.......הכל תלוי במזל

You know me, I'm just the like next guy. If I'd have the money I'd be in the Beis Medrash all day, no doubt about it. Not that I'm such a learner, but I'd take that over business any day of the week. I cannot stand talking business if I don't absolutely need to. But G-d has other plans for me. He wants me to struggle to make a buck, and to fall asleep at the sefer when I do manage to open it. Strange sense of humor he has... Some people don't have that problem; G-d them all the money in the world, so they have time to learn. Others may not utilize the time properly, but many do. Some of the swankiest summer home colonies have packed shuls on Sundays and on July 4th, Akhshir Doro, BeNichuseh. They take fine bnei torah as husbands for their daughters and they have the best of all three worlds. We had a discussion a while back about one such "Litvishe" Baalebus, who was talking Torah to his eidemel in the office on a Friday morning, and how we were envious of him, being able to support a fine ben torah in Eretz Yisroel. Azoi geit es. This is what we mean when we say that we have nisht der velt un nisht yener velt, nisht alein a ben torah un nisht an eydem a Ben Teyreh, it's poshut too expensive to have one these days...

These other people, the few that managed to have the best of all three worlds - there seems to be a new way for them to feel good about themselves. Not, new, new, but relatively so. Now they can have it all. Money, their own businesses/companies, time and money to vacation, stay at the Ramada Renaissance, aaaand have all the Gedolim come to them too! The annual Yarchei Kallah is the perfect opportunity for guys who have a hard time studying and learning, and thus lack real kovod, to feel good about themselves even in the realm of Torah. They go to Eretz Yisroel, visit the mekomos HaKdoshim, visit the Gedolim and the Gedolim visit them, and they get to see their tchatchkes in Mir and Brisk and learn with them too! It's a win-win all around, no strings attached. Kulo LaShem. Why do the Roshei Yeshiva have to come to them? I'm not quite sure why, to tell you the truth. Why should a 95+ year old Rav Shteinman have to shlep to them to give a shmuess? why they can't they all be loaded onto a bus and make the rounds to all the addresses on the Gedolim tour? I'm sure that showing them how the gedolei haDor live in simplicity and maybe even poverty would go a long way towards getting them to support Torah in Eretz Yisroel, despite that not being the puropse of their visit.

Come to think of it - what is the purpose of the visit? Who came up with this idea? What does it accomplish? And how does it help the Agudas Yisroel of America? Why not at least make a Yarchei Kallah to Lakewood? I don't get it. Excuse me if I don't see the beauty in it, but all I see is gepashete kelblech velche zoyfen milch un lekken honig. Meileh if you give freie donors and students such gifts iz ein zach. But to do this to former Yeshivaleit?! feh. The worst part is using Torah, klompish, as the reason for this shindig. yuk. The Mussar giants of yesteryear would have their food come up on them if they heard about trips like these. Maybe we can have a limud zchus on the organizers, that they felt that no place in America could deliver such an opportunity, and they held their breaths and put this together, even if it meant to be matriach the elderly ziknei Roshei Yeshiva. Yes, that must be it. Ayb Azei you can forget all that I wrote above and stand up and cheer for this great event - monumental in the course of history - that got as much press coverage as the passing of a Torah luminary, if not more.