Excitement swept through over 10 school auditoriums nationwide, as over 600 students joined Gemara Bifnim’s launch event and were introduced to a program empowering them to learn on their own.
By Malky Weinstock
Excitement swept through over 10 school auditoriums nationwide and in Canada, as over 600 students attended their respective school’s Gemara Bifnim Launch Event in the course of the last ten days.
Gemara Bifnim, a program founded by Lubavitch Chinuch Organization Igud Hamelamdim, strongly motivates and rewards students for mastery of the text, a skill critical to their success through school and yeshiva, is entering its sixth year and has more participants than ever before.
The launch events were featured in the following 10 locations: United Lubavitcher Yeshiva, Oholei Torah Elementary, Mechina Oholei Torah, Cheder Ohr Menachem – all of Crown Heights, Cheder Lubavitch Morristown, CATO Valley Stream, Cheder Lubavitch Toronto, Cheder Lubavitch Chicago, Cheder Lubavitch Baltimore, and Cheder Menachem Kingston, PA.
In addition, the schools messaged their parent-body, communicating to them the excitement of the project’s launch.
At each event, the finalists of last year’s program were presented by their principals with prizes of valuable seforim sets. Seeing the reward for their efforts, incentivized the boys to commit themselves to succeed in the program this coming year.
Students were addressed by Rabbi Avrohom Bluming, Executive Director of Igud Hamelamdim. A visual demonstration of the winners’ names and their Gemara Bifnim award points was displayed at each event.
Respective principals from the participating schools — Rabbis Yosef Simpson, Yosef Wolf, Yehoshua Lustig, Ari Wilshanski, Chaim Yisroel Wilhelm, Schneur Zalman Berkowitz, Yisroel Bardwigdor, Zalman Twersky, Efraim Sorkin, Yoel Chazan, Mendel Yuzevitch — all encouraged their students to fully invest themselves in this mivtza, and praised Igud Hamelamidim for the great benefit the program has brought their students.
Participating students were excited and enthusiastic at the prospect of “Bifnim” learning and the becoming an independent lifelong learner.
“While being able to read the Gemara inside is assumed to be basic to learning Gemara,” explains Rabbi Avrohom Bluming. “The reality is that it is becoming a growing challenge. Children nowadays are finding it ever more challenging to focus on words on a page, and it really hits them hard when they enter yeshiva. Our revolutionary program, motivating and teaching these fundamental skills,is already seeing results. Bochurim graduating from this program are far more advanced than their peers in deciphering a page of Gemara on their own.”
To learn more about the details of this innovative program, click here.
Support Chabad Chinuch by partnering with Igud Hamelamdim. Visit igudhamelamdim.org/donate to be a part of this important endeavor.
Discussion
In keeping in line with the Rabbonim's policies for websites, we do not allow comments. However, our Rabbonim have approved of including input on articles of substance (Torah, history, memories etc.)
We appreciate your feedback. If you have any additional information to contribute to this article, it will be added below.