Thousands gathered at the main Dushinsky bais medrash in Yerushalayim on Monday night to hear the annual Shabbos Shuvah drashah of Rav Moshe Sternbuch, who delivered a forceful address focusing on the draft of yeshivah bochurim, chareidi military programs, the dangers of internet use and the need to strengthen shemiras Shabbos and regular study of its halachos.

The massive crowd included admorim, rabbonim, roshei yeshivah, dayanim, marbitzei Torah and members of the broader Yerushalayim Torah community. Dozens of prominent rabbonim and morei horaah were seated along the eastern wall as the bais medrash filled with people who had come to hear Rav Sternbuch’s traditional pre-Yom Kippur address.

Rav Sternbuch opened by addressing what he described as the struggle facing Torah Jewry against those seeking to undermine the Torah world and its institutions.

“The wicked are plotting to completely destroy us, to demolish the fortresses of Torah and the holy yeshivos, and to turn us into a nation like all other nations and a people like all other peoples. However, regarding this, the posuk has already promised us and Hakadosh Boruch Hu has declared: ‘That which enters your minds shall not come to pass!’ Our obligation at this time is to shake ourselves free and distance ourselves completely from the secular, not to look toward them at all, not to associate with them and not to participate with them in any matter whatsoever, because it is specifically in this separation that the foundation of our success and continued existence lies.”

To underscore the point, Rav Sternbuch cited an explanation from Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin regarding a passage recited during the Hoshanos.

“Rav Yehoshua Leib explained our plea, ‘Hoshana, three hours, Hoshana,’ that during the final three hours before the arrival of the righteous redeemer, a terrible and frightening spirit of heresy and impurity will blow through the world. He further warned with holy foresight: Only one who completely separates and distances himself from the wicked will merit to be saved and to see the light of redemption.”

Rav Sternbuch then turned to the ongoing controversy surrounding the draft of yeshivah bochurim and the arrests of those who have refused to enlist, declaring, “The blood of our brothers is not hefker!”

“To our sorrow, during Rosh Hashanah, eighty precious bochurim sat in prison, despite having committed no sin or wrongdoing, other than their intense desire to cling to Hashem and toil in Torah, and their refusal to enlist in an army filled with impurity and heresy. Over this we protest with all our strength and cry out: The blood of our brothers is not hefker! Chazal have already said, ‘One who causes another to sin is worse than one who kills him,’ and this terrible decree hanging over the yeshivah bochurim is truly comparable to a death sentence, because without Torah we have no life at all. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu frustrate their counsel and disrupt their plans, and in the merit of the mesirus nefesh of those who learn Torah, may the decree soon be annulled.”

Rav Sternbuch also issued a strong warning against military programs marketed specifically toward chareidi men, including programs offering limited working hours and substantial financial compensation while promising an environment geared toward religious participants.

“To our sorrow, they have opened programs supposedly adorned in ‘chassidishe clothing,’ through which they entice the public to work a few hours and receive large amounts of money, thereby trapping the yeshivahleit in their net. Therefore, the obligation of the hour is to warn loudly: It is forbidden to go to them under any circumstances! The very foundation of the army is built upon heresy, and their entire aim and objective is simply to connect us with them so that we become like them, chas v’shalom.”

Turning to technology, Rav Sternbuch described internet use as one of the defining spiritual challenges confronting the current generation and urged the public to distance itself as much as possible.

“The obligation of the hour is to awaken people regarding the danger of the internet, which is the most difficult nisayon of the generation and leads to the ultimate source of impurity. Fortunate is one who does not use it at all, even ‘filtered internet,’ for as we say to the nazir, ‘Go around, go around; do not approach the vineyard.’ Boruch Hashem, today there are already holy groups in every community whose members undertake to distance themselves from all these things, and they should be called holy for overcoming the challenges of the times with strength.”

Rav Sternbuch devoted another portion of his drashah to Shabbos, noting that the first day of Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbos this year and that Klal Yisroel therefore did not perform the mitzvah of shofar on that day. He said this makes strengthening shemiras Shabbos particularly important.

“This year Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbos and we did not merit the mitzvah of shofar, and in such a year we need the merit of Shabbos to stand on our behalf and sweeten the judgments. Therefore, we must strengthen ourselves especially in observing Shabbos, so that it will serve as an advocate for us before the Throne of Glory. Chas v’shalom, if we do not observe it properly, it could instead become a source of prosecution, rachmana litzlan.

“Every single person should undertake to learn the halachos of Shabbos on a regular basis, as well as to protest against the increasing desecration of Shabbos. If we do what is incumbent upon us, Shabbos will stand as our advocate, and the words ‘If I safeguard Shabbos, Hashem will safeguard me’ will be fulfilled for us, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu will save us from all harm.”

At the conclusion of the lengthy address, thousands filed past Rav Sternbuch in an orderly procession to receive his brachah for the new year. Among the first to approach were the Dushinsky Rebbe and the Skulen Yerushalayim Rebbe.

Another notable scene unfolded afterward as the rabbonim of the Eidah Hachareidis passed before Rav Sternbuch and received his brachah together with a special Yom Tov gift of $1,000 apiece. More than $100,000 was distributed at the gathering through Rav Sternbuch’s Kupas Tomchin D’Oraisa, continuing his longstanding financial support for rabbonim, roshei kollel and avreichim throughout the year.

Moved by the occasion, Rav Yehudah Fisher, a member of the Badatz of the Eidah Hachareidis, rose and expressed the appreciation of the assembled rabbonim to Rav Sternbuch for carrying the needs of the community and assisting its members both spiritually and materially.

Following the gathering, large crowds accompanied Rav Sternbuch from the Dushinsky bais medrash through the streets of Yerushalayim, escorting him with great honor as far as Shmuel Hanavi Street. From there, Rav Sternbuch returned to his home in Har Nof.

{Matzav.com}