Line by line, page by page, day by day, these men keep reviewing their learning — and we’ve been recording their progress, literally from the get-go
Back in the spring of 2017, a caller who introduced himself as Yitzchok Wagner of Pomona, New York, inquired about making a video for his chaburah’s siyum. He told me he was part of a group of a few chaburos called Kinyan Hamasechta, an initiative that evolved from Rabbi Dovid Newman’s Vhaarev Na program, designed to help working men find that sweetness in learning.
The main reason balabatim struggle to find satisfaction in their learning is an underlying lack of comprehension, he explained. At that point, Kinyan Hamasechta devotees had already formed 15 groups around the Tristate area, with more locations expressing interest as well.
“We keep to a daily pace of small, attainable goals — sometimes as little as a few lines of Gemara,” Yitzchok said. “We encourage writing notes in the Gemara, and there’s a tremendous focus on constant chazarah. With this approach, people are able to truly acquire their learning, many for the first time in their lives.”
The concept resonated, and the conversation segued to what sorts of features we could produce for the group’s upcoming siyum on Maseches Succah. Yitzchok wanted two videos, each with its own goal: The first, to acknowledge the hard work of the participants in reaching this milestone, would feature rabbanim sharing brachos and congratulating them on their success. The second video, on the other hand, would be for the general public, showcasing the program itself and hopefully encouraging the start of more chaburos.
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