Toras Avigdor, Texas Style

With his strong South African accent, you’d be forgiven for thinking he’d just stepped out of his hometown, Johannesburg. You’d never guess he’s been living in Dallas for over forty years.

Destination Dallas

As a bachelor in his early twenties, Ivan Sacks left behind a lot of unrest in his native South Africa.

“I traveled the whole of the United States, and chose Dallas because it was in the middle of the country. It hadn’t been developed yet. Everybody knew everybody in New York and all the other places, and I liked the idea of coming to a place that wasn’t really well developed.”

True, Jewish life was not exactly burgeoning then in Texas, but now it is. And Mr. Sacks is still there, making an impact quietly and modestly.

As the years went by, Mr. Sacks found himself becoming more Jewishly involved. He understood the importance of community, and helped establish Texas Torah Institute and Congregation Ohev Shalom.

“The Jewish community has grown tremendously since I came in 1980. We’ve never had so many shuls. There are many kosher restaurants, and the fabric of the city has changed.”

Mr. Sacks has a novel way of judging population growth. No, he doesn’t check his local directory for Jewish-sounding names, nor does he count mezuzos on neighborhood homes.

“The best way to see our growth is by looking at the strollers in our shul,” he says. “The number of strollers in the parking lot! There used to be just a few. Now the place is packed.”

 

“Don’t Bring the Toras Avigdor to Shul!”

The Sacks family have been Rabbi Miller fans for over twenty years. Like so many, Mr. Sacks considers him his primary rebbe, although they never met in person. It was only natural to become the local distributor for Toras Avigdor. Each week, around sixty copies land at his door, and he begins his rounds.

He walks around his neighborhood, dropping off copies at predesignated addresses. At shul, he personally hands out the booklets to his “customers.” People are waiting for their weekly Toras Avigdor fix, and he’s happy to supply it. Mr. Sacks loves knowing who’s receiving the Toras Avigdor. If he’s ever away, it’s difficult to find a replacement, because only he really knows who gets the booklet weekly.

At one point, he was asked not to bring the Toras Avigdor into shul any more. Some of the more liberal-leaning congregants couldn’t relate to it and started to question why they couldn’t bring their material to distribute as well.

“There’s always going to be pushback on emes,” he says. And emes is important to Mr. Sacks. In fact, in his quest for emes, he once bought twenty-two copies of Rabbi Miller’s book A Divine Madness, which deals with the Holocaust. He gave away every single one to other truth-seekers.

Mr. Sacks has noticed that people are especially intrigued by the question at the back of the Toras Avigdor, but for him, the whole booklet is golden.

“The message of the parshah is extracted in a way that will make people feel alive. If you want to have a discussion about the parshah, this is a great way to do it, whether it’s comfortable, uncomfortable, or thought-provoking. There’s something about the lessons that come out of it. Everyone’s reading the parshah, but who can extract the message better than Rabbi Avigdor Miller?

“Rabbi Miller constantly teaches us to study the incredible world around us. When I walk outside, I’m much more aware of my surroundings and of the world through his writing, whether it’s the peach or the orange or the apple or the pit inside it. All of that comes alive. It’s an awareness I wouldn’t have otherwise. That’s what I like about Toras Avigdor. It wakes you up!”

Mrs. Sacks is equally enthusiastic. “His explaining is incredible, very different from everybody else—very understandable, relatable, and funny. And his grammar and his vocabulary are excellent. It’s like someone actually speaking to you, not just writing,” she says.

 

Mr. Sacks, You Rock!

In his day-to-day life, Mr. Sacks is an investment advisor. But he has a secret hobby.

He paints rocks. Yes, rocks.

It started at a challenging time in his life, faced with illness and isolation. His daughter brought him canvases to paint on, and gradually, he moved on to rocks.

“I’ve got boxes of rocks on my table right now. I’ve got pens all over. And I write sayings on the rocks. Ein od milvado is one of the most important ones. When a baby’s born, I write the name on a rock. I’ve done thousands of them.”

In every painted rock,Mr. Sacks shares a message and a mission. It’s more than a pastime—it’s his neshamah speaking. For him, life is a beautiful adventure. Whether he’s at work, taking a walk, or painting rocks, he’s serving Hashem with energetic joy.

He left South Africa in search of something undeveloped. In Dallas, he didn’t just find it—he began shaping himself, his family, and his entire community.

Rabbi Miller would be proud.

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