Posted on 09/26/17
Dear friends,
Allow me to begin with a story.
During one of my first years of teaching, a student of mine was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and we spent a lot of time together in the hospital. He once mentioned that he had been offered a wish from the Make-A-Wish foundation. I was curious; what could a young boy with a serious disease want?
He wanted an ArtScroll Shas.
Sometimes, a severe illness can set a boy back for a number of years, and my little friend did not want to fall behind. He wanted to know that he, too, could master Shas. I reached out to Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, and with his generosity of heart and spirit, he made this young man's dream come true.
Today, baruch Hashem, that young man is a wonderful husband, with a family of his own. And yes, he learns the Daf.
In truth, Rabbi Zlotowitz made many of our dreams come true. For him, nothing was impossible. He opened texts that had been sealed for thousands of years; previous generations could only dream of finishing Shas. Certainly, a few brilliant talmidei chachamim were able to do so. But for the masses, it remained an elusive dream.
Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz made the dreams of the Jewish people come true. For those who wanted to better understand the cryptic words of our Sages— through tefillah, Chumash, or Gemara — the goal was now in our grasp.
Yes, Reb Meir was the dream-maker.
In truth, Reb Meir had dreams of his own, but he was taken suddenly, before he had a chance to fulfill them all. And there is still work to be done. Reb Meir gathered a group of world-class scholars to decipher the cryptic words of Talmud Yerushalmi. While the project is well underway, it is far from complete.
It is now our turn.
Here is our chance to make Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz's dream come true. The city of Baltimore is uniting for this unique opportunity to dedicate one masechta of Shas, Maseches Chagigah. If you have benefited from ArtScroll —and who hasn't? — please click on the link below and become a partner in history.
Thank you in advance for your support.
https://baltimore.mesorahheritage.org/
Fondly,
Rabbi Yechiel Spero