With the fear of an Iranian-Hezbollah attack on Israel still looming, Rosh Yeshivas Mir HaGaon HaRav Eliezer Yehudah Finkel paid a visit to HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shternbuch and asked him what to say to American bochurim or their parents who are afraid of the security situation in Eretz Yisrael.
HaRav Finkel asked what to say to the bochurim who are afraid of the “matzav.”
HaRav Shternbuch responded: “There were always difficult situations. If they come to yeshivah and learn Torah, we’ll have more zechuyos and then nothing will happen.”
HaRav Finkel then asked what to say to the parents of the bochurim who are afraid of the tense security situation.
“It’s a mistake,” HaRav Shternbuch responded. “Because if they learn Torah, it will be the opposite – nothing will happen. The Torah protects from all ills.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
7 Responses
Israel is the home of the yidden….not anywhere else…so I do sense that Rabbi’s should know this…America and the World is nothing but Bogus….come home….
Kuvult-I think if the danger was more pronounced like it was in 1939 then there is a strong possibility that Rav Shternbach would answer differently. I think it is safe to say he is saying that the risk is small and that the benefits of learning in EY far outweighs the slight danger.
Of course. The Lubavitcher Rebbe always said that Israel is the safest place. (he said this during the Persian Gulf war when parents wanted their children in Israel to come home)
My reaction to all this is to caution people to make sure that their Torah will actually protect them, and won’t get diverted to the sitra achra (as the Chofetz Chaim warns about) by speaking lashon horo and all the other forms of diburim asurim, sheker, kaas, sinas chinam, machlokes, etc, or as the Rambam says anything that if it were to be heard by the person spoken about would cause him/her any fear or discomfort or harm.
The Maharsha explains the Gemara that says if you live in chutz laaretz its like you dont have Hashem to mean Hashem has a special shlita directly in Eretz Yisroel . Hopefully, there is more protection which is fuelled by learning Torah.
Why can’t they learn Torah in America and not come to needing the Israeli army God likes the studying there better if they learn here somebody is getting zechus and then saying nothing will happen he went to heaven and asked them this and they said that but probably at the kotel night it’s only holy and rectifying the soul does he know how many kids went to the koresh but I take he must of asked the very God himself that nothing will happen we all great people and keep enjoying it
He has the question backwards, at least in the long run. While the Israelis have an annoying problem with Palestinians, and an annoying armed forces (some of whom are more scared of frumkeit than of the Muslim terrorists), Israel’s armed forces are quite powerful and probably can deter any serious attempt to destroy the yishuv.
In America we have organized anti-Semites who not only favor attacks on and discrimination against Jews, but also think that genocide directed against Jews, anywhere, is good social policy, and it appears that they make up close to half of one of the political parties and have a strong chance of controlling the White House and Congress after the next election.
So the question should be, is it safe for Jews to stay in America, or practically, do we have more to fear from the alliance of Iran and Palestinian terrorists, as opposed to the WOKE Progressive Democrats in America?