“They told us it was impossible.”
Thirty hours. Twenty locations. Approximately 20 shiurim and presentations. Thousands of sponsored seforim. Rabbi Yaniv Meirov packed all of it into a whirlwind book tour across Israel, bringing his newly released Ohr Chazaq on the Parsha directly to students in yeshivot and seminaries.
Rabbi Meirov, founder and CEO of CHAZAQ and Mara d’Atra of Congregation Charm Circle in Queens, moved from one institution to the next, teaching, speaking with students, and putting copies of the sefer into their hands. Some began reading their new books before the visits were over.
The itinerary included Mevaseret, Midreshet Eshel, Ohr Somayach, Lev Aharon, Baer Miriam, Midreshet Tehillah, Imrei Binah, Yeshivat HaKotel, Yeshivas Aderes HaTorah (Senter’s), Aish HaTorah, Ashreinu, Yeshivas Beis Dovid under Rabbi Avi Wiesenfeld, Bnot Torah (Sharfman’s Seminary), and Tomer Devorah.
Beyond the classroom visits, Rabbi Meirov met with leading Rabbanim and Gedolim: Chief Rabbi HaRav David Yosef, Rishon LeZion HaRav Yitzchok Yosef, HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, HaRav Dov Landau, HaRav Binyomin Dovid Elyashiv, HaRav Avigdor Nebenzahl, HaRav Reuven Elbaz, and HaRav Shalom Arush.
Rabbi Meirov presented the new sefer during these meetings. HaRav Avigdor Nebenzahl read through its pages, while HaRav Dov Landau and other Rabbanim examined copies during their visits. Those quieter meetings took place alongside a schedule of nearly nonstop teaching and travel.
One of Rabbi Meirov’s messages concerned the importance of serving Hashem with happiness. The Hebrew letters of b’simchah (בשמחה), Rabbi Meirov explained, can be rearranged to form machshavah (מחשבה), meaning thought. The lesson was that machshavah tovah—positive thinking—can help a person approach life and avodat Hashem with greater joy.
Rabbi Meirov also called on students to practice Judaism with passion, “with fire and with energy,” rather than allowing daily observance to become a matter of routine.
The trip included visits to several mekomot hakedoshim, among them the Kotel, Kever Shmuel HaNavi, Har HaMenuchot, Kever Rachel, and Kever David HaMelech, bringing moments of tefillah into the already demanding itinerary.
The sefer was also featured at Rabbi Eli Stefansky’s Merkaz Daf Yomi (MDY) program and on The Rabbi Orlofsky Show. In an October 26 episode, Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky spoke with Rabbi Meirov about CHAZAQ and the new book.
Distributed by Feldheim, Ohr Chazaq on the Parsha grew out of the weekly Torah newsletters Rabbi Meirov began producing as a teenager in Queens. The book offers short, practical lessons on the weekly parashah, with QR codes linking readers to video presentations.
For all the numbers attached to the tour, its purpose was straightforward: students received seforim they could learn from long after Rabbi Meirov had left for the next stop. What started with a weekly newsletter in Queens now sits on desks and bookshelves across Eretz Yisrael.
By Shabsie Saphirstein
30 Hours, 20 Locations: Ohr Chazaq Brings Thousands Of Seforim To Israel’s Yeshivot And Seminaries
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