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T 1--1 E J E W I S 1-1 OBSERVER ······ 1 ' ' ' THE I , ,- ,, ' / .' It' i 'I ewts.···, IN THIS ISSUE 1 :BSEltvE.R SHARING THE BURDENS OF OUR FELLOWS THE JEWISH OBSERVER 7 SAVING KLAL YrsROEL W1TH CHESSED, {ISSN) 002.1-6615 IS Pl!llUSBt:O MONl'Hl.Y, EXCEPT JlJl.Y & AUGUSl Rabbi Aryeh Zev Ginzberg AND A COMBINED JSSUI' FOR JANUA£1YiFEJHHJARY. BY HIE 10 THE AWESOME POWER OF HAMISPAl.E!L AGUDATH !SRAEL or AMHUCA. 42 BHOADWAY. NEW YOllK, NY 10004. BEfAD CHAVEIRO, l'ERIODICAl.S POSTA{;E PAID IN NEW Rabbi /-leshy K/einrnan YOllK, NY. SUBSCRIPTION S25.oo/ Yl-:AR; 2 Y!'.ARS. $48.00; 3 YEAllS. S69.00. Ou-rs1or-: Of THE UNITED 16 DIMENSIONS OF AN AMEil BATORAH: STATES (l'S HINDS DRAWN ON A \JS RABBI SHMUEL BERENBAUM,?'·::-Ir, BANK ONLY) S15.oo SllRCMAHt;E !'ER YEAR. SINGLE COPY $3.50; OursJDE Rabbi Shirnon Finkelman N)' AREA S:;.95; FOIH:H;N $4.50. 42 THE CLUTTERED NEST POSTMASTER: tvlarsha on1acw•1 SF:ND ADURf.SS CH,\NGES TO; TEL 212-797-9000, FAX 646-254• 1600 PIUNTED IN THE USA LETTER FROM JERUSALEM RAUH! NtSSON WO!.PJN, Fditor 19 SOME LESS OBVIOUS LESSONS Fd1toriol Jiourd fRQf\/I THE MAYORAL ELECTION, RABBI AOBA 8RUDNY RAllBI JOSE!'!! EU.AS Yonoson Rosenb!urn JOSEPH fRIEl)ENSON RABBI YISROEL MElll KllO".NEH R·\Hf:ll NosSON SCIH·:RMAN PROF. /\1\RON TWERSKI HIGHER LIGHTS OF CHANUKAH /"i)(fndcrs DR. ERNST I.. BODENHEIMER Z"L 23 THE CANDLES AND THE STARS, RA!lBI MOSHE SHJCRER Z"J. Rabbi YorHson Goldson Mmmgcnwnt Board NAFTOU H1nsc1-1, ISAAC KIRZNEI~. 27 WAKE UP AND FIGHT, RAHIH S!H,OMO LUHN, DAVID SINGER, NACHUM STEIN Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Rcinrnan Mas. LEAH ZAGEt.BA!IM, 31 PLEASE KEEP THE SHADES DovvN ! 4drcrtisin_q i\fonoqrr Rabbi Sholon1 Srnith PlJBUSIH:O W¥ A(;UOATll lsR,\El. OF AMEIOt;A 32 Zos CHANUKAl1, A POEM BY Liba Liehcrrnan U.S. TRADE DISTRIBUTOR REALLY MISSING IT, A POEM BY Bracha Goetz FE!.DllElM PUBUSHERS 20/l Airport hrcutive /hr/; Nonurt. NY 10.'):>4. 33 "/SH YEHUDI": THE LIFE AND THE LEGACY OF A ToRAH GREAT, RAv JosEPH Tzv1 CARLEBACH, Bl~lTISl-I REl'l~ESl'.NTArJVE M.1: llnn:l.MAN A REVIEVV ARTICLE BY Rabbi Yosef Gavrr'ef Bechhofer Crownmr \\hr/is Mmmll'/mwmtllilf 39 REMEMBERING THE PoNOVEZHER RAv, i,··~r, l.ondon !:[; yNL fNC!AND (HAPTER T\NO, FROM THE MEMOIRS OF l'RJ·.NCIJ ru:PRESENTATlVE RAB!ll BAMBERGf:R Rabbi Sh!onro Lorincz 21 llou/rrnrd /'aixhans 57000 Metz. IRA!\'Cf lSRAEl.I !U-:PRESF.NT.'\TIVE COVER PHOTO: Rabbi E/iyahu Shllill l-l-v'>'n> helps an INTNI.. MEDIA PLACEMENT .-ivriech from Kolle/ Yesod Rcfoel get his van started outside l'Oll 11fJ5 I .'17./r_1f/CT h~x1d ofYcshi1'a Gedo/ah Matisyahu (}'e/111da Boltsha11scr) jcnm1/rm .'J4.J4.ll. ISl?Afl. llEl.GIAN rtEPllESENTATIVE Ml~. E. APTER STATEMENT OF POLICY l.miye Kicvil~lr. 29 201/i An/"r1p. BF/.Gf( IM Ti-IE JEWISH 0BSl-:IIVl·:R llAS DEVOTED A (;HEAT DEAi. Of SPACI; IO rHF. PERILS OF THE INTEHNET AND TO THE NEEIJ Fon EVERYONE ro SOUTH Al-'HICAN RICPllESENTA BE !·:x·n~EM!-:1.Y VIGii.ANT IN ITS USE. WE HAVE Et: HOED TllE P!.EAS THE JEWISH OBSERVER DOES NO r ·'-SSUME nvr OF OUR GEDOUM fHAT IT SfiOULD NOT IH: IN USE. UNLESS IT IS AN MR. TAIJACK V. J~FSPONSllJIUTY FOR TIU: KASH RIIS OF ANY !'RODUCT, UNAVO!OABl.E NECESSITY. AND THEN ()NLY WITH Al.I. -~l!ITAIU.F !'(J Hox 51:>:>2. SAfEGl!ARDS. Wllll_r: ITS DANGEl~S MUST BE RECOGNIZED AND CON- Rardcnr·. Johmmc~b11rg l'UIH.ICATION. OR SEHV!CI-: AJ)Vf:RT!SF.D IN l rs Pi\(;F.s fHOl.l.ED ro EVERY !'OSS!IH.E DEGllU·:. OUH (;EDOLJM RECOGNIZF. THA'I : 2124 SO/r!l-IAFRIG' i MANY PEOPLE AND llllSINE.<;.'<;f;.<; REQUIRE IT.~ L'SE. AN!) l'Hlo'HEFORE Ir I' SlR,\! \AN NTATIVI R~PlHSl HAS NOT llEEN BANNFO. THIS JS \VHY WE ACCEPT .... DVEffrlSE'M·'''..·.·.'. ,',',.. •'' Dn A DlNNFN © COPYRIGHT 2008 (,!STING WUJSITE ADDRESSFS. !lUT IN NO WA'" 01n;s THIS IMPLY THAI l'Ht: Gr-:oouM OU THE JEWISH O!JSl·.nVER CONDONE Ci\SliAI. 77 ll1rnqa Road DECEMBER 2008 I VOLUME XLI NO, 9 '1k "" lid/ m ""' •\I '51R 11 IA fl-IE INTERNET. L ---- -""--- __J .. #i)/oY1t "-Shin[() A(IOflbai 7">1'1 RABBI GAVRIEL NOACH HOLTZBERG, i"'i1 REBBETZIN RIVKA HOLTZBERG, i"'i1 RABBI ARYEH LEIB TEITELBAUM, i"'i1 RABBI BENZI ON KRUMAN) i"'i1 NORMA RABINOVICH, i"'i1 Y OCHEVED 0RPAZ, i"'i1 OR DAYS, Kial Yisroeleverywhere was united in prayer, A recently widowed woman once came to the tzaddik concern, and longing for chasdei Hashem. Trapped Rabbi Aryeh Levin and showed him her Tehillim, pages Fin a building founded on chessed, menaced by thugs swollen from her tears. "What happened to all my tefillos whose own lives were as meaning1ess to them as those of the for my husband? Were they all wasted?" kedoshim they murdered, six holy Jews elevated us through "No;' he assured her. "No tefilla is wasted. Your tefilloscould their ordeal, making myriads recognize that we are one in not save your husband, but they saved other women's hus our e1nuna and ahavas Yisroel. bands, other mothers' children, other Jews from suffering." The rabbi and rebbetzin who lived in galus to maintain A few weeks later, she came back. "Rebbe, remember what a haven for fellow Jews in need of a minyan, you told me then? Tell me again:' a kosher meal, a Jewish corner in a hotbed of Our tefillos were not wasted. They avoda zara. A great talmid chacham and tzad Our tefillos brought us together in ahavas Yisroel and dik, murdered over his Gemara. A Chassid were not in emuna. Let us still remember that when going into galus to assure the rest of us that our emotions are no longer raw. In that our food was kosher. A baalas teshuva pre wasted. They way, may we merit chasdei Hashem for paring to turn her back on her past and her brought us ourselves and Kial Yisroel. face to Eretz Yisroel. A young woman who .il"::l:llln yearned for a Jewish atmosphere. together in For all of these we prayed. And for all of ahavas Yisroel these we mourn. PI-TOTO: Part of the crowd at the funer and in emuna. al of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Teitelbaum. 6 ---···.·---·-··-···-··-··-··-···-·-·-··-··--··-·-··=-i RING THE BURDENS OF OTHERS ···-··-"'"----···-···---··-·-"'"-·-------~·------·--···--·-··-·- ii fiving Kial Yisroel ITH CHESSED We live in frightening times. No less a personality than the gadol hador himself, Maran Hagaon Rabbi Yoseif Shalom Elyashiv N··v,7iv, has expressed in recent months to those closest to him that this is the most dangerous and frightening time in Eretz Yisroel since the founding of the Jewish State. IS GRANDSON questioned After Oslo, the expulsion from Gaza his illustrious grandfather - (not disengagement, but expulsion), H who is not usually known for and the debacle of the last Lebanese War, expressing these types of sentiments on he has come to the realization that not current events, unless asked by others one of the colorful cast of personalities for his opinion - whether that is not in leadership positions in Bretz Yisroel somewhat of a guzma (exaggeration). In today has a clue as how to move forward his 97 years in Eretz Yisroel, he's surely from here. witnessed indescribable difficulties and suffering. (In fact, Rabbi Elyashiv lost a TuRN 1 NG THE TIDE twelve-year-old daughter in one of the .. · .. · · · .. · · .. · .... · .. · .. · .. · .. · manybombingsofYerushalayimduring Is there anything that we can do to the War of Independence in 1948.) somehow turn the tide and bring And Rabbi Elyashiv responded briefly rachamei Shamayim (Heavenly and pointedly, "There is a madman who compassion) towards us in these trou- is consumed with hatred for Kial Yisroel bling times? The answer Ghazal teach and has or will have nuclear weapons, us is Yes. The Midrash relates that when and has every intent of using them on Avraham Avinu met Sheim for the first Bretz Yisroel. Is there anything more time, he asked him, "What did you do dangerous than that?" while you were in the teiva (Noach's If we are truly living in such a dan- ark) during the Mabul (Flood)?" Sheim gerous time, as the gadol hador posits, replied, "Our days and nights were spent what can we do about it - other than, providing food for the many animals of course, pour our hearts out in tefilla? that were with us on the teiva." Even the most ardent Zionist among The Midrash needs explanation. Why us, who always looked to some form would Avraham Avinu, who was not of political leadership to help us out of alive during the Mabul, want to know a mess, has:a~-change~outlook __ :o~they occupi~thei~me:] r-=···-_·---------~-=---·----=·--DE-C=_--E M-H=;-R ·=--0 0 8··-------~~~·-···········-=-i teiva? What practical lesson could he potent method of arousing Divine ated with chessed, as the passuk testifies: derive from knowing this fact? mercy. "Titein chessed leAvraham:' The Philadelphia Rosh Hayeshiva, Avraham absorbed this message well Our gedolei Yisroel have taught us Rabbi Elya Svei N"P''nl, elucidated and derived the following lesson: If by example that every small act of this Midrash with an extremely rel caring for animals can provide merit to chessed is of paramount importance, evant thought. He explained that what save people during the total destruction that one must make time for chessed in Avraham Avinu wanted to know was: of the Flood, how much more effective one's daily life, despite the multifaceted When the Flood was raging in all would it be to care for human beings, responsibilities that they carry in leading its fury, what did you do to arouse created in the tzellem Elakim, to invoke Kial Yisroel.