The Fire Of Discord

It is well known that one of the major yeshivos in Klal Yisrael has been torn asunder by a terrible machlokes which has led to actions about which I cannot write because it hurts too much. It is also well known that many other institutions have been wrecked by machlokes. I was once in an institution which was born out of a terrible machlokes. The rule is that whenever a new institution is created as a result of machlokes, there will be machlokes in the new institution as well. The Satan doesn't rest. It is like a man who cheats on his wife and then divorces her to marry his mistress. Odds are that the mistress will be the next victim. Once a person has a certain quality, it then expresses itself in every new context.

Hashem saved me from that terrible fate and now I am an independent and thus not involved in any institutions with machlokes, lashon hara or sinas chinam. BARUCH HASHEM. I am indeed poor and have no parnassa but better no parnassa than parnassa with machlokes. Someone recently suggested I teach at a different yeshiva. A short communication with the [now deposed] Rosh Yeshiva revealed that they too are beset by terrible infighting.

The previous post about Rav Moshe's distaste for machlokes and tremendous purity of character warrant another story about him. So fitting for the 9 days...

A certain community wanted to strengthen the Yiddsihkeit in their town so they called in an older European talmid chochom to open a yeshiva. He did but was not successful. He didn't have the right approach for modern American kids. They wanted to bring in some younger men from Lakewood to open another yeshiva. The avreichim from Lakewood approached Rav Moshe and asked if they should go. He said that it would cause machlokes and one must run away from machlokes like fire.

They said that it means that this place would suffer great spiritual damage in the absence of a flourishing Torah institution. Rav Moshe said that it doesn't change things. One must run away from machlokes at any price. Machlokes would create a WORSE situation than the present one.  

They listened and didn't go. After a few years, this old Rosh Yeshiva saw that he wasn't successful, so he himself requested that the people in Lakewood come and help him. They did and a new religious spirit filled the town.

וליהודים היתה אורה ושמחה וששון ויקר