By Chloe Baker, Features Editor
“In this week’s Parsha, Hashem commands each member of Bnei Yisrael to give a half-shekel to the Mishkan…”
That is a line you do not encounter in most elevators. Yet, what was once an annoying and boring ride, or tour of every floor of the Brookdale building, has now been enriched by a simple piece of paper that hangs proudly taped just above the buttons. Instantly, your elevator experience becomes more insightful as you begin to read a mini Dvar Torah corresponding with the weekly Parsha. Every Dvar Torah is concise, thoughtful, and even has a “take it with you” section. Just like that, your elevator ride has been elevated.
It all started when two Stern students, who wish to remain anonymous, were in an elevator together and saw a paper ad for a hairstylist in the area. They had never spoken to each other before, but began discussing how it might be nice to have something Torah-related to read on a classic long elevator ride. “We have all these seconds we’re just standing there on our phones. It’s such free time. You’re in an elevator for so many minutes a day, why not learn,” said one of the students.
The Divrei Torah are “meant for everyone” and are intended to be understood at a relatively basic level. The YU Observer sat down with one of the students to learn about the process she and her peer go through to make these Divrei Torah come to life.
She starts the process of crafting the Dvar Torah during Mincha time on Shabbos. “I read the Parsha for the next week on Shabbos, and then on Saturday night I devote a lot of time to writing it. I read a lot of Rav Soloveitchik, Rav Eliyahu Munk, and Rav Hirsch, and I come up with questions I have on the text,” she expounds. Before she finishes, she runs it by her brother to get his ideas, and then she prints it out.
While coming up with ideas to include in her weekly Dvar Torah, our writer sometimes encounters challenges. For example, the pressure of having to complete the Dvar Torah by Sunday night before returning to school on top of all other existing schoolwork can be overwhelming.
She also relayed the importance of formulating ideas and questions that are her own. “Theoretically I can look something up and use what a Rav said, but my learning is my answers and my thoughts. It should be my own Torah.” She then relayed an experience she had in a shiur when a Rabbi made a comment to his students that they should not be copying down his ideas, but rather should think of their own ideas and questions to formulate their own Torah. This resonated deeply with her and plays a major part in her learning and writing each week.
Despite the pressure and work it takes to build a Dvar Torah each week, the student says “it’s totally worth it.” For her, it’s very rewarding when she is in an elevator and sees someone reading her Dvar Torah without knowing it was her who helped write it.
“Sometimes people will say ‘oh that’s so nice’ and I’m just standing right there,” she said. More importantly, she is just happy that “Torah is being able to be shared with the world,” and she hopes that girls “never stop learning.”
These two Stern students plan to continue this initiative at least until the end of the school year, and are hoping to make a scrapbook documenting all of the elevator Divrei Torah written so far. “I don’t know what my life is going to be like next year. It happened to be that I have time to do this now, but I don’t know what the future holds,” said the student.
Overall, the dim and long elevator rides of Brookdale Hall have been positively impacted by the insights and creativity displayed in the weekly Divrei Torah built by these two women. Next time you’re held up going from the first floor to anything above ten, take your eyes off your phone and look up. You never know how much your soul will be elevated while you ascend up to your room.