Telshe Yeshiva of Cleveland recently held its Annual Dinner celebrating 74 years of harbatzas Torah in the United States. The gala dinner was held at Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights, Ohio and was attended by an impressive crowd of community lay leaders, alumni, and friends of the Yeshiva. More than 600 people around the world watched the dinner via live stream. The Annual Dinner was preceded by an Alumni Reunion in New York several weeks ago that galvanized New York alumni who keenly remembered how they had developed their derech hachaim during their formative years on the Cleveland campus.
Every year, at the Dinner, the Yeshiva pays tribute to its Yovel class, celebrating their fifty years of service to klal Yisroel. This year the Yeshiva honored Mr. Frank Mandel and Mr. Sruly Braunstein of the Yovel class. Both of these honorees spoke at the Dinner.
Mr. Frank Mandel stressed the connection that he and his peers had to their Rebbeim. It was a strong relationship that allowed them to observe gadlus up close. Mr. Mandel exhorted his peers to accept the responsibility of supporting the Yeshiva. “Ha’aron nosei es nos’uv, those who carried the aron were themselves carried by the aron. The Yeshiva gave us the tools we needed to succeed in life both in ruchniyus and gashmius. Tonight we can become a full-fledged shutaf in the Torah that emanates from Telzer Yeshiva, our Yeshiva. There is no question that we can use the fringe benefits, the zechusim we will get from this partnership.”
Mr. Sruly Braunstein spoke about the great influence Rav Gavriel Ginsberg had on him and his group of friends. Rav Gavriel was a young, American-born product of Telshe, and he had a beautiful way of getting across to his talmidim, Rav Ginsberg always encouraged the bochurim: he taught them how to learn and how to be a mensch. Mr. Braunstein also spoke about the fact that he, along with other alumni, are leading the work of reestablishing the alumni association that was led for so many years by Rav Shlomo Davis, shlit”a
Rabbi Ahron Levitansky, Rosh Mechina, then presented the Parents of the Year Award to Rabbi and Mrs. Berger, stalwarts of the Cleveland frum community. Rabbi Levitansky praised the many years that Rabbi and Mrs. Berger are involved in almost all areas of chinuch serving as teachers both to boys and girls, organizing Pirchei groups, running summer camps in Russia as well as summer camps in the United States, organizing the Dirshu morning kollel in Cleveland and the siyum mishnayos.
Rav Sholom Shapiro, Menahel Ruchani of the Yeshiva, then presented the Avodas Hakodesh Award to Rabbi and Mrs. Shlomo Kadosh. Emphasizing Rabbi Kadosh’s all-encompassing ahrayus for klal yisrael, Rabbi Shapiro commented that Rabbi Kadosh is always on the lookout to make himself and those around him better. Rabbi Kadosh serves as a model for his many talmidim in Yeshiva Gedola of Montreal.
Rav Shlomo Kadosh said (in unprepared, spontaneous, passionate remarks) that Telshe, “is the world where we lived, where we were formed and where we continue to live, it is part of our DNA. Since Telshe has such a high rate of it’s alumni making a difference in the Jewish world, when you support Telshe you aren’t just supporting the Yeshiva today, you are supporting many future yeshivos, kollelim and chessed institutions. Telshe is an incubator for zikui harabim.”
Rav Aharon Dovid Goldberg, the Rosh HaYeshiva concluding the remarks for the evening noting that the Yeshiva has tremendous appreciation and gratitude to the alumni who are coalescing around the Yeshiva. Rav Goldberg also spoke about how it has become a great zechus to live in the city of Cleveland, a city with eight kollelim. The Rosh Yeshiva invited all alumni and members of the Cleveland community to visit the Yeshiva and bask in the aura of the Torah that permeates the atmosphere in the Yeshiva. The Rosh Yeshiva said over from Rav Nosson Wachtfogel that it’s brought down that Yeshiva bochurim of the generation of Mashiach will bring Eliyohu Hanavi. How? Because the youth today are confronted with the greatest challenges ever presented to youth in history; it is the learning in the Yeshiva and the derech hatorah that counteracts and uplifts the negative forces of our times. This is the tafkid and benefit that the Yeshiva brings to the community and to klal Yisrael. This is the Yeshiva’s great zechus.
The evening included several videos that brought back memories of earlier times in the Yeshiva and also highlighted the vibrant learning in the Yeshiva today and the close ties that talmidim are forming with their Rebbeim and Masgiachim. The evening concluded with Maariv. The audience left impressed and committed to appreciating and furthering the growth of Torah in Telshe Cleveland.
YOVEL CLASS:
Telshe Yeshiva 74th Annual Dinner – Yovel Class from Mint Media on Vimeo.
RABBI AND MRS. MOSHE YITZCHOK BERGER:
Telshe Yeshiva 74th Annual Dinner – Rabbi & Mrs. Moshe Yitzchok Berger from Mint Media on Vimeo.
RABBI AND MRS. SHLOMO KADOSH:
Telshe Yeshiva 74th Annual Dinner – Rabbi & Mrs. Shlomo Kadosh from Mint Media on Vimeo.
FEATURE PRESENTATION:
Telshe Yeshiva 74th Annual Dinner – Feature Presentation from Mint Media on Vimeo.
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
