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3 Tammuz 5762 - June 13, 2002 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Unusual Grand Siyum in Johannesburg Shows Universal Appeal of Torah
by Yated Ne'eman South African Staff

The posters announcing the siyum to be held on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Tammuz failed to reveal the nature of this amazing event. The notice listed completion of "Shas Mishnayos", "gemora Beitzah" and "gemora Makkos." What it did not say is that the celebrants were a community of professionals, business people and other students, many of whom only started learning in the last few years.

The Chofetz Chaim Beis Hamedrash was established some years ago by Rabbi A. Y. Pfeuffer and has slowly grown to be a place of chizuk for many Yidden in the north- eastern suburbs of Johannesburg. This evening demonstrated the effect of Rabbi Pfeuffer's commitment to each member so that irrespective of his background or lack thereof, there is a place for him to succeed in learning Torah.

The evening started with Tehillim for the welfare of our brethren in Eretz Yisroel, and a special tefillah for the health of Rav Yissochor Meyer, Rav Pfeuffer's uncle.

Rav Pfeuffer then thanked those whose learning was being honored. He explained that the world exists for Torah study, and it is the hope for the redemption from our troubles in Israel and around the world. He told the participants that they are wrong to think that greatness in Torah cannot be achieved in South Africa. People have the intelligence and the enthusiasm and they must aim to achieve it.

The next speaker was a professor of engineering, who completed both gemora Beitzah and Shas Mishnayos and said the hadran for them together. He then related how he had grown up on a Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz, and until the age of 59 he had no idea of learning. Five years ago he started learning Mishnayos and decided to keep a log book of all he did each day. This log book he held up and compared it to a sailor who keeps the ship's log up to date. Today he devotes every spare minute of his time to his learning and uses his vacation time to learn.

Other participants representing a whole spectrum of Jewish society, came forward and related their story of how they came to learn and the impact it has made in their lives. An advocate who now teaches a small chabura of men described how he leaves his busy practice early each afternoon to make time for learning and how, if he awakens during the night, he goes to his study to continue. With the help of the ArtScroll and Kehati commentaries he manages to work his way through the masechtos. The knowledge of mishnayos proves invaluable to the gemora learning which he also does. A member of this chabura then described how some time ago was told of three questions one is asked when leaving this world. He realized he would be able to answer positively on two. However, for the third regarding Torah study, he had not been able to find a way and was worried. Then a neighbor told him of this mishnayos chabura which he joined and he has not looked back.

One participant is a martial arts teacher. He told how he believed he was not suitable for the intellectual challenge of Torah, and how he thought of himself as "brawn without brains." This changed when he finally gave in to the Rav's persistent encouragement to give it a try. Now his life is changed. He claims that few are as busy as he in a day and yet he keeps up his learning, so no one has an excuse that they are too busy.

A young man with long flowing hair described how he experienced the horror of being mugged in a bad area in the city. Although there are counselling services available for such victims, he went straight to the beis medrash to ask the rabbi what to do. He was told to start learning, which he did. And now, two masechtos gemora later, he looks back at the mugging as the best thing that happened to him. He plans to go to Israel soon to advance his learning in a yeshiva.

Rav Pfeuffer introduced an attorney with a story of how he attended a court case with this man. In the court he assumed that he would see the attorney hard at work studying the case. Instead he found him sitting with an open Chumash. This man then told the audience how the recipe he found for succeeding is to never rush out after davening, but instead to spend some time with the cell phone switched off, working on his learning. He gave his assurance that doing this cannot cause loss.

One man pulled an acorn from his pocket to show how little the seed is for a giant tree, and so from a little effort in Torah the results can only be huge. He challenged anyone to choose the comforts of the fancy homes of this world and leave behind the promise of 310 worlds described at the end of Shas.

Another man who a few years back could not even read Hebrew, has completed masechtas of mishnayos. He spoke of his desire to daven more intensely and of the inspiration he gets from his rabbi and others.

A businessman addressed the crowd and told how he attended the Simchas Torah davening a few years back. He did not understand the auction they were having but joined in and bid against a learned person for one of the aliyas. When he won on a bid of 1000 mishnayos he turned to the rabbi to ask what exactly mishnayos were! Rabbi Pfeuffer then suggested he start with Pirkei Ovos, and this man rose to the challenge and has to date been through Shas Mishnayos a number of times. Although he feels there is a lot he still does not understand and also much that he forgets, he draws inspiration from a discussion he once had with Rav Shimshon Pincus zt"l (who often visited their beis hamedrash). In it he was told that all that he learns will be waiting for him after 120 in the next world.

Finally there was a university lecturer who is studying for his Ph.D. He has only been learning for a short time, but already he sees that all his previous academic studies are nothing compared to the Torah.

The evening was concluded by an address by the av beis din Rabbi Kurtztag, who echoed the sentiments of Rabbi Pfeuffer in appreciating what the participants do for the world by putting time into Torah study.

The evening demonstrated how the enthusiasm of a rabbi and his care for individual members can bring Jews from every situation in life into the world of Torah.

 

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