A Daily Dose of LIFE
Immediately After Shacharis Each Morning , the Bachurim Learn Sefer Chofetz Chaim
Some of the hanhala members who teach the Chofetz Chaim ’ s sefarim on shemiras halashon after weekday Shacharis :
L-R : Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky , Rosh Yeshiva ; Rav Zevi Trenk , menahel of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo ; Rav Avrohom Nusbaum , menahel of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo
Who is the man who desires life ?... Guard your tongue from evil … ( Tehillim 34:13-14 )
One who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles . ( Mishlei 21:23 )
For a decade and a half , Yeshiva Darchei Torah has been implementing this guarantee of protection offered by Dovid Hamelech and Shlomo Hamelech in a unique manner , through shiurim delivered by the Roshei Yeshiva and menahalim to the entire tzibbur at the conclusion of davening .
It all began when Rav Dovid Bender , Rosh Kollel , received a distressing phone call in which he was told that the mother of one of the talmidim had collapsed suddenly and passed away . This tragedy , coupled by the awareness that there were many orphans in the Yeshiva at the time who were already reciting kaddish for the loss of a parent prompted Rav Dovid to seek a zechus to bring an end to these misfortunes .
“ I went to a shelf of sefarim and reached for A Lesson a Day which deals with the topic of shemiras halashon ,” Rav Dovid recalls . “ A letter in the introduction , signed by many Gedolei Hador , stated that learning the halachos of lashon hara and rechilus offers protection from troubles .
“ I approached the members of the hanhala and asked if it was appropriate to begin a yeshiva-wide seder in learning these halachos . They all enthusiastically endorsed this venture , and we began learning the halachos right after davening with the Roshei Yeshiva — Rav Altusky and my father , Rav Yaakov Bender — alternating delivering the
shiur to the entire yeshiva .”
On Shabbos , Rav Dovid began a small shiur in the mussar portion of sefer Shemiras Halashon , and Rav Altusky encouraged him to transform it into a shiur for the entire tzibbur . “ I try to find an incident which occurred during the week and integrate it into the shiur , which makes it more relevant to the talmidim and mispalelim ,” Rav Dovid explains . “ As the Yeshiva grew and the morning davening was divided into separate minyanim for Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid , the format of the shiur was altered slightly to accommodate the schedules . Today , Rav Altusky delivers a slightly longer shiur to the Beis Medrash on Mondays and Thursdays in which he presents real-life situations to clarify the halachos . In the Mesivta , the menahalim , Rav Zevi Trenk and Rav Avrohom Nusbaum , alternate delivering the daily shiur .
The combined shiurim of both the halachos and mussar leave a lasting impact on the talmidim . “ I ’ ve had talmidim who have moved on to learn in Eretz Yisrael who call me with relevant sheilos regarding Hilchos Lashon Hara and Rechilus ,” Rav Dovid relates . “ Through learning these topics day in , day out for so many years , it has created an awareness and vigilance of guarding their speech which they have incorporated into their lives .”
Bli ayin hara , since the inception of this project , the Yeshiva has experienced the protection afforded by this mitzvah .
May we all continue to benefit from it during these trying times . !
BEDARCHEI HATORAH WINTER 5784 / 2024 23