Before the opening ceremony of our yeshiva in Bayit Vegan, Yerushalayim, a number of prominent Roshei Yeshiva in Bnei Brak approached me. They wanted their institutions to be associated with ours, so that I would help support theirs. They were at the end of their rope financially and could no longer support their institutions.
I replied that I would be more than happy to help them financially, but I categorically refused to have their yeshivot under my auspices. I did not work to build their yeshivot and I would not take any credit for them. One cannot compare the satisfaction of one who has worked hard to prepare a meal to that of one who is served his meal on a silver platter, without having toiled toward it in any way.
- Peninei David, Yerushalayim
Additionally, I told these Roshei Yeshiva that it was their obligation to support their institutions in spite of the difficulties involved. Torah is acquired only through suffering. I blessed them that Hashem should assist them in their sacred missions.
A few months later, I met these Roshei Yeshiva once again. They thanked me for not taking the reins of the yeshiva from their hands. They averred that there is no substitute for the pleasure of upholding the burden of Torah.
When a person eats the fruit of a tree he planted with his bare hands, it is manifold times sweeter than a fruit one buys in the market. Similarly, one who supports the holy Torah, the Tree of Life, and grows fruits in the form of disciples, receives tremendous reward. In addition, the nachat he reaps from his sweet fruits cannot be duplicated.
Every day, I pray to Hashem that my intentions in upholding our institutions be solely l’shem Shamayim. No trace of personal honor should ever enter my mind. May our yeshivot be like those of Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin, zt”l, founded upon pure bedrocks of faith, without any grain of personal motivation involved.
I also ask Hashem to forgive me if, chalilah, I ever entertained thoughts of personal grandeur. May He consider such thoughts null and void.
