Bais Menachem in the Poconos brought the halachos of kosher meat preparation to life, with live sheep to interact with and a chicken shechita demonstration. Another treat was a lively farbrengen with Rabbi Yankel Mizelin, who shared his inspiring and dramatic life story.
This past week, the students of Bais Menachem in the Poconos enjoyed two unique experiences.
For the past few weeks, the students have been studying the halachos of melicha, how to salt and prepare kosher meat. The main challenge of these studies is that the concepts seem abstract, and not applicable in contemporary urban life.
To bring these halachos to life, the staff of Bais Menachem arranged for a demonstration. Live chickens were brought into the campus. There, they were shechted by their beloved shliach and in-house Shochet Eliyahu Ezagui, who demonstrated the process of how a living animal becomes ready to use as kosher meat.
The students got to see for the first time the various steps involved in making kosher meat. The demonstration included the various details of shechita (slaughtering), melicha (salting the meat from blood), and hadacha (washing the salt and blood off ). They were able to see the subject they had been studying in their seforim come alive before their eyes.
To take this initiative to the next step, Yeshiva acquired five sheep to have the bochurim experience the outdoors and interact with nature in a very real and lively way.
Just a few days later, in honor of Pesach Sheni, the bochurim enjoyed another unique experience. The Hanhola brought in a special guest speaker to Farbreng for this auspicious occasion.
The speaker, Rabbi Yankel Mizelin spent the first part of his life participating in dangerous groups and environments. Due to this, he was not sure he would live to see the age of 25. Yet, after meeting a shliach and cultivating a rich spiritual relationship with him, he transformed his life in an amazing way. Today he is religious, married with kids, and works as a successful Sofer.
During the farbrengen Rabbi Yankel Mizelin related stories of his life’s journey to the bochurim, demonstration and emphasizing the message of Pesach Sheni – “it’s never too late!”
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