The ballroom at Bais Rivkah’s Campus Chomesh was filled to capacity this past Thursday, Gimmel Tammuz, as hundreds of Bochurim gathered for the Hanachos Final Event, bringing to a close the eighth annual Mivtza Hanachos of Vaad Talmidei Hatmimim.

For five weeks, participants immersed themselves in a series of Farbrengens of the Rebbe, watching, listening, and writing Hanachos as part of their preparation for Gimmel Tammuz. Together, Bochurim accumulated more than 202,566 minutes of Farbrengens watched, making this year’s Mivtza the largest in its history.

The evening opened with the tenth and final video of the Mivtza, featuring a Farbrengen from Yud Shevat 5742. But before the video began, the room was buzzing. Bochurim from Yeshivos across North America had gathered together, catching up with friends, discussing the Mivtza, and filling the ballroom with energy and excitement.

Then the screen lit up.

“One moment, there was noise and conversation throughout the room,” reflected Rabbi Meir Deren, Program Director of Vaad Talmidei Hatmimim. “The second the video began, there was complete silence. To stand there and watch hundreds of Bochurim, thirty-two years after Gimmel Tammuz, completely focused on the Rebbe, hanging on every word, was an incredible sight. It demonstrated what this Mivtza is really accomplishing.”

Following the video, participants completed their final Hanachos, bringing weeks of learning and preparation to a close.

A highlight of the evening was an address by Rabbi Yisroel Shimon Kalmenson, one of the Rebbe’s Manichim. Rabbi Kalmenson spoke about the day, very soon, when Moshiach will come and Chassidim will once again hear Torah directly from the Rebbe. He noted that for weeks these Bochurim have been developing the very skill that defined the Rebbe’s Manichim: listening attentively, understanding what was said, and accurately putting it into writing.

In that sense, he explained, Mivtza Hanachos is far more than a writing competition. It is helping prepare a generation of Bochurim to become the “Manichim of the future,” ready for the fulfillment of Torah Chadasha Mei’iti Teitzei.

The event also featured the culmination of this year’s new Weekly Hanacha Voting initiative, which generated tremendous excitement throughout the Mivtza. Weekly winners advanced to the final round, where a panel of Mashpiim selected the top Hanachos.

The winners were:

Shiur Alef: Yosef Weinman, Chicago Mesivta
Shiur Beis: Shmuel Goldberg, Oholei Torah Mesivta
Shiur Gimmel: Yaakov Danzinger, New Haven Mesivta

Each winner received a set of Sichos Kodesh, while every Bochur who completed the Mivtza received a Kehos gift certificate in recognition of his accomplishment.

As the event concluded, the message of the evening was clear: the greatest accomplishment of Mivtza Hanachos is not measured only in winners or prizes, but in hundreds of Bochurim who spent the weeks leading up to Gimmel Tammuz learning how to listen more carefully to the Rebbe’s words, absorb them, and make them their own.

The Hanachos Final Event is generously sponsored by Anonymous and Jewish Riverside Old Greenwich.