TISHREI, 5739 I OCT. 1978 . VOLUME XIIJ, NUMBER 6 Tl-IE $1.25

The Sephardi in Israel: The Gap; to be Bridged

The.Electrical Theory of Prejudice THE JEWISH BSERVER

THE JEWISH OBSERVER is pub­ lished monthly, except July and August, by the Agudath Israel of America, 5 Beekman Street, New in this issue ... York, N.Y. 10038. Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y. Subscription: $9.00 per year; two years, $17.50; three years, $25.00; The Sephardi in Israel: outside of the United States, $9.50 Victim of Privilege and Prejudice per year. Single copy, $1.25. The Gap to be Bridged, Ezriel Tosha vi...... 4 Printed in the U.S.A. The Electrical Theory of Prejudice, Nehama Consuelo Nahmoud ·-···········-························· 7

RABBI NISSON WOLPIN "It is Not Good for Man to be Alone", Editor Nathan A Solomon ...... --············-··················-10 Missing-A Feeling of Galut, Editorial Board Dr. Shimon Glick ...... 13 DR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER The American Welcome to the Russian Immigrant Chairman RABBI NA THAN BULMAN "Dobre Pozhalovat", Hanoch Teller ...... 15 RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS "Simchas Deis Hasho'eiva": The Art JOSEPH FRIEDENSON RABBI MOSHE SHERER of Celebration, Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer ...... 20 "Ahavas Yisroel"-Love of Your Fellow Jew, in Law and Life (a review article) THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not assume responsibility for the Love Your Neighbor ······························-····················25 Kashrus of any product or service A Tzaddik in Our Time ...... --26 advertised in its pages. Book in Review I Ramban: Writings and Discourses ...... _...... 29

Copyright 1978 Second Looks OCT., 1978 VOL. XIII, NO. 6 The Spirit of Camp David and the Mattersdorf Mood ...... 31 Typography by Faith and Humility in the Operating Room ...... 34 SoloGraphic Photocomposition Service Letters to the Editor ...... _...... _...... 35 What ls happening to the .. rich, mlllenium~old, heritage of Sephardic Jewry, now that .the.· greatestcon£entration ofSephar4ic Jews lives in Israel? Two views of their condition are presented in these pages: one, an objective view by }O's Israeli coluwinist; the other, a pained outcry by one who .sees herself a victim of prejudice.

3 Ezriel T oshavi

The Sephardi in Israel:

"The Problem They Don't Talk About"* is one of Ashkenazi-Israeli, representing a goal that could never the most "talked about" but least "done about" issues be realized. As a result, the second-generation Sephardi plaguing IsraeL The Problem?-The social, economic, community in Israel is fragmented and rootless-and and political gaps between the two Israels-that of Jews bitter. of Ashkenazic extraction, and that of Jews of Sephardic While dry facts do not fully convey the full tragedy parentage. of an irreplaceable heritage disappearing into oblivion, Countless studies, surveys, reports, and articles have and the personal loss of religious identity that goes with highlighted these differences, uncovering the obvious: it,** we are opening our discussion with a presentation At the source of the gaps is the traumatic uprooting of of some of the facts and figures of the inequity. hundreds of thousands of people from one particular Approximately 60% of Israel's population is of way of life, placing them into another, radically African-Asian descent-Sephardim. Yet, the under­ different one. Those supervising this change were all privileged classes have a decided preponderance of members of an Ashkenazic (i.e., Northern European) Sephardim, far beyond their share of the population. establishment, and an anti-religious one at that. Sub­ Many of them had been on the lower rungs of the jected to their mercies, the Sephardim were robbed of socio-economic ladders in their countries of origin, but their general Torah heritage, denied the respectabiiity of their specific Sephardic upbringing, and left with *Title of an article by Aharon Megged on inequities between Sephar­ nothing substantial to replace it. The only available dic and Ashkenazic communities in Israel. featured in the Jerusalem role-model in their new settings was the secular Post, early in '77.

**The searing pain of being rendered unacceptable-or invisible-can best be understood by reading "The Electrical Theory of Prejudin'," Ezriel Toshavis observes the Israeli scene for the JO readers. by Nehama Consuelo Nahmoud, which follows this article.

4 The Jewish Observer/ October 1978 they might have expected to enfoy the upward mobility Israel's Prime Minister Yitzchak Navon is often cited of living in a free society.This has not been the case. as a prime example of the upward mobility of the Specifically: Sephardim. Navon, however, had not too long ago used About 37.8 per cent of the women and about 23 per the platform of a Jewish Agency conclave to stress the cent of the men of African and Asian origin have less opposite: than a fourth grade education or its equivalent; about After listing positive aspects of Israeli society, 20,000 primary school pupils, who are required by law Yitzhak Navon [commented] ... : "A large part of our to attend an educational institution, are regularly absent population has no part in all these cultural activities. We still have about a quarter of a million illiterates, aged 14 and over. Two thirds of them came from Asia and Africa." Navon pointed to the gap among Jews of Asian and African origin, emphasizing that these Jews still make up only about 11 percent of the university graduates. "Many thousands of young people are neither at school nor at work. There are growing manifestations of violence and corruption. There is a growing tendency to imitate some of the less desirable features of life in Europe and the United States. The information media have shortened time and space and we have absorbed from abroad customs, manners and concepts that are foreign to the authentic spirit of Judaism and incom­ 1948 ... patible with the quality of life that we want to create in and can be found idle or walking about the streets, or this country." being picked up by the police for juvenile offences; "Navon Outlines Israel's Cultural Problems," about 10-15 per cent of the new recruits in the armed Challense, July-August '76. forces are practically illiterate, despite having com­ The long-term results have been the emergence of a pleted eight or 10 years of schooling; and there are en­ restless, angry youth, expressing its frustrations in tire communities, particularly in the development tumultuous demonstrations and violence, such as towns, poor neighborhoods, and immigrant moshavin1 Israel's famous Black Panther riots of the early 70's. where approximately one third of the population is il­ literate. The most alarming fact is that these figures are not based only on the generation of immigrants which came en masse to Israel from the ghettoes and caves of North Africa and had no time to get an education in the ma'abarot. The problem here is "hereditary ignorance" which, like certain illnesses, is passed to succeeding generations. We find parents and children who cannot add a row of figures or write a simple Hebrew sentence. (Jerusalem Post, March, 1977) Yehoshua Gilboa in an article "Israel's Ethnic Gap" featured in Ma' ariv last fall, focused more fully on the educational discrepancy, pointing out that .1978 The Israeli educational system is like a pyramid in Others, in their despair, seek less sensational, but more which the participation of non-European children sordid paths leading them to tragic lives devoid of all decreases as the level of schooling goes up. Thus, while Torah values and basic morality. This is discussed in a at the 9th-grade level no gap is discernible, one of 11 recent article in Ma'ariv, by Yosef Tzuriel, euphe­ percent exists in secondary education as a whole, and mistically called "Wayward Girls": this reaches 24 percent in academic high schools and 35 2,500 or 4,000? percent among the graduates of the latter who are eligi­ About 800 children drop out of the elementary ble to continue on to college. school system each year, about one-third of them are This has ramifications in the socio-economic realms, girls. One estimate is that there are now over 4,000 Gilboa claims, for: lvayward girls in the country, others put the figure at At the very least, a B.A. is now becoming a minimal 2,500. Most are aged between 12 and 17. Almost all are standard at even the intermediate levels in the public of the Asian and African communities. About 80% were and private sectors of the Israel economy. Consequent­ born and grew up in large, poor families. The parents ly, Asians and North Africans are at a great disadvan­ have lost control, the teachers have problems com­ tage in climbing the occupational and social ladders of municating, and the girls generally do not complete our society. their elementary education.

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 5 One might expect that communities that are loyal to Torah would not be plagued by dissension between various sub­ groups, and indeed a ray of hope does shine through in yeshiva circles ... but mostly on Ashkenazic terms.

school graduates to continue their education in a full­ Other studies have shown the unusually high time format on the Mesivta-high school level. Jn addi­ representation of Sephardi families in sub-standard tion, it is engaged in a deliberate campaign to increase housing in slum areas, the predominance of Sephardic the Sephardic representation in the faculty and super­ youth in illicit narcotic dealings, and a disproportionate visory ranks of the schools. number of Sephardim among Yordim, who are aban­ The June, 1978 statistics tell the current story: Of the doning !srael altogether. 22,955 boys attending grades 1-6, close to 70% are of Attempts at Healing the Breach Sephardic extraction-15,542 as compared to 7.413 Not only those who had been economically disad­ Ashkenazim. Of 107 principals, 21 are Sephardim .. vantaged in their countries of origin suffer discrimina­ supervising 1720 teachers, of whom 513 are Sephar­ tion in Israeli society. Even those who had been more dirn. Jn addition, Chinuch A tzrnai has engaged a fortunate in their pre-aliya existence find themselves in number of Sephardic Jews as mefak'chim-regional confrontation with an anti-Sephardi prejudice that will educational supervisory personnel. True, the imbalance not permit them to be accepted unless they shed their still exists, but growing numbers of Sephardi Sephardic skin and soul. (Again, we refer the reader to youngsters have role models that represent their Mrs. Nahmoud's article, which follows.) Those Sephar­ specific aspect of Torah life. dim who have "made it" fn the secular !'ociety have One of the goals of the elementary schools is to guide done so as Europeanized Jews-or at least as secular in­ the graduates to continuity in intermediate schools­ dividuals laundered of any ethnic specificity. ideally in a setting conducive to Torah study, far One n1ight expect that communities that are loyal to removed from the crass street influences that pervade Torah would not be plagued by dissension between so many underprivileged neighborhoods. Thus. various sub-groups, and indeed a ray of hope does Chinuch Atzmai has established several intermediate shine through in yeshiva circles but mostly on schools equipped with regional dormitory facilities, to Ashkenazic terms. In fact just about every Yeshiva keep adolescent boys in a Torah-permeated atmosphere Gedola is geared for Ashkenazim, and even when not, it free of ugly distractions. The proportion of Sephardi is staffed by Ashkenazim. (One must acknowledge the youngsters in these schools is even higher than in the existence of some notable exceptions, such as the elementary grades. This concerted effort has already renowned Porat Yosef; Hod Jerusalem, a fine indepen­ borne some handsome fruits, with a total of over 9 ,000 dent high-school level institution for Sephardim with Sephardim-ranging from boys in their early teens to close supervision and guidance; and the Mechon married men-are engaged in full-time Torah study, Hahoyro'a Kole! in the Geula section of Jerusalem from grade 7 through Kole!. geared specifically for training Sephardic poskim­ This does represent a bright spot on an otherwise among others.) Here, too, the pyramid of diminishing dark panorama; for the older immigrant family in Sephardic par\icipation in the upper levels Afula, or the young drop-out in Katamon, the mere fact characterizes the scene. "fhus, every measure to correct that he is a Sephardi is still a strike against him . this imbalance is highly significant, even though it can The facts indeed are depressing .... The voice of one only reflect a relative improvement, still leaving much of those who is suffering "prejudice" is even more to be done. poignant. Listen to her voice, in the article that follows. Laudably, Chinuch Atzmai, the nation-wide school It is crowned by a rather surprising summation that system serving the religious educational needs of Israel, should give the readers-both Sephardic and is puttipg special emphasis on encouraging elementary Ashkenazic-sorne pause, and a formula for hope. "T.

6 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 Nehama Consuelo Nahmoud The Sephardi in Israel: The Electrical Theory of Prejudice

Introduction who lack a religious orientation to give them an ap­ What is prejudice? preciation for the rich depth of the Sephardic religious Semantically, it comes from two Latin words: PRE= heritage. More shocking, however, is the existence of a before; and JUDICARE = to judge. In other words. to prejudice against Sephardim in religious circles, where make up one's mind before knowing what one is mak­ one might expect that common belief and practices ing up one's mind about. Prejudice can be kind and would bridge cultural gaps. After all, shouldn't mutual benevolent. But more often it assumes the form of re­ respect be more pervasive among religious Jews, where jection and contempt. In any case, it is a blind, instinc­ preserving nusachot (specific form of prayer), tive reaction rather than an intellectual process. The minhagim (customs), family traditions, dress, and intellectual process is there, too; but it comes later, language is far more important than it is in the when the person has to justify this little-understood irreligious melting pot? Yet here, too, mutual respect is feeling (and, often his words and deeds) to his far from the norm. conscience. It goes without saying that not all Ashkenazim are Prejudice, in the negative sense of the word, is a fact prejudiced. A handful are actively fighting this ugly of daily life for half the population of Israel-the infection in the body of Am Yisrael; many others suffer Sephardi half. In the broad secular sector of Israeli from total ignorance of the history and culture of the society, where differences of cultural background "other half," and they do not realize that this problem assume more i1nportance, it may be expected that pre­ even exists. It does exist, however, and very painfully judice rears its ugly head. And indeed over the years, so for those on its receiving end. from the moment of their arrival, olim from various The Picture Sephardic communities-Yemen, Iran, and North Here is a thumbnail panorama of what a Sephardi in African lands-were adjudged "primitive" and Israel sees-and feels-every dayc "inferior" by the European-bred Israelis who were - In Geula (a religious neighborhood in Jerusalem charged with their absorption into Israeli society. This with a mixed Ashkenazi-Sephardi population) a ten­ was truly tragic, especially inasmuch as it became the year-old girl tells her mother: "Chaya's mother said she rationale for a policy of stripping these people of every couldn't play with me because we're 'Frankim' (a slang vestige of their commitment to Torah as well as their reference to Sephardim)." pride in their Sephardic heritage. Not only did it reap its - A teacher of vocational studies in Bnei Brak, bitter harvest amongst those who emigrated from in­ concerning the placement ~f one of her graduates: "It dustrially undeveloped places, such as Yemen, but even doesn't matter whether she gets the job-there's always olim from relatively sophisticated societies were pre­ work for Temani girls" (i.e., as a maid). judged "backward." In fact, to this very day, educated - A Hebrew-language religious publication refuses Sephardim residing in France are reluctant to settle in to print more than one or two modest articles yearly on Eretz Yisroel because they are not wanted there, accor­ Sephardi themes, although half its readers are non­ ding to reports in a French-language Jewish magazine. Ashkenazi; and this after repeated communications on This, of course, is symptomatic of the general chasm the matter from important figures in the Sephardi between the cultures of East and West, among those religious community. - A religious magazine in Spanish, directed to a 98% Sephardi audience, has published two stories of Mrs. Nahmoud was educated in Lisbon and Paris. Formerly of Sephardi interest in the last three years. Its material Kiryat Mattersdorf, Jerusalem, she is temporarily n-'siding in Burnos comes exclusively from Eastern European sources. Aires. {n deference to tlie author's message and writing style, we are - A recent book on the history and theory of the leaving all transliterations in Sephardi pronunciation as ori~inally Kaballa maintains complete silence concerning the con­ written tributions of such Sephardi and Yemenite Gedolei

The Jewish Observrr I Ocrober 1978 7 The gallery of great men presented to our children are dominated by Ashkenazi Gedolim, lacking ...

Yisrael as Mori Sar Shalom Shar' abi and the Baghdad only part of the specific Ashkenazic experience, it is school of Rabbi Abdahlah Somekh, the Ben !sh Hai, et also a conveyor of Ashkenazic content, values, and lore al., giving the erroneous impression that the East Euro­ -to whatever extent these are distinct from those of the pean Chassidic community was the sole and exclusive Sephardim. The sad result of this identification of the guardian of the Torah-l'fi-haSod in recent times. yeshivas with the Ashkenazic culture is two-fold: For a - An American-born Sephardi woman with a PhD­ Sephardi to "make it" in the yeshiva world, he must level education, new to religion, was interested in "become an Ashkenazi." Moreover, even the most preserving the beauty and grandeur of the Judeo­ learned religious circles remain ignorant of the heritage Spanish language and religious traditions. She was of their Sephardic brothers. And this ignorance is frequently told: "How can you meet Sephardi bound to breed prejudice. shiduchim-they're not white!" and "You mean you Thus, whatever the true feeling behind condescen­ don't want to learn YIDDISH! How can you be Jewish ding words such as these, the message comes through and not speak Yiddish?" as contempt for everything Sephardi. Especially Although she was not driven from Torah by this dolorous is the seeming lack of respect for the great diet, she carefully avoided contact with Ashkenazim for Sephardi and Yemenite Torah leaders of the past three several years, even after leaving Israel. hundred years and their important contributions to There is an attitude in Israel's religious community Judaism. that is equally offensive to Sephardim with regard to The Sephardim feel that in a school with a fifty education: percent-or-more Sephardi student body, it should not Certain yeshivas refuse to admit Sephardim as be too much trouble to teach Sephardi nusach, the

talmidim1 while other educational institutions have a history of the Oriental communities and their leaders, Sephardi majority, as high as 90% in some cases. In the the works of the Oriental Acharonim (rabbinical latter schools, children of Moroccan and Yemenite authorities from the 16th century on), and Sephardi background learn the lives and works of the Vilna minhag in halacha, to the Sephardi students. Gaon, the Ba' al Shem Tov, the Chazon !sh, the Chafetz Chaim and Rabbi Dessler; the history and lore of the Jews of Northern and Eastern Europe; the Ashkenazi nusachot and Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Lashon HaKodesh; and the halacha according to the glosses of Rabbi Moshe Isserles and the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. No word is ever spoken about the Oriental counterparts of the above-mentioned topics. Many Sephardim feel that their children should be learning their own nusach; the true Sephardi pronun­ even a mention of ciation of Lashon HaKodesh; halacha according to the Sephardi leaders. Kaf Hachaim and the Ben !sh Chai's Kitzur; and the minhagim their families followed for hundreds of years. When this is brought up, however, the reaction is usually: "We're doing you •·favor: if it weren't for us you wouldn't have any Torah." Now, it is true that the modern yeshiva system is an Ashkenazic product. Thus, a yeshiva education is not

8 The Jewish Observer/ October 1978 "Each tribe-each group within Jewry-is a separate current of electricity. When various charges come together, the reaction is one of shock. ... But, on the other hand, think of the fuel that it provides."

Not Alone dangerous, even fatal. It can also be a valuable source of The Sephardim are not completely alone. A tiny energy if channeled properly. If there is only one wire, group of Ashkenazim share this view. A rav in or if the two don't come together, it is more comfortable Jerusalem, whose reputation as an Oriental scholar -but nothing moves, either. equals that as a ta/mid chacham, says: "You can't "This is what is happening in Israel today. Two divorce religion from minhag and culture; and you kinds of charges have come together, and the reaction is can't force a foreign culture on people." The rav is one of shock. But energy is also being produced and revered by the Sepha rdim. He was instrumental in used to rebuild. establishing a seminary where Sephardi girls learn the "Look at the 'Ben !sh Hai' movement which is gain­ Ben !sh Hai and other Sephardi Acharonim (authorities in5 momentum and followers every day. Look at the since the 15th century) and Rishonim (rabbinical Sephardi and Yemenite yeshivot, kolels, Talmud­ authorities from 12th through 15th century), whose Torahs and seminaries that are springing up like portraits line the school's corridors. The Beit Knesset at mushrooms-and succeeding. I am thinking of several the seminary, whose design was an idea of the rav, is an writing careers that would never have been without the architectural treasure-a contemporary miniature of a stimulus of the pain of prejudice, and of the five pre-Inquisition Spanish synagogue. bookstores and two publishing houses in Jerusalem, all Gittie, a teacher at Bnei Brak's Sephardi Or HaChaim specializing in Sephardi religious literature and all do­ seminary, takes every opportunity to instill pride and ing a roaring business. Think of the ba'alei teshuva that dignity in her girls, even bringing in guest lecturers in are discovering their roots and traditions-you know a Oriental Jewish history. new Sephardi, 'Ben !sh Chai' yeshiva for ba'alei "Slugi" Salomon, one of Or HaChaim's directors and teshuva opened in Bnei Brak last Elul. a fellow Ashkenaziah, heartily approves. "They need "What fuel do you think all this is running on? pride," she says. "The Sephardim have let themselves "This is nothing new in Jewish history: it started be squashed too long." back in Tanach days with the creation of Twelve Some newspaper and magazine editors, both Tribes, each with its own dress, nusach, flag and religious and non-religious, welcome material about minhagim. Twelve wires is a lot of electricity, and intra­ and by Sephardim, believing that getting to know peo­ Jewish relations were never a bouquet of lilies and ple and their culture in one way makes this problem less roses. I sometimes think that Hashem in His wisdom set acute. The readership of these publications is 100% things up that way to keep the Am Yisrael from Ashkenazi. stagnating." And then there are people-ordinary Jews-such as "Can't we do something?" asked the Chacham's those of the Jerusalem Kiryat Mattersdorf community, guest. who have no idea what the word "prejudice" means. "You usually can't force changes in other people; but When a Sephardi Mattersdorfer got married not long you can change yourself,'' answered the Chacham. ago, the people of her apartment building presented her "Tefilla is a tremendous souce of power; pray for the with a portrait of the Ben !sh Chai which they had had Sephardi communities with deep kavana. Learn­ specially painted for her wedding present. continue learning the Ben !sh Chai's works. Keep your own level and that of your home as high as possible. The Prognosis And 'shinantam lebaneichem'. Do what you can in the "It's terrible," a member of a Sephardi Keh ilia said to way of mitzvot in the Kehilla. In other words, a strong the Chacham. "It damages individuals as well as the Jew according to our shita is the most important con­ Jewish people collectively." tribution one can make. If every person in a Kehilla did "You're wrong," said the Chacham. "Painful, yes. this, you might eventually end up with something like But damaging? No. It's not even 'terrible'!" Baghdad during the Ben !sh Chai's day, b'ezrat When the Chacham' s guest had recovered her com­ Hashem." posure after this reply, he continued: "Amen," said the visitor, rising to leave. "You have two electrical wifes, one with a positive "Oh, yes-and don't forget to thank haBore Olam for charge and one with a negative one. What happens His gift of electricity!" the Chacham called after his when you put them together? Electric current. It can be guest as she entered the elevator. t.T.

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 9 Nathan A. Solomon

"'It is Not Good For Man to be Alone''

A new phenomenon of the American ]t>wish scene is Ifie single adult, who is actually suffering from a widespread loneliness syndrome.

Loneliness. In a sense, it is as simple and blunt as Being uninvolved does have advantages. that. Sharon can't remember when it was not there. It Remember the way they all looked at you when has lurked menacingly in the corners of her mind since you n1ade your entrance at that last social she was very young. But only over the last several years gathering? Surely a dozen of them wanted to own -since she passed twenty-has she become so aware of you, but you won't let them. You'ree rnore than it. It's not so terrible, though. Once you get past the oc­ that. You're not the sniveling dependent child casional depression and feelings of meaninglessness, they imagine in a woman. You need no one. You loneliness becomes a comfortable companion. You sort are cool. of get used to it. Or it might be the very next guy. Like a lightning That's how Sharon so articulately put it to herself bolt from Heaven: love, marriage, security, an end after her last attempt at forming a relationship that to the embarrassment. "Thank G-d," they'll say. could lead to marriage fizzled into a numbing oblivion. "It's about time." lt could have been a lot worse. She could have let herself get trapped in an unfulfilling relationship. Take a deep breath. You still have your dreams. Lonely-But Not Alone And you know they'll come true, because you In a certain sense, of course, Sharon is not alone. want them so much they have to. Perhaps you Singleness is not only lasting longer on an individual basis, it is a way of life for an increasing number of peo­ need a respite. Yes, a week in St. John. You u;on't let your mind wander to the edges of ple in America. That this should be so is not terribly surprising. However, that singleness, late marriage, and consciousness where the terrifying feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, isolation, and despair divorce should be on the rise to the present extent in the Torah community is perplexing young people, parents, await the relaxation of your defenses. Stay cool. rabbis, and others who comprise that community. The Be cool. recent rise of singles comrnunities and their sometimes Have your fun while you can. Being religious questionable social functions has not soothed this doesn't mean you can't have fun. Let the doting concern. What we have is a problem. It is reaL And it is parents worry a little longer. You can take care of not going away. yourself-without the harassment, the plotting, Certainly it is hard to understand how, not only the the sickening parental obsession with marriage. relatively unattractive, unsuccessful, young adults, but even-and sometimes particularly-the bright, attrac­ tive, successful, and engaging, are unable to form the kind of emotionally intimate relationship that leads to Dr. Solomon, a clinical psychologist in private practice, is Director o_{ Psychology/Director of Clinical Training in the Di11ision of Cl1ild­ marriage. The repeated failure of our frantic efforts to ren and Youth, Ki11gsboro Psychiatric Center in Brooklyn. introduce these people to someone who will, at last,

70 The Jewish Observer I ()ctober 1978 possess just the right combination of traits suggest we tial to an understanding of so many of our problems in are barking up the wrong tree. the Torah community. However, this latest adaptation/ Zi1;ug-the pairing off of man and woman through a distortion of the Existential weltanschauung, ivhen permanent, emotional, and physical bond-for all its taken to its logical and all-too-accessible extreme, posits difficulty of attainment, is not an unnatural state of af­ that each of us is alone and unknown to the other. Since fairs. l t .has been going on for the vast preponderance of no one can ever really understand me, there can be little mankind ever since the Creator observed, "It is not use in reaching out. I must wait for it to happen. good for Man to be alone." It has never been known to require exceptionally good looks, psychological insight, From fear to Philosophy graduate education, bekius in SHaS, or much of Our culture has rationalized interpersonal terror into anything else, with the exception of a desire to form a reified philosophy. Staying single is becoming less an permanent relationship with a member of the opposite aberration and more an alternative life style. We are sex. This is not to sav that any of these things or many urged to wait until Mr. Right comes along; we shall be others cannot be an 'asset in finding a mate. J-iowever, swept up, we shall fall in love. Rather than growing when a relatively eligible individual finds himself single into real, adult responsibility for our own lives, we contrary to his own wishes, into his late twenties or assume a bitter, passive, narcissistic stance. We have beyond, chances are there are subtle, unconscious given enough; now it's time to get. maneuvers keeping him that way. These maneuvers This attitude, it seems to me, is best described as the may be in the service of any one or combination of a schizoid posture. Its ultimate representative in non­ number of needs. Increasingly, however, they seem to psychotic psychopathology is the schizoid personality be part and parcel of a general social psychological disorder. This disorder has its foundation in a lack of trend-a flight from interpersonal commitment-that is basic trust, especially of the opposite sex. It is marked resulting in, not only more bachelors, spinsters, and late by hostility of a mostly unconscious nature, depression, marriages, but also fewer children, more divorces, and insecurity, anxiety, despair, and peculiar thinking. It is fewer lasting relationships in general. The proliferation also increasing in incidence. of minyanin1 and their often non-paying, transient Just as the hysterical neurosis told us much about the mispal'lim is further testimony to the broad, communal Victorian period in which it was prevalent, so the consequences of the deterioration of commitment. schizoid personality reveals n1uch about our own technological era-·a time in which emotion is sup­ The lonely Profile pressed and needs denied for the sake of Efficiency. We in the Torah community are witnessing the rise Inevitably, such a reduction of existence to cost accoun­ to pron1inence of a particular personality with a tenden­ ting must have its human consequences, Emotional ex­ cy toward these problems. He is a religious, observant penditure is carefully calculated in terms of conser­ Jew with good religious and secular educations. He vatively projected response. The schizoid personality is comes from the kind of traditional family that places ·thus the Cost/Benefit Ratio run amok. It is the per­ emphasis on marriage. But he is also cool and detached. sonality of our times. Emotionality, passion of any kind, is frowned upon and disowned as soon as it surfaces. Equanimity is highly Time of the Anti-Hero and Anti-Ideology valued. To insure its constancy, he remains uninvolved, It is my belief that, when socio-historians look back Though he may be seen in the company of many on our era decades hence, they will see loneliness as its women, he plays the field at the expense of any intimate distinguishing social psychological phenomenon. relationship. He appears to be quite self-sufficient and Alienation and non-involvement have become the may well live alone. He is foot-loose, uncommitted. watchwords of our culture. We are heavily invested in He mav not be aware of the heroes of his mental life, rooting out every vestige of non-rational thinking and or he may not wish to reveal them; but they are there. behpvior, not to mention emotion. It is the time of the And they are telling. anti-hero. It is the time of the anti-ideology. James Bond, Kojak, and Dirty Harry flesh out what So well has this search-and-destroy mission been ex­ have become the shared fantasies of an entire culture. ecuted in America that we have inflicted an entire Narcissistic, violent, and super-cool, these creatures of generation of casualties filled with feelings of the media personify American machismo: Attila the meaninglessness, desperation, and hopelessness. Hun with a touch of class, Some of these casualties are our own: the hope and It is affecting nearly all of us, male and female, future of the Torah community. Afflicted with young and old, religious and non-religious alike. We cynicism and feelings of the ultimaie worthlessness of are turning inward, pondering responsibility to the self, intimate personal relationships, these young adults and questioning our commitments-particularly those often huddle on the margins of the community, struggl­ to people. ing with their ambivalence about traditional values. Of course, many of the issues underlying such a re­ Others remain in the mainstream of Torah life, learning examination are quite legitimate and are, in fact, essen- and working. They run the entire spectra of religious

Thr Jewish Observer I October· 1978 17 practice, attractiveness, intelligence, career status, and a Problems-From Within host of other variables. What they have in common are Such psychological dynamics are, of course, usually their loneliness, depression, shame, and ambivalence out of awareness. For this reason, more and more about personal commitment. They also show a sur­ singles, some at the suggestions of their rabbis, are prising lack of insight into their problems. By virtue of turning to psychotherapy as a means of understanding their singleness, they are psychologically-if not and changing their lives. Such an undertaking often physically-alienated from the Torah community. requires some recognition that the problem lies within, rather than outside oneself. If, for example, every man Victims one has dated for the last fifteen years has a dismaying­ Some of these individuals are not marrying because ly poor sense of humor, perhaps it is because one is at­ of deep psychological problems which are frequently tracting only such men. the results of the social values I have discussed above. The road back to a true Torah hashkafa for many of Their families have fostered distrust and emotional our single people lies in insight, a commodity I have isolation since birth. Others are the victims of an en­ found at a premium among long-time singles. The vironment in which emotional needs are insufficiently chronic experience of loneliness and despair, in many met. This is unfortunately the case in too many cases, has its roots in an inability to trust. This inability classrooms in our day schools and yeshivos, where our renders full emotional commitment to a community, to children often are being taught a hollow messorah by another person impossible. Ultimately, it must result in part-time lecturers-although who could reasonably ex­ a rationalization of singleness, a resignation to being pect differently, given the present salary scale? alone. Acceptance of such a fate creates conflict which Furthermore, the American religious community has transcends the boundaries of halacha. It flies in the face complicated an already perplexing problem by over­ of the Divine plan. emphasizing intellectual accomplishment. Every son G-d does not place his abode in any place where must be a ta/mid chacham. Our kollelim, for example, male and female are not found together [states the are now attracting some young men who, regardless of Zahar], nor are blessings found save in such a their level of learning, would fall into despair at the place, as it is written, "And he blessed them and prospect of abandoning their intellectual pursuit of called their name Adam on the day that they were Torah to enter the working world. created [emphasis mine]." Can it be any wonder, then, that so many of our We are a people crucially committed-to Hakadosh youth see in marriage not so much the fulfillment of Baruch Hu, to His Torah, and to each other. The basic emotional needs, but rather another sphere in fulness of experience required to counter the onslaught which excellence must compulsively be pursued? of anti-Torah calls for the marshalling of all our com­ Should we be surprised that a prospective mate is ex­ munal resources: family, school, synagct;ut:', et cetera. pected to be: Our people and our institutions must reach out for a a) devastatingly attractive more human experience. Hyper-intellectualism can b) intellectually brilliant continue to bring us great minds, but it carries in its c) comfortably wealthy wake small hearts-hearts that have no room for or interpersonal fulfillment, or, for that matter, emotional d) all of the above and more? commitment to Kial Yisrael. If a marriage should take place on such a basis, should The sainted Chafetz Chaim, in commenting on the we expect it to survive? passage \;1 1:i::i.'> '"If :r11::iw011 t:>1'~ JW""'"' "And you Should a shadchan, for example, take seriously a shall know today, and take to heart ... ", said that man's peremptory preference for short brunettes three merely knowing is not enough. Belief and trust in G-d years younger than himself? Can a person help it if he must penetrate the heart. He was, it seems to me, one of is attracted to only certain kinds of people? Yes, he can. the few Misnagdim who succeeded in articulating that InterperSonal attraction-even the deepest sexual which the Chasidim have always preached openly: kind-is, as many other psychological experiences, commitment is much more an emotional phenomenon determined by any number of variables. Many of these than it is an intellectual one. This applies not only to variables have little prima facie relevance to the ideological commitment, but to interpersonal commit­ immediate experience. Rather, they mold the physical , ment as well. desires to meet other psychological needs. It is quite This emotional experience was blueprinted at crea­ conceivable that a man may actually feel attracted only tion as an expression not only of human fulfillment to short brunettes three years younger than himself. but, more importantly, of Divine mandate. Zivug is not However, such an attraction may very well be heavily a cultural achievement, nor is it an existential influenced by his empirical judgement that there is a prerogative. It is a cosmic imperative. particular shortage of such women. Thus, his Those who survive without it live with its simply heterosexual needs have been conscripted into the ser­ stated truth:i-.:i'-i t:>>J''1 :n"" :iiu fL,. It is not good vice of his fear of interpersonal commitment. for Man to be alone. !..T.

12 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 Missing- A Feeling of Galut

An American "oleh" comes back to the States on a visit, and finds a basic essential lacking in the Jewish attitude toward life in his temporary homeland.

Four years ago I made Aliya with my wife and six children, moving from Flatbush to Beer Sheva. I returned for a short visit to Brooklyn two and one half years ago, and was struck by a disturbing set of at­ Not as a Prophet titudes among Anshei Shlomeinu with respect to Eretz I do not accept the impending doom theories, and, in Yisroel. At that time I considered giving voice to my view of the classes of people to whom prophecy has observations, but decided to restrain myself until I been turned over, I prefer to leave prophecy to those could reconfirm these impressions and digest them who qualify by the job descriptions listed in the before putting them into print. My recent visit to the Talmud. Nor do I wish to regale the readers with my United States unfortunately reinforced my earlier own travelogue, interesting though it is. I am also un­ observations and strengthened my resolve to speak out. comfortable in the role of dispensing Mussar about Articles by new olim to Israel generally fall into a few Aliya just because I have made the move. The decision well-worn categories. Perhaps the most popular articles for Aliya is a difficult one and an intensely individual are those which describe the trials and adventures of the one, with which each Jew must wrestle and decide new oleh-from elation to depression to final whether and when it is appropriate for his family. equilibrium. One reads of the usual battles with However, I feel constrained to speak out about a bureaucracy, of the paradoxical extremes of rudeness most disturbing phenomenon which I observed in both and helpfulness of the Israeli, of the human heroism my visits to the United States-the absence of a feeling and suffering. These are the human interest stories read of Galut. Many American Jews, and more specifically avidly by American Jews, giving them a vicarious thrill even the religiously observant Jews who can be found of "experiencing" Ali ya without personally having to in the shtiblach of Borough Park, Flatbush, Crown undergo the process. Heights, Monsey and Far Rockaway, no longer have Another type of article is of the "prophet of doom" the feeling that they live in Galut. genre which describes the relief in getting away from I am realistic enough to realize, and understand, that Galut before another Holocaust arrives. The prophet of few American Jews, even frum Jews, are actively con­ doom finds "parallels" between the 1920's and the pre­ sidering Aliya-and many of them would regard the sent times, the similarities between Weimar Germany Aliya of their children with considerable misgiving and and the United States. His message is "get out while trepidation. That I have learnt to accept. But I have there is still time." One sometimes gets the feeling that much more difficulty coming to peace with the all per­ having made the leap of faith and having a few vading feeling that Borough Park is not Galut-and that misgivings, he would feel more comfortable if others perhaps were Moshiach to suddenly appear he might be would join him. regarded as a nuisance interfering with one's everyday activities. Dr. Glick lives in Beer Sheva, where he is associated with the Central Throughout the centuries in every land of exile the Negev Hospital. Torah Jew always sensed through every fiber of his be-

The Jewisft Observer I October 1978 13 ing that he was in Galut-no matter how well off he question in all of its stark reality. For I had suspected was. And, he longed-truly so-for Israel. The that our "non-Zionist" yeshivas indeed had not been beautifully symbolic bag of soil from Eretz Yisroel at emphasizing Eretz Yisroel as a major positive value. the head of the grave epitomized beyond words that They did not do so in my days-Rabbi Alexander yearning for the land. If reunion with the land was not Linchner, whose-great foresight led him to found Boys' achieved in one's lifetime, at least it would not be Town in Jerusalem, was regarded as some kind of freak denied in the Olam Ha'emes. -and the yeshivas emphaoize Eretz Yisroel even less I remember reading about the emotional reaction of now. The European-born Roshei Yeshivas still had per­ Moreinu Harav Yaakov Rosenheim when he arrived to sonally absorbed the difference between Galut and Israel for the first time. He prostrated himself on the Israel, even if they did not always succeed in transmit­ ground, kissing it and crying. Such as the normal ex­ ting this feeling to their disciples. Many of their pression of feeling by the Jew-certainly by the Torah successors, raised and trained on the comfortable Jew-throughout the ages. Somehow I got the feeling American scene, had this distinction blurred at the that this intense longing, this yearning, this feeling of emotional level, even if it existed at the appropriate void in Galut was just not there in many of the intellectual level. shtiblach that I had occasion to visit. One of the major reasons, to my mind, for the I know that this feeling of comfort in America, this prevailing attitude is the difficult balancing act that the feeling of at-homeness was not true even one genera­ Yeshiva world has had to maintain to cope with the tion ago. Our parents, although greater American State of Israel. After the serious misgivings with which "patriots" than we were, had been raised in Europe; the Torah world viewed political Zionism, both secular they had absorbed enough of Jewish history, Jewish as well as religious, world Jewry was confronted with a suffering and Jewish consciousness to know that new entity, the State of Israel. The response of the America, while a "goldene medina," was nevertheless Yeshiva world to the State has on the whole been to not home. My contemporaries, their children, advanced react, rather than to act. Almost invariably, the subject into American life with unparalleled rapidity and comes up in a negative context, in the context of success. America's openness and the sociological protest, whether the subject be Yaldei Teheran, autop­ changes of the past few decades have permitted even sies, the draft of girls, Rabbi Goren or any of a dozen the fully observant Jew to enter the mainstream of other ssues. (One need but examine the pages of The American society, and still faithfully observe mitzva Jewish Observer to confirm my impression.) Rarely has kala k'chamura. The recent proliferation of eruvim, there been a positive, yeshiva-initiated approach to somehow almost symbolically represents for me the Israel. Since the general Jewish community's overall at­ final step in putting down stakes and declaring the titude towards Israel has been one of almost slavish American shtetl as home, sweet home. adulation, the Roshei Yeshiva have acted consistently Indeed the American Jew who is religiously obser­ to attempt to balance the distortion. But in so doing, vant has the best of all possible worlds. He can live the almost all of their input has been relatively negative "full" Jewish life in Flatbush, he can visit the Kosel towards the State of Israel and its activities. yearly, and can rationalize his status by complaining While obviously the holiness of Eretz Yisroel has not about the shortcomings of religious life in lsrael­ been reduced during the past thirty years, and while "Sholom alai nafshi" (peace to my soul). If one may be one can clearly oppose policies of a political party permitted an analogy used by our Neviim, Israel is like responsible for the government in Israel while retaining the faithful woman, who sits and waits for her man, is one's love for the land, such differentiation on an always available, and who is left behind while the man intellectual plane may not be accompanied by the ap­ goes back "home." To the man, this woman is merely a propriate distinction on an emotional plane. Since little mistress, who provides many advantages for him-but positive indoctrination towards Eretz Yisroel is best of all, does not demand from him a permanent provided, and neither are the negative implications of commitment. Galut actively highlighted, the result is inevitable-a In Search for the Causes generation of Yeshiva graduates whose love for Eretz In searching for the cause for the absence of a feeling Yisroel has been blunted, whose complacency about life of Galut among frum American Jews I had ·my in Galut is shattered only by Black-Jewish confronta­ suspicions and hypotheses, but was hesitant to express tion, and who seem content to live in Brooklyn until the them. A conversation I had on the last day of my visit arrival of the Moshiach. to the United States convinced me, however, of the I write in the hope that my words may stimulate correctness of my theories and of the necessity to speak some self-examination by the readers of The Jewish out. I met a young man, my son's former leader in the Observer. I believe that deep down in the heart of every Pirchei, who asked me, "Didn't you learn in Torah Jew there exists the spark of the natural attachment to Vodaath or Chaim Berlin?" When I replied in the affir­ Eretz Yisroel. One needs but a little reminder of who we mative he continued, "Then how come you moved to are and where we are in order to realize in what direc­ Israel?" With the candor of youth he had placed the tion we ought to be heading. i.T.

14 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 Hanoch Teller

''Dobro Pozhalovat''

The American Welcome to the Russian Immigrant

Russian immigrants in English-as-a Second Language course.

Meet Yuri assigned him to four and a half years of arduous factory "Yuri Zuroff" has dedicated his life to mitzvos. He labor as a cure for his indolent disposition. He was per­ has enabled the poor to marry, sheltered the indigent mitted to see his family once every four months for half and cared for the fatherless. Up until 1978, Yuri was an hour, separated by a room and prison guards. living in the Soviet Union, where the mitzvos which he Despite his debilitating medical condition, he never performed had won him four and a half years of hard asked to see a doctor for fear that it would result in an labor in the Carpathian Mountains. even more severe prison sentence. He labored on a star­ In early 1972, Yuri Zuroff had received a letter in­ vation diet, was reduced to eating vermin, yet donated viting him to live with his cousin in Israel. Soviet his milk ration to an ailing, elderly Jew interned with authorities warned him not to take advantage of this in­ him. vitation. Yuri was a genuine "refusenik": he had During this period, Yuri's wife visited the Ribnitzer refused to assimilate, and now he refused to accept a Rebbe Rabbi Chaim Zundel Abramowitz Shlit" a (now "no" to his petition to emigrate. in America), who consoled her.and instructed her not to On October 24, 1972, after suffering from Yellow be afraid. "Since Yuri gave of himself to others," said Fever for over seven months, Yuri was arrested for the Rebbe, "the Soviets will not succeed in breaking his crimes against the state-raising money for Jewish spirits or crushing his desire to leave." After he orphans. After incarceration in a local jail, he was tried completed his sentence, Yuri underwent a retrial for and transferred to a prison for hard-core criminals in three weeks, and was found innocent of committing the town of Siletzki, zone 41, in what was once any crimes. He had served four and a half years for Northern Romania. naught' At the trial (sic), the judge, aware that Zuroff had Yuri Zuroff then succeeded to emigrate to the United just been released from the hospital, had inquired after States. Like so many other Soviet emigrees, he had his health. Zuroff replied that he was indisposed. The awaiting him in America an apartment without fur­ judge declared that "these Nazis are always sick,'' and niture, and a stipend for personal needs, giving him barely enough money for food .... But this aspect of his adjustment problems becomes resolved one way or Hanoch Teller studies in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem. This article another. There are other problems however, that time was written during a recent visit in America. and simple ingenuity can not remedy.

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 15 I went to visit Yuri early one hot summer evening. I had spoken to him on the telephone, and although he The First Hello knows no English and I know no Russian, we none­ The situation does not change radically in America. theless were able to communicate. My welcome to his By the time a Russian Jew finally meets his Orthodox home was another matter. My knock on his door was American brethren, faint bonds of fellowship have answered by Boris, Yuri's older son-a tall, lanky twen­ been expended, often disappointedly, on non-religious ty year old, sporting carefully-groomed, long, blond Jewish Agency officials. Furthermore, to the utter hair, wearing striped gym shorts and not much else. He frustration of the religious groups interested in responded to my "Shalom Aleichem" by extending his assisting new immigrants, the crucial first encounter hand toward me with a blank stare. A Jew met a Jew, with America often remains the exclusive monopoly of yet we could not communicate. Then I caught sight of NY ANA (New York Association for New Americans). Sasha, his younger brother by some seven years, who The Russian emigree is met at the airport by either a was fully clothed, wearing a yarmulka as well. Sasha, relative, a representative from NY ANA, or both. who is enrolled in a local yeshiva that caters to Russian Since 1968, NYANA has advised and financially immigrants, took my suspended hand, said "Shalom, assisted over 10,000 people from the USSR in their ef­ Shalom. Du villst mine fodder?" He then disappeared forts to resettle in the Greater New York area. into the next room to call Yuri. ... NY ANA, however, does not provide religious Yuri's heartbreaking tale of trying to make ends guidance. Only when the Soviet immigrant requests meet, his hopes for his sons to have an easier time at it­ religious attention does NY ANA act as a referral that was but part of the problem. Boris and Sasha intermediary-be it for "Reconstructionism" or (lehav­ Zuroff, standing before me, personified the major share dil) "Havura" Judaism, a Solomon Shechter day school, of the problem of the Russian immigrant in the U.S.A. or yeshiva. Orthodox groups have therefore been Where was the Judaism for which their father was forced to resort to clandestine methods to elicit arrival persecuted, for which he had so piteously sacrificed? information. The large Russian staff of Lubavitch's Could it be revived in Boris? Does it have a fighting project FREE (Friend of Refugees of Eastern Europe) chance for survival in Shasha? has succeeded in enlisting the Russo-American grapevine in ferreting out arrival dates of immigrants, Freedom From Religion and does its own ground-work from there. Others have From the time a Jew leaves the Soviet Union for been less successful in their attempts at greeting new America, religious organizations have only limited op­ immigrants at their arrival. portunities to reach out and influence him toward religious observance. The immigrant's initial exposure to Western Jews is his apparently unfruitful meeting The Material Obstacles with Jewish Agency officials in Vienna, whose goal is to Before a new immigrant can be expected to respond persuade him to continue his trip to its original to suggestions that he adapt to a different lifestyle, or destination: Israel. At this point, the would-be U.S. im­ even minutely alter his status with the acceptance of a migrant is rerouted to Rome, or some other "neutral few mitzvos, several basic necessities must first be territory,'' where United HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid secured. Housing, food, and satisfactory employment Society) Service processes his emigration application, are surely minimal requirements. NY ANA was the American Joint Distribution Committee attends to established in 1949 by the New York Federation of social and familial problems as well as housing, and Jewish Philanthropies to achieve these goals with ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation Through Train­ monetary, vocational, and educational assistance. No ing) sponsors English-language instruction. This stay­ matter how much financial aid NY ANA contributes, usually in the Ghetto of Ostia, some 15 miles southwest however, for many immigrants it never seems enough. of Rome-may last for as long as six months. (Although For instance, there is the furniture problem. At first, the U.S. Justice Department recently waived the normal no one seems to have any. According to Rabbi Shmuel visa requirements, which should reduce waiting time to (Sasha) Nota Herskovitz, (a local hero among Soviet two months, this will not go into effect until May '79.) Jews for delivering food for Shabbos to Russian During this "hot storage" period, the first flush of families), often finds himself without a table for placing idealism and much of its attendant enthusiasm dissipate his packages. There is a period of time when those for­ in the sordid conditions that prevail in Ostia. Except for tunate enough to ship their furniture from the USSR the faculty of a religious school recently organized by a have not yet received it; and certainly those who were group of European Agudath Israel leaders, the "free forced to leave all material possessions behind are world" Jews a Russian meets are irreligious, represen­ without furniture for a longer period. Neither of them ting one secular agency or another. Moreover, his major have yet acclimatized themselves enough to secure efforts are channelled toward material adjustment, gainful employment. To have accrued some savings usually putting any remaining spiritual concerns on a during this interim period, some hesitate to spend their back shelf. stipends on furniture and are temporarily reduced to

16 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 Some of texts and informational books prepared by religious organizations. sleeping on mattresses in a bare apartment (like Yuri ment in resettling over 250 Russian immigrant families. Zuroff, in our opening episode). Among the multitude of services and programs that it To cope with these problems, and to deal with provides to ease Russian integration into democratic Russians on a more personal level than NY ANA af­ society and the American Jewish community are: apart­ fords, local Jewish community councils have risen to ment and furniture clearinghouses; crash orientation the task. The Jewish Community Council of programs for teenagers; formal Jewish orientation Washington Heights-Inwood (in Upper Manhattan) is programs; employment placement services; City­ a prime example of this activity, for its deep involve- financed English-as-a-Second-Language classes (ESL);

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 17 as well as hospitality, recreational, social, religious, and skimpy wages, pilfering has become the expedient tutorial programs. Similar programs are sponsored by norm. American employers, however, do not take kind­ community councils in Forest Hills and Coney Island. ly to this custom. The Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York Furthermore, Russians grow up in a society where sponsors Project ARI (Action for Russian Immigrants) they are constantly watched. To a great extent, ethics in the Brighton community, also attempting to bring and virtues that are imposed by the awareness of being the Russian immigrants into the mainstream of under constant surveillance and the threat of Siberian American life. ARI, an interdisciplinary social service exile, are seldom internalized. Aside from the ticklish group, employs Russian immigrants on its staff to serve problems this presents in the job market, it represents as role models, which frequently helps in hurdling major handicaps to instilling religious conviction and several psychological barriers. conduct in some immigrants. In seeking employment, over fifty percent of all The promise of ultimate reward, and the deep-felt Russians in New York have turned to Agudath Israel's gratification derived from abstention and from the vocational employment service, Project COPE (Career quashing of sinful inclinations, are concepts so strange Opportunity and Preparation for Employment). COPE as to be inconceivable to the average Russian. Thus, is in the very forefront of those guiding the Russians in suggesting to a Russian immigrant that he spend more their synthesis into American society. money on kosher meat, purchase extra sets of dishes, Their amplitude of services include some that were and forefeit $40 every Saturday in the name of Shmiras specifically tailored for Russian needs. COPE's Fresh Shabbos is an extremely difficult task. Start Program, for teaching new skills to people over forty, was created to meet general shifts in the labor Curiosity and Commitment market, but effectively serves the needs of Soviet Jews; What, then, happens to the spiritual needs of the im­ more specifically for Russians are a number of classes migrants? Directors of organizations serving the needs dealing with a variety of subjects, including Job Orien­ of Russian immigrants challenge the prevalent opinion tation, Business Math, Bookkeeping, Business English, that Soviet Jews are totally uninterested in Judaism. and English as a Second Language. In fact, a widely Undeniably, the vast majority of Soviet Jews did not used textbook on English as a Second Language was come to America for an intensive religious experience; written by COPE staff members. indeed, most have as much interest in embracing religion as they do in aliya. Nevertheless, they are The Mental Hurdles interested in "non-committal" Jewish knowledge­ According to Soviet-born Rabbi Heshy Kahan, direc­ something denied them all their lives. Interest in tor of COPE's Russian counseling division, finds religious identification, often generated by its sheer contending with Russian arrogation for employment a novelty, manifests itself more in spectator participation constant problem. This, coupled with numerous other and in enjoying the comfort of "belonging" than in ac­ problems, has rendered securing long-standing gainful tive involvement and meeting stringent demands. This employment for Russians a herculean task. For accounts for the occasional successes of Christian instance, a Russian who arrives in America expects­ missionaries with Russians, both here and abroad, and indeed, demands-what he was accustomed to receiving explains why Conservative Judaism has generally had in the USSR. Most Russians are not mentally prepared the greatest appeal to Russians in many New York to be employed at less prestigious job than they had neighborhoods, particularly in the Far Rockaway com­ held in Russia (and in inflated Soviet terms, a plumber munity. Laxity and loopholes in Sabbath observance is a "sanitation engineer," a car mechanic is an and the prevalence of mixed pews are among the major "automotive engineer," etc.). Nor are they geared for attractions of Conservative Judaism's general freedom the free-wheeling, open-ended job market of capitalistic from regimentation and stringencies. America. In a Socialist state, one never has to "think for himself" regarding employment plans. After high Priorities and Programs school all men enter the army, and upon discharge they Despite the Russian Jew's total lack of orientation to either enter a state university or embark on a vocation. spiritual pursuits, a failing that everyone hopes to rec­ With only these two options available, there is scant tify, the various charitable organizations and communi­ opportunity for deviation or innovation. ty councils that are concerned with introducing the Besides obvious difficulties of language, skill, and Russians to their long-lost heritage engage in different orientation that the Russian employee encounters here, methods in tackling the same problem. Most groups' the Soviet work ethic is antithetical to the American avenue of appeal to the Russian immigrant has been one. A Russian is unaccustomed to competition and one of gentle persuasion and understanding accom­ hustle. Jn the Soviet Union one does not lose his job modation. Usually this means helping the immigrant in because of languid or sloppy work. In addition, the the broad spectrum of his material, economic, and salary received from the Soviet government invariably sociological adjustment problems with a patient ear, a is never enough to make ends meet. To supplement compassionate heart, and a helpful hand. The spiritual

18 The Jewish Obsen1er I October 1978 aspect is approached gradually and gingerly. according to Mrs. Esther Grunblatt, director of perhaps Rav Tov, a "Chessed organization" sponsored by the the most influential and effective council, the Service Satmar community (originally concerned exclusively Center for Russian Immigrants in Queens. In the Soviet with providing resettlement services for Russians not Union, the only allegiance that bound youth together wishing to go to Israel), now has a Russian was their membership in Comsomal-the Communist kindergarten in Brooklyn's Brighton area for over 100 Youth League, to the total absence of any other ethnic, children, and has begun to cater to spiritual needs. fraternal or spiritual association. Although Rav Tov is not thought of as a reach-out Several organizations have reported edifying success organization, it has arranged for the performance of stories in the struggle to raise Russian consciousness. numerous circumcisions and religious marriage Operation REACH (Religious Education for Adults and ceremonies. Children) recorded 100 responses to a small advertise­ Beginning at the other end of the spectrum, namely ment in a Russian· language newspaper before Pesach, spiritual guidance, and working its way to material offering nominal Pesach provisions, and help in assistance is the Lubavitch-sponsored FREE. In the yeshiva and summer camp enrollment. Acting on Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, FREE maintains a REACH's referrals, several organizations guided thirty tuition-free bi-lingual yeshiva for elementary and high children into yeshivas, and fifty were enrolled in school school children. The key to their educational summer camp. This past summer, Zeirei Agudath success has been Lubavitch' s unique ability to attract Israel's Project JEP (Jewish Education Program) spon­ teachers who can relate well to the students , for the sored a religious summer day camp in Brighton, "New teachers are also former Soviet Jews, who had attended York's Odessa by the Sea," catering primarily to over both high school and college in the USSR, and can 90 Russian Jewish children. During the school year, appeal to the students on precisely their level. JEP maintains several other programs geared for Rus­ One of FREE's most successful programs of in­ sian children. Most successful is their afternoon tutorial troducing Russians to their religion is the periodic gala program conducted in P.5. 225. in Brighton. As a result pre-holiday celebrations they conduct on the Sunday of JEP's work and the valiant cooperation of preceding every Yorn Tov. Scores of Russian families neighborhood yeshivos, hundreds of children have are invited to attend a Russian get-together the likes of entered Jewish day schools, notably Achiezer and Ohel which they had never beheld in the Soviet Union. A Moshe. festive meal with plenty of vodka is served, to the ac­ Enrolling a Russian youngster in a yeshiva or day companiment of musical entertainment, followed by school is never a fascile endeavor. As mentioned, the Russian language addresses on the meaning of the respective Jewish Community Councils do their utmost festival. to help convince parents to take this step. The con­ To encourage the greatest number of immigrants to ditions prevailing in New York City's public schools undergo circumcision, FREE conducts circumcisions help prod concerned parents into deciding in favor of exclusively in hospitals and provides post-operation yeshivos. But that is only part of the problem. check-ups. Perhaps FREE's most beneficial contribu­ After consent is secured from parents, a day school tion to former Soviet Jews is the plethora of Judaic or yeshiva must be located that will accept on literature translated into modern Russian that they scholarship a child who requires special tutorial atten­ publish, including sacred literature such as Bereishis tion. This youngster stems from a society that com­ with commentaries, as well as books like Herman batted all religious conviction, lives in a home that Wouk's This is My G-d. Among the thousands of Rus­ violates the school's principles as a matter of course, sian Jews serviced by COPE, a number have expressed and after school hours hangs out with company that interest in their Jewish heritage. In response, several glorifies street values in opposition to Torah. COPE and Agudath Israel employees have organized This, then is the challenge. Undoubtedly, a coordina­ classes, study groups, and informal snack-and-song tion of the efforts of the various organizations aiding sessions during their lunch hours. In addition, COPE Soviet Jews would enhance continued progress. While mails a monthly Russian-language bulletin, featuring a there is little area of overlap, cooperation and support Luach-calendar and relevant religious informatiorl to from secular agencies should be more generous. over 1500 Soviet families. Furthermore, there is a genuine need for a grass-roots awakening and reaching out to our returning brethren Servicing Religious Needs of the Youth on the "you-and-me" level. We must not cease in our Projects COPE and ARI, as well as the various Com­ questioning: munity Councils devote specific attention to the dilem­ How do we reach Boris Zuroff? How do we keep mas facing Russian youth. The former-Soviet teen has Sasha, currently enrolled in a yeshiva catering to Rus­ been traumatically uprooted from his environment by a sian immigrants, within the fold? Stalin could not decision that he did not make. As trying as it is to smother Yuri Zuroff's spirit. Now the fate of Yuri's establish a working rapport with them, relating on a children hangs in the balance. How do we deny Stalin a Jewish level is a matter of"starting from minus zero," posthumous victory? ~T.

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 19 Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer SIM CHAS BEIS HASHO'EIV A The Art of Celebration

A Succos Message for the Entire Year

deep underground foundations of the Temple. This The Art of Celebration ritual took place to the accompaniment of music and "He who failed to witness the celebration of celebration of unprecedented proportions. Simchas Beis Hasho' eiva never witnessed true joy Why the poured-out water? Why the unbridled joy? in all his days." (Mishna Succah 5:2) True joy is rarely experienced. Most people are in­ The festival of Succos is generally described as "the volved in the pursuit of happiness, yet happiness seems time of our rejoicing," and within the holiday a to elude them. For happiness results from the realiza­ ceremony occurs that expresses joy of the greatest tion of ambitions and aspirations, and 0, how often do intensity-Simchas Beis Hasho'eiva-the ultimate these remain woefully unfulfilled! The sweet dreams celebration. men savor and the harsh reality they encounter are Sparkling waters of the Shilo' ach Stream were drawn locked in a terrible struggle, and the dreams usually lose in golden buckets and brought up to the altar of the out. Beis Hamikdash, where they were poured into a silver Man fancies himself a sculptor-carving for himself a basin. Open at the bottom, the basin let the water spill self-image of personal success. Man attempts to be a into a cavity within the altar walls, which led into the designer-fashioning an elaborate blueprint for achievement and satisfaction. But the drama of life seldom follows the man-made Rabbi Feuer, a member of the faculty of the Telshe Yeshiva in Wickliffe, Ohio, is author of the Tehillim Volume in the Art Scroll script. More often frustration and grief are man's lot, T anach Series. simply because the divine fate ordained for every in-

20 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 dividual does not necessarily coincide with the destiny They poured their hearts out man has chosen for himself. like water in order King David-dogged by tragedy, yet one of the hap­ to repent before G-d (Targum). piest of men-provided a formula for maintaining a mood of unabated joy in spite of adversity. He taught They humbly submitted themselves to that to achieve happiness, man must abandon its pur­ G-d and proclaimed: suit. Let man humbly submit himself to the hands of "We stand in Your presence like uncontained water­ spilled out!" (Rashi). Water is the epitome of liquidity, for it conforms immediately to the shape of any vessel into which it fs poured, for liquid is best described as" a substance with no form of its own; rather it conforms to the shape of its container." Submission. Melt down your masterpiece. Dissolve your personal design. Pour out your heart in an

1

,) f

! G-d and declare "My L-rd, You choose what is best for 1.\, me. Please take my hand and lead me!" G-d is my allotted portion and my share, '\~ You guided my destiny. Portions have fallen to me in pleasant places, indeed my estate was lovely to me. I will bless G-d who has advised me. (Tehillim, 16:5-7) amorphous, shapeless mass and plead with the David's master, the propel Samuel, taught the Jewish Almighty: "'Please give my existence a shape and a nation the true meaning of submission. In an effort to purpose! My identity is lost in Your presence ... then inspire a spiritual renewal, Samuel gathered together all my true self may be found. I drown myself in Your be­ the people in Mizpah, and at his command: ing ... then my essence can emerge." They drew up water and Pour out your heart like water poured it out before G-d (I Samuel 7:6 ). in the presence of the L-rd. (Eicha 2:19)

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 21 The Sweat of the Soul Never underestimate the power of the tiny teardrop~ Jacob melt their hearts with tears on Yorn Kippur. And it is one of the mightiest forces in the universe. What on Succos, these tears were gathered in golden buckets could be stronger than man's stubborn arrogance?-yet and poured in His presence. Each and every Jew found a tear can shatter human pride. In a moment of truth, himself enveloped by a power which embraced him, man realizes the futility of his own designs, and the and reinforced every fatigued fibre of his being with self-image of his own creation crumbles. He "breaks­ unflagging strength. down" in tears and surrenders himself to a Higher Will. Small wonder, then, that the entire nation displayed Rabbi S. R. Hirsch calls tears "the sweat of the soul"­ phenomenal stamina throughout the entire week of the product of a distressed spirit in the throes of these festivities. Indeed, the Talmud relates (Succa 53a) upheaval. that for the week's duration, no one slept! By day, all Rabbeinu Yona writes in the classic Shaarei Avoda were totally absorbed in the spectacular celebrations. At (Section II): He who prays with tears is assured that his best, a man could snatch a quick cat-nap on his prayers will be heard. For, although all the heavenly neighbor's shoulder. gates are locked, the gate of tears is not sealed (Babba Metzia 59a). How is the heart poured out like water? Through tears. Thus, one might well see in the waters poured onto the Temple altar at the Simchas Beis Hasho'eiva a symbolic outpouring of human tears. The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 78) teaches: All the years that Jacob was in Beis El he poured out water­ libations before G-d. Rabbi Yochanan said, "He who can count all the water libations that our forefather Jacob poured can count the drops of water in the Sea of Tiberias." That is, just as the waters of the sea are beyond number, so too were the tears of Jacob too many to count. No one knew of these tears except the Holy One, Blessed be He, who did count them and cherish them and store them in His treasure (cf. Shab­ bos 105a). From that well they watered the flocks, and the stone covering the well's mouth was very large ... and Jacob rolled the stone from the well's mouth (Bereishis 29:2,10). The word "be'er"-welI-is mentioned seven times in this episode-an allusion to the seven days of Succos when the well waters are poured on the altar (Baal Haturim ibid). The Torah related this incident to teach that those who put all their trust in G-d are suffused with divine strength. Jacob arrived at the well utterly exhausted from his journey, but the holy spirit in­ vigorated him with the strength of all the shepherds combined-and he lifted the huge rock single-handed. This incident is a prophetic allu­ sion to the time when flocks of Jewish pilgrims made their way to the Beis Hamikdash where they drew forth a new wave of strength and holy spirit at Simchas Beis Hasho'eiva (Ramban ibid). "And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He Men enraptured by the holy spirit have tapped the (G-d) spoke to him, a monument of stone and he source of all strength. Infinite energy flows through poured out a libation thereon" (Bereishis 35:14). their veins, their bones cannot grow weary. He poured out a libation of water before G-d just Why was this ritual called Simchas Beis as his descendants would do in the Temple on the Hasho'eiva-"the celebration of the drawing"? Festival of Succos (T argum Yonason ibid). Because it was from there that Israel drew forth a Following the lead of their forefather, the seed of wave of holy spirit! (Y erushalmi: Succa 5 ).

22 The Jewish Observer/ October 1978 Abandon Your Self projects as he sings-he is worrying, not rejoicing. Erase In analyzing the word simcha-joy-one might find yourself. Only then will you relax-relieved of that at its root macha-to erase (:i.Tl1'-iin1'w). If one truly terrible burden of self-concern that you drag around wishes to rejoice, he must forget about himself. with yourself. Unshackled, released-your feet will An extremely pious man was asked, "What was dance lightly, your voice will soar free. the happiest moment in your entire life?" He Rambam (Hilchos Lulav 8:14, 15) teaches that replied, "! was once traveling on a ship and celebration is a fine art that demands no less talent and because of my poverty I was assigned the worst genius than other creative pursuits. Therefore, the quarters imaginable-in the lowest hold, together unlearned people could not actively participate in with the cargo. A group of rich and arrogant Simchas Beis Hasho'eiva-they could only observe and merchants were also on board. Once, as I lay in marvel. The foremost scholars and saints-the Heads of my berth, one of the merchants who had come the Sanhedrin and the Roshei Yeshiva-only they were permitted to perform-and how they performed I Rabban Shimon hen Gamliel, the Prince of Israel, would juggle eight flaming torches simultaneously-and one' torch never touched another. Then he would balance his body on his thumbs and lower his head and kiss the floor . Levi juggled eight knives . . . · Shmuel juggled eight full cups of wine . Abaye juggled eight eggs. (Succa 53a) Dancing, leaping, tumbling, twirling-normal decorum was forsaken, traditional dignity was cast to the winds. The sages put aside their status and positions and titles-the external trappings of society~ and plunged themselves into sacred revelry. Ramban explains: The celebration of a mitzva and the joy one ex­ pressed as a result of his love of G-d-such celebration is an extraordinary form of divine ser~ vice! Whoever holds himself aloof from this festivity deserves to suffer punishment. . . And, he who does participate but becomes filled with pride and seeks to attract attention and admiration -this man is indeed both a sinner and a fool. Concerning this Solomon warned, "Do not make a spectacle of yourself in the presence of the King" (Proverbs 25:6). But, whoever belittles himself on this occasion and takes himself lightly, it is he who is a truly great and dignified personage and it is he who demonstrates that he serves G-d out of a sense of deep adoration. So said King David (as he danced with uninhibited abandon in honor of the Aron HaKodesh-the holy ark), "I would be yet more lightly esteemed than this, holding myself lowly in my eyes" (II Samuel 6:22). down to the hold, dumped some refuse on me. I True majesty and glory is to rejoice in the presence of appeared so despicable in his eyes that he simply G-d, as it is written," And King David was leaping and pretended that I wasn't there. I was shocked by twirling in the presence of G-d" (ibid, 6:16) this man's audacity; nevertheless, I assure you Children of Israel! Brothers! Dancel. Battered, that I was not offended in the least. When I beaten, bruised-we are nevertheless a work of art. realized how indifferent I was to my own pres'tige, Tossed about by the raging storms of history, we still I was truly overcome with joy because I had remain firm in our position as G-d's masterpiece. What achieved a level of genuine humility and self­ is a Jew? No more than clay in the hands of the potter, effacement. (Rambam comm. to Mishna Avos stone in the grip of the sculptor. Every blow is artistry­ 4:4) a step closer to assuming the divine form. As long as a person concerns himself with the figure For this we sing. For this we pour our souls like he cuts as he dances, and thinks about the image he waters of joy. 13,

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24 The Jewish Observer / October 1978 11 Ahavas Yisroel'' -Love of One's Fellow Jew, in Life and Law -a review article

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR, by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin treating one's marriage partner (an excellent index (Aish HaTorah Publications, Jerusalem, $11.00) enables the reader to find at once where each topic is discussed). Likewise, the list of Rabbinic personalities A TZADDIK IN OUR TIME, by Simcha Raz that appear in these pages spans the entire spectrum of (Jerusalem, 1976; Feldheim; $12.50 hardcover, $7.50 Jewish history; atr the end of the volume, salient softcover) biographical data are provided for each of them. (A small point in this connection: the author is somewhat The mitzvos concerning our relations to our fellow beings are not merely a set of noble moral injunctions or original in his spellings-thus, this reviewer wonders why Rabbi Yisroel Salanter' s disciple is referred to as a collection of varied social regulations. They are a web Rabbi Yitzchok Blauser both in the text and the of divine commandments that concern the very essence of our being and destiny. Man's task is to seek biography; Rabbi Akiva Eiger and Rabbi Shmuel Hom­ miner alsospelled their names differently.) closeness to G-d-and that means imitating His ways. The author points out that the lessons of this book What are they? The Torah begins recounting G-d's can only be absorbed by repeated study-and that is a kindness to man and ends on the same note; in fact, significant reason for the arrangement of the material "The world is built on kindness," and only reaching out in kindness to others-being "givers" rather than "takers", in Rabbi Dessler' s phrase-can we fulfill THREE VENERABLE ROSHEI YESHIVA ourselves. That highlights the importance of Rabbi TURN TO US Pliskin' s book. " 'Love your neighbor' is a concept everyone will Upon the urgent pleas of HAGAON HARAV ELIEZER automatically affirm ... , but few are able to define ex­ SCHACH, 1<"0•?111, we turn to you, our merciful actly what this should mean in their everyday life. That brothers and sisters. A truly distinguished Talmid is the goal of this book-to define in detail our Chacham from Israel has been forced to come obligations to our fellow men" (p. 14). here. His wife has undergone major surgery and The author has chosen a most original method for requires twelve months of very expensive therapy this purpose. Rather than compiling a code of laws, with her life hanging in balance. A large family topically arranged, he follows the order of the weekly awaits the return of their mother in restored portions of the Chumash-listing for each Sidrah health. Meanwhile, a father and husband who has whatever lessons can be gleaned from it, explaining always depended on the labor of his hands must these lessons with the help of the classical commen­ seek help to cover the enormous expenses. tators and halachic authorities, and adding anecdotal We urge you to respond generously. ·May vignettes and ethical insights from the lives and Hashem Yisborach bless her with a Refuah writings of Rabbinic personalities from all ages. Shleima and bless you in the merit of your warm heart and open hand. Some Sidras explicitly state mitzvos concerning our relation to our fellow beings; in other Sidras, the lesson Ra!Jbi lv1oslw Feinstein Rabbi Yaakov Kmnenefzky is derived from happenings that are narrated; but in Please send contributions to: either case the author follows through by clarifying in Rabbi David Singer ..,. Nosan Chesed Fund Inc, concrete terms what demands are made upon us, and c/o. First Cong. Anshe Sfard making these demands come alive by means of the 4502 - 14 Avenue stories recounted (the anecdotes are printed in italics, to Brooklyn, N.Y, 11219 set them off from the expository text ). The range of topics is all-comprehensive-from the Tax-deductible checks may be made payable to duty to return lost property to the proper way of NOSAN CHESED FOND INC.

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 25 by Sidros. This book indeed lends itself most excellent­ biography of Rabbi Levin was written in Hebrew by ly to use at the Shabbos table or to regular weekly Simcha Raz several years ago. It has recently been study. It is a most effective and important tool for in­ published in an English translation by Charles culcating the duties of the heart, in particular Ahavas Wengrove. Yisroel, and to one's practical obligations to his fellow­ man. The author's previous work, Guard Your Tongue, This volume, the life story of Rabbi Aryeh Levin, is a has already attained the rank of a classic; it is to be lyrical evocation of a unique personality-and of the hoped that the present volume will receive the same sublime values that his daily life exemplified. Such a wide acceptance. book could have been written in a manner which would * * * have put off the reader by sermonizing about its subject One of the personalities frequently mentioned by and presenting Reb Aryeh Levin as a saint to whom we Rabbi Pliskin is Reb Aryeh Levin, who was an outstan­ cannot relate. Instead, the author presents us with a ding exponent of Ahavas Yisroel. A highly popular mosaic of stories and incidents, epigrams and obser­ vations, which inevitably touch our heart-strings; they make us experience the breadth of his humanity and MALKI CAN'T HANDLE IT challenge us to follow in his footsteps, albeit in our All BY HERSELF limited way. This book is intensely readable and hard to put down once one picks it up. CAN YOU HELP? Many of the famous Torah personalities of the Illness, death or family problems Twentieth Century appear in these pages-such as Rab­ have made it impossible for many bi Chayim Brisker, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, and of our children to live with their Rabbi Shmuel Salant-as well as most of the political families. and social figures that dominated the secular Yishuv. These children need warm loving Rabbi Aryeh Levin was unique in many ways; but homes. How about yours? perhaps the most remarkable feature of his life was that on one hand, he was close to the leaders of the old Please call Yishuv, such as Rabbi Yoseph Chayim Sonnenfeld, and the heads of the traditional yeshivas, and until his ~ or write: death was connected with Yeshiva Etz Chaim-and, on the other hand, he was deeply involved with the leaders OHEL FOSTER CARE and the fighters that struggled for the realization of the 4423 16th Avenue Brooklyn, N.Y. 11204 Zionist dream. As chaplain for the Jewish prisoners in Tel: (212) 851-6300 the prisons, he not only brought solace to the men of the underground confined there and fought for clemen­ cy for them, but even smuggled out their messages. There were others who sought acceptance by all l"11st1rfh15St'd K.ishrus 111the1110.1t t'ler,.r11t tr,r.li'r1011 camps but did not succeed. What was it about Rabbi Aryeh Levin that enabled him to occupy this position? We have to understand that, normally, the rise of ~g~!l~!P,!l '1~.!!~e~ secular non-religious or even anti-religious movement HAS 8U-.N PROCO!"\ SERVlNC THE ORTHODOX COMMCNIT\ puts the committed Jew into a very difficult dilemma. \i\'ITH Dl<>TINC-llON i'OR \'!ORf THAN T'vVE.NTY YEARS He must enunciate and preach the clear Torah view on FLFC.'\NT 5ERVlCE HY THE MOST LXPfR!ENCED 5PEClAU5TS !N THE(_ ATLR!NC flH D WITH THL!R OVV'N Kl1CHEN FA( !L!TIES all issues-and this is bound to put him on a collision O>l PRf_~115ES CC.'\RA'.'.'TFF THL l:TMOST IN QL'A! lT'r AND course with those Jewish groups and individuals who Tf-ll CLTIMAT[ IN KA'iHRCS do not accept the Torah way. Or. in the name of Allow 50 - 700 Persons Ahavas Yisroel, he can seek closeness with them-in Open Chupah some ways a much more popular, attractive, and plea­ Parking Available sant alternative-but at the price of glossing over those Glatt Kosher fundamentals of Jewish commitment that we are duty­ bound to uphold, and therefore chas v 'shalom weaken­ For your next Simcha - Call: ing the authority and understanding of Torah. There will be those who prefer the latter road and who will see in A Tzaddik in Our Time a confirmation of their course of action-and they will be surprised and bitter that they do not find the approval of the com­ mitted Torah community. But a careful reading of Rab­ bi Aryeh Levin's life, as reflected in this book, tells us the secret of his success. He was not a man straddling a

26 The ]nvish Observer I October 1978 fence, on the one hand committed to Torah and on the for the political prisoners was taken at face value, as a other hand to Jewish brotherhood. His was »an une­ labor of love, rather than an endorsement of any quivocal attachment to Torah which included an political ideology; therefore it could be accepted, even unlimited love for his fellow-Jew. This love did not hailed, by those who-on Torah grounds-disapproved only express itself when it was expedient or popular, of Etzel or the Stern gang. and therefore stood out as totally unselfish and un­ "G-d Seeks Out the Persecuted." calculating (for instance in the story of the wife­ murderer, p. 309). It was because of his self-sacrificing They realized that "if he had an abounding love for dedication to the lepers of Jerusalem that his later work the underground fighters for Israel's freedom, it was not because he had political views, or any philosophy that affirmed the use of violence. Far from it. ... He once told me that he grew close to the imprisoned WATERS OF EDEN members of Etzel and Lechi only because they were persecuted and driven, and ... 'G-d seeks out him who THE MYSTERY OF THE MIKVAH is persecuted.'" (p. 267). Thus the author reports that when a colleague of Reb Aryeh Levin's in Yeshiva Etz Chaim went to the Chazon !sh to complain about him, A book that explodes the myths an_d old wives' tales about the Chazon !sh is said to have replied, "Let Reb Aryeh Mikvah.,, be. He is a tzaddik," and to have added, "Why, what Authoritative, detailed and complete, yet attractive and easily are you afraid of? That he will make an Etzel-nik out of readable . , you?" The fact, of course, was that Reb Aryeh Levin, in Three years in the writing, checked ai1d dou'b{e Checked by out­ the depth of his humility, did not propagate an ideology standing Torah scholars , , , A totally new, original work, written in contemporary, easily un­ or propagandize for a program of action; he merely saw derstandable English. himself as practicing the love of his fellow-beings. He was not a politician or propagandist. He saw his task as Waters of Eden is a uniquely revealing book on single-minded dedication to the mitzvos between man the mitzvot of Mikvah that explodes the myths and and man, and these he practiced in perfection, without prejudices of yesterday and discloses deep thought of political or social or any other advantages philosophical concepts never before available to the accruing to him. English reading public. Based on the teachings of the And yet-this book must raise troublesome questions Bible, Talmud, Midrash, Kabba/ah, Zahar, Rashi, in the reader's mind. The rare individual who is totally Rambam, Ramban, Ba'al Hatanya, Hirsch, aitd many immersed in every facet of his personal life in Avodas others ... Hashem can indeed find his fulfillment in this manner Written by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, former Editor of and ever be a source of inspiration by the particular Jewish Life and author of G-d, Man, and Tefillin; way of his Avodah, as Reb Aryeh Levin indeed was. Sabbath, Day of Eternity and .translator of Yalkut But as a general way of life for all, is there not a need to Me'am Lo'ez Torah Anthology and numerous other couple Ahavas Yisroel with a clear stand on the authoritative works on Torah topics ... profound problems facing Kial Yisroel? Is there not a Publ.ished by .the National Conference of need to couple Ahavas Yisroel with a clear stand on the Synagogue Youth (NCSY), the youth movement of profound problems facing Kial Yisroel? And if no such the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of stand is taken, is there not a grave danger that wrong America, which has brought thousands of Jewish and harmful ideas are permitted to take hold? Simcha youth back to Torah living and .is a pioneer in the Raz stresses the fact that Reb Aryeh Levin was careful publication of English language materials on Jewish never to reveal his views on the political issue's thought and practice that are non-technical, yet connected with the happenings in Eretz Yisroel. In fact, sophisticated . .. in his will he bade his sons to belong to no political par­ ty in Israel because the party system splinters the unity Order your copy of this of the people-and this despite the fact that he recognized that the strife even among those committed historic work. today! to Torah was the

The Jewish Observer/ ()ctober 1978 27 For three thought-provoking days comparison of those within our people who rejected filled with inspiration Torah to the sediment in the wine, where he added that "without this sediment the wine spoils faster"; ob­ reserve the dates: viously, this went far beyond accepting the sinner Thursday, November 23rd despite his sin. Practical-as shown in Rabbi Kook's through repeated withdrawals from previously held halachic positions in order not to jeopardize national unity, e.g. Sunday, November 26th on the question of women's suffrage, or in his support for the 56th National Convention of the Hebrew University. Can we avoid taking a stand? Are we permitted to? of It is also noteworthy-and revealing-that the author Agudath Israel of America of this volume, which is devoted above all to Ahavas at a magnificent new location: Yisroel, repeatedly characterizes those opposed to Rab­ bi Kook, or critical or Rabbi Aryeh Levin's friendship The Rye Town Hilton for him, as zealots or extremists. In the name of un­ in Port Chester (Westchester), N. Y. critical love at any price, we can fail to see the real issues in a situation and-in the end-come to turn Details to be announced against those who see perhaps more clearly than we. Certainly it has led the author to simplify the issues, and the reader may well get a distorted picture of the situation in Jerusalem at the time described, and of some of the personalities mentioned. For an exact pic­ Be sure to notify us in ture other works have to be consulted. advance so that your copies Yet, even though we have to remember the very real will continue to reach you. questions and pitfalls inherent in the course of action that Simcha Raz so eloquently describes, we will-and should-be deeply impressed by the greatness of Reb Aryeh Levin and find here a profound challenge to our Sephardic Student Aid Fund own self-centeredness, self-indulgence, and lack of sen­ EMERGENCY CALL sitivity for others ~T. FOR HELP Pincus Mandel Hundreds of Sephardic Bnei Torah in Eretz Yisroel - Renowned Expert - Over 25 years single and married students, most of them orphans and from large families- are desperately awaiting our help. experience in Thanks to our support, many of these students were Kvura on all cemeteries in Eretz Yisrael taken off th_e streets and put into a Torah environment. With all Hidurim - as done only by Their financial situation has become unbearable and Shomrei Torah Umitzvos they are pleading for our help. Sephardic Student Aid consists of a handful of Bnei Responsible for current system - speedily Torah under the selfless directorship of Ch>cham Rab­ expedited - at Airport in 4 to 5 hours bi Yashar Dadash l<"ll'?lV, working L'shem Shomayim, With more than 45 years of cemetery experience attempting to save those Sephardim who are with us from destitution. With the backing of Gedolei Torah of unceasingly dedicated to the highest standards Eretz Yisroel and America, we ask you to take part in of Chesed Shel Emes in all its implications this great and rewarding mitzva. without emphasis on the inyan of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein Rabbi Mordechai Savitsky monetary gain. Rabbi David lipshitz Rabbi Sholom Shvadron Recommended by Most Prominent Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Rabbanim and Admorim Sephardic Chief Rabbi Please send your generous contribution to: Pincus Mandel Sephardic Student Aid fund 1569 47th SI I Brooklyn, N.Y. 11219 c:./o Rabbi Nos:son Scherman Day and Night Phone: (212) 855-5121 1653 54th St. Brooklyn, New York 11219 All bills rendered on actual "Costs-Plus' Basis All donations are tax deductible. No hidden or 'padded' charges Agudah Member - 50 years

28 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 a discussion of the precepts of living in the Land if Israel and that of giving charity. The calendar, many theological and halachic aspects BOOKS of the blowing of the Shofar, and the nature of judg­ 11111 ment on the New Year, as well as other cognate topics are treated in his Discourse on Rosh Hashana. One of the most meaningful and poignant manifestations of the RaMBaN's efforts as teacher and mentor for all generations is his effort to serve as a RAMBAN (Nachmanides) WRITINGS AND DISCOURSES, translated and annotated by Rabbi Dr. The only Orthodox English-Yiddish weekly in Charles B. Chavel, Shilo Publishing House, New York, 1978, two volumes-$30. the world presenting the authentic Torah viewpoint. If one were to compile a list of the greatest teachers of Stimulating! Informative! Torah, the name of Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (RaMBaN) will surely be featured most prominently. World-wide coverage of news. He was one of the great mentors of all time whose kaleidoscopic interests were reflected in his writings. He dealt with human problems that are common to Jiii.,·· every era, and his opinions have been accepted as , > IBUNE definitive and authoritative. Organ o rt o lsh Orthodoxy While the student may be generally familiar with the 97, Stamford Hill RaMBaN's thought through his Commentaries on Torah and/or various volumes of the Talmud, a London, N. 16. England number of his other scattered comments-not all of Annual subscription: Airmail $35. them familiar-were collected and translated in these Surface mail: $18.50 two volumes. To be fully understood, they should be studied in the original, for it is virtually impossible for a Write now for your free sample copy translation of any work to fully convey all the original's meanings-both open and subtle. All the more so when the original is a sacred text, written in Lashon Subscribe or Give Hakodesh-"the holy tongue" that carries far more meaning than we can possibly imagine. Given the in­ The Jewish Observer herent drawback in a work of this nature, one must credit the translator, one of the recognized authorities Now and SAVE in the manifold writings of the RaMBaN, for his out­ ' One year/$9.00 (a $12.50 value) standing achievement, represented in this publication. • Two years/$17.50 (a $25 value) These collected writings deal with a number of key topics in Jewish throught. One of the most fundamen­ • Two years/$25.00 (a $37.50 value) tal tenets of the Jewish creed is the concept of reward (Add $1 per year for overseas subscriptions) and punishment about which the RaMBaN deals in­ ------Chp.andsave------cisively and comprehensively in his "Gate of Reward." The Jewish Observer I This work also deals with the concepts of Olam Haba 5 Beekman Street I New York, N.Y. 10038 I (The World to Come), the meanings of human anguish, 0 One year $9.00 O Two years $17.50 and the meaning of life itself. In his Discourse on a Wedding, the RaMBaN as a 0 Three years $25.00 master of the Kabbala (hidden meanings of Torah Send Magazine to known only to those who are links in the chain of a Name .. tradition) discusses parellels that are found in creation Address ... as well as in human history. He expounds on the predominance and beauty of th.e City...... r State/Zip .. Torah in his Discourse "The Law of the Eternal is From: Perfect (Taras Hashem Temima)," which was delivered Name ... after the king of Spain came to the synagogue to deliver Address .. a talk exhorting the Jews to accept Christianity. City ...... State/Zip .. In his "Discourse on Koheles," the RµMBaN delves ._ 0 Enclose gift card 0 Bill me:$...... 0 Enclosed: $ ...... 1 ______into the profound meanings of difficult texts as well as

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 29 peacemaker between the two factions in the controver­ Rabbi Akiva Eiger, of blessed memory, upon lear­ sy surrounding the RaMBaN's (Maimonides) ning that his sons planned to print his responsa, wrote monumental Moreh Nevuchim. Many Jewish leaders them of his appreciation, and admonished then1 to "use objected to some of the RaMBaN's philosophic views fine paper, dark ink, and beautiful letters, for the soul is and sought to place a ban on his works. Maimonides' impressed, the faculties are broadened, and the fervor ardent followers persecuted those who, in their eye:;, for knowledge is aroused when one studies from a were challenging the authority and prestige of their beautiful book." In a similar vein, the positive attitude master. To quell the disturbance, RaMBaN wrote a that Jews have had to the profession of printing sacred letter that is wealthy in expression and rich in depth of works is exhibited by the inscriptions we find at the end feeling. Again, Rabbi Chave! must be commended for of many ancient tomes: The typesetter was usually per­ 1 elucidating many "hidden ' nuances not apparent in a_ mitted to print his name and he would invariably cursory reading of the original. describe himself as "osek bim 'lee hes shomayim--one who is involved in Heavenly (i.e., holy) work." These seforim, as well as the Commentary of RaM BaN on SCHECHTER'S Scripture which preceded them, are esthetically heautiful and special commendation is deserved by the publisher for not sparing effort in this meleches slwmayim. Quality paper, handsome jacket and library «NTrnrn oci~n~swr !M.. oca - 11111 tt iia~ 11t MIAMI !EACH case make the set as imposing on the shelf as they are , , . I$ 11 GREAT Ko•IH!>r Hot®I - you'll lo•e /ti stimulating on the reading desk. •DIAL W~FREE brochure •f'Tivatl! Pool an These volumes, the products of this titan of Torah MIAMI and bo0klet or call S.ndy Beach thought, translated accurately by a foremost scholar, lllllACH l:Hll0-3 21- 8 Hi 5 ®Oceanfront are truly monumental contributions to those "thirsting fREf! FLORIDA A•EA CODE Synagogue for the word of G-d," and will surely serve a ·- - (305) t!!i3l·OCUll! FREE Parking noteworthy purpose in the dissemination of Judaic thought in our time. !..'i'. ------ls RAEL- -- -- . RABBI DOVID COHEN Burials and American Disintern1ents iii~i~~~= iit;;bi For Transfer to Israel u.·ithin the san1e day· Tender And aH (:erneteries in Israel Loving Sole agent for Sa:nhadre.a Cer11etef\1 Care Enroute to Israel within the san1e dav

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30 Tfie Jewish Ohserver I October 1978 second looks at the jewish scene

of payment. When he returned The Spirit of Camp David home, his face was aglow. "Nu," asked his wife, "how did you manage?" "He waived the entire tax load." and the Mattersdorf Mood "Really? How come the sudden generosity? It's unbelievable!" This past month, our eyes and a summer's stay in the Holy Land. "He only made one condition. I hearts were directed toward the As it worked out, we were in for a have to teach his dog to talk Polish su1nmit meeting at Camp David. long wait and we made the most of in two years, or else he'll take all our The announcements at the conclu­ it. My companion asked Rabbi property away." sion of the conference permitted us Wasserman, "What is the mood in to release a sigh of relief for not Eretz Yisroel?" 'Talk? Are you crazy? We'll lose everything' You'll never teach the having our worst fears realized, giv­ The Rosh Yeshiva raised a quiz­ dog to talk." ing hope that at long last the zical eyebrow. "! know. But in two years who beleagured inhabitants of Israel can My friend elaborated, 'Isn't knows? Either the dog will die, or look forward to an era of peace­ there tension in the air about the the Poretz'll just forget about the yet, leaving much room for trepida­ corning Camp David meeting?" whole thing!" tion and cause for prayer. To be (This was early September, about a sure, the details of the agreement week before the conference con­ t&~~vol~~; Society and their ramifications are worthy vened.) Gmillas Chesed of careful evaluation and analysis, "To be honest," Rabbi Wasser­ or but here we offer a comment on a man replied, "I saw or heard Lapidus Bros. different level: nothing that betrayed tension. Peo­ I Gemilath Chesed Not everyone viewed the ex­ ple simply seemed wrapped up in Assn. of the Crown Hts. changes at the presidential retreat as other aspects of life." I' Agudath Israel Inc. carrying the full burden of what My companion was incredulous: for applications call appeared to be a life-and-death I "How can people be indifferent to Rabbi Joshua Si!bermintz decision-making process; for while the negotiations? After all, what at 964-1620 or write everyone read the results of the Sadat and Carter force Begin to c/ o Agudath Israel agreements meticulously and with accept can affect their lives\" 5 Beekman St., deepest concern, one should still "I suppose," suggested Rabbi New York, N.Y. 10038 recognize that the dynamics of Wasserman, "that we Jews have a Jewish security do not operate ex­ knack for preserving our equanimi­ l clusively in the realm of diplomatic ty even in the worst of THE WORLD FAMOUS encounters and political circumstances-like the Dorfsman DIGEST OF MEFORSHlllf negotiations. The Jew must answer and the Poretz (the villager and the 'b1ii':> ili:l 'b1Ji? to a higher calling, and it is the wealthy landowner)." ;-~1 i~D'iR ?x,,~w ., l"01~~ nature of his response to this calling to In response my companion's Avaifoble cf that truly determines his long-term questioning, Rabbi Wasserman told lEKUTEI. INC. security. I was recently reminded of the story: t Io I. Rosenberg this in a "chance encounter." A Dorfsman owed the wealthy 10 Wes+ 41th Sheet, Room 702 * * * New Yotk,- N. Y. 10036 Poretz a vast amount of money for 20 Volumes on Torah, Perek, It wasn't planned, but it was most back taxes. The tax rate was clearly Medrash, Megilas and Talmud. fortunate. I was at JFK Inter­ unfair and the accumulated load Proel'!ed! of ,sales, disfr;bvfed amon9 national Arrivals Building on a per­ was impossible, so the Dorfsrnan Yethivo$ and used for tepr/niifl9 sonal mission, when I met Rabbi went to the Poretz to negotiate a of vo!Umes ouf-ol-prird PRIC06PER VOLUME Simcha Wasserman returning from reduction or at least a postponement

The lewish ()b.server I October 1978 31 Added Rabbi Wasserman: "A there's a very real long-range "No. So they don't have long­ Jew knows that the tenure of even security problem threatening Israel. range security problems." the most powerful politician is of Shouldn't we be concerned if it can Rabbi Wasserman then limited duration. Who knows be resolved?" elaborated: who'll be in power in several years "I was in Mattersdorf, in Geula, It was over sixty years ago (he hence? In the meantime, let us buy all over Jerusalem. Torah study is related), when I was a little boy. My ourselves a little time, and continue spreading with a scope and intensi­ father (the renowned Rosh Yeshiva, to live." ty I have not seen in years." Rabbi Elchonort Wasserman) c,·,., My companion enjoyed the story "So they forget about long-range was saying shiurim (Torah lectures) but was far from satisfied: "Still, security problems?" in Brisk. It was on Shabbos, and my younger brother David n)> became extremely ill. It seems that he had suffered an appendicitis attack and the appendix ruptured. My family called doctor after doctor, and his condition only worsened. By Thurs­ day, every doctor in the vicinity had seen him and their verdict was un­ animous: "He's a very sick boy, and only has a few more hours to live." My mother n"y and several of her friends were keeping a constant vigil, trying to think of some way of saving Dovid'le. Suddenly my father got up and announced, "It's ten minutes to eleven. I have to go to the yeshiva." The women were shocked. Miryam Soloveitchik, Reb Chaim's oldest daughter-in-law, spoke up, "Reb Chana," she said to my father, "with the child in such a state, how can you leave?" Replied my father, "/have to say ATm my shiur at eleven . ... Who knows what can help?" With that, he went to the BEST yeshiva, leaving my mother and her friends in desperate straits. Who 8 varieties could help Dovid'le? Then someone of the finest quality, ASK FOR THE NEW naturally "ERS" PACKAGE delicious Kosher Cheeses, CRE:z~~ 111111111 under the PHOTOGRAPHY

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32 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 remembered old Dr. Rosenblum, a baale teshuva, baale battim, yeshiva retired doctor who was a comforting Rebbeim, government workers, as a glass of tea and honey-and professors, businessmen-in shuls Enjoy ... about as effective. shtieblach, batte medrashim and Eat in "Why bother? People call him yeshivas-on Friday afternoons, on \ 'Ah Schuster.' He doesn't know a Shabbon ... bein hazmanim like at good health! thing. the peak of the z'man-it's un­ I~~~. ,,..., ' -,. ' " "Still, what can we lose?" So believable! In Kiryat Mattersdorf someone was dispatched to sum­ and in Itri ... in Kiryat Sanz, in .--

Rabbi Wasserman looked directly ALL LEADl:'\C lloTELs 8A:"l'QUET HALLS at my companion. Now, without his -:\ND JEWISH CENTERS AVAILABLE usual twinkle or his customary grin, he said: "Before davening-much before daybreak ... throughout the day ... during the mid-day break 388-4204 ... before supper and afterwards 388-3590 863-8892 ... way into the night, past • Caterer for Agudath Israel Conventions and Dinners • midnight-around the clock, people are learning; yeshiva bachurim,

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 33 Chap.A-Nomh al Miami's Faith and Humility DELI-NOSH in the Operating Room GU.TI KOSHER FAST FOOD$ Undev 01-thcd«tx Rabblnkaf C:OVntU It is always a challenge to Digest, September '78-opening ar­ recognize G-d's hand in daily ticle.) In the midst of removing a (Q> DllllUIS,lUICHES events. All the more so in an enter­ HAll\lllSHE TAU HOME FOODS tumor from the brain of "a truly prise that demands special skills and lovely little girl, six years old. " !A~·l..0 CHICICEN, DELICATESSEN SANDWICH§S, BURGHS, FRANKS unusual effort. Thus, the ar,ts and Dr. White is faced with ". dis- EAT IN OR TAKE OU\' science of healing can pose an es­ aster! Large vessels ruptured, Of»®" All Y@ar 11 AM· 11 l'M pecially hazardous trap in line with flooding my operating field with the "My might and the powers of 420 Arthur Gcdfr!'Jf • 4 ht SI. blood .... Gloom settled on us. Miami ilea

The Jewish Observer/ October 1978 34 In describing yet another science has ever developed" in­ successful bout with seemingly in­ creases his awe before the" Superior surmountable odds, Dr. White Intellect-Creator.'' comments: ''I see nothing It should serVe as a source of in­ FREE miraculous about these successes. I spiration to others-whether their don't think they would have oc­ field of endeavor is medicine, com­ RECORD curred without the combined best merce, or letters-to read the words efforts of all the medical of the physician-man of faith: "For CATALOG professionals involved. I believe, it me, the practice of medicine and would not have been achieved religious faith are inextricably in­ Usually sells for $7.25 without Divine help in making the terwoven, I pray a great deaL es­ decisions and in the actual technical pecially before and after surgery. I World's Largest Listing 01 performance. find prayer satisfying. l feel there Yiddish, Chassidic, His every encounter with the are immense resourcc:s behind me, Israeli, Canlorial, Children's complexity of the human brain resources [ need and want." & Dance Recordings which "is so far beyond anything Every Jewish F?ecord, 8-track, & Casse/le on the rnarket. FREE aibu1n when you Letters to the Editor order 4

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__ §.!®a Or Write: Hebrew Jewish Record Co. P.O. Box 2745 I Miami Beach, Florida 33140 J.O. Leaming Geared Toward Life workers etc. Many are not aware I N!1me,. that there is a Oaas Torah on these Street ... To the Editor: matters. City .. As l was reading Rabbi Kaplan's This Kolle/ for Poskim will not I Staie,. article on the new Kolle! for Poskim only help many solve their financial a statement from Chazal had a new "Shailos" eventually, but will give I UNBELIEVABLE PRICES! YOU MUST HAVE THIS FREE CATALOG people an awareness of "Chosen I meaning to me. "Lo hamedrash BEFORE YOU BUY ANOTHER haikar ella hama'aseh-The main Mishpat" that has somehow been I thing is not learning for the sake of left in the background. L - - ~COR~- - _J learning but learning so that it can Recently a well-known Rav who be applied in actual life ex- was hospitalized spent an entire day periences looking over the "Bechinos" that lS AVENUE In Yeshivas today there is an un­ these young fellows had to take and derstandable preoccupation with was astounded at the thoroughness SEFORIM & GIFT CENTER pi/pu/ and iyun. It is vital, for it of their answers. 5001 - 18 Avenue trains a young man in the thinking May Hashem grant all those process of Gedo/im. Unfortunately, participating-both as Yissachar Brooklyn, N, Y. 1U04 though, there doesn't seem to be and Zevulen-tremendous success. (212) 6}3·9225 enough time for another vital aspect PAYSACH). KROHN of Torah study-and that is a derech Kew Gardens, N.Y. • large selection of 1::wrne in Psak Halacha. Because of this and English Books missing facet, many who have The Sefer ''Ceder Olom" by the • We sell exdusivdy all passed through the walls of the Bais Chofetz Chaim, now available in lecture tapes of Mid rash are not aware that every­ English translation only 50¢ peor copy Rabbi Avigdor Miller l<''ll'i,111 day business matters are discussed 10 for $3-""·wrHe to: in detail in "Chosen Mish pat." Psak Zichron Shlomo Publ. • Wonderful story !apes for Halacha deals not only with meat 5 Beekman St., N.Y.C. 10038 children (in Yiddish) and milk, Eruv and Techum but by Rabbi L Weinstock also contracts, rentals, verbal (from Monsey) agreements, prompt payments for EV 7-1750

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 35 RUSSIAN YOUTH FOCUS OF JEP PROGRAM IN ticipated. Residents of such Brooklyn com­ TORONTO AND NEW YORK munities as Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay, At least 130 Russian Jewish immigrant which included such activities as recreation, Flatbush, Coney Island, Bensonhurst, and youngsters benefited from an intense classes in Jewish heritage and culture, special Baro Park, participated in the day camp summer program in New York City and tutorial services and hot lunches. which was housed in the Yeshiva Ohel Toronto as part of the Joseph and Faye In the New York program, under Project Moshe in Bensonhurs, which joined in the Tanenbaum Jewish Education Program of RISE (Russian Immigrant Services and sponsorship of this unique program. As a Zeirei Agudath Israel of America. The focus Education) of Agudath Israel of America, direct result of the summer program, 50 Rus­ of the program in both cities was a day camp 100 Russian immigrant youngsters par- sian immigran children will be enrolled in yeshivas this fall. it was announced by Rabbi Mordechai Katz, executive director of JEP. At the same time, Rabbi Leon Machlis dean of Yeshiva Ohel Moshe, announced that the majority of these youngsters would be ad­ mitted to the school, who is also designing a special program to meet the needs of the im­ migrant youth. Jn Toronto, Canada, the progran included 30 Russian immigrant girls who were enrolled in Camp Ner Meir, the JEP day camp. Here, too, JEP reported enormous success in placing many of them in Jewish day schools. In addition to the Russian pro­ ject, the JEP program in Toronto has already served over 400 people this past year, 200 of whom are still participating in some form of reach out program, according to Rabbi Shlomo Noach Mandel. its director, At least 10 youngsters were enrolled in yeshivas dur­ ing the past year, he reports. Current plans call for a more intensive program amongst Sefardic youth, a chavrusa (study compa­ \txl hmw: for nion) program, and weekend retreats for college and high school students. 40years... In addition to the special projects for Rus­ sian immigrant youngsters in these cities, JEP has also continued its work this past year in "Migdal" Kosher such areas as release-hour in public schools, ChE;ese simply Shabbatons, publication of education material and visitations. In Monsey, New cannot be beat NATURAL York, the local JEP chapter organized a course on the Jewish calendar, introducing for delicious MUENSTER many non-committed Jews to the Shabbos natural flavor CHEESE and Yomim Tovim. Hundreds of letters were MAOf. FROM. P... ~T(URlllP MllK mailed to Jewish homes in the Rockland and Kashruth County area with information about JEP ser­ you can rely on. vices. A seminar was also organized for parents of uncommitted children, entitled: "Your Jewish Heritage-What Does It REMEMBER Mean?". JEP activities have also picked up in other "MIGDAL" is cities, all of which are now planning for the produced under the current school year. In an announcement by a spokesman of Agudath Israel of America, supervision of Rabbi the national organization Agudath Israel of Joseph Breuer, K'hal America will place greater emphasis this year Adath Jeshurun, on its reach-out activities than in the past. A special session will also be featured on the NYC subject at the upcoming 56th national con­ vention of Agudath Israel of America which THURM BROS.-World Cheese Co., Inc., New York, N.Y. 10013 will be held over the weekend of November 23-26 at the Rye Town Hilton, Port Chester (Westchester), New York.

36 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 GERER REBBE VISITS AMERICA Torah U'Midos Tapes Yiddish t,1pes (a $2 each [nglish t,1pes (11 $2.SO ('ach ,1lsn 500 Words of Wisdom '1ns11iring English ]Jngu

SORRY- we must stop sending THE JEWISH OBSERVER when your subscription runs out ... don't miss a single issue . In an extraordinary trip. Rabbi Sime-ha Yeshiva's home. The Rebbe is a member of RENEW NOW! A!ter, the Gerer Rebbe, J~u•Lnv leader of one the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah (Council of of the world's largest chassidic movements, Torah Sages) of Agudath Israel in Israel. paid a visit to the United States last month. In addition, the Rebbe visited with a He drew huge throngs of Jews wherever he number of Chassidic leaders, including the went. This is the first time that a leader of the Satmar Rebbe, Bluzhever Rebbe, ·Canadian . .readers .are advised Gerer movement has ever visited these Lubavitcher Rebbe, Bobover Rebbe, either to subscribe at the shores. Amshinover Rebber and Skolyer Rebbe, overseas rate of $1 additional During a stopover in New York City, the f~U.~Ul per year, or to indicate on· their Rebbe visited with various leaders of the While in the Bora Park section of American Torah community, including Brooklyn, the Gerer Rebbe visited the several checks that the $7.50 payment men1bers of the leadership of the Agudath Gerer educational institutions in the com­ is t<> be.. made in U.S, funds. Israel movement, of which his sainted father munity, and personally received several was a founder. A special meeting took place thousand visitors who consulted him briefly with Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in the Rosh for counsel and blessing. r------, I ls. your name and address printed incorrectly on the JO mailing label? Are you moving? Help us deliver your JO to you as el!tciently as possi· I I ble. Please attach current mailing label in space below; or else print clear' I ~) I ly your address as we now have it. ~ l<"l/Jnl l

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 37 AGUDATH ISRAEL WARNS AGAINST First "Kedushas Shabbos" Contest of Pirchei Agudath Israel Presents CONSERVATIVE INROADS IN ISRAEL Award

The Israeli Minister of Education was the guise of 'tradition' is a disastrous~ Encouraged by its now famous National strongly urged to oppose any advances by the wrong direction." He noted that "when Hasmodoh Contest (Torah Learn-a-Thon), Pirchei Agudath Israel of America recently the Conservative Movement in the national one considers that the Conservative group founded another program designed to school system, in an exchange of letters has totally rejected the concept of Divine promote Torah study an1ongst the young. between Rabbi Moshe Sherer, executive Revelation (Torah M'Sinai), and has official­ Cct!!ed "Kedushas Shabbos" contest, more president of Agudath Israel of America, and ly torn out of the Tor ah such basic precepts than 200 bovs studied in excess of 8,000 the Ministry. Agudath Israel had first as the ban of a Kohain marrying a divorcee, hours of Tor;h during the long Shabbosos of appealed to the Minister of Educatin when it one cannot consider their Judaism as being May and June. learned that a school in Givat Shapiro in better than nothing," as the Ministry Participation in the contest was extremely Jerusalem was authorized to introduce spokesman seems to imply. broad, with youngsters joining from such Conservative teachings as part of Israel's The Agudah leader continued: One should cities as Kingston, Baltiinore, Elizabeth, program to involve parents in planning one­ not confuse the minds of children with the Philadelphia, Lakewood, Monsey, and all sectors of New York City. Tht> idea of a third of the curriculum. Since a number of pseudo Judaism of Conservatives, even if the "K1'1l11sh11:." SIJrJ/ihos" contest was conceived the parents in that school were of Conser­ alternative is no "tradition" teaching at all. because of the many wasted hours on long vative background, they were permitted to At least, when we deal with an empty mind, Sha/,fios afternoons, which could be used for use their new right of involvement as a we can hope that eventually a spark of productive Tordh study. It was another way means of introducing Conservative related t'shuva will be ignited and a spiritually of encouraging youngsters to prepare for course material into.the school. starved Jew will return to his roots; when he Tor<1h adolescence when self-responsiblity in Recognizing this as the first step towards is filled to satiation with the sop of a "Jewish Ttnnh study is expected. the eventual establishment of a formal tradition" that in reality subverts Torah law, \Vhen the contest results were in, fourteen Conservative school or school system, the unwary Jew doesn't even sense his of the youngsters tallied more than 100 hours Agudath Israel originally appealed to the hunger of the soul." of Torah study, and during a formal award ceremonv, vvere deemed to have joined the Education Ministry to reverse its apparent The letter concluded with an appeal for "100 Cl~b." The prizes ranged from smaller surrender to the Conservatives. In response, Minister Zevulun Hammer to "rethink" his seforini to a set of the Talmud. a spokesman for the Ministry denied that the "attitude to Conservative Judaism and to The contest was especially gratifying to Givat Shapiro episode was a prelude to a learn from our sad experience in America veshiva educators and p,uents who viewed Conservative school or school system. He that it should never be encouraged." A lhe vigorous competition amongst the noted, however, that the Ministry "feels that spokesman for Agudath Israel said that the youngst('rs dS a way of imbuing their stu­ it is a step in the right direction so far as the organization would continue its educational dents to study Torah outside of the das­ 'mamlachti' '{government sponsored secular campaign to halt the Conservative sroom. Rabbi Joshua Silbermintz, nationa! public schools) system is concerned and movement's creeping advances into Jewish director of Pirchei Agudath Israel, stressed should be encouraged." education in Israel. The spokesman added th,1t the "Kedushas Shabhns" contest "i!­ Rejecting this view, the Agudath Israel that this problem will be aired at the lustra{ed both an inspiration to observe the Shahbas with the proper spirit, and to in­ leader warned that "the Conservatives forthcoming 56th national convention of cukate the youth with a desire to attain should not be encouraged to teach their Agudath Israel at the Rye Town Hilton, dur­ greatf'r heigh.ts in Torah learning and obser­ fraudulent brand of Jewish tradition to a ing the weekend of November 23-26, in Port vance." Rabbi Chaim David Halberstam was mamlachti system; indeed, permitting them Chester, New York. chairman of the contest and Chaim Wielgus, to peddle their false brand of Judaism under co-chairman.

il?,?1 onii 1'.:l ni.:i.i11 DID YOU STUDY TORAH TODAY? A Fantastic There are a thousand reasons why ifs difficult but not one New Record reason why it's impossible Azameir Let us help you (free of charge) VJith· O a study group in YOUR home or neighborhood o 10 delightful songs O learning what YOU want to learn (9 originals) O and when it's convenient for YOU. o the glorious voices of Or arrange: the Baltimore Pirchei Choir D A personal "chavrusa ,. for you 0 A telephone "chavrusa'". o accompanied by members of the Baltimore All levels of study! Philharmonic Orchestra Coll us at (212) 964-1620. or write· 0 a recording you'll love to play again and again TORAH EDUCATION NEIWORK and again A division of Agudath Israel of America 5 Beekman Street/ New York, NY 10038 For your copy, see your local Hebrew Book Store Absolutely no charge or fee.

38 The Jewish Observer I October 1978 -··---.. ~,,-··..;. +iS'«'~····~·o... ._ - ' -·=~" '-' '-'''""'"'""'-" - -·---·-··--·--·· -~"''",'•.;,;.A-.>-:...;_.-,'-

"SAVE BORO PARK AGUDA TH ISRAEL WOMEN BORO PARK AGUDA TH ISRAEL FLATBUSH": SBCO URGES IN ANTI-E. R. A. OFFENSIVE CITY BRANCHES SPONSOR PUBLIC A leadership delegation of N'shei Agudath SHIUR An intense effort to persuade New York Israel, the women's organization of Agudath City to allocate some of its federal Com­ Israel of America, participated in the As pdrt of its continuous program of ex­ munity Developinent funds for the develop­ National Leadership Conference for Fair ~Jdnding: Torah study in the community, the ment of such middle-c!ass neighborhoods as Play, which took place in Washington on Council of AgudJth Israel Branches of Bora Boro Park and Flatbush is being spearheaded September 12th. !-ieaded by Mrs. Josephine P,irk has dnnouncpd a new Sunday study by the Southern Brooklyn Community Reichel. national co-president of the prugram for local residents. According to the Organization, (SBCO). the community women's organization, Agudist women's .inn\lll!Kement, a lecture in Se fer J-lachi11uch- preservation project initiated by Agudath delegations came from Cleveland, Chicago, 1\1indias Clii1111ch will be given on Sunday Israel of America. Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. Jn mornings fro1n 10:30 A.M. to 12:00 noon by SBCO has mobilized the Bora Park and addition to lending the support of the .i well-known young Torah scholar in the Flabush co1nmunlties into a board multi­ Orthodox women, the leadership delegation conununitv, Rabbi Eliezer Horowitz. The ethnk coalition for this purpose. also met with the senators of the five states shiur will be given at the 14th Avenue hr.inch, which is located Jt 4511 ~ 14th Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, executive direc­ represented in the delegation. Avenue. tor of SBCO, in testifying before a City Plan­ In their discussions with the senators, the ning Commission public hearing, urged the women reiterated the content of a letter sent The· prupospJ new c!Jss promises to be a com1nission to earmark its federal dollars for earlier to the Senate Judiciary Constitutional W('ll attended one, focusing as it does on two those communities that "are still very much Sub-committee, In that communique, the highly popular texts: The Sefer Hachinuch, alive." He declared: "It is far cheaper to Agudah women note, "Our many thousands written hy an unknown Rishon (Torah preserve stable communities than to of members urgently request that from both scholar of the 13th Century), is a study of the revitalize deteriorated areas. Boro Park and an ethical and moral point of view you do initzvos in order of their appearance in the F!atbush are presently healthy and viable not allow any extension of time to vote on Tur,ih, and examines their halachic require­ neighborhoods, but some indications of the Equal Rights Amendment." Al!uding to ments and philosophical underpinnings. The decay, especially in the fringes, serve as 'the fact that the original seven-year time M·cu1np<1nying Minchas Chinuch, written by warning red lights to the co1nmunity to begin limit for voting on this amendment was Rabbi Yoseif Babbad, J noted 19th Century planning before it is too late.'' agreed to by two-thirds of the Senate as a authority, to Jccompany the Sefer llachi11uch, features dazzling Talmudic dis­ RJ.bbi Lefkowitz urged that Community compromise between those who wanted a courses on topics relating to each of the Development funds in general be targeted to two-year time limit and those who wished an rnitzvos. The four Agudath Israel branches prevent neighborhood deterioration. "It is unlimited time restriction, the letter points in the Boro Park section eacsponsors a large vital that we take a look at the gestalt of a out that "some Senators would not have sldte of study groups, ranging from the neighborhood, identify its needs and develop voted for it without the original time limit on Cl1urnash to the Oaf Yon1i, the Folio-a-Day Ill a plan, involving the residents of the area ratification because they wanted it to reflect study plan in which thousands from all over each step of the way. A city is a coalition of current thinking among their constituents." the world participate. neighborhoods, which thus makes these In a final plea, the women note, "Regard­ communities the first line of defense for our less of one's opinion about the ERA, we feet The first shiur in the new series began on cities." that since the original bill was enacted by Sunday, September 10th, followed the 17th and 24th of that month. SBCO has proposed that the city earmark two-thirds vote, any extension must also community development funds to help have a two-thirds vote. In addition, any new strengthen certain blocks in the Baro Park - bills should have an amendment that a state Flatbush J.rea, enable some development or;t should be allowed the right to rescind a pro­ New the merchants' strips, and in general provide ERA vote, if they are gi the right to approve the necessary funding for short and long the ERA after having rejected it" Lower Manhattan term planning for neighborhood stability. The Agudah women of America, as weH as Mincha SBCO, which is partially funded by the Ford its parent organization, Agudath Israel of Foundation, has already succeeded in America, have for many years led the opposi­ Minyan Guide organizing block associations, a merchants' tion of the Orthodox Jewish community to association, sealing and demolishing an Equal Rights Amendment because of the • lf you know of minyanim deteriorated housing, and financing for havoc it would create in the institutions of private developers. marriage, education, the military, and B If you wish to start a business and industry. A position paper on minyan in your neigh­ The Jewish Patient's Bill of Rights, the Orthodox position by De Bernhard published by Agudath Israel of tryshman, chairman of the Commission on borhood Legislation and Civic Action of Agudath Amertca, is now poicy in at least one write: hospital, We want more hospitals to Israel of America, was recently made public. The women's delegation to Washington con­ Mll'ICHA MINYAN MAP do the same. It is important that we sisted of Mrs. Josephine Reichel, New York; interview people who have recently Agudath Israel <>fAmel'ica Mrs. Yisroel Gluck, Chicago; Mrs. Melvin spent some time in a hospital. In· Kramer, Philadelphia; Mrs. Eva Cohen, 5 Beekman Street I NYC 10038 dividuals who are prepared to be in­ Cleveland. In addition, Rabbi Herman or coll: terviewed please call: 233-3967 and Neuberger of the Yeshiva Ner Israel in DR. BERNARD FRYSHMAN: 339-0289 ask for: ''Bikur Cholim" Baltimore played a key role at the conference.

The Jewish Observer I October 1978 39 HAGAON HARAV SHACH x""''v.i : "Tradition of Torah in Israel. .. "

... Chinuch Atzmai is eminently successful. .. for the ad­ vanced Yeshivos and the Beth Jacob seminaries are filled with Chinuch Atzmai graduates ... The merit of our great predecessors .,.ll such as HaGaon Reb Issar Zalman Meltzer, HaGaon Reb Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik (Brisker Rav), the Chazon Ish, HaGaon Reb Zalman Sorotzkin and HaGaon Reb Aaron Kotler and others have given us the strength to maintain the course they chartered when they founded this network of Torah Schools. However, Chinuch Atzmai is burdened with a tremendous financial deficit even after government subsidies, for the government's appropriations are based on its concept of sufficient time for religious studies and its concept of minimum class enrollment. It does not underwrite any added study hours or smaller classes. [Government supported programs are over at 1:00 P.M. Chinuch Atzmai continues till 4 P.M. and through the evening in Yeshivos Erev. The government bases cost per teacher on a class enrollment of 31 children, Chinuch Atzmai averages 17 children per class.] In addition, Chinuch Atzmai is responsible for school construction in many areas. These expenditures add up to millions of Israeli Lira. .. .I beseech you to support Torah here in Eretz Yisroel with your contribution to Chinuch Atzmai. In the merit of supporting the Torah Education of young children, may you be blessed with the Torah's Berocho: "Blessed are those. who support this Torah." With the approach of the days of mercy we ask G-d to have mercy on us and grant us a good year. This is my fervent prayer.

Eliezer Menachem Man Shach 'N~~y 1'ln Chinuch Atzmai - Torah Schools fo:r Israel

167 Madison Avenue, N.Y. 10016-(212) 889-0606

r-:;::rah Sch~ fo-:-:a:i-=- Chinuc~m:- 167 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016 Tel. (212) 889·0606 Gentlemen: ! hereby pledge the sum of of $...... as my contlibution in answer to the current emergency appeal. ( ) Amount enclosed ) Kindly mall statement

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City, State, Zip . Contributions are tax exempt - Tax ref. BKE0·60·46