Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Bais Medrash L’Tzeirim Yeshiva Captures the Hearts of Oregon Jewish Community

If you’ve never been to Portland, Oregon before you’ve missed one of the great visual delights in the world. Majestic mountains, beautiful blue bodies of water, giant fir trees and a vibrant city nestled comfortably near the Pacific Ocean. Since sunshine is a precious commodity in the great Northwest, local residents maximize every opportunity they get to spend quality time outdoors in the summer.

In the very center of the city is a curious place called ‘Pioneer Square.’ It is well known as a meeting and mingling place for people from all walks of life. On any given Friday this summer a casual visitor could find business leaders lunching in the park, young kids showing off their high-tech skateboard skills, food vendors hawking their wares and a number of energetic young boys, dressed in black suits and black felt hats .

Every once in awhile you’d hear one of these energetic young lads ask a passerby, “Excuse me sir but are you Jewish?” More times than not the answer was , “Why yes, why do you ask?” The boys would quickly follow up and ask them if they would like to put on a pair of Teffilin. After getting over their initial surprise, a lot of the individuals graciously accepted the invitation and right there, in the middle of Pioneer Square, put on Teffilin, many for the very first time!

One young man, Mendy Blau, from Crown Heights, NY, told me this was the first time he had ever successfully convinced someone to put on Teffilin right there on the street! He said he had asked men many times in New York but most were too embarrassed to put them on while standing on the sidewalk. He said he was amazed at the positive reception he and his friends received here in Oregon.

Getzel Rubashkin of Postville, Iowa told a story of meeting a rather intimidating looking fellow whose arms were covered in tattoos. With just abisul of encouragement the big burly tattooed man agreed to put on Teffilin, despite the taunts and jeers of his similarly-tattooed buddies. He went on to say that on that particular day a man dressed in a pink robe was standing near him distributing brochures for the cult he represented. After a few minutes Getzel felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, the pink-robed man asked him, “Excuse me sir but are you a Quaker?” Trying to suppress a laugh Getzel told him that he was not a Quaker, he was Jewish. They had a brief conversation in which Getzel told the man why he was there and what he was doing. The man went back to his business and continued to stop everyone and anyone who passed by. However, he soon modified his speech and he too started asking people if they were Jewish. When he finally got an affirmative answer he gave the man a brochure and told him to go see his new acquaintance Getzel because he had something to tell him. The gentleman in question was the previously mentioned tattooed man.
So who were these fearless young “Men in Black” you might ask. They were three of the sixteen students who attended the first-ever summer Bais Medrash L’Tzeirim Yeshiva that Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm and his team from Chabad of Oregon conducted this summer. Arriving from cities, states and countries from around the world, these sixteen, fourteen and fifteen year-olds spent seven weeks learning Talmud, Gemora , Maamorim Sichos, Halocho and Inyonei Moshiach Ugeula under the watchful eyes of a world-class group of teachers. The program was established in the name of Rabbi Wilhelm’s father-in-law the esteemed Rabbi Menachem Shmual Dovid HaLevi Raichik.

These were an inspired group of young men. When the bochrim finally closed their books, after a day of intense learning, they all volunteered an additional few hours to learn with local residents. It was inspirational to watch fourteen and fifteen year old boys huddled over books with ‘students’ who were three, four and sometimes five times their age. It was hard to know who had a better time, the ‘students’ or the ‘teachers.’

During their time in Portland the band of sixteen captured the hearts of everyone they came in contact with. While most of their time was spent advancing their knowledge of Torah, they still found time for fun with at trip to the Oregon coast, Vancouver, BC and Seattle. During the last Shabbos they spent in the ‘Rose City’ I asked one young man Mendel Levin of Palo Alto, California, “Where are you off to now Mendel?” he paused and said, “I am going to the Brunoy Yeshiva in Paris to continue my studies.” I smiled and said, “Remember, Paris will be interesting but it won’t be Portland and you won’t find a kugel to compare with Rebbetzin Wilhelm’s.”

Torah study, Pioneer Square and kugel, it was a summer the bochrim and the Jewish community of Portland will not soon forget!

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