Hagaon Rosh Yeshivah Harav Gershon Edelstein, delivered a speech as the yeshivah summer zeman began in Israel on Sunday night by telephone.
The Rosh Yeshivah said: “There’s a mishnah in Pirkei Avos: ‘Marbeh Torah, marbeh chaim, marbeh yeshivah, marbeh chachmah.’ Torah without a yeshivah increases life. Torah with a yeshivah increases chachmah.”
“‘Marbeh chaim’ – the life of Olam Haba and Olam Hazeh but the Torah of yeshivah is something else – it increases chachmah.”
“The current situation is there is no yeshivah, there’s no tzibur together – Rabbanim, chaveirim and talmidim – to toil together in the tzurah of a yeshivah – it’s missing.”
“‘Dibuk chaveirim’ can be reached through the phone or within the family who live together. But it’s not a yeshivah…that’s the matzav. There’s Torah – ‘marbeh chaim’ but there’s no ‘marbeh chachmah.’
“But through zechuyos, it’s possible to merit that there will be yeshivos. What are the zechuyos? Tefillah. But tefillah alone is not enough – Torah is also necessary.”
“Everyone should do what’s possible, with friends, with chavrusas, whoever is living together, by telephone – with Rabbinim by telephone, with talmidim by telephone. We should take advantage of the possibilities that we have in this situation now – the phone with dibbuk chaveirim, pilpul ha’talmidim and limud from the Rabbanim.”
“All of this together with tefillah will b’siyata dishmaya will bring to hatzlacha b’Torah.”
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(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
The Rosh Yeshivah said: “There’s a mishnah in Pirkei Avos: ‘Marbeh Torah, marbeh chaim, marbeh yeshivah, marbeh chachmah.’ “‘Marbeh chaim’ – the life of Olam Haba and Olam Hazeh but the Torah of yeshivah is something else – it increases chachmah.”
Two comments:
Firstly, many Rishonim have the girsa מרבה חכמה מרבה ישיבה. One must wonder why the RY adopted this particular girsa?!
Secondly, the Batanura explains that the marbeh chochma of yeshiva is the gain of chochma, not to the students, but to the one giving the shiur, that he must dwell deeper into the subject to withstand the questions of the students, as stated: מתלמידי יותר מכולם. In this context, the quote of the mishneh is misapplied!