Reb Aharon Ostreicher isn’t new to the world of sophisticated design. His resume includes designing and planning the Belz and Ger batei medrash in Yerushalayim; Vishnitz in Bnei Brak; Satmar and Skver in the United States; the restoration of the Kosel tunnels; Kever Rochel and Kever of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; and other hundreds of batei medrash and heritage sites around the world. But despite his rich experience, he can’t hide his enthusiasm for this project. During our interview, he says, “During my decades in the field, I traveled everywhere. I thought I had seen everything. But I’ve never seen anything like this. I never even thought there could be something like this, and I don’t think there will ever be anything else like this again!!
We met with Reb Aharon Ostreicher at the height of the work on the yeshivah’s Aron Kodesh. Two years in the planning, the Aron Kodesh is scheduled to be ready for Rosh Hashanah 5785/2024, on the yeshivah’s tenth anniversary.
Hadur Na’eh
The Aron Kodesh: In galus, the Aron Kodesh is the holiest place we have. For generation upon generations, Jews throughout the world have dedicated themselves to glorifying the Aron Kodesh that house our sifrei Torah.
The dedication, devotion, veneration, and time and energy spent on glorifying the Aron Kodesh—in transforming the resting place of the Sifrei Torah into a masterpiece of art—isn’t just a nice minhag or hiddur. It’s not just an expression of love, but an actual halachah. The Rambam writes in hilchos Sefer Torah, “It is a mitzvah to set aside a specific place for the Sefer Torah and to honor it.” The GR”A writes that the mitzvah to honor the Aron Kodesh is because of the Luchos that are in the Sefer Torah, and, therefore, we should show the same respect we would give to the Aron HaBris, to the Aron Kodesh.”
Nine years ago, effort and money were invested in the construction of a beis medrash at the center of Kiryas HaYeshivah to give honor to Hashem and His Torah. It is the fulfillment of the Rosh Yeshivah’s dream. HaGaon HaRav Shalom Ber shlita envisioned this prestigious beis medrash that is home to talmidim that go on to disseminate Torah throughout Klal Yisrael. But his vision also included a spectacular Aron Kodesh at center of the beis medrash.
As the beis medrash was being constructed, a yeshivah supporter who helped construct the magnificent beis medrash shared his own dream with the Rosh Yeshivah: He wanted to construct a spectacular Aron Kodesh liluy nishmas Rebbe Shlomo of Bobov zy”a.
When the nediv saw the completed beis medrash and heard the kol Torah emanating from it ceaselessly, he decided that this beis medrash was the perfect place for the glorious Aron Kodesh he wanted to build, to honor the Torah, the talmidim who studied Torah, and to honor Hashem Yisbarach.
In addition to building the Aron Kodesh, this Yid doubled his support to the yeshivah, earning the merit of this spectacular Aron Kodesh, together with the kedushah of Torah learning, in honor of his Rebbe and teacher, Rebbe Shlomo of Bobov.
Initial plans for the Aron Kodesh were sketched according to the donor’s vision, together with input from the yeshiva administration and the brachah of the Rosh Yeshivah, HaGaon HaRav Shalom Ber shlita.
Hearing about this colossal project, companies and the expert artisans asked for the privilege of working on this once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity. Many attempted to follow the plan, but one by one, they all ceded defeat. Some even deemed the project unrealistic and completely unfeasible. But the yeshivah doesn’t recognize the option of “giving in” and “giving up.”
As this article is being prepared, the Aron Kodesh is almost completed and plans are being made assemble it at the center of the beis medrash. Preparations are underway in the beis medrash itself, and a temporary Mizrach wall was erected so that the construction work won’t disturb the omlei Torah. Bezras Hashem, the Aron Kodesh is scheduled to stand in its place in about another half a year.
Petichas Ha’Aron
As work began in the beis medrash itself, we left on a fascinating tour to learn about the work being done on the Aron Kodesh throughout the world!
Before beginning the actual work on the Aron Kodesh, it needed to be designed and planned. Not an easy task, because this was the first time in history that a silver item of this size was designed. It took more than a year just to design the project. Rav Aharon Ostreicher, the architect who designed and planned some of the largest and magnificent shuls around the world, was tasked with designing the Aron Kodesh, per the nediv’s vision.
Though he is one of the most foremost architects in the Jewish world, has worked on the largest shuls in the world, and led extremely complex projects, Rav Ostreicher says that he has never seen anything like this Aron Kodesh before.
He opened a conversation in his Yerushalayim office with a candid statement. “Baruch Hashem, I have worked on more than 800 projects, of all different types. Over the years, I explored ancient synagogues and batei medrash world over; some of which were more than 100-200 years old, and some even close to 1000 years old, in Venice, Rome and India, almost everywhere on the globe. But I never saw anything like this. There is nothing like this. Nothing even similar to this exists, and I don’t think there will ever be anything like this in the future either.”
Rav Ostreicher adds, “If I had to compare this Aron Kodesh to something, I would think that there were things like this in the Beis Hamikdash. But today, as far as we know, even from non-Jewish history and monarchies, there are no masterpieces like this. Every time I see the gold and silver pieces of this Aron Kodesh, I pinch myself to make sure I’m awake.”
Petichas Ha’Aron
As work began in the beis medrash itself, we left on a fascinating tour to learn about the work being done on the Aron Kodesh throughout the world!
Before beginning the actual work on the Aron Kodesh, it needed to be designed and planned. Not an easy task, because this was the first time in history that a silver item of this size was designed. It took more than a year just to design the project. Rav Aharon Ostreicher, the architect who designed and planned some of the largest and magnificent shuls around the world, was tasked with designing the Aron Kodesh, per the nediv’s vision.
Though he is one of the most foremost architects in the Jewish world, has worked on the largest shuls in the world, and led extremely complex projects, Rav Ostreicher says that he has never seen anything like this Aron Kodesh before.
He opened a conversation in his Yerushalayim office with a candid statement. “Baruch Hashem, I have worked on more than 800 projects, of all different types. Over the years, I explored ancient synagogues and batei medrash world over; some of which were more than 100-200 years old, and some even close to 1000 years old, in Venice, Rome and India, almost everywhere on the globe. But I never saw anything like this. There is nothing like this. Nothing even similar to this exists, and I don’t think there will ever be anything like this in the future either.”
Rav Ostreicher adds, “If I had to compare this Aron Kodesh to something, I would think that there were things like this in the Beis Hamikdash. But today, as far as we know, even from non-Jewish history and monarchies, there are no masterpieces like this. Every time I see the gold and silver pieces of this Aron Kodesh, I pinch myself to make sure I’m awake.”
The most magnificent masterpiece in the world will honor Hashem and the Torah!
Is it complicated to plan this type of project?
Planning this project is very complex. It took more than a year to make the initial plans, and it’s ongoing. The work itself takes about two-three years. Bezras Hashem, we’re davening and hope that the Aron Kodesh will be ready for Rosh Hashanah. Everything started with the initial sketch I made…And we’ve been working on it for a long time – we have a whole department in our office working on it. Then we carve wood molds that we use to melt the gold and silver by hand.”
He adds, “A big issue is planning the constructs on which the Aron Kodesh will rest. We needed to reinforce and fortify the foundations under the Aron Kodesh, near the Mizrach wall, so that it will be able to hold the Aron Kodesh.”
“Hashem worked it out that this magnificent Aron Kodesh will stand in the largest, most prominent beis medrash in Eretz Yisrael and the entire Torah world. I don’t know what zechus the Yid who donated this Aron Kodesh had, but it must be a very big zechus! He is helping create the most magnificent masterpiece in the entire world and it is dedicated entirely to honoring Hashem and making a kiddush Hashem!”
Research and Learning
Emesh Premium Carpentry, a company that specializes in building Aron Kodesh in various sizes and styles, was put in charge of managing this project. We met with Reb Moshe Cohen, CEO of Emesh, a few hours before he flew to the silver workshop in India. He gives us a few behind-the-scene perspectives on the process of constructing the Aron Kodesh.
What’s the first thing that needs to be done when tackling a project of this size?
“We started by researching the feasibility of the project and we checked the possibility of collaborating with companies around the world. Representatives traveled around the world to learn how to carry out the project, and it was only after this in-depth study that we confirmed that, bezras Hashem, we will be able to undertake the project.”
“Once we undertook the project, the first stage was also dedicated to study and research. We did very most complex projects in the past, but we always had a precedent to work with it. There was always an earlier project that we could learn from. We learned a lot from the experience of other experts, but when it came to this project, there was no precedent. We had to invent the wheel.”
So first you researched all aspects of the project and then moved on to actually constructing the Aron Kodesh?
“Not quite. We learn new things as we go along. Every day, we plan what to do next. This is the biggest challenge, it’s more challenging than the complexity of the project. We have special teams that are tasked with planning out every stage of the construction, down to the very last details and parts of the Aron Kodesh.
“For example, we recently started the preparatory work in the beis medrash itself. The Aron Kodesh is going to stand on an elevated platform. So that led us to a big question: Where are we going to assemble the Aron Kodesh? Assembling it on the platform itself is problematic because of its size and the sensitivity of the marble. But if we assemble it on the floor of the beis medrash, how are we going to lift it up onto the platform when it’s all assembled?
Before we learn about the process of making the Aron Kodesh, can you tell us a little bit about its size and scope?
“The entire Aron Kodesh, from start to finish, will be one unit of silver, entirely of silver. Integrated with gold parts. By the way, we checked with all the silver workshops in the world, in order to learn from them. But they all said that, throughout history, there has never been anything of this size and scope. This will be the largest silver item in the entire world. The Aron Kodesh will stand seven meters high and will be about twenty meters long. It will stand on a floating, onyx floor that’s light penetrable.
“A large amount of pure silver was needed to build the Aron Kodesh. It’s made of pure, 999 silver, and a huge amount of 24 karat gold. Before we started working, we confirmed every detail of the Aron with the architect. We prepared samples of every detail, and there are over 20,000 handmade silver pieces.”
Getting to Work
“When we first set out to work, we drafted the experts in our company, alongside international specialists that we brought in for this project. We created a team that has the capability of administrating all aspects of the project, including the logistics and the materials used in the project.
There are many specialties needed for this project: gold, silver, metal, concrete casting, wood, metal constructs, stone, lighting, and a number of other engineering fields. We have twelve different managers in charge of different artisans in workshops around the world.
How did you choose which workshops to work with?
“We inspected workshops around the world. A lot of workshops were intimidated by the scope of the project and its complexity. They didn’t think they could do it. We traveled to India to inspect one of the biggest, most prominent silver workshops in the world and finally decided that we would work with them.”
What expertise is needed to do silverwork?
“It takes a lot of expertise to work with silver, especially since this Aron Kodesh is being made completely by hand. The workshop in India started working on the silver pieces, as soon as the plan for silver was completed, about a year ago. About sixty artisans are working in the silver workshop on the carving and creation of the silver pieces, which are all being handmade.
“Other things are being done in workshops around the world by the biggest specialists in each field. Most of the woodwork is being done in our factory. Some of the gold work is being doing in a different workshop in India, and some is being done in Dubai, in one of the biggest gold workshops in the world. We chose each workshop according to their particular expertise. Altogether, about 135 different artisans are working on this project world-wide
How did the non-Jews s react when seeing your plans?
“They were shocked. But first, let me explain, for example, in regards to the workshop in India. People tend to think of India as a third-world country, but it’s not. India is a huge country, with a population that’s even larger than that of China. There are primitive areas, but it’s not a third-world country at all.
When we met with them about our project — remember, these are the owners of the biggest workshop in the world— they were shocked. They couldn’t understand how a country with a population less than the population of a small Indian village—some of them had never heard of Israel before— can aspire to this type of project. At first, they raised their eyebrows, they thought we were a little crazy. They couldn’t understand why we would even want such a thing. They said it straight out: How did you come up with this idea?”
What did you tell them?
“When I explained to them that this huge investment is for a shul, for Hashem, their shock turned into appreciation and admiration. They wanted to know more about our nation.
“I told them that our nation is a story that is ongoing for thousands of years already. Our nation is thousands of years old and we are sustained in the merit of our emunah in Hashem and spirituality. We invest all that we have in our spiritual life and aspire to the maximum in this area. I told them about the Beis Hamikdash we once had, and explained that today we have a small mikdash, our shuls.
With Hashem’s help
What work is being done in the beis medrash now?
We are fortifying the floor for the Mizrach wall and building the platform for the Aron Kodesh. We deliberated about the floor for a half a year. We researched seven different options, but we still were very unsure about the best way to make it. Two days before we started the work, we had a new idea, something we hadn’t thought of before. It’s a great idea and it will, with Hashem’s help, bring us to maximal results. The idea was clear siyata dishmaya! And we see this siyata dishmaya all the time.”
“This entire project is run by siyata dishmaya. This siyata dishmaya is obviously because this Aron Kodesh is being made to glorify and uplift Beis Elokeinu, it’s all l’kavod Shamayim.
“Every time I meet with the Rosh Yeshivah shlita, I can sense that his investment and interest in the Aron Kodesh stems from his desire to be marbeh kvod Shamayim and kvod HaTorah. Think of what this Aron Kodesh is going to do to all the talmidim learning in the yeshivah! It will be impossible to be apathetic when learning in front of this magnificent creation!”
“Personally,” he concludes, “I am touched and excited that this masterpiece is going to be in such a glorious beis medrash. I’ve visited the yeshivah and it’s powerful! More than 1000 talmidim learning in one beis medrash. It’s a Torah battlefield. There’s nothing greater than this. It’s a privilege that the Aron Kodesh that I am helping create is going to be placed in this holy place.”
