BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

A golden view of history Rabbi Sholom Gold tells the story of his very active, communally involved life as he swam in the historically exciting waters in which he lived

• ARI ZIVOTOFSKY other organizations and endeavors. coasts, he sent a two-page letter to the His work is not a history book in the rebbe in which his leaning was clear- oday’s current events will classic sense; there are no references to ly evident. The rebbe responded that be tomorrow’s history, and archives and few citations of scholarly Gold’s preference was backwards and he while history at times is bet- works. Although the author clearly veri- should reconsider – advice the author SINCE SHOLOM Gold ter understood and appreci- fied his facts and included a thorough in- followed and later realized was sage, al- made aliya he has served ated from the perspective of dex, this book is intended to be one man’s most prophetic. as the spiritual leader of a distance,T oftentimes it is clearer when retelling of his very active, communally On the other hand, when Gold was synagogue in ’s conveyed by eyewitnesses who remem- involved life as he swam in the historical- ready to actualize his life-long dream and Har Nof neighborhood, ber it as current events and relate the ly exciting waters in which he lived. move with his family to , he wrote and dean of an adult learning emotions of the time. And it makes for a great read. It includes to the rebbe requesting his blessing. To center. (Courtesy Gefen Publishing) An example is the significance of Jeru- personal details, historical recollections, his utter shock, the rebbe wrote back salem Day, which commemo- a smattering of original interpretations that “anybody serving in the rabbinate rates the reunification of the of biblical and talmudic sources (even if or as an educator who leaves the States in Holy City and the lightning they were sometimes based on a word his order to go on aliya, is a deserter from the victory of the Six Day War. The scholarly brother insisted was a typo) and front lines for the struggle of the survival comfort that is felt today with a heavy dose of good old-fashioned Zion- of Klal Yisrael [the Nation of Israel].” De- the unity of the capital and ism, such that the reader will come away tails of how Rabbi Gold worked around the naturalness of standing at feeling good about his beliefs. this and did make aliya are educational the Western Wall has erased The tome does not get bogged down and entertaining. both the sense of dread felt in with too many details, and thus does not The author was privileged to have in- the days preceding the war, lose its flow. While names of people he in- teracted with many of the great religious and the euphoria that resulted teracted with are often included, it is no- and political leaders of recent history, from the victory. This has led ticeable that a conscious effort was clearly and he shares vignettes of these events. some to a lack of appreciation made to omit the names and details of For example, he describes his magical of what we have, and a neglect anyone who might have been portrayed year studying in Israel in 1955-1956, of the celebration. in a negative light. well before it was the norm for Ameri- In Touching History, Rabbi Twice, we are cautioned that one gets cans. He was fortunate to be invited to Sholom Gold movingly por- only a single chance to make a first im- a Purim meal at the home of trays the desperate situation of pression. Gold reminisces that he “arrived Yitzhak Halevi Herzog. In the middle of May 1967 – not with facts and in Toronto... in May 1959. You only get the meal, the chief rabbi’s son, Chaim – a figures, but with a passionate one chance to make a first impression…” future president and an imposing pres- recollection of his experiences; And 42 pages later he tells us, “Our first ence in his full battle dress – entered the he then retells the stunning vic- Shabbos in West Hempstead… This was room. Herzog, in a warm and fatherly tory. This is but one example of my one and only opportunity to make a voice, called his son to the front of the the importance of hearing his- first impression, and I wanted to make it table, and pointing at the young Gold, tory told by those who experi- memorable.” In this book, no matter to said, “Chaim’l, this young man came enced it and remember it. where one opens it, the first impression here from across the ocean because he Touching History is an aptly will be positive. wanted to learn in Eretz Yisrael.” named book. Gold was never The book is loaded with poignant, hu- Gold describes what he sensed as the an elected official, nor did he morous and historical anecdotes. These love the father felt for the son, the pride hold positions of great international im- include the story of Gold’s visit behind in his accomplishments and at the same portance (unless one counts such posts as the Iron Curtain, when he was separated time, the sorrow at his having drifted Touching History the president of the Council of Young Is- from his travel partner and was interro- from his religious roots. By Rabbi Sholom Gold rael Rabbis), yet as a senior, international- gated “for the longest three-quarters of In another encounter with a histori- Gefen Publishing ly respected educator and rabbinic figure, an hour of my life”; his officiating at his cal figure, he describes prime minister he met and interacted with some of the 320 pages; $29.95 grandson’s wedding while the groom’s Menachem Begin’s first official visit to the most important personalities in modern brother was fighting in Gaza; how he was United States; Gold managed to get his Jewish history, was on scene for import- almost thrown out of Ner Israel seminary; entire family into the ballroom reception. ant events, and on his own, often played and how it was the aliya of a neighbor’s He then describes how Begin caught sight a role in their unfolding. dog that gave him the final push for his of his seven-year-old son, “lifted him up Born in 1935 in Williamsburg, New own. The many stories often involve lead- in the air” and proceeded to proclaim “A York, Gold studied in several leading ing personalities, political and religious, Yiddish boychickel, a Yiddishe yingele!” Be- yeshivot in the US and Israel. In the and as they are told by a master storytell- gin then gave him a big kiss on the cheek, 1960s, he founded and headed a yeshiva er, are simply fun to read. like a loving grandfather. and a synagogue in Toronto; in the ’70s Mixed in with tales of historical signif- And this, really, is how the work is he was the pulpit rabbi of the Young Isra- icance, such as the building of the West written – like a grandfather warmly tell- el of West Hempstead, New York, where Hempstead eruv, are personal anecdotes ing over recent Jewish history from a during his tenure it went from a sleepy such as marrying off his children in pairs, first-person perspective to the younger town Jewishly, to a vibrant, active com- with the proud father regaling the read- generation; it is a light read with a heavy munity. er with tales of his wonderful kids, and message. The Gold family made aliya in 1982 and changing a tire on a blistery cold and The book is an enjoyable read and dif- since then, Gold has served as the spiritu- snowy night in New Jersey. ficult to put down, but it is also of crucial al leader of a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Har While by no means a Chabadnik, importance for the younger generation Nof neighborhood, and dean of an adult Gold had tremendous respect for the to hear the retelling of history from one learning center – both of which he found- Lubavitcher Rebbe. Thus, when inter- who witnessed it, was involved in it and ed – as well as being involved in multiple viewing for rabbinic pulpits on opposite touched it. ■

40 JUNE 12, 2015