Welcome to Kehillas Torah

Two thousand years ago lived Rebbi Akiva - the greatest Rabbi of his generation, and one of the greatest Rabbis of all time. He amassed 24,000 talmidim (students). They flocked to bask in his greatness and learn his Torah. Rebbi Akiva's talmidim were the pride of the generation. They capably carried the banner of Torah as they represented the future of Torah Judaism.

Then, tragedy struck. A terrible plague appeared and ALL 24,000 talmidim died, except for 5 students. It would have been so easy to give in to despair; but, Rebbi Akiva forged on with these 5 talmidim. They eventually went on to produce the Mishnah - the backbone of the Talmud - the source of all Torah teaching to this day. We have that wonderful ability to find hope when it is hopeless as the following true story illustrates:

Rav Yosef Kahaneman, the last Rav of the Lithuanian town of Ponovezh, arrived in Eretz Yisrael during the Second World War. His family had been murdered, his community turned to ashes, and the German panzer Afrika Korps was at the gates of Egypt. But the Ponovezher Rav saw an empty hilltop in the little village of Bnei Brak, and he said: "On that hilltop, I will build a yeshiva as a memorial to Ponovezh; a Torah center with hundreds and hundreds of students, even larger than the great yeshivos of prewar Eastern Europe."

They called him a dreamer. He replied, "I am dreaming; but, I am not asleep."

Some of his friends said: "Nebach, with all the tragedies the old Rabbi has suffered, his mind has finally broken from the strain." The story goes that they took him to a see a psychiatrist, who reportedly said: "Well, at least he's harmless."

That is what happens when you are the only sane person in the asylum. Because Rav Kahaneman understood: When you go to do the Will of Hashem, you do not begin with a feasibility study, and you do not sit down to think of all the reasons why you cannot succeed. Instead, you say Naaseh V'nishma, we will do, and afterwards we will try to understand. And Rav Kahaneman went on to create Eretz Yisrael's largest yeshiva, with branches and affiliate schools of a magnitude unmatched since the days of the Gemara. It seemed utterly impossible; but with Hashem's help he did it.

Rav Yosef Yoizel Horvitz of Novardok, whose disciples founded more than 80 yeshivos is Russia and Poland, summed it up: "I never ask whether a particular project can be done, only whether it should be done. If it should be done, I go ahead, and I am confident that the means to succeed will be found." [The above true story is documented in "A Gift For Yom Tov" by Rabbi Yisroel Miller.]

Two thousand years ago, there was a great scholar named Rebbi Akiva. At the age of 40 he was unlearned and set out on the ambitious task of catching up. He applied himself with legendary diligence (and patience) and succeeded beyond anyone's expectations. Through hard work and selfless dedication he eventually became one of the generation's leading Torah scholars and amassed 24,000 talmidim (students). These talmidim were devoted to their exalted Rebbi. They represented the future, for they would carry on their master's teachings and traditions.

Then tragedy struck. A horrible plague wiped out his 24,000 talmidim. Only five were left alive. The Talmud explains that they were punished because of a defective character trait, namely they didn't show the proper honor to each other (lo nahagu kavod zu lazu).

These 24,000 men had but one thing in common - they were all students of the same teacher, Rebbi Akiva. It stands to reason that this flaw existed in the Rebbi, for why else would it be shared by these 24,000 in particular. This leads to one question. If Rebbi Akiva had that same flaw, why were only his students punished. How come he himself was not punished.

The answer is that he was punished. In fact he received the harshest punishment of all. He had to witness his beloved 24,000 talmidim die. He put all he had into his talmidim and now they were gone. The Talmud states "Talmidim harei heim k'bonim - Talmidim are like children." Given the love that a Rebbi has for his talmidim, such a loss is almost unbearable.

Rabbi Aryeh Rodin was once accompanying the Rosh Yeshiva Rav Henoch Leibowitz shlit"a. The Rosh Yeshiva is known world wide for his unrelenting dedication to Harbotzas Torah (spreading Torah). Those of us privileged to learn in his yeshiva saw another, perhaps even greater, dedication - the intense dedication and love that he has to each and every one of his talmidim.

The Rosh Yeshiva was going for a haircut that day and Rabbi Rodin was assisting him. As Rabbi Rodin was helping the Rosh Yeshiva take off his coat and hang it up, the proprietor, asked him, "Is this your father?"