[Avodah] Fwd: Rabbi Hershel Schachter - True Freedom

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 10:09:56AM -0400, Samuel Svarc wrote:
: RHS ignored the Israeli reality that not learning in Kollel means joining
: the army. I can't speak for the RY in question, but setting up the question
: as one of a) learning full time b) being an eved Hashem ignores the reality
: of IDF, an institution that was setup and is being perpetuated as a melting
: pot.

I don't think you know the reality of the IDF. But much of that reality
is created by the number of O Jews in the army.

It's also assur to avoid a milkhemes mitzvah. We even pull a chasan or
kallah from sheva berakhos, and talmidei chakhamim are drafted FIRST. So
I'm not sure anyone -- including those of us living in chu"l -- really
have a choice when Israel is under attack, or to be trained to be of
help when it is.

I realize you can well disagree, for that matter, R Dovid did. But you
need to work with RHS's shittos within /his/ assumptions.

: Sent from my mobile phone
: On Apr 11, 2012 6:43 PM, "Micha Berger" <micha at aishdas.org> wrote:
: 
: > ----- Forwarded message from TorahWeb <torahweb at torahweb.org> -----
: > Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:21:00 -- 0400
: > From: TorahWeb <torahweb at torahweb.org>
: > Subject: Rabbi Hershel Schachter -- True Freedom
: > To: weeklydt at torahweb2.org
: >
: > Permanent Link <http://www.torahweb.org/torah/2012/moadim/rsch/pesach.html
: > >
: >
: > During intersession I participated in a special tour of Eretz Yisroel
: > together with a group of Yeshiva students. The purpose of the tour was
: > to study various aspects of Israeli society. Among many other places,
: > we visited a "charedi" yeshiva high school in Haifa. The rosh yeshiva
: > spoke with us and said, amongst other things, that if ninety percent of
: > his graduates do not end up learning long-term in a kollel, he considers
: > himself a failure. We were all stunned!
: >
: > Certainly learning Torah is most important! Every morning right after
: > reciting birchos haTorah we all recite the passage from the Talmud stating
: > that "Talmud Torah keneged kulam". But still, can it be that anyone who
: > does not go into full-time learning is wasting his life? Hakadosh Baruch
: > Hu calls upon all people to be His slaves. The message Moshe Rabbeinu was
: > to deliver to Pharoh was, "shalach ami veya'avduin -- let My people go and
: > have them become My slaves." Until Pesach evening, the Jews were slaves
: > to Pharoh and then, when he freed them, they became slaves to Hashem.
: >
: > The Jews in every generation were always at the forefront of fighting
: > for freedom. Our tradition teaches, however, that true freedom does not
: > mean that one is free to do whatever he pleases. Only one who is a slave
: > to Hashem and follows the Torah is considered truly free. In Hallel
: > we recite, "ani avdecha ben amosecha pitachto l'moseirai", i.e. that
: > only by becoming a complete slave to Hakadosh Baruch Hu do we feel that
: > "our shackles have been broken" and that we have become freed!
: >
: > Moshe Rabbeinu was described by the Torah as "eved Hashem -- a slave of
: > Hashem." The Radak explains the use of this expression to describe Moshe
: > based on the Talmudic principle, "kol mah shekana eved kana rabbo --
: > everything a slave acquires is automatically transferred to his master."
: > Just as all that a slave does belongs to his master, so too everything
: > Moshe Rabbeinu did, all day long, was in the service of his Master,
: > Hashem. Similarly, when commenting on the passuk, "va'yered Moshe min
: > ha'har el ha'am" (Shemos 19:14), Chazal highlight the fact that even
: > though Moshe was returning from being on Har Sinai for forty days,
: > he did nothing for his own purposes when he came down, rather he went
: > straight back to serving Hashem's people.
: >
: > The Torah calls upon all of us to serve as avadim to Hashem, "ki Li
: > Bnai Yisroel avadim" (Vayikra 26:55). The Rambam (Hilchos De'os 3:2-3),
: > citing the passuk (Mishlei 3:6), "bechol derachecha do'eihu" writes
: > that all of our daily activities -- getting dressed, eating, working,
: > spending time with our spouses and our children, sleeping, etc. -- should
: > be done lesheim Shomayim. The Rambam goes on to say that one who follows
: > this path is in constant service of Hashem! The Torah dictates not only
: > how we must deal in business but even how we should put on our shoes and
: > tie them, how we should shower, and how we should go to sleep at night. A
: > Jew can not divide his activities between the holy and the secular. All
: > day long we are avdei Hashem, and "kol mah shekana eved kana rabbo". All
: > of our activities are expected to be done in the service of our Master.
: >
: > Our love for Hashem is expected to be all encompassing. We are called
: > upon to love him "with all of our hearts." Our love for our spouses and
: > family members is expected to be part of our love for Hashem. He wants
: > us to raise families.
: >
: > After receiving semicha from Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky at Torah V'Da'as,
: > many of the students would go into secular fields. Rav Kaminetsky would
: > not rebuke them for the decision not to enter into the rabbinate or
: > chinuch. He would simply tell them that whatever they choose to do for
: > a living they must do honestly, and they must always act and deal with
: > others in a proper fashion to make a Kiddush Hashem.
: >
: > The Torah tells us (Breshis 5:22) that Chanoch was a holy tzaddik who
: > "walked with Hashem". According to the Zohar, Chanoch was an honest
: > and hard-working shoemaker who did all of his work lesheim Shomayim.
: > Chanoch's life was one of great success; he acted as an eved to Hashem
: > by dedicating all of his daily activities to His service.
: >
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:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
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