Thursday, September 22, 2016

From the what makes it all worthwhile department...

An email I received. Copied and pasted verbatim, signature deleted, posted with permission:


Dear Rabbi Bechhofer,

After high school and seminary, I no longer was being fed a Jewish education, but had to actively pursue it if I wanted. This was really hard for me so I started listening to shiurim on Torahanytime occasionally when I found the time. My sister recommended listening to a certain class Rabbi Bechhofer gave in Our Somayach and I enjoyed it so much, I started listening to more and more. Listening to the classes Rabbi Bechhofer gave in Ohr Somayach made me feel like I was back in a classroom, something I miss so much about high school. The back and forth conversations, the cumulative information, and the unique insights you don’t always hear in a onetime shiur.

I have since started enjoying other classes, so I now view listening to a Rabbi Bechhofer shiur as a treat, because there aren't that many available online and I have already gone through almost all of them. I save them for when I’m not in the mood to listen to a shiur, because they are the ones I enjoy most.    
                      
I have so much hakaras hatov for all Rabbi Bechhofer have done for me; you have opened my mind to new ideas, perspectives, and aspects of Jewish history and helped keep me stay at my standards despite no longer being in seminary. It amazes me that a class given in 2009 can have such a profound impact on me so many years later. So thanks for allowing these classes to be put online. 

K'siva V'chasima Tova

3 comments:

  1. I started listening to your shiurim (your excellent shiurim, that is) thanks to one Moshe Esral. Perhaps you've heard of him. He is missed.

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    1. Moshe Esral z"l was a gem. His smile lit up the room, his jokes were funny - but they bore profound wisdom. His knowledge was encyclopedic, but his humility kept it utterly bereft of pretension or arrogance. Very, very much missed.

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  2. You have changed one life- you have changed the world.
    Kol hakavod!

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