Yeshivat Hesder Petach Tikva
The Way of Yeshivat Petach Tikva
The Uniqueness of Yeshivat Petach Tikva:
Why in Petach Tikva?
Mission Statement – by the Roshei HaYeshiva
Yeshivat Hesder Petach Tikva
Yeshivat Hesder of Petach Tikva, established in Elul, 5748 (September, 1998), is located in the center of Israel, in a quiet neighbourhood, just 20 minutes away from Tel Aviv and 50 minutes away from Jerusalem.
The Yeshiva bases its Modern Orthodox educational philosophy on the study of all aspects of the Torah, on the importance of interaction with members of all communities in Israel, and the emphasis of critical and relevant issues of faith in modern times.
Currently, there are approximately 150 students in the Yeshiva, 25% of whom are serving in active duty in the IDF. The Yeshiva also serves as an institute for teacher training, under the auspices of the College for Religious Studies in Rechovot. Additionally, the yeshiva houses a high school, operating under the leadership of Rav Piron, with an enrolment of approximately 500 students.
The Way of Yeshivat Petach Tikva
Introduction:
Every yeshiva is defined first of all by being a “yeshiva”, and only after that by its unique character. Therefore, before dealing in the unique path of this yeshiva, first we must return and repeat the shared aspects of all yeshivot and the matter that is similar to all of them, that without it couldn’t carry the description of a yeshiva.
Yeshiva” by definition, means firstly “to deal in words of Torah”, in the goal of turning the dealing in Torah to a central aspect of our lives. Every ben yeshiva has an essential goal to know broad ranges which embrace all areas of the Torah. Yeshiva is a place where only Torah is studied, and is the center of thought and emotion. The yeshiva was designed to be a type of “Noah’s Ark” to it enters every learner in order to reach complete devotion to the study of Torah.
Total devotion to Torah: A person has to run from strength to strength and to sacrifice himself at every moment in order to learn, teach and persevere in Torah, not to cancel Torah and not to stop those who seek its depth. The yeshiva is a place where one lives an exceptional life, and subjugates the entire time to Torah study.
The Torah Scholars and Instructors of Torah in the Generation: The key purpose of the learning in yeshiva is to grow and to join the chain of Torah in Am Yisrael. At the head of this special chain is the raising of Torah Scholars in the generation, who carry on their shoulders the teaching of Torah and its instruction to the Nation. Underneath them, we find teachers of Torah on various levels and different places. The yeshiva sees in its Torah scholars and Torah learners the great importance of survival of the chain of Torah.
The growth of the Torah Pyramid: The reality teaches that as opposed to the past, in the yeshiva learn many students who do not see in their future being part of the chain of passing the Torah on. These people also have a place in the yeshiva, and the yeshiva sees a loftly goal in the development of people who throughout the days of their lives will be connected to Torah, in its learning and fulfillment, and will be the backbone of existence of the world of Torah.
Personal Attributes: The yeshiva carries out the institution of “Let’s make man” (Bereishit 1:26). The yeshiva must create a person who lives proper behaviour. Not that he’s forced to act, rather as an integral aspect of his persoanlity. Proper attributes are the actualization of the expression “derech eretz kadma la’Torah” (proper attribuites precedes Torah study) , and of the blessed influence of the Torah when it meets man. The character of the individual who learns in yeshiva, is the face of an individual with proper character traits both in the realm of “between man and his friend” and between “man and G-d”.
Prayer: Prayer must get a completely distinctive status than from that which is accepted outside the yeshiva, and to catch a central place in the life and momentary emotions of the person. Prayer is the special connection between the Master of the world and man. The yeshiva cultivates prayer with kavana (intention) along with the personal private prayers of each person.
The Uniqueness of Yeshivat Petach Tikva:
Broadening the concept ‘Torah”: From the study hall of Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, we learn that the concept “Torah” returns to be what is was before it was contracted to the “four amot of Halacha” (i.e only Halacha, based on Masechet Brachot 8a) being: Tanach, agaddah, emunah, and mussar, and other building blocks of Torah. The yeshiva has set proper classes in these areas in order to increase the range of Torah to its entirety. In the Yeshiva one learns Tanach, emunah, agaddah, chassidut, halacha and medrash, and all these are a connected aspect of Torah study and not just as an addition to it.
The level of learning: The learning in the yeshiva was also established to lead to knowing Torah. Torah knowledge is achieved by dealing with fundamental principles in learning, reading the words of the Rishonim and Achronim and the ability of their analyzation, in reaching conclusions and the ability to summarize and organize what has been learnt. This learning is reflected in absorbtion and memory. The yeshiva strives for the ability of the leaner to learn a complete topic, to be able to decipher the main issue at hand, the fundamental laws involved, the importance of details, the differention between main and secondary – and all these to arrange in an ordered fashion in order to maintain the knowledge.
Utilization of All the Days of the Week: To our great dismay, in many yeshivot the learning at the end of the week is almost non-existant. Students leave home for shabbat already on Thursday, and return on Sunday, and thus is a born a situation that the entire yeshiva is in a decline, specifically around Shabbat kodesh. We see for ourselves the purpose to save these three days and to utilize them for learning, including Fridays, Shabbatot, moztai Shabbatot, and Sunday morning.
Internalizing the phrase “These and those are the words of the Living G-d, and the halacha is like Beit Hillel” in it’s two components:
On one hand, one can not learn Torah with eyes closed. One must learn the Torah in its width, by in-depth learning of all the views and opinions. A proper building will happen only through meticulous selection and deliberation using all the possibilities, in order to choose the best possible good, and to find a place even for the negated views.
On the second hand, a decision must be sought. It is prohibited to stay with an open question, in understanding all the opinions without being obligated to any of them. Our goal is not to weigh all the opinions from the side. A person must choose his way through faithfulness and devotion to what he sees as the truth of Torah.
Seeking after Torat Eretz Yisrael: we do not completely know what is Torat Eretz Yisrael, we know only directions. We seek what is Torat Eretz Yisrael, in the technical plane of Shabbat, Talmud Yerushalmi and Midrashei Halacha which were learnt in Eretz Yisrael, and in the deeper spiritual meaning of content search which will be “a set ladder and its head reaching the sky” (Bereishit 28:12).
The Big Picture: One should not stop at the question of the individual – “What would I do in a certain situation”, rather one must deal with questions of community from the viewpoint of the State of Israel [for example: the issue of pikuach nefesh – according to Jewish law, it is prohibited to desecrate the Shabbat in order to save money/property since it does not involve saving lives. The question remains –what about police functions on Shabbat? Should we turn the Shabbat day to a city fo refuge for criminals!? Or what about our relationship to civil marriages?] What happens when the halachic question depends on the character of society and the State?
Knowledge that there are spiritual paths that are opening outside the beit midrash and are actively invovled in them. The yeshiva sees as its goal to train its alumni to deal with the spiritual and cultural character of the State of Israel. This is one of the unique points of the yeshiva, it’s job being designed in the revival of the nation in its land.
Depth – the singularity of the yeshiva is not in open mindness, but in the depth derived from the greatness of spirit which grows and enriches and is open to all the truths. The goal is to bring the word of Hashem to reality, to start from the holy and through spirituality to spread to all reality. We do not deal with opening which is not derived foremost from total devotion to Torah, to truth and spirituality.
Words of the Prophets on the moral social justice, the place of intention and inwardness in the service of Hashem, and the weight they place to the proper structure of Torah, are one of the essential foundations of the yeshiva. The Tanach is not just one of the books of study in yeshiva, but rather holds a central place in the Torah world view.
Service of Hashem - The yeshiva is partners in the search after new paths in the constant serving of Hashem, out of devoting intentions and actions to His Blessed Name, through constant meticulousness and clarification of the question what is between innovation and reform, and between the golden calf and the Mishkan. This innovation stems from tradition and its strength, and continues the acts of Hashem which creates the reality of “everyday it (Torah & mitzvot) should be like new in your eyes” (Rashi on Devarim 26:16)
Why in Petach Tikva?
A large portion of our Torah institutions are found in distant places, which absorbs the idea of “exiling oneself to a place of Torah”.(Masechet Avot 4:18) Distancing oneself from civilization to learn Torah helps in focusing on learning, but the thorn is that this accustoms the learner that Torah is outside the realm of life, and requires distance. Therefore, at the time when a person leaves the yeshiva the gap between “life” and “Torah” is hard to close back together. Not just this, but the Torah leaves the center of the land and does not settle in the public conscience of the Nation of Israel.
Therefore, there is an obligation to cultivate the return of Torah to the center of the land. The matter influences firstly the Torah student. He learns in a place where “Torah” and “life” are connected one to the other, in practice and mental awareness. Yeshivat Petach Tikva constantly nurtures the dealing with societal issues, and the connection between the Jewish Nation as whole and the Torah of Israel. Beyond this, it is a partner in bringing the light of Torah to the center of civilization.
Connected to the yeshiva are obligations to society. The yeshiva sees in society the place from where it was created and towards who it is responsible. We are speaking of wide encompassing societal obligations – from the responsibility towards justice, to the obligations of chesed (kindness), until our commitment towards building higher levels of Torah and Emunah. The vision of the yeshiva is that one day it will turn into a place for communal and public Torah study in the center of civilization. Both younger and older yeshiva students are socially obligated and actively deal with society as an integral part of their Torah study.
From all of this we paint the face and characteristic of a yeshiva alumnist. The purpose of the yeshiva is “that the flame will rise from it”(Masechet Shabbat 20a. There is no reason to subjugate a person to his rabbi, and the relationship of the yeshiva to every student is that each one is a unique individual, called upon to bring their blessing to the world in their own person and special way. The purpose of the yeshiva is to raise people that will be their own person with deep and unique complete personalities. “Let’s make man” - man, master of inner truth, who chooses his path that matches that with which he identifies. Neverthless, a man like this will also be a servant of G-d in his personal and private manner, as well as able to elevate the State of Israel, and to bring it closer to it’s desired character.
All of this is subjected to servitude, devotion, to constant investment and intensive non-stop learning.
“Ascribe greatness unto God”(Devarim 32), only this way is it possible to build matters, the great foundations, from which allows afterwards, through personal strength in Torah and spirituality, to deal with the spiritual character of the State of Israel, personal and communal acts of kindness, and a continued attachment to Torah even after leaving the yeshiva.
Mission Statement – by the Roshei HaYeshiva
The world stands on three things: on Torah, on Avodah (service) and on Gemilut Chasadim (acts of kindness)
In these amazing words, Chazal (our Rabbis of blessed memory) set the foundations of the world. Our world stands on the connection from above to below - learning Torah and its fulfillment, and with this we form a pillow for the growth of the Word of Hashem; on the connection from below to above which is the essence of prayer – the service of Hashem; and acts of kindness – this is the horizontal connection, between man and his friend.
The yeshiva is a microcosm of the areas that upon them the world rests, and therefore must deal in these three spheres. The yeshiva is at the head and foremost a place where we rest the exceptional leg of Torah – in deliberation and depth, with connectivity and devotion – and we enter in order to learn Torah to its complete depth. The second realm in the yeshiva is the special connection to the service of Hashem – to learn to pray as is desired and to consciously connect to the Master of the world.
No less important than these two realms is the distinctive habituation towards acts of kindness, at the head and foremost in the yeshiva itself, by acts of kindness to chavrutot (study partner), proper behavior in the dorms and the like. But we are not like the stork which learns to worry only about her friend; rather we seek to internalize the great lesson of communal responsibility to kindness and to justice to all of society.
Therefore we start with “befitting seeking” and dealing in the yeshiva with many essential questions with relate to kindness and justice and accustom ourselves to learn lessons from the perspective of Klal Yisrael (all of Israel).
We continue in “befitting implementation”, and set aside part of our time to acts of kindness to the community.
With the help of Hashem, we plan this year to institute the responsibility that each student in the yeshiva will give two hours from his time for social and communal activities, in the areas that are appropriate to contribute in.
This is not separate from our debt in our world, and not separate from the personal and unique character development of each individual. In this, there is much sanctification of the Master of the world, and the matter can bring the creations to say: “praiseworthy are those who learn Torah”.
With the recruitment of everyone to these goals, we will succeed in building the world on its three foundations and to advance the Nation and Society towards its complete moral fiber.
