In Skokie, Digging Deep Into Torah at the Start of the Day

Day was breaking, and the air was still cool as I walked through the double wooden doors of Lubavitch Chabad of Skokie, north of Chicago. It was a few minutes before 5:30 a.m., and I was there to join as many as two dozen “regulars” who gather every morning for an hour of free-style Torah study.

On my way in, I meet Aaron Miller, founder of an online retail outlet. In one hand, he is holding a fruit shake. His other hand balances a stack of books in Hebrew and English.

“It’s like pickup basketball,” he explains to me. “We have more and more people coming in, learning Torah, digging deep into the text and discovering that Torah is really fun.”

For years now, Miller and a few others have been gathering for an hour of study before 6:30 prayers; recently, he decided to invite the wider community. “When there is a room full of people—each individual or group really getting into what they are studying—there is an energy that just fills the room,” he says, “and you lose track of time.”

The program, called Beis Medrash Boker (“Morning Study Hall”), was officially launched just a month ago. On the first morning, the room was festooned with balloons and the walls decorated with posters with stick-figure art. While the balloons are gone, the room is now decked out with a growing core group of devotees.

One by one, more people come into the room, holding binders, Talmud, Tanyas and other assorted study materials. Many stop briefly to fill up their cups with steaming coffee from the well-stocked refreshment table.

Some people study alone, but most are in pairs. Among them are Chabad rabbis from nearby suburbs, in addition to local business people and others who have decided to join them. Miller tells me that a number of learners have now begun staying on for morning services as well—some for the first time.

“This program was created,” explains my study partner for the day, “to give each of us strength. Together, we can grow and toil in Torah, each of us motivating, encouraging and pushing each other to try new things and expand our horizons. Life is about growth. No matter what your background is, you can create a place in Torah that is uniquely your own. All you need to do is come at 5:30 with an empty coffee cup and an open mind.”

There are ambitious plans for the coming months. Alongside the regular students will be a weekly class in Chassidic texts with Rabbi Moshe Miller, an author and translator of Kabbalistic works from nearby Chicago.

Layers of Meaning

My partner and I chose to learn a teaching of the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—discussing the “wood chamber,” a structure in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, which the High Priest would use as his personal quarters before and during Yom Kippur, when he performed the main rituals of the day.

The topic is intense, as the Rebbe’s words peel back layers of meaning, probing for the reason behind the room’s three names—the Talmud also refers to it as the “chamber of the courtiers” and “chamber of princes.”

As the hour passes, our table piles high with Mishnahs, Talmuds and other books referenced in the Rebbe’s essay.

As we wend our way through the subject matter, I glance at the clock. Time has moved all too quickly. We increase our pace, racing to finish the essay before 6:30.

“Gentlemen, your diligence is impressive,” a voice prods us, “but you are needed for the minyan.”

Looking up, I see that many of the groups remain hard at work as well, trying to cram in a few more precious lines of Torah. We get up and enter the sanctuary, just a bit late for services.

For more information call 847 766 1770 or email info@SkokieChabad.org