IYAR 5747 /APRIL 1987 VOLUME XX, NUMBER 3 USA: $2.50/FOREIGN: $3.00 . :~~(·.. 1: ·~~~·\:'~·r <·.~····!·... ·~······· ... ··~······· .. ······ .. ~> ~· ~~,i7~ ~6 ~~·\.. ~o ,;''~~~ ti 44 45 (fi'v\ll'1 46 .:1191 "~:r~Ena& ~~::;.;!i~.r~~;f ....~:~i .... ···/if> / · .. •· •···.. : ··· • ···· '·' .'\ ·· .. c;•c;•.· "~~~"'~~ ~...,---,---,.;:;. / ..• /· • t sX;\. ···.···•·· "'~";"'"'...:§l::ir· ••• . t \/ ... { ,. \.. '.. 3 ••.. '\~~~~\>-~ .. ···············•· •.. ~~l' BUii.DiNG A BRIDGE ACROSS HISTORY And now, we can see the fruits of their labor growing in Israel as never before. Every year thousands of additional children enroll in Chinuch Atzmai. In the last 3 years alone, over 5,600 children were added to our schools. Today Chinuch Atzmai can change the face of Israel. The Baal-Tshuva movement is bringing thousands of new students to our doors. Parents are begging us to give their children the Torah chinuch they themselves didn't receive. But our resources are stretched to the limit. We need hundreds of new classrooms and teachers to accomodate these children. Are we going to let these Neshomos fall due to lack of dollars? nwrrpn n1'l1:u :i•n,n'l The 34th Annual Dinner of Chinuch Atzmai is dedicated to ex­ panding the borders of holiness in Israel- to continuing the holy work and vision of our sages. We hope, with Hashem's help, to enroll at least 10,000 children more in the next 3 years. To achieve this purpose we are creating a $10,000,000.00 Torah Fund, under the direct supervision of our Gedolei Torah; to make this dream a reality. f t's 5:30 AM in the Israeli Negev. On a lonely stretch of road, a small group of children stand with their shoulder packs waiting for a school bus .. .to them it's just another school day. A cross Israel, in thousands of villages, towns, and cities- a huge network of buses & vans are beginning to carry over 40,000 children to their local Chinuch Atzmai school. The children come from backgrounds as varied as the nations of the earth: Hungarian, Polish, Indian, Iranian, Russian, Yemenite, lraqui, Syrian, Czechoslovakian, African, American, and many others - all united by their parents' wish to give their children a true Torah education. Today is very special. It's the birthday of Chinuch Atzmai. Born 34 years ago as a dream and vision of our sages, who worked tirelessly and gave countless precious hours, days and weeks for this visionary goal. Who can forget how Rav Aaron Kotler, Reb Issir Za!men Meltzer, the Gerer Rebbe, and Reb Moishe Feinstein, of blessed memories, would leave their 'Gemoras' and spend weeks traveling to meetings-urging, begging & cajoling baalai baatim, politicians & yeshiva people to help build the foundations of the greatest force for Torah we have today- Chinuch Atzmai. $10 Million Is Needed Today! Subsidize A School For A Year $75,000 Sponsor Prefab Classrooms $10,500 Playground Facilities $3,600 Nassilayom $1,800 Memorial Plaque $1,000 Child Sponsorship $360 Annual Membership $200 r-------------------~TORAH SCHOOLS FOR ISRAEL CHINUCH ATZMAI I I 167 M~diso11 Av<'nue. New Yurk. NY !0016 {212) 889·0606 •NIQ ~ iunn l''ll) I I I D Reserve my place for the Annual Dinner I I C Enclosed find my contribution of $ I Our goal is to reach every Jewish child I D Please accept my pledge of I in every community and settlement I Name I in Israel. I Address I I I 1.-----------------------------------L------•• -----------.I My NAME is YossiE. I AM A MEMbE1~ of A pRoud JERUSAIEM fAMily. BECAUSE of ME, My fAMily HAS GONE THROUGH SEVERE TRiAls ANd TRibulATiONS. I WAS boRN wiTH SEVERE biRTH dEfECTS THAT WERE lifE THREATENiNG. FoR THE pAsT six YEARS I HAVE uNdERGONE MANY HiGH Risk SURGERiEs. My pROGNOsis is EXCEllENT buT I STill HAVE TO UNdEl~GO MORE SURGERy. I ATTENcJ A REGUIAR YESHiVA WHEN NOT iN TREATMENT ANd I AM A livEly ACTivE CHild. By THE CRACE of THE CREATOR I liAVE suRvivEd, ANd if iT is THE Will of THE A-IMiGHTY I will SURViVE. THE pRiCE foR My suRvivAL ~1As bEEN TERRibly GREAT. My fAMily HAS bEEN dEVASTATEd. My pARENTS HAVE NOT bEEN AblE TO MAkE ENds MEET, ANd ARE dEEply iN dEbT. THE pHysicAl buRdENs ANd MENTAL STRAiNs, wHiCH I HOpE NO ONE WHO REAds THis IETTER will EVER HAVE TO UNdERGO, ARE MORE THAN difficuh TO OVERCOME. My PARENTS ANd MY fAMily ARE slowly bEiNG WORN dowN bECAUSE of ME. I AM AskiNG, plEASE, if you could fiNd iT iN youR HEARTS, To HEip My pARENTS MEET THEi1~ fiNANCiAI obliGATiONS ANd MAkE THE TERRiblE buRdEN of My illNESS A linlE biT EASiER foR THEM TO bEAR. I THANk you fooM THE bonoM of My HEA1n. PLEASE SENd youR GENEROUS CONTRibuTiON TO: CiRil STERN, 1654 58dt STREET, BRooklyN, NEW YoRk 11204 CHEcks pAyAblE TO BikuR CHoliM FuNd ARE TAX dEducTiblE. ThE followiNG pRoMiNENT RAbboNiM ENdoRSE This AppEAL ANd Ask foR youR AssiSTANCE: RAbbi Yonf ShulEM ElyAShuv R•bbi ShloM ZAlMEN OhRb•ch RAbbi PiNchAs ShEiNbERG Ji IH \f\ll M Ro..,11 Y 1 \l1i\ i\, Kol l 01v\lt Ho\!1 Yr'>ltiti\, To1ud-1 ()!tH R•bbi MoshE SnRN RAbbi AvRAhAM PAM R•bbi Ch•iM YosEf TAubrn 1)1 h1H cir-<1 n l~f\\, l~o ... 11 Yt'>!-ti\A, 101~"\!1 Yod''"Hli Bobo\111 !),"\\:\'\, ADDRESS TELEPHONE I would Uke to become a partner in the wonderful work of Mital Hashas by contributing o $150 per month asa ShutafHaTorah* o S36 per month as a Mokir Torah o S100 per month as a Parnes HaT orah o S18 per month as a Chai Supporter o SSO per month as a Tomech Torah o S other •The cost ol supportJf19 one schow My and all contnbutic.ns to "Mlfal Hasha.s" ere uix deductible end most appreciated. Mlfal Hashas 4606 16th Avenue, Brooklyn, H.Y. 11~04 (718) 436·7790 J30 L ------------------------------' In This Issue 7 THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 is published monthly Shmittah in Israel Today except July and August. by the Agu a report by Nissan Wolpin dath Israel of America. 84 William Street. New York. N.Y. 10038. Second 15 class postage paid at New York. N.Y. Postscript on "Religious Subterfuge in Israel" Subscription $18.00 per year; two Ezriel Toshavi years. 830.00; three years, $40.00. Outside of the United States {US funds only) 810 surcharge per year. 18 Single copy: $2.50: foreign: $3.00. Building a Ghetto of Our Own Send address changes to The Jew­ Edith Krohn ish Observer. 84 William SL. N.Y.. N.Y. 10038. Tel.: 12121797-9000. Printed in the Li.SA. 27 Books in Review RABBI NISSON WOLPIN. Edaor Waking Up Jewish/Collected Writings of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch/A Future and a Hope/Torah Treasuries/ Editorial Board DR. ERNST BODENHEIMER A Time For All Things/Ways of Peace/Aiding Talmud Study/ Clwirman Breakthrough lo Learning Gemora/Gateway to Talmud/ ArtScroll Mishnayos RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS JOSEPH FRIEDENSON RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN Second Looks on The Jewish Scene RABBI MOSHE SHERER Manage1nent Board 33 NAFTOLI HIRSCH Where Does a Russian Jew Find Refuge? ISAAC KIRZNER RABBI SHLOMO LESIN 37 NACHUM STEIN Food. Food. Food-A Matter of Taste• RABBI YOSr~F C. GOLDING Busi11css Marwgn 41 THE JEWISH 0BSEHVER does not as Letters to the Editor sun1e responsibility for the Kashrus of any product or sl:'rvice advf>rtised in its pages. 11'> Copyright 1987 APRIL '87 •PHOTOS BY HARRY FRAZER VOL. XX. NO. 3 Checking lo see if the seeds sprouted b(tfore Rosh Hasf1ana. '47. in Talrnei EliyahtL SHMITTAH THE EARLY YEARS Shvi'is, in which Rabbi Avraham Rabbi Binyomin Mendelsohn J""' Yeshayahu Karelitz J""' renders de· serving as its Rav, guide and men­ tailed halachic decisions on the tor, making it into a model of preser­ or centuries, the Jewish pop· practical problems that arise in vation and propagation of kedushas ulation in Eretz Yisroel was modern·day farming. This sejerhad haAretz for others to emulate. F primarily concentrated in four a tremendous impact on hoth the ln 5719/1958-9 the "Institute for or five cities. with hardly a rural batei midrashim of Eretz Yisroel Agricultural Research in Accordance presence at all, and as a result. scarce and its religious farmers. The Cha· with Torah Law" was established by involvement in Shmittah and other zon !sh later remarked. 'When I was Poalei Agudath Israel to aid farmers mitzvos related to the Land. After all, learning Mishnayos Shvi'is, little did in coping with Shvi'is. And in the crops were generally raised by I dream that people would come to 5 733/1972-3 Rabbi Mendelsohn es­ non·Jews. About a hundred years ask me detailed questions for prac· tablished the Merkaz-"Center for ago. this began to change with the tical application-halacha l'maa· Shvi'is Observing Farmers"-to emergence of various movements to seh!" guide people in the practical. opera­ settle the Holy Land and farm it. and Indeed, the growing awareness of tional aspects of keeping Shmittah, the introduction of a hetter. permit· Shmittah went beyond the flow of without resorting to the Chief Rab­ ling some limited farming, based on words. From their very founding in binate's hetter. That year his efforts sale of the land to a non.Jew. [See the 1930's, the PoaleiAgudath Israel resulted in some seventy independ­ box on page 8). kibbutzim and moshavim kept the ent farmers joining in Shmittah The trend for farmers lo rely on laws of Shmittah along with the observance .... the hetter of sale of the land con· other mitzvos of the Land, following In 5740/1979-80, Shmitlah was linued until the 1930's.