Mazal tov: Matmid edition

Warning: The following post may exceed the recommended daily allowance for parental bragging. Proceed at your own risk.

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The Our Shiputzim management would like to extend an exceedingly warm and heartfelt

מזל טוב

to our very own dear ESG

on his recent siyum on the entire Chamishah Chumshei Torah (the Five Books of the Torah)!

As some of you know, in addition to his long day in school, ESG goes to an intensive and completely voluntary 5-days-a-week afternoon Talmud Torah.

Going to this optional Talmud Torah was (and is) ESG’s own choice and initiative, and BA”H, he has earned a name for himself as quite the matmid (loosely, diligent and dedicated Torah scholar). (Did I not warn you that there would be boasting? :-))

The boys learn Chumash and Mishnah without skipping anything. In the Mishnah class, they finished the entire Seder Zera’im last year* and are currently approaching the end of Seder Mo’ed. Meanwhile, they just finished all Five Books of the Torah in their Chumash class.

Brief sociological digression: When YZG and I were growing up in the States, afterschool Talmud Torahs used to refer to something that public school kids attended – usually in a Conservative temple. But here in Israel, even kids like ESG, who attend excellent dual curriculum Torani schools during the day, may choose to go to an afterschool Talmud Torah in order to get in a few more hours of extra Torah learning.  </digression>

Anyway, this year’s siyum began with a tour of Gush Etzion and ended with a festive meal in Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut, together with Rav Lichtenstein.

Each boy got to shake Rav Lichtenstein’s hand before receiving a copy of a sefer called “Iturei Halachah: Ahavat Chessed” and also a personalized certificate:

Mazal tov also to ESG’s very proud parents, grandparents, and siblings.

!חודש טוב ושבת שלום ומבורך

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*You can read about last year’s siyum in Rav Neventzal’s house in the Old City here.