Chanukah presents a unique opportunity to bring Torah and yiddishkeit into the lives of Jews regardless of their background or level of observance. For the Denver Community Kollel, a mosad dedicated to bringing Torah to all Jews, it was an opportunity that was certainly utilized.
In the days leading up to Chanukah, the Kollel offered a video presentation for women featuring Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, whose talk was titled Bringing the Light of Chanukah into Our Lives. The shiur was offered in three different areas of Denver, and it did not fail to inspire those who attended.
On the first night of Chanukah, the Kollel held a mesibah at the home of Kollel alumnus Rabbi Yechiel Erlanger. The mesibah featured a ma’amar from Rosh Kollel Harav Shachne Sommers shlita, who focused on Yavan being compared to darkness and the light of Chanukah and the menorah that emerged from that galus.
From the Kollel’s M.B. Glassman Foundation GOLD Senior Division came special Chanukah events in a number of Denver senior residences. Four different Chanukah programs, three held at night and featuring hadlakas neiros, and one Chanukah class focusing on the significance of shemen (oil) to Chanukah, attracted nearly 100 participants.
As schools gave several days off during Chanukah, the Kollel held a special breakfast & learn program at its West Denver Bais Medrash on the first three mornings of Chanukah. Shacharis was followed by a sumptuous breakfast and a learning seder, which included a Mishnayos shiur given by Rabbi Yechiel Erlanger li’ilui nishmas Maran Harav Aharon Leib Shteinman, as requested in his tzava’ah.
“There is so much opportunity for learning and spiritual growth on Chanukah,” explains Kollel Director Rabbi Moshe Heyman. “There are many Jews in Denver who are looking for Torah-true Judaism, and, be’ezras Hashem, we have the ability to provide that during Chanukah. We look forward to bringing that inspiration into the rest of the long winter ahead, making it a time of shteiging and aliyah.”
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