8 Year Old Boy Makes a Siyum

A Siyum on Mishnayos took place Thursday in Oholei Torah, which at first glance might not have seemed out of the ordinary.

Campers of Gan Menachem Day Camp gathered in the Zal to hear a Siyum on Seder Zroim, with the family of the Siyum-maker in attendance.

What was remarkable about the event was the age of the boy who completed the Siyum. 8-year-old Noach Vogel, who recently finished second grade, proudly made a Siyum, having learned the entire Seder Zroim, completing 655 Mishnas in 102 days.

Together with his father, Rabbi Moshe Vogel of Crown Heights, the young boy spent an hour learning each night during the past 4 months, learning about 7 mishnos a day.

How did it come about that such a young boy learned an entire Seder of Mishnayos?

“Our son was having difficulties in school, and we became aware that it was stemming from the fact that he is gifted,” his mother Chani Vogel told COLlive. “And once he started showing signs of being gifted, we knew we had to act, and we had to act fast – because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

“There are no gifted schools that are in line with us hashkafically, so I knew we had to do something else,” Chani Vogel said. “I remembered seeing on COLlive how 11-year-old Levi Yitzchok Shmotkin had completed a Siyum on the entire Mishnayos, and I was very moved by that,” she said. “I asked my husband what he thought of it, and he said, ‘you dream big, and I’ll do my best to fulfill that dream.’ He said he would do anything in his power to make it happen.”

Learning such a large amount of mishnayos was also a difficult task for Rabbi Vogel, who dedicated roughly an hour and a half each evening to learning the material, before spending another hour teaching it to his son.

Noach’s older brother Chaim joined in too, learning with his father Masechtas Bikurim and teaching his father Masechtas Sukkah, making a Siyum Thursday as well.

The celebration began with a demonstration on cheese making by Rabbi Vogel, who works for Natural and Kosher Cheese company, and a lesson on the job of a Mashgiach.

This was followed by the Siyum, with the Vogel boys’ proud parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even some cousins looking on.

Chani Vogel’s message to parents is to dream big, and then make the dream happen.

“When we started this project, people said we were crazy, that we’ll never do it,” Chani Vogel said. “What Noach proved is you can do anything you put your mind to – you just need to figure out how to do it, and then make it happen,” she said.