Rav Tzvi Mazuz: “Never Before Have Bnei Torah Been Persecuted Like This”
At Yeshivas Kisei Rachamim, the rosh yeshiva, Rav Tzvi Mazuz, delivered a powerful address marking the start of the winter zeman, urging bnei Torah to remain detached from the distractions of the media and to find refuge within the batei midrash.
As is the yeshiva’s long-standing custom, established by the late rosh yeshiva, Rav Meir Mazuz zt”l, talmidim returned from bein hazemanim Sunday to begin the new zeman. Rav Tzvi Mazuz, who continues his father’s legacy, opened the zeman with words of chizuk and reflection, touching on current challenges facing the Torah world, including the draft decree, the hostages’ release, and recent political developments.
“The Yeshiva Is the Teivas Noach”
Drawing on Parshas Noach, Rav Mazuz likened the yeshiva to Noach’s teivah, a haven from the floodwaters of the outside world. “The yeshiva is the Teivas Noach,” he said. “If not for my father’s firm protection, I don’t know what would have become of us. Whoever wants to remain a diamond must stay inside the teivah. Noach didn’t step out for fresh air—he knew that to survive, he needed to remain inside. Today, the batei midrash are our teivos Noach. The more one stays inside, the more protected he is.”
He cited the tefillah of Rabbi Nechunya ben HaKanah: “She’samta chelkeinu miyoshvei beis hamidrash velo samta chelkeinu miyoshvei keranos”—explaining that even being in the yeshiva provides spiritual protection. “Just sitting in the beis midrash shields a person from the harmful winds outside,” he said. “And if he also learns Torah—how much greater his merit!”
On “News Lines” and Constant Information
The rosh yeshiva voiced strong criticism of the growing trend among bochurim of following news lines and phone updates. “I heard that today you can call a number and every minute hear what’s happening in the world. Dvarim beteilim! I look at a newspaper briefly after Shacharis—just the headlines—and baruch Hashem, I’m alive. I don’t turn on the radio, maybe I hear something by chance in the car, but I don’t devote time to it—and baruch Hashem, I’m alive. A person must train himself not to be tied down thinking, ‘I have to know the news.’ That’s not the way!”
He contrasted this with bochurim who spend their breaks immersed in learning even during bein hazemanim: “I saw bochurim sitting alone here learning quietly. About them it says, ‘Yeishev badad veyidom ki natal alav’. One who learns in solitude—Hashem Himself determines his reward.”
“The Miracles We See Are in the Merit of the Lomdei Torah”
Rav Mazuz turned to recent world events, expressing gratitude for the open miracles seen in the return of hostages after two years in captivity. “Who imagined that they would be released exactly two years to the day? We’ve seen great miracles. Kimei tzeischa me’eretz Mitzrayim ar’enu niflaos—Hashem is showing us wonders before the redemption.”
He referenced the Trump peace plan, which proposed removing Hamas leaders and disarming the group. “I saw the twenty clauses Trump wrote—though my heart tells me Netanyahu wrote them and Trump copied,” he quipped. “But yehi ratzon, let good come from anywhere. I believe with complete faith that all of this is in the merit of the bochurim who sit and learn. We don’t see it now, but after 120 years, it will be clear which miracles happened because of which Torah.”
“Moshiach Is Near”
Concluding his remarks, Rav Mazuz spoke with emotion about the draft crisis threatening bnei Torah. “We all feel that Moshiach is close. Never before have bnei Torah been persecuted like this past year. A bochur who was sitting shivah—they came in the middle of the week and took him away because he hadn’t reported to the draft office. These are the signs the Gemara in Sotah described 1,800 years ago. It’s like a woman in the final stages of labor—the pain is great, but it’s a sign of imminent birth. So too, we are close to the geulah, and ashrei is the one who uses this time to strengthen himself.”
{Matzav.com}
