Any student who refrained from talking during davening the entire year would receive a Shas
In time, the initiative became an annual program synonymous with Rabbi Newhouse. He eventually left the Cheder to take a position at Mesivta Keser Torah of Belmar but would nevertheless return to the Cheder each year to continue the program.
Earlier this year, Rabbi Newhouse passed away. At the shivah, many men — some of them from the original group of eighth graders — shared that in all these years they have not talked during davening. Last week, the next generation of Newhouse sons stood in front of a packed beis medrash in the Lakewood Cheder and renewed their father’s offer: Commit to not talk during davening for a full year and receive a Shas at the end, upholding and renewing their father’s legacy of silence, albeit one that speaks volumes of chinuch for kevod hatefillah.
At the headquarters of Masbia, the Brooklyn-based charity dedicated to feeding the needy, the past few weeks have taken on the intense pace usually reserved only for the days before Pesach. With the federal government’s SNAP program temporarily halted, private organizations like Masbia have had to elevate their operations to full holiday-preparation mode.
“The only difference,” noted Reb Sender Rapaport, Masbia’s executive director, “is that this time we’re distributing chometz.”
Create a free account to keep reading.
