Master mechanech founded The Cheder educational network, opening
a Bukharian-focused Queens division two years ago
I was privileged to have enjoyed a number of touching moments with Rav Meir Chaim Gutfreund, zt”l, the pioneering master mechanech and the visionary founder of Queens Cheder Moshe Raya Mehamina based in Forest Hills and Jamaica Estates and its affiliates. This past Monday’s news of his petirah following a short illness was shocking and revealing; Rav Meir Chaim was 72. Rav Meir Chaim’s life was defined by an unwavering dedication to chinuch and a relentless pursuit of excellence in the craft, leaving behind a legacy that will continue to impact generations to come.
We are taught that more than the good student desires to learn, the good teacher desires to teach. The capable mechanech does more than simply give over information; every lesson taught properly becomes an act of impression. When done correctly, the mind, body, and heart are all engaged. Imagination flows, and abstract concepts are concretized and put into action. Parents often hear about an exceptional teacher or extraordinary rebbe. But it is rare to hear about a school filled with spectacular teachers and rebbeim who utilize every method at their disposal towards a single and sacred goal. The Cheder has a reputation for being more than an educational institution; it is a devoted learning center sparing no expense and ensuring no child is ever left behind - all orchestrated by Rav Meir Chaim, the man behind the method. “Our method can be summed up as bringing life to the lesson. As a matter of policy, we don’t believe in teaching subjects dryly. Our rebbeim and morahs face every day with the question, ‘How do I make this real for my students?’ The result is that our parshah classes are often acted out with visual aids, our gemara shiurim are given tangible context, and we strive to integrate sensory learning in the lessons we teach. If you walk down our hallways you will consistently witness our staff of rebbeim and morahs expertly weaving drama into their lessons, creating imaginative scenarios for the children to actively participate in,” related the niftar two years ago our affiliate publication, Bukharian Jewish Link.
“As Menahel, I take a personal interest in the daily ins and outs. I make a point of overseeing all the classes directly,” expressed the rav, who would evaluate and monitor each boy’s progress and provide educationalists with ideas that lift the Torah off the pages and poured into the hearts of the children.
Raised in Monsey, Rav Meir Chaim’s early years were imbued with Torah and yiras shamayim on the backdrop of Beis Medrash Elyon. From 13 through kollel, Rav Meir Chaim grew in learning at Bais Hatalmud, combining formative experiences with his unique perspective on Jewish education, laying the foundation for his future endeavors. Rav Meir Chaim brought the hands-on approach based on the teachings of HaGaon HaRav Eliezer Menachem Schach zt”l, the longtime Rosh HaYeshivah of the Ponevezh yeshivah in Bnei Brak, to Queens. “I do not see 25 talmidim,” said the menahel at the yeshivah’s orientation, pledging to shape transformations by ensuring every talmid was part of the equation. “I see in front of my eyes a thousand talmidim.”
“When I was a child, every year after Yom Kippur in the major newspapers there were pictures of Yiden going to the synagogue in Moscow and in Leningrad. I could never understand it; they would never let you bring a sidur or t’filin into Moscow – they checked your baggage as these items were considered contraband. Yet, here were pictures of Yiden going to shul; they allowed it to happen. If you looked at the pictures, the only ones going into the synagogues were those 60 and older, and the atheist Russian government understood that this will only last another couple of years if the youth do not go to the davening.”
By 1993, Rav Meir Chaim, on the guidance of leading mechanchim and gedolim, boldly addressed the void in the yeshivah educational landscape of the Flatbush kehillah, founding The Cheder with just 50 preschoolers, implementing the most effective and innovative educational strategies, allowing for the unparalleled growth of its talmidim, exponentially expanding into a thriving empire that now boasts a student roster of over 800 from preschool through bais medrash. A later expansion into Lakewood at Yeshivas Kaminetz transformed that institution. The rav’s trademark drive for an uncompromising standard of excellence reverberated in each Torah citadel, showcased by the expert mechanchim devoted to their trade who stop at nothing to help a talmid. Fitted with state-of-the-art recreational facilities, the networked spared no expense, with preschool playground infrastructure providing for stimulating and sophisticated play. Focused on a healthy learning experience, The Cheder elementary school students benefit from a recess coach who ensures that the play remains fair, and the social interactions stay friendly while offering tips on the rules and techniques of the sport keeping all involved.
Rav Meir Chaim was wholly acting as an emissary of Hashem, creating bnei Torah with warmth in their hearts and a healthy mindset. The menahel was known to cover innumerable tutoring inhouse and at home as well as pairing chavrusos and mentors for students in need no matter the monetary obligations. To this end, staff and students flocked to the menahel’s quarters for a listening ear as they unburdened personal struggles. He always had a listening ear, and he was always there to help.
For the 2022 schoolyear, at the behest of Queens Sephardic community advocate Rabbi Naftali Rosenbaum of Dorot, Rav Meir Chaim established the Queens division with a mere summer month, compromising at nothing to build a professional school concentrated on building the next generation of Torah scholars for the region’s Bukharian community. The new yeshivah was widely endorsed by the rabbinic leadership of Queens and by gedolei Yisrael, including HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky, as it filled the thirst sought by families whose children had commuted to Brooklyn, Far Rockaway, and NYC for a higher level yeshivah experience. The rav was a hands-on menahel, poised to ensure the implementation of Sephardic tradition overcoming the sharp decrees of Communism and Socialism their recent ancestors once knew. Queens parents see the remarkable level of directed attention and creative interaction provided, as the children come home with new knowledge in Yahadut and educational fundamentals.
Rav Meir Chaim quoted the Chofetz Chaim, comparing our youth to the ammunition of am Yisrael, ensuring a bright future. “If we have our youth in Queens, we are saving a sheivet in klal Yisrael and we are ensuring the future of our Bukharian community.” Rav Meir Chaim’s mission for his talmidim to bring nachas to their families, their communities, and to Hashem lives on through his family, a dynasty of talmidei chachomim, and marbitzei Torah including his son, Rav Mordechai of Bensonhurst, who serves as the Rosh HaYeshivah at The Cheder’s Mesivta Shalom Shachna on the Borough Park border. Rav Meir Chaim is also survived by his eishes chayil and their children Menechem Mendel, Shloime, Moshe, Yitzchok, Mrs. Taub, Mrs. Bloch, Mrs. Waxman, Mrs. Schachner, Mrs. Olbaum, and Mrs. Schmeltzer, all of Lakewood; and siblings Shloime Zalman of Far Rockaway, Yaakov Moshe and Michoel Yitzchok of Bensonhurst, near the Gutfreund’s 53rd Street and 19th Avenue home of 45 years, and Mrs. Egert of Lakewood.
The levayah was held this past Tuesday at the Elmwood Avenue campus, followed by a subsequent levayah at Lakewood’s Kaminetz Yeshiva on Ridge Avenue.
Yehi zichro baruch.
By Shabsie Saphirstein
