With the arrival of the summer, in shuls throughout Brooklyn there is a lull in activity as numerous families head for the Catskill Mountains to spend the summer, and Rabbanim move their sphere of activity of learning and teaching Torah to venues in the mountains or in Eretz Yisrael. At Khal Bais Yitzchok in Flatbush, however, the opposite is the case for it is during these weeks its much-beloved mara d’asra, Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, shlita, delivers his ever-popular Pirkei Avos shiur to a large and much appreciative audience.
Pirkei Avos is a tractate of the Mishnayos that contains the ethical teachings of our Sages which contains six chapters, one of which is customarily learned each Shabbos during the summer months. Since there are limitless jewels of wisdom in each word of this work, Rav Goldwasser has developed a unique format over the eight years he has been delivering the shiur to unearth these precious nuggets. The Rav selects one of the mishnayos of that week’s perek and explains it in detail, thus enabling his listeners to come to a fuller appreciation of the chachmah contained therein. Perhaps one of the reasons that the shiur draws such large and varied crowd throughout the summer is that this format enables him to include something for everyone. During a typical shiur, Rav Goldwasser relates divrei Chazal, insights from Gedolei Yisrael across the spectrum, thoughts of the great Chassidic Rebbes, relevant halachos and interesting stories that illustrate the gems found in each mishnah of Pirkei Avos.
The following thought is just a sampling of the inspiring ideas that Rav Goldwasser gives over each Shabbos in the shiur. The Mishnah (chapter 4, mishnah 17) tells us in the name of Rabbi Shimon that there are three crowns – Kesser Torah -- the crown of Torah, Kesser Kehunah -- the crown of priesthood, and Kesser Malchus -- the crown of sovereignty; but the crown of good name surpasses all of them. We see here that there is special importance attached to Kesser Torah that puts it above Kesser Kehunah and Kesser Malchus. The Rambam in Hilchos Talmud Torah (3:13) accentuates the significance of Kesser Torah when he comments that one who wishes to acquire the Crown of Torah must utilize his nights properly, exclusively for immersion in Torah.
Hagaon Harav Aharon Kotler, zt”l, comments on this that if one were to envision the crown of a king, he would see that each part of the crown is adorned with precious jewels and pearls. However if one were to notice a patch in the front of the crown that covers a part that is cracked or open, then the value of the crown would be diminished in his eyes. Similarly, says Rav Aharon, every night that a person loses in his pursuit of Kesser Torah is akin to a crack in his crown. A person who wants to be zocheh to the Kesser Torah has to be careful not to be miss a night devoted to Torah study.
The Pirkei Avos shiur takes place each Shabbos throughout the summer at Khal Beis Yitzchok, located at 2016 Avenue L, between Ocean Avenue and East 21st Street, at 5:45 p.m., followed by Minchah at 6:30. Both men and women are invited to attend.
Pirkei Avos is a tractate of the Mishnayos that contains the ethical teachings of our Sages which contains six chapters, one of which is customarily learned each Shabbos during the summer months. Since there are limitless jewels of wisdom in each word of this work, Rav Goldwasser has developed a unique format over the eight years he has been delivering the shiur to unearth these precious nuggets. The Rav selects one of the mishnayos of that week’s perek and explains it in detail, thus enabling his listeners to come to a fuller appreciation of the chachmah contained therein. Perhaps one of the reasons that the shiur draws such large and varied crowd throughout the summer is that this format enables him to include something for everyone. During a typical shiur, Rav Goldwasser relates divrei Chazal, insights from Gedolei Yisrael across the spectrum, thoughts of the great Chassidic Rebbes, relevant halachos and interesting stories that illustrate the gems found in each mishnah of Pirkei Avos.
The following thought is just a sampling of the inspiring ideas that Rav Goldwasser gives over each Shabbos in the shiur. The Mishnah (chapter 4, mishnah 17) tells us in the name of Rabbi Shimon that there are three crowns – Kesser Torah -- the crown of Torah, Kesser Kehunah -- the crown of priesthood, and Kesser Malchus -- the crown of sovereignty; but the crown of good name surpasses all of them. We see here that there is special importance attached to Kesser Torah that puts it above Kesser Kehunah and Kesser Malchus. The Rambam in Hilchos Talmud Torah (3:13) accentuates the significance of Kesser Torah when he comments that one who wishes to acquire the Crown of Torah must utilize his nights properly, exclusively for immersion in Torah.
Hagaon Harav Aharon Kotler, zt”l, comments on this that if one were to envision the crown of a king, he would see that each part of the crown is adorned with precious jewels and pearls. However if one were to notice a patch in the front of the crown that covers a part that is cracked or open, then the value of the crown would be diminished in his eyes. Similarly, says Rav Aharon, every night that a person loses in his pursuit of Kesser Torah is akin to a crack in his crown. A person who wants to be zocheh to the Kesser Torah has to be careful not to be miss a night devoted to Torah study.
The Pirkei Avos shiur takes place each Shabbos throughout the summer at Khal Beis Yitzchok, located at 2016 Avenue L, between Ocean Avenue and East 21st Street, at 5:45 p.m., followed by Minchah at 6:30. Both men and women are invited to attend.
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