Alumni Reunite at Back-to-Yeshiva Week
LCM alumni come back to yeshiva for a week-long reunion of inspiring shiurim, old friends, and gourmet dinners.
Over 80 alumni returned to Lander College for Men for its first-ever Back-to-Yeshiva Week, a four-day program of chizuk and socializing with former rebbeim and classmates.
“We wanted to give talmidim the opportunity to reconnect and learn Torah with their rebbeim, especially since Shavuot is coming up,” said Rabbi Aryeh Young, director of the LCM Alumni Association, who organized the event.
After mincha and a five-star, multi-course dinner, rebbeim delivered their respective shiurim and, in some cases, an interactive question-and-answer session. Rav Soloveichik spoke Monday evening on Y'mei HaSefira; Rav Mirsky delivered a shiur on Tuesday about the “Torah-Tefilla Combo,” Rav Tanenbaum gave a shmuz on “Respect, To the 24,000th Power” on Wednesday,and Rav Shmulewitz spoke Thursday on chavivus Eretz Yisrael. Each session was hosted by an alumni committee.
“It was very satisfying to see some of the talmidim at a more advanced stage in their lives. Hearing them talk about their careers and families gave me a sense of having contributed towards something special,” said Rav Tanenbaum. “And of course, seeing their interest in coming ‘Back-To-Yeshiva’ was very reassuring, and showed me that the connection to Torah they made during their time here was meaningful and lasting.”
Rav Mirsky agreed. “The most rewarding part was seeing how much they’ve all grown to be able to support their families and help their communities while maintaining their level of frumkeit,” he said.
Benjamin Yeamans, who graduated magna cum laude in 2009 with a degree in psychology and, after attending law school, now works as an associate for Coca-Cola, was glad he came to the program. “We’re all so busy with our day-to-day lives that it was great to take took advantage of the opportunity to come back to school and reconnect with our rebbeim,” he said. “I’m looking forward to next year’s event!”
