On Thursday, parents and friends of our 3rd grade boys came to the TDSP Beis Medrash to watch the beautiful Haschalos Mishnayos Ceremony, where the boys receive their first Mishna.
Rabbi Cohen compared the day to Shavuos, when B’nai Yisroel received the Torah, and to Hashem writing the Luchos Hashniyos- the second set of Luchos- in this week’s parsha.
“We third graders- can I include myself with you?” asked Rabbi Cohen to the class. “It is a real Kovod for me. We third graders, a few years ago, were Zoche to start Chumash. That was like the first luchos – all the work was done for us. We had the opportunity of learning Hashem’s Torah. Today we are getting the Luchos Hashniyos, and we are going to begin a very exciting journey of being Klal Yisroel who learn the Torah and Torah SheBaal Peh. … We are continuing the shalsheles Hatorah (the chain of Torah… and Im Yirtzeh Hashem, we will have a whole Mishnayos, a whole sefer, that is going to become part of us.
Third Grade Rebbe- Rabbi Rephael Wealcatch- told the boys "Today is what we call a stepping stone. We are starting a new part of the Torah that we haven’t learned before, and that is Torah She’Baal Peh. Learning how to learn Mishnayos will allow us to know what the halacha is, what we need to do, and how we need to think.”
The boys dressed in Shabbos clothes and wore crowns that had the names of the six Sidrei Mishnah printed on them. Then they donned large cardboard placards that represented the topics of the six Sidrei Mishnah, and sang songs about learning Torah. The first song the boys sang was about the Mishnah. Rabbi Wealcatch wrote the lyrics.
Rabbi Roizman and Rabbi Muroff, who are both parents in the class, presented the boys with their Mishnayos, and then they learned the first Mishna together.
May all the boys be zoche to continue learning Torah their whole lives!
Thank you to Rabbi Wealcatch for organizing such a beautiful ceremony!