Elevating the Super Sunday

I should have posted this a week ago. I really should have; I just didn't have the time. But like they say, "better late than never". Especially when the subject is something as amazing as what I am about to tell you.

Sometimes you come across something so wonderful, an idea so incredible, that you have no idea how to describe it. But you have to try. And thus, I will try to describe what transpired in my yeshiva last Sunday night.

First, let me give you a little background information. Let's analyze what was going on in the rest of the world. For those of you who are not followers of sports, last Sunday night was the Super Bowl (I'm not into sports either, mind you, but even I heard of it). The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League. It is perhaps the most watched sports event in the world. Additionally, "Super Sunday", as it is called, is the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving. So you can imagine what a big deal it is.

People all over the world watch the Super Bowl, even here in Israel. With the advent of Internet broadcasting, there is almost no corner of the world left untouched by this frenzy. Almost.

I say "almost" because I am here to tell you about a place in the world that is an exception to the rule, an oasis of normalcy in this insane world. I am here to tell you about my yeshiva, and the Kiddush Hashem we made. On a night when millions of people were watching a bunch of grown men chasing a ball, we dedicated the night to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. We stayed up the whole night and learned.

This is actually the second year that my yeshiva has done this, but only my first year here, so it's only my first time experiencing it. The fact that we do this on the night of the Super Bowl has earned it nicknames like "Torah Bowl" or "Super Seder". But whatever you call it, the idea is the same: to dedicate a night to Hashem. And not just any night: a night when the rest of the world is busy with other pursuits, and there is a very strong nisayon (for some people, at least) to join them. A night when the world is full of tumah, we attempt to turn it into a night of kedusha.

It is interesting to note that even though the seder was not mandatory, everyone nevertheless participated. And I mean EVERYONE: bochurim, avreichim, rebbeim - it looked like the middle of the day.

This year's seder was dedicated as a z'chus for the refuah sheleimah of the three-week-old son of Rabbi Eitan Feiner Shlita. Rabbi Feiner is a famous lecturer for Gateways, and a close friend of my rosh yeshiva. He speaks in our yeshiva every second Monday night. His son, who was born several weeks ago after many years of childlessness, has been in the NNICU (Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit) since he was born. The doctors have absolutely no idea what is wrong with him; they say that in the history of medicine, they have never seen a case like this one.

When Rabbi Feiner heard that the seder is being dedicated as a z'chus for his son, he was so touched that he said he wanted to be part of it. And thus he came to join us, and he spoke for us at 1:00 AM. He spoke very well - in fact, it was one of the best speeches I have heard recently, and I hope to soon be able to post it online so that you can download and enjoy it as well.

After staying up the whole night learning, the whole yeshiva walked together to the Kosel to daven Shachris vasikin. After davening, we danced in a circle and sang "ashreinu, mah tov chelkeinu, uma na'im goraleinu" - how lucky we are, how good is our portion, how sweet is our lot. Truer words have never been sang, I thought, watching the rising sun. We were not the only ones to stay up all night, I'm sure... but we are fortunate that we, at least, have what to show for it. We made a Kiddush Hashem.

May it indeed be a z'chus refuah sheleimah for Tinok ben Aviva, b'soch shaar cholei Yisroel. Amen.