From London to Buenos Aires, Chabad communities excitedly gathered in anticipation of a new and invigorating class. Many had learned their fair share of chassidus throughout their lives but had never gone to a shiur quite like this one. What was this new class? How did it differ from a typical maamer study group?
In honor of the Rebbe’s one-hundred and twentieth birthday, Vaad Ohr Vechom launched a special learning initiative in Anash communities around the world. One of the foremost methods of hiskashrus is learning the Rebbe’s Torah. To that end, a special curriculum was prepared by Rabbi Menachem Wolf and Rabbi Lazer Gurkow on the maamer Vekibel Hayehudim 5711. The goal of this curriculum was to facilitate a more in depth engaging style of learning, for when our minds are properly engaged in the Rebbe’s Torah our entire being pulses with hiskashrus.
The curriculum was essentially a teacher’s guide that outlines the basic structure of the maamer, gives a background to the concepts discussed in the maamer, and offers various learning exercises and opportunities for roundtable discussion. Rabbi Moshe Yaras of Coral Springs said about the curriculum, “It was a wonderful tool that helped me give a stimulating shiur. The students were engaged and walked away with a complete inyan.”
Of the tens of communities who joined this learning initiative Anash in Monsey really appreciated the new style of learning. Rabbi Levi Teichtel said, “When attending a regular text based shiur one does not always grasp the depth hidden in the Rebbe’s words. With this new curriculum, Anash in Monsey were given a proper background to the concepts explained in the maamer allowing them to understand the buildup and chidush of the maamer, something that we don’t always grasp when studying on our own.”
