For over 400 days, Am Yisrael has been heavily involved in ways to honor the 1200 kedoshim, holy souls, who were brutally murdered on the infamous October 7, 2023. Memorial tributes in the form of donations of weapons, provision of necessities, preparation of food and tefilla gatherings and more on behalf of the courageous chayalim avenging their deaths have been unceasing. A key component in the Jewish arsenal has always been and will always be the learning of Torah.
Rabbi Ben Zion Feld, currently serving his second year as assistant rabbi to Rabbi Larry Rothwachs at Congregation Beth Aaron, had this key component in mind when initiating the “1200 for 1200 Parshat Hashavua Learning Initiative.” Introducing the project to the congregation on Simchat Torah, the yahrzeit of the 1,200 massacred, Rabbi Feld invited the congregation to take upon themselves to learn the 12 parshiot in sefer Bereishit in memory of those who were killed one year ago. Each week, every participant was given the name of a precious soul lost on that day.
The learning of the Parshat Hashavua could consist of a review of the pesukim according to their p’shat, simple meaning, or the addition of the interpretation of Rashi on the pesukim. Two weekly quizzes would be sent out to the participants to complete based upon their method of learning. Rabbi Feld added the component of weekly raffles awarding gift certificates to be drawn from the pool of those completing the quizzes.
Hopefully anticipating a response of 100 participants to learn the 12 parshiot in memory of the 1,200 kedoshim, Rabbi Feld was delighted by the current 140 participants, with the pool growing each week. The participants, all from Congregation Beth Aaron, include all demographics of the shul: men and women, youngsters and seniors, and especially impressive, family units learning together l’iluy nishmot ha’kedoshim, to the honor of the souls of the martyred.
Rabbi Feld credits his older brother Rav Yisrael Feld, currently a rebbe at Torat Shraga in Yerushalayim, with input into the initiative. Going forward, Rabbi Feld is hoping to add to the initiative with the coming parshiot. Most importantly, Rabbi Feld hopes that the idea of learning in memory of fallen brethren adds meaning and motivation to the weekly effort.
Rabbi Feld is a born and bred Teanecker, having attended RYNJ where Rabbi Rothwachs was his eighth-grade rebbe. After MTA, he studied at Yeshivat Kerem B’Yavneh for two years, returning to pursue his studies at Yeshiva University. He is currently completing his fourth and final year as a fellow at the Bella and Harry Wexner Kollel Elyon at RIETS. After close to four years at Beth Aaron, first as a rabbinic intern and for the past two years as assistant rabbi, Rabbi Feld feels a dynamic connection with the congregants—young families as well as empty-nesters—who have come together to create a cohesive and positive environment for tefillah, Torah study and chesed.
To learn more about the 1200 to 1200 Parshat Hashavua Learning Initiative, contact Rabbi Ben Zion Feld at rabbifeld @bethaaron.org
