Judaistik.se

För någon dag sedan skrev jag att Merkaz ha-Rav-attacken sannolikt kommer att utnyttjas för att stärka olika ideologiska syften, och nu börjar också de första exemplen dyka upp. I den ortodoxt judiska bloggen Voz iz neias kunde man igår läsa nedanstående hyllning till Doron Mahareta, en av de studenter som omkom i samband med attacken. På dessa korta rader lär vi inte speciellt mycket om vem han var som person, vad han tänkte eller hur det var för honom att som etiopisk jude befinna sig i en ashkenazisk omgivning. För textens syfte är detta helt ovidkommande. Syftet här är att lyfta fram hans enormt fokuserade studieiver och utifrån detta skapa en Tora-hjälte, ett ideal och en förebild för kommande generationer jeshivastudenter. Notera hur han likställs med rabbinska giganter som Hillel, hur han beskrivs ha försakat allt annat till förmån för möjligheten att studera Tora och hur läsaren uppmanas att använda denna studieiver som en förebild för sina egna och sina barns studier. Mahareta förkroppsligade jeshiva-världens studieideal – och därmed är ännu en Tora-hjälte född. 

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Doron Mahareta of blessed and saintly memory HY"D was one of the eight Yeshiva students that were massacred last week in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav in Jerusalem.

Last night, I paid a shiva (condolence) call to Doron's family. Every single type of Jew was sitting together, from Ethiopians to Polish Chassidim, from knit kippot to Yerushalmi white kippot, from jeans and sandals to long black frocks. Too bad that it takes a martyr of Doron's magnitude to unite everyone.

One of the rabbis from Mercaz HaRav told me the most amazing story you'll ever hear about Doron's dedication to learning Torah, a story that competes with the Gemara's account of Hillel's near freezing on the roof of Shmaya and Avtalion's Yeshiva (see tractate Yoma, 35b).

Doron wanted to learn Torah in Mercaz HaRav, one of the best of Israel's yeshivas. But, since his early schooling was in Ethiopia, he lacked a strong background in Gemara. The Yeshiva rejected him. He wasn't discouraged. He asked, "If you won't let me learn Torah, will you let me wash the dishes in the mess hall?" For a year and a half, Doron washed dishes. But, he spent every spare minute in the study hall. He inquired what the yeshiva boys were learning, and spent most of the nights and all of his Shabbatot with his head in the Gemara learning what they learned. One day, the "dish washer" asked the Rosh Yeshiva to test him. The Rosh Yeshiva politely smiled and tried to gently dismiss Doron, but Doron wouldn't budge. He forced the Rosh Yeshiva into a Torah discussion; the next day, he was no longer a dish washer but a full-fledged "yeshiva bachur".

On weekends, when Doron would come home to visit his family in Ashdod, he'd spend the entire Shabbat either in the Melitzer Shul or the neighboring Gerrer shtiebel learning Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries. Three weeks ago, he finished the entire Shulchan Aruch and principle commentaries. Doron achieved in his tender 26 years what others don't attain in 88 years. He truly was an unblemished sacrifice, who gave his life for all of us.

The next time you want to close the Gemara to watch TV, think of Doron. The next time your son doesn't want to do his Torah homework, tell him about the price that tzaddikim like Hillel the Elder and Doron Mahareta paid to learn Torah. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Doron wasn't a reincarnation of Hillel. May his holy soul beg mercy for the grieving nation he left behind,
amen.

_{Hela texten finns här:  Israel - Student Of Yeshiva Massacre, Doron: Story of a True Tzaddik}