Page 38 - HaMizrachi #14 2019 Chayei Sarah USA

YESHIVOT IN ISRAEL

Rabbi Shalom Rosner

the Symbol A Tale of Two Cities

of Connection hebron and jerusalem

s every bride (kallah) and But some suggest that the hashkafic
groom (chatan) stand under linkage goes in the exact opposite
Atheir chuppah and the groom direction, from marriage to land
Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh has established places a ring on the bride’s finger acquisition.
itself as a center for high-level Torah and recites “harei at mekudeshet li”
learning and an incubator for exceptional (Behold you are sanctified (betrothed) Our link to the Land of Israel is like a
talmidei chachamim. to me…), they are fulfilling the marriage!
The Beit Midrash, from which the sounds of ancient practice of performing Jewish When Avraham Avinu purchased
spirited debate echo deep into the night, is marriage through kidushei kesef, a Ma’arat HaMachpela, he created an
the center of the wider yeshiva community, transfer of an asset from the chatan to
uniting the bachurim, the kollel families, the kallah. eternal bond that can never be broken.
and the families of the ramim and staff, We are the only people in world
remaining the unquestionable nucleus of The source of this practice is based
yeshiva life. on the Talmud (Kiddushin 2a) history that never forgot its homeland,
which quotes a gezeira shava, a constantly praying and yearning for
The Overseas Program draws foreign halachic connection between the the ability to return to her borders.
students from five continents. With such a kinyan (acquisition) of marriage It is a loving marriage, where both
wide and well-distributed pool of students, and the kinyan of land. This sides are constantly yearning for the
the overseas group melds together halachic mechanism, titled kicha companionship of the other.
remarkably leading to meaningful lifelong kicha m’sdei Ephron, sets up the
friendships. Rabbi Abba (Sanhedrin 98A) even
halachic basis for marriage, but the
All of this takes place in the irreplaceable hashkafic underpinnings still require expounds a verse in Yechezkel,
and incomparable aura of Eretz Yisrael. elaboration. prophesying that the Land of Israel
With numerous classes and lectures would not blossom and produce
conducted in Hebrew, a student body What can be the underlying messages bounty until her spouse returns, a
primarily comprised of active and linking marriage with buying a parcel prophecy whose fulfillment we are
former soldiers in the IDF, and constant of land in Eretz Yisrael? meriting to see, following the return
consciousness of the privilege to live and after a 2,000 year hiatus.
learn in the Promised Land, students forge Some suggest that the hashkafic
an eternal bond with Eretz Yisrael. linkage should be from land to Hebron, then, is the symbol of the
marriage. In the context of Ephron beginning of our eternal connection,
and Avraham, each assumed and was or better yet, marriage, to the Land of
confident that they received the best Israel. Maybe that is why it is called
deal, the better side of the bargain. Hebron, highlighting the chibbur
Ephron counted his shekalim and (connection) that each and every Jew
couldn’t fathom how one would give has to our homeland. Parashat Chayei
such a large sum for a cave and a Sarah each year is an opportune time
couple of stones. Avraham couldn’t
believe that he merited buying the to rededicate and reinvigorate our
gateway to the Heavenly Worlds for feelings of recognition and gratitude of
Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh a finite amount of shekalim. So too our eternal connection to G-d’s home
+972-8-856-2007 on earth, the Land of Israel.
il@kby.org.il each chatan and kallah should feel
www.kby.org/english that they received the best deal in the Rabbi Shalom Rosner is a Rebbe at Yeshivat
world! My spouse is the most amazing Kerem B’Yavneh and Rabbi of the Nofei
person in the universe! HaShemesh community

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