It only takes a few minutes talking with Shlomo Meisels of Teaneck to realize that he is an ambitious and creative out-of-the-box thinker who is unafraid to innovate and take chances to meet a need.

He founded his own recruitment service/staffing agency, SM Staffing, in May 2021—while still in college—and has since built it to where it now employs seven recruiters who specialize in various industries. The company has made more than 250 successful placements in the past three-and-a-half years and worked with more than 200 businesses.

Meisels credits much of his success to his ability to understand companys’ cultures and match them with candidates whose personalities fit, as well as developing a deep understanding of how to solve a company’s problems through their hiring process. He helps select candidates who will last long-term, thus cutting down company turnover rates. He is grateful to his mentor in this field, Chaim Solomon, who introduced him to the world of staffing and helped him make his first placements.

Meisels deeply appreciates the value of Torah learning, having attended Yeshiva Sharei Mevaseret Zion in Israel for two years before college, and makes time for chavruta study every day. While he is passionate about building his own business, he also admires those who devote themselves completely to Torah studies.

When a chavruta of his for many years, J. S., whom Meisels describes as a “serious full-time learner,” told him that he felt the need to find full-time income in the summer of 2023, Meisels started developing a new option.

He told his friend that he would hire him to continue learning, as a zechut for himself and his business. At first, Meisels kept the arrangement with his chavruta private. But some friends eventually heard about it and others approached him to get involved—as learners and as donors.

To emulate his grandfather, Meisels had always wanted to establish a kollel. He formed the YZ Kollel as a platform for his activities in this area. Meisels envisions the arrangement as the embodiment of the Yissachar/Zevulun relationship. As he explained it: “The YZ Kollel distributes donor funds to its network of learning men and in exchange its donors receive a portion of the schar and a zechus for their personal parnasa.” The YZ Kollel is now an official nonprofit and can offer tax-deductible receipts.

Meisels has enlisted two other people, who prefer anonymity, to serve as board members. The YZ Kollel currently funds the learning for five men, one full-time and the other four part-time, as an addition to their regular learning.

The learners in the YZ Kollel are heavily vetted and the kollel has a haskama from Rabbi Isaacson, the rosh yeshiva of Mevaseret, and Rav Dan Cohen, the head of the Sephardi program at Yeshiva University. Learners report to Meisels on the hours they learn each week and receive a “salary” for those hours.

Meisels reports that to date, the YZ Kollel has sponsored “thousands of hours of learning.” He hopes to build the initiative so it supports more Torah study and involves more sponsoring donors and businesses.

Learners who have benefited from YZ Kollel are very enthusiastic about its impact.

“The YZ Kollel has been an amazing experience,” said Yosef M. “It has helped me have more hasmada during my sedarim as well as being more consistent with my sedarim.”

“YZ Kollel has been a great shutfus,” said Andy E. “YZ Kollel has pushed me to learn at times that I had not imagined before. When my alarm goes off in the morning, it is YZ Kollel that is helping me get up and run to the beis midrash to learn before my busy day starts. The kollel has meant a lot to me as I see rewards for my learning in Olam Hazah and Olam Habah.”

“YZ Kollel has truly transformed my learning,” said Simcha S. “With their support, I’ve been able to dedicate countless more hours to Torah study than I ever thought possible. They provided that extra push I needed, making the entire process seamless and straightforward.”

For more information on the YZ Kollel, please see: https://www.yzkollel.com/

To make a donation to the YZ Kollel, please see: https://causematch.com/yzkollel

Harry Glazer is the Middlesex County editor of The Jewish Link. He welcomes reader feedback and can be reached at [email protected]