About Olamot

Picture the scene: The Beis Medrash… the Rosh Yeshiva surrounded by Tamidim… The Shiur… The questions and answers… The give and take of Torah… Do you remember the scene?  Can you still feel it, sense it?  Indeed, it is the magic of a shiur b’iyun.  It is the stuff of Yeshiva life.  We’ve been there and have experienced it. 
Unfortunately for many, this has become nostalgia, a thing of the past.  The constraints of time often strip us of the ability to delve into a Ktzos HaChoshen, toil with a question of Rabbi Akiva Eiger, probe a Rashba, or examine each word of the Rambam.  Professional life has mistakenly convinced many that Iyun is the realm of the Yeshiva Bochur and Kollel Yungerman. 
Olamot has proven this notion to be an error.  Olamot allows for all to experience the thrill of torah b’iyun at any stage of life.  Moreover, Olamot is the vehicle with which each and every person can actually become a magid shiur in his own right.

How it Works

At its core, Olamot is a structured program for the delivering of shiurim to study groups, based on pre-prepared complete source material, on a wide range of halachic topics.
Thus, Olamot is able to provide a venue for all levels of learning capabilities as even those that do not have adequate time to prepare for such a shiur from scratch will be able to deliver the shiur to a group. In addition, Olamot has made it a priority to make the learning of profound halachic issues available to a broad audience. Furthermore, the material is presented in a dynamic format that brings halachic matters into our day-to-day routine.
The program was initiated just after Pesach 5768 by Zvi Ryzman, a businessman living in Los Angeles and the author of Raz Ka-Zvi. He gives weekly shiurim to many groups of working people. The content and style of the Olamot shiurim are based on his rich experience of giving shiurim to a general audience interested in high-level learning.  The program is currently arranged and put together by Rabbi Yaakov Yehudah Zilberlicht, who compiles the sources for the weekly shiur, and writes the outline for how the shiur should be delivered.
Every shiur includes source material for a halachic sugya, which is sent via email in PDF format.  The source material allows all the participants to live the sugya as it is being learned so that they are not merely listeners, but active partakers in the shiur. In addition to the source material, an outline is sent to aid the maggidei shiur in delivering the shiur. If one wishes to further the shiur’s content, there is plenty of room left for the maggid shiur's own input, both in terms of understanding the source material, and in finding additional sources.

Olamot – Organizing Torah Classes

As of today (Shvat 5773), 240 sugyos have been learned under the auspices of Olamot. Olamot shiurim have been delivered in numerous locations in Israel and abroad. All of the shiurim, in their entirety, are presented here online.
In order to establish a new shiur, all that is needed is a group of four or five interested participants, who wish to come together on a regular weekly basis for a shiur given by one of them. In many groups, the maggid shiur alternates from week to week, so that all participants have the opportunity not only of learning Torah but of teaching it as well.
The shiur itself is often a matter of learning the sources together, under the guidance of the maggid shiur who presents the material. 
Only the maggid shiur receives the shiur outline, which aids him in preparing and presenting the material, but in no way restricts him from giving the shiur according to his own style and understanding. Naturally, the maggid shiur will also plan the shiur in accordance with the level of the participating group.

Location:

 The shiurim can be given anywhere! Groups have been organized in schools, government offices, and even on army bases.

Support: After signing up online, shiurim and source material are free! and can be downloaded from the site in their online format. Additional sources and information concerning shiurim can also be found in feedback from participants and in the debates that take place in online forums. Information is also available concerning existing shiurim, as is assistance in organizing new shiurim.

Olamot-A Dream Come True

Today, five years after the Olamot program was initiated, we are witnesses to a project that has taken root, and which has unlimited potential for Torah study worldwide. We have received highly positive feedback from groups who describe the delight experienced in hearing and preparing shiurim, and the "Torah revolution" that participants have undergone.  An Olamot shiur is an hour of spiritual elevation in this world and the next!

Zvi Ryzman, author of Raz Ka-Zvi series

He studied in the "Yishuv Ha-Chadash" yeshiva in Tel Aviv, and later in "Chevron" yeshiva, Jerusalem. He continues the tradition of his father Rav Heshel zt"l in combining Torah with a working schedule; giving weekly shiurim on in-depth halachic issues, and lectures in all sorts of topics. He also authored books on halachah and machshavah.

The foundations of his Torah study were laid by Harav Yehuda Kolodetzki zt"l, Rosh Yeshiva of "Yishuv Ha-Chadash," who imbued his disciples with the urge to excel in every discipline-and in particular in Torah study. His methodology of in-depth Torah study draw from the teachings of Harav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi shlita, and other Rabbis of Yeshivas Chevron, from whom he received instruction in the intricacies of Torah study, and from whom he drew the strength of character to be immersed in unceasing Torah study.

Those who study his books will find it hard to believe that their author is a businessman. Crowned with haskamos from leading Torah luminaries, the books take the reader by the hand, guiding him from the first foundations of the sugya to the final halachic outcomes, and incorporating a wealth of knowledge gleaned from hundreds of Torah volumes. The books cover such varied topics as day-to-day life (Orach Chaim), festivals, Yoreh De'ah, the yearly cycle, various customs, and many halachic issues of special contemporary relevance.

Harav Yaakov Yehudah Zilberlicht

Harav Zilberlicht was born in Tel Aviv, and studied in "Yishuv Ha-Chadash" and later in "Chevron" yeshiva (Kenesset Yisrael), Jerusalem. During his years in "Chevron" he had the merit of being study partner to the Rosh Yeshivah, Harav Simchah Zisel Broide zt"l, and to act as his personal assistant for almost seven years. Harav Broide also gave him rabbinic ordination.
Simultaneously, he edited and brought out ten volumes of the Rosh Yeshiva's shiurim on the Ramban's commentary to Torah (Saam Derech).
Harav Zilberlicht lives in Bnei Brak, and serves as the Rosh Kolel of the Beis Midrash Gavohah for rabbinical studies, "Shiras Devorah," in Tel Aviv. He also serves as Rosh Mesivta of "Nehora," in Mavo Chevron.
He is also one of the board members of Otzar Ha-Poskim in Jerusalem, and lectures to groups in the "Beis Ha-Moreh" teaching seminary in Bnei Brak.
He has brought out a commentary on the writings of Ramban ("Ikvei Derech"), and a book on festivals ("Vedibarta Bam"). His editorial accomplishments include a compilation of sermons given by Harav Chaim Wolkin ("Daas Chaim"), Raz Ke-Zvi" series (9 volumes), and numerous articles in a range of journals and publications.