Welcome to the first full-time Sephardic Kollel in the Chicagoland Region.
The mission of the Kollel is to bring young dynamic energetic newly married couples to the city of Chicago that will portray the life of a Ben Torah who lives and breathes Torah with the Sephardic flavor. As well the avreichim through immersion in our serious Rabbinic Study Program over a couple of years, will become teachers and leaders, and have the tools to excite other Sephardim about the study of Torah and experiencing the joy of authentic Sephardic tradition.
We want the Kollel to become a hub and a center of learning in the Chicagoland Sephardic Community, and promote and facilitate with pride, the learning of Minhagim and Torah of our sages with true understanding and depth.
Hanhalat HaKollel
Rabbi Daniel Raccah
Nasi
Rabbi Aharon Raccah
Rosh Kollel
Rabbi Raphael Gold
Second Seder
Rosh Chaburah
Rabbi Shmuel Katz
Menahel
Join our Kollel Avreichim
in our open Beit Midrash program.
Winter Schedule
Mincha: Sunday - Thursday: 12:45 PM
Night Learning Program: Sunday - Thursday: 8:15 PM - 9:40 PM
Arvit: Monday - Thursday: 9:45 PM - 10:00 PM
Avreichei HaKollel
Rabbi Nachman Dahan
Nachman Dahan was born and raised in Montreal, Canada and is of Moroccan descent. He attended Yeshivat Yavne, a Sephardic school system in Montreal. After graduating high school, he went to Eretz Yisrael, where he learned for one year. He then came back to Canada and studied in the Ner Yisroel Yeshiva in Toronto for two years. He then met his wife, Leah, who grew up in the same Moroccan community as he. They have 2 children, Natan Moshe and Michal. After their marriage they moved to Lakewood, N.J. In Lakewood, he studied in BMG, also known as Beth Medrash Govoha. While learning in BMG, Nachman spent a number of years doing outreach for the NJ Aberdeen community.
Rabbi Meir Arazi
Meir Arazi is of Syrian descent. He was born in Eretz Yisrael, and moved to the United States at the age of 10. He attended Ateret Torah for elementary school, high school, and 3 years of Bet Midrash. He then moved to Lakewood and spent one year learning part time in Rabbi Harari's Bet Midrash, and teaching in Yeshivat Darchai Noam. The next year, he met his wife Shoshana and returned to full time Kollel at Rabbi Harari's Kollel. They have one child, Yaakov. For the last 3 years, since his marriage, he has been learning in Kollel. First in Rabbi Harari’s Kollel, and then in a new halacha Kollel in NJ. Meir has experience in teaching a pullout classroom and running a P3 program. He as well has been a mentor for young unmarried bachurim.
Rabbi Yosef Avidan
Yosef Avidan is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and is of Egyptian descent. He attended Yeshiva of Flatbush for a number of years, prior to relocating to Eretz Yisrael and learning at Netiv Aryeh for two years. He then moved back to New York and attended YU and Lander colleges. Upon completing his education, he moved to Toronto where he worked as a kiruv professional for NCSY. After a period of time there, he returned to New York and married his wife, Rachel. They are the proud parents of three beautiful children: Chaim David, who is three; Esther Chaya, who’s almost two; and Avihu. After their marriage, they moved to Lakewood where he joined Rabbi Diamond’s Kollel in Deal, N.J. where he has been for three years. He has also attended a Kiruv training program called Ner L’Elef, and worked in Special education at HASC.
Rabbi Yonatan Busani
Yonatan (Yoni) Busani is from Monsey, NY, and is of Yemenite descent. He attended Beis Mikra for elementary and went to Edison (Rabbi Jacob Josef) for high school and Beit Medrash. Afterwards, he went to EY to learn, first in R' Zev Kaplan's yeshiva, and then in Yeshivas Brisk. He returned to the U.S., where he met and married his wife, Tamar. They now have two children, Yosef and Michael Meir. After their marriage, they moved to EY where Yoni continued his studies in Brisk and then went on to study halacha in a kollel in Ezras Torah. Yoni has done training in maaros under a talmud of Rav Berkowitz and has taken a Chosson Rebbe training course by Rabbi Yitzchak Issac Silber, as well as a course in educational chinuch by "Vaad Chizuk" which follows R' Shlomo Wolbe's hadracha.
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Rabbi Binyamin Kermanshahi
Rabbi Binyamin Kermanshahi hails from LA, and has a very well rounded Torah education! He learned in Calabasas Yeshiva, located near LA, and then by Rav Meir Stern in Passaic and then by Rabbi Neckritz in Lakewood!
After his marriage to Biracha Cohen, also from LA, they moved to Baltimore where Binyamin was learning in the famous Ner Yisroel Yeshiva!
Rabbi Kermanshahi was also affiliated with Rabbi Eliyahu Hakakian's Bet Kinneset in Baltimore and was actively involved in Torah programming with engaging the Ba'alei Battim!
Tue, February 17 2026 30 Shevat 5786