JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In honor of the 50th yahrzeit of the Rosh Yeshiva of Hebron, Rabbi Avraham Moshe Chevroni zt”l, author of Masas Moshe, The Gaavad, Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch Shlita, who studied under Rabbi Chevroni, came to the Hevron Yeshiva in Givat Mordechai to deliver an inspiring address in his memory before thousands of students.
Upon his arrival at the yeshiva’s study hall, he was welcomed by the heads of the yeshiva—Rabbis Moshe Mordechai Farbstein, David Cohen, and Yosef Chevroni—who thanked him for his effort in coming.
In his talk, Rabbi Sternbuch expanded on the essence of what it means to be a Ben Yeshiva. He cited the teaching of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, who insisted on referring to his students as bnei yeshiva and not merely talmidei yeshiva, in order to emphasize that students in a yeshiva don’t just study Torah—they absorb their entire identity, including Yiras Shamayim, character refinement, and personal conduct, from the
Toward the end of his address, the students were surprised to hear about a special mission Rabbi Sternbuch had been entrusted with seventy years ago—to deliver a message to the students of Hebron Yeshiva from the holy Rabbi Aharon of Belz zt”l.
In a deeply moving moment that closed a seventy-year circle, Rabbi Sternbuch said to the students:
“I am about to finish, but I would like to fulfill a mission that the holy Rabbi Aharon of Belz gave me about seventy years ago.
“Let me tell you a story: When I was learning in Hevron Yeshiva, I once went to visit the holy Rebbe of Belz. He asked me where I was learning, and I told him I was learning in Hevron Yeshiva. He then asked me to pass on a message to the students there in his name. He said that when learning a Masechta of the Talmud, one must learn it from beginning to end, without skipping even a single page.
“He explained that for every masechta a person learns in this world, he builds for himself a corresponding house in the World to Come. If someone learns a masechta but does not complete it with a siyum, then in the World to Come he will have a flawed house—with no door or window—and it will be an eternal embarrassment, Heaven forbid. Only if the masechta is completed will he have a full and beautiful house.
“And so today, I am fulfilling that mission: to encourage you, the students of Hevron Yeshiva, to complete your masechtos. Whoever wants to grow in Torah will find enough time both for in-depth study (iyun) and for broad knowledge (bekius). Everyone should strive to study diligently, not waste time, and all will be blessed with success, growth, and satisfaction.”
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