Bein hazmanim has a lot to do with one’s growth in Torah.  I would like to share with you some thoughts of some of our Gedolim on what bein hazmanim should be like and what concerns one should have and how best to make bein hazmanim what it was meant to be originally.

The biggest concern which I heard aired many times is the bitul Torah that comes about due to bein hazmanim.  I would like to explain, the when I am referring to bitul Torah, I am not referring to the actual time one spends during a bein hazmanim activity, but rather, how that bein hazmanim activity ultimately effect one’s subsequent Torah learning.  For example, what ideas and thoughts will enter one’s “head” during the activity which will still be present and then interfere with them later on in the next zman’s learning.

So we need to examine what activities we can entertain participating in, which will not bring about bitul Torah in Elul zman.

I would like to start off with a question that was presented to Rav Yecheskel Landau better known as the Noda B’yehuda. He lived in the 1700’s around the time of the “emancipation era” when Jews were first beginning to leave their ghettos and beginning to intermingle with the “outside” world.  The Noda B’yehuda was asked by a very eirlich yid who had just befriended a non-Jew in business.  The non-Jew invited him to go on a “hunt” with him and the Jew wanted to know if it was permitted.  The Noda B’yehuda explained in his tshuva that the type of people who go hunting, at least during those times, were individuals whose way of life was so diametrically opposed to our derech that it would not be possible for him not to be affected by that exposure and therefore he should decline the invitation.  Remember we are a nation of kadoshim.  What we take from this and can apply to our bein hazmanim activities is whom are we going to need to associate with during that activity and once we are certain that our exposure to a culture entirely different from that of a ben Torah will not take place… then we then can entertain participating in such an event.

While the Gemara cautions us to stay away from stadiums and theaters, they are referring to stadiums of the Roman era where there with bull-fights and gladiators where only one came out alive. The Gemara was not referring to the stadiums of today where modern sports take place. I am reminded of a story I heard regarding Rav Zev Leff shlit’a, who, as I heard the story, has a grandchild who was very into sports and as such agreed to go with the grandchild to an international soccer game. (He was visiting his daughter, son-in-law and their family while they were on shlichus in Scotland, and there was an Israel vs Scotland match which many of the local community were attending). The game was broadcast live and after the first goal, the camera zeroed in on the crowd to see all the cheering.  As the camera was surveying the excited crowd it zeroed in on the Rav who was oblivious to what was going on around him as he had his head into a sefer!  Wow what a kiddush Hashem he made on national television.  One lesson we can take from this is, regardless of what activity we decide to participate in, let’s also focus on making a kiddush Hashem with our behaviour during the activity.

In regards to a recommendation, I heard a tshua from HaRav Ovadia Yosef zt’l who recommended going to the Jerusalem Zoo.  He said seeing the wonders of the animals give us a glimpse of what Hashem has created and increasing our marvel of the Rebbono Shel Olam.

Incidentally, as this is written at the end of the summer zman, I would like to add an important point brought out by Rav Eliyashiv zt”l where he said  “you can’t have bein hazamanim if you didn’t first of a zman”.

I would like to close by sharing a message that Rav Gershon Edelstein zt”l, gave one year to his talmidim.

We know that everyone would like to grow during bein hazmanim, yet the natural tendency is to the contrary. This reality means that upon the start of the new zman, the talmid must start everything anew. This pattern returns again the next bein hazmanim. The new zman requires a lot of effort to regain one’s previous place. This pattern results with the person stagnating in his growth.

We know the feeling of a bein hazmanim which passes without a regimented learning schedule. At its conclusion, one is left with a feeling of emptiness. We must, therefore, at the very least, figure out what are the ways to prevent descent during bein hazmanim, and ultimately to make it into a time of growth.

Let us preface with a story that took place in chutz l’aretz which involved two non-observant co-owners of a store. They would keep their store open during Shabbos, yet as Rosh Hashana approached, one wanted the store closed for the Yom Tov. His fellow owner rejoined by explaining to him that his calculations were nonsensical. The desecration of Shabbos is a very severe prohibition, and it is punishable by the death penalty, whereas the desecration of Rosh Hashana is only a violation of a Torah prohibition which doesn’t warrant the death penalty. He told him that if he was not afraid to open the store on Shabbos, he should not worry about keeping it open during the holiday.

They went together to ask a local Rabbi. He told them the following analogy. On a large ship there are some smaller safety boats in case of emergency. If there is ever a danger of capsizing, and the crew must get rid of their heavy loads, they nevertheless do not throw the life boats overboard. The small boats are their last chance of hope. One who has distanced himself from the ways of Torah and does not keep the Shabbos, observing Rosh Hashana will be considered his life boat. Without this he is completely hopeless – he is no different than a non-Jew.

We see this phenomenon quite often. People who are unobservant of Torah and mitzvos, yet upon the arrival of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, they behave differently. I once heard the following story from a man who was witness to it while on a bus. Two non-religious men were conversing when it came out that one of them fasts on Yom Kippur. The other was surprised and questioned the former, given that he is so far removed from Torah, why does he bother to fast? The man tried to avoid answering, and even said that he fasted for health reasons. His friend quickly questioned, “If so, why do you choose Yom Kippur as the day of your fast?” Finally, the man conceded that he fasts because he cannot bring himself to eat on such a holy day. We see that this man still had vestiges of the holiness of a Yid.

The above analogy of the ship can be applied to bein hazmanim. A person who is a ben Torah must have a consistent learning regimen during bein hazmanim. This will be his life-boat and he will maintain his status and his level of a ben Torah. If one does not have a learning schedule during bein hazmanim, he loses his life-boat and is no longer deemed a ben Torah. This is because he no longer has a permanent connection to Torah. At the beginning of the new zman he will have to build his ship anew; he will need to restart his connection to Torah. Alternatively, he will be in need of “resuscitation” to bring him back from his fallen status.

Let me end that these words of our previous Gadol Hador ring true to all of us and  this bein hazmanim, may we are be able to say at the beginning of Elul that we are not rebuilding our ships, but are starting beyond where we left off.