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The Southern Israelite
The Yeshibei and Hebron
By RABBI LAZARUS AXELROD
Rabbi Lazarus Axchod.
Rabbi Lazarus Axelrod, the
writer of this article for The
Southern Israelite was born at
Liverpool, Lngland, and gradu
ated from the rabbinical college
of Hebron in August of last
year. He left Palestine tiuo
weehs before the Arab riots, and
arrived in New York' on August
24tli, the day of the Hebron mas
sacre. Rabbi I.azarus 11070 re
sides in Atlanta,—Editor.
“Mow far to the Yeshiha?”! inquired
on my arrival at Hebron of a small
Sephardic Jewish lad, typical of his
race, olive coniplexioned, with that
carefree demeanor so peculiar to the
Orientals, whom I met lounging idly
about during the sultry mid-day heat.
“l,o Rachok” (not far), came the reply
in Hebrew, followed hv an artless smile,
displaying thereby a perfect set of
veritable ivory castles, and lie pointed
with his dark slender hand to a build
ing in the distance. A few minutes
brought me to the object of my quest,
for which purpose I had made the jour
ney by car from Jerusalem, a distance
of twenty odd miles, speeding through
the fresh countryside over hill and dale,
passing several historical points includ
ing Rachel’s tomb at Bethlehem and
King Solomon’s pools.
My first impression of the Yeshiha,
which institution 1 subsequently en
tered and of which 1 became enrolled
officially as a member, was of a mod
est one-story stone building of simple
architecture lying in a deep vale, just
off the high road, hidden from view
by the rich foliage of the peach and
apricot which almost completely sur
round the Yeshiha. A modest sign
placed high up on the facade of an
adjacent two-story building which
serves as a library and bank for the
institution, indicated that the Yeshibath
Kneseth Israel, formerly of Slabodka,
Lithuania, had established itself in
these quarters.
Four years had elapsed since that
memorable afternoon, years that linger
in my memory as constituting the hap
piest and sweetest moments of my ex
istence, a period in which I have liter
ally lived and moved in a different
sphere and have associated with a class
tiiat has no equal, where each indi
vidual forms a world of his own, en
tertaining noble and lofty ambitions to
attain the pinnacle of spiritual perfec
tion, the acme of his ideal.
Probably outside of Hebron, little
is known of the inner life of the
Yeshiha, which, about four years ago,
was transferred by degrees from Lithu
ania to the Holy Land. It is made up
of approximately 170 youths, well
versed in Talmudical lore, carefully se
lected from the fruitful fields of East
ern Europe, youths, that adequately to
describe their respective merits would
necessitate writing a separate book for
each of them.
With more than an indifferent eye
must Jewry look to this remote spot
for its future Ilillels and Akibahs, who
will ultimately lead the chosen race to
a realization of its lifelong dreams.
High up on the hills of Judea, at an
altitude of nearly .1,()()() feet above sea
level, an important feature in these
tropical climes, within close proximity
to the Ma’arath Hamachpela, the tomb
of the patriarchs, in the most ancient
of cities, possessing an unrivaled cli
mate, and where all is bathed in glori
ous sunshine, no more ideal spot, both
physical and spiritual, could have been
chosen for this seat of learning, the
greatest Talmudical center in the world.
In this modest building, the Talmud
and its multifold ramifications are ex
pounded to their fullest, and verily has
this tree of life, the Etz Chaim, trans
planted into holy soil, grown and flour
ished rapidly in the past few years, and
developed from a mere sapling to a
stately verdant cedar of Lebanon,
whose fragrance, suffused with the
honeycomb sweetness of the Torah,
will penetrate to the far corners of the
earth, the herald of hope and happi
ness, quickening and reviving the lowly
spirited and depressed of heart.
Simple as the building is externally,
yet more simple is the interior. About
a 150 detached forms with as many
chairs are arranged in regular forma
tion. The Holy Ark with its covering
consisting of a simple colored velvet
Parocheth. embroidered in the center
with the initials of its donor, and a
modest bookcase containing the vari
ous tomes for reference, complete the
furniture of the Yeshiha. Yet. though
the building and its contents do not
exactly represent an art gallery, the
lack of artificial beauty is amply re
paid by the breath-taking panorama to
lie seen through the open windows.
An uninterrupted view of the pictur
esque “Emek”, the valley of Hebron,
with its fields and vineyards resplen
dent in their new spring dress of yel
low and green, the ripening corn and
sesame; the pomegranate in bloom, dis
playing its exquisite scarlet cup-shaped
blossom; an occasional Arab peasant
tilling his fields, driving his primitive
plowshare through the fertile soil with
the aid of his eternal pair of oxen,
leaving neat furrows in his wake; the
quaint shepherd hoy mustering his
wandering flocks, to the tune of his
flute-like reed, the enchanting strains
of that Eastern music floating through
the pure air and in the distance, as
though to crown this fair miniature
paradise; the hills of Judae looming
up majestically. The scenic beauty has
indeed a most beneficial effect on the
student as he pores over the pregnant
page. We realize the importance of
the maxim. “Avira TVarah D’yisroel
Maehkim,” the atmosphere of Eretz
Yisroel is enlightening.
Alert, quick-witted, of cheerful dis
position, debonair, and immaculately
dressed, the Hebron Yeshiha Rachoor
makes a most pleasing impression on
all. Yet, though superficially his ap
pearance tells of a carefree college
student, he is complete master of him
self, having studied for years, diligently
and thoughtfully the art of conquering
his inner self and controlling his train
of thoughts. Curbing and suppressing
the evil inclinations that harbor in the
soul and mind, as the unseen worm that
seeks to ruin the stately tree by bor
ing through to the core, and working
powerfully on his natural good im
pulses, he consequently produces a bet
ter human machine that responds read
ily to its master’s commands. He util
izes his intellectual capacity to its best
advantage, and, possessing a natural
eagerness and untiring interest for
study, he labors with unflagging zeal,
thinking nothing of putting in twelve
hours or so a day of persistent study
in deep concentration. Ever seeking
to satiate his thirsty soul that longs
and yearns for that priceless spiritual
treasure which appears so near, and
yet is so unattainable, delving deeply
into this fathomless sea of the Talmud
in his endless quest for th..
pearls, wondrous beyond <
In summer, the Hebron
study in white, as array,
suit and panama hat slighth
emerges from his boarding
ment and sallies forth en r<.
Yeshiha, his huge Gemara Mi.
under his arm. Sauntering n
through Main Street with
self-possession, his carriag, i ar froir
being supercilious, lie is the ,.Eject of
praise of all who behold 1
write, a group of them pass bv my
open window, indulging in a short walk
by way of recreation in the .
the evening, idlly swinging tlu-ir can,
His Pm. Rabbi Jacob Meir, the Chut
Rabbi of Palestine.
at an imaginary target, and my h ear!
swells with pride to think that I am
part and parcel of them, a boy amongst
the boys.
Gazing wistfully after their retrea
ing figures I am drawn magneticaii
out of my room into the open, an
review with unconcealed pride my
vironment. The Yeshiha. just over
the right, behind which the t.nvernu.
monument of the Maarath
pela is silhouetted against the >k>.
in the far distance, dimly disced i 11
the twilight, Abraham's Eshe
tree, where, legend has it, the i a ',
pitched his tent and prepare
for his three angelic guest',
on the greensward beneath
tree. Enraptured by the s'
gaze turns mechanically sky
Heaven’s shining canopy, that
pause of infinite celestial
recall the saying of the sage.'
memory, that the firmament
unto the telesia, the sapp!
which, in turn, on account
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