As the old year ends and the new one is about to begin we would like to share with you some of the exciting things that have been taking place in the world of Ohr Somayach.

It has become a tradition for the yeshiva to utilize the weeks before Rosh Hashana to inspire Jews throughout the world through lectures by members of our staff in Yerushalayim and elsewhere.

Three such events took place this year and all were great successes:

This was the biggest event, our annual Yom Iyun in Chicago on September 12^th. The lectures were given by Rabbi Berel Wein, Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky and Rabbi Akiva Tatz. Putting together this highly successful evening, which attracted over a thousand people, were Rabbi Yehuda Albin, our representative in Chicago, and Rabbi Chaim Salenger.

In his report on the Yom Iyun, Rabbi Albin summarized it all by stating “It was a tremendous kiddush Hashem”.

Rabbi Zev Kahn, an alumnus who established the highly successful Jewish Education Team (JET) in Chicago, wrote us the following:

“The Yom Iyun in Chicago this past Tuesday was an outstanding success, Baruch Hashem. The theater was sold out and everyone I spoke to came out very inspired. It was also a great opportunity for me to bring college students to start off their school year hearing three such powerful speakers. Almost 30 of my students attended, including a number I introduced to Rabbi Nosson Adler, who are candidates for the JLE. B’ezrat Hashem, I am hoping to bring a nice group over for the December JLE.”

The presence in the U.S. of alumnus Rabbi Akiva Tatz, the world famous star of our London (JLE) branch, was utilized for other events organized by Rabbi Avrohom Rockmill. One of these was the September 5^th Avigdor Glaser Memorial Lecture, which took place at the Young Israel of Queens Valley and drew a large crowd from the entire Queens community.

This was our first appearance in this fast-growing city where a considerable number of our former talmidim have settled. Two of them, Bob Aberman and Harry Rothenberg, organized a well-attended event featuring both Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky and Rabbi Tatz.

We hope that the example set by these alumni will inspire others to take an initiative to help Ohr Somayach achieve its goals.

Following the great success of the first volume of “Love of the Land” (The Gladstone Edition, with a section dedicated by alumnus Shmuel Rothman), the Jewish Learning Library of Ohr Somayach is about to publish the first of six volumes of “TalmuDigest”. This will be followed by “Seasons of the Moon”, written by alumnus and faculty member Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair and dedicated by alumnus Neil Auerbach. In various states of preparation are:

• “Love of the Land” – Volume Two
• “TalmuDigest” – Volume Two
• “Question Market” – Volume One
• “The Malbim Reader”

If you have any suggestions as to people who might be interested in sponsoring any of these prestigious works, please contact the yeshiva for up-to-date information on which books are still available for dedication.

We close with best wishes to you and yours for a kesivah vechasimah tovah – a new year filled with “Ohr” and very “Somayach”.

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