<html>
<body>
<font size=3>This past Shabbos was "Lakewood Shabbos" in
Flatbush. Various Roshei Yeshiva spoke at shuls throughout Shabbos. I
heard part of a drasha given at a nearby shul at Seuda Shlishis.<br><br>
One of the Roshei Yeshiva eloquently spoke about the years that Yaakov
spent studying in the yeshiva of Shem V'Ever. (As we all know, these
years are not mentioned openly in the Chumash.) However, he failed to
make any mention that the Torah tells us in considerable detail how
Yaakov worked diligently for Lavan for 20 years. It would seem to me that
years of work in order to support a family are considered of some
importance, given that the Torah mentions them. Indeed, might one deduce
that the fact that these years are discussed openly in the Torah whereas
the years of Torah learning are not, that these years of work are perhaps
considered more important by the Torah? I am simply asking, because I
really do not have the answer. (Perhaps some will consider even
raising the issue blasphemous.)<br><br>
I davened with the Maariv minyan at which the Rosh Yeshiva davened. (This
Shtiebel has a practice of making several minyanim for Maariv on Motzoei
Shabbos.) When it came to Shemoneh Esrei, it took the Rosh Yeshiva a long
time to daven. Indeed, the Rov of the shul as well as all of the others
who davened with this minyan finished well before the Rosh Yeshiva and
therefore had to wait a good few minutes for the Rosh Yeshiva to finish.
In light of the piece below, I can only wonder if what he did was
appropriate. <br><br>
From The Mussar Movement, Volume I, part 2, pages 224 - 225.<br><br>
Praying alone on Saturday nights or at the end of fast days, R. Israel
would defer his Tefillah till an hour or more after dark. When praying
with the congregation however, he would hurry to start immediately and
not wait a minute beyond the earliest permissible time, so as not to hold
back the congregation. So, too, he would take very long to recite the
Tefillah when alone. When he prayed with a congregation that would wait
for him to finish, however, he would be among the first, "so as not
to burden the public." Even in the month of Elul and the Ten Days of
Penitence, when he would observe special stringencies, he would only take
a little longer than usual to recite the first three berachot of the
Shemoneh Esreh, but hurry through the rest as was his custom, and so
finish together with the congregation.<br><br>
I am not in anyway trying to disparage this Rosh Yeshiva. However, when I
see things that do not make sense to me, I feel that I should raise
questions about them.<br><br>
Any constructive insight you can supply will be appreciated.<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
Yitzchok Levine</font></body>
</html>