Last Sunday, students of Machon Lemaan Yilmedu celebrated the completion of the fifth cycle at an impressive “Chag Ha’Semicha” event held at Oholei Torah in Crown Heights, which served as a fitting conclusion to a year of halacha study. Participating were family members and friends who came to congratulate the graduates receiving certificates, and at their forefront the new musmachim who completed their semicha l’rabbanus.
The event began with emcee, Rabbi Chaim Yisrael Wilhelm, who reviewed the mosad’s development, from its opening in 5781 (2021) with three semicha classes taught by his father Rabbi Zushe Wilhelm a’h, until the completion of the fifth year with 450 in fifteen different study programs, both for balabatim and for shluchim and rabbanim. He takes the opportunity to thank the institution’s director, Rabbi Shraga Crombie, and the academic director, Rabbi Levi Bisk, who work tirelessly day and night for the success of the institution and the addition of new students and study programs.
After reciting the Rebbe’s perek of Tehillim, the audience watched a short video of the Rebbe speaking about the importance of receiving semicha – a horaah that many in the audience merited to fulfill during the past year.
The first speaker at the event was Rabbi Tuvia Kasimov, who serves as a maggid shiur in three study programs of Machon Lemaan Yilmedu: the Dayanus study track, Hilchos Niddah, and a special program for shluchim about the halachos needed to serve as a community rabbi. Rabbi Kasimov praised the students’ dedication to studying halacha, emphasizing consistency in time, and the great impact this has on the student, his family, and his community.
Following him, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Marlow, rav of the Chabad community in North Miami Beach and member of the semicha committee of Lemaan Yilmedu, spoke. He connected the subject of halacha with the time the event took place, during the Aseres Yimei Teshuva, the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
As a representative of the semicha students, Dr. Rabbi David Lazerson was invited, who in his vivid manner told how decades ago he asked the Rebbe about his future when raising the possibility of studying for semicha, but the Rebbe directed him to a different path, leaving him the decision of when the time would come to study for semicha.
Guest speaker Rabbi Isser Ludmir, who serves as rabbi of a Chassidic community in Lakewood, spoke and shared his favorable impression when he had the opportunity to test Machon Lemaan Yilmedu students in halacha.
As representative of students in the shluchim programs, Rabbi Avremy Kanelsky from New Jersey was invited, who spoke about the importance of dedicating time to studying halacha regularly, despite the heavy burden that exists on every shliach, because the Rebbe demands this of shluchim – therefore it is certainly possible.
The last speaker invited was the Mara d’Asra and member of the Beis Din of Crown Heights, Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun, who despite the busyness of the Aseres Yimei Teshuva, made time to participate in this important event. Rabbi Braun connected the event’s theme to the date it took place, the 6th of Tishrei, the yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Chana a’h, who was moser nefesh for her husband’s Torah study.
Then came the climax, when one by one the names of the one hundred and fifty graduates who participated in the event were announced (along with hundreds of other graduates who were unable to attend in person and watched the event via livestream), who were called up to receive their long-awaited certificate.
