Eliyahu Meir Klugman

THE ISH HA:EMES: The Man of UnimpeCKhable Integrity

Frankfurt, 1915: A six-year-old boy "Remember, Yungerman! One must is sent by his mother to the store to be very careful to safeguard the honor buy groceries. With the change he of Rav Hirsch, the tzaddik of Frank­ buys himself some chocolate, which furt, for he was a living mussar sefer." he eats on the way. When he arrives home, his mother asks him for the Washington Heights, 1994: In the change. "Here it is," the boy answers. last winter of his life, the young "But where is the rest?" his mother . lad, now Rav of the largest asks. German Jewish Kehilla in the world "I must have lost it," the boy re­ and a leader of Jewry, calls in plies. But his mother notices a choco­ a wealthy benefactor of the kehilla. "I late wrapper in his pocket. don't have much time left on this "Oh," she says, with a look that he world," he said, "and I will be going to will remember for the rest of his life, Gehinom. The 's deficit is close "you didn't tell the emes." to a million dollars and most of it is in Later that day his father comes the unpaid salaries of its melmndim. home. He does not hit him or send I am Rav of the kehilla that teaches him to his room. "What is this I hear Radin, 1930: The young Frankfurt . Where is the that you didn't tell the emes? Your boy, now a Mirrer Yeshiva bachur, derech eretz if we haven't paid our punishment will be that tonight, Fri­ comes to visit the Chojetz Chaim. teachers for months? It will not be day night, I will not bent.sch you. No, I When the elderly sage is told that he long before I will be called to give a din won't bentsch you tonight." The is "a Frankfurter bachur," he takes his vecheshbon for my actions and I will young boy never forgot that lesson. hand in his own and caresses it gen­ be going to Gehinom for this. I'm beg­ tly. "A yeshiva bachurl How fortunate! ging you. Please take me out of As the subjectoftlJis appreciation loathed even the merest whiff of exaggeration, I have attempted to So many are drowning today. Only Gehinom." avoid embellishment. which is unnecessary in any through Torah can one survive. How case. In keeping with the statement of Ghazal fortunate that you are learning!" Rabbi Klugman grew up in Washington Heights. (Yerushalmi. :Eiruvin 2:5) that one does not erect where he enjoyed a close relationship with Rabbi monuments for righteous men. as their words are Schwab. He currently lives in where he their memortal. the thoughts and dfureiTorahcon­ Marienbad, 1934: The Mirrer ye­ is a maggid in a yeshiva gedola. He is a fre­ tained herein are all, unless otherwise indicated. shiva bachur, by now a Rav in Ger­ quent contributor to these pages, most recently Rav Schwab"s own. To facilitate reading. we have many, pays a visit to the saintly with "The Disaster-A Torah Perspective." often dispensed with quotation marks. April "94. His biography on Rabbi S.R Hirsch is Gerrer . The Rebbe tells him, soon to be released by .

The Jewish Observer, Summer 1995 11 The man is shaken. After giving the matter some thought, he agrees to cover the entire deficit in teachers' salaries, in weekly installments to be completed before the yeshiva's annual dinner. The last payment is made on the Friday before the dinner. The Yeshiva's dinner is on Sunday night. The following evening, Rabbi Schwab passed away.

o was this man who lived life of such adherence to W:onesty and integrity? _l'::rEUf What is this potent combination of Rabbi Shimon Schwab (right) with parents and brothers in Fran.Jefurt. 1931 the ideals of Rabbi Samson Raphael child-rearing? The Schwab brothers Hirsch, architect ofTorah Orthodoxy were fond of telling of the sedernight in the Western world, and the intense when their father asked his children Despite his poverty, he commitment to limud haTorah that is which of the four sons they would the legacy of the great Lithuanian like to be. Most of them answered auctioned off in 1943 his yeshivos? What can we learn from his "the chacham," as could be expected; only possession of value, life to enable us to make this heady young Mordechai responded that he blend the reality of authentic Torah would like to be the "tam." The father a that he had life in America? Specifically, what ex­ then addressed his children in a ample did he set for the American ben stern voice: "If any of my sons be­ brought with him from Torah, whether engaged in full-time comes a rosho, even if only deviating or as a working man? from a single din or a , I say , and gave the to him 'li, velo lo, I will have nothing I. GEOGRAPHY OF ALIFE to do with him.' I love my children proceeds of $2,000-a more than anything in the world, but I love the Ribborio Shel Olam even substantial sum at the Boyhood inFranlefurt-am-Main more." His father's yiras Shamayim. Rabbi Schwab said decades later, time-to the Vaad himon Schwab was born in chilled his bones. Frankfurt on 7 Teves, 5569 He grew up in Frankfurt as a nor­ for saving S (1908), to an old German­ mal child, with no hint of the great­ Jewish family. In the 1850's, his ness he would attain. He often Jewish lives in Europe. great-grandfather moved from a stressed that many gedolim were not small Bavarian village to Frankfurt, accomplished ta1midei chachamimat emes as the guiding light of his life soon after Rabbi S.R. Hirsch had be­ age thirteen or geniuses in their obtained in communal matters as come rabbi, so his children could youth. Many who were amei ha'aretz well as in Torah study. For the rest of study in Rav Hirsch's Realschule. at that age, later became Torah lead­ his life, Rabbi Schwab always saw Like his father and grandfather, ers. This awareness. he felt, should himself, in his words, as "talmid Shimon Schwab studied in the be an encouragement to many lads talm.ido" of Rabbi S.R. Hirsch-his Realschule, which went only until who are nothing special at their bar disciple's pupil-and, indeed, he was the ninth grade. There he received mitzva, yet have the potential to be­ suffused with Rav Hirsch's spirit. his only formal secular education. come great talmidei chachamim and In 1926, the Ponevezher Rav, His parents, Leopold and Chana Torah leaders. Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman vis­ (Erlanger) Schwab, were erliche, re­ After completing the Realschule, ited Frankfurt and delivered a shiur spected baalebattim, who were active Shimon learned for two years under in Rav Breuer's yeshiva. The young in the life of the Frankfurt Kehilla. the Frankfurter Rav and Rosh Ye­ Frankfurter boy was entranced both They produced five sons, each of shiva, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Breuer, by the shiur and by the derech them a man of note in his own right. son-in-law of Rabbi S.R. Hirsch. halimud. He wanted more. The Three of them were world famous--in There he absorbed the joys of yegias Ponevezher Rav suggested Telshe, addition to Reb Shimon, there was haTorah, the delight of intense effort with its emphasis on seder and its Reb Mordechai, renowned as a in trying to ascertain the correct approach to education, as most ap­ tzaddik, and Reb Moshe, pshat, and an absolute commitment propriate of the Gateshead Yeshiva. (See JO, to finding the emes in the dvar Shimon Schwab was among the May '94, and April '81.) Hashem This strong commitment of first German bachurim in his time to What explains their success in Reb Shlomo Breuer to unadulterated study in a Lithuanian yeshiva, and a 12 The Jewish Observer, Summer 1995 considerable number followed his imprint on him. Reb Chaim Ozer sug­ lead. But many who had left Ger­ Noting a lack of the spirit gested that he go to study in the many to study in the East ceased to Mirrer Yeshiva in Poland, whose appreciate their Mesores Avos. the of the Lithuanian yeshiva mashgiach, Rabbi Yeruchem hallowed traditions of minhag Levovitz. would be the perfect mentor Ashkenaz, when they beheld the sub­ in German Jewry, Rabbi for the Frankfurter bachllr. lime grandeur and tasted the intoxi­ So in Elul, 1929, he went to the cating sweetness of the blatt Gemora. Schwab attempted to Mir, where he developed an unusu­ Rabbi Schwab clung to every detail of ally close relationship with Reb his rnesora. the continuation of close establish a yeshiva there, Yeruchem. There too he was a to two millennia of Torah life in Ger­ trendsetter for the many German many. channeled into the post-ghetto but the local Nazis closed bachllrim who followed. Several years world by Rabbi S.R Hirsch and his later, Reb Yeruchem delivered a regu­ colleagues. it on the day it opened. lar Shiur exclusively for these "oislanders," as they were A Yeshiva Bachur in called. Reb Yeruchem's Daas Torah asm of a seventeen-year-old yeshiva on Chumash contains much from uring the three years he bachllr for the Rebbis sweet person­ those shiurim.. Reb Shimon stayed in spent in Telshe, he was ality. In Telshe, he also learned a life­ the Mir for two years. and received D awed by the regal dignity. long lesson: the meaning of semicha from the . Reb the iron will. the sublime mind, and "shteigen" - steady, sustained Lazer Yudel Finkel, as well as from the singing neshama (as he described growth in Torah, yiras Shamayim Reh Chaim Ozer Grodzenski. it) of the Telzer Rav. Rabbi Yosef Leib and character development. His visit to the Chafetz Chaim in Bloch. In Telshe he learned about Rabbi Schwab spent six weeks in 1930 is part of the public conscious­ malchus haTorah, seeing the Rosh the summer of 1929 teaching in ness. Although he spent no more than Yeshiva as a nesiElok:im. Whereas his Montreux:. Switzerland. There. he a weekend in Radin-from Friday relationship with the Telzer Rav was also sezved as the personal attendant morning to Sunday moming-Klal a mixture of awe and fear, for his of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzenski. Yisroel has learned more from those Rebbi, Reb Avrohom Yitzchok Bloch, Those weeks ofintimate daily contact few days than from many who spent there was only the adoring enthusi- with the gad.ol had.or left an indelible years in Radin. {See JO, Jan. 1984.)

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The Jewish Observer, Summer 1995 13 A Rav in Germany Lithuanian yeshiva in German rabbi. Matters in Germany reached < Jewry. he attempted to establish a point where it was only a matter o n 1931, Rabbi Schwab was ap­ yeshiva there, but the local Nazis time before his arrest. and he decidec pointed assistant to Rabbi Yonah closed it on the day it opened. to seek a rabbinical position overseas. I Merzbach of , who He was under constant pressure later joined Rabbi Yechiel from the local Gestapo. As the situa­ Refugee Rabbi in Schlesinger to found Yeshiva Kol To­ tion deteriorated, he began to sleep at rah in Jerusalem. The same year, he night with his clothes on. He later ex­ pon the suggestion of Rabbi married Reeba Froelich of plained that one of his acquaintances , a leading Orthodox , who was his devoted who had been outspoken in his criti­ U rabbiinNewYork, he was ac­ and cheerful companion for life, and cism of the regime was taken away in cepted as the rabbi of the German with whom he had five children. Two the middle of the night and was found Jewish Shearith Congregation years later he was appointed District the next morning hanging. Should of Baltimore. He arrived in the U.S. Rabbi of Ichenhausen in Bavaria. the same fate await him, he wanted with his family on IO Teves, 1936. Noting a lack of the spirit of the to meet it fully clothed, as befits a Soon after his arrival, he was faced with his first crisis. He insisted that the by-laws of the congregation, which conferred voting rights only on N0\\4 ARTSCROLL LETS '\ ShomreiShabbos, be upheld. As a re­ sult, two hundred members, the YOU SAY IT IN RUSSIAN! overwhelming majority of the mem­ bership, who considered themselves Haven't you wanted to give the gift of to Orthodox but were unable to resist your Russian-speaking friends and neighbors? the pressure to work on Shabbos, left the shul and established their own congregation. Shemith Israel was left Now - finally! - it is here: with a skeleton of a congregation of barely two dozen members, some­ The ArtScroll Slddur Ill Russian! times without a during the week, and almost no wherewithal to he masterful, world­ cover his salary. He was forced to bor­ T.renowned transla­ row and scrape to make ends meet; tion, commentary, and there were times when he did not re­ instructions are now ceive his salary for month~. It was not available in a beautiful the only time in his life when he was willing to sacrifice position and liveli­ · new Russian translation, hood for principle. It was, in fact, one produced and reviewed of the Hirschian tenets upon which by scholars from the he was weaned: "Learn how to with­ former Soviet Union. stand animosity and to weather un­ It's your perfect gift for popularity. and to carry on the struggle to uphold Hashem'sideals." those precious brothers Despite his poverty, in 1943 he auc­ and sisters groping for tioned off his only possession of authentic Judaism. value, a sefer Torah that he had Let them share and enjoy brought with him from Germany, and gave the proceeds of $2,000-a sub­ the that is revolu­ stantial sum at the time-to the Vaad tionizing tefWah for Hatzalah for saving Jewish lives in throughout the world. Europe. He was active in securing af­ Let every Russian fidavits to facilitate the entry of Jew­ have a Russian Siddur. ish refugees into the , and the Schwab home in Baltimore They~ll be grateful and became a way station for many poor, you'll be overjoyed! newly-arrived refugees from the Eu­ published by Mesorah ropean inferno. Publications Ltd. and the . Baltimore of those years was Available atyoi

14 The Jewish Observer, Swnmer 1995 ter he had anived in Baltimore, when he is one who by word and example received a request to provide a spreads the knowledge of the Al­ hashgachajor chickens. When he in· mighty. The kohein imperative of the formed the owner that he would visit his Jew, which he epitomized, was the plant, the man replied, "That's OK, constant theme in his life. Rabbi, we'U bring the check to yolL" Living in GolusAmerica, a Malchu.s The Rebbetzin was one of only a shel Chessed, only strengthened this handful ofwomen in the city who cov­ obligation. Every form of Chillul ered her hair. Even Yeshiva Chafetz Hashem, he taught, lowers the Chaim, headed by the illustrious awareness of the Divine presence in Rabbi Schwab with Rabbi Y. Breuer Rabbi Chaim Samson, had almost no this world. Ifthe perpetrator is a sup­ shomer Shabbos students. One of the School, the Beis Hamidrash and the posedly observant Jew-or worse, a Schwab boys had only one shomer world-renowned Rika Breuer so-called Torah scholar-then the of­ Shabbos friend. He pleaded with his Teacher's Seminary. It was during fense is even greater. The Chillul mother not to give him sandwiches these years in Washington Heights Hashem strengthens the hand of the for lunch in school because the boys that Rabbi Schwab's leadership and non-observer, gives ammunition to laughed at him when he washed his influence in the affairs of American the scoffers, and fosters yet more re­ hands before eating. Torah Jewry reached their peak. jection of religion; and it is respon­ Before the establishment of the sible, directly or indirectly, for the in­ , Rabbi Schwab would Il. THE EMBODIMENT OF crease of frivolity, heresy and licen­ gather the few shomer Shabbos girls MAIACIIl'S PROPHECY tiousness in the world. How can one in his home for a weekly shiur. "Ess who cheated his neighbor or de­ passt nisht," he was told by a local A Kingdom ofPriests frauded the government, he asked, rabbi, "for a rav to teach girls." Rabbi have the audacity to stand in front of Schwab replied that the Gemorasays he Jewish People, the Rav the congregation and recite , that a chassid shoteh, a pious idiot, never tired of declaring, must a for sanctifying G-d's Name in is one who refuses to save a woman T be a Mamleches Kohanim the world? There can be no white­ who is drowning because she is a Vegoy Kadosh, a nation ofpriests and washing, no condoning, and no woman. "I don't want to be a chassid a holy nation. A kohein, he explained, apologizing on behalf of the desecra- shoteh." Together with a few local r:·------·----.-·--- --·------·-·-----~-."- :1 baalebattim, he founded the Bais I Yaakov of Baltimore, despite the de­ I rision oflocal who considered I ARE You MOVING? I the undertaking a waste of time, ef­ I fort, and especially resources. "Why," IS YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PRINTED I one Orthodox rabbi asked him, "are INCORRECTLY ON THE JO MAILING LABEL? I you bothering with these insignificant We need your help to ensure proper delivery of The Jewish Observer to your home. mftzvosr This "insignificant mitzva" I Please attach current mailing label in the space below, or print clearly your address and I is today the largest such institution computer processing numbers that are printed above your name on the address label. outside the area. I I The Frankfurt Kehilla I inNewYork Affix old label here I n 1958, Rabbi Schwab's Rebbi I from Frankfurt, Rabbi Joseph I I Breuer, when seventy-five-years I old, decided that K'hal Adath Name I Jeshurun of Washington Heights needed a vigorous presence on the New Address ------I rabbinate, and he invited his taJmid I to serve alongside him. It is testimony City,------I to the greatness of these two men that State, ______Zip ______I for the next twenty-three years they I served the kehilla side by side with Date Effective------hardly an uncomfortable moment. I Send address changes to: The Jewish Observer/Change of Address I Although many of the kehillainstitu­ 84 William Street, New York, NY 10038 tions were in place when he arrtved, I he was instrumental in founding the Please allow 4-6 weeks for all changes to be reflected on your mailing label. We will not be responsible for back issues missed unless you notiiy us 6 weeks prior to your move. I and the Bais Yaakov High L------~------~ The Jewish Observer, Summer 1995 15 I tors. It must be made clear that he on. He was rather the embodiment of who besmirches the Divine Name has How can one who the Eilu v'Eilu Divrei Elokim Chaim defected from our ranks and joined ('These and those are the words of the our opponents. And the more promi­ cheated his neighbor or living G-d"} of two sacred traditions. nent a person is, the more scrupu­ He embodied in one person two di­ lous and painstaking he must be in defrauded the verse Torah cultures: the glorious his business dealings to avoid even government, he asked, Frankfurt tradition of Rabbi Hirsch, the slightest hint of a ChillulHashem with its emphasis on adherence to the When the Rav was asked to assist in have the audacity to emes and insistence on putting the efforts to secure the release of a "reli­ stamp ofTorah on every area of pub­ gious" Jew who was incarcerated for stand in front of the lic and private endeavor... combined fraud, he refused. "Help him be re­ with unwavering devotion to intense leased? He's a rod.elf of Klal Yisrael. congregation and recite Torah study, which was the hallmark Because of him, jnnnme Yid.den will Kaddish, a prayer for of the great of Lithuania. On suffer. Let him sit!" the one hand, he absorbed the Traveling once with his son on the sanctifying G-d's Name Chafetz Chaim's caress; on the other, subway, the boy found fifty cents on he observed the admonishment of the the floor in front of the change booth, in the world? alterGerrer Rebbewho characterized which he intended to pocket, think­ Rabbi Hirsch as "a lebedike mussar ing that there was no obligation to re­ sefer." That combination was the rea­ turn it. "Give it to the attendant," his unique approach to Aggada and son why he was the inspiration and father insisted, "and I will stick my shared with'. his talmidim and source of guidance to so many in the beard in his window so that he sees congregants countless original in­ Torah community ofAmerica. that religious Jews do not want other sights into Ghazal. A lengthy series of Rabbi Schwab was convinced that people's money." shiurimon the SiddurTefillapresent­ Torah im Derech Eretz offers a vision The prophet Malachi, speaking of ing invaluable insights were recorded of Judaism "in a way that can be ac­ the End of Days, described the at­ for posterity. Many of his chiddushim cepted... by the five-and-a-half-mil­ tributes of the kohein, and these on Chumash and were re­ lion uncommitted Jews in the vast qualities are perhaps the most accu­ cently published in his magnum spiritual wasteland that is today's rate description of Rabbi Schwab. his opus, Maayan Bais Hashoeva life and his teachings: "Toras emes America, in a language they can un­ haysa befihu, ve'avla lo nimtza (Mesorah Publications, New York, derstand." bi'sfasav; beShalom vemishor 1994). Some of his public addresses He exemplified the "Torah im halach itti, verabbim heishiv of the last decade, and many essays Derech Eretz-ben Torah." Torah im me'avon. The teaching of truth was in of the last half century have been DerechEretzmeans "the subjugation his mouth and no injustice was found published in three volumes of his col­ and control of all mundane affairs by on his lips; in peace and in straight­ lected works (CIS Publishers). forwardness he walked with Me and the royal sovereignty of the Torah." It he turned many away from sin." He exhorted his followers to learn is the call to take the Torah out into MA!Acm2, 6-7 "with an inner glow and persistence. the world in order to sanctify the Di­ with ardor and singleminded passion, vine Name on earth by our every ac­ "Toras Emes••. "1 with noble joy and a serene spirit," and tion. It demands the Torah's conquest he put great effort into inspiring the of life and not its flight from life. The e viewed his mission in life as youth of his kehilla to continue on in Torah im Derech Eretz-ben Torah is being a marbitz Torah, giving advanced yeshivas. The thousands of well aware of what happens in the H shiurim to those of all ages bneiTorahathisfuneral and the over­ world that surrounds him, "for he is and backgrounds in his kehilla­ whelming majority of bnei Torah at a constantly called upon to apply the men, women and children. He had a hespedin hismemoryinJerusalem­ yardstick of halacha and the search­ children and grandchildren of his light of to the realities that congregants-are eloquent testimony confront him." He also knows that to his success in this realm. Torah im Derech Eretz cannot be ~·MALOHN Besides serving for many years as separated from Rav Hirsch's Austritt l:aJ MIFAL the Av Beis Din of thejustly respected (secession) principle, which requires VISITING NEWYORK7? Beis Din of K'hal Adath Jeshurun, absolute separation from institution­ Beautiful rooms, With kitchen and the Beis Din ofTorah Umesorah, alized heresy or any view of Judaism facilities. in heart of Boro Park he was frequently called upon to de­ based on anything other than Torah. by day or week. Near Shu!s, cide crucial dinei Torah dealing with Without Austritt, Torah im Derech take-out foods. etc. Profits to major Torah institutions. Eretz is merely a cover for a conve­ Mifal Torah Vodaas. Rabbi Schwab was not a bridge nient lifestyle, and a rejection of its between two worlds, between East essence, which is the total domina­ Call f718J 851·2969 and West-bridges are not for living tion by Torah of all oflife. NOT.V.'s 1 from the prophecyofMalachi. as are subsequent headings. Torah imDerechEretzmeans hon-

16 The Jewish Observer; Summer 1995 esty and integrity in the business of observing even a custom brought as world and in the professions. It yesh omdim (some stand) in the means seeing G-d in the wonders of ShulchanAruch,' he said. 'But your be­ Creation, in the magnificence of na­ havior immediately following Yom Kip­ ture, in the breathtaking discoveries pur indicates that you reached no such of science and in the grandeur of level at all, and were just showing off. plant and animal life. It means an For that you got thepotsch. '" awareness of the fact that everything His insistence on emes extended to in the physical world is a manifesta­ things which usually go unnoticed. tion of the Shechina. His stationery said... i"::lN "Head ofthe Rabbi Schwab himself attended Beis Din of the Kehilla Adath neither high-school nor college; Jeshurun." When Rabbi Gelleyjoined knowledge of the world and the won­ the rabbinate, Rabbi Schwab began ders of Creation were self-taught On to cross out the words 1".:J~ on the nature walks with his children, he stationery, even though he was still would tell them the names and na­ the Rav of the Kehilla. since he no ture of the flora and fauna. But the longer sat on dinei Torah greatest revelation of G-d is the To­ His first exposure to the insistence rah. and without that, man will not on emes in public life was from his with those opposed to it. "He hated know what to do with the awareness revered Rebbi, the Frankfurter Rav, the untruth.'' Rabbi Schwab wrote of of His existence. Whereas nature Rabbi Shlomo Breuer, who followed his Rebbi, "but he despised even more shows the wonders of the Creator, in the footsteps of his father-in-law, the easy compromise between ernes Torah reveals, as it were, the Creator Rabbi S.R. Hirsch. Reb Shlomo and shekker, the political double talk, Himself. Breuer refused to recognize any Jew­ which in the name of unity would rel­ Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzenski ish community not absolutely gov­ egate the Torah Nation to a modest once put it all in perspective. While erned by Torah, firmly opposed coop­ niche, to a mere 'branch' within the · taking a walk in Switzerland, young eration between Jewish communities superstructure ofa nondescript 'Jew­ Shimon Schwab pointed out the awe­ and organizations based on Torah ish People."' some Divine beauty of the Alps. "S'iz shain," Reb Chaim Ozer agreed, "ober a Ytd mit a bord iz noeh shenner." It would seem to this writer that the message was clear. One can perceive SECOND ANNUAL the Divine in nature as it performs EYAHT - SAIS YA'AKOV G-d'swillinstinctively. That, however, can never match the beauty of the Jew who performs the Divine impera­ tive in free-willed volition. UMMER·SEM "Torah 1 ofTruth" 3 11 FUlf/WNG WEEKS INCllEASING KNOWLEDGE & Pll/Df IN BEING A'iN7Ul' fil

arly in life, his father taught Join other Bais Ya'akov graduates interested in: him the importance of not + Improving Midos + Living Hashkafah + Chizuk in +Advancing Torah Study only speaking the truth, but of + Kiruv Rechokim + Enjoying Eretz Yisroel E . - ...... living the truth. This writer recalls vis­ iting the Rav as a young boy on the .: ages1a-23'·-., last day of Pesach, when the Rav told .fdfl:~ai~y~jko~seminaryG~duates- DATES:Jµly13(15Tamuz)-August8(12Av)1995 .··I· the following story. + '.'.2 CO~J:Only $1000 for dorm, classes, food & trips · . "As a young boy around the age of ~.::LL.~~l~~~~~~:S~'~·l---··. Bar Mitzva, I decided to stand for the U.S. contact: Europe: entire tefillos on the night and day of Mrs. Bruchie Coopersmith, N.Y. (718) 692-3740 Mrs. Ilana Rosenblatt, London Yorn Kippur, a custom cited in the Mrs. Judy Pressman. N.Y. (718) 633·9653 (44181) 202-8234 Mrs. Emuna Braverman. Los Angeles (310) 788-8687 In Israel: ShulchanAruch (O.C. 619). Myfather, Mrs. Tamara Barelsky, SI. Louis (314) 721-4084 EYAHT Summer Sem (02) 382-522, or (02) 387-403 who was not one to ignore things like Canada: 22 lmrei Binah SI.. Jerusalem or: that, made no comment. On Motza'ei Mrs. FaigeHoch. Toronto (416) 633-3395 Rebbe!zin Denah Weinberg Mrs .. Nehama Mintz, Montreal (514) 342-3957 (02) Fax: (02) 374· 163 Yorn Kippur, one of my younger broth­ 383-495; ers did something that was not to my lik­ ing, and I let him have it physically. My father slapped my face. 'I thought that you had perhaps attained themadreiga

The Jewish Observer; Summer 1995 17 The Kehilla as losophies. Chassidim. Litvaks, Se­ an Instrument ofTruth phardim-all must live together in peace and harmony, and can and he kehilla, Rabbi Schwab should work together as components taught, is a microcosm of Kl.al of one grand symphony. But all must T YISroel and as such be within the parameters of emes. "is not beholden to any non-Torah 11lis commitment to emes in organi­ authority, not associated with any zational life was expressed in his al­ board, federation, council, roof orga­ nization-local. national, or interna­ legiance to Agudath Israel ofAmerica, tional-that is not absolutely and ex­ as well as in the fact that an over­ clusively identified with the Law of whelming proportion of his congre­ Torah. The true kehilla will not sub­ gants are members of the Agudah. scribe to or encourage any Jewish ori­ Commitment to emes means that entation or philosophy which is not there can be no tolerance for the based on the truth of the Torah." statement that two and two are five.

This was not mere talk. The kehilla ·" . If the one making such an absurd that he headed suffered great finan­ Yeshiva Rabbi S.R. Hirsch, N. Y.C. statement never learned arithmetic, cial difficulty for its principled stand also certain that a yeshiva that de­ we can be tolerant of him, but not of in this matter. Yeshiva Rabbi S.R. rives part of its income from such his views. One must distinguish be­ Hirsch is one of very few in the New sources cannot fulfill its potential in tween Reform and Conservative rab­ York area that has refused on prin­ producing talmidei chachamim He bis and leaders, who are meisisim ciple to accept funding from the once told this writer that he was con­ umeidichim (indoctrinators of non­ Federation's Board of Jewish Educa­ vinced that ttle yeshivos in Eretz truth), and their adherents, who are tion. even from special "funds" that Yisroel would be able to produce tinokos shenishbu (innocent victims). only used the Federation as a con­ many more gedolei Torah,if they were to whom we must reach out. duit. It was unthinkable to take not constrained to rely on Israeli gov­ The insistence of the absolute money from an organization created ernment funding for their existence. standard of emes in public life is im­ for Jewish purposes, yet not based on (See BavaMetzia85b.) possible unless it is the outgrowth of allegiance to Torah as the supreme Surely tolerance is important. Ju­ unshakable honesty in one's private authority in Jewish life. The Rav was daism has different shitos and phi- affairs. And it is not enough. he never .. Copying Tapes ·Taxes · Bankruptcy · Maaser Kesafim · Ribis · laws of BeifDm • _, •• : - . - -_ ~ < _-. -- - • . - ._ --- ' •• ": hese are among the most relevant Halachlc issues of our day and affect the lives of every individual. Rabbi Nachum Sauer, TRosh of the Yeshiva of Los Angeles, has developed a series of 67 in-depth tapes on Choshen Mishpat, Jewish Business Law, using primary sources. Each topic is analyzed in a clear and lucid style from its Talmudic sources down thru contemporary responsa, with the various Halachic opinions presented on each issue. The following is a Il.i!tlifil list of tapes. No. TITLE No. TrrLE 0 *CM 1 Hasogas G'vul- Encroaching on Another's Business 0 CM23 Profit Margins and Price Controls 0 CM 3 Ani HaMehapech Ba'Charara - Grabbing Opportunities from Others 0 CM25 Marketing and Advertising - G'neivas Daas 0 *CM 4 Halochos of Copying Tapes, Books and Software 0 CM26 Laws of Shadchonus and Brokers - Paying the Shad ch on 0 CM 5 Copying Tapes -Compensation 0 CM2841 Whole Ribis Series (13 tapes) 0 CM 6 Laws of Standing on Llnes 0 CM28 Fundamentals of Ribis 0 *CM 7 Sho' el She lo mi Da'as - Borrowing Without Permission 0 CM30 Late Payment Penalties 0 CMlO Dina D'Malchusa - Taxes 0 CM33 Advance Payments and Buying on Discount O CMll Dina D'Malchusa - Bankruptcy 0 CM36 The Halachic Status of Banks and Corporations 0 CM12 Asmachta - Gambling 0 CM37 Heter Iskah - What Is It and How Does lt Work? 0 CM13 Buying Stolen Goods 0 CM4349 Maaser Kesafim Series (7 tapes) 0 CM14 Car Accidents - Determining Responsibility 0 CM51.S8 Sechirus Poalim ·Employer/Employee Relations (7 tapes) O CM16 Insurance Issues from Perspective ofHalacha 0 CM59 Litigation in Secular Courts Q CM17 Halochos of Borrowing Someone's Car 0 CM0061 How Does a Din Torah Work? (2 tapes) o CMI8 Professionals Who Give Bad Advice 0 *CM64 Business Meetings in Non·Kosher Restaurants O CM19 Me'chusrei Emunah-Keeping One's Word in Business 0 CM65 Head Covering for Men and Women in the Workplace 0 CM20 Hilchos Ona' ah- Overcharging and Underpaying 0 *CM66 Laws ofYichud in the Workplace 0 CM21 Hilchos Ona'ah - Is There Ona'ah with Esrogim? 0 *CM67 Llfnei Eevair in Business and other situations

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18 The Jewish Observer, Summer 1995 tired of saying, to be leshem sentially different from the siutation Shamayim. One must constantly in the of Rabbi Pesach Seder make sure that one's Leshem Hirsch. Furthermore, a careful study Shamayim is leshem Shamayim. of all of Rabbi Hirsch's writings led with.the Rav Kana'us (zealousness) must be him to the inevitable conclusion that A Personal Vignette driven by the purest of motives. And he had never meant Torah im Derech it must be without anger or invective. Eretzasa hom'assha'ahatall. Itwas Theyearwas 1969. Mywifeand I and fbur children were living in The kanai must always bear in mind not a compromise, a kula, or a hetter. that those whom he criticizes are fel­ Although Rav Hirsch did not insist Washington Heights with no other low Jews. whom he must rebuke with that it was for everyone, he certainly family in the community except for love. Only the one who leads others did not see it as time bound. Rabbi a single sister. Rabbi Schwab called, astray must be hated. Schwab then publicly retracted his inviting us to the Sederat his home. earlier insistence on 'Torah Only" as We made arrangements for Revision, For the Sake ofTruth babysitting, and three children, my wife, sister, and Ijoined the Ravwith is adherence to emes was "Ess passt n1s. ht, II he was great excitement. such that he was willing to The Seder, with us and two other H revise long held views. even if told by a local rabbi, guests, was geared for the children that meant a reassessment ofpublicly -ages 5, 4and3. Each paragraph stated positions. His views on the rel­ "for a ravto teach girls." was explained clearly, with Rabbi evance of Torah im DerechEretz are a Schwabs melodious voice making case in point With the rise of Rabbi Schwab replied every description and event vividly in the l 930's, Rabbi Schwab was con­ real.... He put the matzah on his vinced that Torah im Derech Eretz as that the Gemora says shoulder and reenacted yetzias expounded by Rabbi S.R Hirsch was Mitzrayim. He asked the children no longer relevant, not as an educa­ that a chassid shoteh, a questions, and every answer earned tional program and certainly not as a a candy, nut or chocolate - a Weltansch.mnmg. The barbarity of the pious idiot, is one who minhag that we follow to this very Nazi beast (even before World Warm. day. The atmoshphere was warm the virulent anti-Semitism in Ger­ refuses to save a woman and vibrant and the Rav asked the many, and the total failure of the ide­ children what they would like for als of enlightened humanism and who is drowning afikomen presents. The girls re­ to change the essen­ because she is a woman. quested crayons and coloring tial nature of gentile society led him to books, and my son wanted a conclude that the only path for the To­ "I don't want to be a Hagadda. rah-observant German Jew was to re­ The presents came within the turn to the 'Torah Only» approach, chassid shoteh." week after Pesach, with the velvet and to shun Western culture and the Hagadda beautifully inscribed ... as world at large as much as possible. a remembrance ofthat Seder, which Rabbi Hirsch's Torah im Derech Eretz the sole way of life for the Torah Jew will last forever: ideal, he averred, was only a hora'as in Western society. (Rabbi Schwab al­ Dr: Yehuda Sorscher sha'ah, a temporary measure for a ways viewed the situation in Eretz Dr. Sorscher. adentistbyprafessiIJn. currently temporary situation. In 1934, he aired Y-zsroelas essentially unique, but that lives in the Boro Paik section of Brooklyn these views in a slim volume entitled is beyond the purview of this article.) HeimkehrinsJudentum (Homecoming To that end he published in 1966 a member, you must always tell theemes. into Judaism), which caused a sensa­ booklet entitled These and Those {Eilu I have manyfailings," he continued, "but tion in German Orthodoxy. v'Eil.u), wherein he set forth the argu­ one thing I never did was chanfa (flatter) But after coming to America, he ments and counter-arguments for people." concluded that the realities of the both positions, with the conclusion, ghetto and the shteilwhere one could as the title indicates, that both, in "... Was in His Mouth" spend all one's life in the local beis their proper time and place, are legiti­ hamidrash, with its total dissociation mate ways of life for the Torah Jew in e taught himself to speak and from the rest of society, was a way of Western society. write eloquent, polished En­ life that had also been consumed in There is an oldAshkenazi custom to H glish, for that was the me­ the flames of . The re­ call out "Emes" in the Aleynu prayer re­ dium to reach the hearts and minds alities of life in the United States and cited during the Chazaras Hashatz of of American Jewry. Even the best of other Western countries. where the Mussaf on the Yomim Noraim. He re­ speakers sometimes have an off day, Jew traveled in non-Jewish circles tained this custom even in America but of him it was said that he never and could not live totally apart from where others had ceased to observe it spoke less than perfectly. He was al­ the society around him, were not es- His last words to a disciple were, "Re- ways inspiring, stimulating, never

The Jewish Observer, Summer 1995 19 the spoken word. His articles and his humdrum. At the SiywneiHashas of sejorim influenced many. In addi­ the Daj Yomi, at Agudath Israel and tion, he was a poet. At the request of Torah Umesorah conventions, his Rabbi Breuer he authored a Kinna carefully crafted addresses set the (lamentation) in memory of the Six tone and inspired the audience. He Million. This eloquent and moving could admonish and suggest areas in elegy for the kedoshim is now recited need of improvement without alienat­ on Tisha B'Av in congregations ing his listeners. Why? Because he re­ throughout the world. spected his audiences and never took them for granted. Because of that re­ "Injustice Was Not on His Lips" spect, he was always well prepared. His listeners knew that whatever he e was scrupulous to a fault in said dertved from a sense of heartfelt Rabbi Schwab at graduation ceremony financial matters. He hated concern. And he spoke of nothing to at Ner Israel, with Rabbi Ruderman even a suggestion of crooked (center) and Rabbi H. Neuberger (left), H which he himself did not adhere. dealings. "I don't want to be a circa 1950. He viewed his ability to influence bedi'eved Yid," he would say, "I want others in a totally different way. He time when he suffered terrible arthritis to be a lechat'chilaYid." He often won­ felt that it was because he was a in his knees, which made it excruciat­ dered why people who were so strin­ dachil rabbanan, one who feared the ingly painjid to stand. When asked why gent in regard to a yeishomrim (alter­ Sages. The Gemora says that such a he was standing, he explained that he native opinion) in Orach Chaim and person will either become a tzurva was talking to Rabbi . Yoreh De'ah (rttual hal.acha) simply m'rabbanan, a sage in his own right, "But you're not obligated to, if it's only ignore the yeish omrim in Choshen or, ifincapable of that, will be listened on the phone," his son protested. Mishpat that prohibits gezel aJrum; to as if he were a sage. He put him­ "Surely, I have no chiyuv to stand," the His tax form was exact, recording self in the latter category. Rav replied, "but how can I sit when even gifts from friends. He was once His son oncefoW1d his father stand­ talking to Reb Moshe?" called in by IRS for an audit, as they ing and talking on the telephone, at a His influence was not limited to could not believe that a man with such modest income could give so much charity. He sent an accoun­ tant, a member of the kehilla, to rep­ resent him. At the conclusion, the IRS agent declared that never, in all his years as an auditor, had he met any­ one who was so forthcoming and me­ ticulous in reporting income and in documenting all contrtbutions. He followed that with a letter to Rabbi Schwab saying that the latter's scru­ pulous honesty "had restored my faith in humanity." Someone once undertook to pub­ lish the writings of a certain Torah lu­ minary of a previous generation. Knowing that the editor of the work was having difficulty raising the nec­ Rchly illustrated and including many never before published facts and documents, this book makes interesting reading for any appreci­ essary funds to cover the publication ator of . For students and researchers of the German costs, the Rav called him on his own Jewish heritage, however, it is a must. initiative and offered him a loan of Placing special emphasis on Sulzburg, Citadel of Splendor traces $10,000tocovertheinitialcosts. Sev­ the origins of Jews in Germany to their first appearance some 2,500 years ago. Among its topics are the lives and work of scholars and spiritual giants; the struggle and suffering of Jewish eral weeks later, he notified the edi­ communities from the crusades through the Middle Ages down to the French Revolution; religious trends at the tum of tor that since the publisher of the the 19th century; the fight against reform; and, finally, the Nazi persecutions, the "final solution," Auschwitt, and beyond. work had been sending him books This work is a long overdue analysis and evaluation of the immense contribution, lasting influence and tremendous impact of German Jewry on our heritage. f · from time to time, he was afraid that Available at all Jewish bookstores or direct from J H.C. $19.95 those complimentary books might be construed as ribbis (interest). He thus FELDH.EIM f-~ PUBLISHERS decided to give the entire sum, which Torah Literature of Quality constituted a good portion of his life 200 Airport Executive Park, Nanuet, NY 10954 Tel (914) 356-2282 • Fax (914) 425·1908 E-mail [email protected] savings, as a gift, so that there would Toll Free: 800-237-7149 • ~sk for our NEW catalog. be no hint of a she'eila., even though

20 The Jewish Observer, Summer 1995 halachically there was no problem "Ha'emes vehashalomehavu, "the Shamayim be something one has no whatsoever. prophet says. Both peace and truth need to show off. True yiras Kashrus, he always stressed, refers are important, but one must always Shamayim is between you and G-d, not only to food but to money as well. bear in mind that peace is a virtue and the more yiras Shamayim one "While those who resort to cheating, when dealing with one's personal af­ has, the less should others be aware trickery, dishonesty and.fraud may at fairs, where one must bend and give ofit. The Gemora tells us that the Isha times have the outward appearance of in for the sake of peace. Judaism, Hashunamis (Shunamite woman} beingG-djearingJews, they are, infact, however, is not one's to compromise. knew that Elisha the Prophet was a irreligious. They may weU be strict in In matters touching upon Torah is­ holy man because flies did not dis­ their obseroance ofcertain mitzvos, but sues, it must be emes first and then turb him, among other private indi­ in their business dealings they reveal shalom Peace, Rabbi S.R. Hirsch of­ cations. Couldn't she tell that he was that they are kofrim (infidels) in regard ten said, is the child of truth; not the a kadosh by just looking at him and to Hashgacha pratis, Divine Providence. reverse. watching his behavior? The answer is Since they certainly do not believe that He personified the imperative of that true kedusha, true yiras G-d wants them to take what is not right­ the prophet Micha to be a hatzne'a Shamayim is not readily apparent to fally theirs, they are conducting their Zeches im Elokecha, to walk humbly the casual observer. One sees noth­ business as though He does not exist." with G-d. Although requested at vari­ ing extraordinary on the externals of Glatt yosher. as Rabbi Breuer once ous times to serve on the Moetzes the true tzaddik. He learned this, he wrote, is no less important than glatt Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel. said, from the Chafetz Chaim. If one kosher. he refused, saying that he was not was zocheh, one could see the He was the ultimate sonei betza. worthy of being a member of this au­ Shechina on his visage, but other­ He refused to accept compensation gust body. wise, he looked like a plain man for any rabbinic function. including The tzenius referred to by the dressed in the clothes of a simple la­ weddings, funerals, dinei Torah and prophet Micha means not only humil­ borer, with an ordinary cap pulled low Kashrus supervision. "Rabbi, .. he was ity, but more importantly, alackofos­ over his forehead. The greater the often asked, "what do I owe you?" tentation. He despised conspicuous gadoL the more simple the comport­ "Owe me? This is not a business. consumption. He pleaded incessantly ment. Real kedushaiswithin; as soon It is my responsibility to Kla1 Y'isroel" for tzenius and simplicity in simchas, as it becomes manifested outwardly, He refused to accept money even for in manner of dress, and comportment, it is diminished. mechiras chometz. He did not. how­ in lifestyles and vacations. The Rav personified this in his ever, wish to hurt the income of other Tzenius, lack of ostentation, is no daily life and in his davening, which rabbis, so he established a tzeddaka less important in spiritual matters. was without noise or fuss. From his fund to which anyone who insisted on How does one walk with Hashem in­ early youth, when no one watched or paying for mechims chometz could conspicuously? For a person who cared, the first pesukim of Krias contribute. truly walks with G-d, being in the Shema took him an inordinate In his six decades as a Rav, he never public eye is no reason to manifest amount of time to recite. Only his once askedfor a raise. When, in his ad­ one's devoutness. Le'olam yehei family knew that he began davening vanced years, the kehilla engaged yerei Shamayim beseiser at home, much before he came to Rabbi Zechariah Gelley to serve along­ uvagaluy. One must always fear G-d, shuI, and when the congregation was side him, he requested the Board of in private and in public. The question at Borchu, he was already holding by Trustees to reduce his own salary since is obvious: One who does not fear G-d the second beracha of K1ias Shema. he would have less responsibilities. in private does not fear G-d at all. In his later years, or when illness pre­ They replied that, as it was, his salary What does it mean to fear G-d in prt­ vented him from daveningwith a min­ was so low that it constituted no more vate? Hatzne'a Zeches, the Rav ex­ yan in shul, his tejillos at home were than a retirement wage. plained, requires that one's yiras wrenching in their intensity-but

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The Jewish Observer. Summer 1995 21 never when anyone was watching. sity of the Jew was emwm peshuta, Foryears he would buy two esrogim an uncomplicated awareness of G-d's for Succos. The exquisite one, for closeness and Hashgacha pratis. which he spent a large sum of money, Emwm (which Rav Hirsch relates to he kept at home. He took the simpler omein, nurse) is the feeling of secu­ one to shul. The hiddur mitzva was Iity and well-being one must have, pure, with no element of public dis­ sensing the protective and eating play. Kavana in mitzvos was not lim­ presence of G-d-as a nursing child ited to the more glamorous ones. One feels in his mother's arms. In this must have no less kavana in one's manner Rabbi Schwab lived for With Bostoner Rebbe at daily benching, he used to say, than Agudath Israel Convention, 1990 eighty-six years, and when the time one has when eating the first k'zayis came for him to leave this world, it of maizah on Pesach. When one walks with G-d, it is in­ was in the same calm and trustillg One who walks with G-d feels that sufficient merely to start the journey manner. he is always in the Divine presence. with his Creator. Every step of the On Rosh ChodeshAdar I, 5755, he Rabbi Schwab's regal bearing re­ way must reflect that reality. The was hospitalized after a heart attack. flected that. He was his children's prophet Isaiah criticized the Jewish On the eve of Kattan, he suf­ best friend, yet his son testified that People, "Vatehi yirasam osei mitzvas fered another severe attack. Now that until his father was 83 years old and anashim melumada-they did their his teachers were paid. he could leave in the hospital, he never saw him in mitzvos as if by rote." Rabbi Schwab the world. His family gathered around bed. He spared himself little time for explained that not only one's mitzva his bed and he calmly recited Vidduy. rest, citing Rav Hirsch on the verse, performance, but even one's yiras Shema Yisroel, Boruch Shem, and the "Vayikatz Yaakov mishnaso: Ehr hat Shamayim can become mechanical. seven-fold Hashem Hu HaEl.okim. sichge'ekeltfun sein shl.L!f-He was Even a person's kanaus and path in With the seventh Hashem Hu revolted by his sleep." Yet for all his life must be under constant scrutiny HaElokim, he returned his soul to his busy schedule and his dignified de­ so that it not become stale. Maker, moving on to the Olam meanor, he always had time for his Walking with Hashemmeans con­ Hoemes as he lived, declaring children. His Shabbos and Yom Tov stant awareness of His presence. He "Hashem Hu HaElokim," the funda­ table were occasions of sheer delight. always stressed that the prtme neces- mental truth of the universe. •

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22 The Jewish Observer, Summer 1995