Photos by Nachman Weiss
A long line of young men, students at the “Chut Shell Chesed” Yeshiva on Shmuel Hanavi Street in Jerusalem, are waiting in line to enter the awe-inspiring office of their Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shalom Arush shlit’a. Many are sitting in the anteroom and learning while awaiting their turn. We also await our turn, and meanwhile recite the Tikkun Haklali. After touring the Yeshiva’s premises, we begin to realize the magnitude of the spiritual revolution that Rabbi Arush has catalyzed during the previous decade. Hundreds of married Baal Teshuvas, or spiritually awakened Jews, sit here day and night learning Torah. As opposed to the image that has been associated with many Breslever baal teshuvas, Rabbi Arush’s pupils are very serious about Torah, excelling both in the fields of Talmudic learning and in the study of Halacha, or rabbinical law. In fact, several of the most outstanding students have already attained full rabbinic ordination.