“‘ Why is it that you had such Siyata DiShmaya ?’ He said , ‘ Rebbi , because six times a day I found 10 minutes to learn with the weaker bachurim .’”
RAV YAAKOV BENDER SHLIT ” A , ROSH HAYESHIVA every father learned with his son . If there was no father to learn with a boy , the boy remained an am ha ’ aretz . Rav Yehoshua ben Gamla instituted that there should be melamdim in every town so that every boy had the opportunity to learn Torah .
Rav Bender ’ s rebbi , Rav Yisroel Belsky , asked : Why is Rav Yehoshua credited with “ saving the Torah from becoming forgotten ”? Without his decree , the vast majority of children were being taught by their fathers or older brothers ! Apparently , said Rav Belsky , if the unfortunates in Klal Yisrael are not being taught Torah , that is considered shikchas haTorah on a national scale .
This , said Rav Bender , has always been Darchei ’ s policy : to ensure that no child should be forgotten . Every child , whatever his challenges , should be given an opportunity to learn . He related that Rav Elya Svei once told him that every time Rav Bender accepts a yasom into the Yeshiva , HaKadosh Baruch Hu is “ joining the parent body .” He related that some fifteen years ago , he accepted a yasom into the Yeshiva , and the bachur has developed beautifully . Just last week he came to Rav Bender ’ s office to express his gratitude for his hatzlachah and for the geshmak he has in learning .
Rav Bender concluded his address with a story that happened to him when he was a fifteen-year-old yasom who had recently lost his father and was still reciting Kaddish . He was davening in Torah Vodaath in Williamsburg when in walked the Ponovezher Rav , who had yahrzeit and needed to serve as shaliach tzibbur . Young Yaakov Bender assisted the Rav in procuring the amud and then accompanied him to his next destination . When he told the Rav that his father had recently been niftar , the Ponovezher Rav embraced him and began to cry , his tears wetting the boy ’ s face . The Rav then showered his young companion with berachos .
Rav Bender concluded that he gives those same berachos to everyone who attended the dinner and expressed his sincere hope that our community should see an end to the many tzaros which R ” l are affecting so many .
The program concluded with a surprise presentation as Rav Bender announced that the Yeshiva was presenting Sifrei Torah in recognition of the key role that three individuals have played in the Yeshiva ’ s tremendous hatzlachah . A new Sefer Torah was presented to the family of Reb Yisroel Bloom , a ” h , the legendary founder of the yeshiva ; to Mr . Lloyd Keilson , co-chairman of the Yeshiva ’ s board of trustees , who has stood as a rock of support to Rabbi Bender and has been deeply involved with the financial success of the Yeshiva almost from its inception ; and to Mr . Ronald Lowinger , the Yeshiva ’ s longtime president , who was the driving force behind the founding of Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and funded the construction of its building , among his myriad other efforts on behalf of the Yeshiva .
As the Sifrei Torah were brought out , spirited dancing lichvod haTorah erupted once again , a perfect conclusion to an incredibly inspiring evening . $
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