TAMMUZ-AV, 5734 I JUNE, 1974 VOLUME X, NUMBER 2 THE SIXTY FIVE CENTS THE JEWISH QBSERVER

in this issue ...

A PATH THROUGH THE ASHES, from a lecture by H orav M ordechai Gift er...... 3

THE HOLOCAUST - IN THE LIGHT OF "SPARKS OF GLORY," Nasson Scherman...... 7

COMMUNICATION AND BEYOND - WHERE HUMANITY ENDS, Nissan Wolpin ...... 13

TORAH PIONEERS, Chaim Shapiro...... 17

SECOND LOOKS AT THE JEWISH SCENE "Modern Orthodoxy" and Dialectical Jiujitsu ...... 22 Giving Up, Emanuel Feldman...... 26 A Chol Hamo'ed Lesson...... 27 THE JEWISH OBSERVER is published monthly, except July and August, by the Agudath Israel of Amercia, FEATHER AND FLESH, a poem by Ben Ephraim...... 28 5 Beekman St., New York, N. Y. 10038. Second class postage paid LETTERS TO THE EDITOR...... 29 at New York, N. Y. Subscription: $6.50 per year; Two years, $11.00; Three years $15.00; outside of the United States $7 .50 per year. Single copy sixty.five cents. Printed in the U.S.A.

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The following essay is based on an address delivered by Horav MORDECHAI GIFTER X"t:P?lll Rosh Yeshiva of Te/she-Wickliffe, Ohio, at a conference of Yeshiva Teachers, sponsored by Torah Umesorah.

authority from their own perspective, while we have defaulted. We read their writings, accept their facts, and in the process, unconsciously become products of their outlooks. It is precisely in this field of Jewish History that a non-Torah orientation can be the most detrimen­ tal to Jewish thought. We do, indeed, have an approach of our own: In Parshas lfa'azinu, a guide is given for the viewing and understanding of history from a true perspective: ... 1111 111 n11w lJ'J ; 0?1.Y n1ni il'.JT - Remember days of yore, understand the years of every generation" (Devarim, 32:7). If one wishes to com­ prehend an event in history, one cannot look at it in the limited scope of the finite here and now; rather, one must understand the event as having a place in the sha/she/es ha'historia-the historical continuum. An historical occurence extends itself beyond the isolation of time and space, and reaches towards the past and the future, to acquire true significance. But one most in­ variably begin with Creation and the Creator. As the Vilna Gaon explained, to understand "the years of every generation," one must start with "remembering the days of yore"-the Six Days of Creation. For in those days lies the complete plan of the development of the universe and humankind in it. This, the Gaon taught, is the only "Emunah" and the Historical Continuum way to understand history. Secular sources view history in perspectives of their RECEPTS OF JEWISH THOUGHT are closely tied own, predicated on economic, social, and political prinR to everyday realities. The individual Jew can ciples. By contrast, the Torah directs us to view history IP strengthen his emunah and bitachon (belief and as the unfolding of the Divine plan: History is the trust in G-d) through the daily occurrences that befall metamorphosis of man- through the stages of destruc­ him. However, primary means for the transmission of tion and redemption, continuing toward his final fundamental principles in emunah have been left un­ redemption in the days of Moshiach. And all such developed. Jewish history is such an uncharted field. events-the redemptions and the destructions-are Secular sources have been permitted to tread this land perceived as fundamental testimony to the presence of with familiarity and to interpret it with an assumed G-d in this world, and are understood as experiential units in hashgacha p"ratis-the active force of the hand Adapted for publication by R. ZIPSINfoR and N. WOLPIN of G-d.

The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 3 Children of the Holocaust ban of the Bais Hamikdosh becomes the paradigm for all future Churbanos, and the Lamentations which the Navi EDEMPTION AND DESTRUCTION -familiar wrote with Divine inspiration encompass all sorrow, themes in Jewish history, and we, too, know pain and mourning. All cries of loss and despair are un­ R them well. We, today, are all children of the ited: Chazal interpret Yirmiyahu's outcry of" n?1< ?y Holocaust. Some have lived through it and some were •i:J1J. iJx. - For these do I weep" as referring to born after. But all of us are deeply affected by it. Yet, the events that occurred during the destruction of the Se­ Holocaust has been left untapped as a resource in the cond Temple, even though the prophet lived at the time teaching and imbuing of emunah in the hearts of those of the First Temple .. , , We lack the power to make who came after the Holocaust. Kinos of our own, so our lamentations find voice We are one generation removed, and this awesome through the words of the Navi. His words are a vehicle occurrence somehow slipped out of the consciousness for us to view and to understand the events of our time of most people. People forget-either due to preoccupa­ in the broad historical continuum, through an emunah tion with daily matters, or because of inability to view perspective. the Holocaust in its true perspective and to reconcile it When referring to Tisha B'Av(the day the Temple was within themselves destroyed) the Prophet Yirmiyahu calls the day We are late in dealing with the Holocaust. Chazal ex­ "Mo'ed" -a word that usually refers to festivals. The plain the corrosive effect time has on the experiential Telsher Rav, Horav Reb Avraham Yitzchak Block quality of an occurrence. A Midrash on Megillas Eichah l"'" , explains that the word "Mo'ed is derived from (the Prophet Yirmiahu's Lamentations on the destruc­ the word Va'ad-appointment.* It is a time of appoint­ tion of the Bais Hamikdosh) comments on the passuk: ment of Hashem with the world, when His greatness is ':n:in 1Jerusalem, a destruction Hakadosh, who lived one generation before him, was so great that it could only have been administered by able to explain it in twenty-four ways. The Sages tell us Divine plan .. , two separate moments in the history of that because Rabbeinu Hakadosh was one generation Kial Yisroe/: Ge'ulah and Churban - redemption and closer to the Churban, even though he did not live in the destruction. From the time the Second Temple was time of the Churban itself, he felt the intensity of the destroyed through the present, and on until the final lamentation and the sorrow that much more deeply. redemption, we are caught in one long moment of "go­ After explaining the passuk in twenty-four different ing out of Jerusalem," punctuated by especially harrow­ ways, he would break down and weep. He did not have in.g experiences, such as the Holocaust. the emotional stamina to continue. Rabbi Y ochanan, who lived one generation later, was that much more "Churban" As a Father's Punishment removed from the Churban and could therefore deal ow DOES ONE approach these moments of with it at greater length. anguish in the history of the Jewish People? What We are only one generation removed from the Chur­ H brings about this destruction? The Navi explains ban of European Jewry, and yet the memory fades from that the exile from Jerusalem is a result of sin-in a our minds. Our emotional bankruptcy permits us to relationship of crime and subsequent speak about it casually, in a detached manner, and even punishment-whether we understand the sin or not. forget about it. Punishment is not brought without sin and there is no The "Churban" Fountainhead Churban that is not punishment. However, we are deeply troubled: other nations also CANNOT PERMIT the Churban, which has sin, and yet their punishment is not so severe. But, when estroyed so many of our people and so much other nations sin, their actions do not make the imprint W f our spiritual life, to pass into oblivion. We on the universality of history that the deeds of Kial must reach out to it and grasp it before too much time Yisroel do ( Midrash Eicho ), History is not impressed by elapses. Every detail is, of course, of utmost importance. insignificant individuals; only the great. Kial Yisroel oc­ But first, we must approach the entire concept of Chur­ cupies a central position in history - as the Am ban at its harshest, and attempt to determine what it Hanivchar, whose chosenness is manifested through signifies in our relationship with G-d. times of redemption and through times of destruction. Truly understanding this most recent Churban does Churban is testimony to the status of Bnai Yisroel as the not begin with a particular event of a generation ago. It Am Hanivchar. -An orphan grows up wild and uncared must begin with works written 2,500 years ago. Yir­ for ... he has no one to reprimand him and chastise him miyahu the Prophet had written ?r.H1 1

4 The Jewish Observer / June. 1974 encouragement for us. We are assured that we do have "'The community was relocated in the Ghetto .... " an Av Bashomayim (A Father in Heaven) who cares for us and is concerned enough with our spiritual status to demonstrate His disfavor. During times of destruction, it is written "And G-d will cause your enemies to rejoice over you." It is not written that G-d is happy at the downfall of Kial Yisroel, for He only rejoices when he performs acts of kindness to Kial Yisroel. G-d weeps with us at times of destruc­ tion, as a father cries for the pain of his son upon whom he was forced to inflict a needed punishment. ... He is very much with us in our suffering, and in His presence he shares our sorrow. The Prime Facet of"Churban" HURBAN HAS MANY FACETS. When the European Kehillos were destroyed, all aspects of CC their lives were destroyed, too - the economic life, social life, the organized structure of a thousand years' standing. We cannot begin to understand the ex­ tent of this Churban until we research extensively into Jewish life at that time. What was the Polish community like' What was the nature of the Lithuanian community? - the Hungarian? - the Kehi/los of Berlin, Warsaw, Pressburg, Kovno, Lemberg? When we have gathered the facts and have a real understanding of these com­ munities, then we can realize the magnitude of the Chur­ ban. how deeply we suffered then and how deeply we still suffer today. There is one aspect of the punishment, however, that is so sweeping that it is apparently without any element of mercy whatsoever - the destruction of the spiritual life in Europe. " ::ip:v' rmo 7::i l1K 7r.i11 1yeshivas and and glory of our people. kehil/os to their credit. These people were of pivotal im­ Thus the loss of Churban Europe was of a scope even portance to the spiritual development of the entire broader than the Six Million kedoshim. With their world. - The gaon and tzaddik Reb Daniel Movshavitz death, great sources of truth also went up in smoke. 7··1 of Kelm once pointed out that at the very same The Response to "Churban": time that the Vilna Gaon was studying Torah in Vilna and illuminating great Divine truths to the world, Em­ The Faithful Do Not Ask manuel Kant was in Berlin-expounding on the truths at­ OMETIMES CHURBAN REACHES such tained by human thought. His truth was not arrived at proportions that the fear is evoked that Hashem through parlor discussions and street-corner arguments, Shas turned away from us. We fear, not that but as a direct result of the study of the Gaon in a small, Hashem is smiting us too severely, but that He has aban­ dimly-lit room secluded from the world. Through his doned us. . . . When the decree was issued for the study of Torah and his findings, vibrations of truth were slaughter of the "asarah harugei ma!chus" - the ten created which penetrated the halls of learning in Berlin Rabbinical giants, including Rabbi Akiva and his - making it possible for Kant to arrive at his colleagues - Rabbi Yishmael ascended to the heavens

The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 5 material. The little that I know revealed entire worlds of These are not isolated incidents. Each insight to me ... random incidents that the children of offers us a glimpse of Jewry in the Telshe Rav related to me: When the Nazi beat the Te/she Rav upon the head microcosm. . . . from what a man saw with hammer blows and taunted him: "Where is and heard in Warsaw , he un­ your G-d, Herr Rabbiner?", the Tels her Rav replied: "He is not only my G-d - He is your G-d; and the derstands Warsaw . ... the Kovno sur­ world will yet see this." vivor understands Kovno. This was might and Kiddush Hashem . ... How would the others interpret his actions? - as a weakness? - for to inquire if this decree was indeed from Hashem. He he did fight against his persecutors; he led no ghetto up­ was answered: "The decree has been issued from before risings . ... Me. Go and accept it." At the time when the Nazis took the Te/sher com­ The fundamental concept of Churban is that it is a munity to their intended slaughter al the lake near­ decree issued by Hashem for the achievement of an ul­ by, the Te/sher Rav said in a drasha: "I/we will be timate purpose. When one has become so overwhelmed scrupulous in kashrus, in Shabbos, in taharas by destruction that he feels Hashem has left him, he hamishpacha (laws offamily purity), the enemy will must not turn away from Torah in frustration and have no dominion over us." And from that day on - anger, but should turn to the Torah to seek reassurance plans were changed and they were taken away from that whatever occurs "has been issued from before Me." Te/z and were confined in a ghetto - the entire com­ In the early days of Hitler's rise to power, we were munity suffered no harm until the first breach in confused and frightened, not knowing what the next kashrus. day would bring. Then, someone reprinted and dis­ -I ask you, do we have a "Tatteh in Himmel"? or were tributed the comments of Reb Meir Simcha (of we abandoned? D'vinsk) on Bechukosai from his sefer Meshech When the Rav c·ou/d no longer stand on his feet, Chochmo - his predictions of the great destruction not having enough strength to carry even a Gemora, that would emanate Jrom Berlin. The accuracy ofhis he directed his young daughter (the sons were gone) remarks was frightening - and yet reassuring . ... to take out the Gemora Sanhedrin, to open it up to He was gone since 1925, but he had looked into the the topic o/Kiddush Hashem, and lo begin reading. Chumash and he knew...... Such was their preparation. This essay from M eshech Chochmo should become part -Are these cowards? or are these H iviJJ n:i 'i1:J:i. of every yeshiva's curriculum.* ,,~, " - valiant men of might performing His words? The Nitra Rav, in a telegram to the Va' ad Hatzala I see these events as Jewry in a microcosm - not just of the Agudas Horabonim during World War II, isolated incidents that occurred in Teh.. But Telz is remarked: For those who doubt and ask, there are where I begin, and this is what I know of Telz. And just no answers. For those who do not doubt, there are no as Telzhad a brand of Kiddush Hashem all its own, so questions. did Kovno .... So did Satmar and Pressburg .... So did From our vantage point, we must also respond to this Warsaw and Lemberg. But how does one discover the terrible Churban with· o,,,, ,,~ ~Ill' - "Sit in individuality of each community? Each person loneliness and be silent." - not asking questions, but generalizes from his own experiences, from what he contemplating our condition. How lonely we are without witnessed, from what he heard, to gain insight into the feeling the reassuring presence o/Chasdei Hashem - His character of his particular community and its heritage. recognizable acts of kindness. But we must remember at From what each saw and heard, a man from Warsaw the same time " ·;i o71J17 nlT' x? '~ - He understands Warsaw, the survivor of Kovno un­ will never forsake us forever." Thinking into the depth derstands Kovno, and he who observed his own Rebbe and breadth of this Churban - this in itself heightens could understand the strength of Reb Menachem Ziem­ one's understanding of this concept. For if 1"n Hashem ba. would have forsaken us, this Churban could never have There is so much to be researched. And when this is occurred. The Churban itself is evidence and testimony done and collated, it must be taught through a perspec­ to the fact that "we have a Father in Heaven." tive of emunah. Then, out of the Churban, children will The Perspective: The World in an Incident emerge fortified, understanding the significance of the Tisha B'Av - Mo'ed as an encounter with G-d .... LL THAT HAS OCCURRED has its place in the They will emerge fortified, understanding that "He will Divine plan of"Remember the days of yore." A not forsake us" is indeed forever. A whole world of facts lies in the events of this After all, we are dealing with but a moment in history, Churban - and these facts are infinite in number. It is and all moments together lead up gradually to that final our duty to find pertinent facts and to collate the proper moment for which we all wait longingly - "When "' A translation was featured in JO, Oct., '73 Shiloh will come." o

6 The Jewish Observer/ June, 19_74 N osson Scherman An Understanding of the Holocaust • In the Light of the ''Sparks of Glory''

War I. With the Nazi invasion, Prager became a secret SPARKS OF GLORY, by Moshe Prager correspondent for the Joint Distribution Committee and Shengold Publishers, N.Y.C. $5.95 convinced the American-based. organization that, as an agency under the legal protection of a still neutral MOSHE PRAGER is one of Jewry's most important power, it was in a unique position to carry on relief and and-in the English-speaking world-least known writers. hatzala operations. Meanwhile, the Gerrer Rebbe was He is recognized as Israel's leading authority on the the Germans' Public Enell)y Number One. Following Holocaust and Nazi anti-Semitism. A prolific writer, he has published eighteen works, nearly all of them on the their pattern wherever they conquered Jewish com­ World War II era, and his extensive scholarly analysis munities, the Nazis first tried to destroy the rehg1ous hfe of then-helpless victims by burning and pillaging syn­ "Anti-Semitism in German Manifestation" in the Hebrew agogues and yeshivas, and killing, torturing; or. i_m­ Encyclopedia (Israel's equivalent of the Brittanica) has prisoning the religious leaders. The Rebbe was m h1dmg survived twelve printings unchanged as the definitive work from the Gestapo. on the subject. Prager is editor of Bais Yaakov, the An old and intimate friendship with Stephan prestigious Orthodox monthly, and his byline is familiar to Porayski, director of the Warsaw Office of the Italian readers of various dailies around the world. His works shipping firm Lloyd Triestino, made Prager a key figure have been translated into seven languages, but only now in the attempt to smuggle the aged, ailing Rebbe out of has he been published in English, the language spoken by more Jews than any other. Poland under the noses of the Gestapo. Prager ap­ proached Porayski asking him to arrange papers and The English version ofNitzotzei G'vurah,first publish­ passage. The Pole agreed, but only on the condition that ed in Israel in 1952, is called Sparks of Glory. Happily, Prager, too, accept a ticket to Palestine and save his ow_n the translation is very well done. The publisher, Shengold, life as well. He didn't want to leave his family, but his in cooperation with the National Conference of Yeshiva father and wife insisted that the rescue of the Rebbe was Principals (an affiliate of Torah Umesorah), has prepared too vital a cause to be jeopardized by family con­ a quality production. siderations. If Porayski wanted Prager to go, then Historian of the Holocaust Prager would have to go. The miraculous rescue of the Gerrer Rebbe was accomplished and it became the sub­ OSHE PRAGER, A wARSAW JEW descended from ject of one of Prager's later books. The results of th~t the Chidushei Harim, was an established young daring feat are still unfolding in the rebirth of Ger m Mjournalist when World War II broke out. He modern Israel, which began when the Rebbe arrived m was one of the pillars of the Orthodox Jewish p_ress m Palestine. Poland - an institution inspired by his cousm, the

Gerrer Rebbe ZT"L, which served as a powerful RABB! SCHERMAN is principal of the Yeshiva Karlin-Stalin, Bro_oklyn, educational and social force in restructuring the Torah and edits OLOME!NU, Torah Umesorah's magazine for children. He is a community after the ravages and dislocations of World frequent contributor to these pages.

The JeH'ish Observer / June, 1974 7 "A Personal Mission: To Record... " ed State of Israel, guaranteeing official recognition of Shabbos. Kashrus, rabbinical control over personal RAGER·s FAMILY WAS WIPED OUT in the status, and exemption of yeshiva students from con­ Warsaw Ghetto, and it became a personal mis­ scription. IP sion for him to salvage on paper the glorious The Nazis: More Than Race Hatred history of Eastern European Jewry. During the war years he began carving a significant niche for himself in TWAS IN WARSAW UNDER THE NAZIS that Israeli society. He was a very rare combination: an un­ Prager began to realize the underlying motive usual literary and journalistic talent; Chassidic Jew IT behind the Germans' sadistic brutality to the steeped in the fervor and philosophy of Ger; fighter in Jews: race hatred, to be sure; but more: the hatred of the Haganah; brilliant thinker; irresistible personality. what the Jews represented as a spiritual force, as well. He He was perhaps the only one in the country who had en­ began to understand this as a result of incidents like the try without prior appointment to such disparate per­ following: sonalities as the sainted Gerrer Rebbe and secular Prager was leaving Joint headquarters when he political leaders like David Ben Gurion. He is still a saw a Jew, an ordinary "amcho" man, walking close confidante of such key figures in the secular life of down the street as if he were in great pain. The the land as Shimon Peres, and, over the years, he has man was badly bruised and Prager took him into used his influence to the benefit of the Torah communi­ the building to ask him what was wrong and to see ty. if he could be of assistance. Ben Gurion saw him as the "symbol of the eternal "It's nothing," the man said. Jew" and sought him out as a bridge to the Torah com­ After much coaxing, he told Prager his story. He munity. Prager was thus helpful in convincing Ben was. walking down the street when two German Gurion that no Jewish state could survive unless it officers accosted him and ordered him into an recognized its link with history. To build a totally empty garage. There, for no apparent reason, they secular state, he argued, would be to build a society began beating him mercilessly. The Jew decided without roots; such a society would wither and die. that he would endure the suffering without begg­ Prager's role was thus as "midwife" of sorts in bringing ing for mercy, without even screaming in pain. about the agreement between the religious community, Mastery over his body might be denied him, but he represented by Agudath Israel's Rabbi Yitzchak Meir would maintain his pride and dignity as a Jew. Levine, and the Jewish Agency on behalf of the propos- After a while, the Germans asked why he wasn't

8 The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 screaming. He remained silent. He realized that nineteenth-century German philosopher, was not an their purpose was to degrade him, to force him to anti-Semite, but his formulation of what the Jew scream and beg, and thus humiliate him. This represented became the raw material for the vile fumings doubled his resolve not to give them the satisfac­ of Hitler, Rosenberg, Streicher and their cohorts. tion. The beating continued until finally his tor­ Nietzsche differentiated between the "slave mentality" turers themselves began screaming hysterically at characterized by feelings of weakness, mercy, and him - almost begging him to cry out. Finally, kindness - and epitomized by the Jew - and the they gave up and let him go. And it was very plain "master mentality" characterized by strength, courage, that he had defeated them. brutality - epitomized by the German. He saw Jews as Prager's research continued - on a personal, anec­ the cultural force that had overthrown the natural order dotal level, as a questioner and collector of experiences of Might Makes Right, the law of the jungle, and replac­ - and on a deeper, philosophical level, as a historian ed it with a weakness of spirit that denigrated strength who studied documents and looked for meanings in the and defied weakness. What is known as Western civiliza­ senselessness that engulfed European Jewry. He came tion and morality, he claimed, are in reality perversions across many other bits and pieces of evidence that con­ of natural law and a violation of the ideal human order vinced him he was on the right track. of domination by the strong for no other reason (for no A memo sent by the Gestapo headquarters in other reason is necessary) than the fact of their strength. Berlin to the Gestapo in Poland, said: the Nazis Hitler, in his mad rantings, put it this way: "ft is true, were willing to permit some Jewish emigration we are barbarians. That is an honored title to us. I free from Germany and Austria, because the humanity from the shackles of the soul. from the assimilated, deJudaized Jews of Western Europe degrading suffering caused by the false vision called con­ would simply blend into whatever country was science and ethics. The Jews have inflicted two wounds on willing to accept them; there was no danger that mankind - circumcision on its body and 'conscience' on they would reestablish Jewish life in their new sur­ its soul. They are Jewish inventions. The war for domina­ roundings. From Eastern Europe, however, no es­ tion of the world is waged only between the two of us. cape was to be permitted. The OstJuden were too between these two camps alone - the Germans and the Jewish, too saturated with the values and ethics Jews. Everything else is but deception." that Nazism was sworn to eradicate. They would So the genocide of the Jews was not at all comparable rebuild their institutions and start all over again. to the genocide of the gypsies, because the Final Solu­ This, Nazi Germany could not permit. tion transcended race. That is why, in the closing year of Prager cites, as further evidence, Hitler's letter written the war, Hitler diverted troops and transport from his just before he committed suicide during the taking of deterio_rating front Jines to speed extermination of the Berlin. He wrote apologetically that he had not succeed­ Jews. If unable to win the victory of the Thousand Year ed in carrying out the extermination of the Jews. Not Reich, he could at least exterminate the "slave men­ succeeded? He had carried out the most barbaric, most tality," his ultimate philosophical enemy. And it was not efficient campaign of genocide in history! Yet he was enough simply to murder Jews. They had to be apologizing for failure! In the light of Prager's thesis, humiliated, dehumanized, stripped of their dignity and Hitler's remorse is quite understandable. The slaughter pride in order to discredit their creed and the philosophy ofthe Six Million had not been sufficient to destroy Jewish of life they represented. influence and values because there were still enough Jews Seen in this perspective, the epitaph that "the Jews alive to rebuild. True, we have not nearly recovered from went like sheep to the slaughter" becomes all the more the Holocaust, but Torah life has developed to an un­ awful a distortion, because it implies that the Nazi imagined extent, and its influence has penetrated areas atrocity is not told in the chilling words "six million" - that were closed to it even before the Holocaust. it also indicates that the master race succeeded in demonstrating its spiritual superiority over the slave Nazism: Destruction ofJewish "Conscience" race. HAT, THEN, IS PRAGER'S DEFINITION of Biographer of the Soul German anti-Semitism? Firstly, it is not a new Tphenomenon. It is nothing more than the GAINST THIS BACKGROUND, Prager's work traditional hatred of the Jew that began when Abraham assumes a new dimension. He is more than a became recognized as the bearer of a unique set of A historian of the Holocaust; he is the biographer values. The only truly new thing in Nazism was its of the Jewish soul in its period of severest trial in many harnessing of German efficiency and technology to the centuries, perhaps since the churban. cause of anti-Semitism .... Cyclon B was merely the Prager's family was completely wiped out during the most effective tool yet invented for murdering Jews, but war. But, scholar, historian, and journalist that he was, the cause it served was not at all novel. he had the training and the tools to investigate the death Anti-Semitism was hatred of what the Jew and keep alive their memory and what they represented. represented. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, the And he had the unflagging will to do it. "I die every day

The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 9 Nazism: Hatred for what the Jew represented

and I am resuscitated again," he says. Fame, success, the Jewish people enveloped in fire. But we were like and prosperity did not dampen his determination to the burning bush in which G-dfirst revealed Himself carry out his mission of capturing and preserving the to Moshe. "7:JlX 1JJ,K i1JOii - the bush was not truth of the past. consumed." No matter what the Nazis did to us, we As soon as the war ended, he obtained permission to were not consumed. They did not win the war; we did visit the Displaced Persons camps of Europe. Many peo­ because they are gone and we have rebuilt. ple were doing it in those days, but none of them were When I was last in the United States, I met the hearing the stories of the emaciated remains of Eastern principal of a day school in Denver, Colorado. He European Jewry, for they could not be interviewed. The told me that he was in Auschwitz when the war ended agony through which they had Jived was too horrible to and for the last eleven days before the liberation, he tell: to tell it was to relive it - and how could one lived by eating snow! He survived and he has been a voluntarily enter hell again? Prager's method was mechanech for seventeen years. "The bush was not different. He lived with the liberated prisoners. For six consumed." He symbolizes what the Nazis were try­ weeks he lived in Bergen-Belsen, listening and gently ing to destroy, but he outlived them and he is bring­ probing until he became one of them and was able to ing Toras Hashem to a new generation in America. elicit their stories. Always he sought corroboration and That is what my stories are about. The Nazis refused to settle for less than the most accurate version could kill us, torture us, destroy our bodies - but of events obtainable. their war was against our spirit and they could not His research has continued to this day and has d,estroy our spirit. resulted in scores of articles and a shelf of books. He is (from an interview with the author) probably the most widely read historian of the "Sparks ... " Holocaust in Hebrew and Yiddish, and his popularity spans all shades of the Israeli cultural and religious spec­ RAG ER'S FIRST COLLECTION OF STORIES of trum. His tales are not happy - how could tales of the Kiddush Hashem was Nitzotzei G'vurah, published Holocaust be happy? Yet, Prager is widely read and very IRn Israel in 1952. It was an immediate success and popular despite the tragedy, pathos, and heartbreak of has gone through many printings. Chapters from Nitz­ his stories. One reads him and feels drained - yet totzei G'vura have been printed in anthologies and are elevated. He explains it best: used in standard texts by all three Israeli school systems I looked at the tragedy of the Holocaust and I saw and by the Israel Defense Force. A long overdue English

IO The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 "We thought that our bodies were keeping our souls alive, but our souls were keeping our bodies alive." translation, Sparks of Glory, has now finally appeared. ed. Sparks of Glory contains twenty-eight chapters, all of "What's the difference . . .? l don't know . ... " them isolated stories of heroism. They show Jews - in Prager pressed him until he finally answered. nearly all cases, ordinary amcho people - reacting to "All right. l said a verse from Psalms over and desperate situations of hunger, danger, torture, pain, over again: 'See my suffering and my ordeal and suffering. The more the layers of flesh were stripped forgive all my sins.' l repeated it over and over again, away from them, the stronger their spirits became. As and it may be because of that that l was able to rise one of the countless unknown heroes of the book puts it, up and go on with my prayers . ... " "We thought that our bodies were keeping our souls alive, --Little Shmulik was brutally whipped by a but our souls were keeping our bodies alive." The book Polish policeman because he sneaked out of the makes it clear that the Six Million did not go like sheep. ghetto to buy extra food for Shabbos. He hid his They went like great men. They perceived that the con­ terrible pain from his parents, but against his queror wanted to destroy their spirit, so they responded father's wishes made his way to the secret sub-cellar by keeping their spirit strong and alive. Of course, they where Shabbos prayers were held. The Germans didn't rise up in physical revolt. How could they? But punished public prayer with death and the Jews they did react with almost unbelievable bravery and didn't allow children to come, to protect the safety of strength of neshoma. all. But Shmulik came and knocked. The men ---The Jews of Lublin were doomed to fall victim thought it was the Gestapo and agreed to open the to SS Commander Glabochnik, a notoriously door and face death bravely. But it was Shmulik. sadistic murderer. He herded them to the outskirts They were outraged and his father slapped him. of the city until their oacks were up against barbed Shmulik could endure his pain no longer. wire. He ordered them to sing and ordered his troops "Will you beat me, too? Haven't l had my share of to beat them savagely and push them backward blows? l, too, am a Jew. !, too, want to pray!" against the barbed wire. Their flesh was torn as the --A humble little sexton smuggled a shofar into a barbs cut into them and they fell upon one another death camp, organized a minyan on Rosh Hashana, trampling each other. Then someone freed himself and blew the shofar. The guards came running and and began an improvised song: decided to make a spectacle of the sexton. They "Mir vellen zey iberleben, iberleben, whipped him endlessly, mercilessly, and all the while iberleben, avinu shebashamayim he continued chanting the prayers out loud. Mir vellen zey iberleben, iberleben, "The righteous will see and rejoice . .. . and all iberleben." wickedness will vanish like smoke .for you will have "We shall outlive them, outlive them, outlive removed the evil kingdom from the earth." them, our Father in Heaven --Rabbi Shem of Cracow was among those We shall outlive them, outlive them, outlive chosen at random to be condemmed to a special tor- them." ture jail. He comforted his fellow Jews by asking The bruised and bleeding mob rose and began them, "If each ofus were given the choice at this mo- singing and dancing the refrain. Glabochnik roared ment to be the victim or the victimizer, which would with laughter until he realized they weren't accom­ he choose? Ribbono Shel Olam, is there one Jew modating him; they were defeating him. He ordered who would like You to turn him into a murderous them to stop. They continued. He panicked and Gentile?" pleaded, but the singing and dancing continued. The "Rabbi, Rabbi, l swear to you on the memory of SS troops plowed in swinging whips and clubs and my holy mother, even l would not want it." still the singing continued. ft was the Jewish Kapa. --A simple Jew performed a miracle. All through the war he never missed a day of putting on tefillin Who Will Teach "Holocaust" to Our Children? even in death camps. Once he was caught by a Ger­ O WON? man guard. The infuriated German threw him to the HO OUTLIVED WHOM? ground, ground one iron-studded boot into his WAS THE BUSH CONSUMED? stomach while scraping the skin offhis face with the There is agony and inspiration in Sparks ofGlory, and other, as the Jew lay on the ground, sure he would the sum total is pride in Jews who faced death - and never get up again. worse - like lions. "What did you think to yourself?" Prager ask- But it has enormous value for another reason, and it is

The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 II to be hoped that we will not pass up the opportunity it presents us. The publicizers of the Holocaust have not been Torah Jews. The popular image that has been drummed into the minds of American Jews, and es­ pecially of our young people, is precisely the one that Prager fiercely opposes - that the Jews went like sheep to the slaughter. Many young people here and in Israel hold the Six Million in contempt for that reason, es­ pecially during this era when violence and militancy are as American as apple pie. At the same time, the children in our yeshivas are vir­ tually untaught about the Holocaust. The reasons for this are many. A large proportion of the parents and faculties of our yeshivos are survivors of World War II Europe. The suffering of that period left physical and emotional scars on them that make it difficult if not im­ possible for them to teach the history of this period to their children and students. Then, too, the un­ precedented bloodletting and barbarism raise ex­ crutiatingly difficult questions of hashkofo: How could Hashem allow it to happen? What sins could have Yam Hasha' ah. The Torah camp cannot subscribe to the justified such punishment? Why was the cream of tenor of their observance and the "Never Again" iron­ religious Jewry decimated when the principal sinners fisted philosophy it represents. Then, too, much of the were surely found elsewhere? The list goes on. We are enthusiasm for Holocaust-type observances comes from living in an age that is not prepared to accept anything people who would substitute Yorn Hasho'ah for Tish'a without a full explanation - but the ways of G-d are in­ B 'Av when, to us, the Holocaust is an outgrowth of the scrutable. The response of many Gedolei Yisroe/ was historic Tish'a B'Av. This has caused a backlash effect outlined in "The Holocaust: Questions Without resulting in too many Torah Jews ignoring or belittling Answers .... Faith Without Questions" (J.O. Sept. '73). the significance of formally preserving memories of the But it is not a subject that is easy to teach and this is es­ Holocaust, an attitude that has the terrible effect of Jews pecially true when there is a distinct lack of English refusing to learn lessons of Torah and teshuvah from the language materials that are both literate and consonant destruction of the Six Million. with the Torah outlook. A Place in the Classroom For whatever reasons, however, the fact is that few of our young people have any knowledge of the behavior PARKS OF GLORY offers an opportunity to at of their martyred brethren other than the sheep-to-the­ § least begin coping with some of these problems. slaughter stereotype. To further complicate matters, the On literary merit and on hashkofo validity, it is non-Orthodox and left-of-center Orthodox have virtual­ to be highly recommended to all Torah Jews. This ly monopolized the memory of the Six Million. It is they reviewer believes strongly that it would make an ideal who commemorate the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and and important "literature book" for junior and senior yeshiva high schools. Of course, only a teacher who is a ta/mid chochom can be expected to present it properly and develop its message; but, well presented, it is a vehi­ cle that can enrich a student and open his eyes to a world of Jewish heroism he had never before imagined. And it invites a student to read it on his own, unfettered by the strictures of the classroom. In addition, it can open up new lines of communica­ tion between children and their parents or relatives who are unable to talk about their traumatic experiences dur­ ing the war, but would find it easier to add a few sparks of their own to the stirring tales gathered by Moshe Prager. Sparks of Glory is long overdue in its English version. It should be required reading for any Jew, especially for Torah Jews. And all concerned parties should fervently hope that Sparks of Glory is only the first of Prager's works to be made available to the English-speaking public. o

12 The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 Nissan Wolpin

Communication And Beyond • • • Where Humanity Ends

Man's crowning feature, and its Jewish aspect. How it is enhanced and how it is violated.

Some Questions capable of originating and then conveying incredibly WHAT MARKS MAN as the crowning achievement of complex messages conceptualizing the abstract, describ­ creation? His upright carriage? ...his thumb, allowing ing the evasive, capturing and conveying the elusive, in him to fashion tools and grip them? ... his awareness of words. Man employs tens of thousands of words in an self? ... his superior intelligence? - All notable, but not inexhaustible variety of arrangements - constantly enough to make him "lacking but little of the angels." In fashioning them in new syntaxes, never before uttered. classifying all of creation, the Chazal (men wise in the Then Man embellishes the spoken word with inflection, teachings of the Torah) distinguish Man from Animal melody, voice quality, facial expression, gesture, (" chay - that which is alive") by highlighting his gift of posture, gait - modifying or magnifying meaning. And, speech ("medaber - that which speaks"). It is this of course, the spoken word is transcribed into writing - special attribute that sets him apart - but in what par­ this, in turn, is imbued with subtleties and variations by ticular way? virtue of general format, type-size and style, process of True, Man does have a larynx, the likes of which no printing - even composition of the paper. (Compare other creature possesses. It enables him to produce an the impact of an inane commercial notice, printed on endless mixture of varying sounds - but the distinction glossy stock, with that of stirring poetry mimeographed of being a "medaber" entails more. single-space on rough stock ... The medium surely has a The Maharal pinpoints the faculty of speech as the share in the message.) Feelings, attitudes and moods are meeting point between body and soul - truly a com­ conveyed through music and the graphic arts ... Man bination peculiar only to man; for animals lack a even declares his identity, his position, his ambitions, neshama, and angels are not corporeal. So speech, as the and his emotions through the clothing he wears - their symbol of the wedding of the spiritual and corporeal, is color, style, design, and workmanship .... Beyond his a choice hallmark of man. immediate person, his house and car also make Still, more clarification is in order as to why speech is statements for him. the chosen symbol of this uniqueness. If this is meant to Man has so much to say in so many different ways, signify the capacity to communicate, animals of lesser unrivaled in complexity and subtlety. Perhaps it can be standing are also known to communicate. In fact, recent suggested that presenting man as a creature of speech is experiments with chimpanzees have shown them meant to highlight his gift of communication and all of capable of mastering close to 200 words in sign its implied profundities. For in this he stands alone. language, and more in graphic symbols attached to a Heights and Depths - Through Speech computer. And dolphins are known to communicate on levels of even greater complexity. THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE is understood to be Yet, all of the messages conveyed by beasts and birds wonderous in nature - a pelle; a terminology employed - ranging from territorial claims and mating calls to in the Torah in regard to spoken vows, and one that cries of warning - are only elementary in nature; the Rambam uses in naming the entire section of laws deal­ messages exchanged with the apes are not much more ing with vows and promises: "Hajla'ah - wonderous complex in substance, and these were not autogenous, and apart." ... As with all highly potent facilities, speech but taught to them by man. By contrast, the human is is as much a means of transcendence (through tefillah,

The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 13 communication with G-d) as it is a pitfall to the errant (eleven of the forty-four confessional specifics in the "Al Chet" deal with speech) ... . "When two sit and there are Some claim that since clothing, like words of Torah between them, the 'Shechinah' rests with them, as it says: 'Then those who fear G-d spoke, each to speech, is a form of communication, his friend. And G-d listened and heard, and wrote it in His Book of Rememberance before Him . .. ' (Malachi 3)" - it can vary drastically from society to A VOS III, 2 .... The Chofetz Chaim devoted the first fruits of his prolific pen to analyzing and codifying the society. ... But either way, a shout is speech-related transgressions of sla?der and tale­ bearing, tallying their number (14 pos1t1ve comman.ds, still a shout. 17 negative commands, 3 Biblical curses), h1ghhghtmg King David's singling out of speech-control as the pn?'e ...... ingredient for longevity: "Who is the man who wants life. absence affectionately, and near strangers hardly at all; . . let him guard his tongue from evil . ... "(Tehil/im 93). and we avoid mixing the tone of respective greetings .... The M aharal points out that through Lashon A female guest at a wedding would not wear a white HaKodesh (Hebrew), man can express orally the creative gown; nor would the father of the bride, at a formal utterances which G-d employed when creating the world celebration, wear a sport jacket. ...A chassid does not with His ten statements ....The attributes of every wear his shtreimel on weekdays, not his work-pants to a aspect of Creation can be distilled and expressed in tisch . ...Social custom dictates manner and degree of sound, and these sounds are the essence of Lashon the communication, and the receiver knows exactly HaKodesh . ... A crowning opportunity for this is the what is meant, without the necessity of written or "Kiddush" at Friday night, where - when one speaks spoken caption. We do not want to be misunderstood, the Vayechulu in the original Hebrew - one actually so we honor the guidelines of social convention, deign­ shares in the highpoint of Creation: increasing the sanc­ ing to overstep familiarity or understep formality. tity of the world by use of the spoken word, as G-d did Spoken language varies from country to country, and on the first Seventh Day. so too do other aspects of communication. The wildly No wonder, then, that seventy-five years ago, the jo~som'e noise of conversation in an Italian piazza has religious community took such strong exception to Ben no counterpart in a Swiss village square ....And what Yehuda's dream of "normalizing" the Jewish People passes for informal dress in a London club is more than through creation of Modern Hebrew. His plan was to parliamentarian in tropical lands. endow the Jewish People with a language of its own that would be completely free of all go/us associations; then, The Dark At the Top of the Escalator speaking his own language in his own homeland, the THERE ARE SOME AREAS of communication where the Jew would be no different from other nationals, and degrees of intensity being conveyed are not relative to would no longer be victim of prejudice and persecution. any particular social norm, but operate on an abso ute But those who understood the sacred nature of scale unto itself. These are the sensual Imes of com­ Lashon HaKodesh could not permit one of the very munication - those that transmit by sense of touch, characteristics that gives Jews distinction as a sacred sight, and sound ....A piercing scream is an alarm, people to be converted into a force of equalization. To regardless of social context. Claspi~g hands, shanng an paraphrase the Chafetz Chaim's comment on secular embrace or a kiss can be established expresswm. of Zionism: "One cannot believe that we suffered 2,000 greetings when exchanged between two members of the years of go/us for the end-purpose of speaking our own same gender. Under any other circumstances, however, language akin to the citizens of Albama speaking it must mean more, in spite of social custom, regardless Albanian." of protestations to the contrary ....There are societies The debate that surrounded the "rebirth of Modern where the bared ankle or the slipped face veil com­ Hebrew" is no longer a burning issue, but the underly­ municate seductive implications; others where such ing philosophies are as relevant today as ever. For here, minimal exposure is meaningless - all relative to the speech and choice of language .are deSJgned to com­ social milieu and the accepted standard. Yet, there are municate more than the cumulative meanings of words parts of the anatomy that, when exposed, shout a and syntax. message of invitation, regardless of .. accepted norms" that have become adopted through common usage, The Hazards of Skipping Steps irrespective of the swing of the reveal-conceal pendulum A PERSON EMPLOYS great preCJSJOn when he au currant ... .With all the vagaries of fashion taken into communicates his sense of self and his relationships with account a shout is still a shout. others, and he takes great care to avoid overstatement as Perh;ps one might well expect Man to delineate what well as understatement. We greet neighbors casually, constitutes the extremes, and establish hJS own long-lost friends excitedly, close relations after an guidelines for what constitutes a shout, and what is

The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 14 simply a personal statement, free of promiscuous over­ of ideas, values, and emotions. Violence is beyond com­ tones. But experience has taught us otherwise. Man and munication, and when employed in place of com­ his instincts are unreliable. So we must refer to the munication, can only be called savagery. ha/achic definitions for what parts of the person are con­ In some cases, the perimeters of communication have sidered private, and what need not be concealed without been defined by human experience, and subsequently risking statements "one never really meant" in the first have been codified by international law or universal con­ place. vention. There are other areas where people have a tendency to waver. Sometimes they recognize arbitrary When Nations Cease to Talk limitations. Other times they wallow in a subjectivity NATIONS, TOO, ARE WELL VERSED in the subtleties of that may favor self-indulgence or sensuous pandering, communication .... During the negotiations prior to the and discover that they cannot define where communica­ recent cease-fire agreement between Israel and Syria, tion ends and the exchange is on a totally different level. Dr. Kissinger spent six hours with Syrian President In such cases, one does not dare trust human insight. Assad working on the terminology of the letter inviting One must resort to Divine guidelines, as they have been him to the Geneva peace conference - after which outlined ...guidelines that delineate what constitutes an Assad told the American Secretary of State that he had honest exchange of ideas and attitudes and what prima no intention of going, anyway ....The dispute over the [acie extends beyond communication. shape of the table at the Vietnam preliminary peace­ A Jew has available a complete codification of such talks in Paris several years ago may have been widely guidelines in the Shulchan Aruch. While he may view this ridiculed, but the possibilities of a table of round, oval, as being essentially Jewish in substance and apprGach, and square shapes were understood to be pregnant with the guidelines as to what constitutes communication and meaning far beyond interior design or the strictures of what lies beyond is universal, applying to the broader ettiquette and finesse ....A year ago, when an Egyptian circle of Mankind. Where the guidelines are honored, airliner violated Israeli air space, and Israel shot the Man honors his role as the crowning achievement of plane down, fierce condemnation spewed forth from creation: the medaber - that which speaks. When Man Arab capitals, but they launched no retaliatory raids. abandons communication and deliberately leaps into Israel, in their view, had overstepped the accepted level the sensual or the violent; when he employs the assault of reaction to the circumstances by going beyond com­ rather than the word; when he oversteps the bounds of munication of warning, protest, and challenge. In their speech as a professed means of ordinary communication condemnation, they chose at that time to take out all and reverts to extraordinary visceral stimulation stops in expressing outrage; but they chose not to go through touch, sight, or sound - employing intimacy beyond communication. Israel, on the other hand, ex­ indiscriminately; then, having abandoned communica­ plained its action as one of defense against a violation of tion, he has lost his status of "lacking but little of the territory, with intent to inflict physical harm on Israeli angels" and cannot be distinguished from the beast. citizens. As an overture to violence, the incursion of air­ A Jewish Mode of Communication sovereignty was already an act of aggression; and Israel only responded in kind. Otherwise, violence would have THE STANDARDS FOR NORMAL communication for a been out of the question, and even initial exchanges Jew are of a different nature than for mankind in would have been limited to the realm of communication. general, and are much more demanding. In addition to fidelity to the norm of the particular community, and an Beyond the Limits of Communication avoidance of going beyond the limits of human com­ STUDENTS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR have often pointed to munication, another element comes into play - the the high correlation between physical violence and sex­ criterion of kedusha. ual promiscuity, in individuals as well as societies. A Jew is commanded: "Kedoshim tihiyu - you must Rather than explore each of these areas for similarities, be holy." This is interpreted in several ways: as a com­ one can suggest that both are explained as being "forms mand to avoid illicit relationships ... as a directive to of communication" when in truth they are much more. sanctify oneself, by not overindulging in the permissible There are primitive societies (some in our own urban - as an imperative to seek holiness, according to some jungles) where a punch in the arm is the equivalent to commentaries ... as a blessing, bestowed upon His peo­ the hearty American slap on the back. Others, where a ple by G-d, according to others. No matter how it is un­ blow to the jaw or lashings with iron chains are not derstood, it imposes a different criterion on all of a Jew's meant to convey more hostility to the recipient than exchanges, and by whatever means he attempts to ex­ menacingly clearing one's throat or issuing a verbal war­ press himself - through speech, clothing, or gesture - ning in a more restrained environment. One may he must answer to the question: "Is this within the con­ attempt to interpret such behavior as sundry com­ fines of kedusha?" munication at a heightened level, but that would be There are those who will attempt to shrug off such totally off the mark. Violence is basically hostility at the superior criteria as only applying to an elite - and it animal level. So it has no place in the human exchange does; but all of Jewry are members of that elite. Others

The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 I5 who choose not to be saddled with more-than-human decay ....The same precipitous drop is, of course, true demands will take comfort in at least being human, even when a human being dies. if falling far too short of the angels to be a Kadosh. But By the same token, when a person's mode of behavior this is a false source of comfort. slips from the human level to what can be considered the Rabbi Eliyahu Lapian ':>"YT once pointed out that animal, something in him has been extinguished. An ele­ when an animal dies, it does not slip down merely one ment of his humanity has died for the moment. Just as rung in the classification of creation - from chai to the human who had died has not simply slipped one tzome'ach, from the general category of animated ex­ rung, the person of less-than-human conduct cannot istence to vegetation. It becomes domaim, totally in­ consider himself an animal for having ceased to com­ animate. But instead of returning to dust of an inert, un­ municate - a "medaber" that has become a "chai." offensive type, the dead animal becomes foul, reeking in Once slipped, he has plummetted fully to the bottom rung - he is on the level of the inanimate by virtue of total decadence. Similarly, a Jew who has abandoned his kedusha im­ perative cannot find solace in "at least being human" in SCHECHTER conduct, albeit non-Jewish. There are no gradations in decay. Once something has lost its designated status, it K:~:lla7i88£1111H@L .. may have the appearances of being only slightly lower, but it has truly suffered a total fall - as in all cases of ENTIRE OCUNfkONT ILDC• - "'" It "'" st. MIAMI BEACH death . . . . is a GREAT Kosher Hotel - you'll love it! The criteria for preserving the Jewish aspects of com­ • DIA1. For Reservolions Speak to munication and interpersonal relationship are extremely MIAMI SAM SCHECHTER FREE PARKING demanding, especially in a general society that no longer BEACH 800 _ 327 _ 8165 PRIVATE POOL mocks sanctity, but simply ignores it. Yet, this is a bin­ FREEi Or Coll N.Y. Off: PL 7-4238 SANO~N~EACH ding feature of being Jewish. It should not be gambled 1---• Evenings & Sunday FA 7 · 1 7 4 2 with, for the stakes are as large as life. D FELDHEIM PUBLISHERS announce the publication of: I Believe by Rabbi Moshe Max The New Standard Siddur-Prayer An exposition of Maimonides Thirteen Book Principles of Faith and their implementation with an orthodox English Translation and a in Jewish life. $4.95 Lineal set of references with English appen­ dices. Meditations on the Tor ah Compiled by Presiding Rabbi Solomon Topical discourses on the weekly portions Schonfeld of London. A very important, in the Light of the Commentaries valuable and useful addition in the field of by 8.5. Jacobson $7.50 Jewish Liturgy. The Weekday Siddur 685 pages $6.00 An exposition and analysis of its structure, contents, language and ideas Meditations On The Siddur by 8.5. Jacobson $10.00 Studies in the Essential problems and ideas Encyclopedia Talmudica of Jewish Worship, Just published Volume II of the English by B.S. Jacobson $7.50 translation of this classic $15.00 PHILIPP FELDHEIM, Inc. "The House of the Jewish Book" 96 EAST BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N. Y. 10002 Tel. WA 5-3180 FELDHEIM PUBLISHERS, Ltd. RECHOV TACHKEMONI 39, JERUSALEM, ISRAEL Tel. 56468

16 The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 Chaim Shapiro Torah Pioneers An almost forgotten couple who bequeathed their children a legacy of devotion to Torah, which enriched three continents with yeshiva leadership.

Gemora? The Pioneering Heritage The same was true in regard to the halls of study: Rav founded a yeshiva in Sura (Persia) which existed for over "And as for Me, My convenant with them, said the 800 years, as did Shmuel in Nardo'ah, and Rav Yehuda L-rd; My spirit that is upon you, and My words that I have in Pompedisa. Thus, Rav Hai Gaon, son of Rav Shrira put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, your Gaon was head of a yeshiva in Pompedisa that could seed, nor your seed's seed now and forever" (Isaiah 59, trace its beginnings directly to the amora, Shmuel, eight 21 ). centuries before his time. In every period of great stress, it seems as though the Torah is about to be forgotten; but in keeping with His Yesterday's Frontiers covenant, G-d dispatches messengers to revive it anew. They appear in the form of various personalities: scribes and prophets, warriors and scholars, merchants and TODAY. MANY Or OUR YESHIVOS can trace their shoemakers, shepherds and simple laborers. The beginnings to outstanding personalities of generations Talmud, the Midrash, and commentaries are replete ago. After all, Reb Chaim Volozhner (who used to sign with references to these Torah pioneers ... and so is our letters as "a melamed in Volozhin") actually founded the modern history: Raish Lakish said, "When the Torah first modern yeshiva in Russia in l 803 - a structured became forgotten from Israel, Ezra came up from institution, instead of the previous informal bais Babylon and revitalized it. Again, when it was about to hamidrash where young men would gather to study un­ be forgotten, Hillel came up from Babylon and revitaliz­ der the local rav. Volozhin is thus known as "the mother ed it, And later Rabbi Chiya and his sons did the same" of yeshivos" ....Reb Yisroel Salanter (1810-!884) (Succah 20a). - Ezra the Scribe, a prophet; Hillel, a launched the Mussar Movement, which was devoted to laborer . .. "If not for the Chashmonaim the Torah and self-improvement on the basis of Torah ethics. This mitzvos would have been forgotten from Israel" (Ram­ movement eventually made its mark in almost every bam Berashis 49, 10). . Chashmonaim, both warriors Lithuanian and Russian yeshiva ....The Beth Jacob and royalty. Schools, as well as almost all other religious girls' "A Mishnah recorded without a name, Tosefto, Sifro, schools, can look back to Sarah Schenirer's school in Sifri, are attributed to, .. [various sources, but the opi­ Crakow (1920-40) as their source ....Who can visualize nion in] all of them is according to the views of Rebbi Kial Yisroe/ today without the yeshivas and Bais Akiva" (Sanhedrin 86a). - Rebbi Akiva, a shepherd. Yaakov schools? The debt of gratitude is an oft-spoken As is always the case with us Jews, new crises con­ one. There are a great number of yeshivas, however, tinued to threaten, and new heroes continued to emerge: that owe their existence to two relatively unknown in the face of the threat of forgetting the Oral Law, Rab­ "soldiers of Torah" who had the unusual foresight that bi Yehuda Hanassi compiled the Mishnah: and several left us all richer: They are Reb Shraga Frank and his centuries later Ravina and Rav Ashi edited the Talmud wife, Golda. - could there be a Jewish life today without Mishnah or Reb Shraga Frank was one of the wealthiest men in Kovno, Lithuania. He owned a leather factory, a leather CH."i!M SHAPIRO regularly contributes articles to the.~e pages regarding goods store, and a great deal of real estate. He was also a the European roots of our Torah heritage. ta/mid chochom and a tzaddik (a learned and righteous

The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 17 • GOLDA FRANK THE SONS-IN-LAW

She fulfilled her husband's two requests: Reh Moshe Mordechai Epstein (left) "Permit no eulogies at my Slabodke, Chevron, Jerusalem

funeral. And select only Reh Isser Zalman Meltzer (center) men who dedicate Slutsk, Kletzk, Jerusalem, Lakewood their lives for Torah Reh Baruch Horowitz (not shown) Alexot, Slabodke as husbands for our Reh Shefte! Kramer (eight) daughters." S!utsk, New Haven, Baltimore

man), who was under the influence of the founder of the nore such a request," the Kovno Rav said, "but I am Mussar Movement, Reb Yisroel Salanter. In the attic of afraid to violate Reb Shraga's word." Before his pass­ Reb Shraga's house, Reb Yisroel would meet with his ing, Reb Shraga told his wife that since Heaven did not disciples Reb Nasson Notte Zvi Finkel (known later as grant him time to guide his four daughters into the "Alter of Slobodke"), Reb Yitzchok Blaser (known marriage, the obligation rested on her, Golda. And he as Reb Itzele Peterburger, for he later became Rav of told her that the four men for his four girls must be not Petersburg, capital of Czarist Russia), and other Mussar only talmidei chachomim, but men of shivtee. ( Shivtee is a giants. In that attic, Reb Yisroel and his disciples Mussar term for those who dedicate their life to Torah would spend the entire month of Elul; there he would study and its propagation, based on the passage from say shmuesen (lectures) and elaborate on his new Tehillim: "Shivtee b'veis Hashem . .. May I dwell in the philosophy of Mussar; there, one might say, the nucleus house of the L-rd all the days of my life" (27:4.) Also, of the Mussar Movement took shape. that she should spend their every cent on maintaining their children - the shivtee men, and their subsequent Reb Shraga had extended a huge sum of money as a families. personal loan to a local merchant. His business began to prosper, but he did not repay the loan. The debtor again The Choices: lost his fortune, and approached the Franks for another FIRST: Reh Moshe Mordechai Epstein: Slobodke, loan. Golda refused because she did not consider the Chevron, Jerusalem. man trustworthy. Reb Shraga intervened - it was Elul at the time: "Every year at this time we approach the Ribbono she! Diam, full of promises and verbal GOLDA ENGAGED THE SERVICES of her brother-in­ assurances, begging Him to grant us a new year. He law, the Rav of Plungian, Reb Zevulun Baril, to help her does, but we renege on our promises. Nonetheless, next fulfill her husband's last wish. He went to Volozhin and Elul, we again plead and promise, and again He grants his first choice was Reb Archik Baksh! (JO- Oct. '72). us our request, and again ...we repeat the routine. Still For some reason, this shidduch did not materialize '. always He takes our word. - Shouldn't we do the I. Reb Archik was once asked "Why didn't you ever become a Rosh saine?" Yeshiva?" To which he replied: "Because the malach was not explicit His wife Golda was from a German family, and to enough." He would then explain in jest to the astonished listeners: If her, punctuality was a second nature. She simply could he would have married the daughter of Shraga Frank, he would have not fathom how tenants would fail to pay the rent on become Rosh Yeshiva ofSlabodke. As Chazal say, forty days before a time. So Reb Shraga would secretly hand out rent child is born, a malach announces "bas mi lemi'' (whom it is destined money to his tenants to enable them to make their pay­ to marry). When the angel announced "Frank's daughter to a Baksht," he did not state if the name "Baksht" was to be the groom's ment when due. No wonder, when he died at 42 (1887), surname (as in "Reb Archik Baksht") or his yeshiva name (Reb Reb Yitzchak Elchonon Spektor, the Kovno Rav, per­ Moshe Mordechai Epstein came from the smaU town of Baksht, and, sonally participated in his tahara (ritual preparation of in the yeshivas was known by the name of his home~town, "Moshe the body for burial). Reb Shraga had specified that no Mordechai Baksht"). Had the malach said Reb Archik Baksht, he eulogies be said at his funeral. "Normally I would ig- would have indeed become a Rosh Yeshiva.

18 The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 At that time, there was a yeshiva in Kovno called Reb Moshe Mordechai and the "Alter" Reb Nasson Zvi Knesses Beis Yitzchak after the Rav, Reb Yitzchak Finkel decided that the Torah, too, must return together Elchonon. The Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Baruch Ber with Kial Yisroe/, so they moved to Chevron where they Liebovitz (later of Kaminetz) (JO - Dec. '70) opposed established a yeshiva. After the infamous Arab pogrom the Mashgiach, Reb Notte Zvi Finkel (the disciple of in 1929, in which some thirty yeshiva students were kill­ Reb Yisroel Salanter) for attempting to enforce the ed, they moved the Yeshiva to Jerusalem. After his study of Mussar in the Yeshiva. Mussar was frowned death, the yeshiva was directed by his two sons-in-law, upon by many as an unauthorized and unwarranted in­ Reb Yecheskel Sarna zt"I, and yibdl lchaim Reb Moshe novation in yeshiva life, and to some it seemed to offer Chevroni shlita. Today, the institution is known as the an easy means for avoiding total involvement in Torah Yeshiva of Chevron, and it prospers to this very day. study. i +- ' ! When Reb Notte Zvi found himself bucking this op­ SECOND: Reb lsser Zalman Meltzer: S/utsk, K/etzk, position, he left Kovno for the "New Beis Midrash" of Jerusalem, Lakewood Slabodke (a suburb of Kovno) to open the Yeshiva Knesses Yisroe/, named after Reb Yisroel Salanter, his Mussar Rebbi. In need of a Rosh Yeshiva, he asked Reb REB !SSER ZALMAN MELTZER was Golda's choice for Shraga Frank's son-in-law, Reb Moshe Mordechai Eps­ her second daughter, upon the recommendation of her tein, to say the shiyur. Under those two Torah giants, first son-in-law, Reb Moshe Mordechai. There was one the yeshiva grew to become the "mother" of Gedolim, thing wrong, however. The young man began suffering who became leading Roshei Yeshiva. from a lung ailment. In those days, the disease was a Among those who studied there was Reb Reuven deadly killer with no known cure or medicinal relief. In Grozovsky (who later became the son-in-law of Reb addition, Reb lsser Zalman also had severe stomach Baruch Ber), then known as Reuven Minsk er '. Once, problems. Golda went to the Chofetz Chaim for advice. when Reb Reuven was visiting his home town, he heard The Chofetz Chaim replied: "Some people have health; of a young fellow in nearby Sislowitz as being an i//uy - others have arichas yomim," - The wedding took place an exceptionally gifted boy. He brought him to and arichas yomim was apparently his, for in spite of his Slabodke. The little fifteen-year-old, Arke Sislowitzer, illness, Reb Isser Zalman lived to eighty-three - thanks would stand up on the bench to challenge the Rosh to his wife's protective care. Yeshiva Reb Moshe Mordechai Epstein in the middle of After a time dedicated fully to Torah-study, living the shiyur with his questions. "Arke" was later to be solely on Golda's support, he became Rosh Yeshiva in known as Reb Aharon Kotler. ...It was while in the Slutsk, a large city in White Russia, using one-fifth of his Yeshiva that Reb Moshe Mordechai began work on his dowry as an investment in the Yeshiva. His wife stayed monumental nine volume L'vush Mordechai. in Kovno, managing their business, and sending him When Jews began to return to Israel in great numbers, food - for he refused to even take meals from the Yeshiva. ~- My father, known as Alter Tiktiner, !earned there bechavrnsa (as a Once, during one of her visits to Slutsk for Yorn Tov, study p'drlner) with Reb Reuven for many years. she found out that their entire stock was stolen, leaving

The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 19 them deeply in debt. She never breathed a word of this tion that you accept these burdens upon yourself." This, to him until the day he was offered the rabbonus of the Ramban adds, was Yehoshua's induction into Slutsk. Then she felt he should know, so as to take their leadership. financial plight into consideration when deciding. So appointment to royalty among Jews obtains even At that time, the Rav in Slutsk was Reb Yaakov under the worst circumstances - in other words, it is Dovid Vilovski, known as the "Ridviz. " 3 The Ridviz left beyond conditions. And, as a result, one may not even Slutsk to raise funds in America for the publication of take leave because of extenuating circumstances." ... his famous commentary on the Talmud Yerusha/mi, and The Rambam says that the rules of perpetuation and became Chief Rabbi of Chicago.' Slutsk did not have to tenure associated with royalty (such as inheritance to search far for a replacement, and in 1902 crowned their children) apply to all positions of leadership (Hilchos Rosh Yeshiva Reb Isser Zalman Meltzer as their Rav. Me/ochim, I, 7). In other words, Reb Chaim meant that The combined burden was too much for the frail man one cannot divest oneself from office of leadership - Rav of a large city, Rosh Yeshiva, plus the writing of because "it is too difficult" - only if it is to advance to a his eight-volume commentary Even Ha' ozel, so he higher office. ("Ma' a/in Bekodesh - one moves higher planned to resign from the rabbinate. Reb Isser Zalman in sacred categories, but not lower.")' went to Brisk to ask his Rebbe, Reb Chaim Reb Isser Zalman remained the Rav and Rosh Yeshiva Soloveitchik, for advice. Reb Chaim told him: "Perhaps of Slutsk until the Bolshevik Revolution, when he was you're right, and all your considerations are valid. Still, forced to flee for his life. Then he and his son-in-law, it would not be the right psak (halachic decision) to Reb Aharon Kotler, crossed the border to Poland. Not leave." So Reb Isser Zalman stayed on. far from the Russian border, Reb Aharon established He later explained Reb Chaim's psak in the following his famous yeshiva in Kletzk. Reb Isser Zalman moved manner: We learn the Torah attitude toward the con­ on to Jerusalem where he became the Rosh Yeshiva of ditions of leadership from Moshe's appointment of the Yeshiva Eitz Chaim. Yehoshua as his successor (Bamidbar 27: 19). "And set Reb Isser Zalman was instrumental in introducing the him before Elazar the priest, and before all the con­ Lithuanian yeshiva system and its analytical approach gregation; and charge him in their presence." Rashi ex­ in Talmudic study to the Yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel. He plains: "And charge him tn regard to governing Israel. became chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Know that they are troublesome, that they are (Council of Torah Sages) of Agudath Israel in Israel.His rebellious; [you must accept your office] on the condi- wife continued to protect his health and general com­ posure.... She personally handcopied the manuscripts 3. To distinguish from the Ridvaz Reb David Ben Zimra, who lived of seven volumes of his Even Ha'ozel for printing, and 300 years ago, serving as Rav in Egypt for 40 years, and later, as Rav in Jerusalem and Tsfas. 5. This was recorded in an article in Hapardes by Rabbi Nissan Wax­ 4. After three years in Chicago, he moved to Tsfas. man.

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20 The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 personally checked the galleys.' Reb Yehuda Heshel Levenberg in his yeshiva in New During the Second World War, the Rabbi of Haven, Connecticut, (the first yeshiva in the U.S. out­ Lakewood, New Jersey, was a former student of the side of New York City) as Mashgiach. Reb Sheftel's Mirrer Yeshiva, Rabbi Nisson Waxman.' He persuaded oldest son-in-law, Reb Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman a wealthy Jew to donate his mansion for a yeshiva, and also joined the Yeshiva in the early thirties, then moving then set out searching for a Rosh Yeshiva and a student on to Baltimore, Maryland, where he established the body. First he invited his former Rebbi, the Rosh Yeshiva Ner Israel, which he still heads as Rosh Yeshiva. Yeshiva of Mir, Reb Lazar Yud'I Finkel (son of the Reb Sheftel's youngest son-in-law, Reb Naftali Alter of Slobodke), who was then in Shanghai with the Neuberger, is menahel of Ner Israel. entire Mirrer Yeshiva, to come to Lakewood. Reb Lazar Yud'I replied that his heart and mind were set on mov­ ing to Yerushalayim - where indeed he established the Stars in Daniel's Firmament Mirrer Yeshiva of Jerusalem. Rabbi Waxman then ap­ proached his personal friend, the Lomzer Rosh Yeshiva CAN ONE IMAGINE Kial Yisroel without the Yeshiva of Reb Yechiel Mordechai Gordon, who was living in Chevron, - without Beth Medrash Gevoha in Brookyn, and invited him to establish a yeshiva in Lakewood, - without Ner Israel in Baltimore, - Lakewood. Reb Yechiel Mordechai replied that he was without Reb lsser Zalman's imprint on the yeshivos of too old to start anew, and besides, he had every hope Jerusalem? and intention of joining the Lomzer Yeshiva he had It is of people like Shraga and Golda Frank that founded and was supporting in Petach Tikva. Rabbi Daniel spoke: "And they that are wise shall shine as the Waxman then approached Reb Aharon Kotler with the brightness of the firmament; and the matzdikei horabbim same offer. After several visits to Lakewood, and some - they that turn the many to righteousness-as the stars deliberations, Reb Aharon accepted the offer. As the forever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). "Matzdikei horabbim - fruits of their negotiations, we now have the flourishing this refers to the teachers of the young" (Babba Basra Torah Center of Beth Medrash Gevoha in Lakewood. 8~. 0

THIRD AND FOURTH: Reb Baruch Hurwitz: Alexot Reh Shefte! Kramer: Slutsk, New Haven, Baltimore

THE THIRD DAUGHTER married Reb Baruch Hurwitz, Rav in Alexot, Lithuania, and Rosh Yeshiva in Slobodke. Reb Baruch was also Chairman of the Agudath Israel in Lithuania; and later succeeded his brother-in-law, Reb Moshe Mordechai, to the presiden­ cy of the Agudas Horabbonim of Lithuania. The fourth married Reb Shefte! Kramer, Rosh Yeshiva in Slutsk. Reb Shefte! left Slutsk, and joined

6. People in Yerushalayim would say "Reb Isser Zalman's Rebbitzen wrote his seforim," and some would take this literally, for - like her sisters - she knew Tanach by heart. She would quote passages exten­ sively, explaining them according to the Malbim .... At 86, when ly­ ing ill in bed, she recited chapters from /yov without a text. **************************

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The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 2I second looks at the jewish scene

The Most Trusted Name in Kosher Poultry "Modern Orthodoxy"

CLEANED and Dialectical Jiujitsu SOAKED and SAL TED ponents are unaware of the READY-TO-COOK and COOKED jiujitsu (joo-ji'tsoo) a method of problems of modern life. They are; defending oneself without but in com batting, they often engage weapons by using the strength in some sort of dialectical jiujitsu, and weight of an adversary to dis­ and fall victim to their own tactics; able him. in confrontation with moods or EMPIRE KOSHER POULTRY, Inc. movements that challenge Torah MIFFLIN TOWN, PA. 17059 Judaism, they go through thejiujitsu CAN ONE REALLY decry modern ploy of yielding to the adversary•s Orthodoxy? At its ideal. it is an assault in place of mounting a fron­ American brand of Torah-im­ tal attack.' But then, instead of us­ * • * YESHIVAH • Derech-Eretz: instead of dodging ing the assailant's own force to *• * the challenge of new ideas and alien defeat him - throwing him over the • * * KONVITZ • environments, it meets them head­ shoulder, in effect - they join him, * EAST SIDE TORAH CENTER • * J l 3 Henry Strcet/cor. Grand Street • on - enriching and explaining what and both go down as one. • New York City ' is receptive to Jewish values; • ' The Challenge of Women's * A Superior Co-Ed Day School/Yeshiva • borrowing or adapting whatever is ' On !he Lower East Side With •' compatible with Jewish values; Liberation • Separate Hebrew Departments • • • challenging and rejecting the objec­ UNDOUBTEDLY, A MAJOR CAUSE ' ' ' REGISTRATION ' tionable. Torah, after all, is for all of ferment in today's society is the ' ' times and all places. demand of women for equality in all ' TUITION FREE ' * '* Yet, some aspects of Modern phases of life. While some of their ' AM & PM KINDERGARTENS * Orthodoxy as a movement has been •' ' complaints and aspirations are in­ ' ELEMENTARY & * the object of very deep misgivings. disputedly justified - such as those ' JR. HIGH SCHOOL • •* • (A full treatment of the subject related to discrimination in the • * appeared in the JO of June, '70: economic market - in other areas, * Excellent Facullles M.D and Nurse ' "Modern Orthodoxy," by Rabbi • Guidance Remedial Reading & Math * dealing with religious values and the • Special Science, Art, Music. Spece II ' Chaim Dov Keller.) In the involve­ nuances of role fulfillment, they • Classes - After-School Programs • • • ment of many of its exponents in • Playground . Transportation • tread on very sensitive ground - • Library . Lunches • "explaining and adapting," they all of it sacred. Some femininist • Varied Scholarships • • have forgotten to "challenge and demands openly attack fundamen­ • GR 3-5078 - GR 3-1000 '• • • reject." This is not to say that its ex- tals of Jewish belief and ritual; ************************************ others simply betray a terrible ig­ It's Here! The New Series for Children norance of Judaism and its ideals. "FISHELE & FRAYDELE" written by FAGIE SHAiN It is extremely doubtful that the Cheerfully illustrated - Ideal for ages 3-6. strident Women's Lib leadership These books are enioyable, teach qo:id midas, good dress, and are truly inspiring. - Onl) 79t at your local book 1 One might say that Koleiv employed this sto~e. We mail upon request for 10 or more copies. tactic successfully when he stilled the an­ Attention: Books Stores, Yeshivas, Day Schools, Day tagonistic crowd, angry with Moshe, by Camps, Nurseries, etc. - Please contact Shain, 208 saying: "Is that all Moshe did to you?" - Maple Avenue, Monsey, N. Y. 10952 for complete concluding with a strong defense on Moshe's details and price~. behalf ( Bamidbar 13:30 ¥ Rashi).

22 The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 would much listen to a reasoned ex­ quoted in the Anglo-Jewish press. halacha or hashkafa - any teacher planation of modesty in conduct We only come to express our mis­ of Jewish values to women (who are based on "Kol k'vudah bas melech givings over a lost opportunity and a to live them) or to men (who are to p'nima - All that is honored of the terrible misrepresentation of Jewish appreciate them) who does not stress King's daughter is within" (Tehillim thought - a case in point of falling p'nima as a revered concept? 45:14), or that they would attempt victim to one's own tactic. (A fuller * Woman's reduced role in mitzw to understand a rationale of discussion of the questions of vos ma'asiyos has been women's passive role in the women's role in Judaism is surely in authoritatively attributed to her marriage ceremony and the divorce order. This is not that discussion.) heightened sensitivity to the procedure. But men and women in * Halachos {Torah Law), basic spiritual, not requiring the tangible the Orthodox camp (and its fringes) Jewish attitude toward women's expressions that men need. Rabbi are learning more about women's personal fulfillment, as well as Berman crudely dismisses this: role in Jewish life from its distorters protective guidelines to assure a "To suggest that women don't and decriers than from its ex­ moral society, have all generated really need positive symbolic ponents. The media, as usual, are from King David's idealization of mitzvot because their souls are playing up the more sensational: p'nima ("All that is honored ..." already more alluned to the women rabbis and cantors, co~ quoted before). It represents a cor­ Divine, would be an unbearable educational .. yeshivas," and who's nerstone in Jewish values. Yet, Rab­ insult to men; unless it were un­ what at the local minyan . ... A clear­ bi Berman describes the p'nima prin­ derstood, as it indeed is, that ing of the air, then, would be very ciple as a pretext for formulating "a the suggestion is not really to be much in order. unidimensional 'proper' role for taken seriously but is intended The approach can range from an women which denies to them the solely to placate women . ... expose' of the amorality of an asex­ potential for fulfillment in any area "It is time to admit that we have ual society, to a counter-attack but that of home and family . . fas[ if attempted through our against the spokeswomen for "e­ it mandated her remaining 'within' apologetics to make a virtue of quality in the home and the syn­ her home." (page 8 in the article) social necessity. We have agogue," to a tricky, but potentially -Is there ahy Jewish authority on striven to elicit voluntary com- effective, "You may right on this point; but now consider -" jiujitsu approach. Rabbi Saul Berman, as talk to me lustrators, copywriters, and Chairman of the Department of printers who turn out creative, Judaic Studies at Stern College for attractive and quality materials Women (Yeshiva University), at reasonable prices. 'you'll find my service tops. I should be just the man for such an move quickly and can meet your approach. He probably has greater time schedule and deadline. my exposure to the articulated service includes advertising, aspirations and agonies of Orthodox promotion, graphic design, artwork. illustration, women in modern society than most photography and copywriting. others who would be qualified to about your speak on the topic. Rabbi Berman graphic and did indeed address the topic: "The printing needs Status of Women in Halakhic you'll find I listen well as you tell me your Judaism," in the Fall '73 edition of Tradition (the Rabbinical Council of America's quarterly journal). The result, however, is a clear exposition on the claims of the unlettered against the Torah, expressed with a we produce ads, brochures, cir­ hostility that borders the obscene. culars, posters, logos, The explanations that follow are letterheads, business cards, laboriously labeled "not record & book jackets, annual apologetic." Yet, while some needs and your goals. reports, scro I ls, certificates, I then go and translate laminated plaques, invitations, arguments are illuminating, others them into tangible etc. so give me a call and I'll are decidedly tentative in tone. creative and result­ come over and we'll discuss your To quote obscenity verbatim is to producing material. needs and how I can be of ser­ risk being obscene. In this particular I use experienced artists, ii- vice to you. case, Rabbi Berman's remarks have PRESS & COMPANY been published in an Orthodox jour­ 15 PARK ROW, SUITE 1210, NEW YORK 10038, (212) 233-6710, 633-4529 nal, and they have been widely

The Jewish Observer/ June, !974 23 him over his shoulder, and after One would expect an Orthodox rabbi to consult halacha in defin­ declaring "there is no choice but to confront the Holocaust because it ing women's role, not defy it ... to bolster emunah in face of happened" - he went down under tribulation, not abandon it. his adversary's weight: Professor Greenberg suggested that one now has to speak of .. moment faiths .. - pliance by women to a status proved" as being "a vital source of periods of belief .. interspersed which men need never accept. It religious expression and strength"? with times when the flames and is analogous to telling an un­ It appears to this writer that it is vir­ smoke of the burning children employed worker that he ought tually impossible to draw spiritual blot out the faith though it to be thankful that he has no job "expression and strength" from a flickers again. The difference since the economy requires a practice that directly defies the un­ between the skeptic and the rate of 5% unemployment and challenged opinion of the Rama. believer is frequency of faith he therefore has the great honor It also appeared to this writer that and not certitude of position. enabling everyone else to make one would expect an Orthodox Rab­ In the experience of a good living." (page 9) bi, who clearly intends to defend Auschwitz, he maintained, lies Torah's attitude toward women, to Nothing Rabbi Berman later says evidence that G-d's covenant seek definition of that attitude in can erase the foul impression this may be destroyed; the reality of halacha; and to foster respect for analogy creates. Israel suggestes grounds for the that attitude by promoting respect moment of faith that G-d's * The growing tendency among for halacha. The article in Tradition, promises are faithful. young women to assume mitzvos unfortunately, was evidence to the (New York Times-June4) earmarked especially for men gets a contrary. It appears that, in attemp­ tentative nod of approval from Rab­ It was left to an Augustine monk ting to gain the trust of his adver­ to find a constant and permanent bi Berman. saries, he adopted their posture on .. A small number of religious validity to Judaic faith in the ashes the issue. But then, forgetting to use of Auschwitz; Gregory Baum of women have begun donning their force to disable them, he simp­ Talit and Tefillin daily, and Canada suggested that: ly went down to defeat under their .. The Christian world ... and} have, in so doing, discovered a f weight, losing the dignity of his the Churches have come to vital source of religious expres­ cause by being dragged down by the recognize Judaism as an sion and strength." (page 20) ugly expressions he borrowed from authentic religion before G-d their lexicon. Rabbi Berman is knowledgable with its independent value and meaning, not as a stage on the enough to cite (in his footnote The Holocaust Challenge #64) that: way to Christianity." .. The practice was disapproved ANOTHER CASE IN POINT: A four !New YGrk Times-June4) by Rama to Shulchan Aruch, day symposium of scholars and • • • Orach Chayim, 38:3." theologians was recently held in the Unfortunately, one suspects that Now, Rama is the definitive Cathedral of St. John the Divine some who carry the banner of authority on Shulchan Aruch, whose (N.Y.C.) dedicated to examining Modern Orthodoxy find that opinions are binding on Ashkenazic faith after Auschwitz - belief in "Modern" represents the ideal and Jewry. How can Rabbi Berman view Divine Power in view of the massive Orthodoxy the burden. a practice that the Rama "disap- evils perpetrated by the Nazis. An As Rabbi Yosef Hurwitz, Der Orthodox Jew, faced with this type Alter fun Nevardok, said: "Torah is of challenge, may well respond with not to conform to the times. The DON'T GET MARRIED!! ~ the Karate-chop-reply to the times must conform to the Torah." DON'T MAKE A llAR MITlV AH OR A' SIMCHA if' humanists: "After Auschwitz, can If one manages that, fine. Then you still believe in man?" his words can clarify the apparent Not so the Modern Orthodox cross-purposes between modern representative at the symposium, problems and Torah thought, recon­ Professor Irving Greenberg, chair­ ciling the two when possible, mak­ man of the Department of Jewish ing Torah supreme at all times. Studies at New York City's College. If one can not manage to follow He seemed to approach the Der Alters credo, then he would challenge by attempting to disarm better take his cue from the Augusti­ the assailant by giving credence to nian Order and assume vows of the challenge. But he forgot to toss silence.

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The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 25 Giving Up

This is not a piece about air-conditioning; for a little more, yeshiva, that synagogue - for a few surrender. It is about giving. Giving tinten windows; for more, stereo, or extra dollars a month, look at what Up. Not level. Not down. But Up. tilted steering wheel, or swinging you can accomplish. You won't Let me explain. When they buy a seats, or what have you. Most peo­ even feel it. car, people often tend to buy Up. ple reason. Why not? A few extra Do you give Up? They don't buy Down - or less dollars per month, we won't even EMANUEL FELDMAN than they can afford. Nor do they feel it.This is called buying Up. Rabbi of the buy level, or precisely what they can Question: how come so few peo­ Congregation Beth Jacob afford. They often buy Up: for a few ple give Up? How come so many of Atlanta, Georgia dollars more a month they can have give Down? That school, that -from his Congregation Bulletin

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'26 The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 A Chol H amoed Lesson

CHOL. HA MO ED (the intermediate halacha spells out demands on those were shocked, principals delighted, days of the Festivals) contains the who can meet them, and provides and children enriched ....The result sacred and the mundane in sufficient dispensations for those who require came pouring in from all parts of the mixture to represent a dozen things them - why not train children in country - Connecticut towns, to as many people. making their own judgments and en­ Pennsylvania metropolises, The businessman finds it an op­ courage them to study voluntarily? Maryland suburbs, the Mid-West, portunity to open the mail that ac­ The result: A Hasrnodah (diligence) Los Angeles, and of course cumulates in the two-three-four-five Contest, sponsored by Pirchei Metropolitan New York. days his office was closed (depen­ Agudath Israel. Approximately 150 of the ding on the holiday's place in the Forms were prepared and dis­ Hasrnodah participants came to a week). tributed, incentives were an­ celebration (in the Agudah's The laborer /white collar worker nounced, and tongues were cheeked "Chafetz Chaim" Center in Boro encounters problems: finish­ - which kid is going to give away a Park) the Sunday after Shavous, to davening-in-tirne-for-work problems, few precious hours of free time to eat refreshments, listen to speeches, Pesach-menu problems, Succos voluntary study? collect prizes, and pick up informa­ where do-you-eat-or-shall-I-skip­ Chol HaMoed came and went, tion regarding the next contest. You lunch problems. and the results came in: over three know, there are at least twelve days Parents see endless stretches of hundred boys responded with free during Succos vacation . ... Of school-less days - a veritable desert documented, notarized forms course, there are special mitzvos of of "I didn't do anything today; why attesting to anything from ten to lulav, esrog, succah. . .there are can't we go to Disneyworld seventy-five (75) hours spent in simchos and trips . . . but there are tomorrow?" plaints, relieved by a Torah study during the Pesach vaca­ long, long days consisting of many, refreshing oasis of organized tri]'ls to tion period, extending from April many hours . . . a wasteland that can Bear Mountains and the local zoo. 4th through the 14th - totalling be redeemed by oases of Torah study Window shopping, relative hop­ over 6,000 hours normally frittered - and then we'll have Simchas ping, farbrengen-sirnchos stopping .. away, spent in Torah study. Parents Torah. O . . All very nice, but what did the rab­ bis of the Talmud have in mind when they defined the Chol HaMoed You can share it with days as a time when: ". . .Some dozens of readers for labors are forbidden, some are per­ LIKE mitted" (Shulchan Aruch: Drach THE JEWISH OBSERVER? only $6.50 -- Chayirn 530, I) - "To permit accor­ ding to the need, as understood by SEND A GIFT SUBSCRIPTION the wise men" (Rama op cit). - The Kolbo explained, writing: "When the Almighty gave us festivals, He in­ tended that we become involved in fearing and loving Him, and engage in Torah study." "-~~;;;..~.._, 815 KINGS HIGHWAY, BROOKLYN Strange how we seem to have - fnr. OcNn Parlf with 111d1 t'l~onl new !ouch~...,,, detail, it must be conceded that it PRUZANSKY BROTHERS SEPARATE announce a policy of would be impractical and inad­ SMOltGASIORD ROO 1'S visable. OPEN CHUPAH ROOi .with Bridal Silo1.1h•1te SPECIAL CATERINB RATES Recently a yeshiva rebbi con­ Dom• Ca"opy throughout the year . . templated this scene and decided Jvlf compfet.d ... with particularly moderate package de.JIS. that since Chol HaMoe laws are th. alt n- ~- Pi,.. Room really flexible in natu1 - 1 'ie ==·"';;:'.: - .. ------' The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 27 Feather and Flesh Incurable sparrow ...... smitten with brassy optimism Chevra Kadisha D'chasidim piercing blankets of darkness Har Hamnuchot • Eretz Hachaim with cheerful Founded 1856 greeting to hurry the dawn

BURIAL IN JERUSALEM "When better to sing to the Creator AND ALL CEMETERIES IN ISRAEL than at the moment of a new day's creation?·" maal1n sakob€sh Incurable man SOCl€ty numb with sluggish ennui shuts out the piercing rays of dawn 26 CANAL ST. with fleshy blankets of self NEW YORK CITY 10002 Day & Nite Phone wrapping out today's creation 925-2177. 8 snug with yesterday's regrets In Canada: Montreal Tel.: 273-3211 warm with tomorrow's hopes for enhancement and repetition. This Man slumbers Publication while is Available·in the sparrow sings. MIL~OFOR.1\1 Ben Ephraim ... from

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28 The Jewish Observt'r / June, 1974 Letters to the Editor

J

not impossible - as would saying atrocities and the massacre of Golus, Geulah, and Columbus's that it is absolutely not ischa!ta Jewish children, then there is no Discovery de'geu/ah. reason to be so enthusiastic about it Furthermore, what harm can - to say the least .... befall the Jew who sees in the return (HORA V) SIMON SCHWAB To the Editor: of Eretz Yisroel to Jewish sovereign­ Rabbi Schwab's parable is a two­ ty; the liberation of Yerusha/ayim; edged sword. Columbus and the and an ingathering of exiles far Yiddishkeit, Tel Aviv U., and the people of his day had made a greater than at the time of Ezra as Kotel momentous discovery, infinitely an act of Divine chesed that may more significant than the route to signal ischalta de'geu/ah. India, but alas they never ap­ Finally, isn't there another op­ To the Editor: preciated it. Also, Columbus's tion? The period of Bayis Sheini was Tisha b'Av, 5733. My husband journey and the discovery of not Geu/ah nor its beginnings, but it and I rode in from Bnei Brak to America were but the first step was also not Go/us. spend the night at the Kate!. Hud­ towards many other break-throughs I honestly don't know what our dled under my quilt with some other that followed. Couldn't it be possi­ period is. I wonder if Rabbi Schwab American girls, I tried to explain ble that we are underestimating the would elaborate and clarify how he what a tragedy the destruction of the significance of the events of our is so sure that it is Go/us. Temple was for the Jews. Across the time, as Columbus so mistakenly DR. SHOLOM GOLD nearly deserted plaza, another group did? Rabbi ofthe Young Israel of girls were reading from Tzenah What most perplexes me is Rabbi of West Hempstead, L.I. Ur'enah: two of the auditors came Schwab's dogmatic insistence that back and told us what they had what has transpired in Eretz Yisroel learned. There was a third group, is a Go/us phenomenon. He has Rabbi Schwab Replies: under the care of a Yerushalmi reb­ clearly defined ultimate Geu/ah; only Ge'ulah: Like the Break of Dawn bitzin, of girls in shawls and peasant partially described Go/us but he has skirts who had been taken in by not established the criteria for families in Meah She'arim. At dawn ischa/ta de'geulah. To say that the I have told a parable. Those who we all moved to the Kole] to cry and end of Go/us is initiated by the wish to reject its implication are free to daven. absence of bloodshed seems to be to do so. Young Americans come to Israel refuted by Rabbi Akiva and Bar In telling my moshol, I have tried by the thousands, searching for Kochba. Much Jewish blood was to "uncover one tephach while something .... Writing about that being spilled at that time. Yet, Rab­ covering two tephochim," since I did same Tisha b' Av night at the Kate!, bi Akiva thought Bar Kochba to be not wish to engage in any polemics, in the Kislev Issue, Chaya Moshiach. Only the death of Bar which will read like the parable of Rosenzweig reminds us of those Kochba convinced him that he was children a few years from now. The souls, who are often easier to reach in error. future will tell who was right and when they have made the long By its very nature, ischa/ta who was not. The geulah will indeed journey to Eretz Hakodesh. If you de'geulah may come kima kima-bit come kimo kimo, bit by bit, like the travel in Israel, you will see by bit-like the beginning of day, break of dawn (Jerusalem Talmud, American students at the Kotel, in not easily nor readily discernible to Berachos I). But - like the break of Hevron, in Sfat. Many of them want anyone at the time (unless he is up dawn - it will not zig-zag and os­ to know what these places really and awake). That would make cillate as it has done lately. mean, but they need an unspoken designating a particular time or era If what my correspondent calls invitation from your side before to the observer (a Jewish observer) the "beginning of geulah" means they will join your group and listen. as ischa/ta de'geu/ah very difficult if daily bloodshed and horror, Last year there was no discernible

The Jewish Ohsen•er / June, 1974 29 Yiddishkeit must be encouraged and from a fame equal to that of his channelled afresh: it will be an an­ colleagues, Reb Yitzchok Blaser of @ 77rn nual challenge to the English speak­ Petersburg, Reb Simcha Zisel Ziv of LETTERS CONTINUED ing faculty and to any other Kelm, and others. In fact, an entire religious o/im who will take an in­ section of Katz's Tnu'as HaMussar terest in these students so far from is devoted to Rabbi Joseph. religious life at Tel Aviv University, their own families. Prior to his last visit to shul, where my husband and I teach. This MALKA SCH A PS following his stroke, he had con­ year, however, shiurim in Yid­ Bnei Brak, Israel sulted a Rambam which he expected dishkeit organized for the American to cite in a scholarly discourse he students by some of the American was to deliver in the shul. During his professors have been faithfully Rabbi Jacob Joseph: presentation, he paused and could attended. After a Megillah reading An Added Dimension not recall the text of the Rambam. run by the faculty, which was a "When I arrived in New York," he resounding success, as was a said, "there was not a passage from student-run minyan during an off­ To the Editor: the Rambam that I had to look up, campus seminar, the administration Shmuel Singer's account of "the for I knew his works by heart. And relented and permitted the students ill-fated struggle to unite New Yark today, I can not even recall the one I the use of a University room for a Jewry under ... Rabbi Jacob had prepared." Friday night minyan. Some of the Joseph" gave that tragic chapter of Perhaps your readers will find students have been making Shabbos our history a compelling immediacy, these notes as insightful as I did. together all year; they recently in­ and left us with so much to ponder vited some of the young English­ over, much to think about. MRS. SHOSHANA PERR speaking couples from Kfar Habad To enlarge the scope of the per­ Far Rockaway, N. Y. to make a hasidic Shabbos for a sonal dimension of the tragedy, may much larger group. I offer the following little-known Each year there is a complete tur­ facts: i1'5~i1 ~~,., nover in the visiting foreign Rabbi Jacob Joseph had been students, so next fall we may again known as one of the select, outstan­ EV 7-1750 be faced with the spectacle of a cam­ ding disciples of Rabbi Yisroel l/"'1C '1~C pus with 17,000 Jewish students and Salanter zt"I. Only the bitter, abor­ itJWt"'l"CV~ 'C!t)Wt"'l-,"it:t; no minyan. The basic interest in tive end to his career clouded him A SEAT HAS BEEN RESERVED FOR YOU PINCUS MANDEL ON THE Recognizer/ Expert-Over 22 Year.s of Experience AGUDATH ISRAEL "SPECIAL" TOUR rtHough th(' t-'iforh ni Rabbi tv1o~he Sherer, of Agudath featuring lqavl. ~he c0npera1ion pf the hrael1 Con:.ulJte and ,1',<.1:,tance of two prominent Orthodnx Ph.v<,ician:., round trip air transportation regulation:. hdve bt>en dfflended 1ndk1ng 1t pn<,~1ble tor first-class hotel accomodations with meals INTERMENT IN ISRAH a comprehensive touring program with u 1 Ir'" '1han 18 hour' .:ifrer derni-,e, r'/, wilh all H/01 'R/!'d - licensed Orthodox guides ,i' and For Reservations and Information Contact: Ad1nnrim AGUDATHISRAELTRAVEL Known for Personalized, Ultra-Orthodox procedure in 5 Beekman St. I NYC 10038 rc>nrlering a Dedi(dled, Dependable, Efficient Servin;• at Reasonable Cost Phone: (212) 258-0709 or 964-2097 Agudah Member - 46 Years A Full Selection of Group and Individual Flights to Israel, Europe the Worldover

30 The Jewish Observer I June. 1974 organizations, each one having reading for everyone under the ex­ Rabbi Jacob Joseph ... Today? something to say about its competi­ hortation: "Remember the days of tion - sometimes factual and old; understand the years of every sometimes baseless (which is generation." To the Editor: worse). It pains me, however, to point out One must hope that the article "A One can only speculate what the following: Chief Rabbi for New York City"' might have happened ifRabbi Jacob The article states " ...the Chief will be only the first in a series of ar­ Joseph had tried to do today what Rabbinate... was not destined to ticles depicting the evolution of he had done so many years ago. He last. In the end it succumbed to the Jewish life into what is now the probably would have been accused cumulative opposition of self­ world's largest single concentration of, in addition to all his other seeking, anti-religious elements." of Jewry. troubles, of being a Neturei Kar­ Granted, these factions did their Although much appears to have tanik, or a Mizrachist, or in some share. But, 'in all honesty, isn't it ob­ changed since those years, not much minds, even worse, an Agudist. vious that if Orthodoxy had stood has really changed. What has chang­ YONOSON ISRAEL united, and if individual (Orthodox) ed is that rather than a kosher Brooklyn, N. Y. persons and groups had negated chicken costing 1¢ more towards their overwhelming selfish in­ Hcovering the expense of supervision "Rabbi Jacob Joseph" terests-then- Reform opposition of the shochtim and general - Like Medicine would have gotten nowhere! kashrus," a chicken costs upwards "We" could have laughed it off of 50¢ more per lb. most of which, it with an irritated shrug. is quite clear, finds its resting place To the Editor: Can't we please be honest and in other than the shochet's pocket. I found the article on Rabbi Jacob learn . . ? What has not changed is the fact Joseph like medicine - bitter to is that there is even today a rivalry swallow but necessary for one's self­ B. EICHENTHAL between various Kashrus improvement. It should be required Brooklyn, New York

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The Jewish Observer I June, 1974 JI an immediacy of appeal which is Impossible To Find ... often Jacking in other aritcles. Almost If I may make a suggestion, which, l hope you will follow up: LETTERS CONTINUED To the Editor: the JO should bring, in form of a ''Letter From Eretz Yisroel," a Working at the Saul Silber regular periodic report on Agudist Memorial Library of the Hebrew Rabbeinu Yaakov Yosef: policy in Eretz Yisroe/. I trust your Theoiogical College (Beth A Yeshiva on His "'Kever'' proven editorial competency that HaMedrash LaTorah) in Skokie, you will choose a correspondent !II., I happened to see the article whose reports will keep away from To the Editor: "Lomza" by Mr. Chaim Shapiro, stories of petty bickering, but rather l would like to commend the ex­ and the foot-note that the ;no keep us informed on the ideological cellent historical review, "The Chief ,nn ''i.K '.l!J is no where to be and political background of events, Rabbinate of New York," in your found. Our library has a copy of this in conformity with the approach of most recent issue. It is interesting to work by ':>":r.J the rest of the JO. Where else are we note that the problems facing which was publish­ •po111 JlllVr.J of achdus (unity), still is a most This sefer can not be removed from HENRY 8IBERFELD critical issue facing Orthodoxy to the library. M ant real. Canada this very day. JOSEPH H. BACHRACH l did feel, however, that it was THE WORLD FAMOUS most unfortunate that the author Chicago, Ill. DIGEST OF MEFORSHIM did not mention the z'chus of '01j?7 ;n::i 'D1j?7 HAMDS YESHIVA AL KEVRO i;i"iT is~?N: 1iN1~iV ,, :\"i11ii~ - the yeshiva established in his An Editorial Suggestion Available af memory - where throughout the LEKUTEI INC. years, thousands of ta/midim receiv­ c/o I. Rosenberg To the Editor: 10 West 47th Street, Room 702 ed their background toward becom­ l wish to congratulate you on the New York, N. Y. 10036 ing talmidei chachomim and leaders excellent quality of the recent issues 20 Volumes on Torah, Perek, in the Orthodox community. This of the JO. The articles are relevant, Medrash, Megilas and Talmud. mention, l believe, is the least we Proceeds of sales distributed among well-informed, and well-written; and Yeshivas and used for reprinting can do as an expression of gratitude you avoid, as far as possible, pure ol volumes out-of-print for all of his efforts for k/al. d'rush (sermonizing) which belongs PRICE $5 PER VOLUME MORDECHAI EISSENBERG elsewhere. The essays on the Gedolei Musmach, Yisroel provide a welcomed change SIFREI TORAH WANTED: Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yaakov Yosef of pace, but, more than that, have tor new congregations, both in U.S. and Israel Call: (212) 964-1620, or write: Sifrei Torah c/o Agudath Israel a•>ti• 5 Beekman Street, NYC 10038 'JlJ!l>tVU 11f7M ,Mit\71M Weddings ·Bar· Mitzvahs Yereim OrthOdox Chapel USA / lsraei 93 Broadway · Brooklyn, N.Y. 1121 l

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)2 The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 U.S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS AGUDAH LEADER WARNS OF GOY. WILSON HAILED FOR SIGNING CONSTITUTIONALITY OF "IMMINENT COLLISION" BETWEEN LAWS REMEDIAL READING SERVICES FOR PUBLIC AND NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL AIDING NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN PARENTS GOVERNOR MALCOLM WILSON was lauded for ON JUNE IOTH the U.S. Supreme Court UNLESS THE NEW YORK CITY budget is signing a number of bills aiding non-public handed down an 8 to I decision affirming a revised to include funds to provide speech schools, of which the major measures man­ lower court order that the state of Missouri therapy services for the half-million non­ date a broad range of health and welfare ser­ must provide comparable services-services to public school children in the City, New York vices for non-public school pupils, and reim­ children in non-public schools, on the non­ is faced with an "imminent collision" burse the non-public schools for mandated public school premises, under Title I of the between the parents of children attending services. This tribute was paid by the Com­ Elementary and Secondary Education Act of public and non-public schools. This warning mission on Legislation and Civic Action of 1965. According to this decision in the was issued at a hearing on Monday (June 3) Agudath Israel of America which has worked Wheeler V. Barrera case, Yeshiva students of the City's Board of Estimate by Rabbi constantly in Albany for the enactment of who require remedial reading services will be Moshe Sherer, executive president of these laws. able to obtain this help in the Yeshiva, under Agudath Israel of America. Title I funding. Rabbi Sherer pointed out that the City Ad­ The new Chapter 974 of the Laws of 1974 The Commission on Legislation and Civic ministration made a "grievous error" in amends the existing Education Law to clearly Action of Agudath Israel of America express­ denying the additional $2.6 million for 186 specify that health services performed for ed its "delight" with the Supreme Court deci­ additional speech therapists to service public school children must be given on an sion, and added that it took "special children in non-public schools. In view of a equal basis to non-public school children, in­ recent decision of the City's Corporation pleasure" from the fact that the non­ cluding al! services performed by a physician, Counsel, fortified by a new law adopted by Orthodox Jewish groups which had entered dental hygienist, nurse, school psychologist, the New York State Legislature, the Board of this case with a "friend of the court" brief suf­ speech therapist, etc. Education is mandated to provide this type of fered a defeat. These Jewish groups which speech correctional service to non-public The new mandated services law is a revised° urged the Supreme Court not to permit the school children on an equal basis with public version of a measure which was declared un­ non-public school children to obtain these school students, and, the Orthodox Jewish constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. benefits, were the American Jewish Congress, leader declared, "the non-public school forces The bill was tailored to conform with the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, are determined to fight for this principle of restrictions of the Supreme Court decision. It Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish War equality in the courts until justice is specifies that the actual costs will be reim­ Veterans, National Council of Jewish achieved." bursed to non-public schools for such ac­ Women, Union of American Hebrew Jn his presentation, Rabbi Sherer stated tivities as attendance records, state required Congregations, and United Synagogue of that unless the additional funds are provided tests and health records. America. in a revised City budget, there will develop a The National Jewish Commission on Law tug-of-war between the non-public and public Other bills signed by the Governor exempt and Public Affairs (COLPA) had represented school sectors for the $6 million set aside non-public schools from paying excise taxes the Orthodox Jewish groups in an amicus from the old budget for the needs of public on the gasoline and die.Se! fuel they use, and curaie brief filed on this case, which was school children alone. "The serious polariza· extend from ten to fifteen miles the distance prepared by Nathan Lewin, a prominent tion which would result from this situation to which the school authorities must provide Washington attorney. Mr. Lewin is the son of would create an. unnecessary and harmful bus transportation for non-public school Dr. Isaac Lewin, chairman of the American confrontation in the New York City com­ children. Previously, Governor Wilson had section of the Agudath Israel World munity which must be avoided at all costs," signed a measure providing for special ser­ Organization. he concluded. vices for handicapped children.

Agudath Israel expressed appreciation to Governor Wilson for "not buckling under to RABBI JOZEF KATZ l\IARK LOVrNGER •N• the die-hard opponents of any aid to the non­ 83 Division Avenue Brooklyn, N. Y. 11211 public school sector," and expressed con­ OF fidence that "even if these extremist groups will test the constitutionality of these measures, they will be upheld in the courts."

ALL LEADDIG HOTELS BAXQUET HALLS Lapidus Bros. Gemilath Chesed AND JEWISH CENTERS AVAILABLE Ass'n of the Crown Hts. Agudath Israel, Inc. For Applications: 388-4204 388-3590 863-8892 Call RABBI JOSHUA SILBERMINTZ at: WO 4-1620 or write: • Caterer for Agudath Israel Conventions and Dinners • c/o AGUDATH ISRAEL 5 Beekman St., New York 10038

The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 33 BORO PARK SENIOR CITIZENS OVER 6,000 CHILDREN "LIVE TORAH" THOUSANDS OF TORAH STUDY CENTER LAUNCHES IN WORLDWIDE NETWORK HOURS GAINED CONSUMER FRAUDS AND OF AGUDATH ISRAEL CAMPS BY UNIQUE JEWISH EDUCATION PROTECTION DESK PROJECT OVER 6,000 CHILDREN will benefit from THE BORO PARK SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER, intensive "Torah indoctrination courses" A CELEBRATION TOOK PLACE on June 2 to located at 4511 ~ 14th Ave., Brooklyn, sponsored at 27 summer camps operated in reward the participants in a unique project to launched a Consumer Frauds and Protection various parts of the world by the inter­ "make the wasted intersession hours count Desk on, June 18th as part of a new program national Agudath Israel movement. Among for Torah study." Sponsored by the National by the State Attorney Generars office. the campers will be a large number of Council of Pirchei Agudath Israel, a youth The senior citizen volunteers who man this Russiam immigrant children in Israel who are division of Agudath Israel of America, desk were trained by Thelma Lichtblau, the the recipients of special scholarship grants Yeshiva youngsters were encouraged to study consumer education specialist with the from the Russian Immigrant Rescue Fund. Torah during the twelve-day Pesach vacation Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection These "Torah study institutes under the period when Jewish schools are closed. The of the Attorney General's office. Rabbi sky" sponsored by the Agudath Israel move­ result: Over 300 children from Boston to Robert Rosenblum, program director of the ment represent the largest Orthodox camp California learned Torah during their free Bora Park Senior Citizen Center, will head a population in the world, a spokesman for the time, for periods ranging from ten to 75 task force of senior citizen volunteers in Camps Commission of Agudath Israel of hours. providing these new services to the senior America noted. The record enrollment is the The winners in this first national citizens and the rest of the community. result of a massive recruitment drive launched "Hasmodoh (diligent Torah study) Contest'' The new program consists of pre~fraud by Agudist youth leaders, as part of an on­ received their prizes at a gathering in counseling to dispense information concer­ going effort to utilize the time usually wasted Agudath Israel of Baro Park, chaired by Rab­ ning one's rights under the laws of our state by youngsters, such as vacation periods, for bi Joshua Silbermintz, national director of as presented in the "ABC of Consumer productive efforts to lift their levels of Torah Pirchei Agudath Israel. The two top winners: Rights;" provides assistance in legal matters study and religious commitment. Shlomo Halioua who had engaged in 75 through direct contact with the Attorney The vacation retreats, most of which bear hours of Torah study, and Velvel Finkelstein General's office; will publicize a "Where It's the name Camp Agudah (for boys) or Camp who spent 72 hours of his leisure time over At List" for professional services such as Bnos (for girls) are located in New York's Pesach in study. medical, legal, etc; and will serve as om­ Catskill Mountains, Canada, Argentina, Thus, Pirchei Agudath Israel, which spon­ budsman in which victims of alleged fraud England, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy. sors a broad range of Jewish educational will join volunteer task force members in in­ Israel's branch sponsors more than sixteen projects, made another advance in its efforts vestigating complaints. Special Yiddish­ camps, the largest of which is Chazon to elevate Torah goals among Jewish youth speaking volunteers will help investigate com­ Yecheskie!. by encouraging Torah study outside the of­ plaints from Yiddish-speaking members of Agudath Israel of America also co­ ficial sessions of the Yeshivas. the community. sponsors two large summer projects in Israel Encouraged by this intitia! success, and Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz head­ for campers from every part of the world: stimulated by the warm praise from prin­ ed a host of other government and communi­ Camp S'dei Chemed International in Rishon cipals of Jewish day schools nationally, ty leaders in dedicating the new desk. Lezion for boys and the Beth Jacob "Live and Pirchei Agudath Israel immediately em­ Rabbi Menachem Lubinsky, director of the Learn" program for girls in Jerusalem. barked on plans for the second "Hasmodoh Boro Park Senior Citizens Center, hailed the The camps of Agudath Israel in America Contest" to take place over the Succos vaca­ new program as "a desperately needed crutch have expanded their special programs for tion period, from September 27th to October for hundreds of helpless citizens who are un­ children from twenty-six states, besides a 10th. The chairmen of the contest are able to articulate their problems." He stress­ large contingent from Central American Menachem Profesorske, Aviesri Wagschal, ed that elderly citizens who are very often vic­ countries, many of whom are receiving their Yeshayo Yaroslowitz and Gershon Nathan. tims of consumer fraud, stand to benefit most "first taste of authentic Judaism." They also Posters and entry blanks for the second from this project. The Baro Park Senior maintain special programs for children from "Hasmodoh Contest" can be obtained from Citiznes Center is a project of Agudath Israel Jewishly uncommitted homes, who are the National Council of Pirchei Agudath of America's Commission on Senior Citizens. recruited by the Jewish Education Program Israel, 5 Beekman Street, New York City The Commission on Senior Citizens of (JEP) of Zeirei Agudath Israel. 10038. Agudath Israel also sponsors the Flatbush (Brookdale) Senior Citizens Center, which will open its doors oil A venue H and East 9th NEW AGUDATH ISRAEL BRANCHES IN DENVER AND BROOKLYN Street in the near future, and a number of other facilities for the aged which are ex­ THE LATEST AGUDATH ISRAEL branch to link Agudist rnovement, such as the "Mishnayos pected to begin functioning by the end of up with the national network of Agudath B'a! Peh" contest of Pirchei Agudath Israel. June. Israel of America was recently established in This newly-organized branch followed by Denver, Colorado. The new chapter of only several weeks the founding of a new Agudath Israel, which was founded by branch of Agudath Israel in the Kings dedicated rabbis and laymen in the communi­ Highway area of Flatbush, at 1796 E. 7th MOVIMC? ty, was launched on the occasion of a Siyum Street. At the Chanukas Habayis dedication Be sure to notify us in "Daf Yomi" addressed by local Torah per­ ceremony of this newly-formed Agudath advance so that your copies sonalities. Israel of Kings Highway, the national ad­ will continue to reach you. Agudath Israel of Denver has also linked ministration was represented by presidium­ into other projects sponsored by the national member Rabbi Chaskel Besser.

34 The Jewish Observer / June, 1974 Make Congressman Carey - GOVERNOR Carey •..·;""'1 u~ '

Congressman Carey receiving recognition from Agudath Israel, 1967. Many candidates will ask for your support now that an election approaches. Base your judgment on facts and reason. You must ask: which candidate has demonstrated that he cares, that he is willing to act, all the time - not just when he wants our votes. Congressman Carey has served for 14 years in Congress. His record is consistent. clear, and courageous: • Congressman Carey is the chief advocate in Washington for government support for our yeshivos; he has meant a real difference to parents and children in schools throughout New York State. • Hugh Carey has demonstrated his specific concern for our community in areas such as Shechitah, Kashruth, and employment. • Hugh Carey has spoken out tor Soviet Jewry, and for the rights of oppressed peoples in all unfree countries, for more than ten years. • Hugh Carey is an ardent supporter and devoted friend of Israel. He knows the nation first hand, and has opposed all efforts to weaken United States policy toward Israel. • Hugh Carey fights for fair immigration laws . • Congressman Carey has spent 14 years in Congress representing Soro Park, Bensonhurst, and neighboring communities. His legislation to help the handicapped, senior citizens, and the law-abiding majority shows that he understands our community's needs. As governor, Hugh Carey can begin to work immediately in helping meet our needs. Hugh Carey has a long list of achievements. Just as important is the personal character of the man: his honesty and integrity; his devotion to his children and to his late wife, Helen; and his loyalty to his com­ munity and his fellow human beings. Hugh Carey will make a great governor of New York. We urge your support for this compassionate, car­ ing man. This year, before they tell you what they WANT to do - Make them show you what they've DONE.

Hugh Carey for Governor - Democratic Primary- September 10, 1974

Remember: You can't vote for Carey in the primary if you are not a registered Democrat. Register today.

Paid for by Citizens tor Carey Committee I Hotel Commodore 109 East 42nd Street, Seventh Floor I New York, New York 10017 I (212) 725-7000 James H. Tully, Jr., Chairman

The Jewish Observer/ June, 1974 35 tu* 1111llIItnI!11lE11lll!11lluun1111uII)(1111lEII111111111! II ll ll ll ll ll 111111n1111u111111I!II11 ll ll Mu II II II ll ll ll II ll II l! II II ll ll lfl! If lfffl! IE If I! lflf ltlf If lUflfJHf lflflf If lflflf JUI lfJflfll IB • ! ** lUf:J ! SARA SCHENIRER SEMINARY 't( · f : is now accepting applications for September q ~ : i to its spacious, up-to-date · E * * I* RESIDENCE HALL I* * :* 1t Apply in writing or call between 10-5 (212) 633-8557. jt jt* Brochures and Literature wil1 be sent upon request * * * £ .... Offering an experience that is rich and lasting ..... the Residence Hall is £ * an enhancement and a complement to the classroom of Sara Schenirer Seminary. and * : provides the atmosphere in which Torah ethics and Torah awareness are maintained :; jt in daily life... 1t 1t Room and board in spacious living quarters in the heart of Baro Park. with personal needs. 1t £ both spiritual and material, of Seminary students fully provided at very minimal cost i i* Seminary Program i* 1t In addition to the traditional course of study which has helped make Sara Schenirer a leader 1t i in Chinuch Habonos and in Teacher Training, we will this year initiate two new programs: £ ; 1) Optional Methods course in teaching Secular ; ; Subjects in Bais Yaakov schools and Yeshivas ; :; 2) In-school training for elementary and kindergarten :; * *

I ~ 4622-14th AVENUE /BROOKLYN, N.Y.11219 /TELEPHONE633-8557-8 I :; Rabbi M. Meisels, Dean *

*:JEllll)(llfflH)(llff)(#llllff)()(lfMlllllJEHJElll!llffllllllllllMMllffl!UllllllllllllMHllHll!!lllll!llllllll!!lllll!UlllllillllllMUlllllll!llllllllHHllllllHllU!!llllMMllM!!llllffllMllllllllllffllllMt * The Mesivta of Staten Island Announces YESHIVAS HAKAYITZ Masten Lake, New York (near Monticello) A summer yeshiva in the Catskills for children in bungalow colonies Grades pre-1A through 12 I Day Camp I Transportation Give your son a fruitful & enjoyable summer! Morning Afternoon Your son will spend each morning in an organized Your son will have a marvelous time in our day yeshiva atmosphere with emphasis on developing camp, with nutritious lunches, boating, swimming, enjoyment in learning and Midos Tovos. and a full program of activities.

Rabbi Gershon Weiss, Menahel I Rabbi Yehuda Frankel, Menahel-Head Counselor For registration, please call (212) 633-6867, 948-5650, 633-0498 or (914) 794-9124 or write: c/o Lakewood House, Rock Hill N.Y. Box 82 Special Mesivta Program for Overnight Campers Still several vacancies in masmidim&jr. counselor program $140. for 7 weeks We take pride in announcing our dedicated staff of Rebbeyim: Rabbis Shlomo Mandel (Mesivta), Baruch Glucksman, Yehuda Neusbaum, Moshe Klinger Shmuel Feldman, Avrohom Ziegler, Yeshaya Goldberg, Aaron Yona Piller

Still available on Yeshiva premises: • Several beautiful bungalows with paneled Hollywood kitchens • Dining room accommodations • Apartments at $275 up