Top rabbinic leaders back call for silent study in yeshiva kollels

Five senior members of the Council of Torah Sages have formally backed a call by Yeshiva head Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch for special study schedules in kollels across Israel. In a letter now being distributed to kollels nationwide, they urged continuous learning and a half-hour of speech-free study at the start of the first session, through the High Holy Days, saying the move comes in response to the severe pressures facing the Torah world.

The signatories were Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Bergman, Rabbi Baruch Dov Povarsky, Rabbi Eliezer Pilz, Rabbi Dov Cohen and Rabbi Aryeh Yehuda Finkel. They concluded by writing that, “This merit will stand for all of Israel against the severe persecutions and the new troubles from the oppressor.”

The initiative follows the current crisis over military draft measures and cuts to yeshiva funding. It also follows a special gathering at Hirsch’s home with dozens of kollels heads from across the Holy Land, shortly before his trip to the United States for the World Torah Fund campaign. At that meeting, Hirsch asked the heads of kollels to accept a half-hour of silence at the start of every study session from now until the end of the High Holy Days.

Hirsch said the difficulty of the commitment is exactly what gives it spiritual power. “It is very difficult, and because it is difficult and is a form of self-sacrifice, it will bring great sanctification of God’s name,” he said. “Then the Holy One, blessed be He, will draw close to us, and then we will have special divine assistance. Without that special assistance, it will not be possible to prevail against those who are fighting us.” A further meeting is expected at the home of Rabbi Dov Landau, where another call for strengthening and good resolutions is likely to be issued. Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch also sent a similar letter, linking the effort to the struggle against Amalek.