Good Erev Shabbat to all!
Once again we like to remind everyone of our upcoming Annual Journal Dinner, honoring Mr. & Mrs. Yisrael Nisanov, Dr. & Mrs. Wallach, and Dr. Pamela Siller, June 17th, Tuesday evening. Please make your reservations and send in your journal ads asap. We are counting on your participation and support!
We are very excited about our Siyum for the Boys Division, on Thursday evening, June 12th. HaRav Hecht will speak to the boys and their families about the the Rosh Yeshivah, HaRav Henoch Leibowitz, Tzal. We will also be finishing several Perekim of Mishnayot the boys have been learning in memory of Mr. Isidore Feld, zl.
As we conclude the days of Sefirat HaOmer, we are making the final preparations for Kabbalat HaTorah on Chag HaShavuot. In Pirkay Avot it is written: "if there is no Derech Eretz, there is no Torah". A prerequisite for receiving the Torah is the proper development of our good character. It is no coincidence that we focus during the Sefira on the tragedy of the students of Rabbi Akiva. These students were punished because they had not fully applied their Rebbie’s essential teaching that Ahavat Yisrael and Kavod for our fellow Jews is the Klal Gadol (the main foundation) upon which Torah is built. Perhaps this is also the reason we begin our weekly study of Pirkay Avot, Chazal’s manual for developing Midot Tovot , during the Days of Sefira.
This thought is further emphasized when we the read Megilat Rut on Shavuot. Rut’s acceptance of Judaism was preceded by her reaching a tremendous level of Ahavat Chesed. Only when her Midot were perfected was she ready to accept the Torah and Mitzvot. I heard on a tape from Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, Shlita, that the Rabbeinu Yona states that this is the explanation of "Naase V’nishma" (We will do, and we will listen), the declaration the Bnai Yisrael proclaimed at Har Sinai. "Naase" refers to doing acts of kindness and improving our character traits. Then, we are capable of "V’Nishma", listening and learning Hashem’s holy Torah.
In the world of Torah education, it is important to remember that the classroom is not only the place to work on the nuts and bolts of our intensive academic programs, but perhaps, even more importantly, it is the place to model and inculcate Midot Tovot.
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Shabbat Shalom and Chag Samayach!
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