Over 1,000 Bachurim in Nine Camps Participating in Daily Halacha Program
It was 4 a.m. The boys in Camp Toras Chaim Tashbar had just come home from a remarkably exciting trip. With just over an hour until they could daven vasikin, it made no sense to go to sleep. What should a large group of exhausted young bachurim do at such an unearthly hour? One bachur piped up, “Let’s do Dirshu!” The positive response was overwhelming.
In the middle of the night, about an hour before alos hashachar, all of the bachurim packed into the beis medrash for a shiur on Hilchos Tefillin in the special Dirshu Daf HaYomi B’Halacha L’Bachurim summer camp program. Anyone entering the beis medrash at that outrageously early hour would have rubbed their eyes in wonderment at the sight of the maggid shiur, Rabbi Menachem Schmelzcer, delivering the shiur as bachurim animatedly asked questions, commented and engaged in the milchemta shel Torah.
“I can’t tell you how much the Dirshu program has enhanced the learning of our bachurim this summer,” said Rabbi Schmelzcer, “It has transformed night seder in camp from a difficult seder to a most geshmak seder. Not only is it unnecessary for the rebbeim to motivate the bachurim to learn, the bachurim are practically begging to start the shiur!”
“The Program is 1,000 Times Better than we Dreamed!”
Rabbi Yisroel Lefkovitz of Camp Achim exclaimed, “The program is 1,000 times better than we ever dreamed! We have 110 bachurim learning Hilchos Tefillin every day. We even have waiters, lifeguards and other staff members coming by at night to participate in the program! Our maggid shiur, Rabbi Avi Indich, is a distinguished talmid chacham who spends hours preparing the shiur each day. You can see the direct, successful fruits of his labor when watching how the bachurim literally eat the shiur out of his hand, absorbing every word, asking and commenting. In fact, almost every boy who participates is taking weekly chazarah sheets and the comprehensive test at the end of the month.”
Over 1,000 Participants… and Counting!
Indeed, this is the second year that Dirshu is running its Daf HaYomi B’Halacha L’Bachurim program in select camps. This year, the program is even bigger and better than the one held last year.
Rabbi Yehuda Soleimani, Dirshu’s National Field Director, who oversees the program, relates, “Last year, after extensive consultation with a number of camps, Dirshu designed a summer halacha program tailor-made for summer camps. The program, the material and incentives provided were designed in conjunction with the spiritual leadership of each camp so that the bachurim would derive maximum benefit from participating in such a groundbreaking initiative. Last year, when we launched the program we had four participating camps. This year, there has been an explosive increase in both the number of camps that have adopted the program as well as the number of bachurim participating. Camp Agudah of Ferndale has some 200 bachurim participating, Camp Toras Chaim Tashbar 210, Camp Degel HaTorah 225 and Camp Toras Chessed also has around 200 in their Dirshu program. Camp Rayim 45, and Camp Rayim Mesivta has 65 participants. Camp Achim 125, Camp Agudah Toronto 80 and Chaburas Bein Hazemanim has 20. All in all, there are some 1,000 bachurim participating in the program, gaining a comprehensive knowledge of Hilchos Tefillin.”
“In truth,” explained Rabbi Ahron Gobioff, Dirshu’s American director, “as we got closer to the summer, numerous other camps deeply desired to join the program but by that time it was already late and we were not able to incorporate them before the summer started. I am certain that next year the program will be even larger. Good news travels fast and the news of the remarkable success of the Dirshu program has inspired camps and learning directors everywhere.”
Something for Everyone!
Rabbi Schmelzer relates, “One amazing quality about the program is Dirshu’s signature attention to detail. Nothing is overlooked. The material is a potpourri of areas of halacha that appeal to virtually every participant. There are, of course, the halachos set forth in the Mishnah Berurah. In addition, however, the Biurim U’Musfim, with so many practical halachos and tips, provides so much additional information and piskei halacha. This enables very bright talmidim to achieve their potential while others can suffice with the Mishnah Berurah itself and still retain a comprehensive knowledge of the halachos. In this program, even the weakest talmidim have so many questions because everyone puts on tefillin, and learning the halachos awakens them to the importance of doing the mitzvah in the most lechatchilah fashion.
Perhaps the greatest testament to the effectiveness of the program and the long-term love of limud halacha with accountability that it facilitated can be gleaned from the comments of two of the maggidei shiur. One is a rebbi in the Cheder of Flatbush and the other in the Mirrer Yeshiva’s Yeshiva Ketana. They both said, “I want to speak to my principal about the possibility of bringing this Dirshu program to my school!”
Editor’s Note: The above is sponsored content provided by Dirshu.
By Chaim Gold
