Torah Modiin | Divrei Bracha | Mr. Mitch Aeder

It is a great honor for me to introduce Mr. Mitch Ader. Mr. Mitch Ader is the president of the Orthodox Union, the international president of the Orthodox Union. Um, over the past two years in the presidency, three years and >> two and a half years. over the past two and a half years. Um really Mitch came to into office during just before some of the most challenging times in recent Jewish history. And I could just speak personally in terms of his concern not only for every member of of the OU team, but for every member of Claus. the phone calls, the message of encouragement we've received throughout this entire past couple of years as we've been, you know, every single one of us dealing with with the challenges around us, with the loss around us, with the pain around us, with the family traumas that we're all experiencing. So the personal concern that that Mitch has shown every single one of us has not [snorts] only given us tremendous and hope but has encouraged us to continue to do what we can to make a difference for Kalis. And we know that that concern extends not only to us here in Israel but to literally every member of the OU family and every member of Kalisa. To have a leader who literally cares so deeply person to try to help every single person on a personal level is very inspiring and it's a great to have have you here with us. the fact that literally stepping off a plane and and being here with us this evening, it's greatly appreciated personally and it's a great skill to introduce Mr. Mitchah. [applause] So, I actually have a um very special personal relationship with Rabbi Sam. Um, you know, this is the first time I've made it to Torah, whatever Torah, um, to et seems that every time, um, I arrive in Israel a day after one of these events happens, right? And I [clears throat] thought it was a coincidence, right? But then this year, I decided to try something a little bit tricky and I told Rabbi Sam, I'm arriving tomorrow, right? as it was scheduled for tonight. So I I I fooled you. But ll got the last laugh because hopefully hopefully our suitcase of bullet will arrive tomorrow. [laughter] [clears throat] So I I I want to thank um the Schul I want to thank um KSYM and especially the Matra for his beautiful words and for not only for hosting but for the shootut that that that we have um and um making an event like this possible. Um unlike the moradra however I am not going to give you the option of my speaking in Hebrew or in English. Um uh this past um this past purum um I was in stro with a group of our um the people who work in our murks nowhere down there and um um after and I've known some of these people for quite some time um and at the end of you know the [snorts] meal um speaking init um one of them said to me you know this is the first time I begin to understand your Hebrew so we're not going there Um so I want to pick up a little bit on something that Rav Soil said. Um we're we're sitting here less than 40 48 hours before kidre [clears throat] getting together and it's called Torah Modí and I I would have thought we're getting together on the eighth day of the muva um we'd be coming in together for we'd be coming together to to sit in the floor to cry beginning of the Torah. Why Torah? What does Torah have to do with ch? So, so there's a lot to say about it, but I want to give you a perspective, my my my personal perspective and tell a personal story, a very fresh personal story. So sometime over the past year um in a public setting um uh someone who I'm very close with um said something which was borderline hurtful insensitive um and I went up to him afterwards um and he made a joke about it which didn't sort of sit right with me but okay um and I thought I would let it go but it was still sort of wrangling. So last week I went to see him and I said, "I'm hurt. I'm hurt." Right? And he said to me, this is someone who I'm really very close with. And he said, he first, you know, tried to sort of, well, it wasn't a big deal, etc., etc. But then he saw I was serious and he apologized and he and he meant the apology and I was mo him and I met the ma was chuva. The relationship though isn't fixed yet. It's not 100%. We have a um a process for chuva, right? And there's formal steps that we take, right? We have karat, we have vidi, we have kabala, right? But [clears throat] ultimately, as the ruff said, what we're trying to get to is to fix the relationship with Hashem, right? That's what that's our goal is to get closer to God, right? [clears throat] And the, you know, in the Schae that we say three times a day. So each one of the the brahos um I'm going to say bro, I'm going to get confused all the time. So I'll stop with so each bra has a name, right? Aosa Mason kaducasm bina and chuva. So chuva braha number five. So we expect in the bra of chuva we be clapping on our shoulder on on our chests. But what do we say hashu say God return us. God our father au return us to Torah right and then get close to us but we want the relationship of an how do we get there is through Torah the Torah is it's not a prerequisite but it's a portal to allow us to [clears throat] to get closer and to have that chuva be not just a a a process a formal process but a fixing of a relationship and in getting closer to God and it's no coincidence because we have no coincidences in Judaism that yum kipper the ultimate day of chuva is also yum kabalisra it's the day that Moshera brought the lucos down it's kabala that there's that without Torah there's [clears throat] no chuva and So, it's in that context that I am just really inspired um and immensely moved that so many of you have nothing else to do tonight but to come out >> [clears throat] >> um and to spend the evening engaging in learning Torah, learning from some of the great teachers of our community, of our generation because Torah is part an essential part of the Shouver process, you know. Um and Ramy Sam alluded to this at the beginning. So just as individuals have to go through and so so do institutions um and [clears throat] the in the U [snorts] operations in Israel. So our our our our programs for Israelis. We have America as they know are from um Katrine and Ban and Ako in the north to Kir God Malah in the south right but our um programs for Angloim up until a few years ago were primarily limited to Rakavia to the U center and [clears throat] led by A Burman Sam Shore. We undertook a nephesh and said I we need to get out there. We need to get out there and even even within um since we moved out of the old u you know Israel center last November to Harim and all of the Shiranim that used to take place there are now taking place in local sh around Shaalim and the response has been great. The attendance has doubled and tripled. um programs now throughout Israel in the in some of the larger um in some of the larger Anglo uh communities um that I have to say for um I I believe there are two groups here just in Min um there [clears throat] are um more and more programs that we have for teams through NCSY Israel through Kai um and JIC which now we have an entire community in Tel Aviv as well as um we have couples on 11 university campuses in Israel. I didn't know there were 11 university campuses in Israel, right? Um [clears throat] and really what we're doing is trying to be responsive to the communal needs um the needs of the community to grow in Torah to elevate themselves religiously. And for that I want to thank everyone for their support, for their guidance, for their input, for their feedback. Right? And I wish everyone a Gumar hatimat. Thank you.