Ohr Somayach's Talmid Chacham, Doctor and Financial Guru

by Victor Hyman

Dr. Tuvia Meister had a fairly common beginning for a former talmid of Ohr Somayach. Starting from a non-religious home in New York Dr. Meister pursued a medical career from a young age and became "tuned in" to Judaism in medical school.

Dr. Meister has been an incredible example of drive and determination. In his book The Meister Plan, Dr. Meister explains how it was a television show about a dying 19 year old Jewish boy that led him to finally have a bar mitzvah and pursue Torah and mitzvos. When Rav Eliezar Menachem Shach, shlita, heard this story, he said it was first time he had ever heard of anything good come from television.

The following years would see Dr. Meister graduate medical school, come to Ohr Somayach, marry, finish Mishnayos 10 times, the Bavli, the Mesechtos Ketanos, Mechilta, Sifra, Sifrei, Mishneh Torah and Sefer Hamitvzvos, Tanach, Talmud Yerushalmi and Tosefta. During this Torah tour d' force, Dr. Meister developed an investment strategy that allowed him to learn Torah full time with only a few hours of work each week to supplement his investment income, and to retire at age forty. He also developed a method for learning that can only be called meticulous, dedicated and ingenious. In The Meister Plan he shares his strategies for learning and earning.

Rabbi Chaim Scheinberg, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Torah-Ore, notes in his haskama that Dr. Meister's book "shall serve to highlight the importance of using money to allow one to continue a serious commitment to limud hatorah." With that in mind, The Meister Plan is designed both for people working or in kollel. The learning strategy that Dr. Meister developed will allow someone with drive and determination to cover an extraordinary amount of ground in a very short period of time. In chapter four, Dr. Meister provides outlines for study plans to finish all that he has accomplished in just 10 - 20 years! Replete with real world examples of how to fit in an extra "daf" between x-rays or finish the Talmud while waiting in the public library, Dr. Meister writes with warmth and an understanding of the financial demands of a frum family. While Dr. Meister himself has used his investment security to afford himself more time to learn, anyone can combine working and learning with his plan to finish not just Shas but all of Torah, and at the same time save for a comfortable retirement. For example, with Dr. Meister's system, if a new father started the 20 year learning plan and put aside just $2000 at the birth of a child, with only $40 per week over the next 20 years, he could accumulate over $300,000 with very little time invested in maintaining the portfolio.

Dr. Meister's book is based on a system of setting achievable goals in learning and investing small amounts of money regularly, as he says: "My philosophy fits the economic circumstances of most frum families. It's a hands-off philosophy; that's the beauty of it. If you're frum, you really should not be constantly monitoring the stock market; that's not a good way to spend your time," and others in both fields agree. The Meister Plan carries haskamas from Rabbi Chaim P. Scheinberg, shlita, and from Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, shlita. It also contains approbations from Donald R. Nichols, author of Starting Small, Investing Smart and Nathan Sax, Vice President of Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Company and The Munk Group. It is published by Shaar Press and available at your local Jewish book seller.

A New Service!

Ohr Somayach Alumni Directory

On Line

http://www.ohr.edu/web/alumni

You can submit your personal information on-line.

Simchas & Announcements

MR. RAYMOND MENACHEM & MS. MALKA SHAMSIAN ON THEIR ENGAGEMENT
MR. & MRS. YECHIEL LEWIS ON THE BIRTH OF THEIR FIRST BOY
MR. ZEV & MRS. ILISSA (WEINBERGER) GREEN ON THEIR WEDDING
MR. & MRS. PETER FINE ON THE BIRTH OF THEIR FIRST GIRL

Let's Share Our Simchas TOGETHER with B'Yachad
Send us your Mazel Tov announcements and articles for publication.
Mail to B'Yachad POB 18103 Jerusalem 91180
or email to info@ohr.edu

Your Newsletter

We are interested in receiving contributions to the Alumni Newsletter, including articles, divrei Torah, suggestions and comments.

Contact info@ohr.edu

Get ready for the next

Ohr Somayach Alumni Reunion Dinner
will be held in early May 1999 (and not June as previously announced)

We are requesting volunteers to help in the production of this gala event.

Please respond to info@ohr.edu

Please inform us of your home and e-mail address changes. Also, help us to help others, and send us the names and addresses of alumni who are not receiving our literature.

Spread the Message
Job Search through Ohr Somayach

call (718) 259-5111

Editor: Raphael Scott Leban
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Eli Ballon

Publications like this are available via E-Mail, as part of Ohr Somayach's "os-alum" list.
To subscribe, send the message "sub os-alum {your full name}" to listproc@ohr.edu

Ohr Somayach Institutions is an international network of Yeshivot and outreach centers, with branches in North America, Europe, South Africa and South America. The Central Campus in Jerusalem provides a full range of educational services for over 685 full-time students. The Jewish Learning Exchange (JLE) of Ohr Somayach offers summer and winter programs in Israel that attract hundreds of university students from around the world for 3 to 8 weeks of study and touring.

The Ohr Somayach Home Page is hosted by TeamGenesis