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The Torah-world Phenomenon Astounds Again: 132 Gaonim Shas Yidden Celebrate Siyumei Hashasim and Public Farher

YS GOLD

The hall in the Geulah neighborhood of Yerushalayim was filled with Torah greatness—132 avreichim Gaonim Shas Yidden, along with Gedolei Torah who would be testing them on the entirety of Shas, as well as their financial supporters who came to witness this astounding scene—when Hagaon Rav Reuven Elbaz proclaimed: “Seeing this many true gaonim… I am nearly convinced that we are obligated to recite the berachah of Baruch Shecholak… He Who has shared of His wisdom with those who fear Him!”

Hagaon Rav Menachem Cohen, Rosh Yeshivas Nesiv Hada’as, added: “I have had the merit to sit in great and illustrious batei Midrash, alongside great men of mastery in Torah—including in the esteemed Kollel Ponovezh—and to serve as an attendant to some of the greatest Gedolim from the previous generation —but I have never seen Talmidei Chachomim such as these.. It’s worthwhile coming from faraway countries just to witness this!"

History Repeats—Yet Continues to Astound

The phenomenon of seeing the Gaonim Shas Yidden display utter and complete mastery of the entire Shas is not new—in fact, “Shas Yidden” is now celebrating its eighteenth year. The Torah world has become accustomed to this annual sight which is repeated annually in all its glory—and yet, it continues to astound all those privileged to witness it, because it touches something so deep within the Jewish heart.

There isn’t a Yid who has witnessed the site of this exam and wasn’t affected by it. Baalei batim report having taken on a new shiur, accomplished talmidei chachamim have resolved to invest more in the mastery of Shas, and young bachurim attest to having the scope of their aspirations and life goals altered forever.

And so, it is an historic event—even if it transpires every year—to see on one dais 132 young men, from every stripe and denomination in Klal Yisrael, drawn from the seven Kollelim under the Torah empire known as “Shas Yidden” located in every major Jewish metropolis, as they undergo a rigorous exam on, literally, the entire Shas, and respond with crystal clear answers that display an astounding mastery reminiscent of previous generations in Klal Yisrael.

This year’s bechinah took place at the legendary Yeshiva Ohr Hachaim, founded and led by Hagaon Rav Reuven Elbaz, in conjunction with a siyum on the entire Shas by each of the avreichim. And indeed, to be present and to witness the glow and the joy on the faces of the Shas Yidden was to walk away with ohr and chaim—light and life—in the depths of one’s heart.