Pre-Siyum HaShas Yikra De’oraysa Yarchei Kallah to Provide Unprecedented Opportunity for Halachic Clarity Vis-à-Vis Commerce and Halacha

Imagine being given the opportunity to acquire knowledge and guidance that will change your life – very literally.

Imagine being exposed to concepts and ideas that will alter the way you’ve been doing things every day, possibly for years now, 24/7, and allowing you to conduct your business the way you really want to.

Enter the upcoming Yarchei Kallah at the Parsippany Hilton, being held as a lead-up to the Global Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi at MetLife Stadium.

Over the course of just 36 hours, you can immerse yourself in the study of practical halacha, surrounded by others like yourself, while enriched and guided by renowned rabbonim and halachic experts.

The “Yikra De’oraysa Yarchei Kallah” will focus on the topic of “Business Ownership and Management on Shabbos.” Rabbonim participating include Rav Asher Weiss and Rav Nissan Kaplan from Eretz Yisroel, Rav Shlomo Miller from Toronto, Dayan Menachem Gelley from London, and Rav Michoel Frank, Rav Dov Kahan, Rav Yosef Kushner, Rav Doniel Neustadt and Rav Chaim Meyer Roth.

Rav Shlomo Miller, one of the leading poskim of North America, will lead a fascinating shailos uteshuvos session, sharing from his wealth of knowledge on this matter – and others – in which his expertise is well-known.

Dayan Gelley serves as the av bais din of London, one of the last remaining communal rabbinic positions of its kind, and thus Rav Gelley has seen a host of shailos that cross the portals of the London Bais Din. He will share halachic guidance and details of his experiences with the yarchei kallah attendees.

Coordinated by Rabbi Avrohom Colman, the 3-day, 2-night event, to be held from Monday, December 30, through January 1, the day of the Siyum, will feature a gala seudas mitzvah the night before the Siyum, which will be graced by Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky.

The yarchei kallah will be graced by Rav Dov Kahan, av bais din of Bais Din Meisharim and rov of the Arlington Shul in Lakewood.

“Rav Kahan has expended much energy and devoted great amounts of time toward guiding hundreds of business owners in navigating the complexities of shemiras Shabbos,” says Rav Shlomo Gottesman, pointing to Rav Kahan as one of the leading experts on Shabbos and commerce-related issues.

“Many business-owners seem to close deals with nursing homes on Friday mornings, only to call a rov in the afternoon to ask for assistance in resolving a host of halachic problems,” says Rav Kahan. “The rush to create and fashion proper halachic modalities in a short time frame presents numerous difficulties and complications. B’derech tzachok, I suggested that rabbonim implement a rule that no shtarei mechirah – documents that normally take weeks to prepare – be implemented after 2 p.m. on an Erev Shabbos.”

The sugya d’kallah is one that energizes the maggidei shiur and poskim who will be taking part and presenting shiurim.

One of those maggidei shiur, Rav Yosef Kushner, is the author of the sefer “Commerce and Shabbos.” Rav Kushner wrote the volume after a relative of his who was operating a website discovered that many people involved in halacha did not know the actual facts on the ground. Rav Kushner proceeded to produce a work that addresses the halachic challenges posed by websites, real estate, call centers, and other business vis-à-vis shemiras Shabbos.

“People became aware that as businesses have developed and become more sophisticated, shemiras Shabbos was not being addressed properly,” Rav Kushner explains.

Today, no one would think of being mechallel Shabbos deliberately, but when the metzius is unclear and one doesn’t have proper halachic guidance, desecration of Shabbos is an unfortunate and real possibility.

Rav Doniel Neustadt, rov of the Pine River Village shul in Lakewood, who will deliver a shiur at the yarchei kallah, explains that nursing homes, in particular, present numerous shailos when it comes to Shabbos compliancy.

At the yarchei kallah, Rav Neustadt will present the preview edition of a new sefer on healthcare facilities in halacha, a collaborative work of several different rabbonim, including Rav Kahan, addressing an inyan that has never been dealt with extensively before.

“Whether Shabbos, kashrus, or other such matters, the issues that must be taken into consideration by a frum owner or administrator are numerous,” says Rav Neustadt.

The pioneering English work has also benefitted from the knowledge and talents of Rav Shloime Dickman, Reb Yaakov Frommer, and others. Published by Bais Din Meisharim, the sefer will also contain a new shtar mechirah that has been reworked to fit today’s business environment and deal with contemporary questions. Rav Kahan, an expert on document-related matters, will discuss the shtar mechirah with yarchei kallah attendees and explain the concepts behind it.

Rav Michoel Frank, rov of Kehilas Ohr HaTorah in Silver Spring, MD, is not new to the yarchei kallah setting. He recalls members of his kehillah joining him at a previous yarchei kallah, traveling from Maryland to attend.

“It literally changed their lives. The level of immersion in learning was phenomenal. Everyone was on the ‘same team’ at the yarchei kallah – all types of people, from all backgrounds, sitting around tables, learning with a bren and enthusiasm. People walked away with a high that changed them. They left wanting to create more shiurim and more limud haTorah. It’s a most unique atmosphere. It’s easy to get into it. No matter your background, you’ll very likely surprise yourself.”

The excitement and exhilaration generated by limud haTorah and halachic competency will be on full display at the yarchei kallah this coming week at the Parsippany Hilton.

What about someone who is not a business owner? Is this an event for him as well?

“Absolutely,” says Rav Kushner. “So often, it is not clear who is faced with a shailah. Often, it may be a hired employee, an administrator, or a business affiliate. Everyone needs to be educated on this topic, as the halachos are far-reaching.”

Indeed, even in a residential setting, people are often faced with shailos related to benefitting from items delivered on Shabbos.

“In our world of Amazon deliveries,” Rav Kushner says, “there are amirah l’akum issues with telling a goy to do something or benefitting from meleches Shabbos. May one wear clothing that arrived on Shabbos? What are the parameters of the halacha?”

The limud at the yarchei kallah will be structured in a way that will ensure that participants emerge with a sense of clarity of what they have learned.

This is an event you will not want to miss, a rare opportunity to be koneh a sugya in a matter of days, entering the momentous event of the Siyum HaShas on a spiritual high.

For more information about the Yikra De’oraysa Yarchei Kallah, visit www.thesiyum.org or  email [email protected]. Space is limited, so be sure to act now.