Forty Talmidei Chachamim Available Anytime To Answer Questions On Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Eruvin

By: Chaim Gold

As Dirshu Embarks on Chelek Daled of Mishnah Berurah A Game Changing Hotline is Going Live

HaRav Yehuda Aryeh Dunner addressing the Kav Hameishivim Rabbonim

“All of you sitting here have the opportunity to transmit the halachos of eruvin to Klal Yisrael, both the limud, the learning of hilchos eruvin, and the practical halachos of eruvin, your zechus is inestimable!”

These enthusiastic words of HaGaon HaRav Yehuda Aryeh Dunner, shlita, a prominent posek living in Bnei Brak and Rav of Beis Medrash Divrei Shir, were addressed to a unique gathering of over forty talmideichachamim, who are experts in the halachos as well the practical application of the halachos and the construction of eruvin.

First a bit of background. The gathering, held in the moshav of Beis Chilkiyah, was an exciting new development in Dirshu’s desire to spread yedias haTorah among all segments of Klal Yisrael.

With Dirshu’s popular Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program set to embark on Chelek Daled of the MishnahBerurah devoted to hilchos eruvin, the leadership of the organization has spearheaded an effort to make the learning of these halachos accessible to every person regardless of their level of learning.

Rav Dunner said, “There was a time when Chelek Daled of the Mishnah Berurah was primarily learned by rabbanim who were involved in constructing eruvin or answering shailos on eruvin. Therefore, the average person, even the person with a yeshiva background, was unnecessarily scared away from learning these halachos. In all truth, however, there is nothing to fear!”

Rav Boruch Hirschfeld, shlita, a Daf HaYomi B’Halacha maggid shiur, a prominent posek from Cleveland, and rav of Congregation Ahavas Yisrael, said, “Really, Chelek Daled is not so difficult. Everyone is capable of learning it. Anyone who can learn siman 321 in hilchos Shabbos about the laws of losh, kneading, can certainly learn hilchos eruvin. There is nothing harder about eruvin than hilchos losh!”

People sometimes get flustered or scared when they see unfamiliar material or concepts. It is for that reason that Dirshu has undertaken a bold initiative. The initiative is to set up a twenty-four-hour hotline manned by a cadre of talmidei chachamim who are bekiim, experts in all areas of hilchos eruvin. The hotline will be open for questions around the clock in different time zones so that anyone can call and get an answer to a question. The questions do not have to be limited to halacha questions, people can even call if they have a difficulty understanding a line in the Mishnah Berurah.

“Let’s say a mesivta bachur has been learning the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha and now he wants to learn hilchos eruvin. He may encounter terms and ideas that he doesn’t understand and now, he will be able to simply pick up the phone, call Dirshu’s hotline, called ‘Kav Hameishivim,’ and the maggid shiur will explain it to him,” said Rabbi Avigdor Bernstein, a senior member of hanhalas Dirshu.

Similarly, if someone has a practical question on how to construct an eruv on his street, in his complex or town, he is empowered to reach one of the forty talmidei chachamim manning those hotlines, waiting to answer any of his questions! Not only that, but these talmidei chachamim are available to answer questions in English, Yiddish, or Hebrew. Thus, learners of hilchos eruvin from across the globe will be able to access this treasure trove of knowledge at any time of day or night. The number for the Kav Hameishivim is: 605-313-1737.

That is what transpired in Beis Chilkiyah several weeks ago. Rav Yehuda Aryeh Dunner, who has undertaken to oversee the Kav Hameishivim came to Beis Chilkiyah together with the group of forty experts in all things related to hilchos eruvin. During their visit, Rav Dunner accompanied by Dirshu’s Nasi, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, took them on a tour of the Beis Chilkiyah eruv pointing out the many halachic hiddurim and questions that had arisen during its construction. It was a sight to see the venerated posek accompanied by budding poskim walking through many of the practical issues that come up when building an eruv.

But it wasn’t just a tour! It was so much more! At the event, a siyum was held on Chelek Gimmel of the Mishnah Berurah during which Rav Dunner gave an overview of the program and explaining the task of those who would be manning the hotline. “Your task is to be there in every way possible for any person seeking guidance on anything related to Chelek Daled. It could be a baal habayis who is learning the program and needs help understanding some of the concepts. It could be a talmid chacham who has already learned the ShulchanAruch, poskim, and Mishnah Berurah in depth but has a question that he cannot solve. It could be an eruvchecker in a community who finds an irregularity in the eruv and wants to know if the eruv has become passul, how best to fix it, or what temporary halachic solution he can implement…”

Rav Dunner also promised that a month after Chelek Daled begins, the group will meet again to see if there is anything that they can finetune to ensure that any Dirshu learner will always just be a phone call away from anything he needs pertaining to Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Chelek Daled.

Practical ways of teaching these halachos were also discussed. For example, one maggid shiur related, “It is critically important to use the power of pictures and diagrams to properly elucidate the halachos enumerated in this chelek. Baruch Hashem, Dirshu has published an outstanding edition of the Mishnah Berurah with many excellent pictures. If, when it comes to us maggidei shiur, we can say, ‘a picture is worth 1,000 words,’ for the baalei batim attending our shiurim, a picture is worth 10,000 words!”

Indeed, one of the most exciting developments is the abundance of worldwide shiurim in Daf HaYomi B’Halacha. There are more than 1,200 shiurim in many varied languages including of course, Yiddish, English, and Hebrew as well as French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and more.

In advance of Chelek Daled, Dirshu published over 30,000 paperback Chelek Daleds so that learners can easily transport them wherever they go or leave them in shul or the location where the shiur takes place.

When the great gaon and tzaddik, Rav Meir Shapiro proposed the concept of learning a Daf HaYomi of Gemara, he gave a transformative speech that echoes until this very day. In that famed speech, Rav Meir Shapiro explained how Klal Yisrael would benefit from individuals learning the same daf world over each day, “When Yankel the businessman from Warsaw will meet his friend Moshe from Krakow at the annual yerid, the business show in Leipzig, what will they talk about? They will talk about the same daf of Gemara that they learned that morning. They will be on the ‘same page’.”

As Dirshu is set to embark on Chelek Daled of Mishnah Berurah, Rav Meir Shapiro’s dream lives on. The names of the cities have changed. Instead of Warsaw, Krakow, or Leipzig, today’s cities are more likely Lakewood, Yerushalayim, New Square, Antwerp, London, or Bnei Brak, but the idea is the same. Wherever a Jew finds himself, he can always discuss the halacha that he learned that day or the day before with his fellow Dirshu Daf HaYomi B’Halacha learners. Even in hilchos eruvin!To contact Dirshu’s Eruvin hotline please call, 605-313-1737.