Community Magazine April 2013

44 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE When Rabbi Yosef Churba, menahel of Yeshivat Magen Abraham, visited his yeshiva’s graduates in Eretz Yisrael this past January, he was delighted by what he saw – mature, dedicated young men poring over pages of Talmud for hours, even well beyond the scheduled learning sessions in their yeshivot. “Most of the boys made siyumim on the masechtot they studied in their yeshivot,” he enthused. They are all growing beautifully at their own pace. “They spent a lot of extra time learning, not just in the regular sedarim [learning sessons]. The hatmadah [diligence] was unparalleled. They learned after Shaharit, Friday night, and an extra hour or two after regular night seder. They all grew –each on his own level.” It was sheer love for Torah, Rabbi Churba says, that drove 16 out of the 19 members of the yeshiva’s first graduating class to devote their first year after high school to advanced Torah learning in Eretz Yisrael. “Magen Abraham gave these boys genuine ahavat ha’Torah [love for Torah],” he proudly describes. “They felt it was necessary before going on to college or work to solidify their growth in Torah through the Israel experience.” MAGEN ABRAHAM GRADUATES THRIVE IN THE HOLY LAND P ursuit of EXCELLENCE