Lander College for Men Dedicates Beis Medrash in Honor of Touro Founder Dr. Bernard Lander ZT”L

Ryzman is the president and CEO of American International Industries, and a member of the Touro Board of Trustees. Upon making the donation to LCM, Ryzman, the author of Ratz KeZvi, an 11-volume series on Halacha and Machshava, requested that the beis medrash be named for Dr. Lander, his friend and mentor. Ryzman delivered an interactive shiur on the theme of Krias HaMegillah, asking questions and inviting a lively dialogue with the capacity crowd gathered in the beis medrash.

The emotion was palpable during the ceremony, attended by LCM rebbeim, students, members of the community and Dr. Lander’s family. HaRav Yonason Sacks shlita, Rosh HaYeshiva of the Beis Medrash L’Talmud, explained that because it is important to create a moment of learning during a yahrzeit, the special shiur was a particularly appropriate way to honor Dr. Lander.

“Rashi writes at the end of Masechet Yevamot that the very best way to commemorate the memory of an adam gadol is ‘l’hoshiv yeshiva shama,’ to establish a yeshiva—to continue to perpetuate the legacy,” he said.

Quoting Rabbi Moshe D. Krupka, Touro’s executive vice president, the Rosh HaYeshiva said that Dr. Lander often referred to the LCM beis medrash as the “Kodesh HaKadashim” of the TouroCollege and University System.

“And this is our Kodesh HaKadashim. It inspires Lander College for Men and beyond, it is something that gives life in form and in shape to everything we do,” said Rabbi Sacks. “It represents the focal point, the center of our institution and our existence. We spend windows of time elsewhere on campus, but the beis medrash is our home.”

HaRav Doniel Lander shlita , Rosh Yeshiva of both Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim and the Beis Medrash L’Talmud, as well as Dr. Lander’s son, said that in some sense his father’s drive was similar to that of King David.

“The yearning to build a mikdash was part of the essence of the personality of David HaMelech, and so it was with my father, alav hashalom,” he said. “Many people called him a dreamer, to contemplate that he could build what he aspired to  build. But to quote the Ponevezher Rav [Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman], ‘I may be dreaming, however I am not sleeping.’”

Before introducing Ryzman, Touro President and CEO Dr. Alan Kadish remarked that he was “blown away by Zvika’s intelligence, by his warmth and by his willingness to step up for the Jewish people. He is a tremendous role model for our students, a tremendous role model for all of us, and is the kind of person that, in these troubling times, Klal Yisrael really needs.”

When the ceremony was concluded attendees  celebrated the dedication  with a festive seudas mitzvah in the LCM dining hall, where Avi and Elie Ryzman each spoke of the special relationship between their father and Dr. Lander, as did Dr. Moshe Sokol, dean of LCM.

“The dedication is a perfect expression of one of Dr. Lander’s deepest commitments to advanced Torah study for students preparing to serve the Jewish community and all humankind,” said Dr. Sokol. “Zvi Ryzman’s involvement was particularly appropriate as he embodies these ideal in his own life.”