Maale Gilboa meets Bnei Brak!

On the Shabbat of parshat Truma, the yeshiva travelled down to the epicenter of Hareidi Judaism in the world, the lovely city of Bnai Brak. Entering the city expecting the familiar images of the narrow, rubbish filled streets so common in Mea Shearim, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself walking on clean streets lined with modest apartments. Despite being both the poorest  and most densely populated city in Israel, it does not seem to the passerby to be a city wallowing in its poverty.

Our host yeshiva was on the perimeter of Bnai Brak, close to Ramat Gan, yet it was a relatively short walk to all our destinations through the entire Shabbat. Although its students were not there (having occupied Maale Gilboa’s dorm rooms in an exchange of sorts for Shabbat) we found all remaining staff at the Yeshiva extremely warm and helpful. However, our activity within its facilities was (self) restricted to meals, Kabbalat Shabbat, and Shabbat afternoon rest. The remainder of the time, we were led by Zevik throughout the city to various yeshivot, synagogues, and rabbis’ houses.  Our first stop was at the World Wide Headquarters  for the Nadvorna Hasidim. We had a conversation with Rav Kovlski, founder of “Me’orot Hadaf Hayomi” (http://hadafhayomi.co.il/index.php?l=en) which engages millions of Jews everyday in the learning of a daf of Gemara daily. Through his guiding hand, stories, and wealth of knowledge, we delved into whether intentions truly matter or whether it is only the outcome that is the deciding factor in Jewish Law. Afterwards, we participated in a Tische with Chasidai Nadvorna. We entered a long room bracketed on the sides by rickety wooden bleachers with a long table in the middle. At the head of the table sat the Rebbe -- An elderly, fragile looking man dressed in beautiful silk blue robes with silver crescent moon designs.  On his head sat a large fur shtreimel. The other chasidim wore black robes with white knickers. The majority wore shtreimels as well but there was some variety of hats. This tische was a very communal affair with food and drink being distributed to everyone and everyone enjoying it immensely. We then left to visit Yeshivat Beit Aharon, a yeshiva for students with religious-Zionist backgrounds who want to enter the Haredi world. We had a talk with their Rosh Yeshiva, the dynamic Rabbi Took. He gave us a beautiful dvar torah and taught us a new niggun: “Amar Abaya,” now a favorite among both the rabbis and students of  Maale Gilboa. From here, the majority of the Yeshiva opted to continue our adventure at the Tische of Vizhnitz Hasidim. There is currently a power struggle between two brothers for control of the sect. We went to the more popular and dynamic (according to Zevik) brother’s tische. We walked in an impressive building and immediately were blown away by the site. In essence it was the same as the last tische just on steroids. The bleachers were both higher and longer, the large square table was perhaps the largest I’ve seen in my life fitting by my rough estimate at least 60 people (and that’s only on 3 sides of it, the fourth is for the Rebbe). Even the singing and grandeur seemed more than the last. Imagine a few hundred Chasidim on bleachers, dressed in their Shabbat best jumping and singing in unison. I’m still amazed that the bleachers didn’t collapse under the sheer volume of people stuffed on, let alone the pressure exerted on the seemingly unstable structure as they all jumped and swayed as one. Now imagine the same thing again but on the other side of the table. And again on the third side. And again in all areas surrounding the table. It was truly an amazing sight. Slowly, the stands started filling with some colorful shirts and kipot srugot as the students of Maale Gilboa climbed up. The rabbi once again sat at the head of the table, this time flanked by his son and son-in-law. When he spoke, somehow his voice carried throughout the entire room despite the fact that he spoke in a seemingly normal  tone. Unlike the past tische, the rabbi gave the food to specific people. Each plate of fruit, or challah, or grains went directly to the person he called out. “An apple for Yankele” and the apple was passed hand to hand until it reach it’s desired recipient. During his dvar torah, every person in the room stood at rapt attention as he carried on for at least 20 minutes. I’m told it was quite impressive but unfortunately didn’t understand a word seeing as it was in Yiddish. Eventually, around 2 a.m., fatigue overwhelmed me and I decided to return for some sleep. However, others stayed much later thoroughly enjoying it. 

The next morning we all woke up and scattered across the city to daven wherever the wind blew us. We also met with Zevik’s Uncle, a major rabbi in Bnei Brak. We also had a quick tour of the famed Ponevezh Yeshiva. We then returned to Mishkan Shimeon for lunch remained there the rest of the day until the we returned to Maale Gilboa that night. The shabbat was a true eye opener into the a world that most of the students had never experienced. While there are many points that Maale Gilboa and the Hareidi world will never agree on, we all left Bnei Brak impressed by their intense Ahavat Torah and Ahavat Yisrael. It was truly a Shabbat to remember.

-- Nacham Shapiro