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The Cup that Overflows

An Interview with Ishay Ribo

Though he performs while wearing a kippah and with his tzitzit out, Ishay Ribo’s fans include Jews
of every type. Nadav Gedaliah spoke with Ishay to get his thoughts on Israel’s social unrest.

How do you see the situation in get along, and the challenges we have are influence the students. The rosh yeshiva
the country now? not blown out of proportion. But if I only told him: “You must be a kiddush cup that
know what the media is saying about the overflows. As you know, we have a custom
These days everyone who has an opinion social difficulties in Israel, I would think to overfill the kiddush cup with wine, so
will find someone who will come and say the problem is much more dire than it that a little of the wine spills over the
the opposite. The difficulty is to accommo- actually is. Fortunately, many people are sides of the cup. The same is true when it
date the other person’s opinion even if you beginning to realize that we shouldn’t comes to influencing and inspiring other
don’t agree with it. It stems from anger accept the media’s version of our “divide” people: when you fill your own vessel in
and frustration on both sides. I don’t come as if it were Torah from Sinai. Yes, it’s a healthy and holy way, you will impact
to judge anyone, and we have to accept true that the situation is not ideal, but by the environment and those around you.”
that we in Am Yisrael are brothers. When speaking with one another we can draw
there are problems, we should all do some closer to each other, and then we realize This is our job. Instead of saying that the
“other people” are wrong, we must fill our
self-introspection and stop reflexively that the gap between us is not as great as own cups with an ayin tova (a good eye) and
blaming the other side. it appears. Conversation builds relation- with giving others the benefit of the doubt.
ships, so if we say “there is nothing to talk If we do this in all of our social circles,
How have you personally been about,” we will widen the rift in our social with those who are closer to us and those
impacted by the social unrest? fabric. who are further from us, we will positively
Baruch Hashem, I don’t personally expe- There is a precious Jew with whom I study impact our environment and our broader
rience any social strife on a daily basis. Massechet Ta’anit once a week b’chavruta. I society. I don’t see any other way.
It seems to me that the social problems asked him what he thinks about the situ-  This interview was originally published in
we are having begin, primarily, with the ation. He is a G-d-fearing Jew who is lit up Hebrew in Olam Katan.
media, which exacerbates the problems by the Torah. He told me this: There was a
and then impacts the public. In real life, on mashgiach (spiritual guide) in a yeshiva who Below: World Mizrachi's Yom HaAtzmaut celebrations
a person to person level, people generally asked the rosh yeshiva how he could best featuring Ishay Ribo, April 2023.

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