By COLlive reporter

With sons of Shluchim and Chassidim from 11 different countries, Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim Austro-Hungary opened the new school year with significant growth in enrollment.

Students arrived from across Europe, the United Kingdom, and Eretz Yisroel to begin the new year at the Yeshiva, which is housed on a spacious private campus.

Last Sunday, dozens of Temimim walked through the campus gates accompanied by their parents, ready to begin a year dedicated to Torah, Tefillah, and Gemilas Chasadim.

For the first time, the Yeshiva also welcomed a younger cohort of Bar Mitzvah-aged boys as part of its newly established Mechina program, taking their first steps in Tomchei Tmimim.

After settling into their spacious dormitory rooms and enjoying dinner, the students gathered in the Zal for an opening address from the Rosh Yeshiva. Following the address, fathers and sons sat down side by side for a special learning session.

Together, they studied the Maamar “Arba’ah Roshei Shanim Heim,” originally delivered by the Rebbe during a Farbrengen on Chamisah Asar B’Shevat 5731 (1971). The Maamar explores the concept of learning Torah with true pleasure and geshmak.

During his opening remarks, Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Fieldsteel shared an anecdote he had heard from the Rebbe’s Mazkir Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky.

“Rabbi Krinsky once shared with me that during his early days serving as the Rebbe’s secretary, he entered the Rebbe’s office to receive a corrected draft of a letter to retype and mail. When he looked at the paper, his eyes grew dark with confusion. While he was already familiar with the Rebbe’s handwriting, he had never seen anything like this before. It was a maze of words and letters, filled with arrows and circles indicating additions and omissions.

“The Rebbe noticed his confusion and told him calmly: ‘Start from the first word, move to the next word, and so on. When you finish the first line, move to the second line. In the end, you will see that everything is fine.’”

Turning to the newly arrived Temimim, Rabbi Fieldsteel applied the message to their experience at Yeshiva.

“This is exactly how it works in life, and this is how it works in Yeshiva. Many things here might feel brand new to you: the schedule, the intense study hours, the Maggidei Shiur, and your new friends. Do not be overwhelmed. Simply ask yourself: ‘Can I sit and learn during Chassidus Seder tonight?’ Then, ask yourself: ‘Can I say Krias Shema and go to sleep?’ Next, ask yourself: ‘Can I wake up tomorrow morning and learn Chassidus?’ In this way, hour by hour will combine into a full day, and line by line will build into a page of Gemara.”

“We invested immense resources to bring in Maggidei Shiur and Mashpiim from the forefront of the Yeshiva world,” said Budapest Shliach Rabbi Shlomo Koves, under whose auspices the Yeshiva operates and who secured the government approval to establish the institution.

“With the significant growth in student enrollment, we needed to expand our faculty. Instead of settling for local searches, we went above and beyond to bring the absolute best educators from New York.”

Rabbi Fieldsteel credited the Yeshiva’s success to its dedicated faculty members.

“The success of the Yeshiva belongs entirely to each and every one of our Maggidei Shiur and Mashpiim, who are fully devoted to the Yeshiva as a whole and to every single student individually,” he said. “Everything achieved by myself and the Temimim is thanks to them. We are blessed with first-class educators, led by Rabbi Shmuel Alperowitz, Rabbi Avi Biederman, Rabbi Meir Wilhelm, Rabbi Mendel Vishetsky, Rabbi Yitzchak Niazov, Rabbi Yaakov Neimark, Rabbi Meni Neimark, and Rabbi Yehoshua Fuchs, alongside a team of dedicated Madrichim. We are truly fortunate.”

The Yeshiva has built a reputation for providing sons of Shluchim and Anash in Europe with high-level Torah study combined with individualized attention. The program takes place on a private, expansive campus designed to provide the students with the yishuv and harhavas hadaas needed to thrive.

Rabbi Shmuel Glitzenstein, the Yeshiva’s Menahel, said the growth in enrollment led to the establishment of the new Mechina program.

“Due to overwhelming demand this year, we were privileged to launch a Mechina program for 8th-grade-aged boys on very short notice. We have welcomed students from Finland, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, Eretz Yisroel, Ukraine, Hungary, Monaco, Italy, and Austria.

“Baruch Hashem, we currently have close to 70 students. As the Yeshiva’s reputation continues to soar, we unfortunately had to close registration because we reached full capacity. In the coming months, we will begin expansion works on campus so that we can accommodate up to double the number of Bochurim next year.”