Long ago it was already well known that we are a nation dedicated to our Torah, and we do not consider the study of Hashem’s teachings a luxury, but rather our way of life, “For they are our life and the length of our days.” If, during the difficult times, when we were in the darkness of our galut, we were drawn to the life source of the realms of halacha, and throughout all the places of our wanderings in exile the Shechina was in exile with us, inspiring the Jewish sages wherever they resided, our attraction to Torah study is redoubled now that we are living in our own country. Little by little we have returned to our full strength as a people in its homeland, and an essential part of our lives here is the increased study of Torah, in “the tents of Jacob and the habitations of Israel.” Just as our national body is growing, so too is the resilience and expression of the people’s soul, which is growing ever thirstier for knowledge of Torah and strengthening emuna in Hashem, in our everlasting revival.
“Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courtyards of Hashem” (Tehillim 92:14). If we want the courtyards of the nation in its land to flourish with glorious blossoms in praise of the Torah and Hashem, we must invest energies in “planting in the house of the Lord.” Being planted beside the wellspring of Torah refers to the young, refreshed strength of our nation, the brightest of our sons, dedicating themselves exclusively to the study of all aspects of the Torah, concentrating all their efforts to learning Torah for its own sake, through love and reverence for Hashem: the comprehensive and in-depth study of Shas and the poskim, studying insights into yirat shamayim, emuna and Jewish thought from the foundations expounded by the Jewish sages throughout the generations. All these are studied from the perspective of the main concepts discussed at length by Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook ztz”l: dibrat haketz hameguleh – the revealed (evident) end of the Exile; and ohr hayeshua haz’rucha – the light of the dawning salvation; and the emuna of our times, when Hashem is with Am Yisrael in the building of our state, in tremulous joy at Hashem’s redemption of this nation.
Hashem saw that there are few tzaddikim, and implanted them in each and every generation, and He sent them to our rabbis, our teacher ztz”l Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook and his son, our rabbi and teacher Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook ztz”l, in the era or our revival, to reveal the teachings of geula, and to illuminate it from the source of its formation, the Kodesh HaKodashim, and new-old faces came here, to properly reveal the Torah of Eretz Yisrael from the wellsprings of salvation, and they are the pillars on which this Beit Midrash will be established, to uplift us to bless the Torah first and foremost, and this land and all its precious things that were lost to us will be returned to us.
We are facing a reality of such young energies, so many and so vigorous, full of strength and courage, self-awareness and inner knowledge, standing ready on the threshold of Torah and the foundation of the lofty kedushat Yisrael. This reality, in its own right, will channel a spirit of sanctity and resilience of healthy Israeli life from the wellspring of life to blossom in all Hashem’s courtyards.
Most certainly, with Hashem’s help, the students will graduate from this Beit Midrash, each according to his own level, as talmidei chachamim, men of valor, with yirat shamayim, who are connected heart and soul to Am Yisrael and all its revival endeavors, to learn and to teach, to observe and to do, to bring blessing while pulling their weight in all the needs of this land that is our life force, and our state.
All this is at the foundation of Har Hamor Yeshiva’s mindset, and fulfilling these aspirations and putting them into practice little by little, with Hashem’s help, informs everything we do.
