Rabbi Benji Levin
The mix at last week's coronation was unusual: Rabbi Benji Levin's children are sitting in the front row, young ultra-Orthodox in hats. Alongside them are veterans of underground movements who are not religious, and you are more than 100 young religious Zionists. "The unity of Israel is not just the name of your synagogue," Chief Rabbi David Lau tells them in his congratulatory speech. "The unity of Israel is your motto."
It is doubtful whether the Chief Rabbi knows that in recent years the synagogue has another motto: matchmaking. With all due respect to hearing stories of heroism about the escape from Acre Prison, along the way the place became a lively center of vacancy for the sector.
"I accompanied my grandfather here as a child," Rabbi Benji tells the audience in his first speech in office. "And I was always impressed by the names of all the heroes on the walls. Grandpa and these heroes must be happier there than what's happening here tonight. What did I learn from my grandfather, and what should we all learn? I learned that extremism is not necessarily an expression of holiness. I learned that you don't have to travel far to find spirituality. Spirituality can be found here next to you, when you look around and ask what I did today to help others. I learned how important it is to find love in your heart for those who make you not want to do it.
"I once asked him what G-d wants from us, and he answered that King David says in the book of Psalms, 'I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come?' Why does he look at the mountains? You can look at the stars, at the moon, they are higher. Grandpa said that the moon and the stars are in the sky, but the mountain stands on the ground and goes up. That's what God wants from us. To grow from the ground, out of this world.
"We are approaching Passover. The entire exodus of the Israelites from Egypt begins with Joseph the Righteous in the Egyptian prison. Two of Pharaoh's ministers arrive there and are thrown into prison, and he sees on their faces that something is wrong. He asks them, 'Why is your face bad today?' and then they begin to tell him dreams, and he interprets them. From there, everything starts to progress. In other words, the entire redemption from Egypt begins with the fact that one is interested in the well-being of the other. This is how we will bring the redemption, if we are interested in others. It's very simple and very complicated.
"There is a well-known story about the Baal Shem Tov, that when he wanted to pray, he would go to a certain place, light a fire and pray. His student no longer knew how to light the fire, but he remembered the place and the prayer. The next generation of students did not remember the place and did not light the fire, but they did remember the prayer. And the next generation did not know where the place was, and did not know how to light the fire, and did not remember the prayer, but knew how to tell the story. This is me. I'm not like my grandfather. I only know how to tell the story. Pray for me to succeed in my job. Let us know how to appreciate the Torah, to appreciate others wherever they are. And one last thing: as you go out and down the steep stairs, I ask all the young people to lend a hand to the adults.
