In an unusual move for a Litvish yeshiva, Finkel accepted 800 Hasidic students and allowed them to learn in their own "chabura" and follow their own customs, including a "fartug" (pre-dawn study session) before morning prayers. This group, known as "Chaburas Ameilim BaTorah" (the "Toiling in Torah" Study Group), was housed in a different neighborhood, but the week before his death, Finkel moved them onto Mir yeshiva premises. He participated in their Thursday-night study sessions as well as their "seudot mitzvah" (festival meals) marking a siyum, and Hanukkah parties.