Hadar Hatorah Hosts its Annual Alumni Meleva Malke

Alumni arrived from all over the metropolitan NY area, and even some alumni from California and Toronto who happened to be in town! The evening was beautiful and inspiring.

Alumni and part-time musicians Tzvi Barnett, Moshe Schwartz and Yaakov Horowitz (and son, Mendel Horowitz) introduced the evening with beautiful niggunim, followed by stories and memories from several alumni, including Avi Kamman, Yosef Haroch and Areyeh Leib Fuss, mashpia (and alumnus) Rabbi Yosef Boruch Wircberg and climaxed by some riveting stories by Rosh Hayesheva, Rabbi Yaakov Goldberg.

One story described one of the Rebbe’s annual visits to Hadar Hatorah in the 1970’s on the first night of Pesach. Rabbi Goldberg said that he had a premonition before Pesach that the Rebbe would want to see the Library, and he spent a lot of time, money and effort making sure that all the seforim were rebound and very presentable. The Rebbe did come into the library, walked around, looked at the seforim, smiled and made the comment that “seforim should be learned in until you tear them!”

The evening was a wonderful evening of simcha and achdus. Alumni mingled with each other and also with current students, most of whom were not even born when many of the alumni studied here. Hadar Hatorah is fast approaching (next year) its 50th anniversary. It was founded in 1962 by Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson and was the first yeshiva designed and catering to baalei teshuva men. It was run for many years by Rabbi Jacob J. Hecht and carries his name: Yeshivas Kol Yaakov Yehudah Hadar Hatorah. You are invited to participate in its yearly Purim Raffle fundraiser by going to www.hadarhatorah.org . The drawing date is Thursday, March 17th on Taanis Esther.