Shema al Hamitah at YOSS

Every class from first through eighth grade at Yeshiva of South Shore took part in a special assembly at which they heard an impassioned address on Krias Shema Al Hamita, by Rav Dov Keilson, mashgiach ruchani of Mesivta Darchei Torah. Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, rosh yeshiva, introduced the topic by relating the power of learning by example from great people, just as the YOSS recently took inspiration from his mother, Rebbetzin Tzirel Kamenetzky, a”h.

Rav Keilson spoke to the boys, each on their grade level, about the importance of the sometimes neglected mitzvah of reciting Shema and related tefilos each night before bed.

He explained that his mother, a”h, lived with her grandmother. At the age of eight she noticed her saintly grandmother “talking” in bed prior to falling asleep. “With whom are you talking?” asked the young girl. Her grandmother replied that she is talking to Hashem! Since that day and for the next 65 years, his mother said Krias Shema Al Hamitah every night with kavanah and passion. It is for this reason that Rabbi Keilson, along with his father Reb Lloyd Keilson, decided to memorialize her by producing 10,000 laminated placards to personally give out to tinokos shel beis rabban, children studying Torah. 

“This is an especially appropriate focus for our older talmidim,” said Rabbi Draiman, menahel of the mechina division. “Many of our boys have taken upon themselves to increase their focus on reciting Krias Shema daily at Shacharis and Maariv by reciting the words out loud together in unison with concentration, using the Torah reading trop as discussed in Shulchan Aruch.

This practice is a beautiful enhancement to the yeshiva’s daily kol tefillah, and it is therefore a natural next step to emphasize the important mitzvah of nightly Shema before bed with the tefilos and bracha of hamapil to reinforce our emunah and bitachon.