CHESHVAN, 5735 I OCTOBER, 1974 VOLUME X, NUMBER 4 rHE SIXTY FIVE CENTS Adult Education in Israel -Utopian dream or a feasible program? The Jews: A People of ''Shevatim'' -for divisiveness or unification? Moshiach Consciousness -a message from the Chafetz Chaim The Jewish State -beginnings of redemption or a Golus phenomenon? The Seattle Legacy -heirs of a childless couple THE JEWISH QBSERVER in this issue ... SPREADING A NET OF TORAH, Mordechai David Ludmir as told to Nisson Wolpin ..................................... 3 THE JEWS - A PEOPLE OF "SHEVATIM," Shabtai Slae ........................ ............................. ........... 6 THE CHOFETZ CHAIM ON MOSHIACH CONSCIOUSNESS. Elkanah Schwartz ............... ....................... 9 THE END OF GOLUS? or THE BEGINNING OF GEULAH?, Moshe Schonfeld ..................................... ... 12 THE JEWISH OBSERVER is published THE SEATTLE LEGACY, Nissan Wolpin ................. ............. 18 monthly, except July and August, by the Agudath Israel of Amercia, 5 Beekman St., New York, N. Y. CRASH DIET, Pinchas Jung ....... ······················ ............. 23 10038. Second class postage paid at New York, N. Y. Subscription: $6.50 per year; Two years, $11.00; "HIS SEAL IS TRUTH" .......................................................... 25 Three years $15.00; outside of the United States $7 .50 per year. Single copy sixty~five cents. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ................................................... 28 Printed in the U.S.A. RABBI NISSON WOLPIN Editor GIVE A SPECIAL GIFT TO SOMEONE SPECIAL Editorial Board DR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER THE JEWISH OBSERVER Chairman 5 Beekman Street / New York, N. Y. 10038 RABBI NATHAN BULMAN RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS 0 ONE YEARi $6.50 0 TWO YEARS: a $13 value, only $11 JOSEPH FRIEDENSON D THREE YEARS: a $19.50 , .. aJue, 011/y $15 RABBI Y AAKOV JACOBS RABBI MOSHE SHERER Send Magazine to: Fro1n: Na1ne............... tVame....... THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not assume responsibility for the Address......................... Address ... Kashrus of any product or service ttdvertised in its pages. City..................... State.......... Zip. City..... ........ ...... Stale ............ Zip.. O Enclol!fe gift card D Enclosed: $ .......... OCT. 1974 VOL. X, No. 4 O Bill me: $ ....................... Typography by Compo-Scribe at A rtScroll Studios Reshet Sheurei Torah Spreading a Net of Torah M ordechai Dovid Ludmir -as told to Nisson Wolpin Shlomo N. ran a noisy night spot in the Bet tion campaign, and then not again until four years later'? Yisroel section o/Jerusa/en1, and the custon1ers and Why don't you come back more often'r· the;r activities kepi the neighbors up and angry until They were right. Of course. we are constantly looking the pre-dawn hours. Sh/01110 was not an especially for ways to raise the religious level of the broader pop­ religious fellow, but he never missed going to shul on ulace.A visit to any community outside of the usual his mother's yahrzeit. So he dropped into the local enclaves of the dati'in1 can be extremely depressing, shul on the eve of the obligatory prayer session and simply crying for action. It has always seen1ed n1ost sen­ listened to a fascinating lecture delivered by a younK sible to begin with children - that is why so much kolel man. He stayed on after Maariv to inquire emphasis has been put on Chinuch Atzmai Schools. But about a follow-up to that night's session. Shlomo dis­ what about those \vho are beyond school age - are we covered that the sheurim (Torah lectures) - adult to give up on them? And ho\v are they to kno\v enough classes in Gemora - were given every night by the to choose the correct schools for their children if we do visitor to Bet Yisroe/. After that, Shlomo never miss­ not reach them? ed the hour between Mincha and Maariv until he We are not street-corner evangalists. And our religion eventually found his thirst greater than what .fi1•e is not the kind of commodily that can be thrust on kolel hours a week could satiate. So Shlomo joined a others in an aggressive hard-sell. But once someone to study Torah all day - and Bet Yisroel lost its enters a shut, he has expressed some affiliation with only night club. Yahadut and he is in an environment conducive to THIS MAY SOUND a bit dramatic, but it is true and further commitment. So we brought Jhe matter up at the typical of the upheavals in life-styles of individuals and next meeting of the Agudath Israel. They undertook the entire communities that have resulted from our Reshet project. setting up our original ten Torah sheurin1 Shiyurei Torah (literally: Network of Torah Classes). lecture-classes) for adults, to take place every evening in The ReSHeT idea is really not very radical: but for ten different shuts in Jerusalem - never envisioning that some reason, we never thought of instituting this we would eventually have a reshet of close to 300 Torah program until after the election campaign in Ellul, 5720. sheur;,n all over Eretz Yisroel. A group of Roshei Yeshiva* had gathered for a Melave Malke to discuss our campaigning efforts - we had spoken out strongly at public rallies urging the people to RABBI LUDMIR heads the Reshet Sheurei Torah cast ballots for Agudath Israel, to safeguard religious in­ ( ReSHeT) in Israel - a network of close to 300 free adult terests in Israel. Several reported experiencing a similar education classes sponsored by the Agudath Israel, which reaction from the crowd. People would come over after are held throughout the length and breadth of the country. the speeches and complain - with respect, mind you, He ~i-·as one o_fthe founders o_f ReSHeT upon the direction not to heckle: "Why do we only see you during the elec- of leading Torah authorities of the time. including Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel (Mir!. Rabhi Dov Berish *R'Chain1 Brim (Slobodke). R'Shea Brim (Then, Ri::hin!. R'Shlolom Wiedenfeld (Tchebiner Rov). Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin Noach.Bro::ovskp (S/onin1). R'Dov Scheinherg (Toraswn l:'m'nas.1a111J. ( Lut:k~r Rav), Rabbi Yecheskel Sarna (Chevron} Rabbi R'Dol'id Shulvax (Sfas Emes), R'A1·raha111 Yaakrw Zafe::nik (Eit:: Ezra A tia (Porat Yoseifj, ;i::ii::i? cin::i1; tl"rt':> 7,::i,1 Chain1}. among others. Rahbi Yaakov Yisroel Konievsky (the Steipler }. The Jewish Obsen•er / October, 1974 3 Eight years ago in Katemon Tet, Jerusalem, I halacha areas - Shabbos, family purity, laws entered the Halabe shul. I found one man reading regarding shaving - whatever. the service, while everybody else stood, lisrening Reb Chaim told me about a young man who ap­ arrenrively. After inquiring, I found thar the entire proached him in the street. "Rebbe, can you get me a congregation was totally illiterate in Hebrew - ex~ job"' cept for the reader. Wirh rhe advenr of Israeli Reb Chaim was a litrle raken aback. "Why, no. Independence, rhe Syrians had outlawed rhe study of Shouldn't you consulr an employment agency, in­ Hebrew. These young men, all from a town near sread of asking me?" Halabe, never learned to recognize an Alef. They "Don't you remember? I was at your lecture last had recently stolen across the border to Turkey, with nighr, where you spoke abour the issur (prohibirion) Israel as their destination. against shaving someone else with a razor.'· We decided to raise their srandard as high as How should he remember? There were close to possible, starting of course, from zero. We began by 200 people present. But, anyway. teaching them Alef-Beis; now they have nightly "/'m a sapar (barber) by profession. I never knew classes in Mishnayos and halacha,from rhe original the law. So today I told my boss,'/ like working for texts. you. but .from now on I'm only giving haircuts. No One man came to see me a few months later to tell shaves.' " me-" You really saved us. Not only did we not feel "Very nice. So?" like Jews before, we even felt subhuman." "So he fired me!" The government heard of ReSHeT's success wirh "And-?" the group and began subsidizing us with funds. "And I'm afarher of two children. I need a job." Reh Chaim inquired about family, relations, for a The Approach possible connection. The young man's uncle was a sofer, a scribe who wrote ceremonial objects - WE WOULD SELECT a shul to visit between Mincha and Torah scrolls, tefillin, mezuzos. Maariv. We were readily granted permission to speak - "Perhaps," Reb Chaim offered half in jest, "you these people had little else to do between services. The missed your calling. You, too. were meant to be a theme would be the importance of Torah study, the so fer and misunderstood it as sapar - a barber." terrible losses of wasting time. The talk was usually well­ (Both words employ the same Hebrew letters). received. The proof - next visit, a week later, would in­ The young man took the suggestion seriously. He variably result in an invitation to speak again. The reported to his uncle for apprenticeship, and return­ theme would be similar. ...Third time around, the peo­ ed ro Reb Chaim a halfyear later with rwo sample ple would come forward, "Will you be .\peaking for us parchments he had meticulously written for a Sefer again?" Torah .... Today he is established as a successful "No, not this time." safer whose work is highly regarded. " Why not? We really were moved by your lecture last week." Selecting a Site "Thank you, but we're not interested in just talk. We're interested in action - in this case, learning A SHUL FREQUENTED by Sephardim is the ideal target. Torah." Generally, we have found that Ashkenazim (North­ "We'd agree. But we can't study on our olvn, and European Jews) and Yemenite Jews who attend shuls are there's no one among us to teach us!" literate enough to study on their own, if they so choose.