Family, friends, rabbanim, and community members packed Beth Gavriel in Forest Hills on Tuesday evening, September 15, for the official launch of Rabbi Yaniv Meirov’s new book, Ohr Chazaq on the Parsha: Powerful Torah Lessons for Life. The evening of Torah, music, dancing, and a buffet celebrated a project whose roots reach back more than 20 years, to Rabbi Meirov’s days as a teenager sharing weekly Torah thoughts with the community.
Rabbi Meirov, CEO of Chazaq and Mara d’Asra of Congregation Charm Circle, has spent more than two decades building Torah, educational, and community programs serving Jewish families throughout Queens and beyond.
The program began with Tehillim led by Rav Daniel Lander, Rosh HaYeshivah of Yeshiva Ohr HaChaim and Rabbi Meirov’s rebbe since his high school years at Mesivta Yesodei Yeshurun. It was during those years that Rabbi Meirov began producing weekly parshah newsletters, an undertaking that would eventually help give rise to Chazaq.
Rabbi Meirov’s older brother, Rav Ilan Meirov, shared how those newsletters began. While learning at Yeshiva Ohr HaChaim, Rav Ilan and a friend produced a Hebrew weekly parshah sheet. When the two became engaged and planned to discontinue it, Yaniv, then a young teenager, was upset at the thought of the project ending and took it upon himself to produce an English version.
The newsletter soon expanded into Torah lectures and community programming. Chazaq eventually grew into an organization involved in Torah education, youth programming, public-school outreach, family services, and community events.
In that sense, Ohr Chazaq on the Parsha returns to where Rabbi Meirov’s work began. The book grew from approximately six years of weekly shiurim delivered at Congregation Charm Circle. Drawing from Chazal, the Rishonim, the Acharonim, stories, and parables, each section presents a concise lesson from the weekly parshah with a practical message for everyday life.
Rabbi Meirov designed the book with a familiar situation in mind: someone at a Shabbos table, Sheva Brachos, or other simchah is suddenly asked to share a d’var Torah. The concise lessons can be learned quickly and shared with others, and each parshah includes a QR code linking to a two-to-three-minute video of Rabbi Meirov presenting the Torah thought.
That format reflects the book’s theme, “From Inspiration to Implementation,” and what Rabbi Meirov calls the three I’s: information introduces the Torah idea, inspiration gives it meaning, and implementation puts it into practice.
The book was written to be accessible across ages and backgrounds, whether for parents and children learning together, students preparing a d’var Torah, or someone with only a few minutes before Shabbos. By the time of the launch, more than 20,000 copies had been sold.
Throughout the evening, Rabbi Meirov signed copies. His sons and nephews provided a musical presentation, the New York Boys Choir performed, and singer Binyamin Rubin energized the crowd with spirited singing and dancing.
Rabbi Meirov expressed appreciation to his parents, wife, family, friends, colleagues, and sponsors. Shloimi and Batsheva Boehm, the principal sponsors of the publication, which bears the designation The Boehm Edition, were presented with an award, while Nissim Akilov and his family were recognized for their partnership and support of Chazaq’s work.
Shloimi Boehm shared a story about parents who had converted to Judaism and understood that their young son would eventually have to decide for himself whether to accept it. They surrounded him with warmth, kindness, and positive Jewish experiences so that Judaism would be something he wanted. Boehm connected that approach to the work of Rabbi Yaniv and Rav Ilan Meirov and Chazaq: helping people develop a genuine desire for Jewish life by letting them experience its meaning and warmth.
Nissim Akilov encouraged those present to sponsor copies for distribution, including to families with children in public schools. Supporters responded by pledging hundreds and, in several instances, thousands of additional copies.
Special guest Rav Shulem Landau, Rosh HaYeshivah and Rosh Kollel of Mosdos Rivnitz in Williamsburg, is known for his popular short Torah videos. With Ohr Chazaq now pairing written lessons with brief videos, Rav Landau jokingly suggested that Rabbi Meirov was becoming a competitor.
He then turned to a more serious message. Drawing upon the account of Shlomo HaMelech celebrating after being granted wisdom, he asked why there was reason to celebrate before that wisdom had been put to use. The answer, he explained, was that such a moment was not a completion but the beginning of what could now be accomplished.
“It’s not a party of finishing,” Rav Landau told the gathering. “It’s a party of starting.”
Rav Landau gave Rabbi Meirov a brachah that the book and videos should reach Jews around the world and lead to greater Torah learning and observance.
Printed in Israel and distributed by Feldheim, Ohr Chazaq on the Parsha carries an idea that began with a teenage parshah newsletter into Jewish homes far beyond Queens. The format has grown, but the purpose remains the same: sharing Torah in a way that can be learned, shared, and put into practice.
By Shabsie Saphirstein
