Online Smicha Holds Celebration

A special smicha presentation and dinner event took place recently at Chovevei Torah Hall in Crown Heights, New York, celebrating the 80th birthday of Rabbi Dovid Schochet as well as the rabbinical ordination ceremony of the accelerated class students of the Online Smicha program.

The special event was held in honor of a group of new Rabbinical graduates who completed the rigorous requirements of Online Smicha’s accelerated program over a period of a year and a half. The special evening also doubled as a reunion in honor of the senior Rabbi’s 80th birthday and in recognition of his nearly six decades of service in education and outreach. Many prominent Rabbonim were in attendance to offer divrei bracha and hatzlacha to Rabbi Schochet and the smicha graduates, including Rabbis Yehuda Krinsky, Moshe Kotlarsky, Faivel Rimler, Shmuel Fogelman, and Moshe Bogomilsky, among others.

Rabbi Schochet, who serves as the President of the Toronto Rabbinical Council and senior member of Va’ad Rabbonei Lubavitch, flew into Brooklyn recently to test the students in person and to ordain those who both passed the exams and successfully completed the 18 month program. As a highly-respected senior Rabbinic authority, Rabbi Schochet serves as one of the ordaining Rabbis for “Online Smicha”. In addition to a final test administered in person, students must pass all 5 written and oral tests covering the laws of Shabbos and Isur V’Heter in-depth.

The structured curriculum is taught live through interactive classes online by Rabbi Nachman Wilhelm, Rosh Yeshiva and Dean of the Program. A well-known Torah Scholar and author of numerous sefarim on halachic subjects, Rabbi Wilhelm served as Rosh Yeshiva for fifteen years in S. Paul, Minnesota and currently acts as Online Smicha’s primary educator and guide.

“I am pleased to congratulate the talmidim hamisayamim, many of whom break in the middle of a hard day at work from their office or home to attend a 60-75 minute shiur online three times a week,” stated Rabbi Wilhelm, Dean of Online Smicha. “I have much admiration and praise for the students, who despite having families and the worldly burdens of earning a livelihood, found the time to learn for smicha. It’s a great achievement!”

Many leading Rabbonim have endorsed the program, a first of its kind, pioneering approach to the study of halacha, as a new technological advancement–now enabling working men to study in a concentrated, efficient, and deliberate way as they make their journey to smicha.

“For the past 18 months I have had the honor of learning in a unique smicha program under the leadership of Rabbi Wilhem,” stated newly ordained Rabbi Zalman Levy at the dinner. “At Online Smicha the student doesn’t just move through the material in order to cover ground, but rather, Online Smicha’s learning schedule gives one the time and ability to dissect and break down everything that is being taught in the shiurim. From the comprehensive and outstanding way that Rabbi Wilhelm explains the topics, to the superb charts and diagrams that the Rabbi creates, this program gives one the sense of challenge, but at the same time allows one to enjoy the bliss of Torah learning,” continued Levy.

A lawyer by profession, newly ordained Rabbi Ahron Fishbein offered praise and heartfelt thanks to Rabbi Wilhelm on behalf of the program’s first graduating class. “More than just a Rav, a Maggid Shiur, someone who has had to handle technological issues having the program online, someone who has had to deal with all of our concerns, our different levels of learning, our different expectations…aside from always being there to answer questions and designing an amazing smicha program…I feel I have gained a friend for life. As you commonly have used the expression yasher koach, we owe you a big yasher koach for all that you have done for us. We are honored to be in your first graduating class,” stated Fishbein.

In his recorded remarks from Rechovot, Israel, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gluckowsky, Deputy Secretary Va’ad Rabbanei Lubavitch in Eretz Israel and Rav of Kehilat Chabad Rehovot, wished a mazel tov to the graduates of Online Smicha’s 1st accelerated class. “I was very impressed as I looked over the topics you learned, from speaking with the talmidim, and from being able to participate in one of the tests. I want to commend all of you for taking so much time and for putting so much effort in your learning. It’s a tremendous thing for people from all over the world to take off time to learn, especially inyonei halacha which is so important today and there is such a great need for it,” stated Gluckowsky.

In his concluding remarks at the dinner, Rabbi Schochet congratulated the Rabbinical students and cited both the importance of their knowledge and good middos. “Smicha is also a reflection of humbleness, of middos. Baruch Hashem I saw in the talmidim that the (good) middos is also there. Therefore, I wish them all bracha v’hatzlacha. They should utilize their knowledge from strength to strength — it’s not an end, it’s a beginning. Continue to learn, and be a nachas ruach to your rebbeim, to the Rebbe and to klal yisroel. Mazel tov. Mazel tov.”

Rabbi Gluckowsky also had some final words for the talmidim: “If we want to make a dwelling place for Hashem in this world, a dira b’tachtonim, it comes from limud halacha. So once again I wish you mazel tov, and you should go from strength to strength and carry on the good work, and im’yirtzeh Hashem we should be zoche that we should merit the coming of Moshiach tzikeinu bimheyra v’yamaynu mamash,” stated Gluckowsky.

For more information about Online Smicha please visit: www.onlinesmicha.com or send an email to [email protected]. Apply today for tracks starting after Pesach.