Right before Shavu’ot, the second and third-year students of the department of Toshba went on a trip to the Galil “in the footsteps of the Tanna’im and Amora’im”.
It was the students’ idea to make the trip, wanting to do something meaningful together as a group at the end of a long academic year. The idea of building a day around visits to Kivrei Tzaddikim came up at once, since this would be a way of spending a day in limud and tefilla, centered on the lives of Gedolei Chazal.
In preparation for the trip, each of the girls had to prepare brief biographies on one or more of the Tanna’im and Amora’im, to be presented before the rest of the group at the relevant sites. In this way, even before the trip had begun the students spent time learning about the various Tanna’im and Amora’im, their lives, their teachings, and their respective contributions to Am Yisrael and to Torah sheb’al Peh.
The trip began in T’veriah, at the site of the kever of Rabbi Akiva. The students learned together, discussed the life and teachings of Rabbi Akiva, and then davened together. The students also visited the kevarot of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and his students, again learning and davening at the site. While in the area, the students also visited the kevarot of the Rambam, the Ramchal, and the Shelah HaKadosh, at whose kever they said the special tefillah that the Shelah composed to merit having righteous children.
From there the students traveled to Meiron, stopping on the way at the kevarot of Rabbi Chalafta and his sons Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Yossi. Rabbi Yossi ben Chalafta is the well-known “Rabbi Yossi” mentioned throughout Shas. At Meiron the students stopped to learn and daven, first at the kever of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and thereafter at the kever of Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar.
The students then traveled to the kever of Rabbi Yehuda bar Illai, well known simply as “Rabbi Yehuda” throughout Shas. More than six hundred halachot are recorded in Rabbi Yehudah’s name. From there the students traveled to the special burial cave of the great Amora’im Abaye and Rava. The trip ended at “Amukah”, the kever of Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, which is a widely popular site because of the “segulot” associated with it.
A trip of this length has to have food! But on a trip of this sort, even the meal is sure to be carefully planned. The students prepared a “Se’udat ‘Amen-im’“, a meal in which food items are chosen with their berachot in mind, the goal being to recite as many different berachot in the course of a single meal as halachically possible. The “Se’udat ‘Amen-im’“ was conducted at Amuka, a fitting conclusion to a very special day.
Coming out of such an intense trip, the students described a sense of great religious uplifting, feeling that it had been an incredible “zechut” to be able to learn about the life and times and contributions of some of the greatest figures in the history of Am Yisrael, so near to the final resting places of the gedolim themselves.
The trip was also a great bonding opportunity for the students, who normally meet only in academic settings and here were able to get together, in a meaningful way, on tiyul in the Galil. While going on tiyul more frequently is almost impossible given the intensity of learning at Orot, sometimes just taking off one day to do something special makes all seem worthwhile.
It was the students’ idea to make the trip, wanting to do something meaningful together as a group at the end of a long academic year. The idea of building a day around visits to Kivrei Tzaddikim came up at once, since this would be a way of spending a day in limud and tefilla, centered on the lives of Gedolei Chazal.
In preparation for the trip, each of the girls had to prepare brief biographies on one or more of the Tanna’im and Amora’im, to be presented before the rest of the group at the relevant sites. In this way, even before the trip had begun the students spent time learning about the various Tanna’im and Amora’im, their lives, their teachings, and their respective contributions to Am Yisrael and to Torah sheb’al Peh.
The trip began in T’veriah, at the site of the kever of Rabbi Akiva. The students learned together, discussed the life and teachings of Rabbi Akiva, and then davened together. The students also visited the kevarot of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and his students, again learning and davening at the site. While in the area, the students also visited the kevarot of the Rambam, the Ramchal, and the Shelah HaKadosh, at whose kever they said the special tefillah that the Shelah composed to merit having righteous children.
From there the students traveled to Meiron, stopping on the way at the kevarot of Rabbi Chalafta and his sons Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Yossi. Rabbi Yossi ben Chalafta is the well-known “Rabbi Yossi” mentioned throughout Shas. At Meiron the students stopped to learn and daven, first at the kever of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and thereafter at the kever of Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar.
The students then traveled to the kever of Rabbi Yehuda bar Illai, well known simply as “Rabbi Yehuda” throughout Shas. More than six hundred halachot are recorded in Rabbi Yehudah’s name. From there the students traveled to the special burial cave of the great Amora’im Abaye and Rava. The trip ended at “Amukah”, the kever of Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, which is a widely popular site because of the “segulot” associated with it.
A trip of this length has to have food! But on a trip of this sort, even the meal is sure to be carefully planned. The students prepared a “Se’udat ‘Amen-im’“, a meal in which food items are chosen with their berachot in mind, the goal being to recite as many different berachot in the course of a single meal as halachically possible. The “Se’udat ‘Amen-im’“ was conducted at Amuka, a fitting conclusion to a very special day.
Coming out of such an intense trip, the students described a sense of great religious uplifting, feeling that it had been an incredible “zechut” to be able to learn about the life and times and contributions of some of the greatest figures in the history of Am Yisrael, so near to the final resting places of the gedolim themselves.
The trip was also a great bonding opportunity for the students, who normally meet only in academic settings and here were able to get together, in a meaningful way, on tiyul in the Galil. While going on tiyul more frequently is almost impossible given the intensity of learning at Orot, sometimes just taking off one day to do something special makes all seem worthwhile.
No comments:
Post a Comment