Hakol - Newsletter from Kol Yaakov/Horizons

Samuel Hazlett said, “Man is the only animal who laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck by the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.”

Nietzsche also describes man as “a sick animal.”

Man is complex because he is a divided creature. He has the appetites of an animal and an uncompromising desire for indulgence, yet he is unable to be free in expression without suffering guilt.

Man, perhaps, at given moments likes to be an animal but he is also handicapped by moral yearnings. Expressed conversely, he would like to be good if he could overcome the animal nature he possesses.

Although humans, to a large degree, are cognizant of what is and what ought to be and are impressed by it, it is quite difficult to take action in making reality conform to their idealized picture of what ought to be.

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, the author of the Mesilas Yesharim in Perek 1 describes this divided self in the following words:
“It is seen, then, that man is veritably placed in the midst of a raging battle. For all the affairs of the world, whether for the good or for the bad, are trials to a man: Poverty on the one hand and wealth on the other, as Solomon said (Proverbs 30:9), “Lest I become satiated and deny, saying, ‘Who is God?’ or lest I become impoverished and steal….” Serenity on the one hand and suffering on the other; so that the battle rages against him to fore and to the rear. If he is valorous, and victorious on all sides, he will be the ‘Whole Man,’”

The formula to overcome the impediments that stand in the way of self transcendence is specifically described by the leader of world Jewry, the Chazon Ish Zt"l, in his monumental Emunah U'betachon that the root of character alteration is "Sur Me'rah", escaping what is wrong and what is bad and only then pursuing the good:
"It is more comfortable for man to do something positive but it’s quite difficult to stay away from bad."

The noted psychoanalyst, Alan Wheeles is his outstanding book “How People Change” (Page 18) reveals a remarkable insight: Concerning patients in therapy (and, strangely enough, of most experienced therapists themselves) he describes a phenomenon he terms “a most common illusion,” namely, that it is insight that produces change. In truth, insight, though instrumental to change and often an essential part of that process, does not directly achieve it. Some patients just don’t want to change and when the therapist takes on the task of “changing” such a patient he assumes a contest which is doomed to failure.

The Torah perspective is clear, concise and direct. As the Gemara in Avodah Zarah says, R' Elazar b' Durdaya recognized that change is a personal responsibility. In his poetic style he said, "It is not dependent on anything but me" (A"Z 17a).

The term “Ba’al T’shuva Syndrome” is widely used to describe a certain personality type commonly found among the newly repentant. The behavior of one particularly intense victim of said syndrome looks something like this: extremely courteous, always outwardly happy, davens for hours at a time, preaches regularly, enthusiastically learns kabalistic texts, is very makpid on a) the stacking order of seforim, b) putting the right shoe on first, and c) saying “gut shabbos” to every Jew. If you will notice, nothing on this list is prohibited, quite the contrary, we would expect to see all of these traits in a great Torah scholar. Why is it, then, that we have referred to this collection of praiseworthy attributes as a syndrome?

Courtesy is an outward expression of concern for another, i.e. midas chesed (kindness). If a person is not honestly willing to place the concerns of another before his own, then what was his courtesy designed to accomplish. The same goes for being outwardly happy which should be intended to prevent others from being burdened by one’s difficulties. People, who in the times of the Gemara were considered exceedingly pious, understood what davening is and knew how to concentrate on specific kabalistic intentions for every word, subsequently needing an hour to do so. Without a similar necessity, what is the reason to extend prayer? The Rambam, in Sefer Hamitzvos, writes that preaching or scolding wrong-doers is an extension of love for Hashem. Why is it that ba’alei t’shuva perform this particular task with more enthusiasm than other expressions of love?

Granted, Kabalah is the highest system of thought known to man and worthy of our aspiration. However, an appreciation of this fact is not manifest in learning Kabalah without the prerequisite familiarity with the revealed Torah. Just the opposite, this activity shows an utter disregard for the possibility that Kabalah may, in fact, include something that would elude someone who has never completed a single tractate of the Talmud. Stacking earlier sforim on top of later sforim and not placing secular books on top of holy books is our way of showing the importance of Torah. It is not, however, so clear an indication as diligent study.

All of these behaviors are the natural outward result of holding inwardly on a very high level. The labeling of this collection of character traits as a syndrome flows from the assumption that this new ba’al t’shuva is under the impression the he has indeed attained the trait of chasidus (piety) inwardly. Maintaining a repertoire of various pious practices is much easier than effecting real change. A person who uses Torah and mitzvos as vehicles for aligning his self-image with his concept of a tzadik has not begun to understand what it means to do a mitzvah “lishma” (with pure intention). How far he is, then, from meriting the lofty title reserved for people who live up to the standards set in the first twelve chapters of the Ramchal’s Mesilas Yeshorim.

This particular snare, namely, the desire to be involved in actions which serve to propel a particular self-image, is one of the most insidious weapons the yeitzer hara (evil inclination) uses in battling against us. Furthermore, the range of those susceptible to its threat includes all Torah Jews, everywhere. A person could spend years involved in what he perceives as perfect service to Hashem, without once scratching the surface of true righteousness. For multiple variants of this affliction please look in the end of the tenth chapter of Mesilas Yeshorim, in his discussion on conceit.

All Jews should certainly fulfill all mitzvos brought down in Halacha as explained by the sages of Israel. My purpose here is to highlight an incongruity often found in ba’alei t’shuvah that bespeaks a misdirection of purpose, and spiritual immaturity. Most people will not read these words and how they apply to themselves. My advice, then, is to assume that they do. Examine your actions in the manner presented above to see if perhaps you, as a whole, do not live up to the personality suggested by your actions. What is the true motivation behind those actions? If you complete such an examination without finding any discrepancies please write a letter to Kol Yaakov, I have a personal interest in meriting seeing the face of such a person.

Many businesses measure their success by that all powerful barometer known as “repeat business.” Kol Yaakov is gratified that several recent visitors to the yeshiva are returning, not just for repeat visits, but for longer commitments as well. Michael Levine, a senior in high school from San Francisco, who spent last summer learning in the yeshiva, will be returning for a full year of study just after his high school graduation. His experience (as expressed in the following comment) describes the standard Kol Yaakov always strives to achieve:
“As a Jew just beginning to learn and experience the full depth of what Torah Judaism offers, Kol Yaakov truly represents the beauty, depth and growth potential inherent in a Torah lifestyle in a magnificent way.”

In addition to Michael, a brief visit during winter break by Bostonian, Moshe Holender, presaged his return to Kol Yaakov for fulltime studies during an unspecified hiatus from Brandies University. Next session, the yeshiva is also looking forward to welcoming back Adam Kenigsberg, who spent a few days in the yeshiva last summer while visiting a friend. Newly married, Adam will, IY”H, join the ranks of Kol Yaakov’s growing number of yungeleit. Vadim Dukhovny, also from San Francisco, though headed to UC Berkeley to study Biophysics next year, will be making time to learn at Kol Yaakov this summer. After his week-long visit this past winter he described his experience as such:
“Kol Yaakov is the perfect setting for the baalei teshuva. On the one hand, the students set their own pace in a non-coersive atmosphere conducive to all and any learning, and on the other hand, the students have Gemara shiurim with very hashuv rabbeim, getting the authentic vort from the rich well of Torah available at the yeshiva”

Not content to wait until they can arrange to come back for another visit of Torah study at Kol Yaakov, our friends from across the pond, David Somekh and Ayal Cohen are working to arrange lectures by Rabbi Tropper at their respective universities in London and at Cambridge.

Though it’s difficult whenever a successful talmid leaves the yeshiva, that bitter pill is sweetened when they are leaving to learn and grow in a yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel. A recent letter from an alumnus is a welcome source of nachas for all those in the yeshiva who strive to help the talmidim who pass through Kol Yaakov’s doors become b’nai Torah. (Click here for text.)

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Marriage: Gavriel Bensimhon to Zahava Zwillinger

Marriage: Mr. Avi Bernstein, son of Reb Moshe Bernstein zt”l, to Esther

Robin & Kathy Resnick upon the engagement of their son, Michael and their daughter, Chava

Rabbi & Mrs. Yehuda Schwab upon the engagement of their daughter

Mr. & Mrs. Yaakov Serle upon the marriage of their son, Mordechai

Mr. and Mrs. Nachman Auerbach on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Dovid

Reb Yaakov Wicentowsky and family upon the Bar Mitzvah of their son

Rabbi & Mrs. Yaakov Barros upon the birth of a girl

Mr. & Mrs. Yona Cantor upon the birth of a boy

Mr. & Mrs. Michoel Kelmar upon the birth of a son

Rabbi & Mrs. Melech Michaels upon the birth of a son

David & Penina Rosengard upon the birth of a son

Moshe Asher and Shmuel Dovid Drossman on making a siyum on Maseches Makos

Kol Yaakov alumnus, Rabbi Zalman Weiss on making a siyum on shas

Boruchim Haba’im to Monsey to Elliot and Suzanne Balaban

Congratulation to Rabbi Kahn for becoming Director of Student Affairs

Tzeischem L’sholom to Ms. Aliza Piotrowski, the yeshiva’s dedicated secretary for the past eight years

Though the West Coast had already been battered by rain, Rabbi Leib Tropper took the L.A. area with another storm on a Horizons speaking tour. A capacity crowd attended Rabbi Tropper’s first lecture, “Purim and Masks: The Story of Our Lives” at Cong. Toras HaShem in North Hollywood Thursday evening. The Mora D’Asra, Rabbi Zvi Block, commented that this was the largest group he ever had for a guest lecturer. For Shabbos, Rabbi Tropper, his Rebbitzen and several bochurim from the yeshiva spent Shabbos with the Pico-Robertson community. He was scholar-in-residence at Cong. Anshe Emes where they were hosted by the kehilla and their Rav, Rabbi Yitzchok Summers. Rabbi Tropper’s shiurim Shabbos day on “Finding Spirituality in Happiness and Finding Happiness in Spirituality” and “Explaining the Inexplicable: How Can We Understand the Current Crisis in the Middle East” were so enthusiastically received that he was asked to deliver an impromptu shiur on Sunday morning at the Sephardic Kollel. The L.A. trip was rounded out by a visit to the Young Israel of Northridge (in the San Fernando Valley) Sunday evening, where Rabbi Tropper spoke on “Purim: Past & Present - Its Meaning & Significance Revelation or Communication.” Rabbi Tropper and Horizons left Los Angeles with promises that they would make another visit to Southern California in the near future.

Closer to home, Rabbi Tropper paid a visit to Maryland in March, speaking in Bowie to members of a Conservative Synagogue. This double header consisted of the Rosh Yeshiva speaking on both the topics of Death and the Afterlife as well as on Psychology (vis-à-vis Judaism, of course). Rabbi Tropper’s engaging style and erudite delivery established an invaluable kesher between this non-observant community and authentic Judaism. After Pesach, Horizons will be traveling to the Miami Beach area with lectures at the University of Miami on Shabbos, Parshas Tazria- Metzorah and a Sunday lecture at the Young Israel of North Miami Beach. The college season wraps up with a trip to England where Rabbi Tropper will be speaking in London and at Cambridge University.

Horizons is currently launching a new initiative, Partners for the Eternal Jewish Family. Operating under the psak of HaRav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, this program’s mission is to facilitate the conversion process of the non-Jewish spouse of an intermarriage, provided the couple is establishing a Torah- observant home. The scope of this program continues to grow as we discover the tremendous need to streamline the conversion process under this specific circumstance. Operating under the guidance and halachic rulings of HaRav Yosef Shalom Elyashev shlit”a, HaRav Dovid Feinstein shlit”a and HaRav Reuven Feinstein shlit”a, Rabbi Tropper is currently compiling the relevant halachos as well as a manual providing practical application and case studies. Fellowships are being provided to a select group of scholars from across the country, who will then delve into and master this program of study. A committee will then be formed to simplify and unify the difficult process that many sincere individuals face when seeking to convert (and thereby saving the Jewish spouse from a major prohibition). Horizons is pleased to have Yehuda Dovid Kaplan join his uncle, Thomas Kaplan as co-chairman of The Lillian Jean Kaplan Jewish Pride Through Education Project. His personal experience from practicing Evangelical Christianity to returning to Judaism will enhance Partners for the Eternal Jewish Family’s efforts to reach out to intermarried couples. Though the scope and reach of this program is being developed and expanded, current efforts to help couples now are continuing. Click here for the text of a letter from Hillel Pesach (formerly Steve) Hurlock who has first hand knowledge of this effort.

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My family emigrated from Ukraine to Australia in 1975 when I was 12. We settled in Sydney’s eastern suburbs only 15 minutes drive from the famous Bondi Beach, which has a large number of Jews, though only a few that are observant. Though a couple of my younger cousins went to learn at the yeshiva, my brother and I were educated in the public school system. Apart from attending bar mitzvas and weddings, we were not exposed to Jewish life or traditions.

It is at this point that I must mention that in Australia there are only two cities, Melbourne and Sydney that have sizable frum communities, though in comparison to New York they are still considered to be deserts by some “Ozzie” Jews. Although there are Jewish families all over Australia, in the country towns it is very unusual to find Jews and certainly not observant ones.

After finishing school, I worked for a number of different companies finally settling down in the finance section of a credit union. On most weekends I’d be out hiking, camping, canyoning, or rogaining (cross-country navigation) in the National Parks. Somewhere along the line, I decided I wanted to learn more about plants and animals. So, in 1996 I moved to the rural city of Albury (600 km south of Sydney and 200 km north of Melbourne) to study for a Bachelor of Applied Science degree at Charles Stuart University.

The year was 1999 and I was walking to a post office to check my mailbox, when I recognized a Jewish symbol – which turned out to be quite a large Chanuka Menorah. I started chatting with some man in black who informed me that they were from Chabad in Melbourne and were doing outreach for the Jewish community of Albury. I was quite surprised since for the last three years I hadn’t seen anybody even slightly resembling a Jew (including myself). The Heidingsfeld family, at that time, has already been visiting the Jewish community in Albury for a number of years during all the Jewish festivals. For me, however, this was my first contact with any frum Jews in the four years of living in that town.

Following that encounter, the Heidingsfelds contacted me and invited me to be their guest on a number of occasions when they came down to Albury. Regretfully, at that time I was working in a remote area on a project for National Parks & Wildlife Service, conducting research on grassland ecology in a national park, so I could only meet them on half the occasions they were in town. After finishing the research project in June of 2000, I stayed on in Albury for another four month to prepare a presentation for the Ecological Society of Australia conference and to help an exchange student from Holland set up a project on Montegue Island to conduct research into Little Penguins.

After moving back to Sydney at the end of 2000, I reestablished contact with all my friends and got back into the routine of pre-university days. Although my weekdays were kept busy with work and weekends with hiking and canyoning, I still felt that there was something missing. So, in February of 2001, when I discovered that there were local Aish HaTorah shiurim on Sunday nights – I started eagerly attending them. Regretfully, this lasted for only a year, as the Rabbi decided to start up an Aish branch in Melbourne and didn’t quite foresee the difficulty in finding a replacement for Sydney.

It was 4 - 6 month before I started to get back into learning once again. This time I diversified a bit, and started attending shiurim given over by both mainstream and Chabad rabbis. It was during that time that I learned there was a much larger frum community in Melbourne. So, in 2003 I threw some cloths into a backpack and boarded a plane for Melbourne. While living in Melbourne I re-established contact with the Heidingsfeld family, who couldn’t do enough for me. I also got involved with the Litvish and Chabad Kollels and started to get “frumenized.” This was now easy, since I was sharing an apartment with a frum, chassidishe Yid, right in the middle of Yiddishkeit (a bit like Monsey – only on a much smaller scale). A kosher supermarket (very expensive) and three kosher bakeries within a 10 minute walk – what else can one ask for!

How did I get from Melbourne all the way to Kol Yaakov…? It was at this time that I started to realize that my neshama was thirsting for something more. So, after discussing peoples’ experiences from yeshivas in the US and Israel, I thought it would be great to go to one as well. Since there are no baalei teshuva yeshivas in Australia, I decided to go to Israel. However, in deference to my mother’s objections, America became the only option left to me.

While I was still in Melbourne, I started to contact various yeshivas in the US which had been suggested to me by my new frum friends. However, after contacting about six of these and getting the same response, “we don’t cater to people your age,” I started to get a bit despondent. One of the last yeshivas that I contacted, however, suggested that I contact Ohr Somayach and Kol Yaakov in Monsey. So that’s what I did… Bingo – both yeshivas were happy for me to come and learn. The decision could have been difficult – but was made easier since I received the necessary paperwork from Kol Yaakov first. The rest is history!

Originally, I was planning to stay in yeshiva for only three months and then to travel for one month. So far, four months later, I am still here and now planning to postpone my mid-Pesach departure date. So much to say and so little space… For me being at Kol Yaakov and in Monsey, in general, has been such a rewarding experience. I have found the Monsey community to be most amazing and absolutely inspiring.

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Most people who come to Kol Yaakov start out walking alone on isolated paths. Usually they end up meeting people along the way who help them get their bearings. Eventually they end up becoming part of the greater Kol Yaakov family. Once a part of this family they never have to walk alone again. So it has been with me.

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley of California where I attended both public and private schools. My bar-mitzvah training, which I wanted to be as brief as possible, was done under the auspices of a reform temple. The more of it I could avoid the happier I was.

During my early college years, after exploring advertising, sales and starting my own newspaper, I traveled parts of the Pacific Coast and the Southwest U.S. I knew that I was looking for more meaning in life ? more than could be found in college credits, making money, pursuing a “piece of paper,” or exhausting my own mental resources. I warmed up to the caring staff and students I met at the California State University Northridge Hillel House which included Orthodox services and an affiliation with Young Israel of Northridge. This friendly, lively group of young men and I used to visit Rabbi Aharon Simkin, Rabbi Tzvi Block and Rabbi Aaron Parry, an alumnus of Kol Yaakov.

After finishing an Associate of Arts degree at Pierce College, I sought meaningful Torah study in Israel. When I returned home I studied part-time and worked at West Valley Hebrew Academy in Woodland Hills, CA and at Toras Emes in Los Angeles. It was there that I made friends with a study-partner, Reb Shlomo Swartz.

There were drawbacks to studying in L.A. So much of the Torah I studied during the day felt like it melted away when I went home to my secular home. It became clear to me and to those who really knew me that I needed to study full-time in a Yeshiva like Kol Yaakov. I needed a Torah environment, dorm-life, and young men my age from diverse backgrounds to study and socialize with. Reb Shlomo and I discussed continuing our learning at Kol Yaakov which we did, happily, for years.

Kol Yaakov has helped me to comfortably integrate my family, education, career, social relationships and background so that, with G-d’s help and by maintaining a continuing relationship with Rabbi Tropper and Kol Yaakov, I now look forward to a goal-oriented, exciting future with my wife and two boys.

HaKol is published by the Kol Yaakov Torah Center and Horizons

29 W. Maple Ave. PO Box 402, Monsey, NY 10952
(845) 425-3863

info@horizons.edu www.horizons.edu

Editor– Rabbi Dovid Jacobs

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1. One who travels to Eretz Yisroel for every Yom Tov is exempt from observing two days Yom Tov.

2. One who is able to learn Torah in depth and chooses to learn Torah superficially is considered a Mevatel Torah.

3. There are halachic authorities who say that during Sefirah it is permissible to listen to recordings of inspirational music with words.

Sources:
1. Maran Hagaon Rav S.Z. Auerbach zt”l in S.S. Vol. III pages 42-43.
2. Sefer HaZikoron Rav Dessler zt”l Vol II page 30 in the name of Maran Harav Boruch Ber zt”l who heard it from his Rebbe, Hagaon Reb Chaim Halevi of Brisk zt”l

CONDOLENCES :

Mr. Ezra Beyman on the loss of his father, OB”M

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