NEWS 25 Iyar 5775 // May 14, 2015 Community 39 Harav Yehudah Aryeh Treger, zt”l A tribute for the sheloshim The Antwerp community was greatly In 1953, he joined Slabodka Yeshivah in During Rav Treger’s tenure, the yeshivah difficult treatment that he was receiving, saddened a month ago by the news of Bnei Brak and became a talmid of Harav gained a high reputation around the world, the Rosh Yeshivah continued learning the petirah of Harav Yehudah Aryeh Mordechai Shulman, zt”l. In addition to and the number of bachurim increased Torah with all his strength. In a poignant Treger, zt”l. The Torah world has lost the actual words of Torah that he received greatly. With the help of his distinguished fulfillment of the invitation of Rav Aharon an outstanding talmid chacham who from his rebbeim, Rav Yehudah Aryeh Rebbetzin, tlch”t, he dedicated all his Kotler so many years before, he was even represented a living link with the postwar had the ability to absorb their deeper strength to the yeshivah and to learning able to transmit a previously unknown Gedolei Yisrael who lived in Eretz Yisrael. derech halimud, which he was later able Torah. For many years, they lived on the shiur of Rav Aharon. Harav Treger was fondly known in to transmit in his shiurim to the talmidim. yeshivah premises. As Wilrijk is in the Rav Yehudah Aryeh was niftar on Antwerp as “the Rosh Yeshivah.” He At the age of 18, he had already mastered suburbs of Antwerp, they had few Jewish Monday after Pesach, and the levayah led Yeshivas Etz Chaim, Wilrijk, with many Masechtos, and knew by heart 800 neighbours, but the Rosh Yeshivah was took place in front of Beth Medrash distinction for more than half a century, blatt of Gemara. He was also particularly happy to be near the bachurim in order to Govoha. Before the aron left for Eretz influencing generations ofbachurim . close to the Chazon Ish, zt”l, and in later care for them. Yisrael, hespedim were delivered by Harav Rav Yehudah Aryeh Treger was born years he vividly described the greatness In his later years, they moved to Antwerp Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, Rosh Yeshivah Beth in 1934 in the Polish town of Lenchna. that was contained in the clarity of the proper, where the Rosh Yeshivah continued Medrash Govoha; Harav Yaakov Perlow, His father, Reb Avrohom Treger, z”l, was learning of the Chazon Ish, as well as many unabated to be marbitz Torah. He regularly Novominsker Rebbe and a mechutan of closely connected to the great Chassidic of his piskei halachah. gave a popular shiur for local baalei batim, the niftar; Rav Yitzchok Reiss, son-in-law; courts of Kotzk, Ishbitz and Amshinov. In 1957, when he was 23, he attracted the along with many other shiurim and drashos. and Dr. M. J. Zelefsky, who had treated him His son Yehudah Aryeh learned at the feet attention of Gadol Hador Harav Shlomo Many people came to him for his sage during his illness. of many Litvish Gedolei Torah, but he was Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, who chose him as advice. Indeed, Harav Chaim Kreiswirth In Yerushalayim, the maspidim able to draw closer to him the hearts of a son-in-law. Harav Shlomo Zalman had a greatly valued his opinion and often included his two brothers-in-law, Rav every bachur from every background. special affection for Rav Yehudah Aryeh. discussed communal matters with him. On Shmuel and Rav Avrohom Auerbach, In 1935 his parents moved to Eretz Even after the couple left Yerushalayim, one occasion, Reb Yankele of Pshevorsk, and two of his sons, Rav Shimon and Rav Yisrael, settling in Yerushalayim, thus Rav Yehudah Aryeh consulted and zy”a, commented that he admired the ability Yitzchok Treger. Harav Aharon Schiff, escaping the destruction that soon corresponded regularly with his father-in- of Rav Yehudah Aryeh to appeal to every Antwerp Mara d’Asra, was maspid the great engulfed Europe. Yehudah Aryeh learned law. type of Yid, whether Ashkenazi, Sephardi, loss of a true baal achrayus who undertook in the Etz Chaim Cheder and later in the In 1962, when he was only 28, he Litvish or Chassidish. They were all united responsibility for the kehillah and the famous Etz Chaim Yeshivah, from the received an invitation from the Antwerp together under the influence of the learning responsibility of transmitting Torah to Baal Gidulei Shmuel and the Baal Darkei Mara d’Asra Harav Chaim Kreiswirth, of the Rosh Yeshivah. Klal Yisrael. Harav Tuviah Weiss, Gaavad Dovid, zt”l, among other great talmidei zt”l, to become Rosh Yeshivah in the On many occasions, the Rosh Yeshivah Badatz, and Harav Eliyahu Sternbuch, chachamim. local Yeshivas Etz Chaim. The yeshivah, bemoaned the fact that much of our Raavad Badatz, were both maspid with While still a bachur, he acquired a situated in the nearby town of Wilrijk, authentic masores hadoros had been lost their own personal recollections of reputation as an outstanding masmid was privileged to be led by Harav Yehudah and destroyed in World War II. As a result the niftar from the time that they were who was able to plumb the depths of a Aryeh for about 50 years. His skill at of this, he felt that there was a lack of achdus Dayanim in Antwerp. sugya with outstanding clarity. Yehudah expressing a complicated subject with among Klal Yisrael. However, as long as the Harav Treger leaves behind his eishes Aryeh absorbed every drop of Torah clarity to all the bachurim was combined Rosh Yeshivah was alive, he was himself chayil, who supported him and enabled that he received from his rebbeim with with exceptional middos and a finely a link with the previous generations, him to achieve all that he did. His two sons an unquenchable thirst. In 1946, he tuned sense of bein adam l’chaveiro. faithfully providing a living example of their and six daughters — Mrs. T. Lorencz, Mrs. was invited by Harav Aharon Kotler On one occasion while he was still in ways. C. Grylak, Mrs. A. Rosengarten, Mrs. R. to join the small group of exceptional Yerushalayim, a bachur from chutz laAretz In the last year of his life, he contracted a Schreiber, Mrs. N. Reichenbach and Mrs. bachurim who formed the initial shiur of was staying in his apartment for Pesach. painful and incapacitating illness. In order T. Reiss — are all themselves or are married Lakewood Yeshivah that Rav Aharon had On the second night, the bachur was given to receive the best treatment, he moved to distinguished talmidei chachamim and just established in America. Although a separate table where he could make his with his Rebbetzin to the house of his son- klei kodesh. All his many grandchildren and his parents consented, there was no second Seder. Rav Yehudah Aryeh realized in-law, Rav Reiss, in Lakewood. He was great-grandchildren are following in the opportunity for their son to travel, and he that his guest would feel lonely, so he sat greatly venerated by the Roshei Yeshivah path that he showed them. remained in Yerushalayim. and spoke with him the entire evening. and talmidei chachamim there. Despite the Yehi zichro baruch! New Sefer Torah Dedicated to Nishmas Yisroel Hundreds of people thronged the Winegarten’s youngest child, Mr. Moshe streets of Hendon on Sunday to join Winegarten, currently holding the the simchah of the Winegarten family, position of trustee of the organisation. who commissioned the writing of Recalling his father’s tireless work a sefer Torah in honor of the fourth for the kehillah (Mr. Winegarten was yahrtzeit of their husband, father and also president of the London Board of grandfather, Mr. Shlomo Winegarten, Shechita and founder of Shechita U.K.), z”l. The Federation’s Beis Hamedrash he said, “When my father became vice Nishmas Yisroel in Hendon was chosen president of the Federation five years ago by the family as the destination of the he wanted to restore the organisation new sefer Torah, as Reb Shlomo was to its position as a bastion of heimishe vice president of the Federation at Anglo-Jewish Orthodoxy in the U.K. the time of his petirah in 2011 and the Nishmas Yisroel embodies those traits family has a strong connection to the and as one of the newest Federation organisation. Indeed, his father, Mr. shuls, a symbol of the recent growth and Moshe Winegarten, z”l, was the founder vision of the organisation, it is a very of the organisation’s first constituent fitting home for asefer Torah dedicated synagogue after the end of World War II, in his memory.” establishing the Shomrei Hadath shul in Rabbi Avi Lazarus, CEO of the Hampstead in 1946 (now led by Rabbi Federation, added, “There was a Moshe Mayerfeld). wonderful atmosphere of achdus and The kesivos ha’osios was held at the simchah, with Federation members home of Mr. Winegarten’s daughter from Edgware and Golders Green and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Avromi Avi Yodaiken also attending the event alongside the Rosenfield. Manychashuve Rabbanim (L to R) Mr. Alex Rosenfield, Rabbi Yeshaya Schlesinger, Dayan Yisroel Yaakov Lichtenstein and Mr. Avromi Nishmas kehillah, to celebrate the new Rosenfield at the kesivas ha’osios of the new sefer Torah dedicated l’ilui nishmas Reb Shlomo Winegarten. were invited to write letters, including sefer Torah and to honor a man who did the Dayanim of the Federation Beis Din, so much — not only for the Federation, Dayan Yisroel Yaakov Lichtenstein and accompanied by lively music, flaming Reb Shlomo. He was a chashuve Yid who but for the entire tzibbur.” Dayan Moshe Elzas; Rav Chaim Isser torches and flag-waving children.