In a piercing address following the end of the conflict with Iran, Slabodka rosh yeshiva Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch offered powerful reflections on the events of recent weeks. While expressing profound gratitude for the miraculous salvation experienced by Klal Yisroel, Rav Hirsch warned that we must not overlook the underlying message: that we were struck with a punishment—a makah b’alma—and that our responsibility now is to correct the sin that led to it.
“There were two distinct elements here,” Rav Hirsch began. “There was the blow and the salvation. And while we must express boundless hakaras hatov for the salvation, we are not absolved of the obligation to respond to the punishment—unless we do teshuvah.”
According to the rosh yeshiva, although the physical damage from the war was largely prevented by Divine mercy, the nation was not spared from intense emotional distress. “The fear, the uncertainty, the anxiety that people felt as they lay down to sleep not knowing what the morning would bring—that was the punishment,” he said. “Hashem could have brought the same salvation without instilling that fear in our hearts. But He chose not to. That fear was a message. It was a punishment from Shamayim.”
Drawing a parallel to malkos given by beis din, Rav Hirsch explained that just as lashes require not only physical endurance but also teshuvah, viduy, charatah, and kabbalah al ha’asid, so too here, we must search for the cause and rectify it.
And what was that cause? Rav Hirsch left no room for ambiguity. “What was the sin that brought about this fear? Bitul Torah! It is clear. The sin of neglecting Torah learning is what brought this upon us. And therefore, the teshuvah must directly address that.”
To that end, Rav Hirsch issued a clear and urgent directive to bnei Torah: to commit, with full force, to increasing their diligence in learning as both an expression of gratitude and as tikun. “There are five weeks left until the end of the zman. Every bochur must accept upon himself to learn at least ten hours a day.”
He stressed that this is not a suggestion. “Mechuyav! Absolutely obligatory!” he exclaimed. “Just as it was in Elul. And if someone feels he truly cannot manage ten hours, then bedieved, let him commit to nine. But lechatchilah, it must be ten. And whoever can do more—kol hamosif harei zeh meshubach.”
As for Fridays and Shabbos, the rosh yeshiva directed that there be at least eight hours of Torah learning, focused primarily on Gemara.
Rav Hirsch concluded with words of chizuk and encouragement: “May Hashem accept this teshuvah, forgive the sin that was committed, and draw us closer to Him. That closeness will bring with it brachah, hatzlachah, and siyata diShmaya in all areas of life.”

{Matzav.com Israel}