A visit with Rav Yisrael Abergel, head of the Torah institute Hameir Laarets and a successful mekarev of thousands.
Netivot, a city in southern Israel in the Negev Desert, is a 90-minute drive from Yerushalayim and a mere three miles from the Gazan fence. As I draw closer to my destination, its dusty air manifests itself on my windshield. On the edge of the city there is a triangular-shaped cemetery, each corner of which has the kever of a local tzaddik.
The kever of the famed Rosh Yeshivat Hanegev, Rav Yissachar Meir, is on one corner; on another corner is the tziyun of the Baba Sali; and Rav Yoram Abergel, who passed away ten years ago after a battle with cancer when he was only 58 years old, is interred in the third corner. Rav Yoram Abergel was the founder of Mosdos Kol Rina Rav Poalim, whose headquarters are located in Netivot, which has over 4,000 talmidim and avreichim.
After Rav Yoram’s passing he was succeeded by his son, Rav Yisrael Abergel, who was already known as a talmid chacham, maggid shiur and speaker. He, in turn, founded Hameir Laarets, an institute that is dedicated to spreading the chiddushim of his father as well as his own.
Today I will be attending one of Rav Yisrael’s famed shiurim, after which I am scheduled to meet with him. Rav Abergel travels every week throughout the country to deliver his shiurim, which attract hundreds of people from all backgrounds and walks of life. When I walk in, I see Yidden in chasidishe garb sitting next to some who look like they just grabbed a kippah from the box outside the door. There are older rabbis with long white beards alongside young men with shaven heads bedecked in gold chains.
The crowd is spellbound and hanging onto his every word. Rav Yisrael is tall and broad shouldered. He speaks with a booming but not overpowering voice and his delivery is smooth, as if he never takes a breath. Even though he has already spoken for over an hour and a half, not one person has left his seat. After the conclusion of the shiur everyone streams toward Rav Yisrael, asking questions or requesting a minute of his time for advice or a brachah. Rav Yisrael gives everyone a warm smile as well as his full attention. When I approach one of his talmidim and explain that I have an appointment with the Rav, he says, “Why don’t you go to our headquarters and you’ll speak to him there,” after which he hurries back to try and maneuver Rav Yisrael through the crowd.
As I am driving to the address I was given, I start to worry that my Ivrit isn’t as good as I thought. I pass a garage, a lumberyard and some other stores; it seems to be an industrial neighborhood. But I soon spot a four-story building with a large sign that reads Hameir Laarets. When I walk inside, the first thing I see is a large Judaica store that sells the works of both Rav Yisrael and his father Rav Yoram, most of which are leatherbound editions. I am told that Rav Abergel is in the midst of answering shailos from the yungeleit who learn in one of his kollelim, which is located on the third floor of the building.
While we wait, one of the people working here shows me Hameir Laarets’ various operations. We walk towards a massive warehouse where there are dozens of pallets awaiting pickup. “These are the sefarim of the Abergel rabbanim,” he explains. “Rav Yoram was a prolific mechadesh and writer.” He points to a 21-volume set on the Tanya as well as machzorim, works on the parshah and Zohar. He then shows me Rav Yisrael’s sefarim. “Rav Yisrael authored a 40-volume set on Shulchan Aruch as well as several sefarim on Chumash.” He tells me that these sefarim are shipped to over 140 countries around the world. “And these are only the volumes that have already been published,” he clarifies. “We also have people transcribing shiurim upstairs.”
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