Posek Hador Hagaon Rav Moshe Sternbuch Shlita on Wednesday night held a surprise כינוס at his home with dozens of new אברכים who joined the “תשובות והנהגות” כולל network with the start of the winter זמן. The network today counts close to 350 אברכים spread across ten branches throughout Eretz Yisroel.
The uniqueness of the כולל network stands out in that its members are outstanding אברכים from all חצרות הקודש – Ger, Vizhnitz and the Yerushalmi חסידות – alongside בני הישיבות הליטאיות and חסידים of every circle, all united under one roof.
In emotional words to the לומדים, the Posek Hador wept over the severe כולל crisis prevailing today, and particularly in the city of Beit Shemesh, where there is a great shortage of places of learning for אברכים. In response to the situation, Maran personally opened four new כוללים in the city this past year, all under the “תשובות והנהגות” network.
“ברוך שהחיינו וקיימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה, that dozens more new אברכים have entered to learn in כולל, to learn הלכה בעיין – and this is a great קידוש השם,” Maran opened his holy words. “Unfortunately there are many אברכים today who have no כוללים, whose souls thirst for Torah and who plead to be accepted into a כולל, and due to our many sins the holy Torah is disgraced. ברוך השם that we merit to raise the banner of Torah and to bring in more אברכים – and with this we raise the קרן התורה.”
Maran responded sharply to the attacks against the Torah world: “Especially at this time, when the רשעים say ‘פן ירבה,’ and they fight against the חרידים saying that we are בטלנים with no purpose, חס ושלום – we answer them ‘כן ירבה,’ and we bring in still more אברכים who will sit and learn תורת השם with התמדה day and night.”
The Posek Hador also addressed the proper דרך of learning, warning against mistaken notions: “There are בעלי בתים who mistakenly think there are two תורות – one Torah of learning הלכה, belonging to רבנים, and another Torah of learning בעיין, belonging to ישיבות. This is a great mistake. The way of learning הלכה and הוראה is only through delving into the root of each הלכה in ש”ס and ראשונים, and without delving properly into the roots of the reasoning, one is like someone building buildings without foundations.”
With deep pain, Maran noted our generation’s significant lack of genuine מורי הוראה: “To our sorrow, today we lack מורי הוראה. Would that we had many מורי הוראה who understand one matter from another, and even when the דין is not explicit they know how to derive the דין on their own. השם should help that from here גדולים will sprout – and you should learn with עיין, with יגיעה and with יראת שמים, and then מורי הוראה בישראל will sprout.”
At the conclusion of the uplifting מעמד, the Posek Hador blessed his son Hagaon Rav Chaim Ozer Sternbuch Shlita ahead of his departure on a חיזוק trip to Lakewood, USA. The dozens of אברכים then passed before him to receive his ברכות ahead of the new זמן.
