Brother and Brethren Tribe: The Corona hotels have become a house of study

Stormy study at any time of the day, songs of a third meal even on Monday, enthusiastic dances to raise morale – and “transparent” discussions at the top of the world: About 1,200 yeshiva students from all streams, from the most influential Lithuanians to the loudest mechanists, are currently filling the dedicated Corona hotels, meeting – most for the first time in their lives – with other views and other streams in the religious sector.

Yehoshua Wasserman, a student at the Mir Brachfeld Yeshiva in Lithuania, who is staying at a hotel in Dan Panorama, tells Ynet that he did not know any crocheted kippah wearers at all: “To Bnei Brak, or in Stieblech in a hasty Maariv prayer. There has never been substantive and ideological talk on various issues.”

The reality in the Corona Hotel has forced guys from very different streams – conservative and modern Haredim, Hassidim, Haredim, Sederniks from various yeshivas and members of pre-military preparatory schools – to share the Beit Midrash, the synagogue and the dining room 24/7. And the ultra-Orthodox are made up of many sub-sectors whose connection is sometimes equal to the connection they have with people who do not belong to the world of Torah and mitzvos, and the encounter forced by the corona produces surprises in all directions.

For example, the following sentence from the Lithuanian Wasserman, which is really not a trivial matter in internal terms, on the part of those who see the Lithuanian Torah world as an absolute and superior truth over other religious sectors – especially the Zionist ones, have mercy on Tzelen: Yeshiva, but a central and integral yeshiva in the world of yeshivot, such as “Hebron”, “Ponivez”, “Mir” and “Ateret”.

The worlds of Torah study of the various streams were so disconnected, met at the Corona Hotel: “We had a morning prayer together and studied together and ate together and danced together,” says Wasserman. “The highlight was the pleasure of Shabbat (after the Shabbat dinner) when everyone huddled together, sang and talked to each other from all streams of ultra-Orthodox and religious yeshivas, right up until the wee hours of the night. Very hot and important topics came up on a daily basis.”

Amit Yekutiel (19), a student at the Nir Hesder Yeshiva in Kiryat Arba staying at the Corona Hotel in the Grand Court, realized that something special was happening in front of him, and uploaded to the social media documentation of “Steigen” (a stormy study) of dozens of young men. In the motel where he is staying, he has a “beit midrash” in almost every public space. “The closures caused a lot of meetings to close, and in isolation it is much more difficult to study,” he told Ynet in an interview. “Now that everyone’s together, then go back to learning as much as possible.”

Elnatan Malka and Naftali Lin from the Merkaz Harav yeshiva said that the atmosphere inside the hotel is very special and cross-sectoral. Yeshiva students from the Zionist and Haredi yeshivas sit and discuss a variety of current and ideological issues. After all the ideological differences, we were happy to find that we are very similar “Torah and all discussions and clarifications were conducted in a good spirit and without tension and hatred.”

Videos documenting joint singing and dancing in which rabbis – rabbis and educators who also stay in the hotel – Hassidim and knitters also participate, conquered the social network and aroused excitement in WhatsApp groups, Facebook and Twitter, both ultra-Orthodox and non-Haredi. On an improvised stage in the dining room, and documented in one of the Corona hotels in Jerusalem.

Haredi and religious young people, most of whom have never studied debate (and some have never heard of the concept), gathered to give a short lecture on their ideological worldview, which the “other side” has heard about so far, through negation and even demonization: IDF conscription, Activity on the issue of settlement in the Land of Israel, the treatment of women and a variety of issues that make the difference between the sectors.

Four yeshiva students (who are also graduates of the Ariel youth movement) were among the initiators of the unusual event, and they say that an improvised and fascinating schedule was prepared. For example, “Torah and Avodah” – a representative from Ponivez Bnei Brak against a representative of the Hesder Yeshiva Attitude towards the State of Israel – “Merkaz Harav”, the flagship yeshiva of religious Zionism, against “Ponivez”, the flagship yeshiva of the ultra-Orthodox Torah world Attitude towards cigarettes – the prestigious Lithuanian “Mir” yeshiva against the Spanish “Maor Torah” yeshiva.

The discussions managed to captivate all parties, and Elhanan – an ultra-Orthodox from the Kiryat Malachi yeshiva – admitted that “we will not be able to reach a uniform line in a discussion of a few hours, but at least we heard the other side and understood it.” Uri Wolf, one of the initiators of the evening, described the event as “special and uplifting, which does not just happen.” He said, “Simple yeshiva students discussed weighty issues in a respectful manner, out of appreciation and a desire to understand the other side. I very much enjoyed seeing and understanding what the other side thinks.”

Dvir Amior, secretary general of “Ariel”, sees the unity between the various beit midrash as “an exciting, wonderful and incomparably important thing,” as he puts it. “He makes us remember that we are brothers and study the same Torah. This evening was a significant and exceptional step that reduces ignorance and contributes to more understanding, in the hope that it will lead to a good spirit and extensive cooperation in the future between the sectors. “

But not everyone liked what was happening. Especially among the older generation of educators of the ultra-Orthodox world, who see seclusion as education to begin with, which keeps the youth in an eternal incubator. A text published by “An educator currently staying in a hotel intended for yeshiva members,” as written in ultra-Orthodox WhatsApp groups, wondered which is better: “Temporary suffering for ten days at home – or continuous suffering for years at home?”

“The heart is burning, it’s hard to write, the forces are not really in my favor, but it’s even harder to be silent,” he began. “Four days ago, I contracted the corona virus. Data from the family and the house forced me to evacuate to a motel so as not to endanger the rest of the household. I arrived at the motel in the afternoon, a motel intended exclusively for yeshiva members.

There are members of yeshivot in all types of yeshivas, from the most coveted during the registration season to yeshivas that are defined (!) As bad yeshivas, apart from a huge group of young men from the ultra-Orthodox-national sector. The beit midrash was packed with yeshivas who dealt with Torah and clarified serious issues in a special atmosphere. And exciting, a real sanctification of the name. “

So why spoil the atmosphere, he asks – and describes the guys who did not join the study, and preferred to sit at night “groups-groups of guys in the hotel lobby, poker, cards, hookahs, backgammon, math chess, ping pong, and more occupations … it comes After an empty day … sometimes it’s after a day of long conversations in a language not a language, with concepts that are not from the law (from this world) “.

And he emphasizes the connection formed between the “sons of aliyah” (the chosen Torah followers), and those “who in normal situation your dear son would not dare to say good morning to them on the street, and today they are already in touch, exchanged phone numbers, sat from evening to morning and talked. There is no style and discourse in the air that would not be easily heard in the homes of Israel. There is no pen that can contain the heartache of seeing yeshiva members, especially young people, who so enjoyed spending the night in a young and vibrant society, which will leave so much nonsense in their hearts and minds. A conversation that they have never heard and another is a shameful one. “

“To remind you dear parents, there is no caretaker in the motel. When you were faced with the dilemma of which meeting to send your son to, how much you inquired, how much you sat down to discuss and how much you consulted, and now in a moment’s decision, for temporary convenience, you sent your son to the lion’s mouth. “And the price they might pay for it is too high.”