Siyum celebration of the Kfar Chabad Talmud Torah, year 5761

00:11 Speaker 1 Hashem will protect. No, no, no, no. Hashem will protect. Hashem will protect. No, no, no, no. Hashem will protect. No, no, no, no. He will protect. No, no, no, no. He will protect. No, no, no, no. Come into His gates with thanksgiving, into His courtyards with praise; thank Him, bless His name, for Hashem is good; His kindness endures forever. Come into His gates with thanksgiving, into His courtyards with praise; thank Him, bless His name, for Hashem is good; His kindness endures forever.

01:34 Speaker 2 On Thursday, a graduation ceremony was held for the eighth-grade students at the Talmud Torah in Kfar Chabad. Coming up, we’ll hear from Rabbi Mordechai Gruzman, the principal, Rabbi Shimshon Ashkenazi, and the local rabbi, Rabbi Mordechai Ashkenazi.

01:53 Speaker 1 Hashem will protect. Hashem will protect. He will protect. Hashem will protect. He will protect.

01:57 Speaker 2 In the background, we hear the Talmud Torah choir.

02:00 Speaker 1 Hashem will protect. Bless His name, for Hashem is good; His kindness endures forever. Oy yoy, bless His name, for Hashem is good; His kindness endures forever. Bless His name, for Hashem is good; His kindness endures forever. Oy yoy, bless His name, for Hashem is good; His kindness endures forever. Serve Hashem with joy. Serve Hashem. Serve Hashem with joy. Serve Hashem. Serve Hashem, serve Hashem, serve Hashem with joy. Serve Hashem. Serve Hashem, serve Hashem, serve Hashem with joy. Serve Hashem. Serve Hashem, serve Hashem, serve Hashem with joy. Serve Hashem, serve Hashem with joy, serve Hashem. Serve Hashem with joy; each day goes by and we sing to Him with joy. And we will sing to Hashem with joy.

04:46 Speaker 3 May it be Hashem’s will that the effort invested in you continue on and on, and that everything you have learned bear fruit and multiply for you, growing ever greater. As you know, there is a saying of the Baal Shem Tov. It says: “Though he learned only two things from Achitophel, he called him his teacher, his guide, and his intimate.” So if someone learns one chapter, or a halacha, or a mishnah—even one thing—the Baal Shem Tov asks: What does that mean? After all, he learned two things from him. How, then, can we draw an a fortiori conclusion about even one halacha, even one thing? The Baal Shem Tov answers: When someone learns Torah from a G-d-fearing teacher, the words of Torah bear fruit for him and continue to multiply over time. But what David learned from Achitophel was “only two things”—“only” means that it was not the sort of source from which more would grow. So even though he learned something that did not bear further fruit, he called him his teacher. How much more so must we recognize this when we learn from good sources. This is the Rebbe’s institution, with G-d-fearing educators. So may the words of Torah you have absorbed, and also the ways of yiras Shamayim, bear fruit, multiply, and grow more and more. Every action the students take that adds to Torah and yiras Shamayim brings closer the Geulah that we need now. May we soon merit the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, very soon indeed.

00:00 Speaker 1 Education is an important subject, a vast subject, of the highest priority. It isn’t all one shade; it has many nuances. No two people are alike, and no two moments are alike. In the weekly parsha we find messages about education. In fact, the entire Torah is a message about education, all the way through, but this parsha has many such messages. We begin with “This is the statute of the Torah”—in other words, “I have established a statute; I have issued a decree, and you have no right to question it.” That is the statute of the Torah. But people ask: Don’t some commentators explain, “Let the mother come and clean up her child’s mess,” meaning that this comes to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf? That itself is a message about education. Sometimes, in education too, we have to say, “I have established a statute,” and sometimes we have to explain why something is happening. But “I have established a statute” is also an important message the Torah teaches us. Later in the same parsha, we find the idea of purifying the impure and making the pure impure. The very same red heifer purifies on the one hand, and on the other hand does the opposite. Not every approach or method suits every person. A certain practice may be good for one person and not quite right for another, and we always have to find the right way for each one: “Educate a child according to his way.” Again in the weekly parsha, we find the copper serpent, and the question is asked: “Does a serpent cause death, or does a serpent give life?” Rather, it is a matter of a person directing his heart to his Father in Heaven. Certainly, prayer and help from Heaven make a difference, and we need a great deal of prayer and supplication in education and in everything else. I want to say that we have seen a great deal of help from Heaven. And certainly, the fact that this institution is under the leadership of the leader of our generation has a profound effect, helping each student rise and flourish. Boruch Hashem, this year we have been privileged to see distinctive achievements on several fronts: the memorization program has soared, and there has been work with computers, new approaches and teaching methods, and the development of the students’ independent thinking,

03:45 Speaker 1 independent work, and learning in which each student moves forward and puts in effort. This has brought a change in their enthusiasm, motivation, activity, participation, and learning throughout the year—for all the students, each in his own area. I want to thank Hashem, Master of the Universe, for bringing us to this point. May Hashem give us the strength to continue the holy tasks before us, to educate the children to be G-d-fearing and learned, and may we succeed and merit, speedily in our days, through the merit of the young children who study Torah, to greet our righteous Moshiach, speedily in our days. Amen. Many thanks to the principal of the Talmud Torah. We certainly return his blessing to him: may he enjoy many good years, with much, much nachas, and may he see blessing and the fruits of his considerable labor. We now have the honor of inviting the first-grade students to recite some of the Twelve Pesukim that the Rebbe instituted for Jewish children to memorize and recite at every opportunity. We’ll begin with six students from Rabbi Donel’s [?] first-grade class, my schoolmates: Yosef Yitzchak Ben Tzion, Yeshayahu Sacharish [?], Dudi Hadad, Dolev David Arbel, Shlomi Galpstein [?], and Berel Gershovitz. Please come up. Each of you will recite a verse in turn, and everyone will repeat it after you, word for word. The “Torah” verse—Yosef Yitzchak Ben Tzion.

06:30 Speaker 2 Just a moment.

06:36 Speaker 3 I don’t remember what comes next.

06:38 Speaker 2 “Torah,” “Torah.” Here, look: “Torah,” like this.

06:41 Speaker 3 Torah. Commanded.

06:43 Speaker 2 Wait, wait, wait, wait. Slowly, slowly. Step up, step up onto a chair. Step up, step up onto a chair. Come on, come on, come on, come on. Don’t be shy. Torah.

06:52 Speaker 3 The Torah that Moshe commanded us.

06:57 Speaker 2 Wait, wait. Us.

06:59 Speaker 3 Us.

06:59 Speaker 2 Yes, Moshe.

07:00 Speaker 3 Moshe.

07:02 Speaker 2 An inheritance.

07:03 Speaker 3 An inheritance for the congregation of Yaakov.

07:08 Speaker 2 One hundred percent. Well done. And “Torah”—look, “She—” The Shema verse.

07:16 Speaker 3 Hear.

07:19 Speaker 2 O Israel.

07:20 Speaker 3 O Israel.

07:20 Speaker 2 Hashem.

07:23 Speaker 3 Our G-d, Hashem.

07:25 Speaker 2 Hashem.

07:27 Speaker 3 Is One.

07:38 Speaker 2 Wait, wait. Face this way; turn toward them too.

07:41 Speaker 3 In every.

07:43 Speaker 2 In every.

07:44 Speaker 3 Generation.

07:45 Speaker 2 Generation.

07:46 Speaker 3 A person is obligated.

07:47 Speaker 2 Keep going, Yoav.

07:49 Speaker 3 A person.

07:50 Speaker 2 A person.

07:51 Speaker 3 To see.

07:52 Speaker 2 To see.

07:53 Speaker 3 Himself.

07:54 Speaker 2 Himself.

07:55 Speaker 3 As though he had left.

07:59 Speaker 2 He had left.

08:00 Speaker 3 Egypt.

08:01 Speaker 2 Egypt. Well done. Who’s next? “All Israel.” “All Israel.” Here, you have it right here: “All Israel.”

08:12 Speaker 3 All Israel.

08:13 Speaker 2 All Israel.

08:14 Speaker 3 Have.

08:15 Speaker 2 Have.

08:16 Speaker 3 A share.

08:17 Speaker 2 A share.

08:18 Speaker 3 In the World.

08:19 Speaker 2 In the World.

08:20 Speaker 3 To Come.

08:21 Speaker 2 To Come.

08:22 Speaker 3 As it says.

08:23 Speaker 2 As it says.

08:25 Speaker 3 And Your people.

08:25 Speaker 2 And Your people.

08:27 Speaker 3 All of them.

08:28 Speaker 2 All of them.

08:28 Speaker 3 Are righteous.

08:30 Speaker 2 Are righteous.

08:30 Speaker 3 Forever.

08:32 Speaker 2 Forever.

08:33 Speaker 3 They shall inherit.

08:33 Speaker 2 They shall inherit.

08:34 Speaker 3 The land.

08:35 Speaker 2 The land.

08:37 Speaker 3 A shoot.

08:38 Speaker 2 A shoot.

08:39 Speaker 3 Of My planting.

08:40 Speaker 2 Of My planting.

08:41 Speaker 3 The work.

08:42 Speaker 2 The work.

08:43 Speaker 3 Of My hands.

08:44 Speaker 2 Of My hands.

08:44 Speaker 3 In which to take pride.

08:46 Speaker 2 In which to take pride. Well done. [unclear], Aryeh. “For it is close.”

08:52 Speaker 3 For it is close.

08:53 Speaker 2 Close.

08:54 Speaker 3 To you.

08:55 Speaker 2 To you.

08:56 Speaker 3 The matter.

08:57 Speaker 2 The matter.

08:58 Speaker 3 Very.

08:59 Speaker 2 Very.

09:00 Speaker 3 In your mouth.

09:01 Speaker 2 In your mouth.

09:02 Speaker 3 And in your heart.

09:03 Speaker 2 And in your heart.

09:04 Speaker 3 To do it.

09:05 Speaker 2 To do it. Good, good, good. Last one, last one: “And behold.”

09:11 Speaker 3 And behold.

09:14 Speaker 2 Wait, wait. Once more: “And behold.”

09:16 Speaker 3 And behold.

09:16 Speaker 2 And behold.

09:18 Speaker 3 Hashem.

09:18 Speaker 2 Hashem.

09:20 Speaker 3 Stands.

09:21 Speaker 2 Stands.

09:22 Speaker 3 Over him.

09:23 Speaker 2 Over him.

09:24 Speaker 3 And His glory fills.

09:25 Speaker 2 And His glory fills.

09:27 Speaker 3 The whole earth.

09:28 Speaker 2 The whole earth.

09:30 Speaker 3 With His glory.

09:30 Speaker 2 With His glory.

09:32 Speaker 3 And He looks.

09:33 Speaker 2 And He looks.

09:34 Speaker 3 At him.

09:35 Speaker 2 At him.

09:36 Speaker 3 And examines.

09:37 Speaker 2 And examines.

09:39 Speaker 3 His innermost thoughts.

09:39 Speaker 2 His innermost thoughts.

09:41 Speaker 3 And heart.

09:42 Speaker 2 And heart.

09:43 Speaker 3 To see whether he serves Him.

09:44 Speaker 2 To see whether he serves Him.

09:45 Speaker 3 Properly.

09:46 Speaker 2 Properly. Very good! Thank you, children. At 770, with the Rebbe in New York, the custom is to applaud the children after every verse. We’re doing it after six verses, but this certainly is a wonderful group. Incidentally, three of them travel here every morning from the community of Nachliel, and they make the trip with real self-sacrifice. They weren’t even sure they would be able to get here this evening, and boruch Hashem, they’re with us, celebrating this wonderful occasion together. We are honored by the presence of the mara d’asra of Kfar Chabad, who has accompanied the Talmud Torah for many years at its end-of-year celebrations and at all the events held here. And we’re asked—shh... Dear students, please sit quietly. We have the honor of inviting the mara d’asra of Kfar Chabad, Rabbi Ashkenazi, to offer words of blessing.

11:04 Speaker 4 Good evening. I want to apologize to the administration, the parents, and the children that I can’t stay for the entire evening, because there are several other celebrations where I have to be. They are important celebrations, but the greatest and most important celebration is here: seeing these children, this holy flock, advancing and growing in Torah. It was said here that I accompany the Talmud Torah at all its end-of-year celebrations, and that is true. But I can say wholeheartedly that this year—perhaps in recent years—I have accompanied the Talmud Torah not only at the celebrations, but also on several occasions when I’ve had the opportunity to test the students in the higher grades.

12:27 Speaker 2 Dear students, out of respect for the Torah, please stop handing things out, sit in your places, and listen to the rabbi respectfully and attentively. Shh...

12:45 Speaker 4 On several occasions I’ve had the opportunity to test the higher grades, whether on in-depth study or on their knowledge of the text, and I can say wholeheartedly that I was truly impressed—surprised—by the breadth of the students’ knowledge, the way they knew the material, and their fluent, ready answers. You could see that they were immersed in what they were learning. I have been involved with the Talmud Torah for twenty-five years, perhaps longer, and I see it going from strength to strength: in learning, in the manner of learning, in chassidic conduct, and in proper manners. Even with the noise the children are making now, I see it as part of—on the contrary, not so much—children do listen; they don’t listen. Perhaps the shortcoming is mine, because engaging children takes a special skill, a special approach to teaching. I haven’t studied that. But look at their faces, without an evil eye, and see how they are children blessed by Hashem. You can immediately see it on the face of a child who learns: you see the holiness, you see the Torah in his eyes, on his forehead, in his face, and so on. And, G-d forbid, you can immediately recognize it in the face of a child who is absorbed in, or looks at, things that aren’t good. When you look closely at the children standing here, sitting here, their faces testify for them: they are children blessed by Hashem, soldiers in the Rebbe’s army. One of the hardest things for a child, a young teenager, a young man, a married young man, and even an elderly person is Torah study. Torah study demands toil, effort, and lost sleep. “This is the way of Torah: eat bread with salt, drink water in measured amounts, sleep on the ground, and toil in Torah.” As the Alter Rebbe explains, this is not speaking of an additional piece of bread. Rather, even though you eat bread with salt and drink water in measured amounts—even though you are in a state of such hardship and poverty—nevertheless, you toil in Torah. You must not be daunted by any of the hardship and pressure you face. These things do not exempt you from Torah study. That is one explanation.

16:17 Speaker 4 In the Mishnah. But the Alter Rebbe explains it differently, saying that this is a condition for “toil in Torah.” Even if you have the option of living without pressure or hardship, Torah can be acquired only in the way the Mishnah describes: “Eat bread with salt, drink water in measured amounts, and sleep on the ground.” Torah is not acquired through an abundance of delicacies, or through eating and sleeping beyond what one needs, and so on. It is hard—extremely hard. But when you know that this is the mission, the responsibility placed on a Jewish boy, and you educate him accordingly, the reward is beyond measure. In the weekly parsha we read, “This is the statute of the Torah.” The Alter Rebbe explains this in Likkutei Torah, and the Rebbe elaborates on it in his holy sichos. The whole Torah, the study of Torah, is called a “statute.” What does “statute” mean? There are several explanations. A statute is something without an apparent reason: “I have decreed a decree.” But we also find in the Torah, “If you walk in My statutes,” which our Sages explain to mean that you should toil in Torah. Our Sages connected toil in Torah with the idea of a statute. The Rebbe explains, based on what is written in Likkutei Torah, that the letters of the Torah are not like other fields of knowledge. A person studies those, and once he succeeds, he knows and understands the subject. But he and the subject remain two separate things. Torah must be like engraved letters. That is “the statute of the Torah.” For a Jew, Torah must be like engraved letters. What does that mean? There are two kinds of letters. There are written letters: you take paper and ink and write holy words on it. But the paper remains paper, and the ink remains ink. The two have been joined together. An expert could come and separate the ink from the paper. With Torah, that is not enough. When a person studies Torah, he must reach the level of engraved letters, like letters engraved in stone. The shape of the letter is not made by, by

19:23 Speaker 4 ink. The letter comes from the stone itself. You cannot separate the letter from the stone. You can break the stone, but you cannot separate the letter from it. In other words, engraved letters have a far greater and more remarkable unity than written letters. That is what the Torah teaches us: “This is the statute of the Torah.” A Jew must come to study Torah in the manner of engraved letters. But how does one get there? “This is the Torah: a man who dies in a tent.” One who gives himself over completely to the words of the Sages merits true toil in Torah—and not only toil, but also the success of becoming one with the Torah. This is what is demanded of every Jewish boy, every child learning in cheder, and every young man learning in yeshivah. [unclear] His study must then be like engraved letters. The worldly matters he has to attend to are secondary. What is the main thing? What defines the person, the young man who studies Torah? The Torah he learns. At night, when he sleeps, the Rebbe says—what does it mean that he studies Torah? How do we know he is studying as he should? At night he dreams about the topics, the verses, or the Rashi he learned during the day. After all, what does a person dream about at night? He sees what has occupied his thoughts during the day. If throughout the day his mind is so deeply bound up with the Torah, like engraved letters, and he loves the Torah and his studies so much that the Torah has become engraved within him, then even at night, when he has no control over his thoughts, they arise on their own from what occupied him during the day. That is the test of whether his learning was as it should be. And we are not talking here about a select few. We are not talking

21:49 Speaker 4 about exceptional young men. We are talking about the mission of every single child: to reach a connection with Torah like engraved letters. And as the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya, this is possible for each and every person. One only needs to want it, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu helps him. This is what the Rebbe wants of us, and what the Rebbe demands in his holy sichos. There is no other way, especially in this world. Although we—

00:03 Speaker 1 That this medicine, and this medicine alone, will save your life. Of course you would make every effort, whether it meant physical exertion or spending money. You would cross half the world to get that medicine, because it is the key to staying alive. And that is when we are talking about physical life. How much more so when it comes to spiritual life. We are in an extremely difficult situation, both with regard to Eretz Yisroel and with regard to spiritual life. On the one hand, boruch Hashem, I walked through here and saw the exhibition. It is something wonderful and tremendous: how to use computers and so on to help people succeed in learning Torah. But there is another side to the computer. There is that other side, too: all those dark, accursed programs, no bigger than a pin. Into something the size of that pin, the entire sitra achra, which has worked throughout the generations to enter a Jew’s mind and capture a Jew’s heart, can now come in the easiest way. It takes the form of something the size of a pin, enters every home, and gets into the mind and heart of an innocent young person, an innocent child. The Rebbe wants even a child in the cradle to see only pure images. Even a child in the cradle, the Rebbe said—what could he possibly understand or know? No: his eyes may take in something impure, G-d forbid, and who knows how that might affect him later in life. So imagine a child who is older and more mature. He understands more, sees more, and knows more. And in a single moment, G-d forbid, he can lose his spiritual life. The Gemara speaks about this: What is the value, the special quality, of what a child learns when he is young? Girsa deyankusa—what one learns in childhood. What I learned in my youth stays with me, and I remember it forever. The halachah rules accordingly: someone who learns when young is not like someone who

02:44 Speaker 1 learns when old. How much more does this apply to the other side, the side of the sitra achra. If a child, during his best years, sees things that are, G-d forbid, entirely the opposite of holiness, entirely sitra achra—and after all, we cannot enter his mind. We... But one thing we do know: these things can affect him not only right now, which is terrible enough, but throughout his entire life. They can leave him with thoughts he cannot break away from for the rest of his life. Then he grows older, and later, G-d forbid, problems may surface. This one is to blame, that one is to blame—everyone is to blame. But let us work together to head off the danger while there is still time. If we know, G-d forbid, that an illness may develop, will we wait until it becomes a matter of saving a life and then cry out to the whole world for help? Or, if we can prevent the illness by starting to take some preventive medicine, we will certainly make every effort to do so. The difference is that in physical life we can see these things; we can touch them. In spiritual life we do not know, and we think, “Well, it will work itself out, it will work itself out.” But that is not true. The holy books, and the Tanya, say just the opposite: the illness is far more serious and far more severe than a physical illness, G-d forbid. So I did not come here, G-d forbid, to rage and shout. But I live among my people. I have children too, and I see the grave dangers, G-d forbid, that face us. So if, by Divine providence, we have come together this evening—parents, principals, administrators, and children—we must all join forces and understand what we face and what we have to fight. And it is a difficult battle. I know it is

05:39 Speaker 1 a difficult battle. I feel how difficult it is. But what can we do? The holy Shelah quotes the verse, “The hands of compassionate women cooked their children,” and explains it. Sometimes a compassionate woman’s hands—the hands of a loving mother who feels for her child... The child cries and screams, “I want you to buy me this and that,” though it could harm him spiritually. But the mother feels compassion for him. What can she do? She acts out of compassion, G-d forbid, not out of malice. Certainly not, G-d forbid, with any intention of leading him away from the path of Torah. But sometimes you face a difficult situation. The child is crying, you love the child, you love your son, and you want to make him happy. What can you do? He asks, he pleads. It is hard to hold back. It is hard to overcome your love and compassion and not give the child what he wants. The holy Shelah says, “The hands of compassionate women cooked their children.” Sometimes that very compassion can cook up something—and who knows what will come of it. It is hard and unpleasant, especially when a child says, “But why is my neighbor allowed to have it? Why is my friend? How am I different?” You have to be firm. You have to put on a guise that does not feel good—a guise of harshness. You cannot give in to the pleading and the requests, or even the tears. It is hard at the moment, but the results will be only good, and an expression of love. “One who spares his rod hates his son,” says King Shlomo. G-d forbid, we are not talking about hitting. But sometimes what seems like harshness is precisely the path to saving a child. And it does not have to be done harshly. Anyone who understands education, who studies it and works in it, knows that all these things can be done in a good spirit, by explaining. If the child wants this or that program, give him something else.

08:04 Speaker 1 Do not just tell him, “No, no, no, no, no.” If everything is forbidden, then what? The child has wants of his own; you cannot simply restrict him. You can offer an alternative. “Let’s make a deal. You want this? I’ll give you a different present. I’ll choose books for you, a trip to the Rebbe,” and so on. There are many, many ways to win his heart. If it is hard to do alone, you can consult the teachers, the principals—people with experience and knowledge, who have been through so much. From the experience they have gained, they know how to give the right advice. I want to offer my wishes. Perhaps I have spoken too long, but I hear and feel that we must talk and talk and talk and talk. Moshe Rabbeinu’s mission was to speak to the rock, not to strike it. We do not take the path of striking; we speak to the rock. At first it may be a hard rock, but Moshe Rabbeinu’s mission was to show that even a rock can be opened up, that even a person as hard as a rock can be reached through words. Moshe Rabbeinu—for which many explanations have been given—chose the other path and struck the rock. That was not what Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted from Moshe Rabbeinu. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted Moshe Rabbeinu to teach the Jewish people that even by speaking to the rock, pure, holy water could come forth from it—and water means Torah. I want to wish the school leadership that Hashem help them succeed in raising more and more soldiers: soldiers in the Rebbe’s army, chassidim who fear Heaven and learn Torah, soldiers in the army of Moshiach. I want to wish the parents much, much nachas—chassidish nachas, Torah nachas, true nachas—from all their children,

10:32 Speaker 1 those studying here and those who continue on to yeshivos. May they be the Rebbe’s chassidim; may they be the Rebbe’s soldiers. Being a soldier of the Rebbe already encompasses everything, far more than what I have mentioned to you. I want to wish the children that they show what they can do in learning Torah and reviewing it by heart. Someone who has a hundred wants two hundred, and someone who has two hundred wants four hundred. When it comes to Torah, we are never satisfied with what we have. On the contrary, if you achieved this much today, you are told, “Good—bring twice as much next year.” If at age eight or nine you reached a thousand Mishnayos, a hundred Mishnayos, twelve chapters of Tanya, that means that at age ten you can already reach twenty-four. This is how the Rebbe explains it: someone who has two hundred is not content with two hundred. “Who is rich? One who is happy with his lot”—that applies to worldly matters. But in learning Torah and fulfilling mitzvos, there is no being content with your lot. Someone who has two hundred wants four hundred. I want to wish you success, and that you continue to grow. And if Hashem wills it, this terrible danger facing every child, every single member of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisroel, will surely be no more. Out of this deep, doubled and redoubled darkness, we are surely at the moment just before the true and complete Geulah. We will go out to greet the Rebbe, to greet Moshiach, and say: “See the children we have raised.”

12:13 Speaker 2 A great yasher koach to the mara d’asra. May his heartfelt words be engraved upon our hearts—both the great danger and, on the other hand, the tremendous power we have to educate and raise them, a generation of the upright that will be blessed. We also want to take this opportunity to wish Rabbi Ashkenazi mazal tov. Yesterday he married off his son Menachem Mendel, may he live and be well, and we wish the Rabbi much nachas from him and all his children, together with the Rebbetzin shlita. Amen and amen. And these deserve our congratulations: the outstanding students who have worked and invested so much here, day after day and Shabbos after Shabbos. Students who have invested so much in davening, in contemplation, in davening unhurriedly. Students who have invested so much in chassidic conduct. Students who have invested so much—we welcome Rabbi Ashkenazi with a blessing of peace. And students who have invested so much in learning and reviewing the material taught here, the Torah teachings in Nigleh and Chassidus that are part of the Talmud Torah’s curriculum. We must note that the students do not grow on their own. Behind them stands a devoted, energetic staff, and this is the place to offer a hearty yasher koach and loud applause to the energetic staff of the Talmud Torah. I want to say that I had the privilege in the past of bringing children here from Ramat Hasharon. They sat and learned together with the Talmud Torah students, and came away from a full day of activities deeply moved by that wonderful experience of learning together, with the close, devoted guidance of the teachers. Allow me also to mention the Talmud Torah secretary, Rabbi Reb Dovid Friedman, who I think is really built in, an integral part of this Talmud Torah. He is the son-in-law and successor of the unforgettable secretary, Rabbi Reb Shmuel Gurevitz z”l, who remains in all our hearts. We now want to invite the outstanding students up here, class by class, in order. First, the students in grades one through three. We—

15:12 Speaker 2 We’ll begin with first grade, the class of the devoted teacher Rabbi Hertz of Bnei Brak. Please welcome the three outstanding students: Schneur Zalman Rivkin, Schneur Zalman Dayan, and Menachem Mendel Cooperman. Where’s the applause for the outstanding students? First grade B, the second first-grade class, taught by Rabbi Boriel Donel [unclear]. The four outstanding students: Dovid Klein, Menachem Mendel Kahana, Menachem Mendel Hindi, and Baruch Yakubovitch. Where’s the applause for these students? Dear students, please gather here below the stage. Second grade, the students of Rabbi Tzvi Hanao: Yosef Pinsky, Yitzchak Mikhalashvili, Menachem Meir Ben Harush, and Yeshayahu Rothenberg. Applause for the four outstanding students. And after them, the dear students of third grade will come up, led by their teacher Rabbi Mordechai Tangi, who is behind the computer project here. Chaim Shaul Yudkin, Yechei—Yechiel Shimon Frenkel, and Schneur Zalman Pinsky. Where’s the applause for these third-grade students? And now the second third-grade class: Menachem Mendel Ovadia, Menachem Mendel Cohen, and Yosef Yitzchak Landau. To all of you, all the dear students standing below the stage, a round of applause. A great yasher koach, and may you go on to ever greater success and excellence in your studies, rising from strength to strength. We now want to invite the choir, the Tzivos Hashem choir, conducted by Shalom Kinori. The Tzivos Hashem choir with song number two. Please welcome our choir, our precious students, the mouths of schoolchildren, the breath of the mouths of children studying Torah. I was asked to mention that Maariv will take place after the ceremony. Reb Shalom, please.

18:52 Speaker 5 You are my G-d, and I will thank You; my G-d, I will exalt You. You are my G-d, and I will thank You; my G-d, I will exalt You. You are my G-d, and I will thank You; my G-d, I will exalt You. You are my G-d, and I will thank You; my G-d, I will exalt You. You are my G-d, and I will thank You; my G-d, I will exalt You. You are my G-d.

22:16 Speaker 6 You are my G-d.

22:19 Speaker 7 You are my G-d.

22:20 Speaker 6 And I will thank You.

22:22 Speaker 7 And I will thank You.

22:29 Speaker 6 My G-d, I will exalt You; You are my G-d, and I will thank You.

22:40 Speaker 7 And I will thank You.

22:53 Speaker 6 My G-d, I will exalt You. My G-d, I will exalt You.

23:11 Speaker 7 Applause. A very great yasher koach to our dear choir. And now for the next six verses, recited by the students Yechiel Lesel Boam [unclear], Schneur Zalman Dayan, Avshalom Tzuberi, Shmaya Yehuda Leib Marinovsky, Menachem Mendel Malka, Schneur Zalman Naki Naritkin [unclear], and Menachem Mendel Mani Cooperman. “In the beginning.”

23:35 Speaker 6 In the beginning.

23:37 Speaker 7 In the beginning.

23:38 Speaker 6 Created.

23:39 Speaker 7 Created.

23:40 Speaker 6 G-d.

23:42 Speaker 7 G-d.

23:43 Speaker 6 The heavens.

23:44 Speaker 7 The heavens.

23:47 Speaker 6 And the earth.

23:49 Speaker 7 And the earth. Go on, “And you shall teach them.” The next verse.

23:53 Speaker 6 And you shall teach them.

23:55 Speaker 7 And you shall teach them.

23:56 Speaker 6 To your children.

23:57 Speaker 7 To your children.

23:58 Speaker 6 And you shall speak.

23:59 Speaker 7 And you shall speak.

24:00 Speaker 6 Of them.

24:01 Speaker 7 Of them.

24:01 Speaker 6 When you sit.

24:04 Speaker 7 When you sit.

24:05 Speaker 6 In your home.

24:05 Speaker 7 In your home.

24:06 Speaker 6 When you walk.

24:07 Speaker 7 When you walk.

24:08 Speaker 6 On the way.

24:09 Speaker 7 On the way.

24:10 Speaker 6 When you lie down.

24:11 Speaker 7 When you lie down.

24:12 Speaker 6 And when you rise.

24:13 Speaker 7 And when you rise. “I worked hard.” Tzuberi.

24:18 Speaker 6 I worked hard.

24:19 Speaker 7 I worked hard.

24:20 Speaker 6 And I found.

24:21 Speaker 7 And I did not find.

24:24 Speaker 6 And I did not find.

24:25 Speaker 7 And I did not find.

24:26 Speaker 6 Do not believe it.

24:27 Speaker 7 Do not believe it.

24:29 Speaker 6 I worked hard.

24:30 Speaker 7 I worked hard.

24:31 Speaker 6 And I found.

24:32 Speaker 7 And I found.

24:33 Speaker 6 I did not work hard. I did not work hard.

24:37 Speaker 7 I did not work hard.

24:38 Speaker 6 And I found.

24:39 Speaker 7 And I found.

24:40 Speaker 6 Do not believe it.

24:42 Speaker 7 I worked hard.

24:42 Speaker 6 I worked hard.

24:44 Speaker 7 I worked hard.

24:45 Speaker 6 And I found.

24:46 Speaker 7 And I found.

24:47 Speaker 6 Believe it.

24:47 Speaker 7 Believe it.

24:50 Speaker 8 And you shall love.

24:52 Speaker 7 Marinovsky.

24:53 Speaker 8 And you shall love.

24:54 Speaker 7 And you shall love.

24:55 Speaker 8 Your fellow.

24:56 Speaker 7 Your fellow.

24:59 Speaker 8 As yourself, as yourself.

25:00 Speaker 7 As yourself.

25:01 Speaker 8 Rabbi.

25:02 Speaker 7 Rabbi.

25:04 Speaker 8 Akiva.

25:05 Speaker 7 Akiva.

25:06 Speaker 8 Says.

25:07 Speaker 7 Says.

25:08 Speaker 8 This is a principle.

25:09 Speaker 7 This is a principle.

25:10 Speaker 8 Great.

25:11 Speaker 7 Great.

25:12 Speaker 8 In the Torah.

25:13 Speaker 7 In the Torah. With your hand. Malka. “And this.”

25:19 Speaker 9 And this.

25:20 Speaker 7 And this.

25:21 Speaker 9 Is the whole purpose of man.

25:22 Speaker 7 Is the whole purpose of man.

25:23 Speaker 9 And the purpose.

25:24 Speaker 7 And the purpose.

25:26 Speaker 9 Of his creation.

25:27 Speaker 7 Of his creation.

25:28 Speaker 9 And of the creation.

25:28 Speaker 7 And of the creation.

25:29 Speaker 9 Of all the worlds.

25:30 Speaker 7 Of all the worlds.

25:31 Speaker 9 The higher.

25:32 Speaker 7 The higher.

25:33 Speaker 9 And the lower.

25:34 Speaker 7 And the lower.

25:35 Speaker 9 That there should be.

25:36 Speaker 7 That there should be.

25:37 Speaker 9 A dwelling for Him.

25:38 Speaker 7 A dwelling for Him.

25:39 Speaker 9 In the lower realms.

25:40 Speaker 7 In the lower realms. Rivkin the Kohen. You’re afraid to say “Yechi Adoneinu,” huh?

25:45 Speaker 10 Let rejoice.

25:46 Speaker 7 Let rejoice.

25:47 Speaker 10 Yisroel.

25:50 Speaker 7 Yisroel.

25:51 Speaker 10 Meaning—“in his Maker.”

25:54 Speaker 7 In his Maker.

25:54 Speaker 10 Meaning.

25:55 Speaker 7 Meaning.

25:56 Speaker 10 That every.

25:58 Speaker 7 That every.

25:58 Speaker 10 Person who is.

26:00 Speaker 7 Person who is.

26:01 Speaker 10 Of the seed.

26:01 Speaker 7 Of the seed.

26:02 Speaker 10 Of Yisroel.

26:03 Speaker 7 Of Yisroel.

26:05 Speaker 10 Should.

26:06 Speaker 7 Should.

26:06 Speaker 10 Rejoice.

26:06 Speaker 7 Rejoice.

26:07 Speaker 10 In the joy.

26:08 Speaker 7 In the joy.

26:09 Speaker 10 Of Hashem.

26:10 Speaker 7 Of Hashem.

26:11 Speaker 10 Who.

26:13 Speaker 7 Who.

26:13 Speaker 10 Delights and rejoices.

26:14 Speaker 7 Delights and rejoices. In His dwelling in the lower realms. In His dwelling in the lower realms. Cooperman, “Yechi.” Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Long live our master, our teacher and our Rebbe, King Moshiach, forever and ever. Applause for the students, who recited the verses so beautifully, loudly, clearly, and distinctly. We will now call the outstanding students in the higher grades. First, the student Yisroel Persico from third grade—please come up. Tomorrow, with Hashem’s help, he will also receive his certificate, together with his teacher Rabbi Pinsky. The fourth-grade students, together with their teacher Rabbi Yankel Segal: Shabtai Botnashvili, Yosef Weitberg, Menachem Mikhalashvili, and Yisroel Marantz. After them, the fifth-grade students will come and stand here: Yosef Yitzchak Kovadia [unclear], Yisroel Meir Botnashvili, Menachem Mendel Bloy bar Yitzchak [unclear], and Yosef Yitzchak Lisson. The sixth-grade children will come up with their teacher Rabbi Aharon Halperin: Nati Yachont [unclear], Avraham Levin, and Shiv Weissberg [unclear]. The second sixth-grade class, with their teacher Rabbi Eitan Sharabi—the children, soldiers in Tzivos Hashem, will come up: Yechiel Osher bar Yehuda, Menachem Yehuda Hod, and Gershon Yosef Rivkin. Last but dear to us, the highest grade, the ones all the children look up to with respect. Where is Rabbi Sharabi? Rabbi Sharabi, please. Yitzchak Tzuberi from Rabbi Sharabi’s class is also asked to come up and receive his certificate of appreciation. Applause for the students of the highest grade, taught by Rabbi Moishe Rosenfeld: Yosef Chaim Ben David, Eliezer Perlstein, and Aharon Rivkin. A very great yasher koach to all the children.

30:09 Speaker 3 The principal—they want to take a picture, to be photographed together with the students of the highest grade.

30:18 Speaker 7 There he is, Rabbi Dovid Friedman, the energetic secretary of the Talmud Torah. We mentioned you earlier, but you weren’t here. We said you’re built into the Talmud Torah here, part of the building, part of its stones. Rabbi Dovid Friedman—where’s the applause for the Talmud Torah secretary, Rabbi Dovid Friedman? Rabbi Friedman, the principal asks to be photographed together with you. Rabbi Dovid, for the first time.

30:55 Speaker 3 Huh? Now check, well, [unclear]. Where—uh—Rabbi Demanovitch will call—where’s the list of the classes, [unclear]?

31:13 Speaker 7 One at a time. We ask the audience not to disperse.

31:21 Speaker 3 Come on. Come up here. The last three.

31:52 Speaker 7 I’d like to ask the Talmud Torah principal for a few brief words of appreciation, especially for the staff. Shh. Move along. Shh.

32:08 Speaker 3 Children, children, this party is for you. I’m asking for a few minutes of quiet. Shh... You’re making it hard for me to speak. We still can’t hear the quiet, can we? Yes. While the parents are here, I must say a few things... Please be patient a little longer. You’ll soon enjoy the multimedia presentation. It would be a shame to miss it. We’ll finish in a few minutes, before the prizes are handed out. But first, a few words about our staff. I think the staff at this Talmud Torah is second to none—in their values, their dedication, and their teamwork. Every year, I receive requests from parents asking for the same teacher to continue with their children the following year. Then, when they have a different teacher, they ask for that teacher to continue too. In other words, everyone is doing their work faithfully, and I must take this opportunity to thank them all. Many things have changed, and I must mention them. If you’ve seen the booklets the teachers made together with the students: when I began teaching, I couldn’t have produced the flowcharts that students produce today. The children have reached a point where they can learn independently. They go into the computer room on their own, summarize what they’ve learned, and create learning booklets that are truly impressive. You can see the thanks and praise the supervisors wrote about them. There’s also the new approach to studying sugyos. It’s a new way of thinking about learning, and it takes a certain boldness. The eighth-grade children were tested on the entire tractate of Berachos for broad familiarity, in addition to the in-depth study they did. They were tested on the tractate they learned by Rabbi Katz, a rosh yeshivah, [unclear], by Rabbi Ord[?], [unclear], and by Rabbi Grozman. Everyone was amazed. They were tested on each chapter several times, and then on three chapters together. And this wasn’t just one, two, or three students. The great majority of the students passed difficult, demanding tests. I got phone calls: Why are we... making things so hard for them? I know what it means

35:59 Speaker 3 when children go to sleep at eleven or twelve, working so hard to learn. We told them no one was forcing them. They were doing it of their own free will, and they deserve praise for it. The next day, one father called me back: “Don’t pay attention to what I said. Let them learn. It’s good.” Boruch Hashem, we’ve reached a point where many of them stay up late learning. And the work Rabbi Tangi puts so much into—you see it, and you’ll see it—has brought about a change in the students’ overall behavior. They’ve gone from being students to being students who create. It has changed how they learn, how they think, and how they behave in general. The children find a sense of calm in doing, a sense of calm in learning. That’s something new: calm in learning and creating. We’ve become a demonstration school for the Gemara Berurah Institute in Jerusalem, where Gemara is studied using computers. A study day for all the schools in the area was held here, and our teachers demonstrated the method with the students. If Hashem wills, after 17 Tammuz we’ll have another meeting here. People are coming to learn and see how we study the material. I must thank the entire staff. I feel humbled by them. They do their work faithfully and with dedication. I also want to mention the support team—the professional support team, the women teachers here—who have done outstanding work throughout the year. Children have joined their classes, children are finding their place, children are progressing. I want to thank each and every one of them. I must thank the Rivkin families, who stand by us every step of the way: the Rivkin family from the catering business, and the Rivkin family from the vegetable business. And Yitzchak Goldschmidt. You see the team of... Shmuel Rivkin, who helps us here and is always glad to help our students in any way he can, both in his own area and in other areas too—with the library, Beis Sadov, and so on. And teacher Dovid Kastenbaum, who coordinated the

39:55 Speaker 3 memorization program, through which they learned so much, boruch Hashem. And Yisroel Zalmanovitch, who has been with us every step of the way and advanced the work on language skills and literacy development. Of course, we had learned about this in Gemara without really understanding it, and now we see it in practice. Behind every little detail stands Yisroel Zalmanovitch. And last but certainly not least, our dear former student, whom we sometimes don’t appreciate enough. Boruch Hashem, we can take pride in our graduates. Uriya Ohana put together this entire presentation you’re seeing. I hadn’t realized it would be so beautiful and so enjoyable. He deserves a round of applause for that. Thank you all very much.

41:03 Speaker 4 We’re asked to thank the principal very much. We’ll now move on to the multimedia presentation, edited by teacher Rabbi Mordechai Tangi. Please. Could the lights be turned off?