The Minneapolis Yarchei Kallah

The 2nd annual Minneapolis Yarchei Kallah was a 5-day immersive learning program featuring a daily 2 1/2 hour seder with shiurim by Rav Ezriel Cziment, Rosh Kollel of the Telshe Yeshiva Chicago Kollel. This year’s topic was the 7 Noahide Laws.

Thank you to: 

• Rabbi Uriel Gross for spearheading this program for the second year.

• Rav Ezriel Cziment for once again joining us and providing your Torah insight along with your warmth and energy.

• Rav & Rebbetzin Greenberg for hosting the Friday night Oneg and for hosting the Cziments.

• Torah Academy, Eli Weinberg & co., Mrs. Shaindy Mandelbaum, and the numerous women who made the Melava Malka for the participants such a success.

• All of you (around 40 people!) who took off of either their busy schedules or their vacation time to join us for the learning and shiurim, you are the real force behind this Yarchei Kallah!

We're already looking forward to next year!

A Day Trip with Hashem

Imagine your spouse loves the outdoors. Hiking, sleeping under the stars, exploring untamed forests, a dream getaway. You? You're more of a city person. The outdoor life doesn't do much for you. One day your spouse asks you to spend a week in the wild, untamed expanses of Yellowstone, so you go. After a packed trip, you're on your way home in the car and your spouse asks, "So, how did you like seeing the bison, moose, all that wildlife?"

"The bison?" you ask yourself. You turn to your spouse, "I guess they were alright..."

Then it hits you. That warm feeling you have isn't because of your newfound appreciation of nature, but of the fact that you just spent an entire week in the presence of your spouse; it was a bonding experience - one that you would never have at home.

As I'm sure you've heard by now, we had an incredible learning trip to Chicago this week. The shiurim were amazing, the learning was invigorating (and the food was ok 😁).

That said, there were people of all backgrounds and skill levels in learning that came. However, there was one constant- the indescribable feeling of spending an entire day with Hashem. In the Beis Medrash learning, hearing shiurim, davening, etc.

So, next time we embark on a trip with Hashem, are you joining?!

Thanksgiving Legal Holiday Learning: No Thanks

“One who hates gifts shall live.” (Mishlei 15:27) Not receiving any gifts whatsoever sounds like a tall order. Why are the stakes so high? Is this a prohibition, or a midas chasidus, a lofty level only some attain? Should I not be giving birthday presents? So much to clarify about this enigmatic statement- and Rabbi Yoseph Rosansky has the insight. Listen to the shiur below, and follow along with the sources here.

Labor Day Legal Holiday Learning: Miracles

“We don’t rely on miracles.“

Taken at face value, that statement can sound like the epitome of self-reliance and non-trust in Hashem. However, when these words are our instructions from our Sages, they mean anything but. “We don’t rely on miracles“ is the expression of our trust that Hashem wills and controls all “natural” phenomena and events, not just the realm of the miraculous.

Yet, there are many instances recorded in the Torah of our Sages calling upon miraculous outcomes. From each story we glean the guidelines of when we don’t rely on miracles- and when we do.

Rabbi Adam Crystal delivered a comprehensive shiur on this wide-ranging and fundamental topic, including practical points about various levels of risk, and the benefit of prayer in dire situations.

Audio of the shiur below, click here to follow along with the sources.

The Business Breakfast: Jack & the Beanstalk

Who knew that one fairy tale could spark so much discussion?

Rabbi Gershon Schaffel of the Chicago Choshen Mishpat Institute showed us the real way to read a story. Every part of the classic tale was used to springboard into halachic discussion. Those magic beans gave us a window into several aspects of the laws of exploitative pricing, among other topics. Listen below to hear it all.

Independence Day Learning: State of the (Credit) Union

Credit Unions consistently offer lower interest rates on loans and higher rates on deposits than conventional banks. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Well, when we hear the word ‘interest’ we always need to figure out if it is compatible with halacha. What makes credit unions different, and are any potential pitfalls with borrowing or depositing with them?

To find out more about this complex topic, you’ll need Rabbi Yisrael Neuberger’s shiur given this past July 4th. Hear the shiur below, and follow along with the source material.

5/18 & 5/25 Save the Dates

This year, instead of our annual banquet, we're going to be hosting an epic and uplifting Lag B'Omer evening event on Wednesday night May 18th. The following week we will be hosting our annual campaign as a matching campaign online. Stay tuned for all of the exciting details. It is sure to be an experience that rallies the community together in support of Torah.

Higher & Higher!

Get The Lights: Thanksgiving Legal Holiday Learning

When to light the Chanukah Menorah

Today’s Legal Holiday Learning focused on the upcoming holiday of Chanukah. When do you light the Chanukah menorah? At night of course. However, as you know, the Torah is all about precision, and nailing down the best time to light gets a little complex. Sundown, nightfall, or somewhere in between? To our great fortune, Rabbi Moshe Dovid Zeffren of JWAY fame is here to enlighten us and guide us through the topic. Listen to the audio below and follow along with the sources here.

The Business Breakfast Is Back

Family Finances: Choshen Mishpat between husband and wife

After a long hiatus, the Kollel welcomed back one of our most popular programs- The Business Breakfast. In partnership with the Chicago Choshen Mishpat Institute, the Business Breakfast brings awareness of the Torah's monetary laws to the forefront, enabling us to live with honesty and integrity.

Rav Zev Cohen, Rav of Adas Yeshurun and Rosh Kollel of the Choshen Mishpat Institute, was our featured speaker. In his inimitable style, R’ Cohen addressed the intersection of marriage and monetary law. The kesuba and its accompanying Rabbinic enactments establish clear baselines on the financial obligation of a husband to his wife, and on a wife to her husband. The most important part, however, is that upon marriage the husband accepts the responsibility - the achrayus (it loses something in translation) - to to be there for his wife in all areas.

Catch up by listening to the recording below.

July 5th Yarchei Kallah: Bringing Home the Bacon

Bacon? Ancient warriors? Before-and-after pictures? What is going on here?

The intriguing flyers caught plenty of interest, but it came down to what we do best with our Legal Holiday Yarchei Kallah program: Spirited group study of a Torah topic, with a masterful shiur to tie it all together.

Back to the bacon. Under certain circumstances, the Torah permits the consumption of non-kosher food. This, however, is no free for all. What those circumstances are is the subject of a great debate between two towering giants of Torah, the Rambam (RAM-bam) and the Ramban (Ram-BAN). The Rosh Kollel, Rabbi Gibber, led the assembled through the underlying principles of this debate, and resolved several powerful questions along the way with his own novel insight.

Now we really have your interest. Catch up on the shiur with the audio below, while you follow along with the sources, to be found here.