📋 Shiur Overview
Lecture Notes: Campaign for the Beit Midrash — Quantity versus Quality in Spreading Torah
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Main Theme: Two Ways of Building a Movement — Quantity or Quality
The Question Driving This Lecture
What is the best way to build a beit midrash (study hall), a movement, a chassidut (Hasidic movement) — should one go after quantity (many people with small amounts) or quality (few people who are deeply connected)?
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Two Ways to Become a Rebbe — Two Meanings of “Koneh”
The concept “koneh shamayim va’aretz” (acquirer of heaven and earth) has two meanings:
1. To purchase — like kniyas bechora (purchase of the birthright), when one gives lentils and “purchases” chassidim by giving them something.
2. To create — one creates chassidim, for example by telling them to have children, and the children also become chassidim. This was especially relevant after the war.
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Rebbe Nachman of Breslov’s Method in Making Chassidim
The Famous Story
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov was asked if it’s true that he has ten thousand chassidim. He answered that he doesn’t know exactly how many, but many of his chassidim are teachers (melamdim), and when a child gives money at a wedding in honor of the Rebbe’s merit — that can also be counted as chassidim. The simple meaning: when someone gives even through a “tap” (an automatic movement), he is already counted as a chassid.
The Practical Method of Breslov Outreach
The normal method in Breslov is: one goes to people who are vulnerable — who need encouragement, who are in a difficult time, a “broken mazal.” Rebbe Nachman gives encouragement, and the person becomes a Breslover. This is a legitimate way and one must indeed help such people.
The Chiddush (Novel Insight) — Rebbe Nachman’s True Advice
But Rebbe Nachman said that this is not the true way. The true way is:
– Go to the greatest wealthy person of the city
– Go to the greatest scholar of the city
– Him you should make a chassid!
Why? Because every wealthy person automatically has a hundred people under him — whichever chassidut he goes to, they go too. And every scholar has people who respect him — whichever chassidut he goes to, they follow. There is no point in working on the “low level” — one must work in a concentrated manner, and in the end you have even more chassidim.
The Principle
If one is a true elite, it takes over the world much faster, much better, and with much more fruit, than when one first goes to the masses. The masses usually follow the ba’al hame’ah (the wealthy person) or the ba’al hade’ah (the wise person).
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Application to the Beit Midrash
The lectures of this beit midrash are watched by hundreds of people. But the main thing is not how many people stand at the door — the main thing is who understands, who learns, who passes it on. Many people stand at the entrances but don’t understand, don’t learn, and don’t make any new students (talmidim). This is not “ma’aseh avot siman labanim” (the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children).
The true measure: If the rebbe sells something true, every person who comes teaches it to another hundred people. And this happens in practice — things that are said in the lecture are repeated from one person to the second to the third, even slightly changed and placed into other vessels.
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Political Analogy — Quantity vs. Quality in Fundraising
In politics there are two models:
1. Mass campaign — 20 million people each give $20 = a lot of money.
2. Concentrated — 20 people each give $20 million.
Until now the second model has won in elections, and the first has had no answer.
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The Beit Midrash’s Campaign — The Practical Plan
The campaigns of the beit midrash work on the same principle. It’s not that one or two wealthy people give the majority. It’s that each one of the 20-30-40-100 people who are here gives a lot of money themselves, because they understand what’s happening here. This is a partnership — not just supporting Torah, not just learning Torah (limud Torah), but also a mitzvah of teaching Torah (melamed Torah).
The concentrated core of students then also brings the next 2,000 people who listen and contribute.
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The Verse “Sheshet Yamim Ta’avod” — The Method of Rabbi Yishmael
Source: “Sheshet yamim ta’avod (six days you shall work),” “sheshet yamim ta’aseh melacha (six days you shall do work)” — according to Rabbi Yishmael’s method (not Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s method). The normal order of a business is: “bi’she’at zeri’ah uvi’she’at katzir (in the time of planting and in the time of harvest)” — a whole year one is sowing (learning, building, creating), and when the campaign comes one is harvesting. The campaign days are the “she’at asifah (time of gathering),” and afterwards one lives from it the rest of the year — “she’at menucha (time of rest).” This is a normal business order, so that one shouldn’t think too much about money the whole year, but rather think about learning.
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The Concrete Plan
– Goal: $220,000 for the coming year
– First level: At least 20 true students × $10,000 = $200,000
– Second level: 2,000 people × $100 = $200,000
– Next week: A gathering to strengthen the plan, one can give to the gabbaim (trustees) the committed amount.
📝 Full Transcript
Campaign for the Beis HaMedrash: Quality Before Quantity in Torah Dissemination and Fundraising
Announcement of the Upcoming Campaign
Rabbosai (gentlemen), first thing is an important message, that there’s coming a major campaign for our beis hamedrash (study hall).
Campaign. What? Campaign. Campaign. Campaign. Campaigne? Let’s say campaigne. Our campaigne.
And I thought that perhaps the shiur (lecture) will go make a party in honor of the campaign. The people should call their friends, we can give better kugel, even better kugel, in honor of the money. The person with the money isn’t here, we need to call. I’ll explain.
Two Ways to Become a Rebbe: Buying or Making Chassidim
This is it, we spoke now about the rebbes having a custom to make more chassidim. There are two ways to become a rebbe. One is to buy chassidim, like “koneh shamayim va’aretz” (acquires heaven and earth), “koneh” means to buy. The second thing is to make, “koneh shamayim va’aretz” means to make, yes? So one can also make chassidim.
How does one make chassidim? Buying means to say like the purchase of the birthright, when one gives lentils, they become chassidim. Making means to say, we spoke that one tells the chassidim to have babies, and the chassidim have more chassidim, because the time was after the war, that the children of the chassidim also become chassidim.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov’s Method: The Ten Thousand Chassidim
They made the grandfathers, but we come with friends, and the children were already doing it literally, they were Breslover. Yes, the Baal HaTanya had, Nachman Breslover said, yes? Aha, Nachman Breslover was asked, Nachman Breslover asked, is it true that he has ten thousand chassidim? He said, I don’t know how many, but many chassidim are teachers, and there was a wedding, he went to a tisch (table), and he said to the parents, this is given for the merit of the rebbe, and the children give with this, he said, one can count them as your chassidim. It’s understood that when a child gives, someone gives money, as he touches it, it makes him their chassid.
Quantity Before Quality or Quality Before Quantity?
So, there are two ways, both in our matter of how we appear to the world, and also in our way of making money, there are also two ways, like quantity and quality, but not the real quantity and quality. The question is only whether quantity comes before quality, or quality comes before quantity.
The Parable of Political Campaigns
What does this mean? There’s such a thing called, such a… what do you call it? Such a mass campaign, like once certain politicians would say they don’t take more than twenty dollars per person, but they have twenty million people, so the twenty dollars comes out to a lot of money. That’s one way of raising for Yiddishkeit (Judaism). The second way is, that one has only twenty people, each person gives twenty million dollars.
Which way is better? Until now the one who has one person with twenty million won the election, and the other one had no answer for that.
Rebbe Nachman’s True Advice: Go to the Greatest
And why? Because people grab. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov told the chassidim, when they go to make chassidim, that the order in the world, that particularly in Breslov is the custom, this is how they make chassidim. This one has a complete mazal (fortune), the one who needs chizuk (encouragement), he comes to look, Rebbe Nachman gives chizuk, and he becomes a Breslover. And so on other people who are vulnerable, who need chizuk. And it’s very good, one should particularly be with vulnerable people and help them. There’s also a bit of benefit for oneself and one does this, which we already spoke about in the shiur.
But first Rebbe Nachman said that the true way is not this. You will be missionaries, you will go to the greatest wealthy person of the city, and the greatest scholar of the city, him you should make.
Why? Because every wealthy person already automatically has a hundred people under him, whichever chassidus he goes to, they will go. And every scholar also automatically has people who respect him, whichever chassidus he goes to, they will go. There’s no reason at all to work on the low level, one must work on the more concentrated, and in the end one has even more chassidim even if one goes this way. This is the true way.
The Principle: A True Elite Takes Over the World
People say that it’s few in quantity but great in quality, that it’s the elite and so on. If one is a true elite, in the end it takes over the world much faster and much better and much more fruits, than when one goes first to the masses. The masses usually follow whoever is the wealthy one or whoever is the one with knowledge, and so on.
Application to the Beis HaMedrash: Who Are the True Students?
It’s already in the Zohar, in the beis hamedrash there’s no reason at all to speak with the chassidim, one must have hundreds of chassidim, etc. hundreds, etc. hundreds, etc. hundreds. More hundreds of people, more thousands of people. Every shiur, hundreds of people watch and listen.
One minute. Now, in recent times, you who heard the great shiur, what kind of person is he? What does he learn there? I’ll give an example, this type of shiur, is this a shiur in Rambam Hilchos Deos (Laws of Character Traits)? Or what is this?
Every shiur, hundreds of people watch. And the people who learn these shiurim are either the great in quantity, they have more money. Ah, a good year, he can be a partner. He takes on a shiur.
The Measure: Who Gives Further?
It’s the same thing, when one looks at us, it’s not about like who comes, who stands at the gatherings. Many people stand at the gatherings, but they don’t do, they don’t understand, they don’t learn anything from Reb Avraham, and therefore they don’t make more students. It’s not a question of “ma’aseh avos siman labanim” (the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children).
If the rebbe sells something, every person who comes here, he teaches it to another hundred people. And either he actually teaches it, I already know many things that I know that were said here and a second person said it and a third, and in practice I told it to the first person. I had no complaints, only he actually taught it out, he changed it, he put it a bit into his vessels and said it over.
The Campaign: A Partnership, Not Just Supporting Torah
And also, in our campaigns usually there’s a big noise about how few people there are and how much money there is. It’s not because there are always such one or two wealthy people who give most of the money. No, it’s actually not so.
It’s because the twenty, thirty, forty, hundred people who are here, each one of them gives a lot of money themselves, because they understand it. It’s not a thing where one gives money because the beis hamedrash needs money. It’s a real… it’s an overused word, it’s a partnership. It’s actually true. And this makes it.
The Mitzvah of Teaching Torah
And this is also a mitzvah of teaching Torah. Not only a mitzvah of learning Torah and supporting Torah, it’s also a mitzvah of teaching Torah. So automatically, it’s concentrated, and this also brings that the next two thousand people who hear this and they give money and they make it so it can work.
Baruch Hashem (thank God), the last few years we’ve made very successful campaigns, it’s helped very much that one can a whole year not think too much about money, but think about learning. A bit one must think about money the whole year, but not too much, so that one can fulfill the mitzvah of “u’zratem u’ktzartem” (and you shall sow and you shall reap). One must fulfill it.
The Order of “Sheishes Yamim Ta’avod”: Sowing and Reaping
So this is the true order, you know the true order is not that one should work every day. The Almighty said, what did He say? “Sheishes yamim ta’avod” (six days you shall work), “sheishes yamim ta’aseh melacha” (six days you shall do work). I’m not speaking of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s approach, I’m speaking of Rabbi Yishmael’s approach. But “bi’she’as ketzira u’vi’she’as zeri’a” (in the time of harvest and in the time of sowing).
A normal business has a certain time. A whole year one sows, and afterwards one reaps, when the campaign comes. Then those days, one works, not just works, and afterwards from that one lives the rest of the year. This is “she’as asifa” (time of gathering), “she’as menucha” (time of rest). So this is the order, it’s a normal thing, a normal business.
The Concrete Plan: $220,000 and How We Get There
So, im yirtzeh Hashem (God willing), we’re going to launch a campaign, we’re going to set a goal of 220,000 dollars for the next year. And as soon as there are at least twenty people who are the true students, they can put in 10,000 dollars. And then the next 200,000 dollars come from the other two thousand people who give only 100 dollars each. Very simple. That’s the plan.
And next week there will be a gathering in order to strengthen the plan, and one can give to the gabbaim (trustees) exactly how much one will pay, the committed amount. Im yirtzeh Hashem. And this is my drasha (sermon) about this.