Community Magazine December 2012

The Greatest Shabbat of the Rosh Yeshiva’s Life The gathering included Jews of every age group, every background, and every mode of dress, and yet there was a tangible sense of camaraderie among them all. One participant, an accomplished kollel student , related how complete strangers would meet each other in the hotel bet midrash and start learning together. “I never saw anything like this in my life,” he marveled. Apparently, neither did Rav Povarsky, who announced at the Siyum that this was the greatest Shabbat of his life – quite a statement coming from an 81-year-old sage who leads one of the most prestigious Torah institutions in the world. The Rosh Yeshiva and other gedolim present spent Shabbat mingling and speaking to each other and to Dirshu participants, basking in the aura of sanctity and scholarship that pervaded the hotel throughout the weekend. When you walked into the hotel exercise room on Friday, you saw a kollel student running the treadmill with tzitzit out and a Gemara perched atop the display. When you walked into the dining room on Sunday morning for breakfast, you heard two students discussing the intricacies of a topic that most of us have never heard of. This is breakfast for Dirshu participants. Doing Something SpecialThe exuberance and devotion of the Dirshu rank and file is indeed amazing, but it all starts from the top. The resources and personal time that Rav Dovid Hofstedter, founder and director of Dirshu, expends each year on running every aspect of the organization is difficult to imagine. The involvement of every partner in this endeavor, across the globe, is carefully overseen in great detail. And it was this same level of professionalism and excellence that guaranteed the success of this most unique weekend retreat. Several unforeseen events, such as the catastrophe of Super Storm Sandy, made the planning of this weekend considerably more challenging than the organizers expected. In the end, however, with Hashem’s help, determination and love of Torah prevailed, resulting in an inspiring and unforgettable experience for everyone involved. Dirshu’s indefatigable US director Rabbi Aaron Gobioff was unfortunately sitting shivah for his mother a.h. in the days prior to and after the Kinnus. His presence was missed, but his round- the-clock efforts coupled with those of Rabbi Shea Ryback, an experienced event coordinator and Dirshu Kinyan Torah student , who stepped in on two days’ notice, was evident at every step of the way. One student who attended the Grand Siyum on Saturday night penned a note to Rabbi Hofstedter saying, “You cannot fathom how great a hizuk [inspiration] we got from this awesome ma’amad [event].” Rabbi Hofstedter received another letter, as well, which demonstrated the effects of the Dirshu program on the families of its participants. A participant brought him a handwritten letter from his eight-year-old daughter saying that when her father takes a Dirshu test, “sometimes it takes (him) long to come home… but it’s still worth it because I know he is doing something special.” As I made my way to the Kinnus from Brooklyn, I passed by the Manhattan skyline on the way. All of us in the car marveled at how so many of those majestic towering buildings remained in the dark as a result of the hurricane. A half-hour later, we turned into the parking lot of a modestly sized hotel, barely visible through the surrounding trees. Yet, what you saw there was a beacon of light in every sense of the word. In a world with so much darkness, Dirshu provides a source of brilliant illumination, shining the light of Torah upon the Jewish people, and inspiring a Torah revolution that is sure to leave a profound impact upon our nation for generations. HaGaon HaRav Berel Povarsky, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Ponovezh, special guest from Eretz Yisrael HaGaon HaRav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Zichron Moshe of South Fallsburg HaGaon HaRav Zev Smith, shlita, Maggid Shiur of Dirshu’s Daf Yomi B’Halacha program and Irgun Shiurei Torah KISLEV 5773 DECEMBER 2012 29