Roshei Yeshiva, Rabbonim, and Admorim filled Bnei Brak’s Keter HaRimon Hall on Sunday night for an emergency asifah on behalf of Keren Olam HaTorah, issuing a united call in response to what the Gedolim repeatedly described as the most severe threat facing Olam HaTorah in Eretz Yisrael in decades.
The gathering came amid the convergence of several crises: the gezeiras hagiyus, deep cuts to yeshivah funding, and the mounting financial pressure on thousands of bnei Torah and avreichim. The asifah served as a call to Klal Yisrael worldwide to share in the responsibility of sustaining Torah learning in Eretz Yisrael during this unprecedented period.
From the outset, the focus was not on politics but on the anguish experienced by Torah families. HaRav Dov Landau shlit”a spoke movingly of the fear that has entered the homes of bnei Torah, describing the anxiety felt by the wife of an avreich and the mother of a ben yeshivah each time their husband or son leaves home, uncertain whether military authorities may detain him.
“Our hearts ache from the suffering of these families,” Rav Landau said. He stressed that the responsibility for maintaining Olam HaTorah can no longer rest solely on the shoulders of a small group of benefactors. Every Yid, he said, must accept a share of that responsibility according to his ability.
HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, said that hopes that the current situation would reverse itself within a year or two are no longer realistic. The former funding structure, he explained, is not returning, and the model in which a limited number of major donors sustained Olam HaTorah is no longer sufficient.
“Every Yid must become a shutaf in Keren Olam HaTorah,” Rav Hirsch declared. He noted that supporting a single avreich for one month costs $276 and urged every Yid to undertake at least one month of sponsorship, whether through a one-time contribution or by giving $23 per month over the course of a year. Those with the ability to contribute more, he said, should do so, and those who can sponsor an avreich for an entire year should merit abundant brachah from Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman shlit”a told the assembled Gedolim and participants that no threat would ever cause Klal Yisrael to surrender even a single bochur. He also called upon the tzibbur to daven for the delegation of Gedolim preparing to travel to the United States in the coming days on behalf of Keren Olam HaTorah.
The Sanzer Rebbe shlit”a described the current struggle against limud haTorah as the inner milchamah of the geulah, a battle being waged by those seeking to uproot Torah from Klal Yisrael.
“When Yidden support lomdei Torah, their money takes on a tzurah of kedushah,” the Rebbe said. Citing the Noam Elimelech on the passuk “v’tzarta hakesef b’yadecha,” he explained that funds given to sustain Olam HaTorah become, in Shamayim, instruments of taharah that bring blessing to both the donor and his household.
HaRav Shmuel Betzalel shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Porat Yosef, said that Keren Olam HaTorah, established through the generosity of Jews around the world, has itself become a new “keren” — a source of shefa tovah, bringing both spiritual and material blessing to Klal Yisrael.
HaRav Dovid Cohen shlit”a observed that while the gezeiros continue to intensify, support from Klal Yisrael across the globe continues to grow. He spoke of the joy and sense of purpose with which Yidden contribute to Keren Olam HaTorah, often beyond their means, and emphasized that the time has come for every member of Klal Yisrael to participate according to his ability.
By the conclusion of the asifah, the Gedolim had charted a clear course forward. A delegation of Roshei Yeshivah and Gedolei Torah is preparing to depart for the United States next week, marking the third such mission undertaken on behalf of the keren since the onset of the gezeiros.
The previous missions, the Gedolim noted, were met with an outpouring of support from American Yidden that exceeded all expectations, generating hundreds of millions of dollars to sustain yeshivos and kollelim and enable avreichim to continue learning despite the loss of government support.
Now, as financial pressures continue to mount and the needs grow greater by the day, the Gedolim are calling upon every Yid to take part in the effort and shoulder a portion of the responsibility for preserving and strengthening Olam HaTorah.
