r-=---=~-- ~------~-- ---~~ ----=-i 1 THE ewish I I ,ftSEitVER Noted in I THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 IS PUBLISHED IN THIS ISSUE MONTHLY. EXCEPT JULY & AUGUST Sorrow I ANO A COMBINED ISSUE FOR TRAGEDY (LOSE TO HOME, JANUARYlfEBRUARY, BY THE 6 A AGUOATH IS RAEL 01' AMERICA, YoNosoN RosENBLUM TEITELBAUM I 42 BROADWAY. NEW YORK. NY !0004. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID IN NEW YORK, NY. SUBSCRIPTION Sll5.00/YEAR; ZECH OR YEMOS OLAM ... 2 YEARS, 548.00; 3 YEARS. 569.00. At the levaya of Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum ?"!, a well­ REMEMBER THE DAYS OF YORE OUTSIDE OF THE (US known rosh remarked, "All of the Tanna'im FUNDS DRAWN ON A US BANK ONLY) S1s.oo SURC~IARGE PER YEAR. SINGLE 12 A "FoRGOTIEN" EvENT W1TH H1sToR1c and Amora'im are coming to welcome him, because COPY SJ.so: OUTSIDE NY AREA $3.95; I FOREIGN 54.50. CONSEQUENCES, JOSEPH fRIEDENSON there is probably no individual in the world who brought to so many people." POSTMASTER: 18 IN THE AURA OF THE KOPYCZNITZER SEND ADDRESS CHANGl'::S TO: It is true_ Rabbi Teitelbaum - Eli to everyone I TEL 212-797-9000, FAX 646-254-1600 , RABBI SHLOMO LORINCZ I PRINTED IN THE USA who knew him - was richly endowed with talent, MIRRER IMAGE: PEOPLE, PLACES AND imagination, and stamina, and he devoted it all to RABBI N!SSON WOLP!N, Editor 26 OF I POWERFUL IMPRINTS, YAACOV POLSKIN others. Over forty years ago, he began a weekly radio Editorial Board program to teach . He invented and per­ RABBI JOSEPH EUAS. Chairman 28 OF PUBLIC RECORD I RABBI ABBA 8RUONY fected Dial-a-Daf, Dial-a-Mishnah, and Dial-a-. I JOSEPH f'RIEOf:NSON RABBI YISROEL MEIR K!RZNER PESA CH: Every week, many hundreds of shiurim RABBI NossoN SCH EHMAN I PROF. TWERSKI THE FESTIVAL OF were available over the phone. The nerve center of his Torah Communication Fo1mden 32 THE FOURTH REDEMPTION, DR. ERNST I.. Born:NHEIMF.R Z.,L SrMCHA LEtB GRosssARD Network was alive twenty-four hours RABBI MOSHE SHEHErt Z"L a day, the central panel aglow with Management Board 34 WHEN Do WE BAKE THE MATZAH hundreds oflittle red lights signifying NAFTOl.I HIRSCH. ISAAC KIRZNE!~. RABBI SHI.OMO LESIN, THIS YEAR? ARI z. ZIVOTOFSKY callers and listeners. In the fifteen-plus DAVID SINGER, NACHLTM STEIN AND ARI Y GREENSPAN years of Dial-a-Daf, there was an MRS. LE'°'H ZAGELBAliM, amazing total of 1.6 million calls, and .·kh·ertisi119 Monoqe1 MUSINGS the number grows by the day. PUBLISHED BY 47 HEARING WITH YOUR BRAIN, AGUDATH IS!~AEL OF AMERICA Eli could have made a com­ RABBI SHMUEL BLOOM fortable living from the Torah U.S. TRADE DISTRllHITOR fELDHEIM PUBLISHERS Communications Network, but he 208 Airport fxrcutive H1rh Nam1et. NY to.'!54 accepted not a penny for his work. He belonged STATEMENT OF POLICY to Kial Yisroel. BRITISH REPRESENTATlVf; THE JEWISH OBSERVER HAS DEVOTED A GREAT DEAl M.T Bl BELMAN OF SPACE TO THE PERILS Of'TllE INTERNET AND TO THE He was a phenomenal rebbi of third and fourth Grosvenor 11/orhs 1\.fou11t Pleawmt Ifill ."IEED FOR EVERYONE TO 6E EXTltEMELY V!Gll.ANT IN graders, and his talmidim remembered and treasured l.ondo11 l:S 9NE. ENG/AND !TS USE. WE HAVE ECHOED THE PLEAS OF Oll!t GED- him for a lifetime. Before "Children at Risk" became I OUM Tl!AT IT SHOULD NOT BE IN USE. UNLESS IT IS AN FRENCU REPRESENTAT!Vf: RABBI 8AMBf:RGER UNAVOIDABLE NEf.;ESSITY. ANO THEN ONLY WITH AU

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© CoPYRIGflT 2008 Eli was only 67 when the shocking end came, sud- 1· AUSTRAUAN REPRFSENTATIV~: DR. A. IJ1NNf:N denly and unexpectedly_ Who can take his place? 11 !Jirriqa Rood APRIL 2008 I VOLUME XLI I NO. 3 &·lfeme Hil!, NS\V eo2J. AUSTRALIA .11i:i ,-or '11' COVER PHOTOS; -Rabbi Nosson Schermanj NA TI SHOHAT / FLASH90: KO Ill G !DEON/ FLASH90 RECORDED WITH SHOCK AND PAIN

he terrorist's massacre in Mercaz Harav in Yerushalayim at 8:40. on Thursday evening, March 6/ II, which killed eight bachurim and wounded at least six others who .had been immersed Tin in the library, sent shock waves throughout the Jewish world. The description of the brutal atrocity with photographs of the mut.ilated bodies and the. blood splattered sefarim scattered across the floor added to the horro.r of the incident, and to the profound sense ofloss suffered through the sacrifice of these students of Torah. Which does not feelwounded and diminished! Rabbi , Rosh Ye'.hiva of Mercaz Harav, declared in his hespeid at the levayathat the gunman had apparently realized that Torah study was the wellspring of strength from which we draw our life essence, and thus attacked our youth when they were so involved in their learning. Rabbi Shapira describe

YONOSON ROSENBLUM ATragedy Close to Home orah is magein un1aztil. It shields and rescues from harm. But not always. T Speaking just after news of the terrible slaughter in Yeshivas Mercaz Harav first began to spread, Rabbi Reuven Leuchter, one of the premier talmi­ dim of the late Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe ';r:;r, urged his listeners not to push away the difficult questions raised by the tragedy with pre-fabricated answers. Through those wrenching questions, Hashen1 speaks to us, he said, and to push the questions aside too quickly is to remove Hashem Himself from the picture. (Rabbi Leuchter pointed to Shaar Daletof Nefesh Hachayim, where Rabbi Chaim ofVolozhin explains Torah's protective power, as a place to start the search.) The eight young men mowed down in the library of Mercaz Harav seemed to have been almost Divinely-picked to make the question as "painful" as possible, in Rabbi Leuchter's perspective. They were in the library because

------~---~---·------RABBI ROSENBLIJM, WHO LIVES IN lERlJSALEM, JS A CONTIHB!JTING EDITOR TO TUE )E\VJS/-1 0BSERVEH.

HE JS Al.SO DIRECTOR OF THE ISRAEL! 01\/JSJON OF AM ECllAD, THE AGllDATH ]SRAEL-INSPJH:ED ED!i­

CATIONAL 0\JTl~F:ACl-l EFFORT AND MEDIA RESOURCE.

APRIL 2008

the beis had been cleared for a the vacation, when two weeks would be haneitz. From then on, he began sleep­ Rosh Chodesh party, and they had each entirely adequate. ing outside on the grass, even though decided to catch a few more minutes he was extremely sensitive to cold, and of Torah learning while their friends even though his roommate protested were preparing for the party. Each one ehonadav Chaim Hirshfeld, that he had only been kidding. of them would have stood out as a hen 19, according to my son-in-law, aliya in any yeshiva in the world. Ywas an extraordinarily talented My son-in-law gives a weekly shiur learner. Every month, he learned all n the week after the massacre, more in the Mercaz Harav high school in of Mishnayos - 18 perakim (chap­ stories began to appear about the the framework of Vedibartem Barn, an ters) a day. He was the great grandson I other sacrifices. And it is clear organization that arranges for weekly of the late Charles (Chaim) Batt of that each was someone very special. shiurin1 by avreichim in national reli­ Hartford, Connecticut, who popular­ Perhaps the most amazing story was gious yeshiva high schools to expose ized Mishnayos Yornis in America. Until that ofDoron Meherette, a 26-year-old, the students to the geshmak of yeshivishe Rabbi Aryeh Sokoloff, a from Kew Ethiopian-born talmid of Mercaz Harav. lorndus. Three of the murdered bachu­ Gardens and a native of Hartford, who When he first applied to the yeshiva, rim were past or present talmidini of his, flew to Fretz Yisroel to be menacheirn Daron was rejected because of his weak though none of them needed anyone to aveilim at each of the homes, Talmudic background. But rather than spark their love oflearning. pointed out the connection between being discouraged, he asked the rosh At the Shabbos table after the mur­ Yehonadav and the great grandfather yeshiva whether he could work in the ders, he described some of the qualities after whom he was named, the family yeshiva as a dishwasher. Every n1on1ent of these bachurim. Yochai Lipshitz, 18, had been unaware of the connection. he was not in the kitchen, he spent in the was part of the furniture of the beis My son-in-law described Yehonadav's yeshiva's beis rnidrash. After 18 months midrash. Whenever one entered, he was interest in hashkafic discussions with oflearning in this fashion, he convinced hovering over his , a big smile on those whose path differed ftom his own, the rash yeshiva to test him again, and his face. "Everyone came back tired from and how he pursued those discussions this time he was accepted. a hike - Yochai was in the beis rnidrash; with a thirst to arrive at the truth and Neighbors ftom reported that everyone was at some kind of celebra- with genuine respect for another point when he returned home for Shabbos, he of view. Every week, he would visit could be found learning for eight hours his elderly great grandmother in straight in the local beis midrash. just Jerusalem, and play his flute to glad­ three weeks before he was murdered, he den her heart. Yehonadav was shot had completed the study of all Shulchan in the back as he stooped to pick Aruch, with its principal commentaries. up a Shev Shmaytza that had fallen Daron was buried together with the to the floor in the tumult. blood-soaked Tur he was learning when he was shot. In a similar fashion, Neria Cohen, 16, was buried together with the t is hard to look at pictures blood-drenched tractate Nedarim he of the smiling, baby face of was learning as part of his commitment I Avraham Dovid , and to daf hayorni. Just a few weeks ago, he imagine what kind of monster turned out the lights in the local beis could have deliberately sought to midrash at I :45 a.m., after completing destroy that smile. Only 16, he his beloved daf for the day. had already mastered a number of masechtos and knew three sedarirn tion - Yochai was in the beis midrash; of Mishnayos be' al peh. Yet, when he egev Peniel Avichayil, 15, was everyone was studying for a test-Yochai asked a question in shiur or sought Avraham David Moses' chavru­ was in the beis midrash." to offer a solution, it was always with Ssa, and they were mowed down At the shiva, Yochai's father, the incredible modesty and an effort to hide together. They shared the same studious Mashgiach in Yeshiva! Hakotel, related how much he knew. nature and determination to understand that after first grade, when Yochai was At the shiva house, Avraham David's each sugya with clarity. During the informed that there would be a two­ mother related how he had regularly shiva, Segev Peniel's father related that month summer vacation, he wrote davened in a haneitz rninyan. One he had always stood up for him when a letter to the Minister of Education tin1e, a roommate placed a note on his he came into the room, and had been vehemently protesting the length of bed saying that one must also take into eager to learn together with him from account those who do not arise for an early age.

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I Segev Peniel regularly visited hospi- If only by , tals to sing and dance for the patients. I, His father once asked him whether he remOVtng any

1,1; didn't feel embarrassed to sing and sense that our shuls dance in front of strangers. He could not understand the question: V11hy should and batei midrash [ anyone be embarrassed to make some- , one else happy? somehow exist

1 One of 18-year-old Roi Roth's class- , mates described how he had taught him above and beyond ! how to daven. He was often seen shed- ! ding copious tears, even during a week- the fray, the 500 or

, day Shemoneh Esrei, and was invariably ,m,, ..e b' U,,lf,ets jiot ..ed one of the last to leave the beis midrash 0 ' ' H ' 'II after every tefilla. Yet, there was nothing in the Mercaz Harav , sad or heavy about him. He recently I came over to a downcast looking friend librarv struck and pushed his lips into a smile. I I __ the entire A visitor to the Avichayils' modest, I The youngest of the murdered olam haTorah. sefer-lined apartment wrote to a friend I was Neria Cohen, 15, the son of how she expected to find a "terrible Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen, a rabbi scene of crying and shouting, of blam­ in Aish HaTorah's Hesderprogram. His that he had seen the question discussed ing and lots of unanswered questions." I father eulogized him in terms of his in a teshuva of the Chasam . What she and her husband encountered I refusal to ever settle for anything less was just the opposite. Rabbi Avichayil sat than the complete truth. His Gemara with total composure and spoke of how rebbi (as quoted in Hamodia) reported The strength and faith of the the tragedy had only deepened his faith that after receiving a perfect score on a families of the murdered young and love of Hashem, and that of his wife I test just a few days before he was killed, men made a tremendous impres- and their remaining children. The visi­ Neria had still wanted to discuss one of sion. At the levaya, there were no calls tor left "knowing I was in the presence the questions, which he did not feel he for revenge, just repeated affirmations of greatness and would probably never I had fully comprehended. of emuna. (It took four days for Israeli encounter strength like this again." I Rabbi Aviad Trop, the founder of police to deny a widely broadcast news In the Hirschfeld home, Yehonadav , Vedibartem Barn, told me about his story that the police were investigating Chaim's parents and 12 siblings under­ I I hospital visit to Nadav Eliyahu Samuels, the planning of revenge attacks by stu- took not to discuss the tragedy at all on whose grandfather davens in the same dents at Mercaz Harav.) A reporter from Shabbos, and to conduct their Shabbos shul as I in Jerusalem's Har Nof neigh- Israel News asked one student whether meals as always. borhood. Nadav Eliyahu, 14, was saved he wanted to kill Arabs in response to only because he somehow refrained the murders. The young man disap- from crying out, despite having shrapnel pointed him by replying, "What to do tragedy of this magnitude inev­ in both his arms and legs and a bullet with the Arabs is up to Hashem," before itably triggers many feelings. I hole in his leg that has already required returning to the beis midrash. A One was of a renewed sense of two surgeries. Less than a week after A student of Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen vulnerability. There are thousands of [ his brush with death, he lay immobile described on the Aish Ha Torah website minyanim daily in Jerusalem and many 'I in his hospital bed, but with a Gemara meeting Rabbi Cohen in the Old City crowded batei midrash. It is not possible I , propped up in front of him. He did not of Jerusalem around midnight on the to place a guard outside each one. Nor talk about what had happened, but spent evening of the tragedy. Rabbi Cohen is there any reason to feel confident that the entire time speaking in learning with motioned him over and told him that a guard would succeed in preventing a

''II his uncle, a rav in Har Nof. When Rabbi his son Neria was missing, but did terrorist who did his homework and had Trop mentioned a question concerning not tell him that Neria was one of the the element of surprise on his side from I I whether a resident of Jerusalem who victims. He then asked him calmly to entering. Any Arab resident of Jerusalem I 1 sends rnishlo'ach manos to a resident of tell the two students he had invited for can travel freely throughout the city, and J ~ 7:~ Brak on the 15th of Adar has ful- Shabbos that it would not work out Arab workers are a regular fixture in all 1 Jerusalem neighborhoods. L.the , he immediately re-p-lie-d--t-his week. .I ------A P R I l 2 o o 8 ____-- ;=-1 r-=- The picture of the murderer was prominently I could not help wondering the next displayed the next day on the front page of the morning at Shacharis: What is there to official paper of Fatah under the title: Martyr. prevent another Arab who has been brainwashed to believe that his highest The picture of the murderer was promi­ tional hours of uninterrupted learning purpose in life is to give up his own nently displayed the next day on the in response to the mourning that had life to kill as many as possible front page of the official paper of Fatah fallen upon the entire olam haTorah. from entering here? And I doubt that (the party headed by Israel's would-be The Motza'ei Shabbos after the trag­ I was alone. peace partner Mahmoud Abbas), under edy, the Satmar Rebbe, the ideological If only by removing any sense that the title: Martyr. leader of anti- in the Orthodox our shuls and batei midrash somehow Nothing so distinguishes the Jews of world, told his Chassidim in Monsey, Israel from their enemies as the reaction "\i\Then a disaster like this occurs, inur­ to the death of children. The news of the derers penetrating into a yeshiva, it is as death of civilians in Israeli strikes on ter­ painful to Hakadosh Baruch Hu as the rorists who deliberately use Palestinian destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. This civilians as shields inevitably triggers is an overwhelming tragedy for all of us. gloom in Israel. Celebrations like that They were learning at that moment the which took place in san1e Torah we learn. The Gemara is the and an1ong Palestinians everywhere sa1ne Ge1nara." in the wake of the deliberate murders In addition to the Belzer Rebbe, the are unthinkable in Israel. Yet, they take prominent roshei yeshivos and Torah place in the Moslem world after every leaders who went to the levayos included: suicide bo1nbing. 1 Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach; Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Farbstein, Rosh Yeshivas Chevron; Rabbi Refael Shmulevitz and t is i1npossible to describe any con­ Rabbi Yitzchak Ezrachi, from the roshei sequence of the slaughter of eight yeshiva of Yeshivas Mir; Rabbi Asher I yeshiva bachurim as good. But the Weiss; and Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, execu­ terrible tragedy did break down, even if tive vice-president of Agudath Israel of only n10111entarily, 1nany of the divisions America. Rabbi Yoseif Shalom Elyashiv and barriers that characterize the Torah left his home to accompany one of the world of Eretz Yisroel. Immediately upon levayos as it passed by on the way to hearing the first reports of the massacre, Har Hazeisim. the Belzer Rebbe secluded himself in his There was nothing qualified or half­ room to recite Tehillitn, even though hearted about the expressions of identi­ thousands of Belzer Chassidim were fication with the eight yeshiva bachurim, then in Jerusalem to share the simcha mowed down in the middle of their of the bar mitzvah of the Rebbe's old­ studies. The Chareidi press stressed est grandson. The next day, the Rebbe the virtues of the victims at length, joined in the levaya, and on Sunday and covered in detail the participation exist above and beyond the fray, the morning, he went to visit those wound­ of the leaders of the Chareidi world in 500 or more bullets fired in the Mercaz ed in the hospital. the levayos. One could almost sense a Harav library struck the entire olam The Gerrer Rebbe was on the way desire to find a point of connection ha Torah. to Jerusalem for a yahrzeit tisch in between tv.,ro sectors of the religious Another thought concerned the honor of the Bais Yisroel and to spend world that frequently hold each other nature of our enemies. I have written parashas Shekalim with his Chassidim in at arm's length. numerous op-eds on the inability of Jerusalem when he heard the news. He The question that faces us now: ls the liberal imagination to comprehend immediately returned to . The there some way to build upon that the demons possessing much of the next n1orning, a notice appeared in the feeling of closeness in moments of joy Islamic world or the depths of hatred main Yeshiva urging thousands of as well as tragedy? Can we find a way found there. Yet, even 1 still find myself bachurim to take upon themselves addi- to acknowledge the ma'alos of those a1nazed and unable to fathon1 an entire whose path may be far from our own, population that could celebrate the l One slight ray of hope for the future: A Kuwaiti but who still learn the san1c Torah and wanton murders of innocent young paper conde1nned the inurders in Mercaz Harav, t l1e same Gemara, wh i1 e t hey are sti 11 not as Abbas always does as tactically damaging to , men holding only their holy books, with the Palestinian cause, but as an im1noral shedding alive, and not just after they have been I mass jubilation and passing out sweets. . ········------_____ 0 of'_"'_'o-ce~tblood~------cr~ell~t~kenfro~us? --~ TUE JE\VISH 08'\ERVER -1 ''ZECHOR YEMOS O,LAM

s Pesach approaches, we prepare ourselves to respond in Bretz Yisroe/, recalling his experi­ o the command of" Vehigadta ... You shall tell your ences with the Kopicznitzer Rebbe, on on that day saying: 'Because of this Hashem did for Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel me when I went out of Egypt"' (Shemos 13,8). In keeping with 7ji!''Yt. this mitzvah, we not only relate the narrative of the redemp­ Of course, rnuch of our inspiration tion from Egypt at the Pesach Seder, we relive it. Undoubtedly, and guidance in leading lives of Torah because of this" Vehigadta" element in our families, Kial Yisroe/'s integrity draw from the extraordinary extraordinary success in preserving its sacred mesora ( transn1is­ devotion to limud haTorah (study) in sion of Torah values and way of life) through the millennia is the pre-War yeshivos. In the two articles unmatched among the nations of the world. that follow, we have - first - Rabbi In truth, this is not a once-a-year experience, but an ongo­ Labish Becker's review of Rabbi ing force in Jevvish life. In generation after generation, every Paysach Krohn's Traveling senior member of Kial Yisroel responds to the summons fron1 With the Maggid: A journey "Ha'azinu" - Moshe Rabbeinu's parting Song of Blessing to to great torah centers of the Jewish People. His opening directive was: "Zech or ye mos yesteryear. This is fol­ a/am, binu shenos dor vador .. .. Remember the days of yore, lowed by an apprecia­ understand the years of generation after generation. Ask your tion of the interaction father and he will relate it to you, your elders and they will tell between veteran talmi- you" ( 32,7). dim of Litvishe yeshivas From studying the pattern of history, we can learn what to of two generations ago anticipate and how to respond to new challenges. The focus and their conte1npo- is on the key word" shenos:' It can be translated, as above, "the rary American counter­ years" wherein our history took place, in era after era. This word parts, in effect bringing can also be understood as related to "leshanos" - to change together the Litvishe fron1 time to tirne. No two eras are identical. Seek out what legacy with our own distinguishes our particular situation. On the other hand, the young men ... bringing Hebrew word "shenos" can iinply repetition fron1 one tin1e to this precious mesora to another. Which meaning of" shenos" is applicable today? life: "Mirrer Image: To know how to effectively approach a current situation, Of People, Places, & one must seek out the advice of zekeinecha-your elders, your Powerful Imprints;' rabbinical guides.' by Yaakov Polskin. In the pages that follow, we tap into specific events and leading personalities who had a profound effect on the fate -N.W. of Kial Yisroel. The first article conveys impressions of the historic Marienbad World Agudah Conference - the first post­ World War II international gathering of Agudath Israel, just over 60 years ago - as recalled by one of the participants, Reb Yosef Friedenson rm, longtime Agudah leader, and founding editor of Dos Yiddishe Vort, Agudath Israel of America's highly regarded language journal of thought and opinion. In addition, we are fea­ turing a chapter from Bin1echitzasan1, the mem­ oirs of Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz, r~n, longtime leader of Agudath Israel

------~~·----- I This multi-di111ensional understanding of "she nos dor vador" was heard fron1 the late Rabbi Eliezer Kirzner 7"Yt, for­ mer rav of Congregation Bnei Yehudah in Boro Park ·------~ YEMOS 0LAM ... REMEMBER Tl-IE DAYS OF YORE

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JOSEPH fRIEDENSON 1 THE 1947 MARIENBAD WORLD AGUDAH CONFERENCE: II '' IFll WITH HISTORIC CONSEQUENCES Translated and aa•ap1:ea from Dos Yiddishe \fort, Ta1mnw;dA 5767 (August

EYES ON THE FUTURE One can well imagine how it felt, after opportunity to share the podium with ix decades ago, in 1947 ( 5707), enduring the bitter years of ghettos and prominent personalities. a conference of the International concentration camps, to see once again I'm not certain why this event SCentral Council of Agudas Yisroel the beloved Agudah leader from , was designated as a "Conference of took place in Marienbad, Austria. All Reb ltche Meir Levin ~,..,, and to meet the International Central Council." these years later, I cannot recall every other Agudah personalities from Bretz The truth is that the original Central detail of what transpired there, but I Yisroel, England and the United States. Council (which was headed by the can certain1y never forget this event. Their names were well-known, but most Reisher Rav, Hagaon Rav Aharon To the young activists fr om , of the younger people had only heard Levine i"'i'1, who was elected to this Austria, France, Belgium, Hungary, and or read about them, and had never met post at the third Knessia Gedola) was Poland who attended the conference, it them in person. For that matter, it was destroyed by the Nazis, who mur­ was equally unforgettable. equally exhilarating to meet the younger dered the overwhelming majority of For some reason, this conference generation of leaders, who took upon its members. Only a few members of seems to have been largely overlooked by themselves the daunting but vital task the Council survived. historians. It is fair to say, however, that of breathing new life into the tattered But come to think of it, perhaps this it played a significant role in paving the remnants of European Jewry, and revi­ designation was appropriate after all. way for the rebirth of religious Jewry in talizing communities that had been so Reb Yaakov Rosenheim in New York, the years following , and cruelly decimated. Reb Itche Meir Levin in Yerushalayim, it was crucial to the re-emergence of For me personally, it was an over­ and Reb Aharon Goodman in London, Agudas Yisroel as an important organi­ whelming experience. I was almost the after consulting with gedolim, wished to zation in the Torah world. only one of the younger generation demonstrate that, despite the horrible who was personally acquainted with churban and all the grievous losses that MR. fRIEDENSON the older, pre-War Agudah leaders. I Kial Yisroel had suffered during the IS THE FOUNDING had been privileged to meet most of Holocaust, we had managed to survive, EDITOR OF Dos them before the war, because during and organized Orthodoxy was not ready YIDDISHE VORT, the 20s and 30s, they were often guests to surrender in its struggle to perpetuate AGUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICAS at our home in Lodz. Some of them our glorious legacy. The Central Council YIDDISH-LANGUAGE remembered me as Yossele, a little cheder was the legitimate heir to the pre-War MONTHLY JOURNAL yingel, and now, here I was, a delegate body of the same name, and was deter­ OF THOUGHT AND to an international conference, \Vith an n1ined to continue its work. OPINION. r=-- TH E J E ~I !LH 0 8 SERVER This is also the reason that the conference took place specifically in Marienbad, in the same city and, in fact, the very same hall that housed the last 1 Knessia Gedo/a, which had taken place before the war, ten years earlier. It also (718) 972-4003 explains why much effort was made to include as many delegates as possible :i-~.,~­ ib~tv I from the DP (Displaced Person) camps. Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin, ?"Yr It was in these camps that former con­ Specializing in small batim for a perfect fit. centration camp inmates launched small are doubtlessly remembering the Agudas Yisroel groups which evolved Knessia Gedo/a that took place in into bastions of revitalized Yiddishkeit the same hall ten years earlier. The KARKA IN ERETZ YISROEL among the Holocaust survivors. scene brings to mind the passuk Call Rabbi Gavriel Beer for information on I Although these she'eiris hapleita del­ in Ezra (3,12), which was indeed obtaining cemetery plots in Beth Shemesh and other locations in Israel. egates were not official members of the quoted by Harav Hagaon Klein Agudah Central Council, they were de (the Nurenberger Rav) of Haifa: 011-972-2-656-9427 i facto leaders and Agudas Yisroel activ­ 'But many of the elder Kohanim, ists, and were functioning in the same , and heads of families, who Unde Moishy, Dedi way as those who were officially elected. had beheld the Bayis Rishon on its Avrohom Fried, In the DP camps, they were the ones foundation, wept loudly when this I who established the kosher kitchens [second] Temple was before their and other leading and the mikvaos, and organized youth eyes, while many [i.e., those who Jewish entertainers I homes. For thousands of boys and had not seen the Bayis Rishon] are available I girls, these Agudah youth homes were a raised their voices in joyous shouts.' to visit miraculous lifesaver, and enabled them Yes, we are happy, we have leaders, to return quickly to a fully observant baruch Hashem, but those who lived seriously ill I lifestyle. In the two years following the through the original Agudah meet­ 'hildren thanks to I liberation, these homes also played a ing in Kattowice and the first three SIMCHAS CHAVA ,·,., ~ crucial part in helping establish many Knessiyos are crying, because many Ml:W)"Of':J ''""" I new families. The love and esteem of the glorious leaders of old are no n''V :li?V' ,, n:i nin AChessed project run by I with which these delegates from the longer with us .... " Agudath Israel of America DP camps were greeted by the Agudah I recall the deeply moving words, in conjunction with Suki & Ding Productions 'J• I leaders and all the other delegates were delivered by the Unsdorfer-Frankfurter To set up an appointment, call: , f.· ', richly deserved, indeed. Rav, Rav Horowitz, which opened the (212) 797-9000 Ext.235. . "'. I

MEMORIES AND HOT TEARS

he opening of the conference was very impressive and profoundly Tmoving, but for many attendees, it aroused mixed feelings. These feelings were best described by Reb Avraham Ziemba ~n, one of the she'eiris hapleita delegates, in a report on the convention which appeared just two weeks later (on Erev Rosh Hashana 5708) in Dos Yiddishe Vort in Munich. Here are his words (in free translation): "Glancing up at the table where • Mishnah and Gemara study services [

the members of the presidium are • Completion of entire Shishah Sedarim r· seated, one sees a number of emi­ • Completion of missing masechtos nent Agudah personalities. One also • On time for sh!oshim or yahrtzeit ! sees some of them constantly wip­ • Tax deductible I acceptable for ma'aser I • N"D)?VJ D'JJlil '''1) .nr.iJOilJ L the tears from their eyes. The~------. ------·------~ APRIL 2008

conference. The heartfelt recitation of which appeared in the issue of Dos masses who have Tehillim of Rav Semiatitzki ':>"~is like­ Yiddishe Vort mentioned above. There becon1e estranged wise nnforgettable, and Hagaon Reb Elya I wrote: from Yiddishkeit. "It Meir Bloch's heart-searing memorial "The audience cairned down only is time,'' said Rabbi to the kedoshim and his rendition of when Rabbi Bloch related that in Levin emphatically, "Keil Malei Rachamim" will be forever 1938, after the Germans occupied "to progress beyond engraved in my heart. Indeed, as I sat Czechoslovakia, he saw in a Nazi our modest, limit­ listening to his words, I silently shed a newspaper a photograph taken dur­ ed goals, and start torrent of tears. ing the time of the third Knessia. The thinking on a much But I recall the way Rabbi Bloch, picture showed the Gerrer Rebbe larger scale!" Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch, 7"~l despite his own hot tears, managed to walking in Marienbad with some Appropriately, boost the spirits of his listeners, and of his followers, and the caption Rabbi Levin's speech was followed by conclude his speech on an optimistic underneath read: 'Marienbad will that of Reb Aharon Goodman, the note about the present and the future. no longer witness such scenes.' 'But,' political secretary of the World Agudah, Here it is worthwhile to quote a para­ concluded Rav Bloch triumphantly, who immediately set an optimistic tone graph of my report on the conference, 'as we all can see, such scenes are by noting that Agudas Yisroel, despite all witnessed here. The Nazi foe lies its horrendous and bitter losses during Eretz Yisroel's decimated, and Yidden in shtreirn­ the Holocaust, remained a formidable Most Reliable Shomer Shabbos lach stroll once again through the force. This, he observed, could be seen and English Speaking Car Service streets of Marienbad!", from the conference itself, in which rep­ resentatives of no fewer than 28 nations Visiting Israel? Need Transport? TIME FOR EXPANDING GOALS participated. "Wherever there is a pulse -CHOOSE- of Jewish life, wherever there exists a abbi Bloch's concluding words Jewish heartbeat, there is an Agudah Menashe Sopher's were a fitting introduction to the presence," declared Mr. Good1nan. Airport & Limousine Service Rofficial opening speech of Rabbi He went on to make the following Celebrating 12 years of unbeatable .~ervice! Yitzchak Meir Levin, which was a fiery interesting observation, one that was OiJR EFFICIENT ENGLJSll-SPEAKING OJTICE STAFF, call to rebuild Yiddishkeit wherever pos­ genuine cause for optimisn1 and gave l'ULLY-LlCENSED, INSURED & AIR-CONDtTIONED VANS, DRIVEN BY jEWlSll, POLITE DRIVERS, sible. "Agudas Yisroel must now come hope for the future. He noted that ARE TAILOR-MADE FOR ALL OCCASIONS out with a mighty call of'Shuva Yisroel1" when one attends a Zionist congress, 1.118.360.5083 t''·;; ,c I Rabbi Levin cried out. He declared that there is little evidence of continuity. 1 we should not be satisfied with bringing The children of the Zionists are hardly www.msophcra1rport.co1n,~1:,:~:~;h~~i~::~ -~I~ back only "our own," but we should be to be found. Among the Agudah leaders, courageous enough to reach out to the by contrast, it is an entirely different In Israel: 02-533-3425 story. He cited the following examples: I coach people to help the1n realize their "Over a year ago, we lost Rabbi Moshe Can a Life-Coach own drea1ns and an1bitions. I help the1n Blau':>"! , but his son Rav Amram is here help you realize plan, prograin, and stay 1notivatcd. with us at this conference. At almost WHY COACHING? Improving one's the same time, Dr. Yitzchak Breuer your dreams? life 1neans making change; and people need left us, but his son Rav Mordechai has support and structure to keep distractions and obstacles from swa1nping their drea1ns and goals. joined us at this gathering. This is the Moreover, people rarely see their own capabilities in full measure. A coach is a per· power of a movement whose roots are son who by tempera1nent, experience, and training is dedicated to help you grow and in Torah .... " achieve your own drca1ns. A coach never loses confidence in his client's ability! Incidentally, Mr. Goodman paid me I have over thirty years experience in helping people fulfill their dreruns, have a personal compliment in his speech authored books, articles and produced cassette progra1ns on this subject. In 2-3 nlonths, using weekly private phone sessions, you can learn ho\v to when he said the following: "I erred effectively take control of your life. in thinking that Reb Eliezer Gershon FREE OFFER - I would be happy to give you a free telephone Friedenson is no longer alive. He lives conference. Please call USA 845-352-1175 for an appointment. through his son Yosef Friedenson, who Thank you. - MR. Av1 S1-n1tJl.i..\J"i came to our conference from Munich. Live a Life of Design, Not Default Chazal have taught us that when one leaves behind a son who possesses his qualities, then the term 'death' does not apply to him." I T H E J E W I S II 0 J3 S E R V F. R

Underscoring, by their very pres­ ence, the happy sentiment about the continuity of Agudas Yisroel were PINCFIAS .1\£ANI>E.L Over 50 years experience in Kvura in .E~rerz Yisrael the delegates of the she'eiris hapleita Serving rfie North American Pub/JC and Funeral Industry whose speeches followed that of Mr. ?N'lc.n }'1N 1'N il1lJ.j7 11N Vi'1i' Goodman: Rabbi Meisels of Bergen Personal responsibility throughout service - NOT JUST "PAPERWORK" Belsen, the Sharmosher Rav; Rabbi ORIGINATOR OF THE PRESENT RABBINICALLY APPROVED METHOD Ausibel, the Ulmer Rav; and Rabbi Highly recommended by Gedolai Hador- Here and in Eretz Yisrael Yisroel Moshe Olevsky; the Tzellar Rav, 162S-42nd Street, , NY 11204 zichronam livracha. Day & Night phone: (718) 851-8925 ]))ti>ON1~0Nj7 l'l"j7 - )'1:J 1Nl n10)1)) 'll~ ERETZ YISROEL ON Kavod Haniftar with Mesiras Nefesh and compassion for the bereaved family. THE AGENDA TAHARAS HANIFTAR SHOULD NEVER BE COMMERCIALIZED

etz Yisroel's status occupied a prominent place during the open­ Bng session. It was high on the agenda of the United Nations, which had been founded a year earlier in the It hurts United States. It certainly occupied the 1oc minds of many Yidden, and in particu­ lar, the half million European Jews who had survived the Holocaust, and were seeking some sanctuary where they could finally feel safe. Many of them were looking towards Bretz Yisroel in hope of finding a haven there. Regarding the future of Bretz Yisroel, • however, there were varying opinions. To be sure,almost all Jews and all Jewish parties were furious with England for breaking the promise set forth in its own Balfour Declaration, to make It hurts Palestine a Jewish state. In 1939, when I the situation of European Jewry was so critical, Britain came out with its I. infamous «White Paper," which severely I restricted immigration to Bretz Yisroel. I All Jewish organizations demanded that

'.·I Britain fulfill the obligations, which were part of its original mandate. These It feels better just to talk about it. That's [ demands were expressed very sharply why we're here. Our staff is made up of , by Rabbi Dushinsky and Rabbi Y. M. caring and sensitive individuals. Together, Levin when they appeared before the we can help you explore your options. We I can refer you to recognized professionals United Nations. for counseling, legal advice or help in I But when England decided to give finding a safe environment. We can also I up the Israel mandate a year after the put you in touch with some very special . But in order for us to reach out to , war, and to leave the question of what to you, you must first reach out to us. I do with Israel up to the UN, the parti- [ tion plan, which would create a Jewish Confidential Hotline 1.888.883.2323 · state and an Arab state in Bretz Yisroel, (Toll Free) I was once again revived. This concept 718.337.3700 generated serious controversies in most Do it for yourself. (NYC Area! I Jewish parties. Even among the Zionists, J there was not universal acceptance of L __ _ _ _: fo• you• :~~-'"''' ••~=~j APRIL 9.008

England's pre-War partition plan, which homeland would not be possible without were striving to establish a Jewish state would have meant establishing a Jewish prolonged wars with the Arabs and many that would be" kechol hagoyim," and any country in only part of Bretz Yisroel. thousands of lost lives. state that they would establish, while The situation was no different in Most of the Holocaust survivors were it might be a state composed of Jews, Agudas Yisroel; there were differing opin­ in favor of establishing a Jewish state would not be a Jewish - i.e., Torahdig - ions about the partition issue just as there because, after having endured so much state. Such a nation would constitute a were ten years previously, at the third suffering at the hands of non-Jews, rebellion against the Ribbono she/ Olam Knessia Gedo/a. There were those in the they could not imagine being able to 7"1. Besides, such a state would not last Agudah leadership who subscribed to live a decent life among , even long, so why risk so many lives for a the view that only with its own indepen­ the "good" ones among them. There state that would have no long-term dent state could the Jewish people solve were others, however, who recalled the prospects? the terrible and widespread problem of warning of a number of gedolim, who Moreover, there were more than a homelessness, a problem which was par­ declared that Jews must never will­ few within the Agudah who lived in ticularly acute after the war. Only such ingly agree to a partition of Eretz Yisroel, fear because they were convinced that a a state would open its doors wide and thereby relinquishing any part of the Zionist state would forcibly exclude any permit unrestricted Jewish immigration land that was promised to us by the place for Torah in the Holy Land. (The to the historic Jewish homeland. Ribbono shel Olam. truth is that these fears were not unrea­ There were those, however, who 1'here were also those in our circles sonable, because there were some Zionist argued that it would be unrealistic for who feared the consequences to Torah leaders who had in the past striven to the Jews to ask for a homeland of their if a Jewish state were to be eradicate Torah from the Jewish people, own. Even if the UN were to accede established. They were aware that the and had even enlisted governmental aid to this demand, establishing a Jewish overwhelming majority of the Zionists to bolster their efforts.) Agu.das Yisroel tones, "The que~tion is, are yon or are you !lot prepared to a.ccept.the authorit;y of the AfoetzesGedoleiHaTorah?" The ~?arp cha!\el\ile elect~i~ed tlie air, and .~ excited, &th~~'!{~i l''.'~l'.(;tantsil<:l'c,e <,$fg11~1ur the '!\!dit0riµin.•A!I eyes focused '?!1·· !'1eJead~r of}?~ .P<)alei Agud&>; a!ld .eyeryone .. waited ';\'ith b~t~ bf!'~th•~() h~~ how he would respond to the Rosh .A9u;il9~ Yeshiva's po~te4 •. \J.\!'OS~\1· Slowly, R~~ ~!au eased his frame <;>ut. ofhis seiu iu;~ got l\P t() face the 11.osh Yeshiva. He .then t.tlie ~nvention, o.& of fliekey i~ti~stl\at ~eup cautiou5ly But tirW1Y worded his reply a~ follows: "Yes, we ~q::pt the aµth0rµ.y of .the Moetzes Gedolei Ha Torah -pro- ··.···.A ·.... ··.·•· PoaleiAgudah.w.a•.s···.t ...h ... ·e··.~e.l.at ..... i.ons.h.ip··.·. For some B··.e.. tw····.e···· time,.. e···11A·····g····.·u···· there d·.. •...as had.been Yi.1s···ro·······.e .. 1····.a······.n·.··a•.t··.h constant.. ·.·e. .yi.ne in the "-working rehi.tion.sJlipwithJheZ\<;mi~t establis.h11.1ent, J.'he h.~l;\n.lY )"as,_ in fact, ta11tamount to azefusal 011 the part of .·9'" f?e Agn.4~D°J'?i~,il1 t11m, hinged \!P<;'l1 the qµesti()l1 of ~l'te P\")lei Alll\d'!h..to.~e gover!led abs0lut~·l·y~y the Moetzes ';l'hether !l'J!l?~til<:Pol'leiJglld&' )"as )"illill.g to subll.'!t to G<;dQ}~iff.aJ'%1fh. ;} . < ·. •· .. . ..• tile '!llthofi~y•n.ftht;j~oe/>:es G:•dglei HaJ!Jrah, the \'OUl'l~il I''.'\''."•ah~storif_.:"}Ome!lt, signaling l!s. it \lid the opell split <;>f le~di!'lg 'rotah.sage"c to )"hom. t!Je A11u4ah. ?ad pled,~ed betweeJ\ the Ag\!d1'1i. al\d the f9alei Agudah: As a matter of unquestioning obedience.. j~ was l\nde~.tn.od By ~l p~ti~s f~f..t~ d!lring thef?ll: Yisr1>el, the P<;>alei that at the conference,a showdown )"ould tal1ce, ~a A~\!dah parti£ipated ~s. '\11. i.!1dej>enuDAH -coN~ERENCi -;iN (l~he;-l'ro111inent l;'~r,sonalities,while thf l;'oalei Ag1.1dah uN'G'- ~~~1iE~--O~-T~E AM~-e:icAN; ciELEGAT10N:- WA~ ON _ega~io!l, he(\d~dbyReB.Yehl1da Blau, .c\loseto *tog_~,\v_~~~Ji,-l,:EP ~ :TH_~;_fI}'i_AL ~Pt.IT_ ~:E'?'j!EN ~9uot-s .,Y1sR6EL AND-THE'P-0ALEJ AGUDAH. AN ARTICL£-ON.THE CONFERENCE:WOULD BE ' denl'.t'. At one point Rabbi Bloch stood up, and, pointing to --11~.rCoMPi:ETEW1TuOu:r-irihs sToRY, W~1cH RABei EuAs:NEVf:R F-oRo-oTi A-No wAs Blau, brought matters to a head By declari11g in ri!lging K,l~D l>~OiJG_H-T-0 ~H..\~1;: WITH_ THE TRAJ,51.ATQJl 01'. THE ADIOJNING_:~,1~.JICLE. 6 ~-·====-··-·~~~~~~~~~~-,;=T~H=E~=J=E~W~l=S=H~=O~B=S='=E=R~V=E~R;;:-~~~~~~~~~~

On the other hand, there were those Reb Amram Blau warmly shook hands conference, I renewed my ties with who argued that rescuing the Jews who with Reb Moshe Binyomin Kleinman, Rabbi Y. M. Levin, and with his dear had no home and no roof over their the veteran warrior of Poalei Agudas brother Reb Pinya, with Mr. Aharon heads could only be brought about Yisroel. Everyone was happy .... Goodman, and with Reb Moshe Prager, by a Jewish state. Furthermore, these One of the most dramatic episodes and these connections for many years people claimed that many Jews were of the conference occurred during the played an important role in my activities so shattered and demoralized after closing session. Reb Y. M. Levin publicly in Agudas Yisroel. witnessing and suffering through the read the names of the leading gedolim of Incidentally, my journalistic career terrible destruction in that only that era who would serve as the Moetzes also began at that conference. My cor­ the"compensation" of having their own Gedolei Ha Torah, the supreme authority respondence with Rabbi Moshe Porush, state would prevent these people from within the Agudah. When the speaker the Agudah leader in Yerushalayim, and fleeing any association with the Jewish asked the delegates to indicate their his son Rabbi Menachem, as well as people and losing themselves among acceptance, they rose to their feet and my close relationship with the Telzer the gentiles. instinctively cried out as one, "Na'aseh , Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch venishmaf' This was followed by a lively ';··YT, Rabbi Shlomo Rotenberg':> .. Y!, and RESOLVED: No RESOLUTION rikkud accompanied by a chorus of Rabbi Yosef Elias and others began in enthusiastic voices singing "Veyei'asu Marienbad. his issue of whether or not to chulam aguda echas la'asos retzoncha But in truth, it is not just its per­ I establish a Jewish state was the beleivav shaleim." At that moment, those sonal meaning to me that makes the Tsubject of heated discussions present appreciated the deeper meaning Marienbad Conference important in my at the Agudah conference, and propo· of these words, and understood the true eyes. Gazing backwards through time, nents of each side had their respective significance of the conference, which I see its greater significance. More than supporters among the gedolim of the transformed dynamite into glue .... twenty new young Agudah askanim, time. Although each side insisted that drawn from the DP camps, as well as the Agudah leadership adopt a resolu· IN RETROSPECT from a number of rejuvenated Agudah tion endorsing its views, at the end, organizations, attended the Marienbad for the sake of maintaining peace and ix decades have passed since that gathering. It was there that they were unity, it was decided that no resolution conference in Marienbad, and I inspired to continue and expand the would be issued, and that instead, the Sfind it difficult to understand why work of Agudas Yisroel. Indeed, almost various opinions that were expressed at this important gathering was never con­ all of these young men went on to play the conference would be conveyed to sidered a major milestone in the history important roles in the revitalization I the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah for their of the Agudah. For me, personally, it was and dramatic growth of Agudas Yisroel decision. certainly very significant. in the aftermath of the Holocaust. The In his article in Dos Yiddish Vort, Why was it important to me? Was it exhilarating spirit of renewed hope and I Reb Avraham Ziemba describes the because, after five years of being under the sense of responsibility to Kial Yisroel closing days of the conference, when Hitler's rule, it was the first time that that pervaded the conference would after long debates on Matza' ei Shabbos, I encountered so many of my father's have a far-reaching impact for years to the resolution committee convened dear and highly esteemed friends, whom come, an impact which would play an I Sunday morning in an effort to bring I had never expected to see again? It's important role in reshaping the Torah I everyone together and conclude the possible. Perhaps it was because at the landscape across the entire world. li!l conference on a note of unity. The de!· egates paced the corridor impatiently, eager to hear some news. At long last, PRINCIPAL of GENERAL STUDIES - HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION Reb Moshe Prager emerged from behind For Academic year 2008-09 closed doors, his face wreathed with a triumphant smile, and announced SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, BALTIMORE enthusiastically that peace had been achieved, and there was achdus on all QUALIFICATIONS: Record of Leadership and Innovation, Effective fronts. A bottle of fine Czech whiskey Communicator, Advanced Degree Preferred quickly appeared, and soon the young editor of"BeSha'ar,"Yechiel Granatstein, DUTIES INCLUDE: Curriculum Implementation and Assessment Professional Development and Staff Management was drinking a lechayim with the griz· zled but still dynamic editor of "Kol Inquire in confidence: Dr. Jakobovits, Yisroef' in Yerushalayim, Rabbi Moshe Vaad Hachinuch Chair, 410 908-5214; Email CV: [email protected] Glickman-Porush, while the iron kanai

17 j=.______z_ .._· {; H 0 R Y E M 0 S 0 L A M . . . R E M E M B E R T H E 0 A Y S 0 f' Y 0 R E i In the Aura of the KOPYCZNITZER Frnm !he Memoirs REB BE ol Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz

WHEN REB AHARON the building. After having spent a few SAID ''THE REBBE" months in the United States withont managing to raise the requisite funds, abbi related that the Ponevezher Rav came to bid the when his father, Rabbi Aharon Kopycznitzer Rebbe farewell. When the RKotler, was hospitalized for medi· Rebbe asked how mnch he had sncceeded cal treatment, Reb Aharon asked if in collecting, the Ponevezher Rav burst anyone had mentioned his situation to ont in tears, crying that he had not "the Rebbe:' even succeeded in raising the minin1u1n "To which Rebbe is the Rosh Yeshiva amonnt he needed, and that he had no Of all the great referring?" asked one of his relatives. idea how he would be able to cope with "When I say 'the Rebbe,"' Reb Aharon the yeshiva's heavy debts. Chassidic I retorted, "I mean the Kopycznitzer "After the Rav left, my father sat by the was privileged to know, Rebbe." telephone, called a few people, and raised Reb Shneur added that his father $10,000 dollars. (I have no idea whether the unique image of sent every chassan in the yeshiva to the it was in donations or a loan.) He then the Kopycznitzer Rebbe, Kopycznitzer Rebbe to receive a beracha asked me to go with him to the place before the wedding. where the Ponevezher Rav was staying. with whom I was very At a certain gathering of gedolei Torah When my father placed the money (a close, stands out. at which both Reb Aharon and the huge sum of money in those days) on the Kopycznitzer Rebbe were present, Reb table, the Rav again bnrst ont crying. He He gained the respect Aharon turned to the Rebbe and asked said that in the entire time he had been in and admiration of his opinion on the issue under discus­ the United States, he had not succeeded sion. When Reb Aharon was later asked in raising such a large sum." gedolei hador from all why the Rebbe's opinion was so impor­ across the spectrum. tant to him, he answered, "The Torah "!AM NOT A MIRACLE was given to the Jewish People in order WORKER" to purify them - and the Kopycznitzer Rebbe has purified himself' (Heard from n 1938, shortly before World War the Rebbe's grandson, Rabbi Avraham II broke out, Rabbi Y. A. came to Yehoshua Heschel) I America from Austria. He came alone, as he thought that his wife would RABBI LORINCZ REPRESENTED AGUOATH ISRAEL WITH THE PONEVEZHER RAV follow him after he secured the necessary IN THE ISRAEU KNESSET FROM 1951-1948, DURING WHICH TIME HE WAS AN INTIMATE OF A NUMBER OF papers for her. But he was unsuccessful in TORAH LUMlNARl£S OF THE PAST HALF CENTURY. heard the Ponevezher Rav say that were doing so, and she remained in Europe. T11£ EXTENSIVE NOTES THAT HE KEPT ON THOSE he to become a Chassid, he already His wife's precarious situation had MEETINGS SERVE AS THE BASIS OF 8£MECHJTZASAM had a rebbe: the Kopycznitzer. a terrible effect on him, and he sank VOL I, NOW AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH. EXCERPTS I Rabbi Meshulem Zisha Heschel (Reb deeper and deeper into depression each WERE FEATURED IN THESE PAGES. THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS TAKEN FROM THE SECOND VOLUME, Zyshe), the Rebbe's son, related that day. He told his friends openly that he WHICH WAS DRAWN FROM lllS EARLIER EXPERI­ when the Ponevezher Rav first visited could not bear his anguish any longer, ENCES. IT!S ALSO BEING TRANSLATED INTO ENGl.ISH America, his yeshiva was in dire straits and that he was considering suicide. His BY DAFNA BREINES. dne to debts accumnlated to finance business partner told him, "Listen to me.

18 There is a rebbe who is a great tzaddik You: Don't turn me into a liar. I will say (I heard this story from the principals and is very wise. Let's go and ask him Tehillim, and You will listen and hear my involved.) what to do." prayers. You can do anything; please do Years after this story took place, The two of them went to the for me what I am incapable of doing Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Flintenstein, the Kopycznitzer Rebbe. Rabbi Y. A. broke on my own. Kopycznitzer Rebbe's grandson, vis­ out in sobs and cried out his story "Apparently," the Rebbe concluded, ited Antwerp. While there, he met hysterically, eventually saying outright "Hashem had mercy on me. He didn't Rabbi Chaim Mandel, an elderly Gerrer that he was considering taking his own want the Kopycznitzer Rebbe to become Chassid, who told him that he had life. The Rebbe heard him out, thought known to one and all as a liar who makes related the above story to the Gerrer for a few moments and then said, "I promises that he can't keep, so He heard Rebbe, the Beis Yisroel. promise you that your wife will be here my prayers. "The Rebbe was amazed at this two weeks from now." "But I am not a 1niracle worker, story. A little while later, he asked me Rabbi Y. A. was not a Chassid, but and I myself did absolutely nothing." to repeat it. Throughout the day, he the Rebbe's promise penetrated his heart and gave him a new lease on life. He left the Rebbe's house completely confident that his wife would indeed arrive in America within two weeks. And the Rebbe's words came true: His wife received a visa to the United States I. and arrived exactly two weeks after her husband saw the Rebbe. I This man's business partner (who was a Gerrer Chassid) was an1azed at I the miracle the Kopycznitzer Rebbe had I wrought. "How did the Rebbe perform such I a moifes?" he gathered up the courage to ask. I "! am not a baa! moifes (miracle I worker) at all," answered the Rebbe. "I THEVORT • The menu for the seuda is am incapable of performing miracles. .- "The ·vari ·ceie6iation. ls· ·tc,· ·be limited to 3 courses followed by a So, you ask, how could I have promised discontinued. The L'chaim (held at regular dessert. I this man that his wife would rejoin him the time that the engagement is • No Viennese table and no bar. in two weeks? announced) should also not turn "I saw the man's deep depression into a Vort. THE MUSIC on his face, and I knew that this was a i THE WEDDING case of , just as you said," • A band may consist of a maximum continued the Rebbe. "! came to the .- .F.or· typlca'i' tamiiies: 'ciri1}i· ·4oci of 5 musicians (one of the musicians I conclusion that since his life was in dan­ invited guests may be seated at the may act as a vocalist) or four musi­ ger, I 1nust do whatever I can to save his chassuna seuda. (The Guidelines cians and one additional vocalist. life. There was no way for me to bring make provision for exceptional • A one-man band is recom­ him out of his depression other than to circumstances - see full text.) mended. i promise him that he would be reunited • The kabbo/as panim smorgas­ with his wife within a certain amount bord should be limited to basic FLOWERS 8r. CHUPA DECOR I of time. I therefore had no choice but cakes, fruit platters, a modest buf­ .- 'rhe· icit·a·1 ·c0·s1 of· these· fteiris tai to tell him that she was going to arrive fet, and the caterer's standard the entire wedding should not I safe and sound. chicken or meat hot dishes. exceed $1,800. "After I gave him my promise and he left my home, I picked up my Tehillim. FOR THE FULL VERSION OF THE SIMCHA GUIDELINES I I started to cry: Hashem, Master of the WITH ITS RABBINICAL ENDORSEMENTS World, You know that I had no other means of saving this Jew from killing AND THE ACCOMPANYING KOL KOREH, I himself besides promising him that please call 212-612-2300 c:romised. I therefore beseech I I ------~~ APRIL 2008

asked to hear it over and over. When that the questioner was someone whom new son-in-law to spend a year in his the Beis Yisroel arrived at shul to daven he knew. presence, in order for him to learn the Mincha, he ordered me to repeat it yet "'Due to my many sins; replied the manners of conduct that were unique again for everyone to hear. When I fin­ Kopycznitzer Rebbe, 'I would not know to the Kopycznitzer dynasty. To that ished, the Beis Yisroel said, "Dus heist how to answer such a question. When end, the Rebbe asked me to obtain an a rebbeshe ma'aseh (That's a rebbeshe people ask me for decisions, I turn to exit pass from the Draft Office, without story)." (Heard from Rabbi Yitzchak the Ribbono she! Olam and ask that He which his son-in-law could not travel to Meir Flintenstein) allow me to answer properly in the merit the United States. of my holy ancestors, so that "those who At that time, no one in full-time "I WOULDN'T KNOW wait for You not be shamed through learning was able to obtain an exit pass, How TO ANSWER" me" (Tehillim 69,7). But; the Rebbe with the exception of extraordinary continued, 'that is only the case when circumstances such as illness. (I once (( I had the honor of sitting next to they come to ask me. Now, however, I asked then-Prime Minister and Defense the Kopycznitzer Rebbe at the am not the one who was asked; how Minister David Ben-Gurion why the gov­ chanukas habayis (dedication can I know how to answer? Better that ernment refused to allow yeshiva bachu­ ceremony) of the 'Menuchas Zekeinim' the Klausenberger Rebbe answer on rim to leave the country. After all, they retirement home;' recalled the late his own, as the questioner directed his were in any event not serving in the army. Klausenberger Rebbe .,.. ,.,."The Rebbe query to him."' Replied Ben-Gurion, "You say that Torah was a beloved, devoted friend, and his learning protects the country even more presence lent honor and prestige to the "I KNOW THAT IT Is NOT than the army. If that's the case, then I occasion. In the middle of the festivities, WITHIN MY POWER TO want them to learn here and protect us, a man approached me and asked that ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING" not to protect the United States:' As a I make a decision for him regarding a result, an absolute order was given not patient who had to undergo surgery. I ne of the Rebbe's daughters to let anyone possessing an exemption turned to the Kopycznitzer Rebbe for married a man from Bretz from army duty on the basis of full-time his opinion on the matter, and added 0 Yisroel. The Rebbe wanted his learning to leave the country.) "Impossible," I told the Rebbe, and related Ben-Gurion's position to him. "When my fellow Jews come to me;' answered the Rebbe, "I know that I can do nothing. I do not have the power to do anything to help them. But I have compassion for them, so I don't tell them that I am powerless. I hear their requests, and then I turn to Hashem ,,~9 ~ii>;> ~,t'.~~if9:>;R;>:> mo•J~ ;-in·. and ask Him to fulfill them. So don't """-'-_..,,_,....,..,.._...,---'--,F~~-,~+~"-~,~-~~":~ ~!>---<€~·,.,..,,....,,,,,. say that there's nothing you can do. You do what you can, and if Hashem sees fit, He will help." That was an objection that I couldn't refute. I went to see Mr. A. N ., the administrator of the Draft Office, and told him about my conversation with the Kopycznitzer Rebbe. "That's the story;' I said. "That's what the Rebbe said. I've done what I could. Now, please do what you can do:' Then I added, "I don't know if you have the authority to do anything, but I ask you all the same." He enjoyed the story very much. "It's true that I do not have the authority to do anything, but I'll try;' he answered. A few days later, Mr. A. N. called to tell me that the Rebbe's request had been granted, and that his son-in-law

20 I -=~~------·--·;;;-;;;T;;;•;;;•;;;r·;;;;;;;'=';;;';;;';;;';;;';;;. ;;;"=;;;O;;;B=s;;;r;;;; ;;;R;;;v=E=R;;;; ------

should go to the Draft Office to pick ing to do whatever is asked of me, but I ! up his exit pass. "Don't ask me how I leave the da' as Torah to others. Whatever did it," he added. they decide, I'll do:'

'/\LL You'RE MISSING ls NEVER LEFT MONEY A LITTLE BITACHON" OVERNIGHT • HOW to Evaluate Compatibility hen the Kopycznitzer Rebbe he Kopycznitzer Rebbe lived in • HOW to Marry lived in the United States, a Vienna at the time of the Nazi the RIGHT ONE! W young, destitute Holocaust TAnschluss. Even after the Nazi Order NOW! survivor who had lost most of his corps entered the city, the Rebbe did family attached himself to him. When not want to leave the Jewish com­ the bitterness in his heart became over­ munity there. Only after the situation

whelming, he unburdened himself to a CONTINUED ON PAGE 42 I member of the Rebbe's family, but asked that he not divulge the contents of their conversation to the Rebbe lest it cause him anguish. FATHER&SON The confidante had compassion for israel experienc(! . .·. .. the young man, and, despite his request, A challenging. & Inspiring August 19"'27,. 2()08 informed the Rebbe as to his emotional state. The Rebbe summoned him and 11 !Jil1~t® 911'1 ~;90~~ ·•· asked how he was doing, whereupon the young man poured out all his troubles and woes. "Do you owe people money?" asked the Rebbe. "No, I don't owe anyone anything." "How is your health?" "Thank G-d, just fine." "Do you have enough money to meet your current needs?" The young man answered that he had some money set aside, to which the Rebbe replied, "Now, look at my finan­ cial situation:· and took out a list of all his debts. "My health is also poorer than yours," continued the Rebbe, "so neither money nor physical well-being are the problem. All you are lacking is bitachon (trust) in Hashem. I bless you that He help with that as well." ( Koveitz Sichos IN E ETZ YISROEl p.11, as told by the Rebbe's grandson) JIINE 22 .. JIILY 23, 2008 "[AM A SIMPLE SOLDIER"

once asked the Kopycznitzer Rebbe • Kayaking, Camel Riding, Gof

I Uttered wor~ can so:eti~esbe more revea:n~ ~a~ t:e: ;p:a:ers:n:e:: ;h:y:a: be a source ofdeeperu~;.rsta-nd-i-ng---s-om-e 11 yielding smiles; others, tears. With the goal of mining contemporary quotations for insights, intended or otherwise, The Jewish Observer here continues its feature, "Of Public Record," which presents illuminating citations culled from various media. Of Public Record

84% "Reducing [population "P'mJ wortying that you guys - Percentage of Palestinians growth} and tfle human are askJng questions like this who support the attack on footprint are-tfle challenge using funds approved by the the Mercaz Harav yeshiva and responsibility of every appropriations committee that in which eight bnei yeshiva person on this planet. I am a member of." were murdered, according to The papBt' should not be - U.S. Congressman Palestinian pollster celebrating those who flaunt t•"l Mark Kirk, in his posting Khalil Shikaki responsible parenting." Ibid The New York Times, March 19 - Debbie Spivak of Providence, Rhode Island, in a letter to "dirty Jew" "The attack at tfle the editor of the local Jewish - Words written on the face of· I [Mercaz Harav} yeshiva newspaper, which carried a a 19-year-old wh0 was held was a barbaric murt/BI' of front page feature article about captive and abused in a Paris eight children who the Providence Kolle! suburb, a crime thatpolice,said I were engaged In religious was not being treated as .having Jewish Voice and Herald, I study ••• This odious and March 7 had a racial motive Inhuman terror attack Reuters, March 5 exemplmes the extremist "The Shoah fills us llemlans I and Inhuman path wilh shame. I bow tr1 tfle "ff people want Mozart instead of the terror organizations victims. I bow tr1 the survivors of Keil Malael Rachamlm, I Hamas and Hezbollah." and tr1 all those who helped that Is fine." them survive.!' - Reform movement I - An op-ed in the Kuwaiti - German Chancellor Angela representative Anat Hoffman, newspaper Al-Watan Merkel, speaking to the Knesset, celebratingthe announcement I The Jerusalem Post, March II the first German head of state to that Jerusalem city authoriti_es address the Israeli Parliament approved the building ofa I ''These vennln are Still Jewish Telegraphic Agency, secular cemetery (JBl'fonnlng rituals, stealing March 19 Forward, Febrt.tary 22 small children and draining VOICE OF MOD_l!RATION DEPT. tfleir blood tr1 make their ·~you people nuts?" "At lflis time, I object to ~e anned­ I sacred bread." - "Patricia in California;' posting sttuggte, since we are un;rble to - Poster on a wall in her response on a U.S. State conduct it; howe'flfll', fn _fuWre Novosibirsk, Russia Department weblog to the stages, things 11111' change.~' Haaretz, March 20 question: "Should the United ~ Palestinian Authority Presiclent States engage Hamas as part ''Well, yes. But not ... Mahmoud Abbas of its efforts to bring about The New _York Times, quoting remad