For generations, the idea that a young married man should dedicate time to learning after marriage was considered paramount, though it varied in form and structure.

Aside from the time spent learning in yeshiva before marriage, and the working man seeking spare moments to learn, a new yungerman was encouraged to learn without distractions for a significant period after his wedding, establishing his life and household on the foundations of Torah.

In recent generations, this concept evolved into the structured form of a kollel.

In Lubavitch, it was the Rebbe who developed and actively encouraged the idea of kollel. The Rebbe said, “Establishing a kollel in Lubavitch is a chidush that I wanted to introduce. For 180 years, Lubavitch never had a kollel. I wanted to create a new phenomenon: that yungeleit should ‘kuch zich’ in learning.”

In the year 5722, the Rebbe established the kollel for newly married men in Crown Heights and personally contributed toward the kollel’s expenses.

Presented here is a compilation of selections from the Rebbe’s sichos and letters that discuss the special significance of learning in kollel.

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The foundation to which the Rebbe often referred regarding learning Torah after marriage was the psak of the Alter Rebbe in Hilchos Talmud Torah (Perek 3 Halacha 1):

“After having learned all the laws of Torah one should then marry, and throughout his life engage in an in-depth study and dialectical analysis [of the Torah] according to the time available and his capabilities… For even after marriage he will be able to study for two or three years without being greatly disturbed [by financial worries] as many children have not yet been born to him.”

“This is a clear psak-din in Shulchan Aruch, which means that studying in kollel is applicable to everybody,” the Rebbe said at the farbrengen of Yud Alef Nissan 5722 (Toras Menachem Vol. 33 p. 299).

The Rebbe continued regarding the years immediately after marriage and emphasized that those who did not utilize them properly should make them up later in life, even if they already have set times for learning:

“Yet, for the two or three years after your wedding, before you had many children and great disturbances, or before your marriage, you should have devoted yourself to Torah study in keeping with the Alter Rebbe’s directive in Hilchos Talmud Torah. However, since you didn’t do this properly, then you must make it up now!

“Studying for two or three years won’t affect his income! For two or three years after marriage one can rely on the Alter Rebbe and learn diligently, without it adversely affecting his livelihood.”

The Rebbe further emphasized that this is an obligation that supersedes all else:

“This obligation precedes the obligations that he has towards his wife, and therefore, he must certainly pay off this ‘debt’ before he gets carried away with his new obligations. The knowledge of this will help not only the learning during the two or three years following marriage, but also the learning before the marriage and even before the engagement…”

At the farbrengen of Yud Alef Shevat 5718 (Toras Menachem Vol. 22 p. 46), the Rebbe described how historically it was taken for granted that after the wedding, the yungerman would dedicate himself to Torah study, and the parents of both sides would manage the livelihood as best as possible:

“…the chosson and the kalah – they knew that this was the ultimate purpose in their life. Even the gentile maid in the house, lehavdil, knew not to make noise by knocking on the door, since the new chosson is sitting and learning and it’s not right to disturb him… Even though she has no connection or knowledge about the importance of learning, she nevertheless has a fear that makes her botul
in order that a Jew be able to learn Torah in peace.

“… The focal point of the entire house was to marry off their daughter to a yungerman who would sit and learn Torah for its own sake, without worrying about the future.”

The Rebbe continued, addressing those today who fear they cannot provide for their families while learning in kollel:

“He thinks he needs to interrupt his studies to gain his livelihood… However, when the parents are not sunken in this worry, they educate their daughters and sons to rely on Hashem, and to know that Hashem is not limited to a college education, or similar means, which we may think are the sole ways of earning a living. Hashem can give plentiful livelihood to somebody who does not engage in much business, even more than to one who does…

“When we raise children in this way, then when the time comes for them to find a chosson or kalah, they will prioritize what is of prime importance, and the secondary matters will also follow… Simply speaking, an abundant livelihood.”

The Rebbe concluded:

“Since this order is set in the Torah (that a yungerman studies Torah after the chasuna), it is understood that it is an everlasting directive in all places and times, even in ‘Tof Shin Chai’ (5718) in the United States and other countries. This is the best way, which brings spiritual happiness and material wealth.”

On multiple occasions, the Rebbe spoke about his grandfather, Harav Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, who was among those who traveled to Lubavitch to the Rebbe Maharash to spend time learning and were known as the yoshvim.

“The seder in Lubavitch is to learn Torah after the wedding!” the Rebbe declared at the farbrengen of Shabbos Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech 5746. “What was exceptional was the practice by some yungeleit, that even after the wedding they traveled to Lubavitch and devoted time to Torah study, revealed and esoteric.

“Despite the responsibility of supporting a family, this was permitted, with the full consent of their wives. During the period that these yungeleit stayed in Lubavitch, they laid the foundation upon which they built their families and homes for the rest of their lives. This period sealed their outlook and character for the future.”

The Rebbe emphasized that even for those who did not travel to Lubavitch, it was understood that the first years of marriage should be dedicated to Torah:

“When the young man reached the age of marriage and began to think of settling down, he had to try his hand at business or a trade; but even then the yungerman knew that the essential thing was the study of Torah. He ensured that the majority of time was devoted to Torah, with his other endeavors taking only a small portion of the day.

“When the time actually came to leave his books, he would be upset. At times he would forget that the time for study was up and would have to be reminded to work to fulfill his responsibilities properly and faithfully.”

The Rebbe continued that this is not just a story of days gone by, but also a directive for today:

“This is true even for yungeleit who have no responsibility to earn a livelihood. Everyone must be aware that when it comes to religious matters one should not rely on their own evaluations or instincts, and certainly not ask the yetzer hara. Do not ask the yetzer hara whether to study longer or to cease learning to go to the pizza store!

“The foundation for married life must be learning Torah in a settled manner. Therefore, it has become necessary to reemphasize this point. A yungerman who is not yet responsible to earn a living must be completely involved in Torah study… [this] will serve as the foundation for the future of his family. He should devote himself to Torah in a set fashion for a period of time after the wedding. This program should be similar to the ‘yoshvim‘ at the time of the Rebbe Maharash in Lubavitch.”

The Rebbe concluded with the great brachos that come when one spends time in kollel after marriage:

“When he is involved in Torah, he need not toil for his livelihood. If the foundation of married life is based on Torah in this manner, it will continue to influence their lives for many long and good years, spiritually and materially – in a manner of ‘l’chatchila ariber,’ as the Rebbe Maharash was wont to say. Torah and mitzvos transcend the usual restrictions; and similarly, earning a livelihood will come without difficulty.”

At the Gimmel Tammuz farbrengen of 5718 (Toras Menachem Vol. 23 p. 110), the Rebbe explained how the more one learns Torah after marriage, the stronger the foundation he builds for his “future building”:

“Learning Torah after the wedding is a strong foundation for the ‘building’ of marriage. The time before marriage and [immediately] afterwards is the foundation for the entire lifetime. It is an obvious fact that the more invested in the foundation, the greater the benefit for future building. Similarly, the more he gives himself over to Torah study and avodah in these days, the more he will have later in the ‘building’ of marriage, not only spiritually, but also physically.”

The Rebbe further said that learning in kollel is actually the litmus test of one’s previous learning while in yeshiva (Toras Menachem Vol. 33 p. 86):

“When one is still in yeshiva it is not possible to know if he is learning with real desire, for it could very well be that he is learning only because he is in a yeshiva environment where there is no alternative. But at the time of marriage, there is a choice to stop learning and get involved in business, or to continue to sit and learn. This decision will show if his yeshiva learning was with real desire.”

The Rebbe also emphasized the impact of even a small amount of continued learning after marriage:

“Through learning in kollel, he becomes totally different… Every person knows in his heart, and such is the fact, that if he had continued to learn even for just a short amount of time [after the wedding], his [spiritual] status would be totally different [for the better].”

Besides building a foundation for one’s home and family, the Rebbe emphasized that to truly succeed in shlichus, one ought to learn in kollel first:

“In order to succeed in shlichus, one must first make the necessary preparations. Among them: at least one year of studying Torah with vitality and vigor [after one’s marriage].” (Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 23, p. 540)

Learning in kollel was something the Rebbe took extremely personally and frequently expressed his sincere desire (“taiva“) that yungeleit dedicate themselves to learning. At the sicha of Chof Av 5733, the Rebbe spoke with great emotion about why he established the kollel:

“The intent of the kollel is for people to sit and learn there and learn passionately – and I wanted to bring about that a yungerman should sit and be seriously involved in learning! I don’t blame this totally on my yiras shomayim, just simply on a ‘taiva‘; I have a strong desire that yungeleit should sit and learn passionately! …”

The Rebbe also cried about why not enough was being done:

“Why is it that outside of these four amos there is a reality of yungeleit sitting deeply involved in learning, and yet here I cannot make it happen? The burden of support is taken away from him and placed on the wife, so he has no reason not to sit and learn… Truthfully, if I were to work on this matter, I would turn over worlds!”

In a letter from the end of Cheshvan 5725 (1964), the Rebbe acknowledged that learning in kollel reduces the financial support a yungerman has and emphasized that it must be done with mutual agreement and joy:

“It’s obvious that this is the appropriate beginning to one’s marriage, that the husband spends (at least) part of the day in Torah study, inasmuch as the wedding is the inception of an eternal edifice. This is the way of Bnei Yisrael.

“However, it is also self-understood that this limits and curbs [one’s ability to earn a livelihood] and slightly reduces the ability to obtain one’s material needs. As this [reduction] is felt daily, and conversely, a Jew’s life is to be lived – as the verse states – ‘with joy and gladness of heart’ and with trust [in Hashem], it is necessary that there first be obtained a full-fledged joyous agreement [from both parties] (to beginning [mutual] lives bound up to a life of Torah, a Torah of Life).” (Igros Kodesh Vol. 23 P. 294)

On another occasion, the Rebbe connected the study in kollel to bringing Moshiach:

“Studying in kollel hastens the coming of Moshiach,” the Rebbe said at the Yud Alef Nissan farbrengen of 5722. “When there will be a great increase of diligent Torah studying in a manner of ‘preceding the study with a blessing on Torah’ [having the recognition that it is Hashem’s Torah] … through this, Moshiach will come very soon.”

To conclude with a story of the establishment of the kollel as told by Rabbi Aharon Chitrik (‘Hiskashrus’ Vol. 420):

In the summer of 5722, after I got engaged, I was called into the hanhalah of the yeshiva in 770. There, I was told that they had received a directive from the Rebbe to open a kollel, and that I should be the first yungerman. I asked a few questions and was told that the hanhalah was arranging it.

As the wedding neared, I again asked the hanhalah who would take responsibility for the kollel and how I would be supported. Being that there were only a few weeks left, I needed to make arrangements. The following Shabbos, the Rebbe spoke a long sicha about kollel, and I understood that this must somehow be connected to me.

On Motzoei Shabbos, I wrote to the Rebbe for the first time about my livelihood and previous conversations with the hanhalah (I hadn’t written earlier, as I didn’t know what to write, being told that everything was being done by the Rebbe’s directive). When I went into yechidus before the wedding, the Rebbe opened with a few words, seemingly referring to the kollel arrangement, saying:

“I am the one responsible.”

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This compilation of sichos, as well as much of the translation, is largely based on the Kollel booklet published by Yagdil Torah of Crown Heights.