In Its Twentieth Year: The Central Yeshiva Ketana of Moscow Launches a Historic Sefer of Chiddushim

Two decades after the establishment of the Central Yeshiva Ketana “Tomchei Temimim” in Istra, outside Moscow, the sounds of Torah learning continue to resonate in a city once synonymous with the persecution of Torah and Yiddishkeit.

That milestone is now being marked with the publication of a new volume of Torah scholarship, “Armeia Admora,” bringing together chiddushim, notes and analytical Torah writings produced by the yeshiva’s rabbonim and talmidim over the years.

The publication comes during the month of Menachem Av, around the yom hillula of the Kabbalist Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and carries particular significance in the Russian capital. In a country where Chabad Chassidim once risked imprisonment and worse for maintaining Torah observance, the flourishing of a Torah institution and the publication of a substantial sefer represent a remarkable transformation.

The Central Yeshiva Ketana “Tomchei Temimim” was established in Istra two decades ago by Russia’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Berel Lazar, shlita.

The newly published volume serves as a collection of Torah scholarship that has emerged from the yeshiva’s ongoing learning program. Its pages contain chiddushim in both Nigleh and Chassidus, reflecting the intensive learning of the yeshiva’s talmidim and staff.

A central focus of the sefer is Maseches Bava Basra, which was studied in depth by the yeshiva during the past year. The volume also includes pilpulim and analyses on the Rebbe’s sichos, developed as part of the Temimim’s winter learning campaign in Likkutei Sichos.

Among the most significant features of the sefer is a section containing four rare handwritten maanos kodesh from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, published here for the first time.

The handwritten responses were addressed to the chossid Harav DovBer Levy and deal with matters connected to Chabad activities behind the Iron Curtain.

The publication of these documents provides a rare glimpse into the Rebbe’s guidance regarding Jewish life and Chabad activities in the Soviet Union during a period when maintaining Jewish observance required tremendous mesirus nefesh.

Another historic section, titled “Dovev Sifsei Yeshenim,” brings to light a shiur that had never previously been published.

The shiur was delivered by the renowned gaon Rabbi Nachum Partzovitz, zt”l, one of the prominent Roshei Yeshiva of Mir. The manuscript was discovered in the genizah of the Chabad House in Lugano, Switzerland, and is now being published for the benefit of the Torah world.

The volume also contains historic halachic responsa from two prominent rabbonim who served Jewish communities in the Soviet Union: Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Chaikin, zt”l, and Rabbi Zalman Antzilevich, zt”l.

Adding another important dimension to the collection is an extensive halachic correspondence between Russia’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Berel Lazar, shlita, and HaGaon Rabbi Chaim Lieberman of Jerusalem.

The sefer is arranged in alphabetical order, emphasizing the unity of Torah despite the diversity of subjects and contributors.

It opens with a series of Chassidic maamarim exploring the spiritual significance of the twentieth year, setting the tone for a publication that seeks not only to document the yeshiva’s accomplishments, but also to give expression to the deeper significance of reaching this milestone.

The project was brought to fruition with the support and encouragement of the yeshiva’s director, Rabbi Chaim Moshe Weber. The extensive editing and coordination were overseen by the yeshiva’s Ra”m and Mashpia, Rabbi Chanan Teichtel.

The publication was completed under the leadership of the current Rosh Yeshiva, HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Lerman, who continues the work begun by his predecessor, Rabbi Mordechai Yona Klein.

The publication of “Armeia Admora” represents more than another addition to the shelves of Torah literature. It is a tangible expression of the remarkable growth of Torah learning in a part of the world where, only a generation ago, such learning was suppressed and persecuted.

Many of the yeshiva’s alumni have gone on to join the ranks of Shluchim serving Jewish communities around the world, carrying with them the Torah and Chassidic education they received in Moscow.

As the Central Yeshiva Ketana enters its third decade, the publication of its Torah chiddushim stands as a testament to the power of Torah to overcome darkness and flourish where it was once forbidden.

The hope and aspiration of those involved is that the Torah being learned and written in Moscow will itself serve as a zechus for the Jewish people, adding another “one act” that tips the scales and hastens the coming of the complete and ultimate Geulah.