The Moment: Issue 1066

Living Higher

Last week, a most extraordinary siyum was held at the Aleksander yeshivah in Boro Park. Rabbi Avraham Shlomo Stern, a retired insurance broker who relocated from New York to Lakewood was completing… the entire gamut of Torah, as defined by the Shulchan Aruch Harav. The mammoth list includes the 24 sifrei Tanach, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi, Sidrei Mishnah Zera’im and Taharos, Tosefta, Sifra, Sifrei, Pesikta D’Rav Kahana, Pesikta Rabbasi, Mechilta D’Rabi Yishmael, Midrash Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma, Midrash Shocher Tov, Osiyos D’Rabi Akiva, Megillas Taanis, Midrash Habi’ur, Seder Olam Rabbah, Seder Olam Zuta, Tanna D’bei Eliyahu, Pirkei D’Rabi Eliezer and Zohar (see Shulchan Aruch Harav; Hilchos Talmud Torah 1:4).

Since embarking on this project 13 years ago, Rabbi Stern had prodigiously plowed through one section of Torah after another, investing huge amounts of time and herculean efforts until he completed the entire list. Initially, Rabbi Stern intended to say the Hadran at a modest siyum in a Lakewood shul with family and friends. Yet when the Aleksander Rebbe — with whom Rabbi Stern shares a close relationship — heard about his friend’s monumental achievement, he insisted that the siyum be held in the Aleksander yeshivah with the pomp and circumstance befitting a moment of such spiritual magnitude, and Rabbi Stern acquiesced. The yeshivah’s talmidim, acknowledging the milestone, prepared a striking display showcasing the seforim Rabbi Stern had completed.

At the Hadran, Rabbi Stern read the familiar words, and then paused briefly as he inserted the name of the seforim that he was completing — “Kol haTorah kulah, Torah shebichsav v’Torah shebe’al peh” he said after a moment’s pause, giving those assembled a glimpse into what can possibly be accomplished, even in America of 2025.

The Real Deal

“Before you go into something, be mispallel. Get a brachah. Give some tzedakah. Know that it’s not in your hands. Know that if it doesn’t go right, whatever Hashem does is for the best. Always put your family first. Never discuss anything business-related at the Shabbos table. Let things go by and don’t worry about what other people think.”

—Mr. Rubin Schron speaking at the recent ReDeal real estate conference, organized by Powwow Events and The Real Deal Group. Mr. Schron was part of a panel alongside fellow philanthropist and industry titan Mr. Ralph Herzka addressing the ins and outs of real estate when, among the discussions about cap rates, preferred equity stacks, and capital markets volatility, he offered the most salient advice.