Was the goal to sit and learn or to know and remember? Did
the Rebbe want us to skim through the Shas at least
once -- or to know the Shas?
First let me share my great store of memories from the first
Shas cycle that we pioneers experienced under the
tutelage of the Klausenburger Rebbe, which is the only way to
get a real understanding of his intention.
One does not truly understand his rov until he has reached
the age of forty and I was still below that age. I was
astounded that such an elevated Torah giant could descend to
our level to guide us and to act as an angel telling us to
grow and, while we were yet young, to go to each of us and
take the trouble to give us individual guidance to help us
rise up and begin to take tests covering 100 dapim,
300 dapim, 600 dapim, 1,000 dapim. These
were figures, inconceivable during the generation of
Holocaust survivors, when there was great joy over every
talmid in a yeshiva kedoshoh who had not been
caught up in the flow of the national-religious or high-
school yeshivos.
The Rebbe spilled many tears reciting Ahavo Rabo and
Hashiveinu Ovinu lesorosecho, both of which he said
very slowly and carefully during every tefilloh.
Undoubtedly these things helped those who joyously celebrated
the completion of the second Shas cycle.
Yated Ne'eman: How did the concept of the Shas
kollel begin?
All of a sudden the Rebbe said he would not be satisfied with
1,000 pages of gemora with Rashi and Tosafos, that he
wanted the entire Shas and Chumash with Rashi.
In Jerusalem's Kiryat Tzanz he announced the opening of a
kollel whose members would learn 70 dapim per
month.
Jerusalem had been hit by a storm; the reaction was simply
incredible. We pioneers who answered the call did not believe
we had it in us. And then he called from America and told us
by phone that indeed the din in Shulchan Oruch
HaRav regarding knowing the entire Torah is difficult,
but when a Jew pours out his pleas and prayers before
HaKodosh Boruch Hu to show compassion and pity him, he
acknowledges his state of poverty and destitution. He
realizes that he does not have the innate ability to carry
out the task, but his soul yearns for Torah and to know the
whole Shas. Then he will devote all of his strength
night and day to Torah and will indeed succeed.
With this in mind we set out during the first zman
with eight avreichim and were joined by many more at
the beginning of the second zman.
The learning was solid and fundamental like today, three
months of new material and a month of review, but the
difference between now and then is that today, during the
month of review, the tests cover only the material studied
over the preceding three months, while back in our time we
had to review from the very beginning. When we had the merit
of completing 1,000 dapim after a year-and-a-half of
learning, a two- month review period was proclaimed--five
hundred dapim and a test at the end of each month.
Once I called the US to ask that someone be remembered for a
yeshu'oh and the Rebbe, as usual, asked, "Have you
been learning? What are you learning this month?" I told him,
but the Rebbe was not pleased. "Why are you tested on each
500 pages separately? Tell my son, HaRav shlita, that
I said there has to be a test on all 1,000 together." All of
the avreichim were angry with me, but I had no choice.
We were given a bit more time and we had to take a test on
all 1,000 dapim.
After a few zmanim we had completed 1,700
dapim. Again we had to take a test on all of them.
That was avodas perach. Within a short time we had to
review about half of the Shas with Rashi and Tosafos
to prepare for the test. We truly learned night and day. We
would not go to sleep, or wake up in the wee hours of the
night. We were constantly learning. We often had to forego
our relatives' chasunos. We had already grown
accustomed to studying in buses and cars, but during that
period we had to do so more intently.
Sometimes I would only review my notes or entire dapim
with Rashi and later Tosafos. For some of us, including
myself, it was beyond our ability, so I took the initiative
to write a long letter to the Rebbe in which I described the
great efforts we were making. It began something like
this:
"I am stealing time between dapim and between lines of
the gemora to write this letter, but I must tell the
Rebbe that we are making use of every moment of the day and
night and have not been attending smochos held by
family and friends, yet nevertheless we are unable to review
such large quantities of material. Every daf takes me
at least an hour and a half to review . . . " I also wrote
out my learning schedule.
I added that in the recent past, reviewing such large amounts
of material in such a short time was unheard of and that we
needed to have the load lightened. Boruch Hashem there
are other Kollelei HaShas today where there is a
lighter load.
YN: I get the impression the letter was charged with a
lot of emotion and with the expectation that the Rebbe would
ease up. What was his reply?
I received a very harsh letter in return. I had the merit of
bearing the brocho stated in maseches Brochos: Kol
talmid sherabo ko'eis olov veshosek . . . In his reply
Rabbenu revealed what his goal had been in setting up
Kollel HaShas (which can also be applied to Mifal
HaShas). I will quote just a few excerpts relating to your
question:
"I have received the long letter you wrote `between lines and
dapim of the gemora' as you put it, which was a
big chiddush for me, although your intention was for
the sake of Heaven. I do not know of any heteir for
this, for Chazal say, "Hamehaleich baderech veshoneh
umafsik mimishnoso . . . ke'ilu mischayeiv benafsho"
(Ovos 3:7) and as you said, time is short and there is
much work to be done." At this point he writes some harsh
words and comments on my learning schedule, although to me it
had been great mesirus nefesh not to attend family
smochos or even my friends' smochos.
"The truth is neither you or your fellow [kollel
members] understood correctly. Despite all of the work I
invested in you, giving over my strength and my soul to show
you the proper path and right conduct, for in the mishnah
Chazal explicitly state the 48 elements through which the
Torah is acquired. Just as a woman is sanctified with [no
less than] one prutoh and Jewish maidservant with two
prutos, the Torah cannot be acquired with 47 [of
these] elements, but only with all 48 . . . And upon seeing
the darkness that descended upon our generation due to the
extended golus and that chavlei Moshiach have
reached neck-high, I thought I might be able to make some
talmidim into talmidei chachomim. What is a
talmid chochom? He who is asked about a halocho in any
given place and says it (Shabbos 114a). The way to
achieve this is to at least be boki in Shas and
Rishonim and the four sections of the Shulchan Oruch."
Geonim who know the Torah backwards and forwards.
Then the Rebbe commented on my claim that in the recent past
it was unheard of to do so much review on such a tremendous
quantity of material and Torah knowledge: "I, too, am aware
of the limitations of my mind and intelligence, but I had the
merit of being a shamash and educating myself and
witnessing gedolei hador who truly knew the entire
Torah, and this I saw with my own eyes . . . And not in the
time of Odom Horishon, Chanoch and Mesuchelach, Sheim and
Eiver and Avrohom and his seed, and not in the time of the
Nevi'im, such as Chizkiyohu and his peers. Not in the time of
the Tanaim and the Amoraim. And not in the time of the Geonim
Rishonim and the Poskim Rishonim, and the Arizal and
his talmidim, and the Baal Shem Tov and his
talmidim. Today I have yet to arrive even to
Gevuros and only for a few decades have I had the
merit `to be covered in the dust of the legs' of talmidei
chachomim and I have seen their way of learning and the
way they lead their lives.
"In my innocence I thought there might remain `kernels to
revive the dry bones' and to serve as candles to light up the
darkness. That there might be some talmidim who wanted
to acquire the Torah through `the 48 elements through which
the Torah is acquired,' who, given the opportunity, would
rise up and realize the verse, ' . . . Ki lo sishochach
mipi zaro ki yodati es yitzro asher hu oseh hayom beterem
avi'enu el Ho'oretz asher nishbati' (Devorim 31:21) and
Rashbi's statement, 'Chas vesholom shetishtakeach Torah
miYisroel' (see Shabbos 138a) by increasing the
study of gemora with Rashi and Tosafos. According to
Rashi on Eruvin 65a (s.v. yazif uforo), 'If one
fixes a set amount to study every day . . . but is occupied
with matters of subsistence during the day he should make up
his set time at night.' This indicates that they were
accustomed to studying large quantities. Furthermore Chazal
said, `One should always study Torah [superficially] and
later in depth' (Avodoh Zora 19a).
"One should continue his studies and constantly review so he
does not have time to forget, as it says in Chagigo
(9b), `One who reviews his learning 100 times is entirely
different from one who reviews 101 times.'"
At this point the Rebbe commented on my claim that it takes
me at least an hour and a half to review a page of
gemora with Rashi and Tosafos. "Every time one reviews
he knows and understands more, and the next time he studies
it he will be able to learn it faster, not as you wrote that
you need about an hour and a half per daf. This is
nonsense, for not every time [you review] is the same. If at
first one needs an hour and a half then the next time an hour
will be enough and then half an hour and then ten minutes and
five minutes.
"I knew in advance that this was not a suitable approach for
the masses, since they would soon grow weary from the load.
As Chazal said, `Elef nichnasim letalmud . . . ' (Vayikra
Rabba, Parsha 2), but nevertheless I will not despair and
I will remain at my post to do everything in my power to
teach the proper path and course of conduct . . . We will
continue according to the original plan and those who are
able to meet [these demands] will travel a tried and true
path and Hashem will favor them and grant them success, and
those who are unable will drop out and stop."
This letter has already become famous. It contains other
details from which a lot can be learned. I just wanted to
present you with the background against which the letter was
written.
YN: How long did you continue with this learning
program?
When we continued the program, the Admor ztvk'l was
not convinced we were succeeding as he had intended. Someone
suggested we be tested by gedolei hador, who would
then give their opinion. Following a request by the
Klausenberger Rebbe ztvk'l we had the merit of being
tested by Maran HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv shlita who
ylct'a, was on friendly terms with the Rebbe and he
went through the whole Shas with us, with questions
and contradictions between different masechtos, and
gave us a brochoh and sent word in writing to the
Admor ztvk'l of the positive impression he had
received.
YN: Do you have anything you would like to say to
those joining the third cycle?
I got carried away with my memories, but in my opinion this
is timely since Mifal HaShas is celebrating the completion of
the Shas. We must recall the original plan and not
view it with a small-minded hashkofo. The original
plan was not for avreichim to be tested on either 30
or 90 dapim per month. The original plan was to build
talmidei chachomim who can be asked regarding any
halocho, to serve as candles to light up the darkness and to
find talmidim who want to acquire the Torah through
the 48 elements, and given the opportunity would rise up and
realize the verse, ' . . . Ki lo sishochach mipi
zaro' (Devorim 31:21) And as the Rebbe zt'l writes
in Letter 179, "Toward this end Kollelei HaShas and Mifal
HaShas were founded-- to return the Torah to its pedestal
through toil and comprehensive knowledge, for divrei
Torah are meager in one place and ample in another."
In conclusion the Rebbe, zechuso yogen aleinu, writes
in reply to the inquirer, "One should learn a lot and
constantly review numerous times and Hashem will favor his
efforts and he will succeed and rise up and attain
comprehensive knowledge of the entire Torah."
In his Shabbos Shuva drosho at the beginning of 5740
he expounded on Shefa Chaim (p. 125), saying the only
way to uncover chiddushim and to begin to probe the
depths of Chazal's intentions is by toiling and "killing"
oneself in the tents of Torah night and day. And every day
one must learn several dapim of gemora with
Rashi and Tosafos and to thoroughly review them orally until
he has the merit to complete the entire Shas with the
commentaries and to know every single daf inside out
and in depth. Then he will be able to uncover its secrets and
to make chiddushim properly.
I would like to add one important sentence: As is well known
Rabbenu HaRashal says a siyum is considered a "yomo
tovo lerabonon" not because of those who have finished
but because of those who join. And therefore, to my friends
who have completed the Shas, I say I join them on
their day of celebrating. I saw all their hard work and I
take part in their happiness. He who has not experienced the
joy of completing the Shas does not know the true
value of this day! And I say to those taking part in the
occasion, may we merit seeing these things reflected in
gedolei Yisroel and realize that the goal is not just
completing the Shas, which although in itself it is a lofty
goal, nevertheless it is not the end purpose.
The founder's objective was not to be satisfied with little,
but to aim to be a gaon in Torah in all sections of
Shas and poskim! The goal of Mifal HaShas is to lay
the groundwork, a foundation for iyun and knowledge of
the whole Shas and the four parts of the Shulchan
Oruch - - to produce geonim with kinyonei
Torah. These days of joy will rouse every talmid
chochom and tzorev to accept the yoke of Torah
with a spirit of high-mindedness and aspirations for
greatness. That every individual should make the most of
himself according to his abilities like an ox to the yoke and
a mule to the load through yegioh and hasmodoh
and tefilloh, with the aim of achieving knowledge of
the entire Torah.
