Shaar Hatalmud | 1
Achieve Greatness in Torah Learning CONTACT RABBI DOVID ABENSON TEL: 1.514.739.3629 // EMAIL: (Whatsapp/Text) 1.514.993.5300 ravabenson@shaarhatalmud.com WEBSITE: ShaarHatalmud.com Shaar Hatalmud | 3
5782 ו׳ כסלו 10 NOVEMBER 2021 The crisis in Jewish Education in the 21st century THE PURPOSE OF BOTH MY SEFORIM RABBI DOVID ABENSON In over three decades in the field of Jewish education, saving thousands of students from around the world aging from 3 years to 89, children, boys/girls, students, FFB, BT, and upgrading rebbeim, maggidei shiur, Menahelim, and Roshei Yeshiva. I have decided to publish two seforim on this important subjectThe Jewish educational system. The purpose of the seforim is to raise awareness for institutions and parents that there is hope, real hope, and never despair with your child in Torah learning. Enclosing testimonials from around the world from parents, students, rebbes, and even from non-Jewish professionals attesting to the success of the program. The first Sefer is called “Struggling with Hebrew reading and frustrated in Torah learning” Shaar Hatalmud 2021 Latest - booklet powered by Fleepit or contact me to receive a free copy and the second Sefer soon-to-be-published called” I can’t read and learn’’. My goal is that both seforim becomes an invaluable source for every Jewish home, as there is almost no family not untouched by the current educational crisis. When a child (even if gifted) is struggling in their institution whether in regards to Hebrew reading or understanding the gemara shiur, the first thing the institution does, it calls the parents in for a meeting to discuss the “problem” which they are having with their son. It is normally a one-sided conversation. If the parents do not listen or voice their opinion their names circulate mysteriously that they don’t support the school and it becomes harder for their son to be in the institution. In most cases, medicating these types of children by the Jewish institutions is the first step. Parents have no choice. They have to accept what they tell them, otherwise, they will be told to find another place. Some Menahelim even go so far as to force the parents to sign a document agreeing to medicate their child; if not, their son would not be allowed back into school. A senior Rosh Yeshiva told me that in his community of 1000 of students, 30% are on medication. This has been going on for the past three decades. The institutions most times blame the parents and the child for the issue they are having with him, rarely blaming themselves. This unfortunate trend is the norm and accepted practice today in most establishments. This approach is contrary to the Torah view as one will read in my seforim. The main reason why students are not performing well in school/Yeshiva is that the foundation skills have not been fully addressed or not taught at all. It makes no difference which group one is affiliated with. Please note there are other factors as to why students are not performing well in school. The student has been sexually abused at home or in school by the rebbe, divorce issues, bullying, and or drugs. Although these are issues, it is only with the minority of students the institution has to face. However, the main reason why so many students are not performing well in school is solely due to the lack of foundation skills which accounts for most of the students. What is the first step which must be taken? All institutions must stop being in denial and stop blaming the parents and child first, but rather use my checklist which is included in my sefer. From there one can determine if the child requires an evaluation to see if he is lacking foundation skills or if the rebbe needs to be upgraded or removed from his position. The evaluation must be done by a professional who’s trained in pinpointing the student’s undeveloped skills that are hampering him in his Torah learning. If the institution does not have such a person, they must hire somebody or be trained. Please contact me if you need assistance with this. I would just like to mention that during the pandemic last year when all the institutions were shut down throughout the world, the institutions were scrambling to teach their students. Hashem suspended every Rebbe and Rosh yeshiva for a whole year from their jobs in teaching. However, regarding my teaching, I was busier than ever during that time. I did not lose my job but rather saved many more students as opposed to all the other rebbeim from around the world who had no job or “one can say suspended from their position”. What was Hashem telling me? “Carry on, you are doing a great job for the Jewish people”. That is why I have decided to write these Just ed ish Pubtlfor parentss,, n us tutio Am h insti Jewis tudents. lk orders s & ee copy or bu contact two seforim to save the Jewish people. To explain how this crisis started in the first place. Suggestions on how to fix the crisis in the Jewish Education system and that parents should know that there is hope, real hope for their child who is struggling in the system don’t despair!! Never give up!! Let us all merit to restore the Torah learning like in the days of חזקיהו המלךas it states Sanhedrin 94b בדקו מדן ועד באר שבע ולא מצאו עם הארץ מגבת ועד אנטיפרס ולא מצאו תינוק ותינוקת איש ואשה שלא היו בקיאין בהלכות טומאה וטהרהThey searched from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, and did not find an ignoramus. They searched from Gevat to Antipatris and did not find a male child, or a female child, or a man, or a woman who was not expert even in the complex halakhot of ritual purity and impurity. חזקיהו המלךmade sure that even the child knew all the Torah, not just for the elite. Hopefully, my seforim will pave the way so that every Jew will have the ability and have the proper skills to learn by themselves and enjoy Torah learning and even translate a verse in the Chumash correctly, not like what is happening today. Recently my new frum student aged 15- translated the following verse ַויְהי ָרע֖ב בָ ּא ֶרץ ַו ֵ ּ֨י ֶרד אבְ ר֤ם מצְ ַ֨ריְמָ ה לָג֣ ּור שָ ׁם כִ י־ ּֽ ֔ ֙ ִ ָ ַ ָ֑ ָ ִ֥ כָב֥ד ה ָרע֖ב בָ ּא ֶרץAnd there was a famine in the ָֽ ָ ָֽ ֵ land, and Abram descended to Egypt to sojourn there because the famine was severe in the land. He translated as follows: A lot of people in the land Abraham went to Egypt he was a stranger there the majority of people honorable or how about this 65-year-old religious Yid, very successful in real estate translated the word וְ הַ כְ ּנַ ֽעֲנִ ֖י אז בָ ּא ֶרץAbraham ָֽ ָ֥ was in the land. For 52 years he felt he was right because the verse is speaking about Abraham. He had not been learning Torah clearly for 52 years. I have many more stories which are written in both of my seforim. This should never happen again. To see over 30 haskomos from Gedolim/ Dayanim/Mechanchim and recommendations from parents/ students look at my website shaarhatulmud .com To contact me or sponsor my seforim please contact my office at Tel. 15147393629 Cell/Whatsapp 15149935300 Email: ravabenson@shaarhatalmud.com JT GS 14 GOOD SHABBOS 4 | Shaar Hatalmud N ENSO D AB i DOVI Rabb The crisis in Jewish Education 5782 ו׳ כסלו k r fr flipboo er you To ord aid) or virtual 739 3629 or 14 l: ep (postag benson on 15 5300 or emai 3 A 14 99 Rabbi /text 15 ail.com atsApp n.kriah1@gm Wh abenso NEW! From the desk of Rabbi Dovid Abenson. ASK THE RABBI is a new forum where readers are welcome to submit all questions on subjects regarding Jewish education to Rabbi Abenson. He will answer them in a timely fashion through the Jewish Tribune. Rabbi Dovid Abenson can be contacted at: Tel. 15147393629 Rabbi Abenson is the founder and director of ShaarHatalmud, a unique yeshivah-based online program, which incorporates learning all Kodesh subjects, from Kriah all the way up to learning Gemara, Rishonim and Shulchan Oruch. He also conducts evaluations, remediation, and training, and consults with Roshei HaYeshiva and Menahelim to improve students’ underdeveloped learning and textual skills. Rabbi Dovid Abenson can be contacted at: ravabenson@ shaarhatalmud.com WhatsApp 001 514 993 5300 ShaarHatalmud.com 10 NOVEMBER 2021
9 FREILICHEN CHANUKAH/GOOD SHABBOS 5782 כ׳ כסלו FC JT The crisis in Jewish Education in the 21st century PART 2 YAAKOV’S STORY: HOW A LITTLE DIKDUK GOT A BACHUR BACK FROM THE BRINK RABBI DOVID ABENSON When kids are struggling in learning, it is not simply a case of being less bright or intelligent than other students. A rebbi once sent me 19-year-old Yaakov (not his real name) for evaluation. He has a good head and his understanding of everything being given over in shiur was great. But when it came to learning the text inside, he had problems. I went through 3 years of hell! Years of intensely painful days... lying in bed, lying deflated and sad…. too emotionally weak to muster enough strength to pull myself out of bed. Just 3 years of misery, despair, and emotional heartbreak, lying in bed desperate beyond desperate to get and make a success out of myself but simply unable. 3 years of hell! I was a bright kid in school. I have memories of little me in class arguing passionately about the sugya, encouraged by the rebbi’s smiles, memories of asking the clever Kasha, and the classmates’ admiring faces...but one thing bothered me. It started as a little niggle at the back of my head but gained prominence as it inched forward to my conscious mind...and that problem was that I could never work out a Gemara myself. Had I listened well in class I may have done o.k. but I tended to drift off here and there so I was never clear enough on the sugya to participate in class well enough and hence I was never appreciated much. And that stung! I knew I was bright. I saw it from my Kushios here and there, but finding chavrusas was always a heartbreaking experience, it punctured my self-esteem and gave me an intense, searing heartache too bitter and too painful to describe...I lost all motivation for anything No Chavrusas No major friends Just a bunch of rebbeim who wrung their hands up in despair bemoaning my bitter fate by saying how they can not understand how a clever boy like me cannot get up in the morning. Yaakov got into a yeshiva gedolah thanks to a combination of hard pushing and protektzia and was finally noticed by a caring and devoted maggid shiur who hired a private rebbi to help him. The rebbi was baffled by the fact that Yaakov was bright, but barely understood what he was reading, and often misread words in the text. He had no explanation for this phenomenon. That’s when the maggid shiur reached out to me for an evaluation. In Yaakov’s words: Rabbi Abenson unearthed that I had no knowledge in dikduk, a basic skill needed to learn. He taught me the dikduk, then taught me how to learn with real understanding. 24 NOVEMBER 2021 I have almost finished the course and I can already learn a posuk or gemara with a crystal clarity that bestows satisfaction, contentment, and a sincere enjoyment in learning I have way more confidence in my learning and a much more positive outlook. No kid should ever go through what I went through. I would lie in bed wondering: “why am I different? Why can’t I get up and others can? Why do I struggle when I read a Gemara myself when others just zip through it? Why don’t I find chavrusas when others, less clever than I, find them with ease? Am I really as smart as I thought I was?” These questions stabbed my heart filling me with emotional pain, enveloping my world with a cloud of black, gloomy, bitter despair. Yaakov is a bright boy but all his years in yeshiva had failed to teach him the skills he needed to succeed. Indeed his rebbi was amazed to hear there even were such things as foundational skills, he assumed these were things boys just “pick up” as they go along. Every child learns at a different pace and in different ways, hence Shlomo HaMelech’s dictum “Chanoch l’naar al pi darko”. After evaluation, it didn’t take long in the programme for Yaakov to see improvements. As he wrote, he went from deep despair to an intense love of learning and confidence and hope for the future. Most of the yeshivos I have come across emphasise havana and chazara but not foundation skills. Here are three golden rules for rebbeim that I can never stress too much. 1) As a prerequisite for learning, students must be able to read all words correctly, reading the whole word, not sounding out syllables. If they are still at the sounding out syllable phase, even if they are reading with 100% accuracy, they are not ready to start learning. Whole word reading is crucial to comprehension. Syllable-level reading will not reveal the meaning in the words, the shorashim, prefixes, and suffixes. 2) Rebbeim must take care to translate every word clearly and concisely into English (or whatever language is spoken in the Yeshiva). Yeshivish English is often imprecise and does not give clarity As an example of “yeshivish” translation, a student of mine recently translated the Hebrew word ( סוסsoos) as “donkey”. It actually means “horse”. I asked him in that case what is a חמור (chamor). He replied, “also a donkey”. He didn’t think there was much difference between the two animals. The differences are not just a matter of biological nitpicking. They are differentiated halachically and symbolically. Consider the mitzvah of peter chamor (redemption of a firstborn donkey) or the prohibition of a king having too many horses (Devarim 17:16), horses being a symbol of might and power, which a Jewish king must limit if he is to remember all his power comes only from Hashem. If the text of the Torah and the meforshim seem fit to differentiate between these two animals, the language with which we learn Torah should make the same distinctions. 3) Students must be able to express, outside, in a concise manner, what they have learned; whether it is Chumash, Mishna, Gemara. The benchmark for success here is whether a person who knows nothing would be able to understand what is being said. Anything less is not real clarity. Although these points may seem obvious, in truth they are rarely implemented. Rebbeim do not focus on this and are not trained to identify missing skills or how to rectify them. Moreover, teaching with real clarity is hard work. The roshei yeshiva of past generations toiled for hours to be able to summarise a sugya clearly and simply. The more clear the shiur, the harder it is to prepare. There is a famous story about Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, who used to give what seemed a very pashut Gemara shiur. One day he gave an amazing shiur with meforshim and lomdus flying and people thought “Oh! This is what we expect from a real gaon” After he finished the shiur, Rav Yaakov apologised for the shiur and explained that he had gone to a Simcha the previous night and had returned home very late so he hadn’t been able to prepare for his usual shiur. My mentor Rabbi Zobin spoke personally with Rav Nosson Kaminetsky to find out if this story about his father was true. He confirmed that it was. Being clear was much more work for this gadol b’yisroel than being brilliant. I see many kids like Yaakov. Most of them can be helped quickly and effectively, simply by teaching them the skills they lack. Don’t we as a community owe it to all of them to give them back their love of life and learning? Torah learning is a connection to Hashem. Can we afford to just shrug and say “too bad” if a child isn’t succeeding in Yeshiva, knowing the solution may be easily attainable? As Yaakov wrote to me most recently: Learning this zman is literally no comparison to before it’s miles easier and just so much more geshmak! Thanks so much! To see over 30 haskomos from Gedolim/Dayanim/ Mechanchim and recommendations from parents/ students look at my website shaarhatulmud .com Just ed ish Pubtlfor parentss,, n us tutio Am h insti Jewis tudents. lk orders &s t py or bu k contac free co r your l flipboo 29 or To orde id) or virtua 9 36 ge pa 1514 73 or email: (posta 00 nson on Abe 993 53 Rabbi xt 1514 gmail.com App /te @ Whats n.kriah1 abenso NEW! From the desk of Rabbi Dovid Abenson. ASK THE RABBI is a new forum where readers are welcome to submit all questions on subjects regarding Jewish education to Rabbi Abenson. He will answer them in a timely fashion through the Jewish Tribune. Rabbi Dovid Abenson can be contacted at: Tel. 15147393629 Rabbi Abenson is the founder and director of ShaarHatalmud, a unique yeshivah-based online program, which incorporates learning all Kodesh subjects, from Kriah all the way up to learning Gemara, Rishonim and Shulchan Oruch. He also conducts evaluations, remediation, and training, and consults with Roshei HaYeshiva and Menahelim to improve students’ underdeveloped learning and textual skills. Rabbi Dovid Abenson can be contacted at: ravabenson@ shaarhatalmud.com WhatsApp 001 514 993 5300 ShaarHatalmud.com FREILICHEN CHANUKAH/GOOD SHABBOS 5782 כ׳ כסלו The crisis in Jewish Education N ENSO D AB i DOVI Rabb 9 FC JT Shaar Hatalmud | 5
Mr. Schwartz* contacted Shaar Hatalmud regarding his 10-year-old son Yaakov, who was struggling academically and it was now a daily effort to get him to go to school. The Shaar HaTalmud evaluation highlighted Yaakov’s fundamental problems. He was struggling with kriah and reading close up texts. I recommended that he see a Behavioural Optometrist who specializes in close up vision using natural therapies and exercises before commencing the reading program. Thereafter, Yaakov and I worked together for just a few weeks when his rebbe called “I have been teaching grade 3 for 20 years and I have never seen such a turnaround so quickly.” Aaron, age 14, went through the Shaar Hatalmud kriah upgrade program: Hi, Rabbi Abenson. I hope you had a beautiful and meaningful Pesach. We just want to express our Hakaras Hatov. It was apparent to everyone at the Seder and over Yom Tov how Aaron’s* kriah skills have greatly improved. His kriah was clear, fluid, and he had much more confidence and pride. Thank you for all of your hard work, dedication, and patience! With Much Hakaras Hatov, D and K, New York. Parents of a son, age 13. My rebbe, HaRav Matisyahu Salomon shlita, Mashgiach of BMG Lakewood New Jersey, asked me to evaluate a bochur. The bochur, Reuven confided, “I had learned all my Bar Mitzvah parsha by heart since I could not read, but because my father was a big Mechanech, I did not want to embarrass him”. I recorded him reading posukim and after 8 sessions of having gone through the reading program, I replayed the first recording back to him and he could not believe the change. Reuven* went on to get married and joined a Kollel. For over 20 years, Rabbi Y.A. Oppenheimer shlita, a Maggid Shiur in Gateshead Yeshiva, UK has asked me to work with numerous bochurim who have struggled in Yeshiva. I would like to share with my readers the following cases. Chaim* was on the brink of leaving Yeshiva life to go out to the work field. Rabbi 6 | Shaar Hatalmud
his father, “My son just got engaged and it’s all because of you, you gave him the skills for life. He would not have been where he is today without your help”. Moshe* had been studying in yeshiva for a number of years but was not “getting” Gemara. After a few months of learning the program, Moshe was able to go on his own. He asked permission from his Rosh Hayeshiva not to go to shiur winter zman. He found a chavrusa and in 6 months finished the whole Bava Kama with Rashi and Tosafos before any of the 300 bochurim in the yeshiva. Avrumi, who after acquiring the foundation’s skills in learning, finished Masechta Megillah and made a siyum in Rabbi Oppenheimer shlita’s house on Purim. Mr. Rosenberg* is a 68-year-old man who had studied in the traditional yeshivas in America all his life. In fact he had obtained Smicha, however, he always had difficulties with his Hebrew reading and translation. These difficulties which filtered down to struggling to try to learn Gemara. He told me that he always had to have a rebbe to teach him. As he explained, “I felt I just had to accept that this was a fact of life and it was Min HaShomayim. The strange thing was that in English reading, I could read up to 200 words per minute! I happened to read in the Mishpacha magazine regarding the unbelievable work where you stated: “upgrade all levels of learners and levels of commitment to Yiddishkeit”. I thought I would try seeing if and how you could help me. I was amazed by the diagnostic results of the evaluation you gave me, and after just a few sessions of the reading program, I was able to read! You made Gemara learning seem so simple and I got very excited about this. I actually went and got trained in the program to be able to help others. I wish I had had this opportunity 60 years ago! Thank you Rabbi Abenson for giving me a new lease on life!” JOIN THE SHAAR HATALMUD PROGRAM TODAY. For a brighter tomorrow in your Torah learning. Shaar Hatalmud | 7
Grammer: The Key to Successful Learning..................................................................11 The Box Child Series..............................................................................................................12 Basic Training............................................................................................................................15 Crisis In The 21st Century....................................................................................................22 The Foundation Skills for Torah Learning...................................................................24 Assumption................................................................................................................................27 Medicating our Children, Is This The Real Cure?....................................................29 When Children Do Not Fit The Mould..........................................................................31 Safety Measures to Prevent the Spread of “Dis-affection”....................................33 Chanoch Lenaar AL PI DARKO .....................................................................................34 Never Despair in Your TORAH STUDIES....................................................................35 I Got 96% In My Daughter’s Halacha Assignment...................................................37 Three Critical skills to becoming A SUCCESSFUL LEARNER...........................38 The Rosh Hakollel Who Couldn’t Read Hebrew........................................................39 When Every Word Counts...................................................................................................41 Students Failing School, School Failing Students......................................................42 The “Mold”, Fact or Fiction?................................................................................................45 The Zobin Method...................................................................................................................47 8 | Shaar Hatalmud
A Cry From The Heart...........................................................................................................49 Does Your Son Have a Place IN YESHIVA THIS ZMAN?....................................50 The Potential Pitfalls of Teaching Torah In Ivrit........................................................51 Coronavirus: Bringing the Lesson Home.....................................................................53 What Does Hashem Want From Us................................................................................54 What can we learn from the holocaust?.........................................................................56 Ask The Rabbi...........................................................................................................................57 Between The Lines...................................................................................................................66 Divine Authorship of Torah................................................................................................70 The Wedding Night................................................................................................................73 The View From My Inbox....................................................................................................74 Bris Milah: Identifying the Real Deal.............................................................................75 Missionaries................................................................................................................................76 The design of a Synagogue and what is it meant to teach us?............................77 Not Just for the Pros...............................................................................................................78 Kiruv Tools for Mechanchim..............................................................................................79 Maidservants, Mother Birds & the Importance of Mesorah.................................80 Shaar Hatalmud | 9
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