THE JEWISH BSERVER in this issue
"Did You Conduct Your Business With Faith?" Rabbi Avrohom Pam ...... 3 Bombing Auschwitz - a footnote to Jewish history Lewis Brenner ...... 8 A Letter of Guidance for These Troubled Times Rabbi Eliezer Schach ...... 12
Reb Reuvain Grozovsky l"!:i,:i7 i'',l.' ,:ii - 20 Years After His Passing, Nisson Wolpin ...... 15
Teaching The Fourth Son, Helene Ribowsky ...... 23
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Did You Conduct Your Business Affairs With Faith?
taken for granted. It is interest The Questions An eminent Rosh Yeshiva ing to note, however, that the After a person has lived his examines the implications Gemora uses the term ";iJ1?JKJ." years on earth, he must appear - "Did you conduct your af before the Beis Din Shel Ma' alo of the question fairs with emuna-with faith?" (Heavenly Tribunal) and an - instead of "tzeddek," or swer, among other questions: that every man "mishpat," or "din" - Were "ilJHJK:J nnJ1 nxtvJil - Did you you righteous, or just in your conduct your business affairs must ultimately answer. business affairs? The reason with faith? (usually taken to might be because Emuna has a mean "with integrity"), ":i-nn7 O'nll nll~P - Did you two-fold meaning - integrity, and faith in G-d. Comp establish set times for studying Torah? ... cl711l1'7 n'nY lete trust in G-d would prompt one to act even - Did you anticipate the Redemption?" (Shabbos 31a). r;:i ff11llll'.l 0'lD7 - beyond the letter of the law, and Interestingly, another source in the Talmud (Kiddu imbue him with a higher sense of ethics; his faith dis shin 40b, Sanhedrin 7a) says that a person is first pells any apprehensions about loss of income resulting judged in regard to Torah, which as Tosfos points out, from ethical conduct. is an apparent contradiction. Tosfos then explains that tvhile in judgment, business conduct takes precedence The Chofetz Chaim declared that a G-d-fearing man over Torah study, retribution is in a different sequence: entering the field of commerce is obliged to study punishment for neglecting Torah study comes first. carefully the second section of Choshen Mishpat (the The reason? The cause of a person's misconduct in section of the Codes dealing with monetary matters), business is a lack of proper knowledge of Torah and a especially those halachos dealing with cheating, and the lack of loyalty to its teachings. All else is built upon possibility of an error in sale (# 227-238). Just as a that foundation .... The questioning starts with a man's shochet is obligated to learn the laws of ritual slaughter, integrity in personal relationships with others - but and a safer must be an expert in the field of Torah punishment begins at the source - laxity in Torah script, so, too, must a merchant be equally proficient in study. the halachos pertinent to his profession. It would be wonderful if just as ordination is granted to Rabbis to Why This Topic permit them to enter the rabbinate, so, too, would some At first glance, a discussion of honesty and correct form of semicha in i~r.im npr.i m~7;i (laws of Com business practices may appear to be out of order, since merce) be instituted for people entering the business such fundamental principles of Torah could well be field. A shochet once told Reh Yisroel Salanter, "I'm RABBI PAM, a Rosh Yeshiva in Mesifta Torah Vodaath, Brooklyn, giving up my position because I find the respon delivered these re1narks at a gathering of Torah Vodaath alumni. This essay was originally published in f{ebreu1 in HAMEST\!TA,a journal sibility of slaughtering properly too much for my of Torah thought and novellae. MATTIS BLUM, a student in the Beis conscience to bear. If I make but one mistake, Hamid rash of Mesifta Torah Vodaath, prepared for publication both imagine how many people would be eating un the 1-febrew and English versions of this essay. kosher meat because of me!"
The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 3 Asked Reh Yisroel: "What will you do for a purchase a lulav, and they examine it for defects, such living?" as a split down the spine, they may well cause the split Ref;lied the man, ''I'll open up a small busi by examing it carelessly; and then say: "I don't want ness this one. Let me see another one, please." This is a com To which Reb Yisroel said: "Do you really mon occurrence, and one should be exceptionally think that that's preferable? As a shochet you careful about it. have one responsibility - people should not The Chofetz Chaim's son, Reb Leib, wrote that when transgress 'You shall not eat any rneat improperly the Sefer Chafetz Chaim was being printed, his father slaughtered' (Devarim 14:2} and that makes you spent weeks on end in the printshop in Warsaw to tremble. If you'd be involved in business, do you 1nake certain that there should be no -error in the know hozv many positive and negative commands printing or the binding; he was truly frightened that you'd be dealing with, how careful you'd have to perhaps someone would purchase a faulty copy which be not to violate any of them?" might constitute gezel (unintentionally defrauding the purchaser). * * * l>z 1906, when the Chafetz Chaim was publishing The Chafetz Chaim cites a few examples of halachos his Mishna Brura, he asked Reb Leib, who had that are of extreme import to those engaged in business. moved to Warsaw, to supervise the production of the sefer. Later, somebody purchased a set of SOME COMMON EXAMPLES Mishna Brura with one section printed incorrect Defects in Sales ly. The man sent a complaint to the Chafetz When selling an item, a person must be very careful Chain1, who immediately wrote to his son, that it does not have any flaw in it, or that it be lacking protesting: "What have you done to me, my son? in any way. And shoold it be flawed, he must notify the All my days I was concerned that I be spared from would-be purchaser in advance, for if he does not, the even the remotest likeness to gezel. Never did I sale may be invalid. If it is a defect that would cause a think I 'd be caught up in outright gezel! And person to reconsider the purchase, not informing the now, because of you, I fell into the trap of full purchaser would be deemed deception. This considera fledged gezel." He commanded his son to print a tion applies whether the purchaser is a Jew or a Gentile, number of extra copies of this section without the for one may not take their money under a false pretext inuersion in it, for fear that others were similarly - gezel akum is forbidden. (The Chofetz Chaim cites "defrauded," and put a notice in the newspaper to various sources; the Rambam - Hilchos Geneiva 7:8, the effect that: "Whoever purchased the Sefer among others). Should a person have made this kind of Mishna Brura containing a misplaced section "invalid sale, he must return the money. should please write me, and I'll send you a cor rected section." Which he did. Similarly, a person is not permitted to cheat anybody - Jew and non-Jew alike - in any manner, in keeping Reb Avrohom Horowitz ~":11, a true tzaddik, with the passage: "Do not commit an injustice in ran a bedding supplies store in the East New York measures, weights, or volume" (Vayikra 19:38). You section of Brooklyn. When someone would ask: must make an exact accounting with the person who "Do you have a nice mattress?", he would say: buys. "Committing such an injustice is an abomination "Nice? I don't know. Maybe others have better before G-d" (Devarim 25:15). merchandise. I can only show you what I have." Defective Merchandise If he was in the back room of the store, and he The Chofetz Chaim also cites examples dealing with overheard his wife showing a particular mattress the purchaser: When a person who has discovered that to a purchaser, he called out to her: "Did you an item he purchased has a defect, and uses it anyway, show the customer the damage on that? Please he may not bring it back for a refund, for use implies sh.orv her." acceptance (Choshen Mishpat 232:3). Of course, if the He was always wary of defrauding the defect is discovered after the item is used, it is a dif customer or misleading him in any way. (Offering ferent matter, and a refund is in order. But the a person advice that is to his disadvantage is a purchaser must be certain that he did not cause the transgression of the Torah command "Do not flaw. (A person may feel that the shopkeeper will place a stumbling block before a blind person ... " return the item to the manufacturer, and the manufac Vayikra 19:14.) turer has thousands of such items; what difference does If someone asks a salesman for an item, specifying a one more make? This type of rationalization is, of desired color or fabric, and that particular item is not in course, invalid and self-deceiving.) stock, the salesman may not say: "They stopped mak Similarly, when examining an article one must be ing those. But I can show you something else that's careful not to damage it in any way. When people much better."
4 The Jewish Observer/ May, 1978 Specifying Details of Agreement Beforehand other people's money he would not rely on seventy The Chofetz Chaim stresses (in S'fas Tomim, and reasons for heter (pennission) against one reason for is also at the end of Ahavas Chessed, Section I) that when sur (prohibition). two people enter an agreement for some contracted work, it is extremely important that they both spell out precisely what they expect from each other in terms of The Extra Measure of Caution work and payment. Frequently people say: Start now. In 1872, when Reh Meir f!aKohein was ready When the job's done we'll get together. Then, upon to print the sefer bearing the name by which he completion of the job, disputes arise regarding pay eventually became know, Chafetz Chaim, he ment, or how well the job was done; and when they travelled to various co1nmunities neighboring his part co1npany, each one claims that he was short own Radin for advance orders. Normally, people changed by the other party .... Worse yet, some people 111ake so~ne payment, but he refused to accept any prefer not to argue and let things go - but one party money. When his son, Reh Leib, asked him why does not really forgive the other for the money withheld l1e had so refused, the Chafetz Chaim explained: or overpaid, and thus ends up with possibilities of "Perhaps some of these people r.vill move, or even gezel. die by the time the sefer is finished. How will I be Should such a dispute arise, the Shulchan Aruch able to trace their heirs, or find them if they're rules that payment should be determined by the alive in other cities? It is better that I take orders prevailing custom of the locality in regard to such without money." So his son asked: "Then tell me, work. If someone pays one cent less than required, then why do you go to the trouble of getting orders "The Tor ah considers this man dishonest, and guilty of altogether? Print the seforim and then travel withholding the wages of his worker." around and sell them." His father replied, "/have However, it is usually difficult to ascertain the to borrorv from others to finance this undertak prevailing customs which govern a particular type of ing. What right do I have to ask others to lend me work. Therefore, it is best that the two parties spell out fnoney on a risk, unless I have some idea of hor.v precisely what each expects from the other before n1a11y seforirn I am going to sell?" entering contract. When two people verbally enter a business agree ment, without any exchange of money or merchandise, THE DEEP-SEA TED ATTRIBUTES either of the principals could change his mind, but it is ··contrary to the wishes of the sages" (Babba Metzia Charity and Justice 48a). There is a difference of opinion between two In his introduction to Ahavas Chessed, the Chafetz authorities, however, whether or not this type of con Chaim comments on G-d's reference to Avraham duct renders a person il.l1bX 101nb - lacking in in Avinu: "I love him because he will command his tegrity, and halachic authorities decide according to the children and his household after him, that they will more stringent view (Rav Yochanan). Thus, if two peo keep the way of G-d, to do charity and justice" ple enter into an agreement - no money was taken, no (Bereishis 18:19). "Justice" refers to doing things cor contract was signed, no deposit was made - and later rectly, in keeping with the law. "Charity" involves one changes his mind, he is not acting contrary to the yielding to somebody else's needs beyond the require strict requirements of halacha. The situation often ments of the law. How are these two expressions to arises when someone selects merchandise but has no apply simultaneously? money, and says: 'Tm going to buy it,'' and the The Chofetz Chaim explains that in dealing with proprietor says: "Okay, it's yours. Come back tomor somebody else, one must not say: He won't mind if I row with the money." He returns the next day and the pay him a little less for the item. Or when sending out item is gone; or he is guilty of not returning the next an orde-r: He won't mind if I short-supply him slightly. day. Such practices are frowned upon by our Sages. With regard to fulfilling one's obligation to somebody (Some authorities say that these restrictions do not app else, the rule shoul~ be mishpat - justice - adhering to ly when the price of the item has changed - Choshen the letter of the law, no matter how insignificant the Mishpat end of Ch. 202, but it is a minority view). amount. On the other hand, in your expectations from Integrity means being faithful to your word. When a others, the rule should be tzeddaka - tend to be person fails to do this, he is not" conducting his affairs genero_us and waiv.> your rights in minor matters. Thus, with emuna." tzeddaka and mishpat can both reside within the same p{'rson. Faithful in Thought fn the Chut Hameshulash, the children of the K'sav There is yet another, higher degree of emuna, of Sofer (Rabbi Shmuel Binyomin Schreiber ~··::n) faithfulness in transactions: Rav Safra fulfilled "speak recorded how their father was so cautious in regard to ing truth in his heart" (Tehil/im 15:2).
Tltc Jewish ()fiserver I May, 1978 5 It is insufficient to simply meet the requirements of din (Torah law), but one must strive for ever higher levels in faith, until one can res pond positively to the query: "Did you conduct your business affairs with faith?" in all its possible implications. Thus, the judgment of the rabbis, that a scholar with a stain on his garment is among those who "cause disenchantment with religion" certainly applies to misconduct in human relations and general unethical behavior.
In addition to "not going back on his 1vord," Perhaps that is what is meant by "dwelling within Rav Safra never went back on his thoughts: A the boundaries of G-d". Being worthy of bringing customer once entered Rav Safra's store to make a Shmuel into the world is the equivalent of dwelling purchase. He offerred a price, but Rav Safra was with G-d. saying l(ri'as Sherna and did not ans1ver. He raised the offer several times and Rav Safra still The Blessings of Trust did not comment. When Rav Safra completed the Shema, he said: "I'll accept the first price." Said "A man of trust is many times blessed, but the man the man: "But I'm willing to pay the last." Rav anxious for wealth is never clean" (Mishlei 28:20). Safra replied: "Yes, but I was willing to accept the While the first part of the passage is an obvious truth, first. And since in my heart I said 'yes' - although the second part is more subtle, referring to someone I could not speak - I will not change my mind." who is impatient for G-d's blessings, and wants to (She'iltos D'Rav Achai, Vayechi, 36). "Speaking become rich immediately; he will never emerge clean honestly in one's heart" is an extremely high level from the stain of sin. of integrity. "The man of trust many-times blessed" refers to Moshe Rabbeinu. Indeed, every endeavor that he un The same She'iltos quotes a Midrash that comments dertook, or for which he served as treasurer, was bles on the passage: "My [i.e., G-d's) eyes are on the sed. To demonstrate his trustworthiness, Moshe called trusted, that they dwell together with Me" (Tehillim together Kial Yisroel for an accounting when the 101 :10). In this regard, the Mid rash (on Shmuel) relates building of the Mishkan (portable sanctuary) was com how the celebrated Amara Shmuel was named: pleted. This was surely unnecessary, for G-d Himself Shmuel's father had been a merchant. Rabbi testified that "My servant Moshe ... is trusted Yehuda ben Beseira asked him to put aside for throughout My house'' (Bamidbar 12:7). The Midrash him a measure of silk, but he did not pay for it, explains that Moshe did this to avoid the suspicion that nor give a deposit. A long period of time tran he had become wealthy from handling the funds used spired, until Shmuel's father had occasion to for building the Mishkan. bring it to Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Yehuda was sur It seems strange that someone trusted by G-d still prised: "Why did you keep this merchandise for was not satisfied until he had proved himself clean in me?" he asked. "After all, we only exchanged the eyes of man. Yet, this is of extreme importance. The words. I didn't pick up the silk, nor did I give you Talmud reports that the proceeds of the shekolim tax money." Answered the merchant: "An honorable were stored in huge vats, and periodically an official man's word is as good as money." Reh Yehuda would remove some of the coins to make purchases for marveled at this man's concept of integrity, and the Beis HaMikdash. He was not permitted to wear a he blessed him: "Because you trusted in me, may hemmed garment, shoes, or an amulet around his nt:"'ck, you be worthy of begetting a son like the prophet because it would offer an opportunity for him to smug Shmuel, about whom the Scripture testifies, 'And gle out some coins for himself. Then, should he become all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheva knew that poor, people would say: "Do you know why he became Shmuel was a trusted prophet of G-d' (Shmuel I poor? He was punished because he stole from the 3:20)." When his son was born, the merchant treasury." And in case he becomes wealthy, people named him Shmuel. would say: "Do you know how he became rich?
6 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 Because he stole from the treasury" (Shekolim 3:2). He he concluded his words with: "If you follow this ap 1 must ascertain that his actions are beyond suspicion. In proach, then you will be able to withstand the pres this regard it says:" And you shall be clean before G-d sures. All these people will return to their place and Israel" (Bamidbar 32:22). Then, the Mishna cites b'shalom - in peace" (Shemos 18:23). It is strange that an additional passage:" And you should find favor and Yisro spoke of the people returning "in peace," when good understanding in the eyes of G-d and man" this is a terminology usually reserved for the ultimate (Mish lei 3 :4). peace wished to a person when he dies (as opposed to Tiferes Yisroel explains that both passages are /'shalom) Berachos 64a. The Chafetz Chaim explains need~d. The first one ("And you shall be clean ") that when somebody is guilty of some type of cheating teache'S us that we inust avoid acting in a manner which and dies without returning the money to its original could cause suspicion. But it is insufficient to clarify owner, he has no rest in the World-to-Come until our actions after they are done. We must "find favor somehow the monies are restored to the original owners and good understanding" in everyone's eyes, so that or their heirs. Thus, Yisro assured Moshe that if he sets people have no reason to question our actions before or up a proper judiciary system, justice will prevail. Then after they occur. This is what we learn from the second when the people ultimately die, they will find eternal verse. rest and not be troubled by unfulfilled financial obliga tions. A Two-Fold Obligation The Chasam Sofer ?"YT (Rabbi Moshe Schreiber) Pleasing to the Eye ... Acceptable to the Heart writes (Collected Responsa 59): 1n spelling out the exact details of the construction of All 1ny days I tvas in anguish over the passage: the Mishkan, G-d gave Moshe precise instructions in "And you shall be clean in the eyes of G-d and how to drape the material used in covering the sanc Israel." These two obligations are like two mill tuary (Shemos 23:13): to which Rashi comments: "The stones Iveighing on my neck. It is possible to ab Torah here teaches us proper conduct - that a man solve oneself of the first - that is, to be clean in should be concerned with the aesthetic." the eyes of G-d ·- much more easily than it is to A yeshiva student who has absorbed the light of satisfy people, for they imagine bizarre plots; and Torah within himself radiates a special beauty of his the punishment for failing to satisfy others is far own. It is this beauty that he should preserve with the more severe than for not satisfying G-d 1"n. utmost care. Even a s1nall stain can mar it. Especially in Indeed, the Gemora (end of Yoma) tells us that our times, when people are so quick to find fault with there is no atonement for Chillul Hashem - the Torah and its students, bnei yeshiva must endeavor desecration of G-d's name (which results from all the more to present the beauty of the Torah in all its misrepre5e11ting the high standards demanded by aspects. the Torah). L/nfortunately, too often we hear peo Thus it is insufficient to simply meet the require ple say: "Imagine that a Torah scholar such as he ments of din (TorC!h law), but one must strive for ever should be guilty of such-and-such'" even though higher levels in faith, until one can respond positively it is pure speculation that leads them to judge him to the guery; "Did you conduct your business affairs so. I often wonder whether any man has actually with faith?" in i!ll its possible implications ... Were you fulfilled this obligation to his fullest. Perhaps this among the faithful of the earth upon whom "the eyes is what King Solomon had in mind when he said: of G-d gaze"? Thus, the judgment of the rabbis, that a "There is no fully righteous man on earth, who scholar with a stain on his garmep.t is among those who has done right and not sinned" - meaning that "cause disenchantment with religion" (Shabbos 114a; even though a man has done only good it is im Ramba111 De'os 5 :9) certainly applies to misconduct in possible that he should not have "sinned" in human and generql uriethical behavior: somehow falling short of having his actions reh~tions understood by others. Upon completion of the Mishkan, Moshe blessed the people (Shemos 39:43); according to Rashi, he said, The Chasam Sofer adds that while the Tribes of Reu "May it be the will of G-d that the Shechina (Divine vain and Gad more than fulfilled their obligation of Presence) rest on all yoµr activities," jmplying that the "And you shall be clean ... " by fighting on the front lines of Bnei Yisroel when they conquered Canaan, it is Shechina not be limited to the sanctuary but be found unlikely that they could completely clean themselves in everywhere, in all their endeavors. This fulfills the the eyes of their brethren. It may well be for this reason command: "And you shall love G-d," which refers to that these two tribes were later exiled before the remain being so exemplary in conduct that it inspires love and ing ten tribes. appreciation for G-d; people will say, "How graceful are the ways, how perfect are the acts of so-and-so who A Peaceful Hereafter has studied Torah!" (Yoma 86a). The Chafetz Chaim points out that when Yisro ad Fortunate is he who inspires others to the-love of G-d vised Moshe in regard to setting up a judiciary system, and enhances Torah in their eyes. !..'i.
The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 7 T TOOK over thirty years for the truth to surface. U.S. government to destroy the death machinery of I And now that it has, Professor David S. Wyman's Auschwitz by bombing it, but they did not succeed in article, "Why Auschwitz Was Never Bombed" in their attempt The details, as recorded by Wyman, are the May Commentary Magazine, should be required worthy of study. What follows is a summary of some of reading. After sifting through the primary sources, the points that he presents. including many documents that have only recently The time was April 1944. The Nazis were con become declassified, Prof. Wyman has underscored centrating the 760,000 Jews of Hungary for deportation what Orthodoxy has known and believed for many to the killing center at Auschwitz. Two young Slovak years. In brief, the American government and the world Jews who had escaped from Auschwitz to a Jewish un at large had been alerted to the massive annihilation of derground facility dictated a 36-page report on the Jews taking place under the Germans. Among the 1,750,000 already killed in Auschwitz, with a precise very few who took the situation to heart were a description and geographic layout of the entire exter handful of Orthodox Jews, who applied their mination facilities. A copy of their statement reached untiring efforts to saving the remnants of their Jewish leaders in Budapest by early May. To whom was brethren from extermination. They - and they this message sent? alone - persistently attempted to agitate the (All quotations from the article are in bold-face type.)
A Footnote to Jewish History on the Role of Orthodox Leaders in Rescue Efforts ... ff?i,'ffliii.iN ''Why Auschwitz Was Never Bombed''
Lewis Brenner
8 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 days for the next month, and Sternbuch continued to relay them to the military attache. Yet by June 22, Sternbuch had received neither reply nor acknowledge ment from New York. For unknown reasons, the mes sages had been blocked, either in Bern or in Washington.
A Letter to Sternbuch
By mid-June, the Slovak underground had smuggled the report to Switzerland, where it was passed to the American legation and found to be consistent with earlier trustworthy but fragmentary information that A Plea had filtered out concerning the Auschwitz death camp. From During June, this information spread to the Allied governments and began to appear in the Swiss, British, Reh Michael Ber and American press. By late June, then, the truth about Auschwitz, along with descriptions of its geographical location and layout, was known to the outside world. In At the same time, the most gripping appeal for help mid-May, as deportation from the eastern provinces of came from that great tzaddik, Hungary started (under the direct supervision of Adolf Rabbi Michael Ber Weissmandel, and [from] Mrs. Eichmann), Jewish leaders in Budapest sent out a plea Gisi Fleischmann, both leaders of the Slovak Jewish un for the bombing of key points on the rail route to derground, [who] wrote a long letter pleading with the Poland. Dispatched via the Jewish underground in outside world for help. They described the first depor Bratislava, Slovakia, the request was telegraphed in tations from Hungrary and stressed the fate awaiting code to Isaac Sternbuch, representative in Switzerland the deportees on arrival at Auschwitz. Their stark ac of the American Orthodox Jewish rescue committee count revealed that four forty-five car trains were leav (Vaad Hahatzala). It reached him about May 17. ing daily, each train carrying about 3,000 people. Dur ing the two-to-three-day trip to Auschwitz, the victims This is the very same Isaac Sternbuch who was in were pressed together, standing, in closed freight cars constant touch with Michael G. Tress - leader of Zeirei without food, water, or sanitary facilities. Many died Agudath Israel of America, and director of its on the way. After describing the plight of these emergency rescue efforts, many of which could not be Hungarian Jews, Rabbi Weissmandel and Mrs. revealed due to the opposition of the Roosevelt ad Fleischmann appealed strenuously for immediate ministration. These activities are thus not yet subject bombing of the main deportation routes, especially the for another such Commentary article. Kosice~Presov railway. They also cried to the outside world to "bombard the death halls in Auschwitz." Prof. Wyman continues to tell us: Writing in anguish, the two asked: "And you, our Sternbuch immediately rewrote the telegram for brothers in all free countries; and you, governments of transmission to the headquarters of the Union of all free lands, where are you? What are you doing t..J Orthodox Rabbis in New York and submitted it to the hinder the carnage that is now going on?" Smuggled military attache of the U.S. legation in Bern, requesting out of Slovakia, the plea, accompanied by copies of the that it be telegraphed to the United States through Auschwitz escapees' reports, reached Switzerland, but diplomatic lines. Three days later, a similar but more not until late June.... Mrs. Fleischmann and Rabbi urgent telegram arrived from Bratislava. That appeal Weissmandel were deported to Auschwitz, at different also went to the U.S. military attache for delivery to times, during the fall of 1944. She was gassed there; he New York .. The pleas kept coming every two or three escaped from the train and survived the war. Rabbi Weissmandel later made his way to America. RABBI BRENNER resides in Brooklyn, where he is active in communal Settling in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn he affairs. He is a frequent contributor to Jewish periodicals, and is would go from shul to shul crying out in his represented in TH!: It.WISH OBSERVER by "Song of Faith" (}an. '78) and "Come Wifh Me To The Tisch," an appreciation of the late anguish over the failure of U.S. Jewry to do anything to Vizhnitzer Rebbe ~"YT (April '72). save its brethren from extermination. While he con-
The Jewish ()hserver I May, 1978 9 ,,,,,....' ~. • , ~ .,...... ~ .. ~ ' ' -~~~ • Cl! ~ • • 0 ~ - .. ·· . \. • - • ""'c;;;; ~·to : 0 • C> • C> Pr t' • '. ' ' • The t"·-·.-·• Rosenheim Jli-Jl#.11\ ,,. '""1" ...... ,,,~ ••• ,. '""~'""~ ~~ 10 The Jewish Observer/ May, 1978 bombing of the Crematoria, but not all Jewish leaders More Than The Record of a Struggle concurred in this view. In fact, the U.S. section of the Professor Wyman's account signifies more than just World Jewish Congress, reports Wyman, opposed a day-to-day account of the struggle to save European bombing the death installations because Jews in the Jewry. It highlights a fact too often ignored by serious camps would be killed. Others in America disagreed. students of Jewish history: only those who are totally guided by Torah, and those under their tutelage, can size up a situation and its true needs properly, because their Torah perspective frees them from the shades of self-seeking motives or the influence of shallow think ing, sloganeering, and popular pressure. Men of this calibre were able to grasp the full dimension of a problem and discern the true implications of a situation.* When others were content with press releases, large newspaper ads, and official protests, the Sternbuch's, Weissmandel's, Rosenheim's, and K The Jewish Ohsen.Jer /May, 1978 II A NOTED A Letter of Guidance ROSH YESHIVA WRITES: For These Troubled Times During these crisis-ridden, confusing times, the Torah Jew is faced with many problems in regard to interpreting events and determining a course of action. We are deeply concerned over the survival of Israel, and the many aspects of security - its spiritual, physical, and political compo nents. At times, media emphasis on one aspect tends to eclipse others. How do we determine the proper area of emphasis? We are fortunate to present a letter dated 17 Adar Sheini - the third in a series of such letters - from the revered Ponovezher Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Menachem Man Schach X"IJ'71V. in which he discusses basic concepts regarding the security of Jewry and applies them to these most troubling problems. A careful reading of this let ter can yield much in regard to how to set priorities and where emphasis should be made. The following is a free translation of excerpts from this most re cent letter: Kiss AN AXIOM that all Jews should know - and not only know, but constantly review - is Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's statement, of Emnity quoted by Rashi (Bereishis 32:4): "It is established that Eisav is an enemy to Yaakov." It is interesting to note that Rashi cites this quotation in his commentary on: "And Eisav ran to him (Yaakov) and he embraced him and he fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept." How awesome! With his Ruach HaKodesh, drawing upon "G-d shares his secrets with those who fear Him," Rashi un derstood that even during this moment when Eisav expressed such love for his brother, it was only for the moment, and only in response to Yaakov's submission as he bowed before him. And only because Yaakov had prayed to God that he be saved, and he· had ap peased Eisav with gifts. To this, the Seforno adds that during the siege of Jerusalem (68 C.E.) the Second Temple would have never been destroyed would the rebellious faction (Baryonim) not have precipitated hostilities by destroying the storage places of grain and 12 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 wood·- as Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai himself had remarked (Gitlin l14b ). Different Tactics THE DESCRIPTION OF ISRAEL as a lone sheep amongst 70 wolves is not a metaphor, but a description of an actual condition, which will in Facing Hostility prevail until Moshiach's time. As a result, Jews have always been "a nation that dwells alone" - both as a national group and as in dividuals. Every Jew must recognize that surviving depends upon relying on the course pursued by Yaakov Avinu: prayer, gifts (for appeasement), and war - which Rashi says refers to the separating of Yaakov's group into two camps, so that should one be attacked the other will escape unharmed; or, more specifically, as the Ramba11 says "war" refers to taking flight. To engage in warfare as Yaakov was prepared to do, is a tactic to be resorted to only when facing direct attack, in line with the rule: "When one arises to murder you, stand up and kill him first," which was the situation that Yaakov had encountered in his meeting with Eisav. This is not an approach that anyone can choose to pursue; for those void of religious convictions will at times risk their own lives when unwar ranted, and by the same token, will take gambles with others' (Pesachim 49); for they do not conceive of Jewry as being different from any other nation and they conduct their policies no differently. Pitfalls of THUS, THE SECULAR LEADERSHIP loses no opportunity to "score Secular Leadership points" even though this can serve to antagonize other nations. How painful it is, then, that a Reform rabbi is the spokesman for the Jewish community of the United States (which numbers six million souls) - and to some measure also speaks on behalf of the Jewish state. If we would be worthy, Kial Yisroel would be spared leadership by those who have not been reared with a commitment to Daas Torah and its traditions, for they fail to perceive the bankruptcy of all the ideals upon which they have been brought up. Perhaps people of this type may recall a religious grandfather or observant father, but this has no relevance to being immersed in Jewish tradition and the legacy of responsible leadership of the Jewish nation. How, then, can we rely upon such men to refrain from seizing every opportunity to speak with arrogance and power, and to restrain themselves from antagonistic actions and policies - (such as some policies in regard to the administered territories). Such policies ctre a direct outgrowth of the basic fallacy of the Zionist doctrine, which believes that all the suffering the Jews have undergone in its millennia of Caius flow directly from our stateless condition; and that now that we do have our own state, we are a nation similar to all others: The more we flex our muscles and assert our views, all the 1nore will our enemies be submissive before us .... The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 13 Shelter in \VI l \ T, THEN, 15 THE CORRECT COURSE of action to he pursued? Torah The Miclrcish (Oevari111 2, 3) sheds light on this problem: Wl1e11 G-d ,.;;11id, "E11ous,l1 circli11g this rnountain. Turn i1JlDY: to the 11orth," S11id f\1n) Chiya - G-d said to then1, "When you see a natio11 seeking to 1111ti1,~011izc you, don't co11fro11t hin1, hut lJ,DYi1 - hide fron1 hin1 u11til l1e passes fro111 the scene" (building on the sir11ilar construct of ;-JJl~Y '"'d ll'~Y;i), Further: Israel said to Him: "Ribuno Shel Olom, l1is f,1tl1er (Isaac) blessed hi111, 'And you shall live by your sword,' 1111d )1 ou (011curred tuith hhn. You advised us to hide frorn before l1in1, W/1ere can we find refuge?" Said He, "Flee to the Torah and ti1kc refuge tlzere until lv1oshiach cornes." I am, therefore, writing this letter to declare that it is incumbent upon us to strengthen ourselves in Torah and Yiras Shomayim (Fear of G-d), and forbid that we should weaken in this in any way. Along this line, we should seek to establish yeshivas large and small, more places of Torah study, This is our major obligation, for a bit of light dispells much darkness, The "Builders" INDEED, WE ARE LIVING in constant danger, whether or not "peace" prevails. To the best of our understanding, those who claim Who Destroy to be preserving the state are actually endangering it Didn't the Torah warn us against being "rejected from the land for defiling it"? And yet the state has permitted the violation of the most stringent of prohibitions, such as shedding of blood through abortions, and recognizing common-law marriages, which can only engender more immorality. The vast majority of the youth is being brought up in a way totally void of any sanctity, further "defiling the land." The yeshiva population is but a small minority, And the religious centers, where the situation is far better than general, are few and far between. We are waging a battle against tremendous odds, for the media are conduits of immorality and project shocking examples of degrada tion. As for the "national heritage studies programs" in the public schools - what value can there be in those few minutes, when the school teachers, who serve as role models, project an image of im modesty, and more? Thus, I return to my theme: Let us strengthen ourselves and strengthen one another for the sake of G-d and Torah, to distance ourselves from all this, As a postscript, I add once again that our support of the current government is not because it satisfies our needs, but because it is a lesser evil than its predecessor, and that we trust in G-d that we will succeed in preventing further deterioration from taking place. I remain, with a blessing and a prayer that G-d will lead us in a good path, (RABBI) ELIEZER MENACHEM SCHACH ,.. 14 The Jewish Observer/ May, 1978 REB REUVAIN GROZOVSKY n::>i::iC, i'''"T~ i::>T Twenty Years After His Passing Prepared for publication by Nissan Wolpin It is twenty years since the passing of Rabbi H.euvain re1niniscences, and poetry (which, according to his Crozovsky 0:J!:J7 p~,Y 1::n, and six years 1nore since he fan1ily, he wrote on Tisha B'Av afternoons, to express was i1nmobilized by a stroke that robbed him of his his deep pain for the tragedies the day commemorates). speech and K /al Yisroel of his active leadership. One This article, then, is based on his family's recollec Chassidic leader described the ailment as an act of tions, as told on their behalf by Rabbi Shamshon mercy by G-d on behalf of Kial Yisroel, to temper the Grozovsky, his oldest son; selections from his own trauma of Reb Reuvain's absence by removing him notes, presented by Reb Shamshon; quotations from from leadership gradually rather than abruptly. Bayas f1azn1an; and an appreciation of Reb Reuvain, Today Reb Reuvain is well known in the study halls written from the viewpoint of a talmid, Rabbi of yeshivos throughout the world through his recently Menachem Rokeach, who studied under him in Mesifta published works, Chidushei Reb Reuvain, a collection Torah Vodaath and in Beth Medrash Elyon in Monsey. of his shiurim (lectures). But otherwise, his leadership There are gaps in the portrait, because - as a person role in affairs of Klal - especially as chairman of the - Reb Reuvain was a very private individual. Certain Moetzes Gedolei Ha Torah (Council of Torah Sages of attributes, however, run through all of his activities and Agudath Israel of America), and in the leadership of the thoughts, recorded and spoken: Life is full of choices Vaad Hatzala - is almost forgotten. Furthermore, dur and it is n1ar1's responsibility to choose correctly. ing his lifeti1ne, his greatness of personality could be Whether the question is one of understanding a passage surmised at but never really known except to intimates in Rambam, detennining a policy for Agudath Israel, or - and even then, it was never fully fathomed. a purely private n1atter, the approach was: - Are there To discover the many hidden facets of a man no any precedents? - What are the options?- Which one longer among us, there are several paths to pursue. best describes this situation? - Can the validity of the First, his immediate family preserves a loyal tradition other options be refuted? (If not, one of them may well bearing his strong imprint, and cherish detailed recol be valid). The decision, once determined, was followed lections of ·his comments and actions. So, for that mat through in all its implications. ter, do many of his talmidim (disciples). In addition. he Thus, the dividing of a biography of Reb Reuvain h TIJ<• fr1ui,,;h ()/isrrver I May, 1978 15 generations of Torah scholars and rabbinical leaders. While Reb Reuvain was involved in communal affairs He studied in the famed Slabodka Yeshiva, and later in the 1930's, during the 40's and early 50's he was es joined his father-in-law, Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebowitz, in pecially active in efforts to rescue Jews from war-torn leading his yeshiva in Kamenitz, Lithuania. In America, Europe, in Torah education on the individual and com he spent a brief but profoundly effective decade*in munal level (the latter through Torah Umesorah), and delivering shiurim in Mesifta Torah Vodaath - through Agudath Israel - in a broad range of (Brooklyn) and Beth Medrash Elyon (Monsey, N.Y.). problems affecting Jewish life in America and Israel. * * * The Rosh Yeshiva After crossing the Pacific in his journey from Three approaches to be analyzed and understood, cor Europe, Reb Reuvain Grozovsky landed in Seattle, responding to three possible generalizations to describe Washington, on May 2, 1941, to raise funds and secure the phenomenon at hand .... If there is a fourth, you affidavits for students of his Kamenitz Yeshiva seeking must not ignore it; you must disprove it, or it just may to escape the Nazi onslaught. A local Orthodox lawyer be more valid than the three you favor. Forget "gut had offered him his car and driver to tour the strikingly reactions." Truth must emerge as a proven entity from scenic metropolis of the Northwest and to relax after close study of the texts, not through a good feeling the long strenuous journey. Reb Reuvain refused: "] about an apt description. have no time for sightseeing," he said, and when not in Challenges arise, and the air becomes electrified as volved in his other activities, he closed himself up in his Reb Reuvain asks "Vie?" (How's that?) in his high room to pursue his Talmudic studies. pitched voice. He pauses to think, as the question is In New York City, Reb Reuvain joined Rabbi repeated. He responds with an answer - explaining, Aharon Kotler and Rabbi Avrohom Kalmanowitz emphasizing - and continues. i1Y1:l~ Cl1"1::Jl in leading Vaad Hatzala's efforts to save as many people from the mounting ravages of Nazi ... and Preparation destruction as possible. This on-going struggle in The lecture - lively and emphatic in delivery - is volved much fund-raising, lobbying, and clandestine likely one that Reb Reuvain had presented fifteen years transferring of funds - much of it unrecorded, and earlier in Kamenitz; but the freshness of the presenta likely to be totally forgotten from the record. In the tion is not contrived. Preparation began on Thursday, process, Reb Reuvain, brought over some 110 members when Reb Reuvain checked into Bais Medrash Elyon - of the Kamenitz Yeshiva community - thirty to Eretz Torah Vodaath's school for advanced research. After Yisroel, the rest to New York, where he set up the Maariv he retired to his study with an older student Kamenitz Kole! in the Lower East Side. (usually in his mid-twenties) to start virtually from scratch - the Gemora, Rashi, Tosfos - on into the The Shiur: In Delivery ... night. A study-partner who agreed with all of Reb Reu In 1944, when Rabbi Shlomo Heiman, Rosh Yeshiva vain's postulates soon lost his position. His assignment of Mesifta Torah Vodaath, passed away, Reb Reuvain was to challenge and disprove. At 2 A.M. the bachur was invited to succeed him, and a new generation of was excused to get some rest, while the Rosh Yeshiva Torah scholars became exposed to his shiurim: It was as continued on until dawn .... The same routine was fol though a window were opened to his mind, and the lowed the next night, after the Shabbos seuda, in study hall crowded with students would witness his further preparation for the Sunday afternoon presen thought-process at work, as if to demonstrate to them tation .... Invariably, both mornings the Rosh Yeshiva how they could do as he did: was unable to say the Birchas HaTorah (Blessings for A question posed by the Rashba and his two answers Torah Study that one recites to initiate a new day of represent three approaches to a problem - even a study), since the morning's study was but an unbroken hypothetical approach later rejected demands our un continuation from the previous evening .... Occasional- , derstanding, since the Rashba had considered it - ly, when he did change partners, it was because the ,. Reh Reuvain's talmidim from his American period include people young man could not match his stamina, and begged who head or say top-level shiurim in: Bais Medrash Elyon., Mesifta off. Torah Vodaath, Toras Emes-Kamen.itz (B'k/yn), Kamenitz (Jerusale1n), Bais Shraga, Be'er Shmuel, Bobover Yeshiva, Itri Before delivering the same shiur in Mesifta Torah (Jerusalem), Karlin-Stalin, Mir (B'klyn), Ner Israel (Baltimore), Vodaath in Brooklyn on Tuesday, he presented it to a Yeshini Cl1ofetz Chaim (/\JYC), (Tallman), Yeshiva S.R. Hirsch, Ohr small group of students in his home with minor Sa11w11ch, Zichron lVlelech, Yetev Lev d'Satmar, Ohr Yisroel, Bais changes, often eliminating some of the more difficult Yc/1uda (Detroit), Bais Reuvain, Torah Temimah, Beth Jacob of Bora aspects. The painstaking care put in.to his shiurim P«rk, B'nos Israel; as well as Kivyashter Rav, Shiniver Rav, Satmar Daya11, Rav of Y.l. of Brooklyn, Y.l. of Briarwood (NY), Queens always reflected the consideration: What will the ]l'l('ish Center, 1\1cKeesport (Pa.), and Rio de Janiero. bachurim get out of this point? 16 The Jewish Observer/ May, 1978 Reb Reuvain quoted RABBI CHAIM SOLOVEITCHIK: "When faced with a kushya (question), don't seek an answer ... Do away with the kushya." Not Beyond Doubt Rosh Hoshana, 5700 (1939). The Nazi Army was After the shiur, students would crowd around approaching and the tension had us on edge, some hhn and question various points. Sometimes he of us devising all sorts of impulsive schemes .... zoould concede an area of doubt.. A colleague Reb Reuvain spoke about Akeidas Yitzchak (the once asked him, "Why do you confuse the stu Binding of Isaac): "There is a well-known ques dents with doubt? A shiur should teach ab tion: Why isn't the akeida named for Avraham? It solutes." was basically his test? The Midrash answers that Replied Reh Reuvain: "There are times when it the actual binding was Yitzchak's idea, as a is tnor,: important to teach that I do not really restraint against forcibly resisting his father's knOUJ. sacrificial knife - thus the name Akeidas Yitzchak. But wasn't Avraham's task of wielding Another noted Rosh Yeshiva recalls a lecture he the knife the more difficult one? Shouldn't this delivered in Reb Reuvain's presence. Reb Reuvain have been rnemorialized in the name of this in later asked him, "Why did you quote the Haga'os cident?" HaAshri?" "l thought it was interesting." Reb Reuvain answered, "The Torah gives "Yes, it was interesting," Reb Reuvain agreed, greater recognition to Yitzchak's thoughtful an "but it didn't explain anything. Whatever doesn't ticipation of future situations to avoid a r.vrongful add, distracts attention from your major thesis, action, than it does to Avraham's great, heroic and can only spoil your presentation." act, which did not require the same careful An unusally pron1ising student in Bais thought." Medrash £/yon told Reb.Reuvain one of his Chid The application was obvious and the attitude it spoke dushei Torah ( novel/ae ). He listened critically, and was typical of Reb Reuvain. then said, "Too much!" Structure at the Graduate Level "Too extreme in its projection?" asked the young man. Reb Reuvain's analytical approach, as applied to leading a yeshiva, underwent no changes when it was "No. Too much. Reh Y... , a well-known exercised on American shores. genius, anticipated everything that Reh Chaim Brisker (Soloveitchik) ever said. l once asked my A Bais Medrash Elyon student had set up a demanding personal regimen which did not con father-in-law (Rabbi Baruch Ber Liebowitz '='"YT) why Reb Y... never gained Reh Chaim's fame. form to the yeshiva schedule. When Reh Reuvain 'Reh Chaim knew what not to say', replied my took him to task, the young man offered what he father-in-law tersely." thought was an effective defense, Reb Reuvain replied, "You must understand: There are two The Analytic Personality at Work types of yeshivas - those run by the administra Reb Reuvain's analytical approach didn't "invade" tion and those not (hahala und nit-hanhala). In his other areas of activity. It was integral to his per this yeshiva it is expected that you conform with sonality. the directions of the hanhala. Secondly, everyone In Kamenitz, where he had served as Rosh Yeshiva needs a rebbe for guidance, and lam fulfilling this for close to 20 years, Reb Reuvain tested every student function for you, in advising you to adhere to the upon entry, and continued to test them regularly during yeshiva schedule. Do you realize that my sainted their first two years in the yeshiva (on forty new blatt father-in-law - long after he was established as a every two months!), fixing the amount of their stipend Rosh Yeshiva - continued to consult with both according to their performance. the Chafetz Chaim and Reb Chaim Brisker? And after Reb Chaim's passing, he consulted with his A Kamenitz talmid recalls: son, Reb Velvel, even though he was my father I never heard Reb Reuvain deliver a Mussar in-law's junior in years. Third, even if the yeshiva shmuess - (lecture on an ethical theme) until tells you to do something that is not in your better The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 17 THE CHOFETZ CHAIM wrote to Reb Reuvain: "I have learned that you were arrested for protesting against Chilul Shabbos ... I envy you the merit of suffering for the glory of Heaven." interest, once the yeshiva has taken a stand, your Nonetheless, those of more Chassidic upbringing were action involves defiance of yeshiva policy, which among his closest disciples (knowing full well that can only be harmful to you. It now is to your they were under the tutelage of a 1,vorld-renowned benefit that you listen." "Lilmudic authority, they had "made peace" with his The mashgiach of Bais Medrash Elyon, Rabbi opposition to some aspects of Chassidus in advance). Yisroel Chaim Kaplan, ~"YT, once asked Reb Reu His 111idas ho'emes - his relentless pursuit of truth, vain to assu1ne his duties for a short period of co1ne what inay - struck a responsive chord in their titne Ivhen he would be away. Reb Reuvain ac Chassidic tuning of personality. cepted the assignment, pursuing it in keeping 011e extremely gifted and sensitive Kole! fellow with his conception of the position. Checking the i11 Bais Med rash Elyon was of a famous Chassidic donnitory, he found one room particularly dis li11eage. His young family grew and financial orderly. He expressed his disapproval to the occu pressures mounted, so he left the Kole! to learn pant -- a usually meticulous fellow. The fellow of the diarnond trade. Reb Reuvain left no stone un fered an explanation, to which Reb Reuvain turned in trying to convince him to return to full replied, "[ have a tradition from Reb Chaim tilne study from the diamond center: "You are Brisker: When faced with a kushya (question), destined to be the leader of a prominent Chassidic don't seek an answer. Try to do away with the Kehilla," he i11sisted. "You'll need every ad kushya." ditional hour of Torah study to be fit to lead your Reb Reuvain's devotion to the Lithuanian approach people. Kl al Yisroel can not afford less." in Divine service can be self-understood. He had little The young man finally yielded and is now a patience for extended zemiros sessions at the Shabbos Chassidic Rebbe, conveying Torah and inspiring n1eal, and instituted a scheduling of two zemiros rendi Yiras Shomayim to a large Chassidic Kehilla in tions (with the traditional words, of course) between Brooklyn. He may now take pride in having the courses. (On the other hand, he did express apprecia recognition of older Chassidic Rebbes, but he has tion for some nigunim.) Melave Malke? - self-service, the added satisfaction of knowing that he acted on with a minimum of embellishment, if you please. the encouragement and blessings of Reb Reuvain. The Man It is frustrating to attempt to discover Reb Reuvain, not "waste" his unusual gifts on Torah, but develop the private individual, as distinct from the public the1n in 1nathematics studies at a Gymnasium. As figure. One either picks up a reflection of the analytical history has demonstrated, however, Reb Reuvain did Rosh Yeshiva in search of truth - and living by it; or prevail. an echo of the Kial leader asking, "What would Reb When Slabodka was forced to close at the outbreak Chaim Ozer Grodzenski have done under these circum of World War I, Reb Moshe Mordechai entrusted Reb stances?" - and then acting accordingly. Reuvain with reorganizing the Yeshiva in Minsk. The Leader in Youth Within a week, Reb Moshe Mordechai was in Minsk delivering shiurin1 to thirty students. At one period, the As a child in Minsk, Russia, where his father Reb Yeshiva had moved to Kremeczug, where Reb Baruch Shamshon was dayan (chief judge in the rabbinical Ber Leibowitz's Knesses Bais Yitzchok was also located. court), he had a stong influence on younger friends. R.eb Baruch Ber became acquainted with Reb Reuvain's Even after he left home for the famed Slabodka Yeshiva genius and selected him as his prospective son-in-law. (under Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein and Reb Nos son Tzvi Finkel, der Alter fun Slabodka), he maintained Reb Reuvain's hasmada (diligence) was prodigious; contact and encouraged his friends (then simply he breathed Torah day and night. When his father, Reb "Yaakov Kamenetzky" and "Aharon Kotler") to join Shamshon, passed away several days before Reb Reu him. He had encountered special difficulties in the case vain's wedding, der Alter fun Slabodka did not tell Reb of the latter: his father - a former dayan - had passed Reuvain, so the wedding could take palce as scheduled. away, and some friends of the family insisted that he Weeks later he persisted in not telling Reb Reuvain of 18 Tlw Jewish Observer I 1\tfay, 1978 RABBI BARUCH BER LEBOVITZ instructed his son-in-law: "When you go to a conference for Klal, you must pack your tachrichim (shrouds) ... A Jewish leader must put his life on the line for his people." his loss. His reason? "A son must be told of his parent's the author was present), he translated the entire Hagad death to recite the Kaddish, to bring merit to his late dah, word for word, into Yiddish, only breaking from father by sanctifying G-d·s name. But Reb Reuvain. the text to explain each of the Ten Plagues with great with his total involvement in Torah, says Kaddish detail and animation to his oldest grandchild, much to twenty four hours a day:· the delight of the little boy - again, in keeping with an approach maintained by his father. Modest Aspirations halachic When Reb Reuvain joined his father-in-law in When Less is Better leading his yeshiva, it grew in size and stature, and the During a war-time Succos in New York, shipp yeshiva relocated to Kamenitz. Once the yeshiva was ing restrictions made it impossible to secure an es settled, one 1night have assumed that its leaders at least rog. Rabbi Nesanel Quinn, menahel of the lived comfortably. But that was not the case. Reb Reu Mesifta department of Torah Vodaath, asked a vain viewed the yeshiva as a public trust, not a private young man to write to horticulture schools, for domain. He drew a minimal salary- more than once his spare citrons from their hot-house experiments. Rebbetzin was forced to borrow small change from the The University of Colorado in Denver responded yeshiva students - and shared a small house with his with five: one was allocated to the Yeshiva for the wife's parents. He, his wife, and four children occupied students' use, and one each was given to Rabbi the upstairs apartment with cardboard dividers Quinn, the Rosh Yeshiva - Rabbi Shlomo separating the rooms. These partitions were covered Heiman, Reh Reuvain (on Reh Shlomo's recom with wallpaper in three of the rooms, but not in his mendation; Reh Reuvain was not yet affiliated own. His constant fear was, "I don't want 1"11 to use with Torah Vodaath), and a Chassidic leader. The sacred funds for personal use." young man felt deprived and complained directly Upon arriving in New York. he told his family, to Reh Reuvain, who had already purchased the "Well either live on the East Side or in Williamsburg. other three species at considerable expense. Reb They are the least affected by the excesses of American Reuvain referred him to Rabbi Heiman, who culture. In such matters - the less exposure, the bet somehow failed to satisfy the young man, and he ter." returned to haunt Reh Reuvain. Greatness in Small Acts Reh Reuvain asked him if he thought he was While popular figures are often cut down to size in entitled to the esrog. He did. So Reh Reuvain their intimates' view, those close to a great Torah per handed it over to him without another word. He sonality know more than others of his spiritual later told members of his family, who were visibly grandeur from his private actions and concerns. perturbed, that he did not want a mitzva at the ex esrog Reb Reuvain's family recounts his meticulous mitzva pense of another's misgivings. An can be observance, his adherence to the letter of the halacha, borrowed, but nothing can compensate for and then some . . . perpetuating traditions he had someone's ill will. witnessed in his own father's home: In Kamenitz, he During his final six years, it was very difficult stored a large sack of flour ground from yashan (wheat for Reb Reuvain to talk. Nonetheless, leading rab sprouted before Pesach) to avoid the use of chaddash - binical figures who visited him frequently, found new grain - unt~l the omer, the second day of Pesach. him alert and informed, always clutching an open And in America, he corresponded with mills in the sefer. Mid-West to determine when the grains for various A visitor during the first summer of his illness brands of flour and cereals are harvested .... He washed found Reh Reuvain filling his mouth witn water, exclusively with•kosher soap (in line with a stringent then emptying it into a cup. The explanation: Reh minority view) .... He strictly supervised the baking of Reuvain had expected that for medical reasons he his matzos, personally scrubbing the utensils used; he would be required to drink liquids on Yorn Kip spent long hours into the night searching all corners, pur. He was measuring his "malei lugmav" (his drawers, and shelves for chometz on Pesach eve, airing mouth's capacity) to determine the maximum he out all the seforim out-of-doors .... At the seder (where could drink without "violating" the coming fast. The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 19 The Servant of Kial When Reb Reuvain began to assume an active role in school in Kamenitz. Reb Reuvain called a mass communal affairs, his father-in-law told him of an inci meeting to be addressed by Reb Baruch Ber. The dent involving Rabbi Yoseif Dov (Reb Yoshe Ber) townspeople, in awe before the elder Rosh Soloveitchik of Brisk (author of Bais HaLevi): Yeshiva, crowded the hall to hear him denounce Reb Yoshe Ber was in St. Petersburg with a the plans to bring "treife culture" to Kamenitz. committee of rabbis to beseech the Czarist The school did not open. government's intervention on behalf of Jews suf [11 Vilna, after World War [, Reb Reuvain was fering from pogroms by bands of Cossacks. The detained by the police for organizing a demonstra rabbis knew that the government was actually tion against a Jewish football group guilty of supporting the pogroms, and there was a dif Chillul Shabbos. The Chafetz Chaim wrote him a ference of opinion as to whether they should con tvan11, congratulatory letter: "I envy you your front the officials with their complicity. merit of suffering for the glory of Heaven.'' Reb Yoshe Ber advocated maintaining a Tzoo American students in Kamenitz attempted relationship of trust rather than calling the to dissuade the proprietor of a seltzer kiosk from government's bluff, but he was outvoted. opening on Shabbos. Not only did they fail, the The decision upset him deeply, and his man had them arrested. They came to Reb Reu mounting concern for the welfare of his people vain with plans to press charges, go to the drove him to his sick bed with an illness from A111erican embassy, etc. Said Reb Reuvain: "Do which he died. you think that will enhance K'vod Shomayim? You did your best. Now forget the incident." Said Reb Baruch Ber; '"When you go to a con ference, or in any way deal with the needs of Kial, Re/, Reiwain was bothered by the glee with which you must pack your tachrichim (shrouds) in your others faulted great Torah personalities for minor suitcase. A Jewish leader must put his life on the offenses. Rcb Baruch Ber told him not to be too line for his people - not like the secularists who co11ccr11ed. "As Reb Yitzchok Elchonon Spector sound chimes, eat and drink their fill, and then in (revered Kovno Rav) said, 'tvhen a cat catches a a barely sober state decide what's best for Jewry.'" 11101Ise, both the houseowner and the cat are Reb Reuvain recorded this advice in his diary, and delighted. Except for one point. The cat hopes indeed he fasted and said Tehillim on days that he felt tllcre arc 1nore 1nice to be caught; the owner hopes burdened with portentious decisions - such as when he not.'" met with David Ben Gurion to protest the conscription Once he arrived in America, there was scarcely an of women into the Israeli Army, and before he spoke area of concern to the Torah community in which he publicly in regard to Yaldei Teheran. was not involved. Reb Reuvain's efforts for Hatzala * * * often had him out of the house after a hasty breakfast, not returning until 2 A.M. for a hasty supper. In Kamenitz, he established a cheder to teach a full day's program of Torah studies to young boys, and His role at the helm of the Moetzes Gedolei Ha Torah organized a Beth Jacob school for girls - importing involved every aspect of his personality. He was in con teachers from Cracow, hiring others to teach required stant consultation with Reb Aharon Kotler, and when courses in Polish and mathematics, and raising the he became ill, Reb Aharon sighed: "Now 1 am lost. I funds to cover expenses. cannot work without Reb Reuvain." He directed Tiferes Bachurim in Kamenitz - an In May 1951, Reb Reuvain was scheduled to address organization that scheduled Torah classes for working a mass meeting to protest the assignment of refugee men. He also dispatched yeshiva students to lead study children to irreligious kibbutzim, forcibly robbing them groups for laymen in Chumash and Gemora on Friday of their heritage. Before the meeting, some older Torah nights. Vodaath bachurim asked Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky if they should take time from their studies to attend. Said In Protest Against Injustice Rabbi Kamenetzky: "lf you miss one of Reb Reuvain's His zeal to protest against injutice was legendary. Yet shiurim in Gemora, someone else can repeat it for you he was far from unrestrained, or impulsive, and con - or at least you'll hear another shiur later. But you will stantly consulted with his father-in-law, who in turn never have another opportunity to hear Reb Reuvain copiously quoted his mentor, Reb Chaim Soloveitchik. deliver a shiur in Hilchos De'os (Principles of Judaism "A ta/mid chacham must be as zealous as a snake.' 1f applied to life situations)." not, his tolerance for evil will result in his children Reb Reuvain delivered a fiery oration. He scored abandoning Judaism.'' those who would protect the perpetrators of this shmad A group of maskilim planned to open a Tarbut from criticism on the basis of Ahavas Yisroel (Love of 20 The Jewish Observer/ May, 1978 Jewry), for making Ahavas Yisroel supersede Ahavas magazines ended up in his hands. One Thursday mid Torah and Ahavas Hashem. "Can one love a seducer of night, a student in Bais Medrash Elyon entered his young innocent lives? Corrupting a child is even worse room to return something borrowed from the Rosh than 1nurdering him!" Yeshiva, and he found the table covered with Israeli When some excited members of the audience broke dailies which the Rosh Yeshiva was examining. On into applause, he silenced them: "It is a time for kinos another occasion, Life Magazine featured a s-pecial (!an1entations), not applause!" study on the developing State of Israel and Reb Reu vain had an older student translate the entire article for hiin into Yiddish. Man of the Times In his deep concern over public opinion, Reb Reu As in other matters, his decisions in regard to com vain instructed the Zeirei Agudath Israel to organize munal affairs were totally built on Torah deliberations. letter-writing campaigns to newspapers and magazines One of his most widely known pronouncements whenever a Jewish issue was misrepresented. weighed the participation of Agudath Israel in the rul ing cabinet coalition of the State of Israel as opposed to In the Day School Movement siinp!y voting and sending representatives to the Knes As chairman of Torah Umesorah's Rabbinical Ad S('t. 1'he ori~inal, printed in his Bayas f1azman, is visory Council, Reb Reuvain articulated a strong and studied as a shiur in halacha as much as for its status as clear position on the problems besetting the growing a position paper on a vital issue. n1ove1ncnt (see attached). f-Iis i1nme~o:::!an in communal affairs was such that Reb Reuvain had addressed a founding gather any ite1n dealing with Israel in popular newspapers or ing of a Hebrew Day School in Providence, R.l.: Excerpts from Speeches by Rabbi Reuvain Grozovsky During War-Time, Regarding Rescue Efforts uThe Pity is Not on Them Alone" Kiddush Hashem." In our other tefi/!os we beg Him to remember with mercy our sons in the American Army In our Rosh Hashana tefi/los we pray on behalf on our who are in mortal danger, wherever they may be found. children: "1J:J7~ 1J':J.K · - Our Father, OUf' King, However, G-d is described as l~:i - "your protective remember Your mercy and withhold Your anger"; and shield - your shadow," and indeed, He follows man's He in turn demands that we rememb~r His children in every gesture and act. That is, when we ask Him to Europe ... Do we feel like brothers toward them? Are remember, He first asks: "Do you remember the dead, we mindful of the countless threatened European com the murdered? Are you concerned over the welfare of munities, which encompass so much Torah scholarship in those in danger? Are you trying to determine how you chadorim and yeshivas, so rich a Torah life in study can save them? Is your rest disturbed, do you lose sleep at groups and charity associations - and so much more! night?" G-d has never declined to act on behalf of mankind on The passuk implores you to help "When you see the the pretext ·that: "We will not save the entire world, so donkey of your enemy crushed under his load ... why bother with saving just a few?" On the contrary, in (Shemos 23:5). Say the commentaries: "Your enemy - our tefiflos we invoke the fact that: "You also because would it not be your enemy, it is impossible that remembered Noach with love, when You brought the you would refrain from helping him. {There is no need flood waters to destroy all mankind." for a Torah command to help your friend.) ... The pas If you felt like brothers toward them, you would find suk continues," And you will refrain from helping him." means through the Vaad Hatzala for saving Jews from Says Rashi - this is phrased in question: "ls it possible Poland and Lithuania, Hungary and Rumania .. You that one Jew would refrain from helping another?" would be sending parcels to detention camps, to Siberia, Elsewhere, however, the Torah does answer this ques to Shanghai. ... You would be securing visas for them to tion: It is indeed possible, when "you blind yourself to South American countries. the circumstances" - when you dose your eyes, stuff The pity is not only on them, but on us as well. If your ears, and otherwise make yourself oblivious to his someone wields a knife to stab - to murder half one's problems and of the ways of alleviating them. To this the body, and the other half doesn't react, it is a sure sign that Torah cries out: "But you shall not blind yourself!" the other half is also dead. Is it possible that should the Jives of someone's 1nothf'r and children be in doubt he would shrug: "They've probably died already, so why bother trying to savC' ''Remembering'' the1n?" On the contrary, we find that in regard to hC'r son In our Yizkor prayers, we ask C-d to remember "the !hat was dead, the mother (in the CdSe brough! before souls of our dear ones ... who died, or were killed a/ Shlomo) cried out: "1\1y son is the one that livPs~" The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 21 "What role does a Rosh Yeshiva have at the es "Do you know at what point light radiated tablishing of a kindergarten? Doesn't he have from Moshe Rabbeinu's face? Not when G-d first other things on his mind? But that isn't the case. spoke to him, but when he became the in There's a long-standing rule in the Torah, that tennediary between G-d and His people, teaching saving lives assumes a higher priority over G-d's Torah to Jews.. If, as a result of this everything else, Without Torah study, the tneeting, 1ve save but one child, we will be worthy children of this community are being buried alive. of being blessed with the light of Torah." Without this kindergarten, they will, of course, go to school and learn about George Washington and It is now twenty years since Reb Reuvain has left us. Thomas Jefferson, but they will never know Beyond doubt, he affected radical changes in Torah in about Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov Avinu, or A.. 1nerica and Israel - on the communal level and on the Moshe Rabbeinu. Thus, the item of foremost highest levels of study. To this day, our Torah study, priority on my agenda is to be here and ascertain our concept of Klal Yisroel, and our activities un behalf that these children will indeed live. of Kial, are illuminated by the light of his teachings. On Hilchos Chinuch (Al a serninar for yeshivd ledcht>rs sponsored hy untk·r dn 22 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 With our Pesach households After Pesach Musings: quality of information that will be almost magically hidden away for offered to the wise son. another year, we tend to experience Another fascinating connection is a mingled sense of relief and regret TEACHING the similarity between the wicked as one of our most difficult Yamim son and the one who cannot ques Tovin1 recedes on our calendar, day tion, which the Haggadah implies by day, to the status of the non THE by using the very same words in the imposing pleasant past. answer to both. If we are content to There are messages in the Hag tnerely note this similarity, how gadah. however; those obliquely FOURTH SON ever, it is very possible that a most stated as well as those which are il vital message for parents and luminatingly clear, that must be car educators will be lost. For it is in the ried forth throughout the year, by obvious differences in the handling Inherent in the Haggadah is both a Helene Ribowsky of both sons that the Haggadah blueprint and a source for renewal provides invaluable advice. The dif of our energies with which we must ferences are such that they evoke, pursue the life of the Torah Jew. for rne, both an understanding of We dare not permit its teachings to children who are unable to question become just a yearly ritual. I as \.veil as an insight into how they As an educator, I find the Hag may be aided through our fulfilling gadah an inspiring source; since it the mitzva of telling them the story aims to guide fathers in how to in of the Exodus from Egypt. struct their children, its timeless The child who does not ask may teachings very aptly find expression be young, bashful, or inarticulate. in son1e of the accepted educational He may also be more severely han maxims of the world of today. dicapped o Whether we call this Thus, I was not at all surprised to limited child disabled, an un discover that my interest in and derachiever, a sloto learner, or a concern for the special child also child who exhibits a developmental find pointers in the Haggadah. delay is actually quite immaterial. Labeling. after all, can be an inef The Son Who Does Not ficient and inaccurate method of Ask Questions identifying a group of children who The Haggadah speaks of four have learning difficulties. It is suf sons; and while we most often con ficient to view the troubled child sider the stark contrast between the who is unable to question as a child chacham (the wise son) and the who is experiencing rather frighten rasha (the wicked son), commen ing and alienating frustrations in taries often point to other learning. With this guideline in relationships, linking the tam (the mind, one can infer a rather signifi simple son) with the chacham, and cant educational and humanitarian the she'eino yodei'a lishol (the one 1nessage. who does not know how to ques tion) with the rasha (Haggadah The Differences in Approach Yalkut Tov). Like the wise son, the If one may ferret messages by ex simple son is given an answer that is amination of the differences, it factual and reasonable, in a manner would seem necessary then to deter both warm and encouraging. It may mine the nature and extent of dif be a·ssumed that the simple and wise ferentiation. sons are somehow similar. They both quest for knowledge. The wise The Haggadah advises that we son will be able to absorb a great speak forcefully to the wicked son deal of information; the simple son - that we do not spare him or mol will absorb less - but of the same lycoddle him - indeed, that we "set his teeth on edge." His greatest MRS. RIBOWSKY is program coordinator of crime is that he has removed Tl1c Jewish Center fo1· Special Education in himself from Kial Yisroel, that he Brooklyn, /\Jn.I.! York. does not sense himself one of us. T/Ie Jcwis/1 ()hscrvcr /May, 1978 23 The element of hope, however, to change the mode of imparting fortunately could well change into a hinges upon the very fact that he knowledge, in that this son is told wicked child.) did question at all, and that he may the story of the departure from The warning implied is not that yet be encouraged to rejoin his na Mitzraim while the wicked son the child will actually become tion. The son who does not ques benefits only from an abrupt listing wicked, in the usual sense in which tion, however, is spoken to in a soft of facts. Additionally, the son who we view wickedness. It is that the manner designed to elucidate and cannot question must also be ap child will be condemned to living encourage. His greatest crime is that proached delicately and positively outside of Kial Yisroel - that the he does not question. He is not per in that he is told the story of Pesach criminal path that the· wicked mitted, however, to languish but is not roughly warned that he chooses for himself will be that sad, because he does not query. The ele would not have been worthy of be unbidden fate which the un ment of hope here is that the parent ing redeemed from the bondage of questioning or learning-disabled is constrained with the words "And Mitzraim. The differences, then, are child will meet. The message calls . you shall tell your son." Further as obvious as is the similarity of the for us to do our utmost to prevent more, it n1ust be accomplished in use of identical words. this alienation. "You begin for him" such a way as to literally open the What then is the message con - you open the world for this child; child's world. "1~ nnn nx You veyed to us by this strange connec you teach and tell, until the child is begin for him." It is self-evident tion? In spite of the fact that the no longer in danger of being cut off that part of the ultimate goal will be Haggadah forces us to link these from his nation because of his dis to bring the child to the point where two sons together by the very words abilities. he will eventually question on his used, these children are, after all, own. hardly as similar as they are dif The Haggadah and the Seder are, in and of themselves, prototypes of And what of the method? Are we, ferent. They do not show the same "You begin for him." Instances in the very process of illuminating characteristics, they do not speak in abound in which an action is in his world, to be as severe with this the same manner, they are not itiated with the goal of creating in child as we are with the wicked spoken to or taught in the same terest and stimulating questioning. child? way .... What is the bond? Very little is left to the imagination The Haggadah tells us that we The Similarities in Destiny when we are told to actually point must say the following to the The Haggadah gives an implicit to items mentioned in the Hag wicked son:"It is because of this warning by linking these two sons. gadah. We do not merely recite a that G-d did for me when I went out If the educational needs of the son litany of freedom - but actually ex of Egypt." Implying: For me - but who cannot question are ignored, if perience the delight of the free man not for him. Had he been there, he at the Seder. The story of the Ex would not have been redeemed. the more difficult path of Vehigadeta - the painstaking tell odus is presented with the most per To the son who does not ques ing - is not followed, then is raised tinent information given concisely, tion, however, we must com the awful specter of a chid who and yet in some parts there is almost municate only the following: "It is could very possible show the continuous repetition of the very because of this that G-d did for me characteristics of the wicked child. basic theme of the Haggadah. From when I went out of Egypt." (The Haggadah Yalkut Tov notes Kadeish through Nirtza there is The method used, then, for the that the son who cannot question is orderly sequencing of material that son who does not question, is first the most difficult to reach and un- both invites interest and enhances memory. Each component is an nounced and explained; little of the )!ARK LOHNGER RARRI JOZEF KATZ text is presented in a highly abstract 83 Division Avenue "' RrookJ,·u, N. Y. 11211 state. OF "You begin for him." The Seder is designed to elicit responses. Im portantly, it hints at the methods needed to open up the world of a child who, for whatever reason, is A1.L LEADl-.;G lloTELS BA:\'QUET HALLS unable to question. Most signifi A."ID J EWISll CE:"llTERS Av AILABLE cant, however, is "And you shall tell your son" - the insistance that illl:l Ul:(?:. this child be considered as impor tant to teach as the others - even 3884204 388-3590 863-8892 though this child must be taught so specially. ~T. 24 The Jewish Observer/ May, 1978 Hanoch Teller II ''The Stone Rejected by the Builders . • • A Monroe County (N.Y.) newspaper ran a holiday lucrative co1npensation. Dorothy Jacobs, coordinator of feature entitled: "Family Fosters Special Christmas." the family care program of the Bronx Developmental Pictured is a middle-aged couple and six children sitting Services, could not locate a single Jewish family, let around a Christmas tree. Read the article: It is a long alone kosher home to host a retarded child. and loving holiday season for the Denny's, who The mentally retarded person, due to his intellectual celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah with their six limitations, must have the benefit of being viewed as a special children. The Christmas tree and the Menorah whole person who can move, albeit slowly, toward the share the living room at the Denny's. Three of their six achievement of his own potential. It is recognized that foster children are Jewish, so the entire family long-tenn institutional care is not needed by the ma celebrates both holidays ... A special Sunday school has jority of the mentally retarded, and invariably causes been set up for them at Hausersville Chapel by Pastor regression. Community living for the retarded enables ]an1es ]. Horton. him to lead a life of dignity and fulfillment. Defenseless and unsupported, the mentally retarded To date, there is not a single Jewish group home! The are the most misunderstood and maltreated group in the ramifications of this vacuum are harrowing. Resident Jewish community. Objects of fear and apprehension, chaplain of the Brooklyn Developmental Center, Rabbi suffering social isolation and rejection, they are in Solomon Wulliger wrote several articles (in the Jewish variably stereotyped. The prevalent belief that Press) that brought to public attention the destination "nothing can really be done" obscures the ultimate in of Jewish retarded: South Bronx, Bedford Stuyvesant, dividuality and uniqueness of the human beings who St. Christopher's Home in Brooklyn, Catholic Guar comprise this group. (I recently met a young Jewish dian Society, etc. The archdiocese's Catholic Charities retarded woman who had participated in a is light years ahead of the Jewish Community in their rehabilitative project, and is now employed as a staff care for the handicapped. Their treatment is meticulous member of that very project.) and thorough; they sponsor a number of group homes, Mental institutions are overcrowded, understaffed maintaining a "birth-to-death" policy. But so far the and inhumane. Untrained or overworked institutional Jewish community has not begun to match Catholic staff members have been known to shut retardates into achievements in this field. locked boxes when they cannot control their behavior. They are treated as sub-humans, are called degrading The Roots of Neglect nicknames, a.nd in desperation attendants often resort Jewish neglect for their retarded brethren stems from to tying them to chairs. what Dr. Erwin Friedman, director of the Manhattan Parents of institutionalized children brought a court Concept Developmental Center, terms the "Elui suit against this brutal treatment in the Willowbrook Concept." For centuries, Jews have prided themselves Facility on Staten Island, New York, resulting in the on erudition and stressed intellectual achievement. The Willowbrook Consent Decree, mandating an improve celebrated yeshiva student is always the perspicacious ment of State institutions and a deinstitutionalization of one; and those not capable of producing are ignored at the majority of residents, transferring them to community best, generally shunned. As a result, the mediocre child resources. The State has endeavored to locate foster may suffer neglect in the classroom, but at least he homes or small residential centers (group homes) op somehow fends for himself. The retarded child requires timally located within the retardate's own community. special treatment to cope with the most basic of needs, Jewish families have unintermittingly failed to open and the traditional yeshiva will usually reserve its their homes to their retarded, even when offered special attention for the ideal end-product: the elui .... While everyone that I interviewed had a different term for this phenomenon, all agreed that this was at the root HANOCH TELLER, who studies in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem, is currently on a visit to the U.S.A. Several of his articles have been of the problem of the neglect of the Jewish retardate. featured in recent issues of The Jewish Observer. Since Torah is the basis of Judaism, those not able to The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 25 learn Torah a priori are not considered genuine Jews. Rabbi Wulliger told me of a tragic case in point, of a The dictum "Lo am ha'aretz chassid - an ignoramus retarded Jewess who became pregnant while at family cannnot be saintly" (Avos) implies further limitations care in a gentile home. The daughter subsequently born in the possibilities for a retarded child to realize his ful to her will never know her true religion ... , In another lest role in Judaism. Thus, the special child is often recent case a Jewish boy died of neglect in a gentile ridiculed, humiliated, and ignored in the classroom, for foster home. A Jewish home that cares was never an sadly enough, religious education often fails to suf alternative for him .... Children who had participated in ficiently emphasize that gemilas chassadim (perfor Jewish oriented activities at Willowbrook, now par mance of generous acts) also encompasses compassion ticip 26 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 parents are known to have taken their retarded new JOHN $, COSCV< born directly from the hospital to whatever institution A'rr<">N•Y A"C O October 1, '.\914 tally retarded? Mr. & Hrs • ....,_..... Dr. Herbert J. Cohen, director of the Bronx ·._.,_ r· Strc.. t > The Jewish Ohserver I i\1ay, 1978 27 would be employed in sheltered workshops or take part retarded. Rabbi Herschel Fried, educational director in special occupational day care programs. Fears that and backbone of the school was prompted to found the unsupervised residents would be free to roam the school one Erev Yorn Kippur when two parents ap streets and molest or offend the neighbors are proached him, telling him that their seven year-old sons groundless. were expelled from yeshiva and would not be readmit Mr. Kaufman was followed by representatives of the ted because they could not read. State Department of Mental Hygiene responsible to Rabbi Fried and his professional staff address implement the Willowbrook Consent Decree. From this themselves to the most pressing dilemmas facing Jewish point on, the meeting became riotous, resulting in a special education, If a child can only learn to read one premature adjournment. City Councilman Leon Katz language, should he be taught English or Hebrew? arrived to announce that he opposes all residential Professionals unanimously will advise learning English. facilities. "Group homes are a racket," he claimed to Rabbi Fried contends that these professionals are tu1nultous applause. Local residents said that the myopic. The child who cannot comprehend what goes "patients" were better off in Willowbrook than in Flat on in shul, cannot follow his father's Kiddush, is unac bush; here they would "wreck and threaten" the quainted with the Seder proceedings, undergoes un neighborhood. "Your next door neighbors are all men bearable psychological strain. The child will not feel at tally retarded; when they will become violent, who can home with his parents or in school; he could develop guarantee the safety of our children?" into a recluse. Teaching English instead of Yiddish to a Although the program dealt exclusively with a home youngster from Williamsburgh is tantamount to psy for the mentally retarded, community speakers chological homicide. The second that he walks into a (deliberately?) confused them with the mentally dis grocery store and converses he is out of step. turbed. One resident said, "We must all get out there I saw an audio-visual presentation on the Seder and defeat this - we do not make idle threats; the pro rituals at the Jewish Center for Special Education. ject is going to create 'retarded-home entrepreneurs." Almost any child viewing that presentation would be Mr. Kaufman and State representatives were able to participate in his family Seder. The school heckeled and not allowed to speak .... A neighbor of the noticed a remarkable difference in the children after proposed site threatened to rent his house to welfare Pesach; their self-confidence was far greater. Rabbi clients if retarded women moved in. Just before the Fried believes that a Jewish school for the retarded "has mayhem forced the meeting's conclusion, a local resi got to be more than a special school where Kosher food dent had this to say' "If this house is approved, I'll tell is served." Due to the particularly Jewish character of you one thing, you or any of your patients will not his school, he is entitled to very little State subsidizing. walk around that block, because I personally make a This is a marked difference which should be noted vow that every one of you will not profit in that house between group homes and his school. ... if I have to personally burn it down." There was a The state has a policy of providing voluntary ser resounding applause and cheers. vices for the retarded, and generous funding, par The State could not understand why Jews would op ticularly for group homes. By law, these must be non pose a home for Jewish residents. This Flatbush home sectarian, but Henry R. Marguit, Deputy Director of will not open, and I would venture that if a home would the State Department of Mental Hygiene, is aware of be proposed for central Born Park the response would the specific heritage requirements of Jewish retardates likely be the same. A gentleman in Riverdale attempted and is predetermined to cater to this need. So far Jewish to open a group home and was awarded the same treat opposition has prohibited his acting. ment. Other Measures Residents of Flatbush were afraid that a group home Mrs. Jeanne (Sheindel) Warman, residents' would lower the value of their houses. This is a myth. A chairperson of Neshei Ahavas Chesed, Boro Park's stone's throw from Willowbrook, $80,000 homes are Women's Chesed League, has endeavored for years to being constructed. A recent article in The New York open a group home. This past April, Neshei Ahavas Times reported a statement by Dr. Julian Wolpert, Chesed made the decision to go ahead with their professor of geography and urban planning at proposed home on the outskirts of Born Park. Opposi Princeton University, saying, "The siting of a residen tion encountered was of a different nature: The home's tial facility in a neighborhood does not tend to depress site borders on an Italian neighborhood, whose resi surrounding property values, and in some cases, may dents average age is above 65. They are quite set in their even cause an appreciation in property values." ways, and the idea of a Jewish Kosher home opening up in their neighborhood was not too appealing. It is in A School For Those Rejected teresting to note that the local opposition was anti The scene is not without its brighter spots. The Semitic in nature, not anti-retarded. Mrs. Warman ap Jewish Center for Special Education in Born Park does pears to have won Jewish backing for the home; "pro" cater to both the learning disabled and the mentally petitions were signed as well as a letter of encourage- 28 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 ment from the Council of Jewish Organizations of Baro * * * Park. Once Reb Yisroel Salanter ':>"YT did not arrive for the ... Mrs. Schipper, who heads the Rosh Pinah Foun Kol Nidrei Service. The congregation had to proceed dation of New Rochelle, has not achieved such success. with i\1aariv, still without any trace of his whereabouts. H.osh Pinah has been trying for years to open a nature Messengers were sent out to find him to no avail. At the sheltered, self-contained commune for Jewish young end of the service, Reb Yisroel appeared with his jacket adults who will need special care all their life. For Rosh wrinkled, beard matted, and feathers in his hair. After Pinah to succeed, it must be independent of State he finished praying, Reb Yisroel explained his lateness: funds; private contributions, however, have not been "'I was on my way to shul and I heard a baby crying. I forthcoming. found a small baby wailing, clutching a baby bottle. ... There are several facilities and schools, albeit far Apparently his mother in her desire to go to the Kol too few, for Jewish retarded heretofore not mentioned. Nidrei Service left the baby attended only by his six Satmar has a class for male and female mongoloids, year old sister. Meanwhile, she had fallen asleep." Reb Rabbi Reuven Rubin directs Chessed Yisrael in Flat Yisroel fed the baby and put him to sleep, at which time bush, and I{abbi Avrum Mondrowitz coordinates his sister woke up. She begged Reb Yisroel not to leave Yeshivas Beis Sholom, which has an excellent program for she was frightened to stay by herself. for learning disabled children, but does not serve retar Reh Yisroel could not reconcile a spiritual rendez d ates. Also well-known are Rabbi Max Kahn's Hebrew vous with the Almighty by saying that it had Academy for Special Children, Rabbi Maurice Block's precedence over the cry of a baby and the loneliness of School for Special Children, Mrs. Batsheva Mandel's a child. Orthodox Jewry must ask itself: "How many Mishkan Home for Children, and the Maimonides In tiinrs have we neglected and ignored the cries for help stitute in Far Rockaway. Torah Umesorah runs Opera of our mentally retarded brethren in the name of more tion T.O.U.C.H., Dr. Joel Rosenschein manages Petach, lofty and sublime goals? How much longer will the cry and Herb Greenberg heads (the Conservative ing go unansvvered?" !..T. Movement's) Camp Ramah's Project Tikvah. The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies provides a host of rrogratns for the retarded; to date, however, they still TORAH SCHOOLS FOR ISRAEL\ do not have a single group home. CHINUCH ATZMAI Most of the above listed programs are afflicted by several problen1s: Some are void of religious content, 40,00P students in 200 Talmud Torah & son1e are not adequately professional, some suffer from Beth Jacob elem. schools 170 both, few are neither. F eta Kindergartens, 24 Jr.H.S.-Mesivtos, 2 a Teachers Institutes. You Yeshiva of Staten Island Should 3,000 employees' salaries through is pleased to announce the continuation of Chinuch Atzmai: teachers. supervisors, its KnOW secretaries, maintenance men. About To h $1,400,000 needed to cover costs of COMMUTING rals educational programs for the rest of the PROGRAM C h OO school year. CHINUCH ATZMAI TORAH SCHOOLS For 9th and 10th Graders world Jewry's greatest united effort for Torah Education the very for the coming Zman, Elul 5738 base of religious life in the Holy Land. In addition, applications are being proces Join in making Torah in Israel secure Tor ah Schools for Israel - Chinuch Atzmai sed for Talmidim to enter all High School 167 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y 10016 grades and BAIS HAMEDRASH in our Tel. (212) 889-0606 Gentlemen REGULAR RESIDENT PROGRAM. ! hereby pledge the sum of of $ as my contribution in answer to the current emergency appeal. F'or information or to arrange visit to the Yeshiva a ( ) Amount enclosed ) Kindly mail statement Write: YESHIVA OF STATEN !SIANO Name .. 1870 Drumgoole Rd. E. Staten Island, N.Y. 10309 or call Rabbi Y. Sommers at 356-4323 Address Evenings call at 984-2205 City, State, Zip .. Summer telephone: (914) 626-0901 Contributions are taK exempt - T11~ rel BKE0-60-46 The Jewish Observer/ May, 1978 29 Don't If you are over 40 Quit and unemployed, we can put you at right back 40, 50, into a full- or60! time job. To help you on the road back, we off er: 1. Vocational Guidance and Counseling 2. Aptitude and Interest Testing 3. On-the-Job Training 4. Vocational Training 5. English as a Second Language Courses 6. A stipend while you learn 7. An opportunity to train for a new career. If you qualify, contact: Project COPE's Fresh Start Training Program 5218 - 16th Avenue/Brooklyn, New York 11204 851-0333 Career Opportunities and Preparation for Employment A division of Agudath Israel of America For all other Project COPE programs, contact the office nearest you or call our main office at 5 Beekman St., N.Y.C. (212) 964-1300 Fresh Start Training Program is funded by the New York State Department of Labor, CETA OPERATIONS under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. Title I. 30 The ]ewisli Ohserver I May, 1978 the <1bove account in Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom. It was recorded that Rabbi Nachman had met with the chief r,1hhi of Rhodes, and I was curious to learn this rabbi's BOOKS name. On the basis of Rabbi Angel's book, this sage ap 1111 p('clrs to be Rabbi Hayyim Tarsa, author of Hayyim Sl1enayirn. -rherc is evidence that Jews lived in Rhodes as far hack as the time of the Bais HaMikdash Sheni (Second THE JEWS OF RHODES by Rabbi Marc D. Angel, Temple). When the remains of the famed Colossus of 216 pp. New York: Sepher-Hermon Press, Inc. and the Rhodes were torn down by the Moslems in 653 c.e. the Union of Sephardic Congregations. $10.00 pieces were reportedly sold to a Jew. The community was visited both by Benjamin of Tuleda in the llOO's, Reviewed by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan anJ by Rabbi Obadiah of Bertinor (best known for his When Rabbi Nachrnan of Breslav took his famou::. cornrnentarv on the Mishna) in 1488. For over two journey to the Holy Land, he was forced to leave sud hundred yc-ars the Island was controlled by a group of denly hy Napoleon's seige of Acco in March, 1799. monks (who would later be famed as the knights of Fleeing on the first boat he could find, the rabbi found Malta), who sharply restricted the rights of the Jews hitnself on a pirate ship, where he and his companion there. \.vere held as prisoners. It was not until the ship stopped When the Turks conquered Rhodes in 1522, they ,it Rhodes that he was ransomed and was given provi opened Rhodes to Jewish immigration. A large number sions for his journey home. of Spanish Jews who had been exiled in the 1492 expul This was typical of the Jews of Rhodes, or sion found their ways to this island, forming the basis "Rhodeslies," as they prefer to be called. To a large of the Sephardic community that would dominate this degree, the outside world - especially the Ashkenazic ist1nd until all its Jews were wiped out by the Nazis in world - was unaware of their existence - until they 1944. were needed. They could always be counted upon. Also The original small community of Rhodes was not not too well known is that for a significant period this sincll! island off the coast of Turkey was a major Torah center for the Sephardic world. ISRAEL I had done some investigation of the Jewish com Burials and An1erican Disinterments inunity of Rhodes some six years ago while translating 1il~!~'1~:i' ilt);C' anrrounces t~at RIVERS! CF r.,0nt,c1· .es to be the cnly !1censed hn1eral di rec tor 1n thP US abre to e!lect SCHECHTER 'S Transfer to Israel within the same day i-!ar Harnenuchot ·~~~:·l/a7i88£41"@' And all Cen1eteries in Israel 1NT111 oc1ANr1011r JLoca - J71• tt >1t11 st MIAMI BEACH Sole agent for Sanhadrea Cemetery ... la • GREAT Kosher Hotel - you'll love It/ RIVERSH.)l r-,r1y 'an ';if er th;s serv1c e • DIAL w-;;;;to;'FREE brochurt! •Private Pool an Enroute to Israel \.. vithin the same day MIAMI and boc>klet or call Sandy Beach ·Strict ar:n--,erf>"·' P ',c Hi':«Y. ~~2 ar1C \1\1nhag.,:; • A.rrangempnts mad~: d,y1ng 1.dF>(:'n'2 w:th no Ot)!1gat:on HACH 800-327-8165 •Oceanfront • Chapei se:: ured : n any cumfT'.'.,in't y FREE! FLORtoA AREA cooE Synagogue (30!1) 1531-0081 FREE Parking RIVERSIDE Mernoriai Chapel.in( 'Funi::rai D1re,_tors MANHATTAN 1212) 435.0261 180 West 76th St iat Arns'.erdarn A.ve ;N Y .. N Y 1 EN 2-6600 8ROOKLYN·3'r.0Coney Island Avlo (0,~eCJn Pdrkl,,ay at f)rv:.pect Park B:cokiyn}·• Yi UL 4 ?000 ~RONX:~963 Gra~~! Con,:c>;r',<:;(e!t 1 :''J!h S\ )8ronx,N Y ·'LU 3-6300 I FAR ROCKA\NAY 12·SOCPntr.'11 Avt: ra~ Pu.kilv'«'ly,N.Y FA 7-7100 And The VVf>stc::hc'::,tf·r R 1V("rSil1e r,1Prr~c'1 a: Chape'1,lnc 21 West Br0ad St'Pet.t•Jt Vt:rn0n.~ ·r 1:9~·~!M04 6800 Chapels in Miamr,M;;11111 f3each.Hoiiywood,S11nrise,Flonda Carl Grossberg/ And rev; F1er .·Solomon Shot:! son COMpETENT, CREATIVE plto'fOGRAplty ABRAHAM HOLD MOSHE z. WEISBERG 4419 13TH AVENUE MOSHE SCHLA,FRIG BROOKLYN N Y !!2!9 ror generations Cl symbol DI Jew'1s~1 Tradition. ~~~~~~~~- The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 31 Sephardic. Rather, it was a Romaniot, or Greek should dominate: those of the Romaniot who had spea king co1nmunity. Romaniot communities forined. the original community, or those of the Sephar dominated the north-eastern Mediterranian region, and din1, who were now in the majority. As such, Rhodes while inaintaining customs very different from the was a inicrocosm of the entire Mediterranian area, Ashkenazim, they usually followed the decisions of the where the Sephardim were overwhelming the pre early Ashkenazic authorities, most notably those of existing co1nmunities. In the case of Rhodes, questions Rabbeinu Yaakov Tam (1100-1171). n-.'gdrding which customs should prevail were sent to When Sephardim first arrived on Rhodes, there were the famed Rabbi Shemuel de Medina (the Maharash inany important halachic problems as to which customs da111), who sent several teshuvos (responsa) to Rhodes ,1tte1npting to resolve the conflict. However, in Rhodes 32 Tlie Jewisl1 C)bseruer I ,\1ay, 1978 "Holocaust" analysis took note of the widespread comment, "We never realized how much suffering actually took place." Thu5' It's im second looks portant that we/they know what had happened. This response was shared by most of the more critical at the jewish scene viewers - both professionals and those who knew because they were there. But once the critical process began, many faults were uncovered, "Holocaust" of varying degrees of severity. Some dealt with fact5' "The round-up in Warsaw was in the - At Least They Know sun11ner. I'll never forget the op pressive heat. And even if it had It is difficult.to imagine someone best-selling book based on the TV been in the winter, we'd never have not aware of "Holocaust," the nine script, specially convened discus been so well dressed, or so well fed. and-a-half hour telecast aired on sion groups, and ripples of discus Did you ever see one fat survivor?" NBC-TV the week preceding sion and controversy. Some dealt with nuance" John J. Pesach. If one could avoid TV The most superficial level of this O'Conner of the New York Times Guide or newspaper advertisements and discussions announcing its ad vent, then one would have dis (From a critical review by David love and lies. (That is one aspect covered its existence by having R. Blumenthal, Professor of of the real Holocaust that was most telephone calls placed during Judaic Studies, at Emory Univer portrayed well). critical evening hours greeted with a sity (Atlanta, Georgia), appearing busy signal, or a hasty' "Call back in the lnterMountain Jewish And, if one must talk of heroism, what of the heroism of after ILOO (click)." News) "Holocaust" left the impression that the real "heroes" the religious? The rabbis who led It is equally difficult to imagine were those who died with guns in their people to a religious death, anyone not aware of the tragic their hands, the resistors. What the students who were beaten for destinies of the fictional families nonsense. There were no heroes. providing prayerbooks in the Dorf and Weiss, who represented It is natural for us, the spectators camps, and the strength of the the fate of the persecutor and the (and perhaps for the survivors evangelical Christians whose victim in microcosm. Even non-TV too), to want to believe that some courage matched that of their owners who did not borrow viewing ways to die are "better" than religious Jewish counterparts. space in front of a neighbor's set others. But who says so? The idea In addition, "Holocaust" was knew the vicissitudes of the various that dying as resistor is more misleading because it focused on members of these families, thanks "courageous" is a medieval pagan the personal tragedies and to morning-after re-caps on buses, idea borrowed by modern roman "triumphs" of its characters. The ticism. Those who "went like real tragedy does not lie in the elevators, and in newspaper sheep" were no less human. Their columns. beatings (and the portrayal deaths no less meaningful. Their thereof was also pitifully inade And no Jew should be unaware chidren no less precious. To focus quate). That is simple inhuman of a phenomenon that focused the on resistance was to make the real violence, repugnant though it is. attention of millions of Americans Holocaust into a cheap Jewish The tragedy lies, at least in part, on some aspect of Jewish suffering western. in the cessation of Jewish civiliza during World War II; and indeed, Furthermore, the praising of tion in Europe. Dawidowicz ends according to media experts, more resistance left the false impression Part Two of her book with the li than half the country's population that there was some hope, some quidation of the Warsaw Ghetto, watched at least some part of this way to "save" oneself from not because it was heroic but humiliation. That simply was not because it was the end of the . "docu-drama." the case. Those who have sur~ Jewish community of Poland. A Media Event vived say that it was not by virtue There is no more communal, in of any act of theirs, nor by virtue stitutional history of the Jews in Judging by com men ts in new of any conviction that they sur Eastern Europe. The history of spapers and magazines, the vived. It was chance (read: the Jew stops cold. The survivors program was more than the record Providence - N.W.). What hope of the real Holocaust alway speak of an event; it was an event in itself, existed was illusory, a tissue of of "we". bringing in its wake study guides, a The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 33 found all the characters cardboard the fact that the "saving" culture f(Hnantic leads have to live together stereotypes, with epochal dilemmas was idcntica l with the one responsi and then get inarried - as though reduced to soap opera cliches, ble for their ultimate demise. th<1t were the norm for anyone in resulting in (as Elie Wiesel put it) a those days? Why should [Gerald] Reb Mechel's View trivialization of a cosmic tragedy: C~rcc:'n have to project that kind of The only member of the ill-fated This distortion of focus was counterfeit iinage of European Weiss family to survive is the poor elaborated upon by Reb Mechel, an Jewry for tnillions of viewers?" s tud en t, athlete-cum-partisan .. aluinnus of Buchenwald, in a O.K., the image was false, and in private conversation: ''I had Ti1ne and again Nazi soldiers on the sulting to us. But do you think it prornised myself not to watch. But I sidelines, watching Jews march roas da1nagi11g as far as the general benignly to their death, remarked, had to. And with each new episode I vil!TVer is concerned? "See how cooperative they are? I wondered how any one could es Ari's reply supplied me with half told you they're sub-human!" cape the inevitable death that awaited us. And then I silently con ,1n cH1swer to his own criticism: "It's Some dealt with the focus of the hard to say. Last Thursday a programo Why depict the wiping gratulated myself for making it - thanking G-d with every breath." telephone repairman was fixing our out of an entire culture with the kitchen phone. He asked me, 'You story of an assimilated, intermarried Was your reaction - your any relation to the Weiss Family on recognition fa1nily? When Mrs. Weiss urged of G-d's grace - fiolocaust" I explained that the her young charges in a make-shift ilnplied in the TV presentation?, I story and the family was fiction, but asked him_ ghetto-school studying Western the circumstances depicted were culture: "You 1nust continue your "Not at all. this was my personal truco 'Oh, I know that,' he said_ 'But (secular) education if you wish to celebration of making it, triggered I never knew until the show how make something of yourself," the by the scenes on the screen. On the rnuch the Weisses and all you peo irony was totally lost on the average contrary, I found nothing to give ple suffered. I just never realized.'" viewer. For that matter, the script 1ny type of survival, or the death of So you see, I told Ari, the writer himself seemed oblivious of others, any semblance of dignity. program did reach him. And I'd The sub1nission of the masses - Morah Bianka's Newest gi~ess that it ivas only because he forced to disrobe and march to their could relate to the Weisses their sins Fantabulous Record! death site, along an open pit - and all, that he could identify with A must for every Jewish home! see1ned like <1 puzzle, a cruel joke. their suffering. . R'. We weren't subtnissive. We were =--= starved. Our bodies were disease /\ri thought a moment, and then racked, broken. And yet we hoped. "begged to disagree": "My mother We could not imagine anything was one of a group of girls in worse than what we had already en Auschwitz. The orderly in charge of dured_ The round-up, the march - dispensing food to the inmates was it could only be to better circum in the ca1np because his paternal stances, we thought. And at the end grandfather had been Jewish - a - they whipped us, hounded us, knap11e Yid! On Yorn Kippur rnade us run. To look over vour 1norning my mother pocketed her shoulder was certain death. Who slice of bread and skipped her bowl could hesitate, let alone resist? But of gruel. The orderly asked her why this was a small consideration. The she was forgoing breakfast, so she told him about Yorn Kippur. 'So And don't forget Morah Bianka's main thing is that the people should that's why the other girls didn't other great records: know. Without 'Holocaust' and take breakfast,' he said. 'If I'm here • The Mitzva Tree NBC - trivialization, commercials, and all - they would never have because they consider me Jewish, • Stories Under the Mitzva been aware." then I'm not going to eat today Tree either!' he emphatically added. • I Hear a Mitzvah But Others Say "So you see," Ari said, "they ap • It's Mitzva Time Not everyone agreed with preciate us 1nuch more for being us, than for being carbon copies of (the only original Mitzva Tree Mechel. Ari Weiss was visibly up the111." records) seto "Why did they have to show an All available on tapes - so con assimilated family? Why did the And I believe that he was right. venient for easy summer listening. Available at better Hebrew Book Is Your Eruv Kosher? Do You Want To Know How To Build An Eruv? Do Stores and record shops. You Want To Know How To Check An Eruv? See Ad on Page 36 34 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 Jewish History With a Twist ..., Jewish history is a fascinating 15 play-scripts for religious schools Strive for Truth hv Rabbi Elivalnt Des storehouse of information and and camps. How does Reb Yisroel sli'r. The liro.,t tr,11~sl,1tion of lhe cL1ssic guidance. Study it and discover become a JTS hero? Not on the Michtav Me-Eliyahu rendered into models to emulate; peruse it and basis of the objective historical Ln·.~li-.,h ,ind 35 which are inviolable, making it bet pur constitute serious threat to life In The Eternal Light version, ter to die than to transgress. But or not 1 In Vilna of 1848, Reb however, rather than presenting an Shabbos, Yam Kippur, laws of Yisroel was almost alone in realizing internal dialogue within halacha, Kashrus - all are to be violated, if the desperation of the situation, and the script-writer has a doctor in necesasary, for the sake of preserv he decreed that the fast be broken: dialogue with Reb Yisroel, pitting ing a life. So the evidence must be In the halachic scale of values, life is medical needs against halacha. We weighed: does fasting on Yom Kip- more important than the fast. quote (in part - admittedly sacrific ing dramatic embroidery for the sake of cogency): Announcing A New Publication: Doctor: Eight in every ten are dead and dying. Others A Summary of will surely die. There must be no fasting on the Halachos of the Day of Atonement. Salanter: "On the Day of Atone Three Weeks ment ye shall take no manner of food and $225 drink." Doctor: Don't quote the scrip by Rabbi Shimon Eider ture, Rabbi Israel ... there A discussion of the Halachos of the Three Weeks, Nine Days, must be no fasting. Salanter: They would sooner die and Tisha B'Av. than break the solemn fast. Also available for summer use: Doctor: If they don't break it, Halachos of the Eruv $2so they will surely die. A Summary of Halachos of the Eruv .75 Salanter: Tell me what to do, Doc 2 Halachos of the Eruv cassettes $3°0 each tor. Doctor: I want you to break the Available in Hebrew bookstores or from the author: Yorn Kippur fast. P.O. Box 162, Lakewood, N.J. 08701 Salanter: I cannot do that, Doctor. The righteous liveth by ------order form for cassettes and publications: ------his faith. If it is G-d's Name .... will, I shall die. I am no longer young.* Perhaps Address .... you cannot understand it, but if it is a choice of City ...... State/Zip .. breaking the fast or dy Please Send: ing, I have no alternative but to die. Copies A Summary of Halachos of the Copies A Summ•rv of Halachos of Three Weeks $2.25 P.acb. section II. al $2.25 (on the Seder) Doctor: Suit yourself. I just can't Copies Dela1:e bard cover edition Copies Hal•cho. of the Eruv Cassette 1 understand it. But don't HaJ.chos ofSbabbo9 (Section 1·3) at $9.25 (CHEl) at $3.00 let them die ... tell them Copies Deluxe bani c;:over editlo1:1 Copies Halac:bo. of the Eruv Cassette 2 HalacbOll of Shabbos (Section 4) at $9.25 (CHE2) at $3.00 they must live. I ...... Copies Halachos of the Eruv at $2.50 Copies A SUAUll8.l\I of the Halacho. of the Salanter: Yes, I can do that...... CopiesHalac:hos of the FotUMinlm Cosset- Eruv at$ .75 Nothing is more sacred I te 1 (CFM 1) at $3.00 rostagen an d H an di"mg $...... CopiesHalachosoftheFourMlnim Gasset· than life. All right, Doc I te 2 (CFM 2) at $3.00 I am enclosing check or money order for tor, I shall tell them to I ...... Copies A SullllllU\I' of Halacho. of the total of$ .. . I Foar Mbdm at $1.50 break the fast...... Copies Halachos of Peeac:h Cassette \.A/hen ordering from the author, add 35 I 1 (Music: Montage theme and (CHPl) at $3.00 cents per soft cover volume or cassette and down for) I . Copies Halac:bo. of Pesach Cassette 2 75 cents per hard cover volume for postage I (CHP2) at $3.00 and handling. and so on, until Reb Yisroel realizes I Copies A Samm•rw of H•l•c:bo• of Canada and Foreign: $1.00 per hard cover Pe.ac:h, section 1 at $1.50 (on Ta"aruuos that he too must eat .to convince J ChometzJ. volume. Vol. IV soft cover, because of its others. .... Copies Haladw. of P..acb Cassette 3 size, is considered like a hard cover. 3 * He was young~ only 38 at the time, but I fCHP3J at $ .00 Special rates for Bulk Orders I I Copies Hlllac:hoe of Peeach Cassette 4 the scriptwriter moved the cholera epidemic I (CHP4) at $300 Prepaid orders accepted only J from 1848 to 1873, for reasons best known to him. ~------ 36 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 Now we can see how the history But Benedict Spinoza should be Jewish Theological Seminary and of Reb Yisroel in Vilna has been another matter. The famed lens Dr. Richard Popkin of Washington "reinterpreted," to permit him a grinder of 17th Century Amster University will place Spinoza's place in the JTS catechism. As the dam succeeded in breaking through rationalism in the context of the scriptwriter tells it, medical science convictions and accepted traditions einergent messianism and has proved a certain aspect of by introducing new approaches in mysticism of the 17th century. 'I Jewish ritual untenable. Thus, in C-d-denial through his philosophy think we can plausibly view good Conservative fashion, Reb of Pantheism. And he succeeded in Spinoza's thought as yet another Yisroel first finds it necessary to re so antagonizing Jewish leaders forn1 of messianic response to his write the laws for the masses, (even publishing his heresies in tirnes, as were the Sabbatian move preserving a niche for his own Latin, the official language of the inent of 1666 and the Hassidism of traditional leanings outside the Church), that he earned himself the the e<1rly 1700's,' said Dr. Silver- compromise for the congregation - rare distinction of Cherem - being n1an. like a good Seminarian would. (You excluded from the Jewish com So, with a bit of imagination, know, like permitting mixed pews inunity. Spinoza's places is secure, as just and counting women in the minyan ft thus becomes difficult to un another "Hassid" - if you take in the province, but keeping things derstand how Spinoza could be an your history with a twist. 1.=;: more strictly himself.) When that acceptable topic for a JTS con won't do, he bends personal convic ference. Even at its radical worst, tion, and he violates the fast as well. the Conservative Movement has - On what basis? - In keeping not ever denied the existence of the I THE W()RLD FAMOUS with the Biblical injunction "And deity. DIGEST OF MEFORSHIM you shall live by them" which over With the help of a sizable grant '1'1v'? 'm:i •oip7 rules almost every Torah prohibi fro1n the National Endowment for '"!l iyb?tt 'k~~iV ;, ~~'ii""lif1J tion, including fasting on Yorn Kip the Hurnanities to fund this Avoiloble of pur? Forbid! Because contemporary Conference, the Seminary probably LEKUTEI INC. medical expertise convinces the old could 1nanage to bend the job c/o I. Rosenberg sage of Vilna that laws must be bent 10 .. West 47th S'tteet, Room 102 dcscription of this "Jew who was a for expediency. So much for New Yor~,· N, Y. 10036 philosopher" into a "Jewish Salanter, as per the Seminary. 20 Volumes on Torah, Perek, philosopher", and find ways to Medrash, Megifas and Talmud. The Spinoza Conference 1ndke Spinoza acceptable. Indeed, Ptoc.et!ds ol soles dfstrlb11fed anion9' ddVdnce publicity predicted that in Yt!shi'los ond used 16f' reprlnfing The crooked mirror of a of Y0/11mt!s · ouf-c:if¥pril'lf the second session of the "historical precedent," distorted to PRICU6PER VOLUME Conference, "Dr. Silverman of the conform with a vested interest, works in many ways. Not only are leading scholars reinterpreted, leading heretics can be rehabilitated. Thus, eyebrows need not be raised at the recent convening of a "Conference on Spinoza" - again by the Jewish Theological -- PROJECTING-- ATTENTION MECHANCHIM Seminary. Hebrew Academy of Cleveland Now, one may argue that not II DAY "''SCHOOL Publication Department offers only is the Conservative Movement IMAGE 50 educational items for not monolithic, it is difficult to find 11 ..... Hebrew Day Schools any trace of discipline in its COMMUNITY theology or halachic system. When Curncutar manuals. guides. popular pressure deems a particular I Workbooks approach untenable, some way is Visual aids. maps, and many orhers found to modify the unpopular practice. I ts doctrines are flexible Catalogue sent upon requesl enough to embrace just about Send 50 for handling to anyone. And should a particular HEBREW ACADEMY subject prove too rigid in his con PUBLICATIONS DEPT. victions to fit within its elastic 1860 South Taylor Rd. parameters, a little revision is not Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118 exactly out of order. The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 37 .. , 1~m ni51l 1'l~~ n~5n5 n~'ruii Mazel Tov at the Orange Bowl \ltUn11MD H""'""" 1'D ,,, Dn)D ,,,,.,K "l".,nU.2 or Thank G-d It's Not My Mendel! ['1n 011 the zvay dotvn the hushed a11 i11curahle hrat? I catch n1y breath school corridor torvard the prin and sta11d frozen, Ivatching the cipa/'s office to negotiate an early 1W \U nnm 1TD7N classroom door open, as out steps - j]lJ 'll ,i11'W' n'1il dis1nissal for 111y Menachem Mendel Gross. Thank G-d - not ,''fl'W7N1Wi'l';I Me11del. Suddenly, the silence is my Mendel! :'7nwn m7'J nlnn DD \Pm igno;n l'lll:l r1mn ?Dl7 nDn nJon 'ill mJ7,1 •nipf 190J \"lD' shattered by: "Mendel, that's the \'I'll 111JITT0 JDJW ,O(!) 1'.19llil \'DJ .'J ,lM' ql) ,D"'lt lhnit. Pick up your books and go to How Bad Can It Be? .nu iiln7 .i1J1JU /JJ lDN '}Mi/l::il lli"'ll fl!Ml'S ),)11' OJl Rabbi Celernter's office! I'll have f--I.1ve you ever felt queasy when iw 11:) .CJ'U);) ,~ - ·mn no rnore of your funny stuff!" n1odcrn-day chroniclers of fashion •)):i .,, 'W 'IV1) ,1n1•m ''nl'J'l nul,D,, \•i:i rnym 1t)'li Fu1111y stuff? My Mendel? Good and fancy use the Jewish Bar o•li'i:I io1;:111:i ,\ptn mvn ''" 11.,m >OD 11n nl:i:Dto ·~ ,., 1:in fieavens! Hotv 1nany times I've Mitzva or wedding celebration as a .... Ioar11ed hhn against talking back to syinhol of excesses? The chopped ll'T - '[])l!l n1ii1 the R.ebbe, pleaded with him to sti livcr sculptures, the rolling bars, the_ ..... fle his wise-guy remarks, begged flo,lting orchestras., the ubiquitous ll'tn ''"''' n,;,, l-1i1n to postpone his cloun1ish antics photographers. Then, when you - ""'"" ,,t6 _ pL111 your own simcha, the caterer, (~1,1'1j:t•:m11 l'»Dl n>n"nn 1:1~1;»m1 "1lll1TT ,D'l'1TI ""'' • to rrcess! How does one rehabilitate a•l1nn .,,,, M"l:l'>'ll' 1n11 •'Jm Tli>VI nD,,,nl 1'D11 , or the in-laws, or the principles u:i, ronv 1)1 - l'>D'llt 'W •''"" '1::&1 - a•p)n ,,., p7\nD • 1'lD'> 11'1)1 \n'>'O the1nselves tell you - "But your i"":w .n"n Dntl' ,n:i•'ll• 'llM't ,:ii n1i1D) n1'W) nm'll .,, .,, • 1nlnn'> 1'" nv1 ~ ,1::i 'IDK>n 'J:i:a n1 11:i•n:i 'Pl nvn'll son/children will only be Bar .11'l1'1 \DI ~, l•wn'> na1 Mitzva-ed/married once. I think O"llD)I 728 EV7-1750 you owe it to him, and to D0'\11J O'C'ID :.:t ~ I~ \ft" t:'"'iC ~~~ yourselves." And, besides, your DiltrlbuMd by Z. URMAN I BOOKS relationship with your fami 1340 - 53rd Stntet, Brooklyn, N-Y. 11219 it:te?i'= 1~~ '=:~·~·ri·,,~r.:~· nl>'tr TNi1rP- ione:p tUUJ' ly/111echutanim as parents-who- l '11surpasscd Kashn1s i11 thi· 111osc c/cg,111c tr,1dirio11 Photography HAS BEEN PROUDLY SERVING THE ORTHODOX COMMUNITY WITH DISTINCTION FOR MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS ELEGANT SERVICE BY THE MOST EXPERIENCED SPECIALISTS !N THE CATERING FIELD WITH THEIR OWN KJTCHEN FACILITIES U s A /Israel 623 Cortelyou Road foff Ocean Parkway) ON PREMISES. GUARANTEE THE UTMOST IN QUALITY AND · · · Brooklyn, N.Y. 11218 • (212) 941-5500 THE ULTIMATE !N KASHRUS Allow 50 - 700 Persons Open Chupah Parking Available Academic Subjects Limudei Kodesh Glatt Kosher Elementary through College Learning Rebbes Qualified Instructors Bar Mitzvah Training For your next Simcha - Call: ~VD IVTOlllNC Simtlta 1J1J f -'l:JS~5J95 Adult Education Shomer Shabbos Catef~ Speech Therapy City-Wide Service Mr Greenfeld - 853--0700 Special Education Reasonable Rates 38 The ]ewish•Observer I May, 1978 c.ire is at stake. And so, for that L1:.~, the scoreboard proclaiming The. only. Orthodox Ellglisl'l'Yiddish matter, is your image as a person "(~ongr,itulations, Harvey!" And ·_ weekly in the world \.'\'ith consurn1nate taste So you suddenly the rcdee1ning quotation present!llg thl! authentic lt't !onse. T?oo bars at the sn1orgas lcdps off the page: "Earlier in the hord . . Sq11ah for e11tre ... A spiked d.l\', di the Conservative temple Torah vieWJ)oint. .·... slicrherf' !11ten;1ezzo in betiveen \lvhere no press can1eras were per Stltnulatingt lllformative~ f:iftee11 pieces 011 the band, uJhy n1ittcd, tL1rvcy cornpleted "Oh. . World-wide .cowrage.ofnews. H(;f? Music 111akes the sirncha. ft \V The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 39 40 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 During the Hebrew month of Sivan, when Shavuos is celebrated to com memorate the Giving of the Law to the Jewish Peo ple, it is considered a propituous time for the in dividual Jew to complete the writing of a Torah Scroll, and present it to a shu/, ARNOLD COHEN, a photographer of unusual sensitivity, has captured the intense involvement of the safer at his sacred, painstaking work; the par ticipation of those who join him by adding a letter to complete the Torah scroll; and the joy of those who celebrate the es corting of the new scroll to the shul where it will be housed. The Jewish Observer/ May, 1978 Now available nationwide.. I airlines.steamship cruises. I Pesach: hotels. motel resorts. schools. I conventions. hospitals and I supermarkets. A Time of New Understanding ·~~rcd,n-i Like all festivals, Pesach is a "We stand before the world, and celebration of an aspect of Jewish must proclaim without taint of I nationhood - only more so. As on hypocrisy that, ultimately and all festivals, the Pesach Kiddush in finally, in G-d's eyes, there is no tones "Blessed Who has chosen Jew and no Gentile, no white and no ~chr.iib.ir us from all nations," and twenty black, but there is only precious times during the holiday week, we huinan being." say in the amidah: "You have No doubt, part of Rabbi Sobel's chosen us from amongst the difficulty in failing to perceive the nations" - but much more. Pesach pitfalls of interfaith activity is his ~-~mb is the reliving of the Exodus from past failure to have ever learned the Egypt, the very creation of Am "You have chosen us " lesson. llanivchar. The particularist role inherent in Why is it, then, that inter-faith being Jewish, the responsibilities events seem to pop up like crocuses and singular mission - where could ~chr.iib.ir in April when Pesach approaches, he ever have encountered them, in and instead of channeling their ef Hebrew Union College? And once forts toward internal under the lines are not drawn between standing, dialogue-devotees persist groups, on what basis do Jews band in reaching out to other religious together? groups for exchange? No one said it better than Rabbi Undoubtedly, the dialoguists are Balfour Brickner, director of the ~'b.~~~~~~ at no loss for an answer. Pesach national department of inter usually coincides with the Easter religious affairs of the Union of season, and the latter has usually American Hebrew Congregations been cause for anti-semitic riots and (Reform), and we quote: ~~~~cibcr pogroms in Christian communities of old. Could there be a more Beverly Hills, Calf. - The Reform propituous time for exchanging movement in the United States should ideas and promoting mutual under not exclude Reform rabbis if they -__,.:hrcibcr standing? became involved in the 'Jews for Jesus,' Schreiber Airline caterers. Inc. But there is always that hazard movement, according to Rabbi Balfour 9024 Foster Ave" Brooklyn N.Y.11236 that not only will information be Brickner, director of the national Phone. (212) 272-9184 exchanged, integrity will be com department of interreligious affairs of promised, and commitment will, to the Union of American Hebrew Chap.A-Nosh at Miami's one degree or another, be watered Congregations (Reform). down. Speaking as one of a panel of experts A prime example of this is an ex at the Brandeis-Bardin Forum on DELI-NOSH change of pulpits between Rabbi Contemporary Values, Rabbi Brickner GI.A TT KOSHER FAST FOODS Ronald Sobel of (the 5th Ave.) said "I would not throw him out as a Under Orthodox Rabbln- Q>unc11 Temple Emanuel, and Reverend Dr. rabbi. I think such an aCtion by Reform rabbi is foolish, ludicrous and impossi Win. Sloane Coffin of the Riverside (Q) DllflERS,LUllCHES ble. He would exclude himself." HAIMISHE TAKE HoME FOODS Church, which made front-page IAR-8-Q CHICKEN, DEUCATESSEN New York Times. Not relying on a Rabbi Brickner said that the Reform movement has rabbis who are atheists SANDWICHES, BURGERS, FRANKS public act to blur the differences and agnostics, and even homosexuals. EAT IN OR TAKE OUT between religions, Sobel made a Open All Y•ar 11 AM· 11 PM 'Should we throw them out?" he asked. point of declaring an ecumenicism "Where would we stop?" 420 Arthur Godf<~ • 4 ht St. worthy of being chosen "Quotation Miami hach, Fla. (JEWISH WEEK & AMERICAN EXAMINER.) of the Day" by the Times: April 9, 1978 42 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 solution for the Jewish. danger ... Lertcrs to rhr Ediror The Arabs ... and Mos/ems .. are ohliged to make this their goal from which they will not stray and which tliey must reach with all their powers: It is the expulsion of all ]CH!S fro1n A rah and Moslen1 lands." Cooper points out these state ments prove that the Mufti was tion of the 1nagazine, editor Elias planning to extend the Nazi exter The Arabs in Nazi's Council and Cooper presents "Forgotten Palesti mination program to the Jews of the the Nazi in Arab Leadership nian: The Nazi Mufti." Middle East because at that very According to Professor Cooper: ti1ne the Mufti was writing letters to "The Arab connection to the the leaders of Hungary. Bulgaria, To the Editor: Holocaust is both general and Ruinania and other Nazi satellite While the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi specific. rn the 1930' s and during governments advising them to "ex Yitzchak I-Iutner, does not need me WW ff Arab leaders throughout the pel" all their Jews to Poland, the to bolster his thesis regarding Mufti Middle East, by threatening to make center of the extermination ac support of the Nazi genocide of common cause with the Axis tivities. Jews ().0. Nov. '77), I found a foot powers, pressed Britain, the power The Nazi orientation of the note to his article in a recent then administering Palestine, to Palestinian movement is traced publication. The Zionist-oriented keep the gates of that country from the Mufti of Jerusalem's first press has made little note of the closed to Jewish refugees from the contacts \.vith Nazi Germany in the Nazi-Mufti connection, perhaps nazi horrors. I 930's. because this group's designs to The rnotive for the new discovery create a Jewish state in Palestine, "The specific Arab connection to of this old truth is, of course, ob totally without Arab participation, the Holocaust was the activity of the leader of the Palestinian Arabs, vious. Says Cooper: "If there is an may have added to the Arabs' en Haj Amin el Husseini, who sat out ernergent new Palestinian national mity for the Jews. the Second World War in Berlin as consciousness, it is so dependent for Now, in an understandable n1oVe Hitler's Quisling-in-waiting, the its cohesion on hatred toward Israel to cast doubt on the sincerity of man who hoped to be Hitler's that it would be best not to en Arab friendship toward Jews, the gauleiter for the Middle East, and courage it." But old truths have An1erican Zionist Magazine has dis who associated himself fully with 1nore than one level of applicability. covered that the Arabs do, indeed, the Nazi 'final solution' of the JOSEPH GREENSTEIN Jewish problem." Brooklyn, N. Y. The main documents proving the Mufti's association in the Nazi cam paign of genocide are quoted by Yad L'Achim Cooper, as follows: Wall Calendar 1. The clause which the Mufti a monthly luach with many proposed as part of a 1940 Arab interesting features including: Axis treaty: 'Germany and Italy • the month at a glance recognize the right of the Arab • a compendium of applicable countries to solve the question of dinim and halachot the Jewish elements in Palestine and • candle lighting for major North other A rah countries in a manner Ametican and European cities that conforms to the national and and much more ethnic interests of the Arabs and to available from the solution of the Jewish question Peylim Yad L'Achim in the countries of Germany and 156 Fifth Ave. Italy.' N.Y., N.Y. 10010 2. A November 1943 speech by or Husseini over Berlin Radio, which 4 Jonah St/Jerusalem, Israel harbor an historic antipathy toward carried this statement: "National available in French. Hebrew. the Jews. In a book-length feature Socialist Germany kno1vs the Jews Yiddish or English that fills the entire March-April edi- well and has decided to find a final Tl1e Jewish Observer I May, 1978 modern concept of a "greenbelt" thus has ancient roots in halacha. J·~ Environmentally, these "green ~1,; LETTERS CONTINUED belts" serve a function, aside from -.,...,-'f\il' aesthetic considerations, which l<"Wnl 1 PROFESSIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATES PREFERRED WORLD-WIDE ORTHODOX CERTIFIED SPECIALISTS LEARNING DISABILITY SERVICES SPEECH THERAPY - BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION SORRY- INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY MARRIAGE COUNSELING we must stop sending CHILDREN - ADOLESCENTS - ADULTS THE JEWISf! OBSERVER PRIVATE OFFICES when your subscription NEW JERSEY NEW YORK CITY ROCKLAND COUNTY runs out ... don't miss a single issue . (201) 826-7547 (212) 435-2212 RENEW NOW f 44 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 Agudath Israel Dinner Hears Rabbi Moshe Feinstein \-\'ere "trau1natized by the loss that was suf fered when the Senate approved the package Call for Expanded Social Services With Torah Guidance deal," but he warned that "it would be countl'r productive to treat this one vote as dt>monstrating that our federal legislators no longer fu!!y appreciate the significance of hrdcl and its security needs." St'nator Javits concluded:' What is crucial ,11 this time is for us to work unrelentlingly to see thdt A1nerica's 'special relationship' to lsr.iel should indeed be forever - in a prac tical sense dnd not only in rhetoric." New York's senior senator lauded Agudath Israel of America for performing its community service programs "with traditional Jewish co111p<1ssion and the highest standards of in tegrity" and for its advocacy of public issues with "wisdom and responsibility." Rabbi Moshe Sherer, executive president of the move1nent. presented the awards to three ct)m1nunity !eaders: Rabbi Edwin \''I( lhl~ 111 r111 11.\fS Rabbi Chanoch Ehrentreu (£11gland), Rabbi Jacob !. Rudennan Katzenstein - Hagaon Reb Aharon Kotler (Raltinwrc), Rab/ii 1\1oshe feinstein (speakins}, Rabbi Moshe Sherer, and Senator Jacob Memorial Award for distinguished service to ]m>its. (P/1otosraph: A1.Z. VVeis/1rrg) Tor,1h: Rabbi Ch.iskel Besser Moreinu Yadkov Rosenheim Memorial Award for Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, addressing the re "A void 'State Of War' Over Jet Sale," Javits outst Th(' !e1ois/1 ()/Jscrver I May, 1978 45 SBCO Neighborhood Program Expands to Flatbush Israel's Yeshivos Receive IL 32 Million Grant Flatbush, one oF Brooklyn's largest Jewish problem in the Flatbush~Boro Park com~ Jerusalem -- Institutions of higher Torah communities, is the focus of a new program munities is "deteriorated housing stock, es learning: in every part of Israel received recently launched by the Southern Br()oklyn pecial!y four-story wa!k-ups which stand in before Passover government grants totalling Community Organization, which is sponsor the midst of middle class communities like a 32 1ni!!ion Israeli pounds. The Agudist Knes ing 1nany community organization and thorn.'· Says Rabbi Lefkowitz: "These set deputies, deeply concerned by the finan development projects in neighboring Bora buildings were unfortunately constructed cial woes of Israel's yeshivas, caused by Park. SBCO was Liunched less than a year decades ago amidst neatly lined one and two spiralling inflation, had insisted that the ,1go by tlu' National Con1mission on Jewish family private homes. Once buildings have government increase financial aid to Torah Ethnic Affairs of Agudath Israel of America, been neglected, they virtually assure an out institutions, especially since it funds univer to promote renewed economic development migration of middle class whites." sities at a much higher level of grants. and community organization within some of In announcing the new Flatbush program, The 32 million pounds were assigned for Brooklyn's largest Jewish concentrations. the SBCO !eader noted that an Advisory distrihution to the Vaad HaYeshivos, the The project. partially funded by the Ford Board was also being organized for the F!at country's major united agency representing Foundation, has in the short time of its ex bush community. Headed by Dr. Bernard yeshivas of the broadest of circles, which istence becoine a model community endeavor Frysh1nan, it will also involve representatives m,1de certain that the institutions receive for similar 1novements throughout the from the different ethnic communities who their grants before the Passover holiday. The country. reside in Flat bush. The current blueprint for timeliness of this grant, when the needs of The effort in F!atbush will closely e1nulate Flatbush action, according to Rabbi the yeshivas and their students are especially the extensive program undertaken in Boro Lefkowitz. is to "organize the residents of the acute, was stressed in the many expressions Park. In that predominantly middle class area and help them deal with the immediate of gratitude from the hard-pressed leaders of co1nmunity, SBCO has organized block as prohlems of security and sanitation, while the institutions. sociations, neighborhood-wide groups and a !onger-ranged projects such as housing and vibrant Merchants' Association for its main general community development are in the Violators of Mezuzah Fraud Law commercial strip: Thirteenth Avenue. As the active planning stage." Warned by Agudath Israel first steps in its sweeping program for the Like Boro Park, SBCO intends to work in Stern warnings were issued to a number co1nmunity, under the watchful eye of an ac Flatbush with neighborhood groups whose of vendors, from whom Agudath Israel of tive Advisory Board which reflects the inter goals are similar. Rabbi Yaakov Lonner and America's monitors purchased non-kosher ethnic nature of the project, SBCO has also Mr. Chaim Israel, both of SBCO's staff. have mezuzos, requesting a confirmation in sealed or demolished several blighted been working closely with the lower 40's writing that they will henceforth comply buildings in Baro Park to erase potential sore Neighborhood Association, the Boro Park with the New York State law, which bans spots in the neighborhood. West Neighborhood Association and with such sales· as consumer fraud. The warning According to Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, ex the Thirteenth Avenue Merchants' Associa was sent by registered mail by attorney Marc C'CUtive director of SBCO, much of the tion. Robert F. Solamine, assistant director of z. Newman, chairman of the Consumer SBCO for housing, assists with individual Protection Task Force of Agudath Israel, landlords to develop strategies for their whose monitors have been making purchases housing stock. of 111e::uzos since the law went into effect Oc SBCO's rapid expansion is in line with the tober 6, 1977. Agu"dath Israel resolve to sponsor According to the new law, which was in neighorhood projects in middle class itiated by the Commission on Legislation of Agudath Israel of A1nerica, and signed by np'mt:i ''.'J1 ;11ln ~oim neighborhoods well before deterioration and Governor Hugh L. Carey, every mezuzah or nni,"K:J ?K-nl,, n'.11lK '?tu 11.l,_nn social change threaten their existence. The initial successes of SBCO have received wide pair of tefillin sold in New York must have a 1ny!ln .?iu ;1:i~.'>.cl1'"1ln? o•nl'.liu u1< recognition from neighborhood groups, packaging clearly stating the name and ad , ,,; };J,·7.nn .. :y_:ii __piJ,·_?w_ · government agencies, and experts dealing dress of the manufacturer, fabricator or im~ porter of that religious article. In the event .'.!l/Ol:l l'l'"lll'll'I S,1p with local organization and development throughout the country. that the mezuzah or tefillin fails to conform l'!"Tlri •iui~•n? ni!:l•~•n 1;,•in .11xu:s with "Orthodox Jewish religious law," then the wrapping must be clearly labeled "non l"ll>,ji~~i. :i::i'Jn ..'l'lPi Torah U'Midos Tapes ,.,,.,~ kosher.' 1<"U'?w. n''1inn 12.,,. ·ni!ln'n wn:s (advertised in April Jewish Observer) Mr. Newman informed the vt>ndors who 11,1.n itui,,n O'K1'i nT y:np:l Yiddish tapes (!i $2 each .,,K· had ;;old non-kosher mezuzos to Agudath English tapes (11 $2.50 each ,"~-~10 _onn'_'.i"T 1Jl'?b h:1?n:i n1:Jitvn1 Israel's monitors that after this first warning, also ptM''M1 ,f':l1:1'? "1)1:111"1:1 '?' p1 The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 46 Agudath Israel Urges End Gay Rights Bill Could Speed Hospitals Consider To Job Discrimination Exodus From New York, "Jewish Patient's Bill of Rights" Against Orthodox Jews Agudath Israel Warns At k,1st one hosrital has formally adopted Tht> U.S. Equal Employinent Oppor "The effort to defeat the Gay Rights bill the '"Jewish Patient"s Bill of Rights," for the tunities Commission (EEOC) was urged by introduced April 18 in New York's City trc,itnwnt of religious Jewish p,1tients, ac Agu(L1th Israel of America, to adopt new Council is a last-ditch battle to save New cording to d spokesman for Agudath Israel of strict guidelines and to otherwise inf!uen(e York City from further decay; its implica A11wriva, thE' national Orthodox Jewish business to end discriminatory practices in tions reach deeper than the immPdiate legal organiZo1tion whil-h authored the unique employmCnt against Orthodox Jews. In impact of the measine and may accelerak the dncuml'nt. The first hospital in the country testimnny at an EEOC hearing in New York mass exodus from the city." This warning to officially adopt this code was the Barnert on Thursday, April 6th, chaired by Commis w.is issued by Dr. Bernard Fryshman, Memnrial Hospital Center of Paterson, New sioner Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rabbi Chainnan of the Coinmission on Legislation fersey, which votE'd to adopt the "Jewish Mcnachem Lubinsky, director of Project of Agudath Israel of America. Patient's Bill of Rights'" as hospital po!icy. In COPE told the commission that Orthodox The Agudath Israel spokesman pointed ,1dclition to Barnert, many hospitals through Jews "still face enormous hardships in out that the City of New York "has in recent out the country are now using the code as locating employment because of their years been reelin:,.; at the ropes from a grow their governing guidelines in the treatment of n'ligious bdiefs.'' ing moral decay which has contribuh>d to the 1)hservant patients. Citing the experiences of the Agudath spiritual erosion of a city beloved by mil Agudath Israel puh!ished this Bill of Israel career guidance and job training lions." The public admonition also stated: Rights as a service to hospital administrators who are "eager to offer the most effective agrncy as il guide, Rabbi Lubinsky noted that "If the City Council will now adopt a Gay healing facilities to all of their patients," and despite le::z;islation "there still exists a subtle Rights bill, it would further deteriorate the discrimination in the business sector which moral tone of the entire community, and to inform Orthodox Jewish patients that "a ,1ffccts thousands of Orthodox Jewish job severely damage New York's image in the polite but forceful request for their rights seekers. Jn addition to Sabbath observance," eyt>s of our nation and the entire world. A will be honored by hospitals." Dr. Bernard he said, "'we,uing a yarmulke or Chassidic law whkh bestows legitimacy upon a prac Fryshman, chairman of the Commission on g,irb n1ntinues to he a major handicap in tice which the Bible condemns as an Legislation and Civic Action of Agudath seeking employment." ,1homination, which mandates that teachers, Israel, who authored the "Jewish Patient's Bill of Rights,'" emphasized that "lingering Thl' Agudath Israel spokesman urged the rolicemen and camp counselors can all be neglect by hospitals of the Jewish patients' Co1nmission to adopt new guidp]ines, es overt homosexuals, will result in ever unique needs are mainly due to ignorance by pecially in light of the confusion that has incq:asing numbers of children concluding hospital staH rather than malicious intent." resulted from the 1nuch publicized Supreme tl·h1 homosexuality is a legitimate alternative Court decision in the TWA v. Hardison case, lifestyle. A spokesman for Agudath Israel warmly appLiuded Barnert Hospital in New Jersey in which the Supreme Court exempted TWA "Proponents of this measure have been fur being the first to formally adopt the from accommodating a Sabbath observer on organizing huge pressure campaigns on the pnKedure. Nearly 200 hospitals throughout the grounds of "undue hardship,'" which City Council members, falsely claiming that the country have written the national office was incrE'ased costs. In addition, Rabbi the current situation violates the civil rights of Agudath Israel for more information Lubinsky made a strong pitch for broad of homosexuals. Actually, society's obliga educational ca1npaign targeted at business to tion to protect itself from those who would familiarize employers with the unique needs destroy its mores, supercedes any other al sA:RAsc8£'NlllER of Orthodox Jews and other special groups. leged consideration. The Agudath Israel statement continued: SEMINMW',',",, "As a result of our experiences with both BrodklQn,Netl.!York emplnyers and employees, we would strong 15,000 job applicants at Project COPE, the ly urge that education be a top priority of Agudath Israel leader concluded that accom ls how accepting those that are concerned with accom modation was possible "with a small measure modating the religious needs of employees. of good will by employers." Agudath Israel registl'a!lts for.its This approach, coupled with new strict lauded the EEOC for conducting the hear Class of 5739 guidelines following 'Hardison' is certain to ings dnd for its demonstrated sensitivity to (1978·.79} have positive results." the problem of meeting the religious needs of a_ndto Its working Americans. Jn a special appeal to the business com~ RESIDENCE HALL munity, Rabbi Lubinsky said: "Employers would do well to note that their customers 2nd Publication!! Rabbt M; · M"eis¢1S, and others with whom they deal on a daily "MITZVOT MITZVOT · Dean basis arE' ahead of them and fully perceive that pluralism in America is a reality to be IN ALEF BEIS IAND" • seen and appreciated in every facet of Perfect gift for ages 4-10 Ap/Jllcants may apply society. Business should not be exempted • 12 Stories. Over 40 Pictures by phone or Jetter to: from cultural pluralism." (Bulk rate available) Sar11 Sche11irer Seminaty Agudath Israel of America was one of the •TO: AA. MANDELBAUM .4622-,14th Avenue early pioneers in mobilizing support for 1812 Fox Chase Rd., Phil. Pa_ 19152 Br()oklyn, N.Y.. 11219 legislation to protect the Sabbath observers (215-725-7480) in public and private employ. Citing the (212) 033'.8557:!! . Inquire at your organization or bookstore more recent examph.• of serving more than The Jewish Observer I May, 1978 47 For Home For Library For School Now, for the first time zn English - and perhaps in any language - a systematically organized compendium of the halachos specifically ap plicable to women: " A Gt:l!)f; FOii Tf10: .rnWISH WOl>IA); AND GIRi prel'erahl;·, mtx wine with grape JUJ<'d"I an nmoun( <' W<>men are also required lo drink th• nlP" ~J~!< (the apply to or are four cups of wine)" Tho,. who find it difficult to drink '"°''° O•'>" ''°"°' ,.,~, 07>' • 'O "">r. 7-P"' 00 ',-, '"~-,:, ""' ·-,, 0"0 L1 ,.,, ~.,. ""' """ _.,.....,,., .,.gular wine may u.e ~rape juice " '" rai.in wine". or observed by women '>" """'"" ''O"" , .. ,. ,;oo \\c C"°"O ·'''Y•'<> 0"~" I" ••,,., 'O'O 'O'O I< O"'°' O~ ,.,,, ?>1\\"""~"'' '''"' •• ,.-, -"'"' O''C '"O ''"OO "' '"" 0" "'" ,,,, ,.,.,, ,., """ """''' ""'""':"'°''"~'OJ.,,,,"'"' and girls ~""'"r''"'"~'l'"-''°""°'"'"""'"""'""°""°"''"P''"''""""I"'> ,.. ,,,, '""'1"""'"7'"';-,, .. ,,.,. ""'"'."'""''l'"'" """-"'!'"'"""' ""'",, r''''"" -'"" ""'" """ ·" '" ,,,, .. """ ,,., ~,, by Rabbi Dov Eisenberg Preface by Rabbi Joseph Elias ~~; An exhaustive compilation from centuries of Rabbi Eisenberg' s work is warmly endorsed by halachic, rabbinic, and responsa literature. Maran Hagaon Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Maran ·<=0 Systematically organized with index and Hagaon Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky, Hagaon glossary for quick reference or serious study. Rabbi Shneur Kotler; Hagaon Rabbi Moshe ·<='i Analytic dissertations of references for Stern, Rav of Debrecyn; and Hagaon Rabbi further study Binyamin Silber of Bnai Brak, K"tl'7lll. ·<=0 Clearly differentiates between required ·<=0 All halachos have been reviewed by the obligations, universally adapted customs, and Debrecyner Rav who has graciously allowed the varying degrees of observance. author to include many heretofore unpublished "''J Clarifies differing requirements of busy halachic decisions. mothers and those who control their own Z. Berman Books schedules. What prayers must women recite? May they eat before davening? When and how 1340 - 53rd St. Brooklyn, N.Y. 11219 must challah be separated? When must a wife contribute to charity and when rs she forbidden Pk>ase ship A Guide for Jewish Women and Girls: to do so? What are her obligations at the Seder? ...... cloth cover at $5.95 .... pJper cover at $3.95 .. . during the Nine Days?- for Shofar?- at the Deduct 10'Yo discount...... Seder? Add applicable sales tax .. . Enclosed total.. Distributed by Z. Berman Books lbO pages cloth $5" paper $3 95 i\dd ress ... Special to readers of The Jewish Observer: 10% Citv. St,1te, Zip pre-publication discount, postage paid