11 Feb Kol Torah Chaburah Boys’ Kollel is Shteiging Away!

Almost a decade ago, a mispalel of K’hal Nachlas Yitzchok – under the leadership of Horav Sekula shlit”a, pondered over an idea: “How can we engage yeshiva boys to spend a long, boring winter evening in a Torah environment”? After discussion with the Rov, a concept was pioneered: “Set up a program for 6th & 7th grade boys to learn for a compensated hour.

And so, the Kol Torah Chaburah Boys Kollel was established. Participants are compensated for their hour of “shteiging” with a crisp five dollar bill. They also receive weekly tickets for entry into a raffle for cash prizes.

The first session started with a small group of boys. After just a few weeks, there were over 30 participants and as word got out, the weekly participants kept increasing. Boys from many yeshivos participate and make the most of an otherwise uninspiring weeknight.

The highlight is the weekly “Shteiger of the Week” award which is publically presented to ONE carefully selected participant at the end of the evening. Competition for this award is intense.

The program now has dozens of boys weekly, joyfully learning with an incredible fervor. The energy is palpable and inclement weather doesn’t discourage attendance.

This is indeed a unique program, perhaps the only one of its kind in the community, in that it is conducted as a Kollel and NOT an Avos Ubanim program. The participants are encouraged to learn (and to learn how to learn) independently – with a chavrusah and not with their fathers. Questions are generally not answered, rather, the participant is directed how and where to find the answer on his own. (OK, sometimes they get the answer)

A rebbi from a local yeshiva recently stopped by, because he “wasn’t quite convinced”. He wanted to “see firsthand what the program was all about”. A bystander related that the rebbi’s expression was priceless.

Securing funds for sponsorship is always a concern. Often, a few individuals will share sponsorships. One can only conclude that when mispalelim start arriving for maariv, the overwhelming panorama inspires them to happily participate.

The program is organized and supervised by Mr. Akiva Klein. He has many years of experience in chinuch and connects with every participant. “I hope to see the program continue to flourish” says Mr. Klein. “After all, what greater nachas is there than to observe countless yiddishe kinderlach – the tinokos shel bais rabon assembled – doing what they love most – learning Torah!”

If you’d like to sponsor or co-sponsor a week, please email Mr. Klein at akivaklein49@gmail.