Whats Wrong With Roshei Yasheva

People often approach me and exclaim?

"Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik, you are the acknowledge expert on the psychology of Chareidie and other orthodox Roshei Yeshiva, Can you please explain to me why so many Chareidie Roshei Yasheva like Elya Shvei have such insane and baseless hatred for the greatest Goanim and Tzadikim in the Jewish world, such as your Kinsman Rav Moshe, Rav Yosef Dov and Harav Aharone."
The first and most obvious answers that come to mind are the things that would motivate anyone without character, a sense of common decency, or knowledge of the torah to behave in this disgusting and prust manner. These are of course jealousy, bitterness, arrogance, and a low self esteem. For some of the lesser Mad Black Hatters arrogance and jealousy suffice; after all they claim to be the standard bearers of the Torah life but the truly great talmidi chachamim and tzadikim of their generation reject the fiction that is the black hat Daas Torah con. For others there is a great deal more vitriol then would be expected from these emotions. So how do we explain the likes of Elya Shvei who seems to go above and beyond the fray in his insane hatred and evil? For him it’s the standard Jealousy and arrogance, but you have to add in low self esteem and bitterness.
You see as a young and sensitive boy he arrogantly believed that he could get excepted to our family institution on the merits of his imagined greatness. He was of course incorrect and rejected because he didn't amount to much. Thus the hatred for the Soloveichiks. This is of course the source of his bitterness. But how can he express it, after all as a member of the black hat Daas Torah con he can't actually come out and insult The Brisker Rov. That is a one way ticket to where he belongs, in the trash. So he has to refocus and redouble his anger against those members of my family in which it is ok to be jealous and insulting towards. Then instated of being called a fool, the more accurate description, he is called a Kanoy.
I hope this clears things up a bit.

POSER ALERT

Well it seems that just a short time after my first foray into the world of blogging, my web site has become so popular that there are posers trying to capitalize on the unique and authentic brisker view that you find only here. This should not have come as a surprise, after all there are so many who wish they could represent the true light of Brisk in which I uniquely do. But so soon?! I'm Flattered.

The First Poser is a well known commenter on Haemtza.blogspot.com. His handle is Rocco Lampoon. He has traditional Chareidi views, which means they are not worth expounding on, and is apparently trying to portray himself as a bad alternative to my own site. Kol Hakavode to him, and a personal thanks. After all, the people most interested in his blog have no education to speak of and will therefore misspell the name and end up on my blog.

To Rocco Lampoon I salute you for helping me bring these young Yeshiva Bachurim to the true light of Torah, and Derech Eretz.

Flipping Out

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, flipping out is when a modern orthodox child goes to Yeshiva in Israel and over the course of his studies becomes Chareidi. This phenomenon has become so common that actually academic psychological studies have been employed to incorrectly (as is the common outcome of most social science studies) explain the root cause of this phenomenon.

People commonly approach me and say:
"Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik, you are the foremost recognized authority on the Yeshiva world, how do you explain the phenomenon of flipping out among so many of the modern orthodox youth studying in Israel today?"

I too (though only initial because as soon as I had given it any thought the answer became very clear to me.) was somewhat perplexed. How is it that after eighteen years of child rearing in a modern Orthodox culture that in the space of less then a year a young Yashiva Bachur (in a modern Yeshiva no less) will so fully rejects his roots. I believe the answer can best be explained with the following anecdote.

I was at a family gathering a little over a year ago and the discussion over dinner revolved around the issues of Shmitah. This is a common topic during the Shmittah year in any family where different Hashkafic view points exists and explanations must be given for refraining from eating at relatives homes. I take the most logical and undeniably Halachikly true opinion that while certainly one should attempted to get there produce from Otzer Bies Din, if they can't the next best thing would be heter machirah, and last but not least if you are at some of your blacker cousins' houses and they are paying close attention to what you stick in your pockets, then you can eat BaDa"Tz products so as not to embarrass your host for there lack of Torah knowledge.

After expounding on this opinion for a short while a Rebbi in a modern Orthodox Yasheva responded that while he theoretically agrees (as if there is room for legitimate disagreement), it is a practical fact that he could not run the Yeshiva kitchen on Otzer Beis Din (OBD) and kadushas shveis (KS) because the bachurim would not be carefully dispose of produce and would end up throwing it out in the garbage (for those of you not living in Israel, this is a bad thing). It was therefore necessary for the Yashiva to have the lowest level of hashgacha in the form of the BeDa"Tz. When I told him that during the previous Shmittah in KBY (Kerem B'Yavneh) We had passed around a pot at the end of each meal were all kidishas shvis was placed for safe keeping, the Rebbi replied that while this works in KBY his talimidim were not on that level and could not be trusted to perform such a task. Apparently the mechanical motion and opposable thumbs required for grasping, lifting, and setting down objects found in most apes and KBY students is not commonly seen among Modern Orthodox Yeshiva Bachurim.

It occurred to me at the time that The Rebbi's Reasoning contained two flaws, both of which illuminate the genesis of the "Flipping Out" Phenomenon. The first mistake was that since the Yeshiva was unable to maintain the correctly (i.e. my own) stringent standards of kashrus they should at least conform to the generally accepted, though thoroughly ridiculous, kashrus standards of the Yashivish Velt at large, rather then adopting the more correct Bideved standard of kashrus. This mistake actually gives the air of legitimacy to the Yeshivas hashkafa to the students at the MO yeshiva. The students are in a sense being told by their own Rebaim that Modern Orthodox kashrus standards are less correct then the Chariedi one their yeshiva adopts.

The second and more serious mistake was the Rebbis opinion that "His students are incapable of the diligence required for kidushas shvies. This is fatal. The Rebbi does not believe in his own talmidim, and therefore subconsciously does not believe in himself of his way of life either. After over a decade of watching half of His talmidim switch their leather Kippas for Borsalinos, move into squatter holes in the wall in Geulah to learn at the Mir or some similar yeshiva he still doubts the resolve of his students. What could be more deflating to an eighteen or nineteen year old's ego then to know the person who is entrusted to teach him in the ways of Hashem and the Torah does not believe in him.

It is at this most vulnerable stage that the Yishivish Hashkafa kicks in. In every MO Yeshiva, be it KBY, MTA, Shalavim or The Gush (well, not the Gush) there is always at least one hired gun from a black Hat Yeshiva, usually brought in for Mussar Sedar. After all who better to tell you that there is something wrong with the way you lead your life and what you believe then a guy who actually despises the way you lead your life and what you believe in. This Rebbi is actually paid by the MO Yeshiva to seek out its emotionally weakest students with the biggest self confidence problems and mold them in the Image of this Rebbi.
How does he do it?
What does he say?
He tells the student everything he wants to hear.
"You aren’t the worst one here, you're the best. See all these Rebbim here with their srugies and there YU educations (the Rebbi will give a particularly nasty frown and sound especially disgusted when he gets to the YU education part), they are nothing compared to you. You don't need an education or a career to be better then them. Adarabah, collage, work, and self-sufficiency, are the Yatzer Harah. All you have to do is change who you are, what you believe, how you dress to automatically transcend the life of mediocrity that you were raised and educated in. Just become one of us and that makes you better then all of them."

And believe you me this is easier to accomplish then you might imagine. What does this Yeshiva Bachur have to do to become a member of the elite and surpass his old Rebaim who have been dedicating there whole life to torah. All he has to do is change what he dresses from Kakis and Polos to White shirts and Black wool pants. Replace the leather yarlmukah with a black velvet one, stop bathing more then once every couple of weeks, and refuse to trust his parent's kashrus at home. Remember he is a teenager despising and looking down on his parents is second nature, and besides is new rabbi tells him it’s a mitzvah to do it. In a few short months he has surpassed all his peers and old Rebaim in the world of torah, and he hasn't even learned all that much. What could be more gratifying?!!!

So the question all the MO Roshi Yeshiva ask me is:
"Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik" You are of course correct in all that you say but what can we do to combat this? Please help us, we beseech you"!!!

Obviously it would be wrong to employ the same cultish tactics of acceptance and superiority that the Black hat world has so effectively executed. But what we can do is not make the mistake of the Rebbi who I ate dinner with (yes that’s right don't eat dinner with me). Don't sell your students, your yeshiva or yourselves short. Believe in all of them. Stand up in front of your students and say we are a yeshiva whose Rebaim are part of the direct line of Volozhin, and you are its students. You are the special few who have undertaken to steep themselves in the Torah of Moshe Misinai. The Torah we teach here, the way of life that we live here is the uncompromised will of Hashem. Nothing here is Bideved, our way is the right one.
If this seems arrogant, let me ask you something. If you don't believe it, what are you doing teaching it? And another thing, do you honestly think an impressionable young man yearning for direction, hearing this about themselves for the first time, won't be inspired. It is at least good enough to get them to throw their orange peels in a pot in middle of the table then getting up, walking across the room and throwing it out in the garbage.

The "Ba'al Teshuvah"?

I believe that the Torah outlines the proper behavior and outlook for every instant in our lives. Keeping this in mind, with the knowledge that I have in no way achieved anything close to perfection in my Midose or Macshavoes, I consider myself constantly in the Tahalich of Teshuvah. I also believe that the term Ba'al Teshuvah is far too liberally applied as few individuals can truly claim to have perfected themselves in the ways of Torah. At the same time I believe the term Chozer BiTeshuvah is not applied enough. Being born and remaining religious your whole life has not excluded most people from the common faults, such as Givah, Loshon Harah and other Aveirose that requires constant diligence to avoid and Teshuvah for their transgression.

The Only thing that truly separates those of us born into and constantly maintaining our religious convictions and those who have only come to these ideals latter in life is that the latter have traveled a greater distance in their Tahalich of Teshuvah in a shorter time under more trying circumstances then those of us born into the comfort of religious indoctrination from our most formative years.

HaRav Yisroel Zeev Gustman ZT"L

This is one of the great Mizrachi Rabonin of the last 50 years. It is worth reading about him as much as possible:

Written by Rabbi Ari Kahn

Many years ago when I was a relatively young yeshiva student I had the opportunity to study with one of the great rabbis of the previous generation. His name was Rabbi Yisroel Zeev Gustman and he may have been one of the greatest rabbis of the 20th century. He was certainly the greatest "unknown" rabbi: While he fastidiously avoided the limelight and was therefore unfamiliar to the general public, he was well known to connoisseurs of Torah learning.
His meteoric rise from child prodigy to the exalted position of religious judge in the Rabbinical Court of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski at around the age of 20 was the stuff of legend -- but nonetheless fact. Many years later, I heard Rav Gustman's own modest version of the events leading to this appointment: A singular (brilliant) insight which he shared with his fellow students was later repeated to the visiting Rav Chaim Ozer, who invited the young student to repeat this same insight the following day in his office in Vilna. Unbeknownst to Rav Gustman, the insight clinched an argument in a complex case that had been debated among the judges in Rav Chaim Ozer's court -- and allowed a woman to remarry.

One of the judges adjudicating the case in question, Rabbi Meir Bassin, made inquiries about this young man, and soon a marriage was arranged with his daughter Sarah. When Rabbi Bassin passed away before the wedding, Rabbi Gustman was tapped to take his place as rabbi of Shnipishok and to take his seat on the court. Although Rav Gustman claimed that he was simply "in the right place at the right time," it was clear that Rav Bassin and Rav Chaim Ozer had seen greatness in this young man.

While a long, productive career on the outskirts of Vilna could have been anticipated, Jewish life in and around Vilna was obliterated by World War II. Rav Gustman escaped, though not unscathed. He hid among corpses. He hid in caves. He hid in a pig pen. Somehow, he survived.
For me, Rav Gustman was the living link to the Jewish world destroyed by the Nazis. I never had to wonder what a Rav in Vilna before the war looked like, for I had seen Rav Gustman, 35 years after the war. At the head of a small yeshiva in the Rechavia section of Jerusalem, Rav Gustman taught a small group of loyal students six days a week. But on Thursdays at noon, the study hall would fill to capacity: Rabbis, intellectuals, religious court judges, a Supreme Court justice and various professors would join along with any and all who sought a high-level Talmud shiur (class) that offered a taste of what had been nearly destroyed. When Rav Gustman gave shiur, Vilna was once again alive and vibrant.

One of the regular participants was a professor at the Hebrew University, Robert J. (Yisrael) Aumann. Once a promising yeshiva student, he had eventually decided to pursue a career in academia, but made his weekly participation in Rav Gustman's shiur part of his schedule, along with many other more or less illustrious residents of Rechavia and Jerusalem.
The year was 1982. Once again, Israel was at war. Soldiers were mobilized, reserve units activated. Among those called to duty was a Reserves soldier, a university student who made his living as a high school teacher: Shlomo Aumann, Professor Yisrael Aumann's son. On the eve of the 19th of Sivan, in particularly fierce combat, Shlomo fell in battle.

Rav Gustman mobilized his yeshiva: All of his students joined him in performing the mitzvah of burying the dead. At the cemetery, Rav Gustman was agitated: He surveyed the rows of graves of the young men, soldiers who died defending the Land. On the way back from the cemetery, Rav Gustman turned to another passenger in the car and said, "They are all holy." Another passenger questioned the rabbi: "Even the non-religious soldiers?" Rav Gustman replied: "Every single one of them." He then turned to the driver and said, "Take me to Professor Aumann's home."

The family had just returned from the cemetery and would now begin the week of shiva -- mourning for their son, brother, husband and father. (Shlomo was married and had one child. His widow, Shlomit, gave birth to their second daughter shortly after he was killed.)
Rav Gustman entered and asked to sit next to Professor Aumann, who said: "Rabbi, I so appreciate your coming to the cemetery, but now is time for you to return to your Yeshiva." Rav Gustman spoke, first in Yiddish and then in Hebrew, so that all those assembled would understand:

"I am sure that you don't know this, but I had a son named Meir. He was a beautiful child. He was taken from my arms and executed. I escaped. I later bartered my child's shoes so that we would have food, but I was never able to eat the food -- I gave it away to others. My Meir is a kadosh -- he is holy -- he and all the six million who perished are holy."
Rav Gustman then added: "I will tell you what is transpiring now in the World of Truth in Gan Eden -- in Heaven. My Meir is welcoming your Shlomo into the minyan and is saying to him 'I died because I am a Jew -- but I wasn't able to save anyone else. But you -- Shlomo, you died defending the Jewish People and the Land of Israel.' My Meir is a kadosh, he is holy -- but your Shlomo is a Shaliach Zibbur - a Cantor in that holy, heavenly minyan."

Rav Gustman continued: "I never had the opportunity to sit shiva for my Meir; let me sit here with you just a little longer."

Professor Aumann replied, "I thought I could never be comforted, but Rebbi, you have comforted me."

Rav Gustman did not allow his painful memories to control his life. He found solace in his students, his daughter his grandchildren, and in every Jewish child. He and his wife would attend an annual parade (on Yom Yerushalayim) where children would march on Jerusalem in song and dance. A rabbi who happened upon them one year asked the Rabbi why he spent his valuable time in such a frivolous activity. Rav Gustman explained, "We who saw a generation of children die, will take pleasure in a generation of children who sing and dance in these streets."
A student once implored Rav Gustman to share his memories of the ghetto and the war more publicly and more frequently. He asked him to tell people about his son, about his son's shoes, to which the Rav replied, "I can't, but I think about those shoes every day of my life. I see them every night before I go to sleep."

On the 28th of Sivan 5751 (1991), Rav Gustman passed away. Thousands marched through the streets of Jerusalem accompanying Rav Gustman on his final journey. As night fell on the 29th of Sivan, 9 years after Shlomo Aumann fell in battle, Rav Gustman was buried on the Mount of Olives. I am sure that upon entering Heaven he was reunited with his wife, his teachers and his son Meir. I am also sure that Shlomo Aumann and all the other holy soldiers who died defending the People and the Land of Israel were there to greet this extraordinary Rabbi.
On December 10th 2005, Professor Robert J. Aumann was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics. I am sure he took with him to Stockholm memories of his late wife Esther, and his son Shlomo. I suspect he also took memories of his Rabbi, Rav Gustman.
May it be the will of God that the People of Israel sanctify His Name by living lives of holiness which will serve as a light to the nations - and may no more children, soldiers or yeshiva students ever need to join that holy minyan in Heaven.

Postscript:
The last time I saw Rav Gustman, I was walking in the Meah Shearim/Geulah section of Jerusalem with my wife and oldest son who was being pushed in a stroller. It was Friday morning and we saw the Rosh Yeshiva, we said hello, wished him "Good Shabbes." Then I did something I rarely do: I asked him to bless my son. Rav Gustman looked at the toddler, smiled and said "May he be a boy like all the other boys."

At first, my wife and I were stunned; what kind of blessing was this? We expected a blessing that the boy grow to be a zaddik -- a righteous man -- or that he be a Talmid Chacham -- a Torah scholar. But no, he blessed him that he should be "like all the boys."
It took many years for this beautiful blessing to make sense to us. The blessing was that he should have a normal childhood, that he have a normal life, that he have his health... Looking back, I realize what a tremendous blessing Rav Gustman gave, and why.

Today, that son -- Matityahu, and our second son Hillel, are soldiers in combat units in the Israeli Defense Forces. Brave, strong, motivated and idealistic, they are wonderful soldiers, wonderful Jews. I pray that they return home safely along with all their comrades, and live normal lives -- "just like all the boys."

(This article is based on a combination of first-hand knowledge and a composite reconstruction of events as retold to me.)

Rav Yisrael Zev Gustman zt"l was a legendary Rosh Yeshiva here in Yerushalayim. A Talmid Chacham par-excellence, Rav Gustman's Torah writings reflect years of earnest searching for Torah truth. As he was not one to waste time, one can well imagine his students' bewilderment as they periodically witnessed him watering the bushes surrounding the yeshiva building.
Rav Gustman lived in Vilna before the war. When the Nazis came, he escaped to the woods and joined up with a group of partisans. The Nazis would frequently dispatch troops into the thick, Lithuanian woods to route out the rebels and Jews. Rav Gustman succeeded repeatedly in escaping detection by hiding among the thick undergrowth of the forest. Forever grateful, Rav Gustman watered the bushes next to the yeshiva. Rav Gustman was, after all, a Jew.
Most people are very distant from such sensitivity. A society in which a perfunctory "thank you" is the norm from even the most apathetic department store clerk (does she truly appreciate that I made my purchase in "her" store?) does not facilitate genuine Hakaras HaTov -- a deep, authentic acknowledgement of benefits received. But, as we have seen, this trait singularly singles out the Jew. If there is one thing we all want, it is to be known as Jews.
(As told by Rabbi Lipman Podolsky Z"L)

Rav Gustman and ylcht”a Rav Aharon Lichtenstein made aliyah at around the same time in the early 1970s. During the Yom Kippur war, RAL was assigned by Home Front Command to deliver milk in Jerusalem. As Rav Gustman was on his delivery route, RAL took the opportunity to “talk in learning” for a while when delivering the milk. Rav Gustman, legend goes, exclaimed after the encounter: “What an amazing country! Even the milk-men are talmidei chachomim!”


He used to shovel the snow in front of the yeshiva – and when students and baalebatim began complaining that he was embarrassing them by doing so, he started doing it while it was still dark outsid

He used to take joy in seeing children rejoice in Israel, saying that anyone who saw children die in the Holocaust had an obligation to watch them play in Jerusalem.

A lot of people come up to me and say,
"Yitzchak Zev Soloveichik, as the most authentic, and accepted representative of Brisk and the Soloveichik family today, what is Brisk's stance on Zionism?"
This is a very difficult Question to answer because Briskers are very simmilar to other factions in the Torah world where there is legitimate disagreements on many fundamental issues. The smart Briskers (commonly known as and henceforth referred to as "American Briskers") are generally in favor of the idea that the Jews should establish an independent settlement and government in Eretz Yisroel. This is based on the fact that The Holy One Blessed Be He gave us the land of Israel for this express purpose and command us to do so. The Brisker not falling under the above mentioned classification (henceforth and more commonly known as the Israeli Briskers) would respond "Hold on just one minute, lets not confuse Torah and Daas Torah." Just because the Torah commands us to do something that doesn’t mean we should actually do it. What do our Rabbis tell us? After all, who are we to try to understand that which is clearly stated in the Torah when some of our lesser teachers (hence forth known as "Gdolim" for the sake of the common vernacular.) tells us that they have decided something contrary to G-d's eternal commandments to the Jewish people on earth embodied by the Torah given to Moshe Rabbanu on Har Sini? This concept is known as Daas Torah, the central idea being that Daas Torah is the Guide by which we should lead our lives lest we wander astray following the precepts of the Ol Malchus Shamayim we accepted when we said NaAsseh ViNishma."
I hope that this clears some things up for anybody reading this.