The Yeshiva Blog
What role do avreichim play in Bircas?
Bircas HaTorah is a small yeshiva with approximately seventy people learning at any given time. It is rare in the world of yeshivas to find such a close synsethis of bochurim, avreichim and professionals. Here, the avreichim fill a unique position.
Rabbi Nissim Tagger, Rosh Yeshiva
The Yeshiva has around thirty avreichim, most of whom were once bochurim in the yeshiva, who got married, and now they're in the Kollel. They represent a very unique group in the yeshiva of because they represent the bridge between the bochurim and the rabbis. They're not much older than a lot of the bochurim, some of them in their 20s. They were in the dorm with the bochurim, and 'graduated' by getting married. Now we're living with their families and building families. They represent an inspiration to the bochurim and their understanding of the challenges the bochurim are going through is much closer than that of the rabbis.
In addition to their own learning, they also have an opportunity to learn with the bochurim and teach them and give over shiurim.
Almost all of the avreichim are involved in some semicha type program where they're learning halacha b’iyun for rabbinic exams. The oldest group of avreichim are now studying choshen mishpat to become dayanim. Another group is learning Shabbat semicha, where they're getting exams for a secondary semicha in hilchos Shabbos, and then we have a yorah de’ah program learning issur v’heter.
All of these programs give the avreichim the growth that they need at this stage of their lives, and at the same time they're also growing by interacting with the bochurim in their more semi-rabbi positions.