25,000+, they came out strong, united, and with one goal: to proclaim the glory of our nation’s yungeleit, the Adirei HaTorah.
“It was the most uplifting maamad of its kind I’ve ever experienced,” said one attendee.
“It was like Simchas Torah, Yom Kippur, and leil Purim in yeshiva all wrapped into one,” said another.
Indeed, this was the prevailing sentiment.
It was an incredible, truly extraordinary event in every way.
For weeks, people had read about the highly anticipated Adirei HaTorah event, and finally – finally – the night was here.
The buses – hundreds of them – pulled up from across the tristate, transporting thousands to the event at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Many others came by car, joining the parade of vehicles patiently making their way to the arena this past Sunday night.
By about 7 p.m., most of the attendees had arrived, taking in the scene of a sports arena usually bedecked in various sorts of signs and slogans instead bearing statements and refrains expressing Klal Yisroel’s admiration for their yungeleit. “We All Admire Our Yungeleit” was emblazoned across the massive Jumbotron behind the dais.
Upon entering the building, attendees were treated to a buffet dinner before entering the arena itself, which was a sight to see. Immediately grabbing the attention of participants was the massive dais, with seating for approximately 500 roshei yeshiva and rabbonim.
By the time the program began shortly before 8 p.m., every seat in the arena, including every balcony and concourse, in addition to hundreds of additional seats on the floor, was occupied.
Fittingly, the seats on the floor of the arena couldn’t be purchased. They were reserved for yungeleit who have been learning at Beth Medrash Govoha for 12+ years. Appropriately, the best seats in the house were given to those who were being feted this evening, the lomdei Torah who hold up our world.
The program began with Tehillim led by Rav Chaim Ginsburg, longtime rosh chaburah at Beth Medrash Govoha.
Immediately thereafter, in somewhat of an original approach, the music began, and the crowd sang and danced for several minutes, an absolutely exhilarating beginning to what would be an unforgettable event. The building practically shook as keyboardist Meir Adler from Eretz Yisroel played the music, accompanied throughout the evening by singers Yanky Daskal, Isaac Honig, Chazzan Srulik Adler, and Dovi Meisels, and the Shira Choir.
During the opening remarks delivered by emcee Rabbi Yosef Heinemann, the zekan roshei hayeshivos, Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, rosh yeshiva of Philadelphia Yeshiva, entered, and the entire crowd broke out into the spontaneous singing of “Yomim.”
Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash Govoha, spoke first, being greeted by the crowd with extended joyous singing in his honor. Rav Kotler higlighted out the simcha that one sees upon entering the botei medrash of the yeshiva, witnessing the joy that yungeleit have in spending their days immersed in limud haTorah.
Rav Kotler remarked that he feels that his father, the rosh yeshiva, Rav Shneur Kotler, would have recited the bracha of Chacham Harazim had he seen such a massive crowd of Bnei Torah. While the bracha is generally reserved for when one views an assembly of more than 600,000 Jews, the magnitude of this gathering and its nature, said Rav Kotler, would have compelled the bracha’s recital.
Mentioning that the Chazon Ish’s remark that ameilus baTorah is “mehapeich gashmi l’ruchni,” transforming the mundane into the holy, Rav Kotler also said that nowadays we are zoche to “tomchei Torah who know what the Torah does for them. They’re machshiv the bnei Torah.”
Addressing the idea of “Aron nosei es nosav,” a theme referred to several times throughout the night, Rav Kotler said that when a person carries the Aron, he becomes botul to it and thus becomes uplifted.
The Seforno famously points out that the menorah in the Bais Hamikdosh has two sides, one representing chayei olam, our eternal life, and one representing chayei sha’ah, our time spent engaged in worldly pursuits, but both are turned to the ner emtza’i, the middle candle, representing the Torah.
Upon the conclusion of Rav Kotler’s remarks, the crowd joined in unison in the singing of Ki Orech Yomim and Ohr Zorua Latzaddik. The energy and passion with each successive song seemed to grow stronger, filling the stadium with an otherworldly ruach.
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