<\/p>\n
The Talmud says that the study of Torah is equivalent to all of the other mitzvos because it leads to them all. This sentiment inspired Rabbi Dov Connack, Executive Director of Shaarei Torah Schools, to set out, together with the boys and the fathers of his community and beyond, on a mammoth goal: to learn together the six tractates of the Mishna (known as Shas Mishnayos) in their entirety in a single day.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Connack recalls, \u201cRosh Hashanah was approaching. There are two special families in our community facing serious illness. In their time of need, we asked ourselves, \u2018What could we as a community do?\u2019 And, as the best answers often are, the answer to that was another question: \u2018Could the Shaarei Torah community, men and boys together, learn the entire Shas Mishnayos in one morning?\u2019 To do this, we decided that we would need 275 dedicated learners, and a meticulous schedule; but that it could be done,\u201d says Rabbi Connack. \u201cSo the message went out. Be a part of it. Bring your fathers and let them be a part of it. Unite, in Torah learning, with a single, common goal. A morning of Torah, tefillah, and zechusim (merits) for a full recovery for Tuvia ben Rivka and Yedidya Eliyahu ben Bracha.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it was truly something to be a part of. \u201cThe response was nothing short of amazing,\u201d Rabbi Connack recalls, with a resounding sense of excitement and enthusiasm, both for the Torah learning taking place and for the desire to be part of this remarkable event. \u201cThe energy in the room was palpable, the joy of performing the task, tangible. I felt proud to be part of such a special event.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe principals and rabbeim of Shaarei Torah worked tirelessly to ensure each and every detail was in place,\u201d explains Eli Karp, who chaired the event. The progress of the learning was monitored on screen, keeping everyone motivated and determined to complete the objective in good time. It was well-structured and orderly. Breakfast was delicious, the refreshments kept coming. The result? \u201cA world-class function with an ambiance serious enough for the purpose of the event, but also exciting enough to keep young and old occupied for a full Sunday morning,\u201d says Eli.<\/p>\n
And, says Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, not only was the event \u201cabsolutely inspirational\u201d, the \u201cremarkable achievement of completing Shas Mishnayos was made possible by the power of team work,\u201d something the South African community does well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a palpable sense of unity as we were all bound together by the common goal to complete more than 4000 mishnayos in one morning,\u201d says Brandon Blumenau, who wanted to be a part of the project when he heard about it, despite not being part of the Shaarei Torah parent body. \u201cThe experience was nothing short of inspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n
The basis of the event was pure, inspired, organised Torah learning, but the deeper meaning behind it is clear, says Rabbi Connack. \u201cThe only way to understand Hashem is through Torah learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
We are taught, explains Eli, that Torah learning is a \u201cstrong way to connect to Hashem\u201d and that \u201cachdus (unity) among fellow Jews, all learning Torah simultaneously, is a powerful tool when beseeching Hashem for mercy\u201d. \u201cWhen Hashem sees us, coming closer to Him, connecting to Him and to each other, He wants to be a part of it,\u201d says Rabbi Connack.<\/p>\n
And so did everyone else. When the day arrived, men and boys alike rushed in to get started \u2013 from Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein to Primary School students, High School students, bochurim, rabbis, fathers of students, and friends of the Shaarei Torah community \u2013 all coming together in an unprecedented way, in solidarity for those so desperately in need of a refua shleima.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When Moshe Miller, the father of Yedidya Eliyahu, one of those in whose merit the learning was for, arrived at the hall to the scene of over 300 fathers, grandfathers, and sons learning together, he was \u201cblown away\u201d. \u201cTo think that they were all there on a Sunday morning to learn for the refuah for my child was just amazing. So much so that it was hard for me to even focus on my own learning, as it was a very emotional experience that I was so proud to be a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is said that the learning of young children has a special power in heaven,\u201d says Moshe, \u201cand it is the hope that this fervent, inspired, mass learning will go up and help bring a refuah shleima not only to my son Yedidya, but all other Jews in need of it\u00a0too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project was also an impressive example of just how dedicated these boys are to learning Torah and the deep commitment of the rabbeim who teach the boys, imparting a love for it despite the many distractions facing today\u2019s youth, says Eli. \u201cAs a parent, I was impressed by my sons, their friends, and classmates who spent the entire morning studying their allocated mishnayos diligently,\u201d a task not easily sold to boys these days.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there is a big challenge to engage young people in the learning of Torah,\u201d says Brandon, yet when he surveyed the room, he was met with the vision of hundreds of students and their fathers and grandfathers, completely captivated by topics and discussions of Torah, engaging with each other, discussing, debating. \u201cIt was particularly poignant that some pupils were learning with their fathers, and therefore father and son were together connecting to our timeless heritage in a very rich and meaningful way,\u201d in a way still relevant in today\u2019s modern world.<\/p>\n
The morning ended with Tehillim and with the men and boys dancing together and singing with joy at having completed their task and at the fresh ideas they had learned. This was important, says Moshe, and significant for the Shaarei Torah community, because it showed the boys and everyone there that learning is not simply an intellectual exercise, but something we do out of happiness and joy.\u00a0And having completed the task, bringing together over 300 people in a morning dedicated to Torah learning, gave everyone involved the feeling that even here, in South Africa, we have got what it takes. \u201cWe are a model community that qualitatively can match any Torah community world-wide,\u201d says Eli.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Uniting in learning for a common goal By Chandrea Serebro The Talmud says that the study of Torah is equivalent to all of the other mitzvos because it leads to them all. This sentiment inspired Rabbi Dov Connack, Executive Director of Shaarei Torah Schools, to set out, together with the boys and the fathers of his community and beyond, on a mammoth goal: to learn together the six tractates of the Mishna (known as Shas Mishnayos) in their entirety in a single day. Rabbi Connack recalls, \u201cRosh Hashanah was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":968,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-35","category-january-2018"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=951"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":952,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions\/952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishlife.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}