The Roshei Kollel and the kollel members are focused on one thing: giving back to the klal. All of the Jewish People are one neshama, one soul. When we learn Torah, we learn for everyone.
To give back to the Nation by bringing Torah to every Jew and by creating leaders who will bring Torah to every Jew.
“When I started the Kollel, my goal was ‘What can I do for klal yisrael?’ And when we do for the tzibbur, Hashem helps us. When klal yisrael needs a person, Hashem gives them the ability to do things they never could do before.
“If you would have asked me 30 years ago to go to Harvard and speak to young feminists about tznius without getting tomatoes in my face, I wouldn’t have known where to begin. But I did just that, and four of the women became baalei teshuva because they saw the emes, the truth.
“The purpose of the kollel is to create an environment where men can become talmidei chachamim—there’s very intense learning here—and at same time to give the members an opportunity to integrate with the community and get an appreciation for what klal yisrael is. It’s an environment where people learn to feel ‘we have to do for klal yisrael, this is why we’re here.’ All the while, the members never go away from Torah learning itself. Because Limud HaTorah is what changes and elevates the community.”
Rabbi Naftoly Bier founded the Kollel in 1989. Originally from Elizabeth, NJ, he graduated from the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia and received his ordination from Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ. He and his wife, Rebbetzin Yehudis are involved in many aspects of the Boston community. Their home is open to anyone who needs to talk, revitalize, or eat a good meal. Rabbi Bier’s classes throughout Massachusetts are inspiring and thought-provoking. Rebbetzin Bier, originally from Monsey, NY, is a celebrated educator in the Aleph Bet Child Care center in Cambridge, MA. Together they’ve touched hundreds of lives. Rabbi Bier’s ideas, which have helped so many, have been compiled in a book, 20 Questions: A Guide to Living with Confidence and Joy. Rabbi Bier was strongly influenced by his seventh-grade rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel Kaufman, zt”l, who inculcated his talmidim with a sense of achrayus to Klal Yisrael.
Rabbi Zalman Leff joined Rabbi Bier at the helm of the Kollel in 2000. Rabbi Leff, originally from Chicago, Illinois, graduated from the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia and received his semicha from Rabbi Ruderman zt”l of Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore. Rabbi Leff and his wife, Rebbetzin Gitty (originally from Baltimore) have become key players in building the community. Their home is open to anyone looking to get to know our beautiful community better. Rabbi Leff is famous for his advanced Talmud classes, which he delivers at the Kollel as well as at the Young Israel of Brookline. Rebbetzin Leff is the extracurricular activities coordinator at the Bais Yaakov High School, directs the Shabbos afternoon Bnos program for girls, and is involved in organizing many communal events.
