them warmth and encouragement – and knows them well. These boys are happy because they realize how lucky they are to be where they are.”

Interesting point – In the middle of the interviewRav Nissan’s phone rang. The caller was on the municipal council of a city with a sizable religious community. The reason he was calling was to ask Rav Nissan if he would be willing to consider moving his yeshiva to that city – which would provide the yeshiva with a piece of land on which to build a building along with numerous other incentives to move.

“I’m getting offers like this all the time,” he told me.

Apparently, people around Eretz Yisroel understand that this yeshiva, with its unique derech, is going to have a major effect on the country and they want to get in on the ground floor.

“So your father’s idea turned out very well,” I said to Rav Nissan, “like his ideas tend to do….”

Rav Nissan nodded.

“But here’s my next question. While it’s wonderful that the yeshiva is so matzliach and that Israeli bochurim are finally getting a taste of what it means to be a talmid of Rav Nissan, what about all the American bochurim who no longer have the opportunity to develop a relationship with you?”

Rav Nissan – “I want to share a secret with you. Once Daas Aharon has been around for a few years and has been solidly established, I hope to open a similar yeshiva for American bochurim in Eretz Yisroel. A place where quality American bochurim can come tolearn and grow under the tutelage of a Rebbe who knows them personally and cares deeply about their welfare. I’m not there yet, but this is my goal. I plan on having two separate yeshivos. Meanwhile I give a Chumash shiur on Friday morning in English and American bochurim come to hear it from all over Yerushalayim. There’s no question that I will continueto strengthen my kesher with the American oilam – it’s just a question of timing. There’s also a need for warmth for the American bochurim, but for the Israeli boys the need is much greater.”

I have another question. During your many yearsin the Mir when you were “just” a Rebbe without the burden of fundraising on your shoulders, I can understand how a person might find time to be the rav of a shul and community as well. But being a Rosh Yeshiva is a full time job. So how is it possible to do both?

Rav Nissan: “I won’t deny that it’s a struggle. But I became a rav for the same reason that I listened to my father and opened the yeshiva. The shul is located in Ramat Eshkol/Givat Hamivtar – a neighborhood that is home to hundreds of American couples. We are building a huge shul which numerous batei midrashim, (there will be three hundred seats in the main Bais Medresh alone) which will be’ezras Hashem serve as the main shul in the area. It will include a beautiful simcha hall so that the shul will be able to support itself and provide a place for the many shiurim which presently are being delivered in private homes for lack of an alternative. The foundation of the building is already poured and the shell will be up in a few months. It’s a very exciting time for the entire community.

There are so many young families in this neighborhood and I feel that they need a rebbe/rav who will be there for them with warmth and care. I feel that this is a crucial component towards building a genuine neighborhood of real Bnei Torah. Tonight I will going to the shul at 11:00 to give an hour long shiur to the chevra in Mesilas Yesharim. And many yungeleit will be there. And there will be good food to eat. High level Torah and genuine warmth at the same time.

There’s no question that I have accepted a difficult role for myself. At the same time I feel that this is my shlichus.

Last Shabbos, I took a taxi to my shul before Shabbos, davened with them, gave a drasha to the shul (there were over two hundred people) and waited after davening to speak with anyone who wanted to talk to me. I then walked back to Har Nof – it took me an hour, had the seudah with my family and spent the remainder of Shabbos with the yeshiva. The week before that, I learned with the bochurim at the yeshiva until one in the morning, then walked to the shul at seven to be there in time for davening. So while it is definitely a challenge, it is something which I feel is important enough to sacrifice for.

What’s next?

Rav Nissan: “Well we are celebrating a Hachnosas Sefer Torah at the yeshiva in three weeks. That’s next. But as much as I am constantly thinking about the future, I also can’t stop thinking about the past. Because every time I look at our beautiful yeshiva building, I can’t help but thank Hashem all over again! In a sense the fact that we are here, reminds me of what happened to the Mir Yeshiva when they escaped to Shanghai.

When I decided to open the yeshiva, I spent a lot of time and energy looking for a building to rent. I didn’t have any major plans or hasagos. It was a brand new yeshiva and I was looking for a simple space.However every place that I looked into, fell through at the last minute.

At the last second (it was really coming down to the wire) someone told me about a magnificent“palace” in Har Nof that had been constructed almost twenty years earlier but was never used or rented out.

Being that it was never rented out I didn’t think that the owner would agree to rent it to me, but I went to see him despite my misgivings and he was extremely happy to rent it to the yeshiva. That was how our brand new yeshiva, was able to start its journey in a brand new palace of a building. And it reminded me of how the Mir arrived in Shanghai and found an empty shul that was just perfect for them – showing them that Hashem prepared exactly what they needed way in advance, which was the case with us – with “our” yeshiva building going up many years before we needed it and just waiting until we were ready for it!

What’s your vision for twenty years from now?

Rav Nissan: “I myself would want the yeshiva to develop into something along the lines of Ponovitch interms of style of learning and sharpness of the bochurim. Like Ponovitch – but with a lot of warmth.My dream? That hundreds of talmidei chachomim should emerge from this yeshiva. Talmidei chachomim of the highest caliber who will change Klal Yisroel with their warmth and their ability to treat every member of the Jewish people with love and respect. This will change the atmosphere in so many families as well – the kids will receive a different chinuch. It will have far reaching consequences on multiple levels. If in twenty years we have achieved that goal, all the running around from Har Nof to Ramat Eshkol will have been more than worth it. I want to help createwhat I call the “normal” Ben Torah and Talmid chochum. Their shalom bayis will be different – everything will be different. I want to change the atmosphere in a big segment of Klal Yisroel – so that people’s simchas hachaim shouldn’t be compromised because they’re a talmid chochum, and their Torah shouldn’t be compromised because of their simchas hachaim.