In a display of unparalleled mesirus nefesh and kavod haTorah, Reb Yisroel (Sruly) Schubert of Brooklyn has completed the writing of a sefer on Chumash—authored entirely through the use of his eyes. Stricken with ALS and fully paralyzed, Reb Sruly’s ruach remains untouched, his ahavas haTorah burning brighter than ever. With the aid of advanced eye-tracking technology, he painstakingly composed divrei Torah one letter at a time, transforming physical limitation into a keili for harbotzas haTorah.
The culmination of this years-long avodah was marked with a moving seudas hoda’ah and siyum, attended by gedolei Torah, close friends, and family. Among those present were the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva, Harav Elya Brudny, shlita, and Harav Lipa Geldwerth, shlita, both of whom have been pillars of support throughout Reb Sruly’s journey. The event was suffused with emotion as a powerful drasha, written entirely by Reb Sruly using his eyes, was played aloud to the crowd, leaving not a dry eye in the room. The siyum quickly turned into a true simchas haTorah, with heartfelt singing and dancing l’kovod haTorah and l’kovod a Yid who embodies Torah itself.
For the past three years, Harav Brudny has delivered a weekly vaad in the Schubert home, rarely missing a Thursday night. After each vaad, Reb Sruly shares his own vort, typed with tremendous effort and yegiah. Each dvar Torah can take hours or days to prepare, yet his consistency never falters. Reb Sruly learns daily with chavrusos and b’chavrusa with himself, delving into sugyos b’iyun, reviewing meforshim, and compiling chiddushim, all without the ability to lift a finger or utter a word.
What began as a weekly email known as Takfu Shel Kohen has now blossomed into a full-fledged sefer, the product of toiling in Torah under the most trying circumstances. The gadlus of the sefer is not just in the depth of its content, but in the reshus it grants us to witness the koach haTorah in its purest form—Torah born from pain, perseverance, and a neshama aflame.
Reb Sruly’s maaseh is not merely inspiring—it is mechayev. It is a mussar haskel to all of Klal Yisrael, a reminder that Torah is accessible in every matzav, and that no guf can ever hold back a Yid whose lev beats with ratzon to learn. His sefer stands as an eternal zeicher to the fire of a Yid who never stopped being davuk to Torah, no matter the test.
