Bochurim Take Merkos Exam

By COLlive reporter
Photos: Bentzi Sasson

Traveling across the globe to run a Seder in an isolated community for Jewish families that would otherwise not have it, is not an easy task.

It means leaving your family for the holiday of Pesach and doing everything on your own. From carrying matzah and wine to kashering a local kitchen, as well as preparing to host an interactive seder for some who this will be their only Jewish experience of the year.

“It’s a big responsibility,” said Mendel Cohen who went for the last two years on Merkos Shlichus, the rabbinical visitation program of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch.

He said for many of the seder attendees, “we have one night to make an impression that will pique their interest in Yiddishkeit.”

That is why when an unprecedented 700 bochurim — nearly double last year’s — applied to go on Merkos Shlichus for Pesach, it was decided that further selection was needed to choose the best ambassadors.

For the first time, in addition to the oral interviews, an exam to test the knowledge of the students was given to determine who would go to visit these rural Jewish communities.

Following the exam, Merkos Vice Chairman Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky combed through the papers to select the students who possessed the knowledge, aptitude and dedication required for the mission.

“It is very impressive to see the desire and dedication of today’s bochrim to the Rebbe’s causes,” Rabbi Kotlarsky remarked.

Rabbi Schneur Nejar, who helps coordinate the program, said the test was not only knowledge-based. “We included many questions to determine the attitude and motivation of the applicants.”

Chaim Goldberg, one applicant, found it most welcome. “This exam was not just another test, it really highlighted the points we have to learn and prepare ourselves for before we go out,” he said.

“For more than 70 years, Merkos Shlichus has led the way in bringing the warmth and joy of Yiddishkeit to Jews who would otherwise not be able to experience it,” says Rabbi Kotlarsky. “Also, it was the medium through which hundreds of Shluchim moved out to full time communities due to the groundwork that the visiting bochrim pioneered.”

A seminar on the practical aspects of the Seder as well as reviewing the Halachos of Pesach is scheduled for the Bochrim who were approved to go for Pesach as well.