“The honor of Torah must precede the learning of Torah”
In the Minneapolis Community Kollel, Rav Chaim S. Gibber, the rosh kollel, walked up to the shtender in front of the beis medrash and — with night seder in full swing — did the “unthinkable:” He interrupted a full beis medrash of people learning to publicly wish mazel tov to a dozen or so community members who had just completed the masechta. By way of explanation, Rav Gibber shared a vignette from his days at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel. He recalled that his own rosh yeshivah, Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman ztz”l, had once halted the yeshivah’s learning seder to honor a group of Iranian refugees who completed a masechta of Gemara, marking their siyum with a celebration in the beis medrash.
Why Rav Ruderman halted a night seder for a siyum begged an explanation, and Rav Gibber offered one: “The honor of Torah must precede the learning of Torah,” he explained. The room erupted in joy and dancing for a brief moment, and then the mesaymim continued the celebration at a local restaurant, while the others returned to their learning, having gained new insight into the honor due Torah and those who study it.
This past week saw a significant milestone achieved in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which will offer relief to dozens of Jewish families.
Rabbi Yisroel Kaufman, MSW, is the chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s, which serves as an international destination for families whose children are in need of medical intervention. He also oversees the frum community’s bikur cholim organization, and acts as a medical advocate and liaison, spending sleepless nights working on behalf of frum patients from all over the world.
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