This week, Bais Medrash Chabad of Pittsburgh marked the beginning of its second year with a beautiful event in honor of Tes Vov Elul, the founding date of Tomchei Temimim, and the start of the new zman.
The program began with chavrusa learning, pairing the talmidim of the Zal with local baalei batim. Together, they studied sichos and letters of the Rebbe connected to the themes of Tomchei Temimim and the weekly parshah.
Following the learning a farbrengen was led by Rabbi Elchonon Friedman, the Dean of the Yeshiva and the Rov of Bnai Emunah Chabad of Greenfield. Rabbi Friedman spoke passionately about the continued growth of the Yeshivah and the timeless vision of Tomchei Temimim.
Words of inspiration were shared by Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, Head Shliach of Western PA and Moreh D’asrah of Anash of Pittsburgh. Rabbi Rosenfeld highlighted that this year marks the 128th year since the founding of Tomchei Temimim, noting that the number is even greater than the 127 provinces of Achashveirosh’s kingdom. This, he explained, represents how the mission and vision of Tomchei Temimim has now spread across the entire world.
Rabbi Ephraim Lerner, Rosh Yeshiva of the Pittsburgh Zal, read a powerful letter of the Rebbe outlining the mission of Tomchei Temimim: to instill deep Yiddishe and Chassidishe values in every talmid, whether their future path leads them to serve as Rabbanim, shochetim, or whether they enter the world of business.
Adding to the inspiration, one of the Zal’s own talmidim, Shmuelly Lakher, presented a sicha of the Rebbe on the topic of Bikkurim, discussed in this week’s parshah.
Strong Start to the New Zman
Baruch Hashem the new year of learning in the Zal is off to a strong and focused start under the dedicated guidance of the new Mashgiach, Rabbi Mendy Volfman.
The talmidim have committed to a rigorous program of learning, covering an amud of Gemara each day with Rashi and Tosafos, fostering both proper usage of time and creating a feeling of accomplishment in learning. In addition, a curriculum of maamarim of the Rebbe has been designed to give the talmidim a structured program of Chassidus.
To ensure consistency and accountability, the Zal has also implemented regularly scheduled tests in all subjects, further motivating the talmidim to achieve excellence in both Nigleh and Chassidus.
With this strong beginning, Pittsburgh Zal continues to fulfill the vision of Tomchei Temimim: cultivating talmidim who are not only well-versed in Torah and Chassidus, but who embody true Yiddishe and Chassidishe values in every aspect of their lives.
