The ever popular Rabbi Mendel Kessin was the scholar in residence for our first Shabbaton of the 5772 season. As in the past, he “blew everyone away” with his incredible scholarship and his application of it to a diverse range of topics. A full house of dinner participants heard him present R’ Moshe Chaim Luzzatto’s paradigm of the purpose of creation, and how it applied to current events in Western Civilization. He followed that up on Shabbos morning with its application to current events in the Middle East. He continued to share his wisdom before Shabbos ended at Shalosh Seudos.
For those who were unable to come to shul on Shabbos, the Shul had a Melava Malka at the home of Earl Nussbaum & Debbie Singer. R’ Kessin spoke to a full house about the psychological damage of speaking Loshon Hora and its spiritu-al repercussions. One participant called it “overwhelmingly scary.” Everyone came away understanding how important it is to learn the laws of Loshon Hora, and avoid the negative consequences that come from it. But the best was yet to come. Back at the Nussbaum—Singer home on Sunday morning, R’ Kessin gave a very thorough 6 hour Seminar to over 30 men on the topic of what methodology to use in order to master one’s Torah learning. His ideas were all based on the learning methodology advanced by the Ramchal. R’ Kessin demonstrated how students should be trained in thinking, and how they can master the Torah they learn without forgetting it. The 8:00 AM Talmud Kesuvos group is already using his method, and hope to master the first chapter over the winter. For those of you who missed the Semi-nar, you can hear it on line at our website. We will soon be posting it in the “Guest lectures” section.
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