Community Magazine February 2019

H acham Shalom Cohen, shlit”a , longtime Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Porat Yosef, the flagship Sephardic Yeshiva in Israel, and Nasi (Chairman) of the Shas party’s Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, is not known for freely sharing personal information. In early January, however, at a special meeting in his humble apartment in the Jerusalem’s Old City, Hacham Shalom uncharacteristically spoke to those in attendance about his own Torah study. The event was a siyum celebrating the completion of the third volume of Mishnah Berurah – the renowned halachic work by the Hafetz Haim. Those celebrating were participants of the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program run by Dirshu, the international Torah organization that promotes accountable Torah study. The program had completed the study of the volume of Mishnah Berurah dealing with laws of Shabbat, learning a page of Mishnah Berurah each day. Around Hacham Shalom’s table were many of his prized students who deliver public Daf HaYomi B’Halacha shiurim in their communities, and were celebrating their completion of the long, difficult volume on the laws of Shabbat. An Unforgettable Dirshu Siyum Celebration With Hacham Shalom Cohen YOSEPH SOSNOW Looking lovingly at his students, who have become prominent rabbis and Rosheh Yeshiva, Hacham Shalom said, “I must tell you something personal. I learned and completed the entire six volumes of the Mishnah Berurah when I was a teenager, just 16 years old. From then until today, I have not stopped learning and reviewing the book. I think it is incumbent on every Jew, regardless of his background, to attach himself to the Mishnah Berurah , to try his utmost to understand it. It is a tremendous zechut [source of merit] to be able to learn and understand the words of the Mishnah Berurah. ” Even for Sepharadim! The hacham then addressed the “elephant in the room” – the question of whether the Mishnah Berura , a halachic work by an Eastern European, Ashkenazic sage, is relevant even for Sepharadim. “Some might say that the Mishnah Berurah is a work written for Ashkenazim, and not for Sepharadim,” Hacham Shalom noted. “After all, we rule in accordance with Maran, the Bet Yosef [Rabbi Yosef Karo], and they rule in accordance with the Rama [Rabbi Moshe Isserles]. “I think it is incumbent on every Jew, regardless of his background, to attach himself to the Mishnah Berurah …There is no greater zechut than studying the Mishnah Berurah !” 38 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE