Teaneck–The Shabbos immediately following the Har Nof massacre, members of the Young Israel of Teaneck were fortunate to have Rabbi Meir Goldwicht as a scholar-in-residence.

Rabbi Goldwicht spoke numerous times throughout the weekend. Though known for giving his shiurim in Hebrew, he spoke in English so that all in attendance could understand. His topics included “Covenant and Torah: Birkat HaMazon and Bracha M’Ein Shalosh,” “The Key to a Return to Yerushalayim HaBinuyah,” “Coping with the Tragedies in Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim Through Chazal’s Perspective,” and “Learning and Making a Living: Tension or Harmony?”

After listening to Rabbi Goldwicht, Shoshana Teichman reflected, “In a time of great uncertainty, when our Jewish brothers and sisters are being violated, attacked, and brutalized in the holiest of places, it is incumbent upon us to come together as a unified nation. Am echad b’lev echad. Rav Goldwicht offered our community personal insight into this concept and stressed the importance of love for one another. He filled our shul with warmth and wisdom. It was a tremendous zchut to have him in our midst.”

A native of Jerusalem, Rabbi Goldwicht is a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University’s Mazer School of Talmudic Studies and is the head of the Stone Beit Medrash Program. He also teaches courses at Stern College for Women and gives classes in both English and Hebrew throughout the five boroughs of New York. He spends his summers as the Rosh Kollel at Camp Mesorah.

By Sara Kosowsky Gross