Teaneck—Every Tuesday night Rabbi Meir Goldwicht, a native Yerushalmi, crosses the George Washington Bridge to deliver a Parshat HaShavua shiur completely in Hebrew at Congregation Bnai Yeshurun. According to the rabbi, it is the only weekly shiur that is taught that way and is open to men and women, members and non-members alike. Everyone is welcome.
Rabbi Goldwicht, a Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University’s Mazer School of Talmudic Studies and head of the Stone Beit Medrash Program, also teaches courses at Stern College for Women and gives classes in both English and Hebrew throughout New York City. He spends his summers as the Rosh Kollel at Camp Mesorah.
Rabbi Goldwicht prepares extensive source sheets each week and then walks his class through the weekly Torah portion, sharing his insights and connecting them to other parts of Tanach. When a holiday is approaching, he shifts the focus of the class to issues concerning the upcoming holiday.
Looking for something to say at this year’s seder? Want a new look at something you said last year? Class participants who attended the April 1 shiur were lucky enough to hear fascinating and enlightening thoughts about Leil HaSeder and Pesach. Rabbi Goldwicht invites community members to come to the April 8 class, which will take place at 8:00 p.m., to hear some fresh insights into Pesach and the Pesach Haggadah.
Rabbi Goldwicht told JLBC, “The shiur is not just for Israelis who speak fluent Hebrew and want to hear and enjoy the language, but also for people who may want to improve their skills and get a taste of Israel. People who are not as fluent should not feel excluded.” When Rabbi Goldwicht uses a word he feels some participants may not understand, he translates the word into English so that the meaning will be clear.
Sandy Gross has been attending for over 15 years. “From the first, I loved Rabbi Goldwicht’s shiur and hardly ever missed a week,” she says. “I love the actual language of Tanach and I took tremendous pleasure, and still do, in hearing Rabbi Goldwicht read the pesukim in ‘Israeli’ Hebrew and not the galut–inflected Hebrew that I speak. I also love the way he takes a word or verse from the parsha and connects it to so many other parshiot and points out ways that seemingly divergent themes in Tanach actually connect.”
Arielle Cohen is another regular attendee. She observes that, “Often, Rabbi Goldwicht will discuss important character traits like humility, kindness to others, being easy-going, and avoiding conflict—all through the lens of the Torah portion of the week. If you want to lift your spirits, expand your mind, connect to Torah, and keep your Hebrew comprehension alive, then Bnai Yeshurun on Tuesday nights is definitely the place to be.”
The Tuesday night shiur is recorded each week and is broadcast on Israel Radio (Kol Yisrael) the following Saturday night. There are CDs of each class available through Congregation Bnai Yeshurun. Recordings are also available through www.bcbm.org.
By Sara Kosowsky Gross
