"Mivtza Torah" 5768 Closing Ceremony at Yeshivas Tomchei Temimim Lod

11:13 Speaker 1 Welcome to all the parents and guests who have come to join us for the ceremony honoring the students who studied, reviewed, and were tested on Maseches Gittin by heart, and who distinguished themselves in chassidic conduct, diligence and perseverance, and keeping to the schedule. This is the eleventh consecutive year that the yeshiva administration has held this program and this celebration. Usually, when something happens again and again, it loses its uniqueness. It becomes less interesting, less exciting, perhaps even a little routine. But in our case, not only has our excitement not diminished—it grows from year to year. A father who had attended this celebration eight years in a row spoke to me. Last year we did not invite him, because he no longer had a son in the yeshiva. He met me two weeks after the celebration and said, “Even though you didn’t invite me, and even though I don’t have a son in the yeshiva, it was very hard for me to miss it. Maybe you’re used to it,” he told me, “but for me, seeing such a large number of students, without the evil eye, who have learned an entire masechta by heart is such a moving sight that it’s hard to give up.” Last year, the grandfather of one of the students joined us at the celebration. He is a highly respected Jew who, among his other activities, has worked and cared for the honor of Chabad in general and the Rebbe in particular for many years—decades. At the end of the celebration he said, “If I could convey to people outside the exceptionally special chassidic atmosphere that was here tonight—the gentle faces of the Temimim, the humility of the outstanding students, the way everyone rejoiced in his friend’s happiness—I would accomplish a great deal. Because this evening,” he said, “is a kiddush Hashem for the Rebbe and for Lubavitch as a whole, in the highest way.” And so we, as chassidim,

14:48 Speaker 1 whose foremost concern is to bring the Rebbe more and more nachas, certainly find that our joy grows from year to year as more students join in bringing this great nachas by learning a masechta by heart. Dear parents and students, over all these years we have noticed something very interesting: ninety-nine percent of the students who learned a masechta by heart and took part in this program come back and do it a second and a third time. Some might say it is because of the prizes we give. I don’t need to tell you that anyone who wants to make money can make much more money with much less effort. Others might say it is because of the celebration and the certificates we give. Without belittling the importance of the certificates, everyone will attest that those alone are not worth the effort—especially someone who has experienced the dedication and sacrifice required of a bochur who wants to know a masechta by heart. So we must say that it is learning the masechta itself that makes a student who has learned one masechta by heart want to know another, and then another. A few years ago, we did not know whether to launch the program, because we did not have the means. A student approached us and asked us to run it even without prizes—as long as the administration would launch a program for reviewing the masechta. I took the bochur aside and asked him, “Tell me, do you really mean that? You’re willing to put in so much work and get nothing in return? Perhaps you’re trying to impress us?” He told me, “Rabbi, I’m not trying to impress anyone. But when I remember the wonderful feeling I had on 7 Menachem Av, when I left the yeshiva after the exam knowing that I was leaving with an entire masechta by heart—that’s a feeling I’ve never had in my life. It’s worth

17:54 Speaker 1 far more to me than the money you give, and certainly more than the honor you give. I’m not willing to give that up. And I know that if the administration runs this program, it will encourage me and give me the strength to work hard and know this year’s masechta by heart too.” We have recently come from Simchas Torah. We all rejoiced and danced with the Torah. That joy is connected to the fact that on that day we merited to complete the entire Torah. The custom, of course, is to follow the conclusion immediately with the beginning and start again at once: “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth.” The Rebbe once asked at a farbrengen: A Jew who has completed the entire Torah—does such a Jew need to be told the seemingly simple fact that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world? After all, we are talking about a Jew who has learned the entire Torah. The Rebbe makes a very profound point: For a Jew who has learned the Torah, the whole Torah, his heavens are no longer the same heavens. His earth is no longer the same earth. A Jew who learns, a Jew who is immersed in learning, a Jew who has learned the entire Torah, acquires an entirely different view of the whole world. The whole world takes on a different meaning for him. So even the seemingly simple fact that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the heavens and the earth takes on a much deeper meaning for him, beyond anything he understood before he learned the Torah. There is a well-known story of a chossid who once went in to the Tzemach Tzedek and told the Rebbe exactly what his learning schedule was—what he studied in nigleh and what he studied in Chassidus. The Tzemach Tzedek asked him, “You keep telling me what you learn. But the question is, what does the Torah teach you? What has the Torah taught you?” A student who has learned a masechta has not merely come to know Maseches Gittin by heart. He has become an entirely different person. He gains an entirely different outlook on every matter and every

20:47 Speaker 1 area of life. There’s a common expression: “I feel like enjoying life. Let’s live a little.” But the question is: What is life? For a student who learns a masechta by heart, sitting and learning is life. Wasting time, G-d forbid, is the opposite of life. When a student who has learned a masechta says in davening, “For they are our life and the length of our days,” he knows what he is talking about. He isn’t saying it only because it is written in the siddur. And of this it says, “Taste and see that Hashem is good.” To see that Hashem is good—that sitting and learning is a good thing—you have to taste it. That is the real reason why students who have already tasted how good it is to learn a masechta by heart come back and refuse to give it up, doing it again and again. A bochur who has tasted that experience will not give it up. And that is really the purpose of this celebration: so that students who have not yet tasted it will make a good resolution today that, with Hashem’s help, in the coming year they too will learn Maseches Bava Basra by heart and be tested on it. Rabbi Alter Gavish[?]. With us, as he is every year, is the rabbi of the city of Lod, Rabbi Ortner. We ask the honored rabbi to come and address the students.

22:58 Speaker 2 Honored rosh yeshiva, rabbis in attendance, all the rabbis, parents, guests and dear guests, and students of the yeshiva. I think we can describe this event, this evening that has taken place for many years in the city of Lod, as the city of Lod’s own celebration of Torah. The yeshiva of the Temimim in Lod is, in fact, the greatest spiritual light illuminating and influencing the city, Jews and non-Jews alike. And when so many students are tested on an entire masechta learned by heart, this celebration of Torah is truly a celebration of Torah for the city. Clearly, when a student is tested on what he has learned by heart, aside from the—there is a great deal of benefit in it. The prizes themselves bring spiritual benefit, and so does the learning involved: if students want to be tested, they certainly add hours of study. That means even more time devoted to Torah learning. We know that every word one learns brings a spark of Torah learning; certainly this is so when students add hours in order to be tested. And it also helps them remember the material better. But there is another point, another benefit for students when they are tested, like those who received the prizes in whose honor this celebration is being held today. The Mishnah says in Pirkei Avos that “whoever forgets one thing from his learning is considered to have forfeited his life,” as it is written, “Only take care lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen.” One might think this applies even if his learning became too difficult for him to retain—even if a person learned but nevertheless forgot through no fault of his own, or because of circumstances that caused him to forget. Would you think that even then he has transgressed, or is considered to have forfeited his life? But the verse says, “Only take care lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.” The word “only” limits the ruling: When is he considered to have forfeited his life? When is it a prohibition? The Gemara says it is a negative prohibition: “Take care” is the language of a prohibition. When does a person transgress a prohibition by forgetting something he has learned? Only when

26:01 Speaker 2 He sits and removes it from his heart. That is to say, at first glance, the meaning is that he does not study, and that is why he forgets. But the truth is that in Hilchos Talmud Torah, the Alter Rebbe adds a few words, drawn from some of the early authorities: “Likewise, one who forgets a single thing from his learning because he did not review his studies properly is liable for his life and transgresses a prohibition.” And the rabbi adds that we can also look at the wording of the Rambam in Hilchos Talmud Torah: How long is a person obligated to study? He is obligated to study Torah until the day he dies, because anyone who does not study forgets the Torah. In other words, the prohibition against forgetting something from the Torah is not only a matter of failing to review and therefore forgetting. If he forgets, it means he did not study enough. Here we see, the rabbi says, that there is such a thing as forgetting the Torah. A person must not be in a state of forgetting the Torah. He also explains why the Mishnah says, “One might think this applies even if his learning was beyond his control.” Why would we have thought that if a person forgets through circumstances beyond his control, he is liable for his life? It is a fundamental principle throughout the Torah that the Torah exempts a person who acts under compulsion. But what does that exemption mean? It means that although he is not punished, the act would otherwise be considered a transgression. Here, though, this is not just another act of transgression. The point is that a person must not be in a state of forgetting the Torah. So there was room to say that even if it happened through circumstances beyond his control, although he would not be liable for his life and would not receive a punishment, he would still have transgressed a prohibition. Therefore the Torah says “only,” to exclude this case: the Torah did not hold a person liable for forgetting his learning if it happened

28:20 Speaker 2 through circumstances beyond his control. If it was beyond his control, the Torah did not hold him liable. It follows that when students are tested, they clearly go over the material many times and study for many hours. That is called reviewing what they learned properly. And when they review and study properly, they do not come to forget the Torah. Consequently, G-d forbid, they do not become liable for their lives, and they do not transgress the prohibition, “Guard yourself lest you forget the things your eyes have seen.” So when students are tested in the yeshivah—I’m speaking with the students, and I don’t want to forget the prizes. The prizes are not insignificant; they themselves provide spiritual support. Through them, we help the students avoid a situation in which they fail to review their studies properly and, G-d forbid, transgress the prohibition of “lest you forget the things,” or, G-d forbid, become liable for their lives by forgetting the Torah. So this is another benefit, in addition to all the other benefits. By reviewing, being tested, and reviewing thoroughly, they study what they learned properly, and that saves them from transgressing the prohibition against forgetting the Torah. May the roshei yeshivah and yeshivah administrators, who take care to guide the bochurim both spiritually and materially so that they can truly be tested and review their studies properly, be blessed. And may it be Hashem’s will that the number of students and shluchim increase, those who engage in both the revealed and inner dimensions of Torah. And in the merit of Torah study, may we soon merit the end of all the exiles that are upon us and the Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, amen and amen.

30:50 Speaker 3 Thank you very much, and a hearty yasher koach to Rabbi Boker[?] for the words of Torah and the blessings. And thank you for making a point of honoring us with your presence every year. May Hashem give him strength, much nachas, good health, and everything he needs. It is my honor to invite my father and teacher, the rosh yeshivah, who is behind this entire initiative, to speak. Please.

31:40 Speaker 4 Today we can say, “Blessed is He who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time.” Although we hold this celebration every year, each year, as was mentioned earlier, it feels like something new. The excitement is new. The excitement is even greater and more powerful. We see how much this initiative motivates students to invest in their studies, review the tractate, and know the tractate they have learned. Even students who, at first glance, seem to think themselves that this is beyond them. After all, some students are more gifted and some are less gifted. Some students think this is beyond them, but in practice we see that even students who are not especially gifted can, through their investment and effort, reach the point described by the Rebbe: “I toiled and I found.” It is like finding something. We see it firsthand: students who work hard at their studies achieve things they themselves never dreamed of. We see this very clearly. That is why our joy is so great when we see how much the students have truly invested, succeeded, and achieved. These are familiar points, but they always bear repeating: the importance of reviewing the tractate until it is committed to memory. Sometimes we think: We sit and study, and the main thing is to learn, to learn Torah. We sit and study during the scheduled study sessions and outside them, and we do not quite understand the benefit of reviewing and memorizing so that we know what we learn. There is a mitzvah to study Torah, but that is not the whole story. As the Shulchan Aruch also explains, there are two mitzvos: there is a mitzvah to study Torah, but there is also a mitzvah to know the Torah. We need to know the Torah, not only study it. Knowing the Torah is a distinct mitzvah, and that is why there is a prescribed way to study. Because there is a mitzvah to know

34:42 Speaker 4 the Torah, the more a person is capable of knowing, the more he is obligated to study in a way that will enable him to know it. That is to say, a bochur who studies and reviews the tractate and knows it—who knows the tractate because he is tested on it—is fulfilling the mitzvah of knowing the Torah. And there is a great difference, as explained in Tanya. In Likkutei Torah, the Alter Rebbe says, in the well-known maamar beginning “Katonti” in Parshas Vayishlach, that there is a value in learning Torah by heart, so that it is engraved in one’s mind and one has the Torah within one’s mind. That is, he... After all, the Torah is Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s wisdom. If he wants to be united with Hakadosh Boruch Hu all the time—when he studies, he is united with Hakadosh Boruch Hu for the time that he is studying. But when he knows the Torah, when the Torah is engraved in his mind, then, as it were, he has Hakadosh Boruch Hu in his mind all the time. “The Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are one.” That is something different, something much loftier: he is united with Hakadosh Boruch Hu all the time. He has the Torah in his mind; it is engraved there. That is why he says that one should at least learn the Five Books of the Torah by heart, for they contain the entire Torah in the order of the parshiyos. In other words, knowing the Torah has a special significance. And so reviewing a tractate until you know it by heart is something special... As explained in Tanya, the Torah is nourishment, spiritual nourishment. That is the distinction between Torah and mitzvos. Torah is nourishment, [unclear]. Mitzvos are garments; they are on the level of garments. In other words, what is a person’s spiritual nourishment? What gives him life? Spiritual vitality comes from the Torah. The Torah is his spiritual nourishment.

36:54 Speaker 4 That is to say, the more a person learns and knows of the Torah, the more Torah he stores within himself. So he has more and more vitality. This is his spiritual nourishment, his life, as was mentioned earlier: “For they are our life...” Just as a person receives physical vitality through food, which becomes his own flesh and blood, so too the Torah is a person’s spiritual vitality. It is his nourishment. And so, of course, when a student, as was mentioned earlier, knows a tractate—knows a part of the Torah—he becomes a different person. He becomes more spiritual, and that naturally affects his entire conduct, and so on. There is an interesting point in the Rambam that shows how deeply it must be ingrained in every person that the Torah is his life. In Hilchos Rotzeach, chapter 7, the Rambam brings the law that when a student is exiled to a city of refuge, his teacher is exiled with him. If a student has killed someone inadvertently and must go into exile in a city of refuge, his teacher is taken into exile along with him. Why should his teacher be exiled with him? Why should the teacher have to go into exile because of the student? The Rambam says it is because the verse says, “And he shall live”—we must make it possible for him to live there. The student cannot live without his teacher. He will have no life there, because if he does not have his teacher to teach him Torah, something essential is missing from his life; he has no vitality. So there is no choice: for him to live there, his teacher must be exiled with him. And the Rambam says there that those who possess wisdom and those who seek it—someone who possesses wisdom or seeks wisdom—if he does not have—

39:03 Speaker 4 If he does not have wisdom, if he does not have Torah, he feels as though he is not alive. He is not living. That is what the Rambam says there. Without Torah, he has no life, so his teacher must be exiled with him. The Rebbe explains that the Rambam is not speaking here about some exceptional student who cannot live without Torah. This law applies to every student. What is more, we are speaking here about a student who killed someone inadvertently. There are even places that say: Why must his teacher be exiled with him? Because he should not have taught him, since he was an unworthy student, and one may not teach an unworthy student. So because he did teach this unworthy student, he too must, as it were, bear this punishment. But the Rebbe rejects that explanation: this is not a punishment for the teacher. The Rambam says it is because the student needs to live. So we are apparently speaking even about a student who is not so worthy. How, then, can we say that this student feels he cannot live without Torah? The Rebbe says: Yes, the Rambam speaks not only of those who possess wisdom, but also of those who seek it. That means we are speaking even about a student who does not yet possess wisdom. He has only begun to learn and is not yet at the level of a wise person; he is still seeking. He wants to learn. The Rebbe puts it this way: anyone who is a student—if the teacher is teaching him, that means he is a student who wants to live, who seeks life. And because he seeks life, he seeks Torah. So he too is included in this law: his teacher must be exiled with him so that he can learn,

40:49 Speaker 4 because otherwise he has no life. In other words, the Rebbe says that we see from the Rambam what defines a student. Every student, whoever he may be, knows that Torah is his life; otherwise, he does not fit the definition of a student. That is how the Rebbe puts it there. Why would the teacher teach him if he does not understand that Torah is his life? Then he cannot be a student; he cannot learn. He is not a student. So what defines every student is that he knows Torah is his life. That is why, whatever kind of student he may be, his teacher must be exiled with him; otherwise, something is missing from his life. We see from this how important it is for everyone to instill this in himself. It is the ABCs, as they say: we need to know that without Torah there is no vitality, no spiritual vitality, as we said. And really, as was already mentioned, the purpose of this whole gathering is, first of all, to rejoice—to rejoice in the joy of Torah. As the Gemara says in Shabbos, page 118, Abaye said that whenever he saw a young Torah scholar complete a tractate, he would make a Yom Tov for all the rabbis. When one of the students completed a tractate, he would make a feast, a Yom Tov for all the rabbis. That is what the Gemara says. Rashi explains that Abaye was the head of a yeshiva, so when one of the students finished, he made a Yom Tov for all the students. Rashi also emphasizes what it means that he “completed his tractate”: he had learned through the tractate. That is, he knew the tractate. When someone knows a tractate, a Yom Tov should be made for all the rabbis. So first of all, this is truly a time to rejoice, and everyone shares in that joy. We see there that even those who did not study the tractate share in the joy, because they learn together in the same place, in the same yeshiva.

42:55 Speaker 4 And there is another purpose as well, one could say: to give this matter greater prominence, so that the students understand just how important and precious it is. That encourages everyone to follow his example and complete a tractate themselves. As was already mentioned, thank G-d, those who are learning generally follow the principle that someone who has one hundred wants two hundred. The same is true here: someone who knows one tractate wants another, and then another. And the students who have not yet joined this campaign—most of the students have joined, but some, for one reason or another, think it is not for them—need to know that it is for everyone. They just need to devote themselves to it. The rule is always that if you devote yourself to something, nothing stands in the way of the will. We see it plainly, as we said: those who work hard achieve remarkable things at a young age. So both those who have already taken part in the campaign and those who have not yet joined need to start right away. Tractate Bava Basra is a large tractate, and this is also a leap year. The Rebbe says that a leap year is a special year that makes up for previous years, so this year gives us the strength to do so. Even someone who has not done it before can make it up this year. A leap year gives us special strength to make up what was missed. So everyone should make a firm resolution to join this campaign. And with Hashem’s help, if he devotes himself to it in earnest, he will succeed and achieve tangible results. We should also mention that this year’s campaign is in memory of the dear students who learned here, Yonatan Biton, Moshe Golan, and Levi Hendel, a"h, who have already

45:26 Speaker 4 We’ve gone over this several times. The students were exceptional in this respect too: each of them put remarkable effort into learning Torah. They were an example of what it means to work hard at Torah study. Certainly, each of us needs to strengthen ourselves in this and learn from them. And when each person makes a good resolution and actually carries it out, it will certainly be a great merit for the elevation of their souls. May Hashem help us merit it immediately. The Rebbe says this in connection with what we mentioned earlier: “When a student is exiled, his teacher is exiled with him.” It is written that Hakadosh Boruch Hu “declares His words to Yaakov, His statutes and judgments to Yisroel.” So when the Jewish people are in exile—“I am with him in distress”—Hakadosh Boruch Hu, so to speak, is the teacher who is exiled with them. The Teacher, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, is with every Jew in exile. And as it says, “Hashem your G-d will return”—“will return.” So the Rebbe says that we certainly must not despair because of the exile. If Hakadosh Boruch Hu is with us, we will surely merit the revelation of Moshiach immediately, and may we merit it right now. But he suggested dedicating this to the merit of the three Temimim, as we just heard. The point is that this is something we can do for the three Temimim, something they cannot do now that they are no longer souls in bodies. They lack nothing; the only thing they lack is the ability to fulfill mitzvos as souls in bodies. So doing something in their merit is the greatest thing we can do. As we’ve heard, they strove for perfection in everything. They accomplished a great deal in their short lives. They embodied what is written of Avraham, “old, advanced in days”: their days were complete. Even the way they were taken from us was at the height of completeness. The Gemara says in Shabbos: “Rav Yosei said: May my lot be among those who die on the way to perform a mitzvah.” And the Maharal explains

48:16 Speaker 4 what that means: A person travels through this world toward a spiritual world, leaving the physical behind and connecting with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. When a person performs a mitzvah, he connects with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Their journey, too, was on the way to a mitzvah, toward a connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. As Chassidus explains, mitzvah is related to tzavsa, meaning connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That was true here too. And especially in our generation, they were the Rebbe’s shluchim, going on a mission for the Chanukah campaign—the campaign that was especially dear to the Rebbe. The campaign was with IDF soldiers, and the Rebbe funded it out of his own pocket. So while they were on their way to carry out their mission, “a person’s emissary is like himself”—as the Rebbe emphasizes, in every sense of the word, literally like himself. That was their state at that moment, so this, too, was at the height of completeness. We therefore need to do everything we can from now on and strive for completeness. A story was recently publicized about a wealthy businessman whose only son passed away at a young age. He lost all interest in life. He withdrew and stopped keeping up with his business. He fell into depression and came to the Rebbe for yechidus. The Rebbe asked him, “If your son had asked you to let him travel somewhere good for a while, would you have agreed?” He said yes. “While he was there, would you have sent him money and packages of things he needed?” He said yes. So the Rebbe told him, “Your son is now in a good place. Everything you do—every mitzvah you perform, every act of tzedakah—is a package you send him.” What people learned here as part of the campaign—those are packages they sent these Temimim. And besides, there is a promise, as written in the Arizal’s teachings, that one who performs acts of kindness has his mind and heart refined a thousandfold. Everyone who takes part in this will receive more in return

50:49 Speaker 4 than he puts into it. In addition, these Temimim are in the Rebbe’s chamber, so they will look after those who sent them the packages. Today is 20 Cheshvan, the birthday of the Rebbe Rashab. It is connected with the soldiers—the soldiers of the House of David—for the Rebbe Rashab founded Tomchei Temimim. Twenty-five years ago, in 5743, it was 123 years since the Rebbe Rashab’s birth on 20 Cheshvan. The Rebbe spoke then about the significance of the number 123. He cited the Rambam in the Laws of Chanukah, where the Rambam discusses Hallel and how it used to be recited. At first, when the people did not know how to say all of it, they would answer “Hallelujah” after each passage recited by the chazzan. They said “Hallelujah” 123 times. The Rambam notes that this alludes to the years of Aharon the Kohen’s life. Aharon the Kohen’s service was complete throughout the years he lived. The Rebbe points out that although we say Hallel on all the festivals, the Rambam brings this up only in the Laws of Chanukah. It is therefore especially connected with Chanukah, which is related to chinuch, education, and to chanukah, dedication: the dedication of the altar and of the Beis Hamikdash. In education, when we teach someone to learn, we also give gifts and prizes. And when dedicating a home or the altar, we add more offerings and do it with great excitement and fanfare. From this we must learn that our service needs to be complete, as Aharon the Kohen’s was throughout his life, and we need to carry that forward [unclear], like the dedication of the altar or the Beis Hamikdash. This is what we need to learn from the Torah campaign: the service of Aharon the Kohen, who “loved peace and pursued peace.” That, too, is something we saw in each of these three Temimim. This matter of [unclear] is connected

53:24 Speaker 4 especially with Tomchei Temimim, particularly [unclear], when students arrive from home. It is their first year, especially their first year away from home, and they need someone to help them. The mashpia Rabbi Friedman would always urge the students to devote some of their time to helping younger students or those who were struggling more than they were. He would always quote the promise that one who performs acts of kindness has his mind and heart refined a thousandfold. So that is the lesson we need to take to heart and bring into our personal lives: to serve with completeness by each devoting some of his time to helping others settle in, adjust, or manage their studies. That will help, and it will be to the merit of these Temimim. I want to end with a story connected to this time. I found a letter Reb Shmuel Levitin wrote to my father. My father had come to study in Otwock, and during the war he arrived from Shanghai with a group of students in Montreal, where they opened the yeshiva. The Rebbe sent Reb Shmuel Levitin to be with them and guide them, so they were in contact with him. A few months after they arrived, Reb Shmuel wrote him this letter. Apparently, Reb Shmuel used to eat his Shabbos meals at the Frierdiker Rebbe’s table. He writes that during those meals, the Frierdiker Rebbe took an interest in the students and asked various questions about them, which Reb Shmuel answered. He also relates a story the Frierdiker Rebbe told. The Frierdiker Rebbe said he had heard from his father, the Rebbe Rashab, that Reb Tzvi, the Baal Shem Tov’s son, had spent some time in Grodno, studying in the beis midrash of the perushim. He added that he had not heard from his father exactly when this happened or what Reb Tzvi’s purpose was, but that was what had happened. There, the rule was that speaking during study was forbidden. A special attendant would sit and watch, and if he saw someone talking, he would deal with him. Reb Tzvi would occasionally go

55:58 Speaker 4 outside. This was during the time of the [unclear], and he would speak with the poor people passing by and draw them close. Once he went out and spoke with one of the poor people, and the attendant approached him. Reb Tzvi said, “When Moshiach comes [unclear], people won’t even realize that this is good.” How do you say [unclear]? What he said was that when Moshiach comes, people won’t even know. The Rebbe laughed as he said this. Reb Shmuel added that this was apparently connected with the time, as Shabbos was about to begin. The Frierdiker Rebbe spoke a great deal then about awakening teshuvah and hastening the Geulah. We need to know that while we learn Torah, we must never forget to keep in mind that at any moment—as the Rebbe said many times—the door could open, the Rebbe could come in and say, “Jews, leave the exile.” We need to learn Torah, live with Moshiach, and remember that at any moment the Rebbe will reveal himself and bring these Temimim back with him. And may we merit, even in the month of Cheshvan, the promised dedication of the Third Beis Hamikdash, right now.

00:00 Speaker 1 [unclear]. This time, as mentioned, we learned Tractate Gittin. The subject of a get is directly connected to the role and mission of a Tamim. At first glance, what does a Tamim have to do with a get? We all know the sicha of the Rebbe, the leader of our generation, that the Temimim are soldiers of the House of David. And regarding the soldiers of the House of David, our Sages say, “Anyone who goes out to a war of the House of David writes his wife a bill of divorce.” Someone who wants to go out to the war of the House of David—a war that, as the Rebbe says, is “not by might nor by power, but by My spirit”—must give a get of complete separation to all matters of this world. In the maamar Basi Legani, the Rebbe points out that just as a get is given to a wife who is permitted to him by Torah law, the get a Tamim must give to worldly matters is not only for forbidden things, but also for things permitted by the Torah. What does it mean to give a get to permitted things? The Rebbe once mentioned the teaching in Pirkei Avos: “This is the way of Torah: eat bread with salt and live a life of hardship.” The Rebbe says this does not mean that a Jew should ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu for a life of hardship, G-d forbid. On the contrary, a Jew should ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu to give him everything he needs for his health and livelihood, so that he can sit and learn with a healthy body and peace of mind. “Live a life of hardship” means, the Rebbe says, that a Jew who wants to succeed in Torah study must set aside the pleasure he takes in worldly matters. Do everything—eat, sleep, drink, and so on—but without making it a source of pleasure. His pleasure, his only pleasure, must be in Torah study alone. Only that way can he succeed in Torah study. The Rebbe once explained our Sages’ statement: “I created the yetzer hara, and I created the Torah as its spice.” The Rebbe asks: At first glance, the analogy does not seem to fit. The whole purpose of a spice is to give food flavor, to improve it. The Torah, seemingly, is supposed to nullify the yetzer hara. So why did our Sages compare the Torah to a spice?

03:24 Speaker 1 Is the Torah supposed to improve the yetzer hara? The Rebbe says that is exactly what our Sages want to teach us. A Jew is called upon not only to break and nullify the yetzer hara, but to transform it. The Torah has the power to change the yetzer hara: that very yetzer hara which craves and delights in things—even permitted worldly things—will crave and delight, with that same pleasure, in learning another page of Gemara, another maamar of Chassidus, and doing another mitzvah and another mitzvah. That is why our Sages compared the Torah to a spice: it truly changes the yetzer hara from something bitter into something sweet. And that is the meaning of “live a life of hardship.” To succeed in Torah study, a Jew must devote himself completely, to the point that even his capacity for pleasure, a very deep and inner power of the soul, is devoted to Torah study. Dear parents, every student who took part in the campaign, without exception, devoted himself and made sacrifices. They gave up many worldly pleasures. During breaks, instead of going up to the dormitory to rest, they sat in the zal and learned. In the early morning, an hour or two before Chassidus, the zal was full of boys sitting and learning. I will never forget when we wanted to arrange a yeshiva Shabbos up north for the first-year students toward the end of the year. A large group of students came to us and asked us to cancel the trip because it would interfere with their learning. It is true that on Shabbos they could learn nigleh, but the trip would take up their Friday and Motzaei Shabbos, and they did not want to lose that time. The truth is that the prizes and certificates should have been awarded according to each student’s degree of sacrifice and devotion to learning. But because we do not have the right tools to measure who invested more and who invested less, we have to award the certificates, grades, and prizes according to the test scores. Although, generally speaking, those scores do reflect

06:37 Speaker 1 the effort and devotion, it is important to emphasize that they do not necessarily reflect them. Some students worked hard and devoted themselves, and knew the material very well, but for one reason or another received a slightly lower score. That does not diminish in the slightest the extraordinary achievement of learning an entire tractate by heart. So as far as we are concerned, every student who took part in the campaign is a Chassan Torah in the fullest sense of the word, without exception. As in recent years, the campaign had two tracks: Track A, for students tested on both iyun and girsa; and Track B, for students tested on either iyun alone or girsa alone. As usual, we will begin with the lower level and work upward, in alphabetical order. I ask Rabbi Butman to come and hand out the certificates. The Tamim Dovber Hirschman. The Tamim Yehudi Eisenberg. We ask the parents who are here with us to come and present the certificates to their sons. The Tamim Schneur Zalman Elias. The Tamim Mendy Gutman. The Tamim Yaakov Shmuel Ben Aharon. The Tamim Menachem Mendel Haddad. We ask Menashe to come. The Tamim Shmuel Kaplan. We ask his father, his grandfather, Rabbi Kaplan, to come and present the certificate.

10:30 Speaker 2 The Tamim Yitzchak Rivkin. The Tamim Schneur Weintraub. We ask his grandfather, Rabbi Shnitvit[?], who is here with us, to come and present it. Now we will hand out the certificates for the Torah study campaign. The Tamim Osher Abayev.

11:31 Speaker 9 Osher, Osher, Osher.

11:44 Speaker 2 The Tamim Menachem Mendel Eisenberg. Please. The Tamim Yonatan Efrati. I also ask his teacher to come forward—ah, Rabbi Kadan[?]. One second, one second. The Tamim Rafael Birma[?]. Come. The Tamim Yosef Yitzchak Amdir[?]. Kadet[?]. The Tamim Yisroel Teres[?]. The Tamim Menachem Hachmo[?]. The Tamim Nadav Hachmon. Please, his father. The Tamim Eliyahu Moshe Shmil[?]. Rotem Menalyon[?]. The Tamim Menachem Moshe Shmil[?]. The Tamim Aryeh Zev Mantsisov[?]. Erez Moshe[?]. Rotem Menalyon[?]. The Tamim Avraham Matur[?]. The Tamim [unclear][?]. The Tamim Shimon Freidel. The Tamim Chaim Peretz. The Tamim Yaakov Chekmashvili. The Tamim [unclear] Kadosh[?]. Now we move on to the outstanding category. The Tamim Sholom Eisenberger. I want to take this opportunity to thank Sholom for the campaign he successfully ran for the first-year students. [unclear][?]. The student Moshe Golan, of course, ran it with exceptional dedication. The Tamim Yossi Vishnevsky. The Tamim Menachem [unclear] Yosef[?]. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. The Tamim David [unclear][?]. Thank you very much. The Tamim Yehuda Stanislavsky. Well, apparently he stepped out; he will be back shortly. The Tamim Menachem Mendel Proiken[?]. Now we move on to the especially outstanding category. The Tamim [unclear] Chayon[?]. The Tamim Yisroel Yishai. Please, quickly, from the stage. The Tamim Shabtai Aton Yishai[?]. The Tamim Levi Yitzchak Arskovitz[?]. The Tamim Leiby Mendelson. The Tamim Pinchas Ben Alterio[?]. Aharon Mendelson. Although he already graduated last year, he learned girsa in the yeshiva, took part in the campaign, and did very well. The Tamim Levi Marinovsky. The Tamim Shmulik Mard[?]. The Tamim Shmulik Carmi. The Tamim Binyamin Kinberg[?]. The Tamim Shmulik Arazi. The Tamim Netanel Zuitman. There are two Chassanei Torah here whose fathers are in a bit of a hurry, so we will present them with their certificates now. The Tamim Yisroel Segal. Rabbi Mardaliyot[?], Rabbi Mardaliyot[?]. The Tamim Nachmani Rivkind. At an emergency gathering we held here in the yeshiva at the end of the shiva for the three students, we made a good resolution, a collective resolution, to make a real effort to improve our davening and not to speak, G-d forbid, from the beginning

28:47 Speaker 2 of davening until the end. And one can say that, boruch Hashem, all the students made a great effort to keep it. But we selected eighteen students who were especially outstanding in their davening. It is important to emphasize that many students—in fact, almost all of them—daven as they should. But we also took into account arriving on time, beginning to daven with the chazzan, and so on. I apologize in advance if we have overlooked a student here or there who deserved recognition but was not included on this list. I ask Rabbi Bitton to come and present the prizes to the students.

29:52 Speaker 10 Eli. Eli.

30:00 Speaker 2 Many of them—many of them—will have to come up once more. The Tamim Schneur Zalman Katz. The Tamim Schneur Zalman Aspil[?]. The Tamim Yisroel Larai[?]. The Tamim Nachum Nov. The Tamim Chaim Tzvi Feldstein. The Tamim Yaakov Chikro Shmili[?]. The Tamim Dudi Kaplan. The Tamim Yechezkel... Now

32:31 Speaker 11 we can do more.

32:38 Speaker 2 The Tamim Menachem Mendel Rikati[?].

32:44 Speaker 11 In the middle.

32:47 Speaker 2 The Tamim Shmuel Eigerman. The Tamim Menachem Mendel Koresh[?]. We will also take this opportunity to present him with the certificate for [unclear][?]. We ask Rabbi Segal to come and present him with the certificate. A Chassan Torah, it is important to make that clear, of course. The Tamim Shabtai Baton Yishimi[?]. The Tamim Yehoshua Ben Yosef. The Tamim Nechemia Dreizman. The Tamim Moshe Yitzchak Eich[?]. The Tamim Yoel Teitelbaum. The Tamim Meir Ifla[?].

35:32 Speaker 12 Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir, Meir.

35:32 Speaker 2 I’d like you to welcome him with applause. We have another student here, a Chassan Torah, who also has to hurry: the Tomim Yisroel Ilan Voloshin[?]. Now we’ll have—the Tomim Yehuda Stanislavsky. Another student and Chassan Torah, the Tomim Yehoshua Leib ben Yosef. We’ll now take a short break. We have with us the distinguished Rabbi... Rabbi Yakovitz[?] is with us. We’ll ask Rabbi Yakovitz[?] to offer words of blessing in honor of the students.

38:21 Speaker 13 [unclear]. Today is the seventh of Menachem Av, the yahrzeit of the Rebbe Rashab. There is a way of learning that the Rebbe Rashab wanted and fostered. We can see some very interesting things. There are several approaches to learning. In many yeshivos, the main emphasis is on learning in depth. As people say, the main thing is reasoning. That is one approach. There is another approach: reviewing what one has learned until it is in one’s head, with more emphasis on repetition than on reasoning. The two are not contradictory; they need not be. But from what we have seen, what did the Rebbeim emphasize most when teaching their children? And if we also look at the Alter Rebbe’s Hilchos Talmud Torah, which says that everything one learns must be remembered and recited, we see how the Rebbeim learned with their children so they could repeat the Mishnayos by heart. The point is to review the Mishnah, to repeat it, to remember it. It is not enough for a bochur to have a good head and be able to engage in intricate discussion. He must also have his learning with him; he must have a masechta in his head, as you have done. When you have a masechta in your head, you have something to take with you as you walk down the street. If you don’t, then you have nothing to take with you, nothing to accompany you down the street. There is a famous story they tell about the difference between... They speak of [unclear] when he ascended Above, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu asked him [unclear]: “Say something.” That is how they tell the story about [unclear]. It may be told in different ways, but it shows us the difference between approaches to learning. So what did he answer? “My strength is mainly in in-depth analysis. You say something, and I can develop a pilpul about it.” That is what he says: “Ask a question, say something, and I’ll argue the opposite.” That is learning in which the whole emphasis is on analysis. Analysis. You can say it this way,

41:29 Speaker 13 you can say it another way, you can say it this way. But there is also the matter of repetition: you have to review it until you know it. If you want to fulfill “And you shall teach them diligently to your children,” you must learn it by heart. Learn it so it is stored in your head. That is the way. That was always the way among chassidim. There are many stories about a chossid [unclear]. They opened a sefer to a passage, and the chossid recited the entire Gemara and all the Tosafos on the subject of that passage. How did that happen? Was it a miracle? How could it happen? Because that is how generations learned. For generations, they learned to review it and review it and review it, until everything was stored in their heads. You have to remember it by heart. This is one of the things they taught, the way people learned throughout the years. That is how they learned in Tomchei Temimim. That is how they learned. The Rebbe Rashab taught the Frierdiker Rebbe by heart—everything, so that he would know it by heart. I do not need to tell you about the method of learning. Boruch Hashem, you have experienced, brilliant roshei yeshivah who truly know how to teach. But one very important thing—something you have done—is to walk down the street with your learning in hand. A bochur does not simply walk down the street; he has something to take with him. There are stories in the Gemara, too: people walked down the street and discussed words of Torah. That is how it is. It is natural. That is true even of learning Torah generally. With the study of Chassidus, it is certainly true. We must know that the Rebbe’s name is on this institution. The Rebbe’s name is on you. When you walk down the street, you are the Rebbe’s children. We have a distinguished lineage, don’t we? We are the Rebbe’s children. So every single bochur must know that the way he walks is different. The way he thinks is different. And we must know that when Moshiach comes, the Rebbe will say, “Well, look at the people we raised.” The Rebbe will take pride in us, and we must remember that.

44:07 Speaker 13 We must remember that and try to give the Rebbe reason to take pride in us. We see this many times, we see it many times. May you succeed in learning Torah and in its ways, in learning Chassidus and in the ways of Chassidus, and may the Rebbe have much nachas from all of us.

44:29 Speaker 14 Thank you very much, and a great yasher koach to Rabbi Yofovitz[?]. We have with us the mara d’asra of Kfar Chabad, the distinguished Rabbi Ashkenazi, who is also the father of one of the Chassanei Torah. We’ll ask Rabbi Ashkenazi to speak. Please.

44:51 Speaker 15 Good evening. After what the mara d’asra said about the approach to learning, I have nothing to add. But for me, this is a special day and a special celebration. I take part here every year, but today I am completing a cycle that began twenty-six years ago, when my eldest son entered the yeshivah. And today, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s help, I am finishing with the ninth son—“everything follows the conclusion.” Boruch Hashem, we have been able, as a couple, to go through these twenty-six years with each child, each son, each one unique and special. And boruch Hashem, I can thank Hashem and thank the yeshivah staff, the mashgiach, the rosh yeshivah and the teachers for bringing us to this point. Boruch Hashem, they are Temimim, G-d-fearing, learned chassidim. The Rebbe once said—I remember it from a sicha [unclear]—I am now speaking about [unclear] in this yeshivah. On the Shabbos after that, the Rebbe spoke about families and children. In the course of his remarks, the Rebbe said that the children give him nachas, and then [unclear] where they come from. After all, nobody is perfect. But when, boruch Hashem, there are quite a few children, each one brings something of his own [unclear]. And boruch Hashem, here in the yeshivah they received all the chassidic education they could have received. Altogether, [unclear], Nigleh, and, with Hashem’s help, [unclear] chassidim as well. May Hashem help the yeshivah continue to succeed and grow more and more. May it raise soldiers, [unclear], the kind of soldiers the Temimim were meant to be, and the kind they should be today as well. I cannot forget this. It was around the sixteenth of Nissan—[unclear] the fifteenth of Tishrei, 5777. We were here in the yeshivah, learning. It was...

47:13 Speaker 15 [unclear], after the excitement around the table. They came to the station—this was in the old building. In the middle of the night, word arrived that a chossid had come from Russia. There was an arrival. Individuals were arriving then, and a chossid, Reb Boruch Dukelman[?], had arrived. He had come on a direct flight from Russia, and they said we had to go. He had family here; he had a brother in Tel Aviv. In any event, the bochurim were to go out to greet him. It was in the middle of all the excitement. They went out in the green van. I don’t know whether anyone remembers that enclosed green van. They packed some ten or fifteen bochurim into it, started the engine and drove to the airport. I cannot forget those things. They stay etched in your memory. The Rabbi was [unclear] with a long cap. He saw them and asked, “Who are they?” They told him, “They are Temimim.” The Rabbi burst into tears and said, “Temimim!” Those Temimim had sat [unclear] far away. And he said, “The same Temimim who were with us in Lubavitch.” That is one thing that stayed with him. They had also done away with the long frock coats that had always been worn in Lubavitch [unclear]. But what struck him was seeing the Temimim arrive together in a vehicle. In any event, the point is that the Temimim were the stock that the Rebbe Rashab planted, and it continues through to the Rebbe, with ever greater mesiras nefesh and dedication. Around the year 5709 or 5708, I went to Montreal. There was a well-known mashpia there named Peretz Mushkin. He would be a guest every Shabbos, and sometimes he would stay with us. When he visited, he would say that in Lubavitch there had been the famous chassidim among the Temimim, each known by name—Chiller[?] or Dovber, all those names we know. Today we may not have figures like those, but on the other hand, the hiskashrus and dedication of today’s Temimim to the Rebbe are beyond description. The advantage and the... that today’s Temimim have of

49:31 Speaker 15 Today, it’s about dedication and mesirus nefesh for the Rebbe’s causes, for what the Rebbe wants. If a bachur [unclear] to learn Chassidus, he knows this is the Rebbe’s dream, this is what the Rebbe wants, this gives the Rebbe nachas: that bachurim should simply go and learn. And perhaps it doesn’t have to involve some kind of counterintuitive approach. There can also be a straightforward path. And... whether it’s in iyun or in girsa, may Hashem help you grow and become soldiers, as the Rebbe Rashab intended when he founded the yeshiva and as the Rebbe guides the yeshiva today. May you succeed and give the Rebbe nachas. [unclear], a heartfelt mazel tov.

50:25 Speaker 3 Before we begin distributing the certificates, I’d like to invite the student Eliyahu Hendel, who learned a tractate in memory of—may he be distinguished from those who are living—his brother Reimi[?]. We’ll ask Eliyahu to come up and make the siyum on the tractate, and then say Kaddish.

50:51 Speaker 4 [unclear]. May it be Your will, Hashem our G-d, that Your Torah be our occupation in this world and be with us in the World to Come. [unclear]. May it be Your will, Hashem our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that the Torah never depart from my mouth, or from the mouths of my children or my children’s children, forever. [unclear]. Amen, amen, amen. We thank You, Hashem our G-d and G-d of our fathers, for placing our lot among those who sit in the study hall and not among those who sit on street corners. We rise early and they rise early; we rise early for words of Torah, and they rise early for idle matters. We toil and they toil. We toil and receive reward, while they toil and receive no reward. We run and they run. We run toward life in the World to Come, while they run toward the pit of destruction. And You, O G-d, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days, but I will trust in You. May it be Your will, Hashem our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that just as You have enabled me to complete the Book of Devarim, so may You help me begin and complete other tractates and books—to learn and to teach, to observe and to do. May the merit of all the Tannaim, Amoraim and Torah scholars stand by me, my children and my children’s children. [unclear]. When you lie down, it will watch over you; when you awaken, it will speak with you. For through them your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you. Bring us back in complete teshuvah before You. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who hears prayer.

53:04 Speaker 5 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. We’ll begin with [unclear] the Chassanei Torah. The Tomim Menachem Mendel Brichter. The Tomim Levi Tzach Dinari[?]. The Tomim Moishe Ben[?]. The Tomim Yosef Yitzchak Piano. The Tomim Menachem Mendel Michaeli. The student, [unclear] Susover[?]. The Tomim Dovid Kaplan. The Tomim Shmuel Amitovitch. We’ll now distribute the certificates to the Chassanei Torah. I want to emphasize that I don’t remember a year when we had so many honorees. Thirty-seven Chassanei Torah. And that certainly shows that this year’s increase was not only in quantity but also in quality. The Tomim Shmuel Eigman, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Shlomi Eisman, Chassan Torah. Wait, wait. The Tomim Tzvi Ir Zaltzeromi[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Yehudi Ashkenazi[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Menachem Mendy Brino[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Aharon Baruch, Chassan Torah. The Tomim [unclear] Abrechte[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Levi Goldberg, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Yisroel Goldin, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Mordechai Kuzman, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Shimon Mendel Kuzman, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Nachmi Kaiman[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Shmuel Deitch, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Eliezer Romi, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Moshe Yitzchak Archt[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Chaim Tzvi Hershkowitz, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Moshiach Weitzman, Chassan Torah. [unclear] Lichtat[?], the Tomim Shmuel Cohen. The Tomim Meri Yifrach[?], Chassan Torah.

1:04:42 Speaker 6 Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

1:04:45 Speaker 5 The Tomim Menachem Mendel Cohen, Chassan Torah. The Tomim [unclear] Zalman Benach Cohen Katz[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Yisroel Lishner, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Levi Nester, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Yoav Ben Lester[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Yisroel Heller, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Nachum Nov, Chassan Torah. The Tomim Yosef Yitzchak Ovadia, Chassan Torah.

1:08:00 Speaker 7 Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!

1:08:14 Speaker 5 The Tomim

1:08:15 Speaker 7 [unclear] Nati Lovatia[?], Chassan Torah. The Tomim Tzvi Feldstil, Chassan Torah.

1:08:44 Speaker 8 Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi.

1:09:07 Speaker 7 The Tomim Moishe Friedman, Chassan Torah.

1:09:13 Speaker 8 Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi.

1:09:28 Speaker 7 The Tomim Menachem Morgash[?], Chassan Torah.

1:09:35 Speaker 8 Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi, Yossi.

1:09:42 Speaker 7 The Tomim Yoel Rosen, Chassan Torah.

1:09:52 Speaker 8 Yoel, Yoel, Yoel, Yoel, Yoel, Yoel, Yoel, Yoel, Yoel, Yoel.

1:10:10 Speaker 7 And last but not least, the Tomim Yechezkel, Chassan Torah. Thank you very much, and good evening, everyone. I ask everyone to gather right away for a group photo with the staff and everyone who received a certificate. Thank you very much, and good evening. Staff members, people who administered the tests.