i have faith in my friends. i have faith in myself. although the world may scorn our vision and doubt our strengths, i turn to the late dean and founder of the ponovitch yeshiva for inspiration.
rabbi kahaneman was a dreamer . his first name was yosef. of course. he escaped the carnage in europe and beat the nazi war machine to palestine where he was intent on developing a world-class torah academy. the locals thought he was mad. they felt the trauma he had endured in europe had affected his judgement. they pitied him. one man had faith in him. he gave the ponovitcher rav a desolate hilltop in bnei braq to embark on his dream.
the academy began with four students. the frightening beat of the nazi wardrums reverbrated in the terrified hearts of the jews in palestine. rommel was on his way. it seemed like the allied "desert rats" could do nothing to prevent his march across north africa. the situation was bleak.
yet rav kahaneman laid out his master plan. he wanted to create the largest torah institution in the world. he wanted it to be divided in departments each one specializing in a different area of the talmud. he wanted a rosh yeshiva to specialize in each order of the shas.
climb that hill today and you will be amazed. its like nothing else in the world. and to just think that this vision was the brainchild of a destitute refugee from a rural town in cow-poke lithuania. amazing.
but alas dreams sometimes outlive their master. or die with him.
the ponovitcher rav relied on his incredible mind. he carried no blueprints or notes. so when he took ill and passed away the directional flow of his academy was left to the dogs. we can only wonder what could have been had he lived to a later date.
let us not overlook his garantuan achievements. he created a self-sufficient empire. with real estate holdings in israel and south africa he practically ensured the continuous survival of the yeshiva and kollel. the fund raising arm of the yeshiva is still operating at full force.
yet there is a certain air of stagnancy permeating the hallowed halls of ponovitch today. years of political warring and intracide fighting has taken its toll on the exhuberant spirit she once possessed. notice the dust and cobwebs that have gathered in the corners of her mighty hall
faded grandeur. a sacred temple buried in the jungle. a heathen kingdom of wild monkeys swinging from the vines, a grizzly ape seated at the throne. the scene is remniscent of machu pichu or solomon's temple and it could cause you to wail and rent your garments in grief
i see the future. a magnificent rehab. a counseling sage for each addiction and thousands of brilliant and inquisitive disciples marching up and down, a buzz of excitement, learning and developement. i see happiness and openness. i see love and understanding, health serenity and prosperity.
an academy abiding to the dictum "know thyself"
i see the ponovitch rehab jutting through the clouds , a disneyian castle perched high on a mountain disseminating light, truth, and wisdom throughout the kingdom
and i can see the ponovitcher rav, a pure and radiant countenance framed in white hair and a saintly flowing beard, his piercing eyes crinkled in a huge smile as he urges us on
– rocky
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