By Rabbi Shlomo Weinrib. In the Atrium Ballroom in Monsey, the lights were dimmed, the only light came from the candles in the center of the room. 1,300 neshamos stood in a large circle, arms around each other’s shoulders, swaying as their voices rose together with the deep desire of every yid: שבתי בבית ה’ כל ימי חיי…. Eyes closed, hearts open, and emotions soaring, the words resonated deeply within them. They had embarked on the journey of life with a real connection to Torah, fostered by the masechta they knew so well. These were boys of Bonai Chavivai, who had not just learned, but owned their masechtos. Clarity. Chazara. Ownership. A foundation for their learning for years to come.

Bonai Chavai has been changing the landscape of communities across the United States for the past nine years by encouraging boys to not just learn or finish a masechta for their Bar Mitzvah, but to own it. Through a structured system of chazara, together with guidance and chizuk by experienced rebbeim, thousands of boys have come to their Bar Mitzvah with a masechta they can call their own, and a deep appreciation for chazara in whatever they learn.

The Annual Bonai Chavivai Melava Malka on Motzei Shabbos Parshas Va’eira brought together boys and their fathers from multiple cities, including Monsey, Passaic, Philadelphia, Lakewood, Waterbury, Staten Island, Five Towns, Cleveland, and Chicago. It was an evening to rejoice and celebrate the accomplishments of their investment, learning with a goal of clarity and ownership.

The event opened with a retzufos seder in the Atrium’s chuppah room, hundreds of boys filling the beis medrash and spilling into an adjoining room. The aura was one of excitement, the geshmak of gemara they felt was evident in the way the gemara flowed easily off their tongues. Rabbi Moshe Baruch Newman shlit”a, father of Rabbi Dovid Newman, founder of Bonai Chavivai, ended the retzufos seder with an impassioned speech, highlighting the tremendous zechusim being generated by the boys through their thousands of blatt of chazara.

The evening’s program continued with a seudah that underscored the fact that this was much more than a siyum; it was a celebration of a shared commitment to making Torah theirs. During the seudah some boys shared their experience in Bonai Chavivai. For one, Bonai Chavivai had redefined how he saw his Shabbos, Yom Tov, and summer break. They were transformed into another chance to revisit the masechta he knew. For another, the few minutes waiting for a chuppah to start became moments of opportunity; he can jump in and instantly know what the gemara is saying.

“I remember once sitting down on Shabbos afternoon to chazer,” shared one boy, “and I wasn’t really in the mood to open a gemara. But once I started learning, and it was so familiar to me, I kept going. Nobody told me to; there were no incentives; I did it simply because of the geshmak that I felt.” The sweetness in learning that drives a boy to spend his Shabbos afternoons chazering is the result of the focus on clarity and countless chazaras. As one boy remarked, “I am coming to a point where I find it difficult to go a day without chazara.” Such are the levels that true ownership in gemara brings to.

Rabbi Dovid Newman mentioned the words of the Chafetz Chaim who enumerates the benefits of owning a masechta. It allows one to chazer wherever he is, it engraves the Torah on a person’s heart, and brings a person to אשרי מי שבא לכאן ותלמודו בידו. The word לכאן, explained Rabbi Newman, is gematria 101. There are handfuls of boys in this room who have taken upon themselves to learn their masechta 101 times! When one truly loves learning, the sky is the limit!

The highlight of the evening was the grand siyum. 247 boys who had been mesayem their masechtos many times, took it upon themselves to chazer it yet again in honor of the Melava Malka. The scene was surreal, as the boys ended off the hadran and erupted in dancing that seemed to come from another world. Months of simchas haTorah burst forth in a celebration that broke all barriers. Boys from Monsey, Passaic or Lakewood danced side by side, sharing the same joy — Torah belonged to them, was part of them, and had transformed who they were. When someone is truly connected to the Torah, it changes him as a person. As the guest speaker, Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman said, “A boy that has a kinyan in Torah is a completely different person; he is on an entirely different level.”

Bonai Chavivai is creating a revolution. As Rabbi Dovid Delouya, director of Bonai Chavivai’s Monsey branch shared, “Rabbi Newman remarked to me 9 years ago that one day it will be the norm for 12-year-old boys to ask each other, ‘What’s your Bar Mitzvah masechta?’. That has become a reality today!” Boys are entering adulthood with a new perspective — “I want to not just turn pages, but really know what I’m learning”. They are gaining appreciation for the necessity of chazara and its power to bring true mesikas hatorah.

As the evening came to a close, the music slowed, and a large circle formed around the perimeter of the room. R’ Baruch Levine led the oilam in a kumzitz that wrapped up the feelings of the evening. The joy of a life of Torah, tefillos for more understanding, and the yearning for a life steeped in limud haTorah. The candles dimmed, the music faded, but the message was strong. True mesikus comes from chazara, ownership, holding on. They had tasted it — and were never letting go.

To bring Bonai Chavivai to your community please reach out to Rabbi Dovid Newman, [email protected].