Acheinu’s New Yeshivah Building
Fathers and Sons Come Together for Tefillah and Cornerstone Laying for Acheinu’s New Yeshivah Building – Acheinu for Kol Beis Yisrael
Fathers still far from Torah and their sons, past and present talmidim of Acheinu’s Yeshivah L’Tze’irim, came together for the cornerstone laying of a unique Yeshivah built with tears and toil in Torah.
The Yeshivah had its start with a request by Maran Rosh HaYeshivah, HaRav HaGaon R. Aharon Leib Shteinman, shlita, to Rav Dovid Hofstadter, shlita: the time had come for a Yeshivah for precious Jewish children who would otherwise be lost.
HaRav HaGaon R. Yaakov Edelstein, shlita: “This is an event which enhances the Torah’s honor, and with Hashem’s help, will bring the building of the Beis HaMikdash closer.”
HaRav HaGaon R. Shimon Baadani, shlita: “Today, everyone wants to open yeshivot for top students. Here, they bring out the best in boys from weaker backgrounds.”
Highlights of the cornerstone laying (from an article in Yated Neeman by Yechiel Savar, Friday, 26 Shevat, 5776)
Bringing out the Best
“Reuven,” an Acheinu graduate, came to the cornerstone laying with his parents. They found a quiet moment to approach the Yeshivah’s staff and hand them an envelope. “I’m getting married next month,” Reuven told them. “This is an invitation to the wedding.” Reuven and his rebbes at Acheinu had come full circle.
When Reuven was ten his parents began keeping mitzvos, but they were not yet fully observant. He attended a Torani school in Jerusalem and joined a local sports team. He was doing well in school, but also developed a great interest in sports.
He was in eighth grade when Acheinu’s dedicated field workers heard about him: a bright boy with considerable potential, whose parents were open to hearing about what they had to offer. They came to speak to them about enrolling their son in yeshivah after graduation, a decision that would make all the difference in Reuven’s life, and the lives of many generations to come.
Reuven was interested. They talked, he listened, and he decided that he was ready to register… on one condition. He would only come if he could go see a ball game once a week. Explanations about what a foolish waste of time it was, and offers of more interesting spare time activities, did not budge Reuven. He would come to yeshivah on his terms, or not at all.
Acheinu knew that he was too good to lose, and they agreed. They prayed and believed that with time, the positive impact of learning Torah would do its work – hopefully quickly, before any of the other boys were influenced.
He’s Yours!“
Reuven came to the Yeshivah, and Acheinu’s dedicated staff put their hearts and souls into him, like an only child – in a Yeshivah where every student is an only child… Once a week, with the staff’s knowledge, he quietly slipped out to go to a game. His moods fluctuated from week to week, depending on whether his team had won or lost.
The rebbes at the Yeshivah were well aware that the stadium was not the ideal place for him, but they also understood that for now, this was the best way to handle Reuven. At the same time, they introduced him to the beauty of Torah learning, and were encouraged by his progress.
Nothing happened overnight, but after a while, Reuven began missing a game every now and then. He started skipping more and more games, until eventually, he gave up his weekly outings altogether – on his own, not because anyone had told him to. Three years later, he was accepted by an excellent yeshivah gedolah in Jerusalem, where he quickly became a top student.
Now, together with his parents, he came to participate in Acheinu’s simchah and invite them to his own. His parents thanked us, saying, “He’s not ours – he’s yours.”
At the Event
The ceremony began with Minchah, led by Rav Yaakov Moyal, shlita, maggid shiur at the Yeshivah. Rav Shlomo Miller, shlita, well-known darshan and a speaker at the Yeshivah, served as master of ceremonies.
Acheinu’s Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Michoel Berlin, shlita, spoke about the great love for Torah which is the new building’s spiritual cornerstone. The talmidim themselves had gone out to the construction site to do the digging for the foundation. They earned this privilege with extra hours of learning, while keeping to a taanis dibbur.
“Ordinarily, a cornerstone is laid with tractors and cement,” said Rav Berlin. “Ours was laid with pages of Gemara, learned with hard work and dedication, many hours of taanis dibbur, and tears cried over the plowing and planting. A cornerstone laying like this, imbued with sanctity and purity, will surely merit Hashem’s help in completing the building. This Yeshivah building is a statement to the world: everyone can and should be a ben Torah and talmid chacham, and our graduates are the finest testimony to this truth. Talmidei chachamim are not born and raised only in Jerusalem or Bnei Brak. Our graduates come from Israel’s south and the north, from outlying communities and every strata of society – and they have blossomed into bnei Torah. The Torah is there, ready and waiting for every Jew to come and claim it.”
Rav Berlin’s address was followed by the arrival of the Yeshivah’s distinguished guests of honor: HaRav HaGaon R. Shimon Galai, shlita; HaRav HaGaon R. Rabbi Chizkiyahu Mishkovski, shlita, Mashgiach of Yeshivas Orchos Torah; and HaRav HaGaon R. Yisrael Zicherman, shlita, Rav of Achuzat Brachfeld in Modiin Illit. Rav Dovid Hofstadter, shlita, the Nasi HaYeshivah, made a special trip from Canada to attend. He was joined by the Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Zev Hofstadter, shlita, and Rav Yaakov Guterman, mayor of Modiin Illit and a devoted friend of the Yeshivah. After a moving and enthusiastic greeting on the part of all those present, Rav Shlomo Miller expressed the Yeshivah’s special thanks to Rav Guterman, whose efforts made this great day a reality.
After Rav Galai led the recitation of the chapters of Tehillim specified by HaRav HaGaon R. Yaakov Edelstein, shlita, in honor of the occasion, the rabbanim were driven out to the construction site for the actual cornerstone laying. HaRav HaGaon R. Shimon Baadani, shlita, met them at the site. The other participants viewed the cornerstone laying and the dancing which followed via a live screening at the municipal community center.
After the rabbanim returned to the hall, Rav Yaakov Edelstein’s son-in-law, Rav Moshe Rom, read Rav Edelstein’s letter to Acheinu in honor of the occasion. Rav Rom related that when he saw the letter, he asked Rav Edelstein why he had written the date, the twenty-fourth of Shevat, with the words esrim v’arba, rather than the more commonly used arba v’esrim. Rav Edelstein asked him to relay his answer at the cornerstone laying. He explained that the words esrim v’arba appear twice in Tanach: once in honor of the Torah, and once in honor of the Beis HaMikdash. This is why he chose to use these words here as well: “This is an event which enhances the Torah’s honor, and with Hashem’s help, will bring the building of the Beis HaMikdash closer.”
Rav Baadani, shlita, focused on the distinctive element that sets the Yeshivah apart. He said that today, everyone wants to open yeshivot for top students. Instead, Acheinu takes special care of those boys who would be lost if they were not accepted to a yeshivah, and brings out the best in boys from weaker backgrounds. Rav Baadani concluded by saying that the staff of the Yeshivah and the organization do sacred, holy work.
Planting and Reaping
Noam Attiya, today an outstanding talmid in Yeshivah Gedolah Rinat HaTorah, spoke on behalf of the graduates. “When a bachur had difficulties – and I had plenty of my own – we would go to Rav Berlin, shlita, the rosh yeshivah. We would cry on his shoulder, and he cried along with us. I came to the Yeshivah from Moshav Berechyah, and the challenges I faced were not simple at all. But the Yeshivah staff was always there for me, both when things were rough, and for the simchah of every success. I had my ups and downs, but they never gave up, and wouldn’t let me give up either. Today, baruch Hashem, I’ve been tested on Seder Nashim and Seder Nezikin by heart, and it’s all thanks to the wonderful Yeshivah staff.”
A special highlight of the evening was a joint siyum by talmidim of the Yeshivah, who had each learned an additional masechta on their own, in their free time! For many it was their first siyum – but surely not the last.
Teaching Love of Torah
Years ago, Maran Rosh HaYeshivah, HaRav HaGaon R. Aharon Leib Shteinman, shlita, entrusted Rav Dovid Hofstadter, shlita, with the responsibility of starting a yeshivah for students who would otherwise have gone far afield, and introducing them to Torah. Now students, graduates, and their parents, each with his own background and his own story, came to celebrate the Yeshivah’s special day. They are the reason behind the founding of the Yeshivah.
It was not easy. The parents were opposed, or the boys were hesitant… or both. Every student enrolled meant endless careful, ongoing effort, beginning with the initial contact with the families and continuing for years.
One of the miracles of Acheinu today is the determined hasmadah of its talmidim. Graduates have gone on to some of the finest yeshivos gedolos. Many participate in the “Dirshu” programs, learning thirty blatt of Gemara by heart every month, and more.
The singing and dancing that evening celebrated the amazing stories of youngsters who have found their way to the world of the Torah. With Hashem’s help, the new building now underway will be home to many, many more.