After two years of not being able to organize a large siyum mishnayos, Pirchei Agudas Yisroel celebrated the comeback of their Annual National Siyum Mishnayos al Shem Harav Yehoshua Silbermitz zt”l this past Sunday night at the Kol Yaakov Hall in Brooklyn. Pirchim from Brooklyn, Monsey, Passaic, Boston and other cities were in attendance to honor the mesayemei Shishah Sidrei Mishnah who collectively recited the hadran.
Rabbi Avi Frank, as in the past, chaired the event, and welcomed the boys back from the two year break. Rabbi Ephraim Levi, national director of Pirchei Agudas Yisroel, welcomed the boys on behalf of Pirchei, and Rabbi Labish Becker, executive director of Agudah gave divrei brachah, and welcomed the boys on behalf of Agudas Yisroel of America. Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Leiff, Rav, Agudath Israel Beis Binyamin, delivered divrei Chizuk. As in previous years, Mr. Abe Eisner recited Kaddish.
In a bittersweet moment, Rabbi Labish Becker announced that after 22 years of leading Pirchei Agudas Yisroel, Rabbi Levi will be moving to a new position outside of the Agudah. “As a Rebbi in the Yeshiva in Passaic, as the head of the Pirchei in Passaic for so many years, and as the head of Pirchei Agudas Yisroel for 22 years, Rabbi Ephraim Levi has lead the Pirchei movement with so much dedication, with so much mesiras nefesh, with so much ahavah, and with so much simchah,” he said. Rabbi Levi’s impact on Pirchei Agudas Yisroel is apparent in the thousands of boys who took part in the Pirchei movement during his tenure. He will be missed by his colleagues at Agudas Yisroel, and by the many, many, Pirchim whose lives he elevated.
The dais was graced by local Rabbonim and Roshei Yeshiva. The Pirchim were treated to a story by the famous story teller Rabbi Yoel Ferber. The evening concluded with the viewing of a video presentation of, “Just Love Them”, about the life of Rabbi Dovid Trenk zt”l, a Pirchei boy, a Pirchei leader, and Rosh Yeshiva who inspired hundreds of talmidim over his lifetime.
Dozens of prizes were raffled off and every boy received a prize on the way out.
The siyum is a culmination of a year of Mishnayos learning, and encouragement for the future for boys to sign up and be part of Pirchei’s Kesser Mishnayos program originated by the previous Pirchei National Director, Rabbi Shimon Grama. The program encourages boys to learn as much mishnayos as possible for their Bar Mitzvah, and includes review questions and prize incentives with the goal of being mesayem Shishah Sidrei Mishnah and receiving the grand prize of a Shas.
The mesayemim who complete Shishah Sidrei Mishnah are to be invited to a special private gathering with their families at a later date when they receive their Shas.
