THE SOUND OF TORAH IN BEER SHEVA

On a spacious campus in the heart of the old city of Beer Sheva, far from the tumult of the city, sit dozens of bachurim diligently learning Torah. * This is the Chabad yeshiva in Beer Sheva, a small, quality institution for diligence, Ahavas Yisroel, and the study of Nigleh and Chassidus. * Our Beis Moshiach correspondent went south to visit the yeshiva and was favorably impressed by the serious learning atmosphere, the educational approach, the devotion of the staff, by the high gashmius level, and mainly by the love of the talmidim for the yeshiva. By Zalman Tzorfati

In the yeshiva’s early years, it was meant for struggling students. Yeshivos g’dolos that were looking for a place that could provide a warm, personal relationship and chizuk to bachurim that needed it, sent their talmidim southward. Indeed, the yeshiva staff which is comprised of top rated educators, accepted the talmidim, took them by the hand, and straightened them out.

One tactic the yeshiva used to help those talmidim was through mivtzaim and activities to spread the wellsprings. The talmidim turned into young shluchim and set up an array of activities to spread Judaism, Chassidus, and inyanei Moshiach throughout the south.

However, despite the great success they had in helping those bachurim, the hanhala decided to change direction and to also provide a place for outstanding bachurim who were looking for a small quiet place to learn and grow in yiras Shamayim and avodas Hashem without interference.

“In recent years, we started accepting top bachurim from all the yeshivos k’tanos (high schools/mesivtas),” says R’ Yosef Hendel, mashpia in the yeshiva. “We place the emphasis on learning a lot of Nigleh and Chassidus, quality farbrengens, with personal attention being the hallmark of the yeshiva.”

The change in approach has proven itself in the number of graduates in recent years who serve as rabbanim, shluchim, teachers, and mashpiim in Chabad schools.

THE REBBE: THIS IS YOUR CITY

The Chabad yeshiva in Beer Sheva was founded in 5762, but its story begins twelve years earlier with the incredible shlichus the Rebbe gave to R’ Kalifa in 5750.

At that time, R’ Yirmiyahu Kalifa, known as Yirmi, who came from an old-time Beer Sheva family, made a lot of money in New York. His business dealings ranged in the millions of dollars and he was the main supporter of the Chabad schools in Beer Sheva. Yirmi was actually far more than a supporter. He was an active partner in the Chabad outreach in Beer Sheva. He enlisted friends and supporters and was involved in all Chabad activities in the city. Back then, all of New York knew, if you talk about Yirmi Kalifa you are talking about Beer Sheva.

On 17 Sivan 5750 he and his wife went to the Rebbe for “dollars.” The Rebbe said to them:

Great success and redoubled strength in all matters in Beer Sheva, the city of the Fathers. Every day in prayer a Jew mentions, “and Avrohom settled in Beer Sheva.” As such this is your city and it is your responsibility to increase ever more in all matters of Avrohom Avinu, of Yitzchok his son, and Yaakov his son. Good news, much success! And your wife will be a help to her husband in all matters in Beer Sheva, blessing and success.

The Rebbe’s words made a tremendous impact on the couple and they made a decision. He liquidated his business in New York and his family moved to Eretz Yisroel to carry out the Rebbe’s shlichus in Beer Sheva.

Thirteen years ago, in 5762, R’ Kalifa wanted to do more in his shlichus in Beer Sheva. Before his eyes he could see the Rebbe’s mandate about opening a branch of Tomchei T’mimim in every possible place. He consulted with rabbanim, mashpiim and askanim in Eretz Yisroel and they were all in favor of opening a yeshiva. At some point a meeting was held with the participation of other shluchim and heads of mosdos in the city. R’ Avrohom Cohen, director of Beis Moshiach in Sh’chuna 11 wrote to the Rebbe on behalf of the participants at the meeting. The Rebbe’s answer left no room for doubt and on Isru Chag Shavuos 5762 an official announcement was made about the founding of the Chabad yeshiva in Beer Sheva.

BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS AND PERSONAL ATTENTION

Yeshivas Tomchei T’mimim Lubavitch – Beer Sheva is located on a two-story campus surrounded by fruit trees and narrow winding paths among the fig trees. On the first floor is the dormitory which is next to the dining room. On the second floor is the magnificent beis midrash with a cheider sheini next to it, as is customary.

One thing that stands out when visiting the yeshiva is the perfect integration of gashmius and ruchnius. Just as the ruchnius staff is completely immersed in providing for the spiritual needs of the students, the gashmius staff is just as devoted, so that the students can be fully devoted to their learning.

Unlike yeshivos g’dolos with hundreds of students, the yeshiva in Beer Sheva is notable for the small student body, about fifty students. “Our vision is a quality yeshiva,” explains R’ Kalifa. “It is hard to do that when it is very large. We don’t want to go beyond this number of students so that we could provide personal attention and warmth to every student.”

The topic of personal attention comes up again and again in conversations with the staff, students and alumni. Apparently, it really is a major feature of the yeshiva.

“Being overlooked can happen in large yeshivos, when the relationship with the bachurim is less personal,” says R’ Menachem Cohen, a teacher in the yeshiva, and a rav and moreh tzedek of the Anash community, Beis Menachem, in Beer Sheva with more than a hundred families. “We started this yeshiva to counter that phenomenon. I believe in chinuch with a personal approach, where every person is an individual and is given attention as though he is the only talmid in the yeshiva.”

THE IDEAL PLACE

R’ Aharon Kupchik is the head mashgiach in the yeshiva and has been with the yeshiva almost from the day it opened. R’ Kupchik invests a lot of his time into the bachurim and as a mashgiach he follows the development of every single bachur in the yeshiva.

“The small number of bachurim enables us to invest way more in each bachur,” he says. “We know the bachurim better and are more involved in what is going on with them, in what they are dealing with. This results in more closeness and simcha. It is very important for a bachur to come to yeshiva with simcha. When he learns with simcha, his Torah study is altogether different.”

“This is the ideal place for a bachur in a yeshiva g’dola to connect to the Rebbe,” says R’ Shneur Schneersohn, a teacher and mashpia in the yeshiva and a shliach in Ramat Aviv. “Hiskashrus to the Rebbe is the essence of everything that goes on in the yeshiva. The learning, mivtzaim, keeping the s’darim, dedication, diligence, it all connects back to the Rebbe. A Tamim in the Chabad yeshiva in Beer Sheva is trained that his role in the world is to do the Rebbe’s ratzon.

“When it comes to Moshiach and Geula and chai v’kayam, this yeshiva is at the forefront in all matters related to proudly bearing the standard of pure faith in what the Rebbe said. This is the official line of the yeshiva and we don’t veer from it. It is expressed in the shiurim, farbrengens, and in conversations of the hanhala and staff with the bachurim.

“Living with Moshiach is apparent not only in the learning and farbrengens but in every corner of the campus, whether it’s pictures of the Rebbe, signs, stickers or flags on the building. It all broadcasts Moshiach.”

“In our yeshiva there is no confusion in hashkafa,” says Shmuel Reinitz, a talmid in the yeshiva. “We don’t have one rav saying one thing and another rav saying something else. Among the bachurim too, there is agreement on most subjects.

“For Tishrei, the entire yeshiva flies to 770 along with all the staff or at least a majority of them. We travel together and are there from Erev Rosh HaShana until after Shabbos B’Reishis. For us, it is not bein ha’z’manim and certainly not vacation. It’s an obligatory continuation of the s’darim in the yeshiva and the bachurim are happy with it.”

NO CONFUSION

I heard similar things when I spoke with R’ Menachem Mendel Axelrod, a graduate of the yeshiva who is presently the principal of the elementary school in Kfar Chabad. “I came from the yeshiva k’tana in Lud, utterly confused about inyanei Moshiach and Geula and in general, everything associated with hiskashrus to the Rebbe.

“I arrived at the yeshiva in Beer Sheva, and thanks to the clear policy of the hanhala, I got straightened out and began living inyanei Moshiach and Geula and understanding that the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach is chai v’kayam.

“In addition, I gained a self-confidence so as not to be nervous when asked questions about inyanei Moshiach and Geula and about the Rebbe, and mainly really connected with the learning and keeping to the schedules, since every moment is eternal and vastly important and we need to make use of the day in the best possible way.”

***

The greatest testimony to the solid chinuch the talmidim get in the yeshiva is the K’vutza year in 770. The talmidim from the yeshiva in Beer Sheva are known among the bachurim for their outstanding conduct, whether in gashmius or ruchnius – and especially the diligence and devotion to learning.

“I completed yeshiva k’tana and consulted with my older brother about where to learn,” said Menachem Rosenberg, a talmid in the yeshiva. “My brother, who had learned in a different yeshiva, told me that among the talmidim on K’vutza, the bachurim from Beer Sheva stood out. He recommended that I try the yeshiva in Beer Sheva. I did, and I was favorably impressed. I am still here and I feel it’s my home.”

“Once a week there is a chabura to learn the weekly D’var Malchus,” said R’ Yigal Lotkin, a study counselor and a mashpia in the yeshiva. “The talmidim sit and learn the sicha together throughout the week and on Thursday, one of the talmidim reviews the sicha in front of all the other talmidim. This gives them both understanding and tremendous fluency in the sichos of 5751-5752. Furthermore, it fortifies their self-confidence and improves their ability to speak in front of others.”

BEING FATHER AND MOTHER OF A BACHUR

R’ Elchanan Cohen of Nachalat Har Chabad is one of the mashpiim in the yeshiva. When we arrived, we saw him sitting and learning with one of the bachurim, both of them completely immersed in their learning.

“In order to have a deep influence on a bachur, you need to know him, his personality and character, and what he is dealing with,” says Rabbi Cohen. “One bachur needs to have his kabbalas ol strengthened and another bachur needs just the opposite, for he needs to have everything explained to him so he understands and relates to it.

“The same is true for chavrusos. There are bachurim that need to be set up with someone with a good head, while others need to be paired up with weaker talmidim so that by learning with someone who needs them, it brings out the best in them. In the yeshiva, the mashpia and the staff become the father and mother of a bachur. Parents entrust their children to us and rely on us to guide them in a way that is best for them.

“In a large crowd it is hard to be that precise when it comes to hashpaa. The fact that our yeshiva adopted a quality over quantity approach enables us to attain very high levels of deep wholesome influence, properly measured and precisely tailored to every single bachur. And you can see the results. We have accurate measuring tools and we see how each bachur entered yeshiva and how he leaves, three years later. We have no doubt that this method works.”

At some point, bachurim came out for lunch and a break. It was an excellent opportunity for me to look over the spacious dining room, the ample and nutritious menu, and to talk a little with the bachurim. After lunch we went outside and sat down under a fig tree. I asked some of the bachurim, what is the most significant thing you got from yeshiva. The answers varied but the style was uniform. I looked at them as they spoke about the yeshiva; it is rare to see talmidim talking about their yeshiva with sparkling eyes.

“To me, the most significant thing is learning by heart. This is definitely thanks to the yeshiva that greatly encourages learning by heart,” said Shmuel Reinitz. “Every day, when we learn Chassidus, there is half an hour devoted to learning by heart. Thanks to that, I learned many chapters of Tanya by heart. This is very important because it fills your head with holy content and even when out on the street or outside the yeshiva, I review Tanya by heart.”

Shimon Yagudayev told me about the personal attention he gets in the yeshiva. “A bachur sometimes has a question or a dilemma. There is no need to wait; you just go over and ask. The rabbanim here always have good advice. They have experience in chinuch and a deep understanding of the bachurim and we see this in the advice they give.

“Aside from that, there is a strong sense of shlichus here. The fact that we are not in a Chabad community, and that we aren’t that many bachurim, makes every bachur feel significant. Each of us has a role and feels that he counts.”

Mendy Appel of Yerushalayim is a shliach and graduate of the yeshiva. He completed three years in the yeshiva and came back as a shliach after a year on K’vutza. “The Rebbe says that when you give a person responsibility, it brings out hidden abilities. That’s the way it is here with the bachurim. Once a week, the bachurim bring their mekuravim from mivtzaim to learn in yeshiva. That hour gives a lot to the mekuravim but even more to the bachurim. It’s an hour when the talmidim become the rabbanim and mentors in avodas Hashem.”

“I was undecided about where to go for yeshiva g’dola,” said Yagudayev. “My mashpia told me to go to the place that has the greatest atmosphere of shlichus. He said it helps in the learning too. That is why I picked this yeshiva.”

SCHOOL FOR SHLICHUS

“Our vision is that the yeshiva be a ‘school for shlichus,’” said R’ Kalifa. “We are constantly instilling the idea of shlichus. We would like every graduate to go on shlichus after marriage. And even if he chooses another Torah field like being a teacher or mashpia, that he will be permeated with a sense of shlichus and feel that he is a shliach of the Rebbe. Boruch Hashem, based on the number of graduates that have gone on shlichus, I can say that we are successful.”

No doubt, the crowning glory of the yeshiva is the staff. They are all Chassidishe people and experienced mechanchim who are devoted to the talmidim, providing a listening ear, helping the talmidim give their all to learning, and presenting the material, whether Nigleh or Chassidus, in an interesting way.

“We have a special program to learn Shulchan Aruch, with an emphasis on practical application,” says R’ Menachem Bernstein. “We present real questions to the talmidim and guide them in looking up the answers from the Shulchan Aruch to the Seifer HaMinhagim.”

Along with the staff of teachers and mashpiim there are the bachurim-shluchim, some of whom attended the yeshiva themselves. They are the driving force behind the learning contests and the lively, Chassidishe atmosphere in the yeshiva. They attend a special smicha program headed by R’ Yehuda Dery, the rav of the city and head of the beis din of Beer Sheva and member of the presidium of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.

R’ Dery visits the smicha program once a week and gives a shiur to the shluchim on the material they learned that week. Once every two weeks he tests them and prepares them for the ordination tests given by the chief rabbinate at Heichal Shlomo in Yerushalayim. Recently, three of the shluchim received smicha from the chief rabbinate.