Maranan Hageonim, Sar Hatorah, Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zy”o, and Harav Gershon Edelstein, shlit”a, Ponevez Rosh Yeshiva, declared that the Shas Yiden Kollel Network has brought about a revolution in Torah learning – that mastering the entire Shas is an achievable goal for many and that the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim are true Shas Yiden.   By Rabbi Eliezer Sandler It was so appropriate that in the City of Royalty, London, there should be a distinguished and exciting gathering honoring true Jewish Malchus(royalty). Recently, the Yesodei Hatorah Hall in Stamford Hill was bedecked in finery fit for a monarch accompanied by courtiers and an entourage of nobility. The royalty that night was the Talmud, and the courtiers were 16 avreichim geonim (outstanding young Torah scholars) of Shas Yiden, the internationally acclaimed network of unique Kollelim across Israel and in the UK. Each of these scholars was celebrating a siyum (conclusion) of the study of the Talmud in its entirety.  This gathering of pomp, circumstance and dignity celebrated the glory and wisdom of the Torah. The nobles present were Rabbis, Dayonim, and Rosh Yeshivos from the UK, as well as special guests – leading talmidei chachomim from Eretz Yisroel. The décor, banquet ‘fit for a king’ and the music, were unquestionably an inspiration to all present. This night was the first collective celebration of the London branch of Shas Yiden, which has been acclaimed as the first Torah network of its kind ever. Each of its scholars completes the study of the Talmud from beginning to end, annually!  London has never experienced such a Torah gathering, and hundreds kept arriving at the Yesodei Hatorah hall to be part of this experience.   SHAS YIDEN – PHENOMENON OF THE TORAH WORLD  Over the centuries, the Torah, its wisdom, its study and laws have been the mainstay of the Jewish people. Its talmidei chachomim were always our leaders and guides. The central compendium of thought and law – the Talmud – is made up of some 1000 years of unbroken scholarship, comprising the Mishna and Gemara, followed by another 14 centuries of uninterrupted scholarship and commentary until the present day. For centuries, the yeshiva world focused on certain tractates and others, due to the Exile and Dispersion of Jews throughout the world, were neglected, especially those sections of Kodshim and Taharos. Early in the 20th Century, the holy Chofetz Chaim rekindled great interest in the study of Kodshim, and towards the end of the 20th Century, Maran Hagaon Harav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, zy”o, revived the study of Taharos.  However, another dimension of Torah scholarship was still missing. Namely, the consolidation of all the branches of Talmud study as one totality. A Talmid chochom who was able to do so and developed a thorough knowledge of the entire Talmud was known by the honorific of a Shas Yid, but such scholarship was a rarity.  In 2009, the Pozna Rov, Hagaon Harav Avrohom Eisen, shlit”a, of Flatbush, NY, had a vision of establishing a kollel in Eretz Yisroel, where each avreich  would commit to an intense regimen of completing the entire Talmud, annually, and would work to mastering it all by heart. Based on future success, other branches of Shas Yiden would be opened. Those hearing of this vision were inclined to scoff, and said that such a concept was flawed, and that never in the history of Torah study has such a comprehensive program been attempted, let alone achieved. Undaunted, Rav Eisen persevered and Shas Yiden […]

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