When over 200 balebatim gather in Yerushalayim with one unified purpose – Torah! – what else can come from it but an extraordinary level of hasmadah and havanah? Indeed, that was the atmosphere at Agudas Yisroel of America’s 23rd annual Yerushalayim Yarchei Kallah: one of unbridled love of Torah and enthusiasm for learning, learning, and more learning.

As in previous years, hundreds of baalebatim dedicated a week of their busy work schedules to limud HaTorah in the holy city of Yerushalayim, for a chizuk in Torah that will last them the whole year. The participants learn with a unique focus and a bren and are forever changed by the experience.

Agudah’s Yarchei Kallah originated in 2001 as a response to the second Intifada – a situation eerily similar to the eis tzarah we are in now. The message from the gedolim 23 years ago was that Torah magna u’matzla – learning Torah is what protects us from evil and saves us from misfortune – and this is echoed in this year’s Yarchei Kallah theme. Omdos hayu ragleinu b’sha’arayich Yerushalayim carries with it the message of that which enables us to prevail against our enemies and stand firm: the Torah which is learnt within the walls of Yerushalayim.

Fittingly, the week opened with a trip to Bnei Brak for a kabbalas kahal with Rav Baruch Dov Povarsky, Rosh HaYeshiva, Ponovezh Yeshiva, and a kinus psichah for the Yarchei Kallah in the Slabodka Yeshiva where the participants heard divrei chizuk u’brachah from Rav Shimon Galai and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch. But after that, with the exception of a daily shacharis at the Kosel and a trip to Kever Rochel, the participants’ sole focus was the topic of arba’ah shomrim.

Among the many maggidei shiur who addressed the Yarchei Kallah were Rav Chaim Mordechai Ausband, Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman, Rav Yitzchok Berkovitz, Rav Elimelech Biderman, Rav Dovid Cohen, Rav Mordechai Carlebach, Rav Uri Deutsch, Rav Pinchos Friedman, Rav Shraga Kallus, Rav Nissan Kaplan, Rav Asher Weiss, and Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein.

A highlight of the Yarchei Kallah was a panel with Rav Dov Kahan, Rav Ari Marburger, and Rav Chaim Meir Roth discussing halachah l’maaseh case studies of the sugya d’kallah.

One unique experience that stood out to this year’s Yarchei Kallah participants was witnessing the rare mitzvah of pidyon peter chamor during dinner on Wednesday night. The Ramada’s ballroom was full of Yarchei Kallah members and many guests who gathered to hear the electrifying words of Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz, who served as the kohen for the pidyon. The crowd was filled with emotion at Rav Rabinowitz’s explanation of the significance of pidyon peter chamor while the mitzvah was performed, with R’ Reuven Wolf being podeh the donkey. Among the rabbonim who were present at the event was Rav Abba Brudny, who spoke about Agudah’s Keren Yeshua.

The women’s track of the Yarchei Kallah, usually jam packed with touring the beautiful and inspiring sites of Eretz Yisroel, was charged this year with a mission to bring joy and chizuk to everyone they met during their stay in Eretz Yisroel. By taking advantage of the avira d’Eretz Yisroel for heightened tefillos, creating packages for soldiers on the front lines, and hearing from courageous individuals who are living with tragedy, the women were left with a sense of unity with our brethren in Eretz Yisroel and a feeling of satisfaction with all they did to ease their burdens.

Agudah extends a tremendous thank you to R’ Shlomo Gottesman for coordinating the intricate program of the Yarchei Kallah, as well as his co-chair of Agudas Yisroel’s Torah Projects division R’ Gedaliah Weinberger. Agudah also thanks Rabbi Eliyohu Simcha Bamberger, Mrs. Milka Cook, and Mrs. Debby Jacobs for their dedication to making the Yarchei Kallah an unforgettable experience.

“Why do I come back to the Yarchei Kallah year after year? Because of the unique experience of being back in yeshiva for a week; because of the siyata dishmaya, the gedolim who give shiur, and the singular focus on limud haTorah,” said Shmuel Heinemann, who has been attending the Yarchei Kallah for many years. “Where else but at Agudah’s Yarchei Kallah can you get all of this?”

“One participant told me that when people ask him what he does, he tells them that he lives in Yerushalayim and learns in Agudah’s Yarchei Kallah Kollel – the other 51 weeks of the year, he’s out of the country,” said Rabbi Labish Becker, executive director of Agudas Yisroel of America. “With an attitude like that, it is no wonder that the Yarchei Kallah participants walk away with unparalleled clarity and sipuk.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)