For all of his life, Motty Sigall, a member of the renowned Mezamrim Choir, thought Torah learning just wasn’t for him. Struggling with dyslexia and ADHD, he was thrown out of yeshivos and had resigned himself to the idea that he was simply not a “learner.” But one shiur and a life-changing Shabbos experience changed everything.

Motty recalls a Thursday evening when he heard a shiur on Emunah and Bitachon from the Bais Halevi. The maggid shiur spoke about the four questions every neshama will be asked after 120 years, including, “Did you set aside times to learn Torah?” Motty thought he had a valid excuse — learning wasn’t his strength.

The next day, Motty traveled to a Kinyan HaMesechta Shabbos event as part of the Mezamrim Choir, which was hired to inspire the attendees with music. Surrounded by an atmosphere of Torah and chizzuk, Motty felt something stir within him. That Friday night, he struggled to sleep, haunted by the question from the shiur: “Did you set aside times to learn Torah?”

On Shabbos morning, he approached Rabbi Yitzchak Wagner, Nasi of Kinyan HaMesechta, with an earnest question: “What should I do if learning Torah just isn’t for me?” Rabbi Wagner’s reply was transformative: “If you want to learn, then Torah is for you.”

The two sat down to learn the first Mishna in Meseches Tamid. “The feeling I got was like breathing fresh air for the first time in years,” Motty shares. Inspired, the two made a commitment to learn together, as they lived just five minutes apart. Together, they finished Meseches Tamid.

Reflecting on the experience, Motty says, “It was the greatest gift I’ve ever received. The mesikus haTorah has changed every area of my life.”

Rabbi Wagner adds, “Ain davar ha’omed bifnei haratzon—if you truly want something, nothing can stand in your way.”

Motty’s story was shared in a video played at this year’s Kinyan HaMesechta event – hopefully inspiring many others to begin a seder limud.

The sequel: This year at the Kinyan Hamesechta Shabbos, Motti and his inspiring story were featured and the song goes on. Four of his fellow Mezamrim members committed to joining a new Kinyan Chaburahto to be led by Motti, and was in fact launched the very next day! ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת

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