A group of parents got together to make a change in the world of Chinuch. They opened a New Mesivta in Pomona, now in its second year. In a letter, below a parents shares their sentiments .
A group of parents got together to make a change in the world of Chinuch. They opened a New Mesivta in Pomona, now in its second year. In a letter, below a parents shares their sentiments .
To: Rabbi Vigler, Rabbi Labkowsky and the rest of the devoted Hanhala of ישיבת מעין תורה Pomona.
After expressing my appreciation for this amazing Yeshiva on multiple occasions, I would like to put a few words in writing to convey some of the reasons I am so excited and care deeply for this Yeshiva.
Success of the students in ידיעת התורה
The vibe I get from other Yeshivos is that success in לימוד התורה is secondary to their primary focus of giving the בחורים a yeshiva experience and חסידישע atmosphere.
Even when the Hanhala of a given Yeshiva tries to put an emphasis on לימוד התורה, in many cases, it does not become the primary focus experienced in the ישיבה since it is common that many בחורים forget much of what they learn due to lack of a daily סדר of “back “חזרה. When a בחור does not come out at the end of the year remembering and mastering the גמרא he learned, there is an underlying sense of lack of accomplishment. In many cases they compensate for this by convincing themselves that the purpose of Yeshiva is something other than gaining ידיעת התורה.
Besides the fact that לא עם הארץ חסיד, the בחורים spend most of their day in ישיבה learning. When there is a lack in success in ידיעת התורה, attempting to compensate it by making “חסידישקייט” the primary focus over ידיעת התורה (an oxymoron), it doesn’t diminish the damaging effect of spending an entire day engaged in an endeavor that doesn’t produce a sense of real success and accomplishment.
What sets this Yeshiva apart from others in this area is the strong emphasis on a daily סדר of back חזרה. The בחורים spend time every day on a חזרה cycle that includes all the גמרא they learned since the beginning of Yeshiva (including what they learned in prior years). Every new דף of גמרא that they learn is with the experiential awareness that they will know this דף forever.
This has been a personal prayer of mine answered that such a Yeshiva was opened just in time when my son was going to Mesivta. And I can testify that the results are mind blowing and this is a game changer.
The early teenage years can be a challenging time, and I believe that so many of the problems in Yeshivos that are often discussed would be greatly diminished if בחורים would feel more successful in ידיעת התורה, something this Yeshiva is accomplishing.
Many of the ראשי ישיבה in Lubavitch today were תלמידים in Brunoy Yeshiva in the early למד’ s. I did a lot of research and inquiring to get to the bottom of what was done differently then that produced such תלמידי חכמים. My conclusion, after much discussions with several former students of that time, was that the two biggest contributors to this phenomena were:
1) There was a tremendous desire by those תלמידים to gain ידיעות in Torah.
2) It was a simple, obvious given in their minds that they would become fully בקי and master the מסכתא they learned each year. (My father was a student in that class, and he can now, 50 years later, quote any גמרא with it’s דף reference from the מסכתות that they learned).
I am full of gratitude to Hashem and to the Hanhala of ישיבת מעין תורה that they have successfully transmitted these above-mentioned values, qualities and aspirations to my son.
(Yes, after every break my son is excited to go back to Yeshiva. When I asked him what aspect of Yeshiva makes you excited to return, he responded “the learning”. And yes, he is בקי in last year’s מסכת גיטין and he knows it better this year than last year thanks to constant חזרה).
It is also quite clear that the sense of success in לימוד and ידיעת התורה that the בחורים of this Yeshiva experience is a motivation and a contributing factor in their visible remarkable growth in התקשרות, דרכי החסידות and איבערגעגעבנקייט to the Rebbe’s ענינים. This is quite evident from the impressive fact that in a Yeshiva of 14 and 15 year olds, the majority of Yeshiva students voluntarily watched 5-6 hour videos of entire Farbregens of the Rebbe on various occasions.
Each Bachur at His Level
Another principle of this Yeshiva that stands out and became very obvious to me is the focus on each בחור and his level. The learning is divided into several classes at different levels making sure each בחור is מצליח.
For example, last year, with one class, the Yeshiva started with two levels. Some boys felt that the faster level was too fast for them and the slower level was two slow. Rabbi Labkowsky went and opened a third level which was in between! This was all done with such devotion and involvement and collaboration between each בחור and the הנהלה. (And I can only imagine the huge expense to the ישיבה as a result of this approach).
CARE!
Another principle of this Yeshiva which stands out and is very appreciated by the parents is the atmosphere of caring that Hanhala ensures that every בחור feels cared about and heard. The parents are also encouraged to keep in contact with Hanhala members who are always happy to communicate with parents.
This is not just the Yeshiva’s mission statement but it is actually practiced.
I don’t need to elaborate how important and unique this is. I will just point out that I see a sense of אהבת ישראל and מדות טובות amongst the בחורים and I believe that בחורים behave the way they are treated.
Continuation
I daven and hope that despite the tremendous financial undertaking, the Yeshiva continues and receives the community and financial support to survive past the opening years.
It is my belief that this Yeshiva is serving the entire community, not only its own fortunate students. This Yeshiva is raising the bar and setting standards for other Yeshivos. I anticipate that we will soon see other Yeshivos implementing effective חזרה systems resulting in many more בחורים succeeding and raising the bar of ידיעת התורה in the future יונגעלייט of ליובאוויטש. We will soon start seeing other Yeshivos raising their levels of devoted personal care to their בחורים and more parent and Hanhala involvement.
I find it difficult to articulate the depths of gratitude and הכרת הטוב my wife and I have for the Hanhala and the esteem we hold for Rabbi Labkowsky who is a true master מחנך with such talent and devotion. They have been such outstanding partners in our duty of חינוך and helping me fulfill my Mitzvah of ושננתם לבניך and raising a דור of בחורים ready to be מקבל פני משיח צדקנו with תלמודו בידו.
With best wishes for הצלחה רבה in this עבודת הקודש,
Mendy Matusof
For more information about the mesivta, visit mayantorah.org.
Discussion
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