Essays [part 2]

[theyellowhobbit]

This one is due tomorrow [well march 1 so i have to send it before Shabbas] Tell me what you think, if you read it before then [or after, but if you tell me now i may make changes and stuff]. Thanks.

Essay:

 Write a /D’var Torah /(approx. 1 page) in which you discuss the
    transformative nature of Torah in a communal setting (please attach).

Even if you were to give me all the silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls in the world, I would dwell nowhere but in a place of Torah.

This mishnah sounds strangely reminiscent of a conversation I was having with my friend a couple of weeks ago. People were deciding on their summer plans- whether to work at a multi-million dollar corporation, take summer classes at Penn, or go home, wherever that was, and get a job somewhere local. None of these options appealed to me. I told my roommate “I don’t want to spend the summer somewhere where there are no Orthodox Jews! And even if I am at a place where there are Orthodox Jews, I need to be in a place where I can study Torah!”

            As of a year and a half ago, this wouldn’t have even been a consideration for me. I wondered, where did this thirst for Torah come from, and why was I so adamantly opposed to spending the summer away from a beit midrash? Did I think I would lose all my Torah if I took a 4 month break from learning? Would I lose my ability to live a halachic life? Was this just a part of me that had existed all along but I had never realized?

            Although I had not been concerned with Torah study when I had originally applied to Penn, the presence of such a vibrant Orthodox community there redefined my Judaism. Because of its reputation of being a center for learning and Torah values, a community like Penn attracts young people who embody these values, and who want to live halachic lives with other frum Jews. A community like this can sustain and nurture itself, through many activities such as many daily minyanim and shiurim as well as events such as scholars in residence.

            But beyond sustaining itself, a frum community that is strongly based in Torah can draw in people from the outside world. The energy of the Orthodox Jews I know-how their faces glow with a love for the life they are living- is magnetic; it pulls you in. Seeing their devotion to Torah and mitvot, while being full time students at a secular university (which would seem to have no connection to anything Jewish) amazed me. This is why I decided to join them. Other people I know have had similar experiences in such a Torah-filled environment. They either became observant or more observant at Penn, as a result of being involved in all of the wonderful learning this community has to offer.

            Events like Sunday Night Learning attract people from the greater non-Orthodox Hillel population, perhaps because of the learning itself, or perhaps because of the free kosher pizza that is offered. In any case, these people are paired up in chevrutot, often with people who come from different backgrounds than them. And together they study Torah. Torah study in and of itself is addictive, especially when everyone around you is learning. For people who have never done it before, at least in a formal setting, there is this sense of wanting to take in all of the knowledge that you can- in shiurim, in chevrutot, or even in the two-minute d’var halacha given at the end of davening. One can never get enough Torah. And when you realize that this Torah, which you’re striving for, is true, and divine, that’s when you start keeping all the halachot. The same passion which leads you to Torah leads you to mitzvot- soon keeping shabbat isn’t enough and you have to keep kashrut as well. And then you start dressing modestly and davening three times a day.

            I hope that by studying full time in a beit midrash program, I can drastically increase my knowledge of Torah and plant myself more firmly in Orthodox values. It is important for me to surround myself with people who can answer my questions. Because I am a ba’alat teshuva, I feel that I especially have so many questions about how to keep individual mitzvot, interact on a day to day basis with people who aren’t of the same religion as me, and live an overall Jewish life. Without this lifeline, which has been present throughout my stay at Penn, I’m not sure what I would do. Beyond that, though, I want the opportunity to teach others. I feel that the Orthodox communities I’ve interacted with have given so much to me, and I want the opportunity to give something back. I think I’ve absorbed that love of Judaism from my friends who attracted me to the Orthodox community, and I hope, through teaching, I can pass that love on to others. Through my experiences at Penn and in other Orthodox settings, I have witnessed the power of communities centered in Torah in transforming the lives of the people they touch. Now that I have been touched, I would never want to leave a makom Torah, not even for all the silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls in the world.