Home - Kollel Mashkimim

Before dawn breaks,
the world is already
being held up.

Every morning, while Lakewood sleeps, over 80 talmidei chachamim rise to learn Torah without distraction, fulfilling “V’hagisa bo yomam valaylah.”

I want a part in this

See the kollel in action

4:40–7:45 AM core seder | 1:00 AM earliest start

The streets are silent,
but the Beis Medrash is booming.

Each hand-picked member of Kollel Mashkimim is
a serious talmid chacham and yirei Shamayim.

They are dayanim, poskim, roshei chaburah, maggidei shiur and outstanding talmidei chachomim with demanding schedules. Yet they rise before dawn to learn with a clarity and intensity only possible in those quiet, early-morning hours.

Erev Yomtov, Chol Hamoed, Hoshana Raba, Isru Chag, Purim. Kollel Mashkimim takes no breaks.

“This chaburah is a manifestation of what every yid wants to be — and without a doubt, it brings tremendous nachas ruach to the Ribono Shel Olam.
We need to chap arein while the next generation of gedolim are sitting here and learning at 4 oclock in the morning!
If a person is looking to be machzik Torah, there is no better hachzakas hatorah than this!”

 — Rav Uren Reich
Rosh Yeshiva Ohr Zecharia

“It’s hard to explain this kollel to people in other places. The madreigah of these yungerleit — sitting quietly, without fanfare, early in the morning — is not to be believed.
These are truly בעלי הלכה, בעלי הוראה, מרא דשמעתתא בעלי בעלי קומה, בעלי תורה.
Those who are machzik Kollel Mashkimim have an investment that is limitless. What’s holding up the world if not these Yissachars and Zevuluns?”

 — Rav Sholom Kamenetsky
Rosh Yeshiva of Philadelphia and Nasi of Kollel Mashkimim

“By supporting this Kollel, you’re supporting Talmidei Chachimim that are on a level and a caliber mamash not to be imagined, a throwback from previous generations”

 — Rabbi Yehoshua Aba Bussel
Rav of High St. Shul Rosh Chabura BMG

“These yungerleit who are waking up early in the morning and are giving up their sleep for Torah lishma are of the highest caliber. This is a commodity which is very rare, and it is a unique opportunity to jump in and support them. There is no better hachzokas hatorah.”

 — R Mordechai Rosenbaum
Rav B"M Shaarei Tefillah, R"M in BMG, Mechaber sefer Ateres Shmuel

The power of the hour

The Zohar describes the window between darkness and dawn as an eis ratzon. It’s the time of day when one can achieve the greatest heights in Torah and Avodas Hashem.

The power of Limud Torah in those early-morning hours brings exceptional nachas ruach to Hashem and immeasurable zechusim to Klal Yisrael.

Rav Aharon Kotler would say that an hour of Torah before netz is worth twice that of the night.

I want a part in this

From sixteen men in a basement
to a Beis Medrash illuminating Lakewood

What began in 2020 as two yungeleit searching for pure learning has grown
into one of Lakewood’s crown jewels of Torah.

The Beginning

R’ Tzvi Friedman and R’ Daniel Orlinsky discovered the unmatched sweetness and growth of early-morning Torah learning — a time of quiet clarity without distraction. They saw the need for a kollel with no agendas – only Hashem and His Torah, where talmidei chachomim can learn l’shmah in an uplifting environment among yungeleit with the same aspirations.

The Vision

From day one, Kollel Mashkimim was built with one purpose: to create the ideal setting for talmidei chachamim to grow. Its schedule, structure, and environment were shaped to cultivate hasmadah, yishuv hada’as, and kavod Shamayim. With this vision in mind, in January 2020, sixteen handpicked yungerleit began learning before sunrise in the Prospect Square Shul basement, l’shem Shamayim, quietly and without publicity. That sacred pre-dawn seder became Kollel Mashkimim.

The Growth

The kind of Torah that fills the air at 2:40 a.m. doesn’t stay a secret for long. Rabbanim joined. Poskim joined. Dayanim joined. Today, over 80 talmidei chachamim fill Beis Medrash Chayei Yisroel. By 2:40 a.m. there is a full chaburah, and by 4:40 the kol Torah is already roaring. It’s a matzav of ahavas Torah and mesirus nefesh. Each year, the kollel celebrates multiple siyumei haShas — Bavli, Yerushalmi, Shulchan Aruch.

The Next Chapter

For years, Kollel Mashkimim was private. “It’s Hashem’s kollel,” Rabbi Tzvi Friedman would say. But with more than 150 b’nei Torah waiting to join, they are now sharing its light.

While the world sleeps, this happens:

avreichim learn
b’retzifus

blatt are learned
each month

siyumei haShas
every year

annual hours of
Torah-learning

“Sitting amongst yungerleit who are on such a high caliber – bekiim in Shas Bavli, Yerushalmi, Tahros and kol hatorah, upgrades my entire learning and my understanding of what a person can accomplish in life.
The elite of Lakewood is here in Kollel Mashkimim!”

  — R' Yosef Rivkin
Rav Chestnut Gardens Rosh Chabura BMG, Kollel Mashkimim member

“People often ask how the yungerleit manage to maintain such intense hasmadah so early in the day. The answer is one word: ahavas Hashem. The ta’am of learning in such an environment makes it harder to stay in bed than to get up. For Kollel Mashkim members, it’s not a burden; it’s a privilege.”

 — Rav Daniel Orlinsky
Rosh Kollel

“With everything going on throughout my day, I have an extremely busy schedule. Kollel Mashkimim gives me the clearest, most geshmake hours of my learning — without any disturbances.”

— Rav Ahron Aryeh Ginsberg
the Chuster Rav of Lakewood, Kollel Mashkimim member

“The first day that I came to Kollel Mashkimim, I was already hooked. When you learn first thing in the morning, there’s nothing that got to your head yet and you can be completely focused like no other time. The quality of the learning is so much better here – the life that is in the air is just palpable! There is no way to describe the kollel without seeing it and being there.”

— Rav Naftali Gettinger
Rosh Kollel Dirshu Boker and Kollel Member

“The anavah, the dibuk chaveirim, the pure ameilus—these aren’t people looking for kavod or recognition. They want only one thing: kirvas Elokim. I haven’t missed a day since I joined. The whole day, I’m looking forward to the next morning to plug into something so real.”

— Rabbi Bentzion Spira
Kollel Member

I want a part in this

Support pure Torah.
See pure brachah.

Supporters see it again and again. 
Unbelievable siyata dishmaya.
Tremendous yeshuos. 
Refuos. Shidduchim. Children. Parnassah.

“Are we a yeshuos factory? No. But one thing is clear: Supporting these extraordinary yungerleit who begin their day immersed in Torah lishmah with unparalleled hasmadah is a zechus that can open the gates of rachamim and bring forth tremendous shefa bracha into every area of life.”

— Rabbi Tzvi Friedman

Rosh HaKollel

One family sponsored a day of learning for
a newborn in critical condition. 
Today, that baby is thriving.

Four women sponsored learning while waiting for shidduchim. Now, all four are married.

And then there are the quiet stories…too many to count.

“I would say to any tomech who has the zechus to support them: I don’t know how one can match the mitzvah of being mechazek this kollel. These 80 yungerleit are the top tier in Lakewood—in learning, in hasmadah, in sheer simchas haTorah. It’s off the charts. I’ve never seen a kollel like this.
Whoever supports them is truly fortunate—Hashem was mezakeh him with an exceptional zechus.”

  — Rav Yosef Friedland
Bais Medrash Chayei Yisroel

“Kollel Mashkimim is holding up Lakewood and the world. This is the Kollel amongst Kollelim. It would be extremely hard to find a Kollel that can match on both the level of the stature and ameilus & mesiras nefesh of these yungerleit.

 — Michel Thau
Kollel Mashkimim Supporter

“I leave my house each morning when the streets are silent, and I walk into the Beis Medrash, and it’s booming! It’s a transformative experience and it’s hard to believe that it exists right here in Lakewood. This Torah learning cannot be compared to anything else. To me, there is no greater mosad to be involved in.”

— Boruch Mendelowitz
Kollel Mashkimim Supporter

“You hear about it, and you think that it sounds like a nice idea. But when you walk in, you feel like you’ve been transported to another world. The intensity, the focus, the absolute emes of what’s happening here—it’s hard to believe this is right in front of you. It changes you.”

— Yitzy Stern
Kollel Mashkimim Supporter

“By supporting Kollel Mashkimim you are becoming a shutaf with yungerleit who are moser and dovok to torah and avodah at all hours of the day. What better zechus?”

— Moshe Schwed
Kollel Mashkimim Supporter

“Torah that is learnt by people that are giving up from their own physical needs is of greatest value. I don’t support Kollel Mashkimim, Kollel mashkimim supports me.
It definitely brings tremendous Siyata dishmaya to my daily life.

— Moshe Nueberger
Kollel Mashkimim Supporter

I want a part in this

The quiet before the world awakens.
The clarity before the rush.
The purest connection between a Yid and Hashem.

That’s the hour Kollel Mashkimim owns
and you can own a piece of it too.

Keep the candle of Torah burning and claim your share in its light.

I want a part in this

Before dawn breaks, the world is already being held up.

The streets are silent, but the Beis Medrash is booming.

The power of the hour

From sixteen men in a basement to a Beis Medrash illuminating Lakewood

While the world sleeps, this happens:

Support pure Torah.See pure brachah.

That’s the hour Kollel Mashkimim owns and you can own a piece of it too.

Before dawn breaks,
the world is already
being held up.

The streets are silent,
but the Beis Medrash is booming.

From sixteen men in a basement
to a Beis Medrash illuminating Lakewood

Support pure Torah.
See pure brachah.

That’s the hour Kollel Mashkimim owns
and you can own a piece of it too.