Love of Torah Attracts Young Men to South Florida

Chanie Simon knows her son is in good hands. Fifteen-year-old Shmully, who came from London, England, to South Florida to attend yeshiva at the Mesivta of Coral Springs, is enjoying his first year there so much that he wants to go back next year.

The Mesivta program, which mostly sees students between the ages of 14 and 17, is designed to promote a lifelong love for Jewish learning, Talmudic scholarship and refinement of character according to the philosophy of Chabad-Lubavitch teachings, explains Rabbi Shloime Denburg, the school’s director. In that way, students will be able to apply ancient Jewish principles to the decisions they make in their own lives, he says.

As the Mesivta of Coral Springs celebrates its fifth year, it is welcoming young men like Shmully, whose family first discovered the program through an advertisement in a Chabad community newsletter. After looking at other American schools as well as programs in Israel, the Mesivta seemed to be the best fit for him, says Simon.

“The faculty has been amazing,” she enthuses, adding that even though Shmully lives far away, they’re still in touch by phone and by email.

Members of the faculty also keep in touch with parents on a regular basis.

Simon notes the school’s focus on each and every student and his positive growth makes a difference. She appreciates the care her son receives in both the physical and spiritual realms.

“We are extremely happy,” she says.

According to Denburg, the academy’s strengths come in part from its ability to attract young men from around the country and globe. It’s anchored in the local Jewish community as an extension of Chabad of Coral Springs, which Denburg’s parents, Rabbi Yossie and Rivka Denburg, founded 25 years ago, and exists as part of an educational framework that includes the Hebrew Academy of Margate run by the Denburgs, several Hebrew schools, and the Rohr Bais Chaya Academy high school for girls.

Last year, the Mesivta purchased a building in the center of Coral Springs and began renovating it, establishing a campus that includes classrooms, a kitchen and a dormitory for students from out of town.

“That’s been a very exciting step,” Denburg says of the purchase.

The school also has been working on developing a curriculum that helps direct students’ studies in subjects including the Talmud and the foundational work of Chasidic thought known as the Tanya.

“The basic idea is that students are not just meant to be taught; they’re meant to be guided,” explains Rabbi Chaim Dovid Janowski, the Mesivta’s dean.

Workbooks and review sheets are part of the process.

“The workbook is structured to teach them critical thinking skills,” says Janowski, adding that the students also have the opportunity to ask questions on a variety of topics at a monthly question and answer session.

The focus overall is on taking the diverse student body and helping them learn how to understand the Torah, Chasidic thought and the teachings of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, as integral to their lives.

“We’d like the Torah to be alive,” states Janowski.

On Fridays, students go out into the community to meet with shopkeepers and pedestrians, offering opportunities for Jewish men to don the prayer boxes known as tefillin and passing out Sabbath candles to area women. Weekly study sessions also include men from the local Jewish community.

These activities, done as an extension of students’ rigorous schedules of learning, stem from the teachings of the Rebbe, who taught not only to focus on one’s own grown in his spiritual and scholarship, but to bring these values and teachings to all those in the surrounding community.

“It’s part and parcel of what and who we are,” explains Denburg. “Our students are immersed day and night in the study of Torah, and by going out into the world on a regular basis, they impact those they come in contact with.”

With a current student body of 20 boys, the Mesivta expects to welcome 35 students in September. Its program begins at 7:30 each morning and goes well past 9:00 each night.

As far as infrastructure is concerned, plans include hiring more teachers and buying more space to allow for more classrooms and dormitory space.

“It’s all unfolding,” says Denburg. “We’re in negotiations to purchase more space and bring down another teacher.”

Graduates – the first graduating class was last year – go on to more specialized educational programs and training. Their time at the Mesivta is expected to lay the groundwork for their future growth as rabbis and Jewish leaders.

“We’re the start of the process, so we hope that if kids get a good foundation over here, from here on they’ll only become more successful,” says Denburg.

Rabbi Aaron Bartfield remembers being part of large classes when he was a 15-year-old yeshiva student like his son Yossi. So he’s glad his son gets experience learning closely with his teachers at the Mesivta. Instead of passively listening in the back of the class, he’s engaged with the materials, the teachers and his classmates.

“It makes up the whole spirit of the yeshivah,” Bartfield says of the experience.

“I want him to develop a love for learning,” continues the father. “When you hang around with people who are passionate about learning, it rubs off on you.”