Are You Anticipating the Redemption? also in the Negev• An Open Letter to Arye Dulzin The Fraudulent "Yizkor" Books • Second Looks THE JEWISH BS ERV ER

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Are You Anticipating the Redemption? Avrohom Pam 3 Poem, Avraham Yeshayahu Rotbard 7 "Dear Mr. Dulzin" an open letter . . . .8 Streams in the Desert, Yaffa Ganz . 10 How Not to Write a "Yizkor" l JOk Chaim Shapiro . 18 Revelation and Search, A. Scheinman ...... 26 Books in Review My Jewish Roots ...... 31 The Study and Practice of . 33 Juvenile Literature ...... 36 THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN 0021-6615) is published monthly, Postscripts except July and August, by the The Sixth Knessia Gedolah .42 Agudath of America, 5 Beekman Street, . N.Y. Noted in Sorrow ...... 45 00 10038. Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y. Subscription Second Looks at the Jewish Scene $9.00 per year; two years, $17.50; When Charity Begins at Home, Bernard Fryshman .. 47 three years, $25.00; outside of the United States, $10.00 per year. Thank You, Elie Wiesel ...... 49 Single copy, $1.25 Letters to the Editor ...... 51 Printed in the U.S.A.

RABBI N ISSON W OLPlN Editor ubscrlbe f"- The-Je;l;haOb;erver --, Editorial Board Renew I 5 Beekman Street/ New York, N.Y. 10038 I DR. ERNST BODENHEIMER Chairman • IDOneYear$9.00 0TwoYears$17.50] RABBI NATHAN BULMAN or GIVe I o Three Years only $25.00 I RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS Now I Send Magazine to. I JOSEPH FR!EDENSON RABBI MOSHE SHERER and l ::::~s ...... •·······• l City..... State/Zip...... THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not SAVE I I From· 1 assume responsibility for the I . I Ka6hrus of any product or ser­ I Name...... ! vice advertised in its pages. I Address...... ,City ...... State/Zip ...... I 0 ______Enclose gift card O Bill me: $...... 0 Enclosed: $ ...... I APRIL 1980, VOL. XIV, NO. 8 ! Rabbi Avrohom Pam

Are You Anticipating the Reden1ption?

through the windows, and I. National Introspection An eminent Rosh "maitzitz min hacharakirn" - "Remember the days of old, peering through the cracks. understand the years of every examines the implications The former type of hash­ generation" (Devarim 32:7). gacha can be likened to a father The fruits of historical reflec­ of the question who sends his children out to tion are three-fold: It gives one play, and stands by the window an understanding of the general that every man to watch over them. Whenever course that the generations have must ultimately answer the children look up from their followed; it helps one better play, they see their father comprehend our present situation; and it offers insight observing them. The father derives pleasure from see­ into what the future holds in store. ing his children, and the children in turn are secure in All three of these play a role in helping us yearn for the knowledge that their father is keeping watch over the yeshu'a - or in broader terms, the ge'ula, the ulti­ them. This is "mashgiach min hachalonos." mate redemption. The latter, more subtle form is that of "peering The ge'ula - the culminating redemption that will through the cracks." This can be compared to a father put an unequivocal end to our millennia of suffering whose children so misbehave that he banishes them and wandering, and eliminate all evil from the world - from his house. In such an instance, the father does not will openly demonstrate G-d's intervention in the stand conspicuously by the window to keep an eye on affairs of man. them. When the children turn toward the house, they do not see their father, and it appears to them that no one is looking or cares about them. In truth, though, the Two Forms of Providence father is constantly watching them through a tiny aper­ Surrounded as we are by the darkness of go/us, we ture, to make sure that no harm befalls them. might find it difficult to see G-d's hand directing our The same is true, says Rabbeinu , with affairs. First, then, we must take into account a basic the Divine Providence over the Jewish people. G-d is tenet of our faith; that the Divine Providence guides all watching over His nation constantly without interrup­ that transpires in our world - particularly, the fate of tion. Only when we follow His precepts and doctrines, Kial Yisroe/. This hashgacha (Providence) manifests however, do we readily discern the hashgacha - itself in two ways, one obvious, the other subtle. Both through the miracles and wondrous deeds that He per­ are described by Shlomo Hamelech in Shir Hashirim forms for us, such as those that our ancestors witnessed (2:9): "Mashgiach min hachalonos" - watching with their own eyes. By contrast, when our conduct is not consistent with G-d's will and we suffer punishments and trage­ Rabbi Pam, of Mesi/ta Torah Vodaath, , dies, it may appear that G-d is no longer interested in delivered these remarks at a gathering of Torah Vodaath alum11i. This essay was originally published in Hebrew in HAMESIVTA, a journal our welfare and has abandoned us. In truth, G-d never of Torah thought and novellae. Matis Blum, a student in the Beis forsakes us - even in the darkest hours of go/us - He Hamidrash of Mesifta Torah Vodaath, prepared for publication both merely veils the hashgacha under the cloak of natural the Hebrew and English versions of this essay. events and phenomena. The prophet describes this rela-

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 3

,' tionship when he says: "Behold You are the G-d who died in the land of Canaan on the road, only a kivra of hides; the L-rd of Israel who saves" (Yishayahu 49:15). land before Efras ... I buried her on the path to Efras, Even when G-d conceals His actions under the guise of which is Beis Lechem" (Bereishis 48:7). Rashi reports natural occurrences, He is constantly performing acts of more of Yaakov's conversation: salvation on our behalf. But not until Moshiach has I am imposing on you to take me for burial into come will we be able to look retrospectively at the the Land of Canaan, even though I did not do as annals of our history and discern the hand of G-d much for your mother - I did not even take her to throughout our existence. nearby Beis Lechem to bury her. I know that in

your heart you have misgivings. Know, however1 that I buried her there by the command of G-d so Sowing the Seeds of "Ge'ula" she might help her children in the future, when How difficult it is to be aware of G-d"s involvement Nevuzaradan will take them into captivity. For in our salvation while we are suffering! In many places, when they pass along that road, Rachel will come Chazal ( of blessed memory) emphasize the con­ forth and stand by her grave and weep, beseech­ tinuous, albeit unseen providence that G-d exerts over ing mercy for them, as it is said (Yirmiyahu Kial Yisroel. For example, the Mid rash interprets in just 31:15): "A voice is heard in Rama (the sound of such a manner the juxtaposition of two seemingly un­ weeping) - Rachel weeping for her children and related portions of the Torah - one, dealing with the G-d replied to her, 'There is a reward for your selling of Yoseif; the other, the incident of Yehuda and work,' says the Lord ... 'for your children will Tamar. return to their territories."' Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman began: "For I The Almighty had prepared the remedy more than a know the thoughts that I am thinking about you, thousand years before the tragedy ... It was impossible says G-d, thoughts of peace, and not for evil, to for Yoseif - the brilliant, foresighted viceroy of Egypt give you future and hope" (Yirmiyahu 29:11). - to comprehend his father's treatment of Rachel, his The tribes were occupied with selling Yoseif. beloved wife - why he did not give her a proper burial; Reuvain was involved with his sack cloth and and, as Rashi says, Yoseif bore a grudge against his fasting (to repent for. the incident regarding father for this. Bilha). Yehuda was searching for a wife. And Imagine Yoseif's feelings at the time that Yaakov while all of this was taking place, G-d was creat­ disclosed the reasons for his action to him - that by ing the light of Moshiach (that came from the burying her on the roadside, he insured that her de­ union of Yehuda and Tamar). "Before the birth scendants would return home from exile and thereby pains she delivered ... " Before the birth of the safeguarded the future of Kial Yisroel. He undoubtedly first oppressor of the Jewish people (Pharoah), the thought: How could I have been so blind as to question final savior had already been determined. my father's motives for even one moment! In addition to offering an insight into the working of the hashgacha, the teaches us another important lesson: While mere mortals perceive occur­ Mortals - Creatures of Hindsight rences while they are taking place, through myopic Our perception, our intelligence, and our prescience vision, from an isolated vantage point G-d views all are of absolutely no significance when compared to events in history concurrently, and weaves together those of Yoseif Hatzaddik. We surely cannot fathom the seemingly unrelated, insignificant incidents, to create meaning behind events if he, in his time, could not ... through them the light of Moshiach. When depressed by unrelieved suffering or dismayed by inexplicable events, we should at least benefit from Yoseif's lesson: What strikes us as the very worst may The Remedy Before the Affliction well be preparation for the very best. And then, some The sure knowledge of G-d's omniscience, day in the future, we will understand G-d's wonders in unbounded by place and time-His ability to provide retrospect, and we will be able to express our apprecia­ remedies in advance of the affliction - should provide tion for them. As Yeshayahu prophesied: In the time of us with hope even in the midst of darkness. Our short­ the redemption, Bnei Yisroel will say: "Hashem, you comings are such that we do not always respond with are my G-d, I will extol You and praise Your name, for the trust that this should inspire in us. An exchange You have performed wonders. The plans that You between Yaakov and his son Yoseif illustrates the formulated far in advance have been fulfilled com­ limitations of the vision of even the greatest of mortals, pletely. The preparations that You made for the ge'ula and yet how - in spite of this and in spite of depressing so many generations in advance are finally coming to circumstances - hope is always justified: fruition." And even though we could not fathom the When Yaakov summoned Yoseif to his death bed to meaning of these events as they were unfolding, we elicit his promise that he bury him in Eretz Yisroel, now stand in awe, seeing how these events have led to Yaakov said: "When I came from Padan [and] Rachel the coming of Moshiach.

4 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 II. Awaiting Moshiach Every Day return revenge upon My oppressors and repay My enemies ... Looking forward to the redemption, and hoping for The Ohr Hachaim explains, "When G-d will judge Moshiach is more than a healthy attitude, and a proper His nation . .. ,"when G-d takes account of the terrible outlook on life. It is a basic obligation. In fact, when a persecutions that His nation suffered, and when He sees person is brought before the Heavenly Tribunal to give the terrible afflictions that the righteous have been an accounting for all of his wordly deeds, one of the forced to endure - those who were killed, burned, and first questions he is asked is: "Did you anticipate the had their flesh torn from them - for the sake of the yeshu'al" (Shabbos 3Ia). The Rambam (Hilchos tzaddikim who suffered so, G-d will have compassion Melachim 11:1) states it as an imperative: "Whoever and end the galus. does not believe in Moshiach or does not await his Look at the indescribably terrible sufferings and arrival not only negates the validity of the prophets, but persecutions that the last generation has endured! We also denies the authenticity of the Torah and Moshe have every reason to believe that the day when their Rabbeinu." blood will be avenged is not far off. Not only must we believe that Moshiach will even­ The Ohr Hachaim continues: G-d must hasten the tually come, but we must constantly anticipate his ge'ula for yet another reason: when He sees that the imminent arrival, much as one anxiously awaits an tzaddikim are powerless to admonish those who defy upcoming event in the immediate future. We dare not G-d, that there are no longer great men among Bnei think: "True. Moshiach will eventually come, but this Yisroel with the powers of prophecy and ruach ha­ will undoubtedly occur in the far-distant future. Who kodesh to lead the masses ... This is what is meant by knows how long it will take until the world will be "and they are neither governed nor strengthened." worthy of his arrival ..." This aspect of the prophecy has also been more than In fact, the Rambam treats this expectation as an realized in our days. For certain, G-d cannot delay in integral aspect of his thirteen principles of faith: "I redeeming us! As Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev believe in the arrival of Moshiach ... ," continuing cried: "Ribbono Shel Olam -Master of the Universe with: "I will await his arrival every day." This anticipa­ -redeem your nation quickly: if you wait much longer, tion is as crucial as the general belief. His delay until You may not be left with a nation to save.... " now should not discourage us, for as the prophet The Midrash (Shir Hashirim 2:8) states that when Malachi promised: "And suddenly the Master whom Moshe came to the children of Israel telling them that you are seeking will come .. ."(Malachi 3:1). He can they were about to be delivered from bondage, the arrive suddenly, at a moment's notice, if it will be the people asked: "'How can we be redeemed? We are not will of G-d. worthy!" He replied, "Since G-d wants to save you, He will not take note of your evil deeds. Instead, He will look at the righteous among you, such as Amram and Is There Hope for Us? his Beis Din (court) and their righteous deeds." G-d surely expects us to earn our redemption, and In our times, too, G-d may consider the deeds of the according to many indications an immediate redemp­ many tzaddikim and Torah scholars in our midst and tion seems to depend on almost- impossible conditions: bring the ge'ula in their merit. The Tanna D'Bei Eliyahu (Chap. 16) relates Moreover, G-d promised us through His prophet how a disciple once asked Eliyahu when all of Yechezkiel that even if we do not repent on our own, He Yeshayahu's prophecies concerning Moshiach will inspire us to turn our hearts toward Him, as He coming will be fulfilled. Eliyahu replied: "If Bnei said: "And I shall cast upon you pure waters and you Yisroel would repent sincerely, out of love of G-d, shall become purified ..." (Yechezkiel 36:25). He would immediately rebuild the final Bais Hamikdosh and shower them with eternal love." III. The Wheels of Time - in High Gear Since we are so far from this lofty attainment, how can we dare hope that the advent of Moshiach is im­ The very factors that breed confusion or despair minent? Nonetheless there is hope. point to reasons for hope. The swift, cont using rush of The concluding portion of Parshas Ha'azinu deals events today are a case in point. with that time when Bnei Yisroel will be among the The Chofetz Chaim likened the impact of the events nations like a solitary sheep among seventy wolves, and taking place in our time to the impressions of a the entire world will oppose them. The Torah says: stranger who visits a Jewish village on a Friday after­ "When G-d will judge His nation with punishments, noon. He feels the excitement in the air, and sees the and will usher in a new era for the sake of His servants, hustle and bustle of the people running to and fro; it is when He will see that the power of their enemies is obvious that Shabbos is approaching. Our age is similar becoming ever stronger over them, and there is no one to this, said the Chafetz Chaim. If we but take note of saved nor strengthened." Immediately after this, the the unnaturally swift pace of events, it becomes Torah says: "See now that I - I am the one ... I will obvious that the ge'ula must be imminent: Matters that

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 5

·' in the past had taken hundreds of years to culminate our tefillos that He send Moshiach. G-d treasures our now take place in a short span of time. World powers tefillos. lt is up to us. As Yeshayahu said: "Over the rise and fall; fortunes are made and lost; individuals walls of Yerushalayim (which were destroyed) l have experience meteoric rise and then disappear - all within appointed guards - all day and all night - constantly. incredibly short spans of time. The wheels of time are they are not silent." (Who are these guards?) "You, who geared to a frenzied pace - apparently because G-d is mention G-d (and cry out to Him to rebuild Yerusha­ anxious to prepare the world for the coming of layim). do not be silent! Do not give Him respite until Moshiach, who will herald the beginning of "the era of He re-establishes (the city) and makes Yerushalayim the Great Shabbos." the praise of all the land ..." (62:6-7). A disciple of the Chafetz Chaim described to me how his constantly cried to G-d and The Last Surge of Strength begged him to send Moshiach. He demanded the The proliferation of immorality and corruption in ge'ula.saying: "Ribbono Shel Olam. du hust doch the world would surely seem to be reason for despair. tzu gezogt, du hust doch tzu gezogt (But You Yet here, too, the Chafetz Chaim found an indication of promised us ... You promised us ... )." the imminence of the ge'ula. This is consistent with a Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev once natural phenomenon: When a creature or a force is on observed a simple Jew whose accidentally the threshold of destruction or extinction, it gathers fell to the ground. The man hastily reached down strength for just several moments before it dies out for­ to pick them up from the floor, wiped off the dust, ever. The night's darkest hour is the one immediately kissed them, and gingerly placed them back in preceding daybreak . ... Before a candle burns out, its their bag. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak raised his eyes flame shoots up one final time - higher than it had ever heavenward and cried out: ··Ribbono Shel Olam ! reached the entire time it was burning . ... Very often a Look down from Your lofty abode: see how a deathly ill person appears to be regaining strength and simple Jew treats his tefillin? how he honors and to be on the road to recovery, while in truth he is exert­ cherishes them? But behold Your tefillin - the ing his final ounces of strength before his demise ... Jewish People - are lying on the earth for close to And so it is, says the Chofetz Chaim. in regard to the two thousand years! Why don't you pick them pervasive presence of immorality and corruption. up, kiss them and restore them to their proper Zecharia had prophesied that when Moshiach finally place? Don't Chazal say that G-d's tefillin are comes. " ... (G-d) will remove the spirit of impurity inscribed with the words: "Who is like Your from the land" (Zecharia 13:2). The unprecedented nation Israel a singular people in the world?" power these forces of evil have shown in recent years - Why should Your tefillin be treated any worse infinitely more so than during the time of the Chafetz than all other tefillin ... ? Chaim - indicates that they are mustering their final energies before their ultimate obliteration. (May I add that I have often thought that the crea­ Intensifying tion of the United Nations - hardly a blessing to us We must heed the advice of Rabbi Eliezer. When in recent years -actually has its place in the asked, "What can one do to be spared the suffering that scheme of things as a harbinger of ge'ula. lt is providing will precede Moshiach?" Rabbi Eliezer replied, "He the basis for a precise historical record of the hostility should occupy himself with Torah and the performance and bias of nations of the world against the Jewish of good deeds' (Sanhedrin 98b). These words apply to People. Thus, when the ge'ula will come and the other all of us regardless of our specific role in life. nations will claim to have looked out for the welfare of Our yeshiva students who study Torah may be Bnei Yisroel during their history, their very own likened to the Ner Maaravi, the westernmost light in records will contradict their claims (see Avodah Zora the Menorah in the Bais Hamikdosh. lt burned all day, 2a). Moreover, the conduct of the members of the and all the other lights of the Menorah were kindled by United Nations demonstrates beyond any doubt that its flame. Those bnei Torah who are able to devote their we Jews cannot rely on alliances or treaties with other lives exclusively to the pursuit and dissemination of nations; instead we must put our faith in our Father in Torah are kodesh kedoshim. But the rest of us surely Heaven. This recognition, too, is mentioned as a condi­ must realize that parnosa - earning a living - is but a tion for Moshiach's coming.) means to an end, not an end unto itself; and that all Jews must set aside time to study for Torah study. "The soul of man is the light of G-d" (Mishlei 20:27). Every IV Our Responsibility to Bring Moshiach: Jewish soul possesses a boundless potential. and each Demani:ling It person is obligated to use the wick of Torah to draw the What must we do in advance of the ge'ula? ls there maximum light from his neshama, and thereby realize anything we can do to hasten its coming? that potential. We must plead to G-d with all our hearts through And just as the westernmost light was used to

6 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 kindle the other lights, so too must bnei Torah use the to do chessed. They would thus arouse G-d's glow of their Torah to ignite the flame of Yiddishkeit in attribute of chessed, and with its ultimate chessed the heart of their estranged brethren. The more one He would deliver them from bondage . ... And spreads the light of Torah, the closer does the ge'ula this is exactly what took place, draw near. And the more involved one is in Torah, the The Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin 11) explains that G-d more secure he is in his role in welcoming Moshiach. said to Israel: My children, if you see that the store­ house of merits of our Patriachs and Matriachs has been diminished, go and involve yourselves with chessed, as Increasing Acts of Chessed it says, "For the mountains will move, and the hills will Intensifying our efforts to perform chessed not only sway" (Yeshayahu 54,10). "The mountains" refer to protects a person from the pre-Messianic suffering, it the merits of the Avos; "the hills" to those of the also plays a major role in hastening the final redemp­ lmahos - but "My chessed shall not move from you tion, just as it did in our first golus, in Egypt. , , . says the Compassionate one - G-d," When involv­ The Tanna D'Bei Eliyahu (Chap. 23) says that ing oneself in charitable pursuits, one not only brings the Jews in Egypt had made pacts with one benefit to the recipient of the chessed, but all of Kial another to reciprocate acts of kindness with each Yisroel gains, for Moshiach's coming is that much other. The Chafetz Chaim explained that when closer. the Jews could see no reprieve from the harsh With increasd dedication to Torah, tefilla, and decrees of Pharoah, they decided to emulate the chessed, we may anticipate the imminent Ge'ula way of G-d who is the epitome of kindness - and Shleima, and plan our lives accordingly. ~1'.

Jews An Indigenous bronco ride both American Pastime nations and time through history. Analogously getting. severely bucked and tossed Borrowed To every now and then, Poetically Portray but always holding on the Universal for dear life. until, Role of the Jew the time when material power Avraham­ and, the illusion of physical might as symbolized Yeshaya Rotbard by c•7tt.iii• that wild beast of a horse, will be subdued by the power of spirit and the .truth of moral right, as symbolized

Avraham -Yishayahu Rotbard is an Arhe'rica'n Who lives in b that rough-riding Jew , . , . -His poetry has- appeared in previoUs_ issues of Y mysterious cowboy THt JtwlSH -OastRVtR.

The Jewish Obsprver I April, 1980 7 An Open Letter to Mr. Arye Dulzin

Mr. Arye Dulzin, Chairman prison state. Isn't it a point of pride to Israel that it can The Jewish Agency grant visas to Jews in distress, and they no longer need Jerusalem, Israel apply to states like Surinam? And then, you should find joy in the vast chessed being done by H!AS, JDC, and­ now-Project RISE, among others. Put these activities in Dear Mr. Dulzin, the proper perspective and then worry about how to I have been reading that you are deeply disturbed increase aliya figures. Taken in their own context, by the constantly mounting rate of Jews leaving the unclouded by bitterness and frustration, solutions to Soviet Union that are choosing America instead of that problem can be found. Israel as their destination. What started as an insignifi­ Yes, I also am concerned about solutions to this cant trickle in 1971 became an alarming 15% in 1973. problem. It may surprise you, Mr. Dulzin, but I happen And now, as many as 90% of the Jews leaving the Soviet to agree with you-that it is a problem. Preferably these Union on Israeli visas are changing their minds and opt­ Jews should go to Israel, for they are less likely to ing for America. assimilate and intermarry in Israel than in America. As head of the Jewish Agency, you find this defeat­ ing-even tragic. These Jews should be completing their And Now, Some Advice trip as originally charted, instead of abandoning the Jewish State which so desperately needs new settlers. And now, if I may, I would like to offer you some So you've condemned BIAS (for paying to bring these advice. As a first step in convincing Russian Jews to Russian emigrants to America) and the philanthropic accept our solution, stop calling them names. They are federations (for helping them adjusted to American not "Noshrim"-dropouts. Their first and primary con­ life) for complicity in undermining the welfare of Israel. cern was to get out of the Soviet Union, and if doing so You have even gone so far as to ask Prime Minister required claiming Israel as their destination when their Begin to bring up the issue in his recent Camp David hearts were elsewhere, so be it. We may be disappoint­ meetings with President Carter, and request of America ed, but we cannot hurl blame at them. There is nothing not to grant these Russian Jews refugee status and all wrong with using any means at their disposal to get out the special benefits that go with it. of Russia. This, Mr. Dulzin, is shocking. Indeed, these last Indeed, let us find out why they are not motivated actions reflect desperation on your part. When did Jews to complete their journey to the Holy Land, and work actually consider telling a non-Jewish government not from there. to help Jews get settled in the country of their choice? (I True enough, just about all of their predecessors hesitate to make such an odious comparison, but your eight-ten years ago went to Israel and-for the most proposal sounds too much like the worst "indifference" part-stuck it out. But first of all, these pioneer refuse­ of World War II ... an echo of those whose priorities niks did have some feelings for Eretz Yisroel, no matter seem to say: Our emphasis must be on building a state how vague and undefin~d-feelings that most of the rather than the rescue of people.) present-day immigrants lack. After all, where should In any case, I was appalled that you fail to take into they get it from? "V'sechezenu eineinu .. leTzion" account that these are Jews who are in a desperate situa­ never crossed their lips. The newpapers? The Soviet tion. First and foremost, you should take pride in the press barely mentions Israel-and when it does, it is as fact that Israel is instrumental in saving them from a "/sraelski Primitivski."

B The ]eu1ish Observer/ April, 1980 One client in the New York office of Agudath still reach them in Ostia, Italy (near Rome), where the Israel's Project RISE presented his credentials to the Russian immigrants are interred until their papers for counselor: he is an experienced agronomist. "/ America are processed. Feed them Kosher food. Make don't see anything for you in your line-unless them feel like Jews. Select shlichim that behave like you want to move to Des Moines, Iowa." Jews. And then project Israel to them as a Jewish home­ "Are there Yidden there?" land. They can still change their minds and select Israel "Not many to speak of." once again. "Then-no! I have children. I brought them Finally, Mr. Dulzin, find the largesse of spirit to be here for Yiddishkeit. I could have stayed in Minsk concerned about the Soviet Jews who do come to as well as go to Des Moines." America. Celebrate the fact that some of them are being "Why don't you consider Israel? You'll get a reached by Orthodox Jews. Celebrate, encourage, and job, an apartment. Your children will have good support their endeavors. Some are undergoing bris schools-" millah and are actually enrolling their children in "Israel? Never! There's no water there-only ! So what if they or their children may be in tears." America for keeps. Think about it: At least they are "Why do you say that?" remaining Jews .... And then, there is still a chance "/ know . ... Please don't mention Israel to that their children or their granchildren might opt for me. Let us talk about New York opportunities." Eretz Yisroel. So even in your book not all is lost. Moreover, the letters from Kiryat Shemone and Beer Sheva back to the folks in Kiev and Odessa have Most sincerely not been redulant with the glories of living in centers (Rabbi) Nisson Wolpin, editor where Yiddishkeit throbs, where a person is finally The Jewish Observer aware of being a full-fledged Jew in a Jewish State­ So-they reflect-why not America? ABBA EBAN, on the t9pic ofAmetican Keep the Promise, Mr, Dulzin charities withholding aid from Rus­ If you want to change the content of the letters home, Mr. Dulzin, keep the promise: Make the Russian sian immigrants who leave the immigrants' aliya an uplifting experience. Use the Soviet on fsraeli-bound visas, but Ulpan there for more than lessons on "how to read Maariv." Fashion it into an introduction to being a Jew/ change for the USA: Judaism/Jewish living/Jewish homeland .. ·. Instead of weeping over the largesse of HIAS, NYANA and the I hope that Israeli leaders vvho wish to obey an American government, compete with it. Give these integral , free· of• any· Canaaniflsh em· people decent jobs in their fields of expertise ... And ph~sis, should think again, and liberate American then-most important: Set these people up in housing Jewish leaders frpm a pressure that goes against near religious population centers. Take a page from the every l.raternal ahdhumane impulse. In any case Christian missionaries' handbooks-they bring their this ls a theme dn which American Jews have a prospective clients to an ancient synagogue long before rigllt, and perhaps a duty, to assertthelr indepen' they even mention "New Testament." Why not risk dent judgement: exposing them to old-time Yiddishkeit, if even for his­ NothinQ coold. be more tragic than to e.mbark torical perspective? A land is meaningless; a language is on a policy that wou.ld cause division between meaningless; give the people a Torah-basis for appreci­ Am.erican Jews and. each other, between Ameri· ating both, and then both will assume meaning beyond ca~ and Hussian Jews, between Israel and the anything your klittah (absorption) centers ever experi­ Jews of .the two main diasporas, lfwe separate our enced:At "best" your new olim will gain an under­ disapproval of the dropout process from our standing of their common heritage. At "worst," they humane duty .to those Involved, these discords might like it and become attracted to it. But at least they can still be .avoided. will understand why Israel is more than just another Aliya is a unique and a translateable idea. But It pseudo-Socialist state, and decide to remain. is totally incompatible with any concept of coer· Then you will see a shift in attitude in Soviet emi­ cion. If it lacks the voluntary impulse it becomes grants. Pravda and Izvestia will not change, but the drained of its nobiUty. Nor ls there much prospect content of the mail to the folks back home will. The .of durability in a sojourn in Israel engendered by message will have an uplift to it, inviting others to fol­ the pressure of deprivation imposed. by a do.cila low instead of repelling them. but reluctant Americo. Jewish

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 9 The wilderness and the dry places it"ii i:::l1~ Ci1VW'' shall rejoice; ;i;iy 'nm and the desert shall be glad .n'?l!Jn~ ni~m and blossom as the lily. (K-;i'? 1;i'YlV')

... for water has gushed forth 0'0 i;;oJ 1YpJl '~ ... in the wilderness, .;iJiYJ C''?nl1 and streams in the desert. (1·;,';> 1;J'YlV')

"Water" refers only to Torah.

were often brought to their respective development THE NEGEV towns and moshavim directly from their port of entry. Despite the high expectations of the founders of the Relative poverty, meager educational and employment State of Israel, the Negev, on the whole, remained a cul­ possibilities, and a large dosage of boredom were (and tural, industrial, and most definitely, a religious, often still are) the lot of many of the Negev's inhabi­ backwater. The city of Beer Sheva, thanks in great tants. degree to the University of the Negev, is an exception to Although the general rise in the Israeli standard of this rule -but only as far as culture and industry are living these past thirty years, which has touched every concerned. And even Beer Sheva cannot in any way party of the country, has brought an abundance of compete with Israel's three big cities - Jerusalem, Tel material goods to the Negev, Torah is still in short Aviv, and Haifa. supply in this region. The Sephardi communities that For many complex reasons, the development of the originally came to the Negev (as well as to other parts of Negev has lagged sadly behind the development of the Israel) represented a huge reservoir of Jewish law and rest of the country. Populated primarily by Jews from custom. But their contact with industrialized, 20th cen­ North Africa, the original immigrants to the Negev tury society was traumatic, and the old values, the old ------···----- ways were often exchanged for a dubious "modernity." Mrs. Ganz, a native of Chicago who has been living in Israel for the Nonetheless, a large number of first and second genera­ past fifteen years, is a regular contributor to a number of Jewish pub­ tion Sephardim remained highly traditional. lications. Her "Return to the Calif" appeared in the Sept. '79 JO. This applies not only to the Negev, but to all of

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 As a result of the severe housing problem in the large urban centers in Israel, many young couples are being forced to consider alternative places to live. Concurrently, the urge to bring the light of Torah out of the established centers and to the rest of the country is a driving force for many people who feel that the time for such action is long overdue. An article entitled "Return to the Galil" (JO Elul 5739) described several exciting, new, religious communities in the north of Israel. The following is a partial survey of the proliferation of Torah communities in the south of the country.

Israel, and is probably the primary reason that so many organizations find it more fruilful to direct their kiruv levavos efforts towards the Sephardim rather than towards the more critical and alienated Ashkenazic population. Numerous organizations such as the Tnua Lehafatzat Torah (TALAT, which promotes the estab­ lishment of Kollelim in outlying areas) and both the Israeli and American Pe'ylim became involved in organizing and encouraging religious settlements, insti­ tutions, and activities. Entire networks of yeshivas and girls schools aimed at Sephardi children have been set up. Today, the Negev is crisscrossed by a thin, spidery web of Torah institutions and communities. Many of the strands on this web are still fragile, but they do exist, and in places where there was formerly a total Torah void.

NETIVOT Main building, Yeshivat Fianegev, Netivot. The "Queen of the Negev" on the Torah map is whole, shomrei mitzvos (observant). The town council undoubtedly Netivot. An ordinary, rather sleepy look­ is also governed by religious parties, a fact which ing development town halfway between Gaza and Beer further strengthens th.e religious reality and environ­ Sheva, Netivot is a welcome story on an often dismal ment. scene. Now a stable and relatively successful town, In 1961, Rabbi Issachar Meyer, a student of the Netivot was first founded in 1956 as one of a series of famed Rabbi 'i"~T, brought a buffer towns designed to prevent possible Arab infiltra­ group of seventeen boys to Netivot, thereby sowing the tion from nearby Gaza. seeds of a quiet but far reaching revolution. Several Predon1inantly a religious town with a population years earlier Rabbi Meyer had left Israel to teach in a of 10,000 people, Netivot has the highest birth rate in yeshiva in Switzerland, and then in Morocco. When the country. Large families ("large" in Netivot means asked to leave by the Moroccan authorities because he over eight children) are common. Thanks to a fortunate held an Israeli passport, he returned to Israel to the combination of factors - a goodly number of talmidei Yeshivat Bnei Akiva in Kfar Haroeh (a yeshiva tichonit chachamim and rabbanim who came to the town from - yeshiva high school - as opposed to a yeshiva North Africa; eighteen batei knesses; the presence of ketana, which offers no secular learning at all). the famous mekubal, Rabbi Yisrael Abu Chatzeira; When the boys in his 12th grade class had to decide strong familial orientation and structure; and some where to continue learning after their graduation, Rabbi measure of physical remoteness from Israeli street cul­ Meyer realized that many of them did not feel com­ ture - the residents of Netivot have remained, on the fortable about entering a "regular" yeshiva gedoia. He

Tlie Jewish Observer I April, 1980 11 saw their dilemma as an opportunity for him to realize ing towns and moshavim. Over 200 Russian boys have two dreams at once. He would bring his students to the passed through the yeshiva institutions within the past Negev, and there create a new yeshiva which would few years, all of whom started out irreligious and the bridge the gap between the yeshivot tichoniyot, and the majority of whom were bnei Torah by the time they left. world of traditional yeshivot gedolot. At the same time, Ther are also several American boys in the yeshiva he would provide a much needed reinforcement of gedola and several Anglo-Saxon families in the Torah and idealistic young people into a very poor, community. problematic development town. Chava, a girls' high school with 100 students A warm, cosmopolitan man who can speak six lan­ from the area, was founded by Rabbi Meyer and with guages and who has a burning desire to bring the the help of American Pe'ylim. Some of these girls come Jewish people and the Torah back together again, Rabbi from extremely backward moshavim. Left to their own Meyer dreamt of a large yeshiva complex which would devices, they would most likely become part of the be integrated into the life of the town. And he wanted a jeans-discotheque crowd in the cities. Instead, they are true Kehilla - schools, kollelim, a mikva, a Keren turning into lovely young Jewish women whom any Shmitta, a co-op to buy food at wholesale prices - Torah community could point to with pride. whatever services a community would need to serve Rather than psychologically sever them from their and aid its members. families as they slowly move into a world of Torah, their The guiding principle would be "'simplicity," a rule families are also encouraged to participate in their which Rabbi Meyer has strictly followed both in the daughters' transformation. Mothers are invited to yeshiva and in his personal life. The Meyer's apartment spend summer vacations at the school; communal is testimony to their life style - very small and very clothes-shopping are arranged to help develop good simple. The ninety yeshiva apartments for avreichim taste and tznius (modesty). An intense and total educa­ are all alike, to avoid a "'keeping up with the Cohens'" tional effort is invested in these girls, and when one sees mentality. Transportation for yeshiva boys and avrei­ the difference between the first-year students and the chim is by bicycle. The Meyers arrange comprehensive graduating class, one cannot help but be mightily but simple weddings in the yeshiva building almost free impressed. of charge if the parents of the couple can only be per­ Appreciating the financial considerations which suaded to forgo a large, posh affair. In sum, everything worry many of the students, the yeshiva has formed a is done to try and avoid ostentatious, competitive class for Sofrei Stam,* and some of the young men are living.

Rabbi Meyer delivering a . Girls' high school, Netivot. Today, nineteen years after the first boys came to already earning money writing megillos and mezuzos. learn in a wooden cabin in Netivot, the yeshiva consists In addition to the almost 500 student body men­ of a yeshiva gedola with 230 boys (roughly 70% tioned above, the avreichim ( fellows) and couples Ashkenazim and 30% Sephardim); two kollelim with associated with the yeshiva have set up kindergartens, a two different levels of learning for 70 avreichim; and a yeshiva ketana of 86 Sephardi boys from the surround- *Scribes of parchments for Sifrei Torah, T efillin and Mezuzos.

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 12 cheder and a Beis Yaakov school, with an enrollment of Yeshivat Hanegev has most definitely put the Torah almost 500 children. back on the map of the Negev. Rabbi Meyer says that the people on the "right" of the religious spectrum often consider his yeshiva OFAKIM "leftist" since he absorbs so many "kipot srugot" (lit.: knitted yarmulkas; referring to boys from yeshivot A short distance from Netivot, one finds another, tichoniyot who often wear knitted yarmulkes). But newer development town - Ofakim. It too has a popu­ those on the "left" consider him absolutely "shachor" lation of 10,000, mostly North African Jewry, but (lit. "black" - slang for "very frum") because so many unlike its 'parent' Netivot, Ofakim has not yet of those kipot srugot turn into "kipot shechorot" and developed into a stable, prospering community. Not continue to learn. financially, and most certainly not culturally or reli­ In keeping with the desire to be integrated into the giously. Its streets are wide; its apartment buildings life of Netivot rather than being a secluded enclave look modern; yet the town seems dispirited and looks within the city, the Yeshiva organized a political party unkempt. for the municipal elections, and won two seats on the In 1965, Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz, a pupil of Rabbi nine-man city council. In addition, Rabbi Meyer and lssachar Meyer, came from Netivot to Ofakim to serve his wife's apartment is The Address for many of as the Rosh Hayeshiva for a new yeshiva gedola. This Netivot's problems - shidduchim, scholarships, loans, institution, like the yeshiva ketana already there, was blood donors, family squabbles and legal problems. established by Rabbi Yosef Goldenthal, who is general Mrs. Meyer, a soft spoken Englishwoman whose kind administrator for both institutions. (Rabbi Goldenthal deeds have touched every conceivable corner in Neti­ is a ta/mid of the in , and vot, says that in the yeshiva's early years the poverty in became a Negev pioneer on the behest of his mentor, the town was crushing. Her gemillas chessed (acts of Rabbi Elazar Schach, Ponevezher Rosh Yeshiva, who is charity) started then and has continued incessantly for counselor and adviser to most of the Roshei Yeshivas nineteen years. and administrators mentioned in this article.) Rabbi Yeshiva! Hanegev is a vital and integral part of Horowitz, a dynamic, outgoing man, brought ten Netivot. Thanks to the vision, stubborn determination families with him and insisted that all yeshiva staff live and hard work of Rabbi Meyer and his wife, its in Ofakim. influence is felt not only in the town, but in the entire This was the beginning of the "kehilla chareidit" in

Ofakim classroom scene.

surrounding area. Ofakim, the second largest Torah community in the Negev, is a direct offspring of Netivot. Netivot itself is a pleasant, easy going place to live. The Kehil/a functions well and the people seem happy and satisfied with the kind of life they are living. Ofakim.beis midrash.

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 13 Yeshiva building in Ofakim. Ofakim, a community that has blossomed into one Yehuda Aryeh Cohen, looks to Rabbi Schach for coun­ hundred families with an entire roster of schools and sel and advice, and his ceaseless work over the past two services-such as a day care center for young children, a years has indeed borne fruit. shmitta supply center, and 150 students in yeshivot and Almost all of the schools and institutions in Ofakim kollelim. have been encouraged, funded, or sponsored at one An organization with headquarters in Ofakim called time or another by American Pe'ylim, whose goal is to the Hitachdut Bnei Hayeshivot Badarom organizes help new, worthwhile projects establish themselves and summer camps for Sephardi children across the entire reach a minimum level of operational independence. Negev. The Aguda L'Pituach Torani B'Ofakim (trans.­ Ofakim is an exciting place for young bnei Torah to Organization for Torah Development in Ofakim) dis­ live. Apartments are inexpensive; the kehilla is thriv­ patches men and women to give shiurim in dozens of ing; there is a strong feeling of participating in impor­ surrounding moshavim and army camps, plus 30 tant work. Rabbi Horowitz says that he has 250 families shiurim a week in Ofakim itself. Jn a tragic accident last on a waiting list, but no apartments for them. (Actually, j anuary, two kollel wives were killed while driving to there are many empty apartments in the town, but for give a shiur outside the town. Their car was caught in evidently insurmountable bureaucratic reasons, they a flash flood in a w•di and was swept away. This tragic are not being made available in large numbers and in accident sent shock waves through the area as well as convenient locations.) This summer, however, two the entire countryside. As a side result, it also meant large new Housing Ministry buildings near the yeshiva that the organization's activities, which involve a will be ready for occupancy. Eighty apartments are tremendous amount of travelling, came to a standstill being set aside for olim, and Rabbi Horowitz expressed since they have not succeeded in raising money to pur­ great interest in seeing them filled with bnei Torah. chase another car. Here is a possibility definitely worth exploring for Two years ago, a new school for young women families interested in moving to Eretz Yisroel ! opened up in Ofakim - Bet Sefer Torani Gavoah Lebanot - whose aim is to "expose students to an TIFRACH authentic panorama of Jewish life and thought" while providing them with a vocation. The girls come from Twelve miles west of Beer Sheva and four miles varied backgrounds, ranging from very religious high from Ofakim, one finds Tifrach, a moshav founded by schools to baalot teshuva, and they are receiving an Poalei . Many of the original settlers in-depth Torah education on a high level. The school is were not successful in establishing themselves on their presently offering courses on linguistics, mathematics farms, and they moved away, leaving empty houses and and social work programs as well; and an intrinsic part desolate fields behind them. Around ten years ago, a of the program is the gemillas chessed-community yeshiva gedola moved into some of the abandoned work the girls do in Ofakim - tutoring, helping needy buildings, and today, close to sixty avreichim and families, helping mothers, etc. The principal, Dr. bachurim are learning in Tifrach with great hasmada

14 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 and devotion. Most have joined Tifrach after complet­ As in every other religious community, educational ing yeshiva ketana elsewhere, or have transferred from facilities for the children were soon established, and other yeshivas gedolos. Tifrach boasts a of 80 girls with all eight Tifrach's strong point is its seclusion. It is a quiet grades. Some of the kollelnikim from Ofakim and moshav off the beaten track, despite its proximity to Netivot also prefer to send their daughters here, since Beer Sheva and Ofakim. Here one does not encounter "all the girls are daughters of kollelnikim" and the any distractions of city life. Someone looking for school has set itself very definite standards. Housed in something to do in Tifrach will find the Beis Midrash long wooden barracks, the rooms and halls of the Bais the only place of interest, even though it is on the edge Yaakov are brightly decorated and the courtyard is of town. In fact, many of the Roshei Hayeshiva - as spotless. One is immediately struck by the sense of well as the revered Rabbi Chaim Granerman of Bnei devotion displayed by the staff. Brak, who maintains a retreat in Tifrach-live on a giva A new building houses the boys' kindergartens and (plateau) overlooking the town, some fifteen minutes a cheder up to 6th grade. Nearby is a metivta of 30 walk from the center of things. And it will be on this Sephardi boys from the surrounding area. Many of giva that further yeshiva construction will probably these boys have been canvassed or "picked up" by take place. Rabbi Nissim Sova, a legendary charismatic man on the Wives of many avreichim and other people associ­ American Pe'ylim payroll who has been "collecting" ated with the yeshiva work in Ofakim and Beer Sheva. Sephardi children for yeshivas for over twenty years. Most of the yeshiva families are in the process of build­ The physical facilities of the are dismal, to say ing new homes. The original settlers' houses in which the least, although many of the boys probably do not they are living were substandard to begin with and are expect much more. The school has received land and literally falling apart. There are, by the way, five promises of buildings, but these are still a far-off American families who are firmly ensconced in Tifrach. dreams. For those who want a quiet enclave and a thoroughly secluded Torah environment, Tifrach is an isle of placidity in a turbulent world.

BEER SHEVA But not all Torah Jews seek placidity or seclusion. Since the inception of the University of Beer Sheva, this city has seen a continuous influx of religious academics and Anglo-Saxons, in addition to other bnei Torah who live here. Yet the religious community of Beer Sheva suffers from a lack of centrality. The religious families are scattered among different neighborhoods among the close to thirty shichunot, and have no "base," a factor which severely hampers the development of religious

Adult education, Beer Sheva. institutions and services in this burgeoning city of - ~·~ 120,000. Tifrach playground scene. There are nonetheless many dedicated and devoted

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 15 people doing important work in Beer Sheva, such as - religious and irreligious - they are not stigmatized or Rabbi Avraham Silber, a former New Yorker who has labelled as propagandizing for any particular group, a been the Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva! Bnei Akiva in factor which gives them wide access to many places. Beer Sheva for the past fifteen years. His yeshiva has Last but not least, their activities also serve as a catalyst absorbed and educated over a thousand boys who for the now scattered religious elements in the city. would probably not have received any Torah education were it not for his herculean efforts, which have also left YERUCHAM their mark on the city at large. Another" American enterprise" is Hamaayan. Two The last stop in this survey of the Negev takes us to very industrious and creative men-Rabbi Yitzchak Yerucham, thirty five miles south of Beer Sheva. Thirty Obermeister and Rabbi Nathan Spector-have or­ five miles of desolate, dusty road, bereft of a single ganized what they call "a multi-faceted community settlement. The geographic remoteness of the town is a oriented institution." Hamaayan runs: three Reach­ depressing complement to its social, cultural and educa­ Out centers for delinquents and jobless youth; adult tional isolation. education classes; counseling and teaching in the Beer Sheva prison; moadonim (clubs) after school hours; guidance to teachers; and a newsletter. They organized a large public Simchas Beis Hasho'eva (during Succos) for all of Beer Sheva; run a kollel for Sephardim after army service; and have a yeshiva (a branch of Tifrach) for baalei teshuva where 50 young men are now learn­ ing. Members of the Tifrach faculty commute daily to deliver shiurim. But their most complex (and most financially tax­ ing) project to date is a truly innovative undertaking that is fascinating, but has yet to fully prove its potential. This undertaking is creation of a museum, library and pedagogical institute. To contain this enter­ prise, Hamaayan bought a house in the Old City of Beer Sheva (once the center of the city's religious life). This building is undergoing extensive renovation and will soon become a kind of "Living Museum of Judaism." It will house a tefillin exhibit showing all the stages of tefillin production. A safer will work in one section and will help visitors write their names in Torah script. A display will encourage handling and blowing. Matzos will be baking in an oven in the courtyard every Classroom in Yerucham. Nissan, and a large communal sukkah will be built in Tishrei. The guiding principle here is that people Established during the early fifties, Yerucham's first should see, hear, feel and try things out, thereby con­ settlers were new immigrants from North Africa, India, veying the idea that mitzvos are something alive and and a small percentage of East Europeans. The distance vibrant. Rabbi Spector says, "We want people to get from the center of the country and the lack of a strong excited about doing mitzvos." economic base contributed to the problems of un­ Hamaayan has purchased all of Torah U'Mesorah's employment and social regression which the town suf­ audio-visual material and hopes to bring organized fered during its early years. Many families became wel­ groups including soldiers and students from other fare cases; development was slow; schools were poor. schools. They also plan an intensive follow-up cam­ In 1974, TALAT organized a group of ten kollel paign with the museum's visitors. The Beer Sheva families who came down to Yerucham. In a truly municipality is very receptive to Hamaayan and is con­ pioneering effort, TALAT "adopted" Yerucham, and tributing to the cost of their activities, but the comple­ despite an entire spectrum of difficulties, has displayed tion of the museum building is sorely hampered by a great perseverance in furthering its project. Today a lack of sufficient funds. yeshiva in Yerucham has twenty avreichim and 16 Hamaayan's enthusiasm is infectious. They are not boys; 35 younger boys learn in a mesivta; and 30 kollel waiting for people to come to them, but are reaching out or yeshiva-affiliated families live in the town includ­ to the Jews around them. Nor are they limiting them­ ing-surprisingly enough-a few Americans. selves to the more traditional Sephardi populace. All of The Yeshiva has the dubious distinction of not pos­ Beer Sheva is their "backyard." Since they contact and sessing a single building of its own. The Beis Midrash is work with all willing people and institutions in the city situated in a small shul, and the dorms and classrooms

16 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 are in rented apartments. The city has provided land and a promise to build, but severe slashes in the municipal and government budgets have made this a rather remote dream at present. In general, TALAT's pro­ jects are entirely dependent on government funds rather than on donations, and the current cutbacks in all the Ministries have therefore hit them particularly hard.

J"l'Vf)l) ,:>,J;i r A ;1\)J'c!/ \JiN l'YIJ T: ;-JJYn,

continue the tremendously important work which has begun in the Negev. This development of the Torah centers in the for­ School building in Yerucham. merly barren South is an exciting and highly encourag­ ing phenomenon. An additional, intriguing point is the The TALAT Kolle! (i.e. the yeshiva community in presence of religious Anglo-Saxons. All over the Negev Yerucham) gives classes and runs moadonim for both you find them-bnei Torah from , South Africa, adults and children, so that even though the yeshiva people do not seem to mix socially with the towns­ people, their presence is nonetheless felt. They are viewed with great respect and a sense of wonder ("They left Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to come down to Yeru­ cham!"). And of course the Bais Yaakov school and the cheder are open to the children of Yerucham as well as to the children of the yeshiva families. Yerucham does not look like an inviting place to live when compared with larger, more centralized cities. Yet when viewed from a Jewish perspective, it is an intoxi­ cating challenge. Avraham Avinu settled in the midst of the Negev to spread word of the Supreme Divinity of G-d and His laws. The yeshiva community in Yeru­ cham is doing the same.

A BEGINNING The Negev today is in a state of expectation. Israel, aided by the United States, will soon begin building its new air bases in the Negev - replacements for the bases we relinquished in Sinai as part of the Camp §~, David agreement. This mammoth endeavor will Yerucham day-care center. undoubtedly change the face of the Negev and will do much to usher in its long-awaited economic boom. But Australia and the United States who have joined the a vast influx of American technicians and foreign great venture of "reclaiming" the Negev. workers-with their respective cultures and easy The planting was perhaps begun belatedly, but the money-together with a sudden change in the general seeds of Torah are finally being sown in the wilderness economic situation, might very well trigger many un­ and the dry places are indeed being watered and made desirable efects, making a bad situation much worse. glad. The lily hopefully will be sprouting and the desert These possibilities make it all the more imperative to will finally begin to bloom. !.T.

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 17 Remembering Lomza, before its destruction in World War II-and a commemorative volume worth forgetting.

The Zahar says that even a must have graphies, their greatness in Torah (that chapter, it mazal-in some we read often, in others only on Sim­ seems, is the pride of every town, and the book lingers chas Torah. It should be no surprise, then, that Euro­ over every detail). Then follow institutions of learning, pean communities also fared according to their indivi­ the spiritual centers of the town-the batei midrashim, dual mazal. Some will never be remembered, while associations, charity societies. On to the economic others will find their way into the awareness of pos­ pictures-types of work, political parties, vignettes terity as Jewish centers of Europe, if they are about personalities, groups, or a profile of the entire memorialized in a Yizkor Book. Over 500 such books city. The final chapter is always the same: the destruc­ have already been published. Most are in , tion of the Jewish community, and stories of survivors. others in Hebrew or a combination of both; some even The purpose of all these books is certainly not for include English in their text. the survivors; rather it is for posterity, for future his­ They usually begin with a historical background: torians that they are written. So we ask: do these books when, where and how the city was founded; when and really give us a true picture of their cities? Or do the why Jews settled there; followed by chapters about the editors sometimes twist and bend the truth in order to rabbis who served there through the years: their bio- grind their own ideological axes? Churchill once said, "History will be good to me, because I will write it." - Chaim Shapiro, a Baltimore resident, is a frequent contributor to Are these histories only good to their historians? I can these pages, whose articles on pre-war Europe evoke a way of life that not evaluate a book dedicated to a city I have never even was all but destroyed, but not forgotten. visited. But there are three books that I can discuss with

18 The ]ewisf1 Observer I April, 1980

------~--"""---- some knowledge; they immortalize my two home Rabbi Yehuda Leib Gordon who risked his life many towns, Tiktin and Lomza. Sefer Tiktin published in times under the Czars. They remembered their Rabbi, Hebrew (Tel Aviv, 1959), Sefer Zikaron Lekihillas Elya Chaim Meisels, who was constantly concerned Lomza in Hebrew (Tel Aviv, 1952), and Lomza in Yid­ that no Jew be drafted into the Czar's army. Now there dish (N. Y. 1957). is no one to help." Now let us look at the facts: In 1939, the Germans (far more deadly than any of the Czars!) bombarded The Lomza Distinction Lomza mercilessly because it was the first major city Sefer Tiktin (606 pages) is the pride of my library. near the East Prussian border. The inhabitants left town To my great sorrow, I can not say the same about the and spead out through the surrounding villages and two books on Lomza. Neither the 371 double pages of fields. When the German army came, they found all the the one nor the 377 pages of the other give a true pic­ Jews in the fields. They placed machine guns around a ture of my town. field full of people and shouted orders to keep their Certainly credit is due to the editor, Dr. Yorn Tov faces to the ground. Then they started shooting over Levinski, for a superior technical job. The detail and their heads. Several people raised their heads only organization of historical material in Yiddish, Hebrew, inches, and were killed. Then the Germans tied the and Polish shows painstaking research, with limited rabbi to a tree, and aimed a machine gun straight at him. material available. A Jewish refugee who had been an officer in the Everything indeed did seem faithful to my Lomza Kaiser's army pleaded with the German officer to spare until I came to Page 120 where suddenly truth took an the rabbi's life. The German officer pulled out half of unexpected twist. After an excellent description of the the rabbi's beard, relishing his painful screams, and last and most beloved rabbi of Lomza, the Gaon Rabbi then he released him. '>'rXt (later Rosh Yeshiva in Yeshivas With the Stalin-Hitler pact on the division of Rabbi Yitzchak Elchonon in New York), the editor adds Poland, no one expected Lomza to be transferred into the following comments: "With the outbreak of the Russian hands, since it was so close to the East Prussian Second World War, the Rabbi forsook his flock and border. Yet on Hoshanna Rabba, the Soviet tanks rolled escaped to Vilna, his birthplace .... His escape in such into town. The first worry on everyone's mind was the hard times was a great blow to the Jewish community. welfare of the . A spellbinding orator, he had often Often they complained 'We have no rabbi; no leader; condemned the Communists from the pulpit. The older we are lostl'" generation knew the Bolshevik's policy of keeping records on every personality-with men in every town and village, it was no difficult feat for them.1 So the community leaders pleaded with Rabbi Shatzkes to hide, or if possible to escape, before he would be arrest­ ed ... And these "historians" have the audacity to criticize him {

Saved From Bombardment In the heavy bombardment, three quarters of the city was destroyed, including our home and business, but the impressive buildings housing the Yeshiva and the Torah were unharmed. The Rosh Yeshiva's house, located next to the Yeshiva and across from the Talmud Torah, was also undamaged. So my family and those of my two uncles moved in. (The Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Michel Gordon, was in New York at that time.) The Talmud Torah housed ten grades, 500 chil­ dren-learning Aleph Bais on up to those studying Gemora independently. The entire third floor was assigned by the kehilla to the Rabbi for his personal use: a Beis Din shtub (rabbinical court and receiving room), library, and a spacious apartment for his family. Rabbi Moshe Shatzkes 7"1T, last Rav of Lomza 1) When the Rosh Yeshiva of Kamenitz, Rabbi Reuvain Gro­ zowsky (see Agudah picture series of c•?lil), applied for an exit visa in A few paragraphs later: "When Rabbi Shatzkes left Vllna, the Bolsheviks showed him their dossier on him, listing al! his Lomza, the community was left like sheep without a activities since he left Minsk from the time of the Bolshevik revolu­ shepherd. With a heartbreaking sigh, they would tell of tion. The same with Rabbi .

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 19 ·~---""""·~-

The Bolsheviks immediately confiscated the build­ (nonsense) There is no G-d ! Stalin, the father of all ing for use as a public school. And we watched helpless­ labor people, the sunshine of the world-he gave you ly as the children were indoctrinated in Soviet ideology. that roll!" One day a delegation of local dignitaries accom­ He then turned to the faculty: "Is that how you panied the Commissar for Education of the White raise Soviet children? Religion instead of Marxism, Russian Republic (from Minsk) visited the school. Leninism and Stalinism? Whose hand is involved in {Lomza was incorporated into White Russia; a Com- this? Tell me and I'll cut it right off!" The principal replied, "We know whose hand is involved in it-that cleric who used to live upstairs. If we could only get hold of him, we would take care of him ourselves, but he escaped to Vilna." That same day, my father-fearing arrest-took off for Bialystok until things would blow over. As the news hit town, every Jew raised his eyes to Heaven: "Thank G-d our beloved rabbi is in Vilna!" And now these learned men, safe and secure in Tel Aviv and New York criticize our beloved rabbi for forsaking his flock! '

The Party Paragraphs I turn more pages. . . . So many familiar faces, photos and names - apt descriptions of places and events I knew - it breaks my heart. So many institu­ tions of learning and charity. Only 12,000 Jews out of a general population of 30,000, and look at what they had accomplished in spite of being surrounded by anti­ Semites ! In spite of meagre means, they accomplished more than the Poles did, in every field of community life - an achievement unrivaled by any other people. I read the chapter on Chinuch and education, and not a word on the Bais Yaakov school for girls (organized by my aunt Chana Shapiro). I reached the chapter titled "Miflagot" (p. 215: poli­ tical parties; in the Yiddish edition - "Partayen" p. 145). Living -rather, existing in a hostile environment is difficult. The government made it official policy to missar is the counterpart of the Secretary of Education shut out Jews from every source of livelihood, telling in the U.S.) In the class of my little brother Shimonke, them to emigrate. But where to? Palestine was closed by then age ten, the Commissar took out a kaiser-roll2 the British; America had a quota system and a waiting from a bag and presented it to my brother. The child list of years; and the rest of the world, totally closed. hesitated for a moment but the Commissar insisted Government jobs were closed to Jews. There was not "Vozme sinnok, pokushay" ("Take it child, eat"). The one single Jewish mailman, policeman, or janitor in all boy took the roll, put on his cap, and said the bracha in of Poland. There was indeed one way to obtain a front of the Bolshevik delegation, and half the class government job - by converting to Roman Catholi­ answered Omein. cism. In spite of poverty, there were no applicants. The principal and the teacher turned white; the In response, a variety of political parties were born Commissar turned red. He grabbed the roll out of the within the Jewish community, each with its own pro­ child's mouth and screamed: "What did you say? What gram of how to help the people. The party-spectrum language was it? Not Yiddish?" The boy replied. "It's a ranged as follows: (1) Agudath Israel, (2) Mizrachi blessing in Hebrew: Jews give thanks to G-d before (Religious Zionists), (3) General Zionists (Chaim they eat anything." Weizman's group - in Israel today they form part of The Commissar shouted further: "Stalin sent you the Likud); (4) Zionist-Revisionists (]abotinsky's that roll, not G-d! Did you ever see G-d? Chapukha! party, which gave birth to the lrgun- Jabotinsky's best known disciple is Menachem Begin); (5) Poalei Zion (labor Zionists who combine Zionism with Socialism 2) In poverty-stricken USSR, white bread or rolls was eaten only on holidays. Jn Poland, we would eat white bread and rolls every day, -their Israeli counterpart is the Mapam); (6) The Bund and cha/le every Shabbos. But to a Commissar in those days, a kaiser­ (anti-religious, anti-Zionist - they wanted to build a roll was a big prize. better society with pure socialism, uniting with the

20 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 proletarians of all nations. As for the Jews, they naively no time ever was there a Rosh Hakohol from any other sought to build a Jewish autonomous society, based on party. In fact, the very last Rosh Hakohol was Reb Yiddish language and Yiddish culture - such as the Mend! Kalinski (Agudah) - a soap manufacturer, a tales of Sholom Aleichem and the history of Shimon Gerrer Chassid who dressed in Chassidic cap, beard, Dubnow); (7) Communists (dialectical-Marxists, split and kapota. into two factions: Trotskyites and Stalinists. As for the And Agudath Israel was recorded in the book with Jews, they envisioned a Jewish socialist culture where twenty lines! they would assimilate into the local population and live Before the Germans organized a ]udenrat, the happily ever after. They hated religion as "the opiate of kehi/la still represented the Jews. The Nazi com­ the masses, and Zionism as a fascist-nationalism for mandant once requested fifty Jews from the kehi/la for Jews). The communist party made strides among the one week, to do various jobs for the German authori­ naive youth. They represented the USSR as a heaven ties. The kehilla obliged. Next week he came for for Jews: no discrimination, neither rich nor poor another fifty Jews, even though the previous group had classes, free education; heaven, indeed, in comparison never returned. Only two members of the board, Miz­ to the bitter reality of anti-Semitic Poland. rachi leaders, were in the kehil/a office. They demanded Now let us examine how the party spectrum is to know the whereabouts of the previous fifty Jews. recorded for posterity and history in Lomza: Agudath ., It's none of your business," the Nazi replied and Israel fared with exactly twenty and one half lines: 162 went on to warn them, "If you don't supply me with words (in the Hebrew text, 29 lines). The Mizrachi did a another fifty you will be shot immediately." little better with three-quarters of a page, plus six The two refused and with proud heads held high, photos of its youth organization, Hashomer Hadati, Reb Yaakov Tablicki and Reb Yank! Gelcinski i"'n forerunner of Bnei Akiva. General Zionists got eight marched off to their death. And no Jews were given.... pages plus fourteen photos. Zionist-Revisionists - Mizrachi did not even rate one full page in the book! twenty-three lines plus one picture. Poalei Zion (Labor Zionists) - fifteen pages plus twenty pictures. Bund - The Bund and the "Tregers" twelve pages plus fifteen photos (in the Yiddish book, twenty pages plus the pictures). The Communists got The Bund and the other parties claimed to represent four pages and three pictures. the working class - the proletarians. The symbol of the Is this my home town? I don't recognize it! Was this proletarians in Lomza were the tregers - the stevedores deliberate falsification or simply lack of material? And who unloaded and carried anything and everything on look who writes an article on the Socialist Zionists: a their strong backs. (They used to say ., the heavier the familiar face - how can I forget him? He was a part­ load the easier it is to carry.") Without a trade, they time geography teacher in Talmud Torah. Then one day were the lowest on the pay scale - "Amcho." Let us he didn't show up for class. Rumors had it that he examine how close they were to the Bund, the Com­ skipped town, charged with a crime unheard of among munists, or other Socialist parties . ... And who knows Jews, namely sexual assault. Somehow he made it to more about the tregers than I? I was practically raised Eretz Yisroel - and now his photo is decorating this on their knees. 4 book! Their base was located in front of our store, which was in the center of town (across the street from the The Lomza Party Structure - As It Was The Jewish community was organized in a kehi/la, which supervised every phase of communal life and represented the Jews before their neighbors and the government. The board was elected in democratic, secret-ballot elections. The thirteen members of the board (each one was called a Dozar or Parnes) elected a president called the Rosh Hakohol. The Agudah and Mizrachi always formed a united religious bloc for the election, winning a majority with ten members.J By agreement, the two would alternate the presidency. At

3) In one term the board included: my father; my uncle, Reb ih~· "tregers": "Meshugene Dv~ire" at ,extreme left,· "Moshiach'"': Yechiel Kamchi; Reb Y. Baruch Mishkovsky (the son of the Stavisker third from left, with Reb Yude to his left. - Tzaddik see JO March '74, "Lomza" - and brother of the Krinker Rav); and Reb Nechemia Rabinovitz (secretary of the and son of Rabbi Akiva Rabinowitz, Rav of Poltave and publisher of 4) The local ruffians knew that to lay a hand on the Shapiro boys Hapelles); also Reb Zvi Mark (see later). meant the 'tregers' would twist their arms off.

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 21 Magistrat-City Hall). While waiting for a job, they The third from the left was called "Moshiach." He would sit on the front steps of our store. We made two was their king-the tallest (close to seven feet), the benches for them, to keep the entrance to the store free. strongest, and the biggest mouth of them all. Moshiach . . . Looking at the photo, I see the first one from the left had six sons and three daughters, all tall and strong . on the bench - the Meshugene Dveire, as he was Some followed him in the trade. When the muzinik'l• known. He hated children, but he had to tolerate us was born, Moshiach decided that he should be a rabbi. four Shapiro boys. One summer day (I must have been He sent him to Talmud Torah through all ten grades. He nine or ten), I stepped inside the Chevre Tehillim to was my brother Lazar's classmate, and both graduated daven Mincha. 5 There he was, sitting and saying Tehil­ with honors. Together they were admitted to the lim (). He motioned to me, and hesitantly I Lomzer Yeshiva and they became "shutfim."' The pride approached him. He placed his huge arm around me would glow from Moshiach when he talked about his and asked me to say Tehillim together with him. He Yudele. With esteem, he would address my father ever so often: "Reb Alter, your Lazerke and my Yudele are shutfim, please test him to see how he's doing in the Gemora." He would constantly boast, "My muzink'l is a chaver (colleague) of the Kolaker's8 einik'l, can you believe it?" Then one summer day, the two boys (age fifteen), both excellent swimmers, went swimming in the Narew River. They had rented a row boat, and out on the river it ran into a high current and turned over. My brother made it to the shore but "little Moshiach" (as we called him) did not. What a tragedy! What a funeral! My brother knew that Yudele had been copying the Rebbe's shiurim. He also wrote Torah of his own. My brother found Yudele's notebook in his shtender. He didn't have the heart to deliver it personally, so he sent it to the parents with me. With love, Moshiach pressed the notebook to his heart, telling his wife, "This is our Yudele's Torah." Then the Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Y. Zelig Ruch came with some of the directors of the yeshiva to offer their condolences. The moment the Rosh Yeshiva opened the door, the giant man fell to the floor, grabbed the Rosh Yeshiva's both feet, and between sobs said, "Rabbi, ich bin an er lie her Yid. Farvos hob ich nisht zoche geven zu Reh Yanke! carrying a bag. a zun a Rav?" (Rabbi, I'm a sincere Jew. Why didn't I merit seeing my son become a rabbi?) must have just unloaded a wagon of flour because he The tregers had their own shul called Poalei was white all over, and the dust got onto my clothes. Tzeddek. A Rabbi taught them Chayei Odom (halacha) When 1 got home, my mather was ready for me: "What have you done to your clothes?" I had the best excuse, "You won't believe it! The Meshugene Dveire put his 6) A muzinik'/ means the youngest of the children or a ben arm around me and made me say Tehillim." zkunim. "You mean Reb Shloime said Tehillim with you!" 7) In Lomza, a {study companion) was called a shutef (That's how they were called - always "Reb" in front (literally ''partner"). of their names.) 8) A "poretz" (pl. pritzim) was a big land owner. Under the Czars, The fourth from the left is Reb Yehuda. His wife there were many Jewish pritzim. My grandfather, Rabbi Chaim Ye!vl Szeniak, was one of them. He was a ta/mid chacham who had a daily and daughter visited us almost every Shabbos, for tea shiur in Rambam. He was the owner of an entire village called Kolaki and cake. His son, Meir, became the business agent of (located between Lomza and Zembrove). When the peasants began the tregers. Each morning, he would walk up to his their uprising against the land owners, the first to be attacked, father in front of everybody and roll up his sleeve to naturally, were the Jewish ones. Zeide realized this, and moved his prove that he had put on tefillin. family to Lomza just In time. He bought property and established a big business. There he became known as "the Kolaker," and we the 5) Jn Chevra Tehillim (a Polush from the big shul, located one "Kolaker's einiklach" {grandchildren of the Kolaker). Interesting to block from City Ha!!), minyanim would daven from sunrise until note, in 1965 a report came through that the city government midnight. The beggars there were called "millionaires," for in one of Zembrove unveiled a monument for 5000 Jews killed by the Nazis, day, they would acquire Omein's, Borchu's and Kedusha's worth a in the village of Kolaki. Little do they know that legally this is my million. In between minyanim, people would say Tehillim. land, for I'm the only survivor. I'm even named after my Zeide.

22 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 and Ein Yaakov (agaddah). Moshiach made sure that After the war I found out that his son Berl was still their Rav was paid every week from the trager's meager alive. He had spent the war years in Moscow, a leader of income: "We carry on our backs and we want to get the Polish Communist Party. He was a prominent paid. The Rabbi carries the Torah in his head and tries member of the committee that organized the new Polish to teach us grobbe kep (lunkheads). Why shouldn't he Army in the USSR. And when the communist regime get paid?"' No one dared contradict him. was finally established in Warsaw. he returned,

A re these the revolutionaries, the sociaUsts1 the together with the other leaders. He could have gotten anti-religionists, the Bundists, the Communists, the any position with the government, but chose to be the Zionist-Socialists, that these historians talk about? head of the "Jewish Historical Institute" of Warsaw, In 1935, the first Jewish port opened in Tel Aviv because he was a Yiddish writer before the war (per­ (Jaffa was an Arab port). The Jewish stevedores of haps he was too "Jewish" for the Poles). Salonika' came to help in the operation of the new port. In those days, no one was able to emigrate from the The tregers of Lomza immediately sent off a telegram: USSR except Polish citizens, who could return to com­ "We are just as strong and willing as the stevedores of munist Poland. I needed some help on behalf of a rela­ Salonika." tive who was not permitted to leave Russia for Poland. l Are these anti-Israel Bundists? then wrote to Berl at the Historical Institute. My name alone evoked his memories, and he promised to do his best, as he had excellent connections in the Polish The Mark of Falsification Embassy in Moscow. A deadline was established for the I keep on turning the pages: four pages for the returnees by an agreement of the governments of USSR communists. -What a travesty of justice! - What a lie! and Poland. Yet there was no action on my case even Wait, here is a familiar face; what do you know, Berl though the final day was approaching. Mark! In the meantime, the Polish foreign minister arrived in Washington. According to the newspapers, he invit­ ed a Baltimore industrialist - the late Jacob Blaustein (vice president of Amoco, and Standard Oil of Indiana) for a meeting about oil business in Poland. With great difficulty I got an appointment with the multi-millionaire and he promised me to take up the case with the Foreign Minister. The Pole tried to butter up the oil man: "Mr. Blaustein, you are a member of the US delegation to the United Nations. You are a national and international personality. Why do you get involved in private cases of this kind?" But Mr. Blaustein did not fall for the flattery. "Your excellency," he replied, "this is a democracy. Every individual counts and free movement of people, free emigration is basic to democracy." While the result was nil, it did have some repercussions in Warsaw, for I soon received a letter from Berl Mark: "Please do me a favor. Stop writing to me." Such a request from behind the Iron Curtain means the person's career or life is at The Narew River, flowing near Lomza, where Moshiach's muzinik'l stake, so I stopped writing. drowned. Then my landsman became Professor Berl Mark, Reb Zvi Mark lived in the third house from us. He and he began publishing books like Uprising in the was my father's friend. They once served together on Warsaw Ghetto, Uprising in the Bialystok Ghetto; all the kehilla board. He used to daven and learn.in Chevra kinds of pamphlets and "scientific papers" - all follow­ Magen Avraham. He was a gabbai in the Hashgochas ing the party line: The Communists and their fellow Yesoirnim 10 and a member of Mizrachi. Reb Zvi some­ travelers organized all the uprisings, helped by the how became a Maski/. This eventually rubbed off on Communist "People's Army" and Soviet partisans .. his two intellectual sons and both secretly became while all other parties within the Jewish community Communists (the Communist Party was illegal in were cooperating with the Nazis. Poland). I knew that the Poles" falsified history to fit their line of propaganda; that's their business. But falsifying 9) The port in Salonika, Greece, was closed on Shabbos, for all the 11) The Soviet encyclopedia and the history of the USSR and the stevedores were Shomrei Shabbos. Bolshevik party is rewritten every so often. What was true in one IO) An orphanage for boys. There was a Kinderheim and a encyclopedia becomes false in the next. The current official Polish his­ separate orphanage for girls. tory is totally false, doctored to fit the Party line.

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 23

,_,.J ·---·_..,,,..------·

If you are not familiar with the editor's reliability, check the contents of the book; if the stress is on leftist parties, the book is not a true mirror of the town.

uncle Reb Yechiel Kamchi, and our old dayan Reb Jewish history as head of a Historical Institute hurts. So Avrohom Yoseph Cynowicz in the Feldner forest? If so, I sent off a letter to him, against his wishes. And if it Reb Zvi Mark is ashamed before his life-long friends would hurt him, so be it: "[ don't know where your because of the lies his son is writing about the religious father is buried - Is he together with mv father" and parties of which your father was a member. -Did he die wait! there is one I do know; Colonel Gershon Alef. in Auschwitz? Then his ashes must be twisting and How could I forget him! turning in the wind, in shame of the falsifications his It was right after the war. My tank battalion was son is trying to establish as historical facts." stationed in Osoviec, near the town Novi Dvor, close to And Professor Berl Mark - photograph, writings Warsaw. At every opportunity, l would go to Warsaw and all - graces the pages of the Lomza Yizkor book! to look for fellow Jews. I could not tell this to my Rus-

From Prison to the Book I keep on reading: there is a photo of Hershel Smoliar. Who is he? It turns out that, actually, he is not from Lomza, but from Zembrove (15.5 miles from Lomza - 25 klm), but he spent a number of years in the famous Lomza prison for Communist activities. I guess that "makes" him a Lomzer. But that's not all. There is more to his "." The party and the government of the Polish People's Republic appointed him as head of all the Jews in Poland. And in that capacity, like a faithful dog, he fol­ lowed the party line to the letter, above and beyond the letter. The Arabs were "progressive elements" to him, Israel and its Jews a gang of Fascists. His campaign Chaim Shapiro against Yiddishkeit and against Israel was the most the author vicious in all of Poland. He did all he could to stop Jews in uniform. from leaving Poland. He threatened the few remaining Jews into staying to build the new Socialist fatherland. But no decent Jew would want to build a new life on a sian colonel, so l used to go without a pass and spoke cemetery. (And what was Poland, if not a huge Jewish and saluted only Russian style even though in Polish cemetery?) So they found a way out, in spite of Smoliar. uniform (with full hand, as opposed to the Polish two­ Most interesting: when things got too hot for the fingered salute). The Soviet MPs thought I was a Rus­ Jewish Communists in Poland, Hershel Smoliar forsook sian office attached to the Polish army, while the Polish his "Socialist fatherland" and escaped to - of all places MPs did not dare question me, thinking I was a Russian -his "Fascist" motherland - namely, Israel. And officer. Mother Zion opened her arms to welcome her renegade One day, while still in working uniform and tank sons, who had spit in her face for so long. All those helmet, I hitched a ride with a Russian military truck Communists who were rejected by the party only and got off on a Warsaw street, full of the debris of the because they were born Jewish, found refuge in Israel - war's destruction. I noticed a ship-shape Polish colonel including the widow of Berl Mark. at the other end of the street - a pencil pusher, in shiny boots. Normally, I would have totally ignored him, for The Alef Encounters men of battle resent pencil pushers; but I was without my medals and battle insignia, and I did not want to The book carries more names of "Communist start an argument. I gave him the Soviet salute, and to leaders" who are still building the "Socialist Father­ my surprise he returned it, identically! Our eyes met for land" to this very day. Names I never heard of. But a split second, and after we passed one another, we both turned around. He was a Jew from back home - Alef, whose parents lived at the other end of our street! 12) Before there was even a ghetto, the Germans arrested 150 prominent people. Among them were my father, my uncle and the old Military protocol demanded that l wait for him to speak dayan. Later they claimed tht someone had committed sabotage by first, for I was outranked-but how could I? It was my cutting the telephone wires. All 150 were taken out to the Gekine very first "regards" from home. Just to be sure, I said in forest near the city and shot. Polish, "Panie Pulkowniku, zdaje mi sie, ze Pan

24 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 pochodzi z Lomzy" (Sir colonel, it seems to me, that nus of Baranowitz and Kamenitz; Rabbi Ravitz (mem­ you are from Lomza). He smiled and replied, "Pewnie ber Beis Din of Tel Aviv); Rabbi Pinie Levinsohn, Panie Poruczniku" (Certainly, Sir Lieutenant). Over­ Brooklyn. whelmed, I was sure now that it was indeed Alef, I On the other hand, most of the members of the dropped all formalities, stretched out my hand and Lomza publication comn1ittee are unknown to me. They showered him with questions in Yiddish: probably arrived in America before I was born. Sholem Aleichem, Alef. Recognize me? Have you However, I do know the editor, H. Sobotko. He was a been in a ghetto or in Russia? Thank G-d, you are leader in the Bund back home, and in America, he was alive! The first Jew from home I have ever met! an executive member of the Forward Association, He shook my hand and said in Polish, "Bardzo which is the local fortress of the Bund. 13 przepraszam ja sie spiesze" (I'm very sorry, I'm in a Could that be the answer to my puzzle? The final hurry). He saluted and marched off. analysis seems to indicate: On reading a Yizkor Book, I was mortified. The first Jew I met from home and he won't even speak to me! I sat down on the heaps of rubble. If not for my shame of people passing by, I would have cried. Why didn't he speak to me? Was it my speaking Yiddish in public? Does the name of G-d irritate him? Why didn't I chase after him? I never saw him again, but I heard and read a lot about him. He served with the Partisans, under the name "Bolek" or Bolkoviak, where apparently he earned his rank of Colonel. He was later appointed Polish Military A ttache in Washington. No military expert, he served as the eyes and ears of Stalin. That was later obvious, for as soon as Tito began his revolt against Stalin, Col. Bolek was transferred to Belgrade. And as soon as Marshal Tito made his final break with Moscow, the first one to be expelled from Yugoslavia was the Polish Military Attache, my landsman Colonel Bolkoviak. He married a non-Jewish woman, and while most Jewish communists left Poland, he remained there to build the Socialist Peoples Republic, to this very day. And that infidel is in the pages of lomza! Every nation is entitled to its share of renegades and traitors. We Jews, because of our circumstances, are perhaps entitled to a larger share. But do we have to enshrine them for posterity?

,J A Yorn Tov For Our Enemies I first check the ideology of the editors and writers. You When I read the Lomza book for the first time, I was can be sure that they will twist the facts to their fancy, so enraged that I sent off a letter of protest to the editor, to suit their ideology. How can you check further? If Dr. Yorn Tov Levinski. He replied that he understood the editors or writers personally write in detail about my anger, but let's face it; because of the economic con­ the leftist parites, you know for sure that the book is ditions in Poland, the Communists did make strides not a true mirror of the town. These who never were in among the youth. Besides, he said, "[n a way I was Europe will never understand. So don't try to become forced." His last words puzzled me. Who forced him? an "expert" by reading one or two Yizkor Books .... Berl Mark may have been forced to follow the party After all is said and done, it may be best to stay away line. Or perhaps he felt he was preserving documents in from the subject completely. '3'. the only way he could hope to save them-by publish­ ing them before the Poles destroyed them. But who could force an editor in Tel Aviv? 13) Until recently, the Forward was still decorating its mast~head I had a second look at the publishers and editors of with the slogan ''Proletarians of all nations unite!'' Nowadays, in tune Tiktin and compared them to the publishers of Lomza. with the sentiments of its religious readership, it has changed its In Tiktin, I found Reb Yosef Pines (my uncle's brother), slogan to: "Freedom for all people," "Freedom for Jews to lead a Jewish life," "A secured Medinas Yisroel,'' and "A free labor move­ who left his fortune for the establishment of a kollel; ment." Gone is the hatred of Zion, gone is the hatred of religion. It Rabbi Shulman (now a chaplain in the IDF}, an alum- even quotes from the Pars ha of the week and the !

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 25 An appreciation of man's A. Scheinman role in searching for understanding of Torah, after the revelation at Sinai, on Shavuos, 3,292 years ago.

Revelation and Search

J. ACCEPTING THE LAW - TWICE (Shabbos 82) tell us that at Sinai "the mountain was poised over the Jews like a barrel" - that the Jews were forced into accepting the Torah; and it was not until the Revelation is the cornerstone of faith, upon which miracle of Purim, a thousand years later, that the Jews all of Judaism rests. As the Rambam points out, it is not willingly reaffirmed their commitment to Torah. Besides simply a proof of faith, but the perception of the Divine the strangeness of having to be forced to accept the in the most direct way possible. While other miracles Torah when one has beheld and experienced the Divine served to prove Divine existence, pointing to such, in all its glory, the literal description of these events in revelation was the experience of the Divine itself. For the Torah does not mention this tradition. The passages one brief moment, the curtains of concealment were describing Mattan Torah make no mention of force, parted, letting in the rays of the Divine in all its bright­ while prior to the original Purim, the Jews were indeed ness. threatened with extinction, until they did teshuva and Yet, strangely enough, Chazal tell us that the ex­ returned to G-d. perience of Revelation at Sinai was somehow not the ultimate in acceptance of G-d's dominion. The Gemora II. SEARCHING - TO F1LL THE Vom Rabbi Scheinman, an American studying in Mir-Jerusalem, is a fre­ quent contributor to JO - most recently "Where Do We Stand?" in In two ways does one become cognizant of the sun. Dec. 79. One can behold the sun in its dazzling glory. Or one

26 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 can be locked into a pitch-dark room wherein every Our Chazal tell us that when Esther confronted minute of waiting for a crack of light makes one even Achashveirosh, she cried: "My G-d, my G-d why have more aware of the joy of basking in the sun .... Simi­ You abandoned me?" To this day the shir she/ yom larly, a father-son relation peaks with a warm embrace (designated psalm) of Purim (according to the Vilna at the height of a moment of joy. Yet it can be outranked Gaon) is "Lamnatze'ach al ayeles hashachar" (Tehillim by the feelings of yearning and pining that accompany XXll), in which this outcry appears; and as Chazal a prolonged absence from home. Many a son who has explain, the "Aye/es Hashachar" refers to the darkest not responded to a warm embrace has found the pangs hour of the night. Thus, while Shavuos marks the cog­ of absence unbearably strong. nizance of G-d through revelation, Purim celebrates the This phenomenon is explained in the discussion by cognizance of G-d that follows a desperate search in the the Mahara/* (on the Hagaddah) on the importance of darkness. the Four Questions, and why someone who conducts his seder in a monologue fashion, not following a ques­ The Gift and the Acquisition tion-and-answer format, does not fulfill his obligation to retell the Exodus on Pesach. He explains that when Torah itself consists of these two parts: One, the one merely hears a statement, he does not incorporate it Written Law, which is "G-d's Torah" so to speak, was into his personality. It is just tagged on to his aware­ given to us at revelation. Yet, as it reads, it would ness. This is not the case when one receives an answer remain closed to us. We must refer to the second part of to a question. For by having posed the question, he the Torah, the Oral Law, also given at Sinai, to under­ opens a void, so to speak; and the answer fills it, form­ stand the written word. This encompasses the Divine ing a unified entity with the person rather than adding interpretations and expositions, which dre accessible to on a superfluity. human comprehension; and it includes the rules of The Vilna Gaon' s commentary on Shir Hashirim exegesis by which G-d instructs man in how to delve makes a similar observation. The pleasure a person more deeply into the law, and teaches him how to apply derives from a food is in direct proportion to his it to evolving circumstances. Chazal describe the long hunger. A sated person can be presented with the and tortuous system of analyzing every word and tastiest of dishes, and he will reject it in disinterest; and nuance of Torah recorded in the Talmud Bavli as should he force the food down, it will not easily find its '::i:tvin cr::itvno: (You restored me in the darkness), for way down. struggling through passages of the Talmud is ,. grap­ The Sfas Emes (Bereishis: Vayeitzei) also refers to pling in the dark." Torah she'be'al peh, therefore, has this principle in explaining why Yaakov Avinu did not special properties: it introduces queries and leads the receive his dream and prophecy until after he had left student to conclusive answers, which become integrat­ the yeshiva of Shem V'Ever. When a man is in an ed into his personality. The results are deeply satisfying atmosphere of kedusha (sanctity), his thirst for ruch­ - not unlike the end result of the Pesach Seder, as niyus (spirituality) is not comparable to the thirst that described by the Maharal. wells up within a person stumbling through the desert. Thus, it has been pointed out, Mishnayos opens He bases this on a Midrash "My soul thirsts for you - with a question: "When does one begin reciting the where? in a barren and arid land." Shma?", and ends with the word "Shalom" - har­ mony. Understanding the Oral Law is not a matter of absorbing a statement. It is an answer derived from a Compulsion Through Clarity query, and that is why the Oral Law (and not the Writ­ This, then, is the difference between Shavuos and ten Law) has been described as the human portion in Purim - the festival of Receiving the Torah at Sinai and Torah. the holiday of its reaffirmation in Shushan. In the first The same principle can be applied to explain the instance, Kial Yisroel was compelled to accept the Torah Maharal's statement: while the Torah was given on - but not simply by a physical force; the impact from Shavuos, dveikus b'Torah (clinging to the Torah) was the enormity of the event of revelation was so immense the result of Purim. True enough, Torah can be present­ that it was likened to the mountain poised over their ed to people - and it was on Shavuos - but it can only heads. The brilliant light of revelation left no room for become integrated within one's personality (dveikus) if doubt, and under the circumstance it was impossible first he searches. not to accept the Torah. At Purim, however, it was not the threat to life in itself that inspired Kial Yisroe/' s Ill. REVELATION AGAIN teshuva and its return to pristine purity. Rather the hester panim - the feeling of abandonment - bestirred Search is deeper than revelation, and its findings powerful yearnings for a Sinai-like encounter with the more permanent. What need, then, is there for revela­ divine. tion? To be sure, we must refer to the Kuzari's answer­ that not everyone, and not at every time, can a person "'Rabbi Yehuda Loewy of Prague, 1512-1608. reach G-d through a higher level of contact through

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 27 personal search; nor will G-d reveal Himself to every in his mother's womb, even though he is destined to generation. Thus G-d's original revelation at Sinai forget it prior to birth; for if he had not first learned the gives all subsequent generations - especially those Torah, he would not be able to relate to it later. unable to reach spiritual heights on their own - a tradi­ tion to fall back on. There is yet another profound thought involved ... Return to Torah one that concerns our discussion. The Yerushalmi Studying Torah, then, is always a return of sorts. explains the pasuk "Lo davar reik hu mikem" (literally: This is expressed in our daily prayers: "Hashiveinu "It is not an empty thing from you"), to mean that if a Avinu Le'sorasecha - Return us ... to Your Torah." person finds any part of the Torah "empty" - without Indeed, parts of the Oral tradition - such as Targum meaning - it is "from you." That is, Torah can not be Unkelos, the Aramaic translations of Unkelos - were faulted as being meaningless. Rather, this vacuous feel­ forgotten and later rediscovered. Human endeavor ing in the student is an indication that somewhere alone would have proven insufficient for composing the within him, he is lacking receptivity to that part of targumim, had it not been for the spark of Sinai buried Torah .... When a work of art is meaningless to a blind deep within the neshama. This creative endeavor was rhan, or a concert uninspiring to a deaf person, the fault not one of initial discovery; it was a return. is in the viewer, with the audience, not in the composi­ There are other instances of creative recall: tion. The Gemora in Menachos relates that when Moshe The revelation at Sinai created an indelible impres­ Rabbeinu saw Rabbi Akiva teaching his disciples, he sion on the Jewish personality, giving us, as a people, a became envious of Rabbi Akiva's vast knowledge. The Ohr Hachaim explains that, to be sure, Moshe Rab­ beinu knew all of Torah she'b'al peh, the Oral Law, that Rabbi Akiva had mastered; but Rabbi Akiva's level of attainment was such that he was able to discern how Torah she'b'al peh is derived from Torah she'b'chsav ... It has been said that in his last years the Vilna Gaon studied only - his encyclopedic grasp of Oral Law was such that he was able to deduce how many of the myriad teachings of the Oral Law are implicit in Torah she'b'chsav. In a similar vein, the Gaon is reported to have said: "There are three levels of under­ standing: pshat (simple explanation), amkus (depth), and ... pshat (simple). There is however an infinite dif­ ference between pshat before depth, and pshat after depth. The revelation one discovers after "search" is worlds apart from the revelation one starts with. * * * A shaliach (emissary) sent to strengthen Judaism in an outlying community later reported to his Rebbe that an estranged Jew had asked him to explain his mission. He told him a parable: "ln the days of yore, scribes would go from town to town filling in missing letters in Sifrei Torah. Today we go around filling in 'letters' that have been rubbed out from Jewish neshamos." After the shliach told the Rebbe his parable, the Rebbe shook his head: "Chas Veshalom that a letter of a Yiddishe neshama becomes erased! It is rather like an engraving that becomes filled with dust: blow the dust point of reference for all future searchings for truth. away and the original letter reappears." Thus, all the individual neshamos of Kial Yisroel had to We must think of our avoda as circular, not linear. be at Sinai - even a proselyte had to be there. Had we We do, indeed, start with revelation. But that which is not the memory of Sinai deep within us to drive us in not earned has no permanence. We must toil on our our exhaustive search for meaning and understanding own until we rediscover the revelation imbued within in Torah, we could not persevere in mastering Torah; each of us. For when we do arrive at our goal, it is not a and we would not succeed. We would be "empty" ... new enlightenment that awaits us; rather we unearth from ourselves. It is for this same reason that (the that which has driven us so relentlessly - the eternal Talmud tells us) a person learns the entire Torah when flame of Sinai. ~'I:

28 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 --...... ·------

Dear Zevulun: We are proud to announce the publication of the first section of a book of responsa, Yissachar BeOhalecha, an anthology of halachic discussion: Kisei Mishpat-dealing with Choshen Mishpat, Ahavas Sholom-dealing with Yoreh De'ah and Reishis Teruma-dealing with laws of terumos and ma'asros, prepared by members of the three institutes for advanced Torah research (Kollelim) under the Meehan Hahoyroa. As is well known, the purpose of these kollelim is to restore Torah learning to its ancient glory-that is, Talmudic studies to the practical halacha l'maaseh in all four sections of . Needless to add, the zechus of participating in such a unique project is great, indeed! The Sefer Yissachar BeOhalecha is now available, for the Talmudic scholar, rabbonim and yeshiva students. The sefer was greeted with great enthusiasm by leading rabbonim, among their comments: "How marvelous to witness the publication of this extraordinary halacha sefer, which has emerged from the Meehan Hahoyroa. The Meehan fellows have long demonstrated their excellence . Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky-Monsey, New York "It is a sacred obligation on every Jew to support Meehan Hahoyroa, from which Torah decisions will emanate for all Israel, please G·d." Rabbi -N.Y.C. "This book is a treasury of riches and I am confident that all who labor in Torah will derive great pleasure from it." Rabbi -Beis Din of the Eida Hachareidis, Jerusalem "Alf who delve into these writings will find immense satisfaction in their logical development." Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Freund, Rabbi Yisroel M. Dushinsky, Rabbi Yisroel Yaakov Fishman, Rabbi Binyomin Rabinowitz "These lines testify to the excellence of the fellows of the Mee hon Hahoyroa." Rabbi Shmuel Wosner, Rabbi Yitzchok Braunfeld, Rabbi Nasson Gestetner-Beis Din, Bnei Brak . astute perception and vast knowledge on a wondrous scale ... These writings are surely worthy of wide distribution." Rabbi Yoseif Grunwald Puppa Rav, Brooklyn, "Meehan Hahoyroa's unusual achievement is evident in the sefer it has produced, which is replete with quotations from all over and Poskim ... Whoever supports this institution is worthy of G-d's most bountiful blessings!" ~ Rabbi Shimon Schwab-Kehillas Adath Yeshurun, N.Y.C. Use the order form below to secure your Yissachar BeOhalecha at $18 per copy. (Special price for yeshiva or kollel fellows-only $10) Most sincerely, Meehan Hahoyroa ,------' Mechon Hahoyroa, POB 371, Monsey, N.Y. 10952 Gentlemen: 0 I would like a copy of Yissachor BeOhoiecho 0 Enclosed please find $18 0 $10. \ I want to participate in the support of the work of Meehan Hahoyroa: 0 Enclosed please find my contribution of$------­ \ I am interested in more information. I 0 Send me some of your literature. 0 Call me at ______

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The search for one's roots is today of consuming • interest to many Americans-perhaps inspired in good measure by the feelings of insecurity, alienation, and Remember the organization that••• has been plan- lack of personal identity which so many experience in ning for Torah, speaking for Torah and taking our time. We might therefore be tempted to dismiss decisive action for Torah for close to six decades .. , such digging into one's past as an idle hobby in imita­ when you make your wilL tion of others. In reality, however, we Jews have a It is the best way to use your weal.th of wisdom special interest in trying to trace our ancestry, and stand and experience from the past, to devote your finan­ to gain d great deal from it. cial -resources to_ the securing _of future_ generatinn-s. Dr. Kranzler very clearly points out these benefits, Only Agudath Israel of America has be.en taking and this is one of the distinctions of this fine volume. care of children in youth prograrns,. pioneering in The author provides all the necessary technical guid­ sUmrne,r ca:mps, sponsoring contests and-study pr-0- ance on how to trace one's family tree; he furnishes grams . , , sample charts and forms, suggests the best procedures Only Agudath lsrael of America has been pub­ for gathering and storing information, and provides lishing The Jewish Observer, Dos Yiddishe Vort and addresses of archives and lists of reference works which position papers .._ . might be of help. Beyond this, however, he also shows Only Agudath Israel has been running COPE how the reader can learn a lot about the past of our fOr our -community's vocational needs, Project people, in general, and about his own relationship to RISE for Russian immigrants, JEP to reach out to this past, in particular. kids who are far from Torah , .. Several chapters provide relevant and fascinating Only Agudath Israel of America speaks for you information on the migrations that mark Jewish his­ with dignity and force in the halls of.legislature and tory; on Jewish names and what they teach us; and on before _gOv_ernment agencies .•. Jewish dates and the Jewish calendar in general. (One Shouldn't Agudath Israel of America continue slight mistake in this chapter: the witnesses for Kid­ to do this for you-after you no longer can? dush Hachodesh were not sent out by the Sanhedrin,) Our legal advisors can guide you regarding cor­ Even more important than what the reader learns from rect fOrriis _and procedures~ -tax adv

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The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 33 SCHECHTER'S Jewish Home appears to have been overlooked. More­ over, the listings are painstakingly accurate-the only mistakes noted by this reviewer were the listing of ·:~:·Ca7/il8£4N·@~ Oppenheimer's book on tithing in the section on Mitz­ 1n11c oc1u,1o•r tiloc• - 111• i.: u" 11._ MIAMI IEACH vos of Eretz Yisroel (actually it deals with maaser . 11 • GREAT Kosher Hotel - you'll love /fl kesofim), and the failure to indicate that the Hirsch Haf­ • DIAL I/ii~~ REE brochure ~atf Pool 1n tarot, though sold with the Hirsch Chumash, were not MIA.Ml and bo0~le1 o• car. Sandy Be•ch the work of Rabbi S.R. Hirsch, but of his son. llACH 800-327-8165 •Oceanfront There is, however, a more serious problem that is FREE! Sy n•gogu• posed by a volume such as this: what should be includ­ FREE Pirk1n9 ed? I do not refer here to the types of literature; obviously the author can set his own ground rules-for instance, he decided not to include a section on chil­ dren's literature (though he included Haderech, the British Pirchei Agudath Israel's children's magazine­ and omitted Torah Umesorah's Olomeinu). I am con­ cerned, rather, with the standards used for determining which individual works deserve to be included in such a list and which do not. Do we mean with "traditional Torah literature" any work that is written by Orthodox Jews or deals with a traditional topic? Or do we mean only works that can be relied upon to present strictly In the spring of 1580, reliable guidance to authentic Torah thought and the Exalted Rabbi of knowledge as Gedolei Yisroel delineated it? The ques­ Prague, Yehudah Loevy tion relates to a number of books listed in this biblio­ hen Bezalel (1513-1609) graphy. Thus the author included the Soncino Books of created a man out of clay the Bible (on 'Nach); yet, unlike the Soncino Chumash, (a golem) to protect the they draw heavily on Christian and Bible-critical Jews from persecution. For the past four cen­ turies, the elusive Golem mystique has tantalized LEARN TORAH EACH DAY the curiosity of scholars The Tor ah gives Joy and Blessing. and laymen alike If a DAF YOMI is beyond your reach, join the thou­ throughout the Western world. Final1y, the sands who follow the MISHNA+HALACHA YOMITH. Golem has been skill­ Send for your free luach today! fully captured within the dramatic confines of a Rabbi Elias Karp definitive and enlighten­ 1880 47th Street ing portrayal ... Brooklyn, N.Y. 11204 IN MEMORY OF •a newly dramatized and illustrated adaptation of the documented RABBI CHARLES M. BATT a"h adventures of the Golem of Prague-sparked by mystery, intrigue, and Hartford, Conn. the uncommon which rise to unforgettably ironic dentiuements. •a comprehensive overview of vs. black magic, demonology, science vs. miracles, and the other golems in Jewish history. •the first serious effort to examine the Golem epic from a non-legendary viewpoint. The only Orthodox English Y1dd1sh weekly in This startling account of one of the most controversial metaphysical feats the world presenting the authentic Torah on record-and its aftermath-promises to become a significant milestone in the dearer understanding of the traditional Jewish perspective of the viewpoint occult and the supernatural. 1HE GOLEf\11 OF PAAGlJE by Gershon Winkler 1!lu~trawd by Yo(hanan Jones Jlo!lo-~,~~~I Hardbound $12.95 3b5 pp .. bX9 Softbound $9.95 Now available 111 bookstores, or direct (postpaid) from: 97, Stamford Hill London, N. 16. England THE JUDAICA PRESS .l\nnual subscnptron Airmail $35 Surface marl: $25.00 521 Fifth Ave. New York, N.Y. 10017 (212) 260~0520 !- ree cataio~ue upon reque;t (Plea~e include ;ale> !ax where appl" able) Write now for your free sample copy

34 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 -

sources and, in this reviewer's opinion, do not belong. Likewise, a number of other books listed (such as Steiman's Maharil or Philipp Goodman's festival anthologies) cannot be considered reliable guides to traditional Torah teachings. Then there are quite a few books in this volume which basically are written from a Torah viewpoint, but can only be recommended with IlrtQ llarnh Wrarqrn1' Q!ollrgr of tlntttrral reservations because of factual or interpretational flaws. 1750 Glendale Ave, Montreal, Quebec H2V1B3 This reviewer would suggest that, for a future edition, there should be a stricter screening of the titles to be (514) 739-3614 included, and-when necessary-annotations should Our Seminary is now accepting dormitory call the reader's attention to reservations that may be in applications for the forthcoming year. place in the case of some of the books remaining on the list. Until then, the reader will surely benefit greatly All out-of-town students who want to study in this from the availability of this bibliography, but he will well-rounded program, please write for an inter­ have to exercise some caution and critical independence view. in drawing on its titles. Picturesque, European styled Montreal, is a beautiful setting for your Seminary education. SORRY - we must stop sending WE GIVE COURSES IN: THE JEWISH OBSERVER when your CHUMASH CHILD PSYCHOLOGY subscription runs out ... RENEW NOW ! NEVllM METHODS OF DINNIM EDUCATION HEBREW REMEDIAL READING TEFILAH SPECIAL EDUCATION JEWISH HISTORY STUDENT TEACHING YAHADUS PHYSICAL EDUCATION 6~~ EARLY CHILDHOOD (IN OUR OWN L' ~ \ \•I,~ ~,' ~ MUSIC. A. & C. GYM & POOL) ·~ ~ OUR PROGRAM ALSO CONSISTS OF OPTIONAL COLLEGE LEVEL COURSES IN: • '/'''./ 1\' ,\ s. ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION ,/} \j FRENCH CONVERSATION, LITERATURE ~ \.g ' Yosail Silverman AND COMPOSITION. Our staff members are experts in the field of higher education GOO MIER Rabbi M. Barkany Mrs. J. Russ "la ~t7U:-I Dr. H. Biberfeld Mrs. H. Schechter Appearing on a super new T·Shirt Rabbi E. Finkelstein Mrs. D. Taub In Beautiful Color Kids of all ages can now wear the authen1k pkture ot this famous hero. Mrs. M. Glustein Rabbi M. Tober Order a lop-quality wash 'n' we<1r shirt today· only s595 plus postage and handling. Rabbi M. Katz Rabbi P. Tessler Gre<1t for Camp •Gifts• Fund-nUsing •Inquire about reduced prices for quantity orders and custom lenering on b<1cl<. Rabbi D. Mund Mrs. G. Weiss Mrs. M. Porges Mrs. Y. Wenger Check•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• size desirf.'d: Mrs. P. Rabinovicz Dr. A. Worenklein o s (6-8) o M (10-12) o L \ 14·16) Send Check or Money Order To O Sm. adult 0 Record Album Silverline Specialties Mrs. D. Rothschild Rabbi S. Zeffren Plo,>.ase add 'I"" pm;!. & hand. pPr item 179 Montelo Rd. Memphis, Tenn. 38117 Our graduates also receive a government diploma (Quebec equivalent of Juhior College) as our Teachers' College is recognized by the Depart­ ment of Education. RABBIS. AISENSTARK RABBI P. HIRSCHPRUNG of Montreal State _____ ,, __ Zip_-·--_ Principal Allow i'lpprox. 4 wKs_ for dPlivery President

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 35 ------The Special Yarmulka, by Leah Dolinger (Feldheim Children's Books Pub!.) $1.99 The Master of Good and Evil, by Ch. M. Kohn, trans. & ed. by Naomi Shaliv (distr. by Feldheim) $3. 95 The Mighty Minds, a series of twelve biographical The Fox and the Sour Grapes, the first pamphlet in a pamphlets about Torah personalities, by Avieser series on "The Wisdom of the Wise," by Avieser Bur- Bustein (Hillel) $1.50 . stein (Hillel) The Whispering Mezuza, and The Tattered Tallis, by Mitzvos, Mitzvos Everywhere, by A. Mandelbaum Carol Hubner (two volumes in the Devorah Doresh (N'shei Agudath Israel of Phila.) $3.50 mystery series; Judaica Press) Hard cover $5.95, Soft Mitzvos, Mitzvos Everywhere-In Alef Bet Land, by A. cover $4.95 Mandelbaum (pub!. by author) $3.00 Our Sages Showed the Way, by Yocheved Segal (Feld- Yehudis Prepares for Shabbos, Hakeren (dist. Feldheim) heim Publishers) $6.95 $.99 Dov Dov in Seattle and other stories, by Yona Wein------berg (the sixth Dov Dov story collection; Dov Dov These books and pamphlets are welcome evidence of Publications) $2.50 the continuing boom in reading material for our chil- A Yid Cares, and other stories, by Rabbi David ]uravel dren. They form a representative and varied sample. (published by the author) $2.50 Our Sages Showed the Way and the Devorah Doresh Tzvika, four pamphlets in a series of stories (Hakerem mysteries are hardcover volumes, while the others are Pub!., distributed by Feldheim) $.99 each, 4 vols. smaller softcover editions. The Mighty Minds series r------PLEASE CUT OUT AND USE FOR HANDY REFERENCE ------, I I I ''1800'', Can I Help You? On May 23, your life line to Orthodoxy's Action Center has been changed. 964-1620, Agudath Israel of America's phone number for decades, will no longer answer, Instead, your calls to Agudath Israel's national headquarters should be dialed: 791-1800 Growth and expansion have made imperative that Agudath Israel modernize its telephone system, to serve you better. Part of this involves change of our telephone number. Also, it means that you will be able to dial certain individual departments directly; please do so because it will facilitate your services: Bnos Agudath Israel ... , ...... 791-1818 Nshei Agudath Israel Camp Agudah/Bnos ...... 791-1823 (Women's Division) ...... 791-1843 Commission on Legislation and Office of Government and Civic Action ...... 791-1840 Public Affairs ...... 791-1844 Dos Yiddishe Vort ...... 791-1812 Pirchei Agudath Israel ...... 791-1837 Jewish Observer ...... 791-1814 Project RISE ...... 791-1830 Russian Immigrant Zeirei Agudath Israel ...... 791-1820 Rescue Fund ...... 791-1815 Orthodox Jewish Archives .... 791-1839 THESE NUMBERS WILL NOT CHANGE Commission on Senior Citizens: Project COPE: Bensonhurst 3724300 Administrative Offices 587-9250 Boro Park 854-7430 C\lent Service Center 587·9200 Flatbush (Brookdale) 434-8670 Community Services Division 587 ·9248 Upper Manhattan (Moriah) 923.5715 Brooklyn Office 851-0333 Jewish Education Program (JEP) 941-2600 Displaced Homemakers-Fresh Start Training Program 434"8098 Needy Aid for Jewish Residents (NAJR) 436·5378 COPE Vocational Institute: Southern Brooklyn Community Vt>cational Skills Division 587-9257 Organization (SBCO) 435-1300 Business Skills Division 587-9259 L------______j 36 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 and the Devorah Doresh mysteries are for the teenager, dishisms and Hebraisms without spelling and gram­ whereas the other books are for younger children (they matical mistakes? Finally, is the presentation adequate­ are here listed in descending order, with those for the is the story sufficiently dramatic to hold the reader's youngest level listed last). Some present stories and interest or is it too overloaded with obviously didactic parables drawn from rabbinic literature (Our Sages material or jut plain too simplistic to be of interest? And Showed the Way, Master of Good and Evil and The Fox is the artwork of acceptable quality and suitable for the and the Sour Grapes); the Mighty Minds series consists age level for which the book is destined? of historical vignettes, and the other titles listed offer While all the titles listed are of value and deserve stories drawn from children's daily lives at home and in widespread distribution, some stand out as particularly school. They all, however, each in its way, make a con­ excellent, when evaluated in the light of these criteria, tribution to Torah literature for children, conveying while others would have benefitted from a firmer edi­ important lessons in hashkafa and midas through the torial hand. vehicle of juvenile fiction. Our Sages Showed Us the Way is an excellent ren­ As more and more material of this nature becomes dering of the Hebrew work, "1l'l.l'n 11VY "'" presenting available, these must of course also be an effort to strive rabbinic stories in attractive and most readable form. for ever higher standards-and this is a subject deserv­ adaptations of forty-three rabbinic stories in attractive ing some consideration: juvenile literature must be and most readable form, arranged under eleven evaluated on several counts. Is the content satisfac­ headings, from "The Love of Torah" to "Kindness to tory-are accurate facts and the right ideas and values Animals." For every story, the rabbinic source is listed conveyed to the reader? ls the form satisfactory-an to enable the reader to refer to the original, if he so acceptable and appropriate style, free of confusing Yid- desires. THE SIXTH KNESSIA GEDOLAH A Memorable Event that you will want to relive in sight, sound, and indelible impression through: 0 5 90 min. cassette tapes, featuring selections from some of the stirring addresses from the Knessia Gedolah sessions ...... $17.95 0 Sefer Knessia Gedo/ah-a four hundred page history of the five previous Knessios featuring in-depth articles, essays, and hundreds of historical photographs ...... $10.00 0 The special issue of Dos Yiddishe Vort, Agudath Israel's Yiddish-language monthly's special 98-page issue on the Knessia Gedolah, with transcriptions of all major addresses and striking photographs. 0 The. ~~~~i~i is~~~-~i Th~.j~:Uisii' Ob;~~~: A~~d~;h ·l~;~~l'~.E~~1is'1-: l~~~~~~~- ~~bli~~ti~~: f~~t~~i~ J major addresses, comments and photographs, a double issue ...... $2.50

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The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 37 Hakeren pamphlets distributed by Feldheim Pub­ the readers-a factor of particular importance because lishers also deserve the fullest praise-in particular the the writer of religious fiction is handicapped in building Tzivka stories which gives the readers an insight into up dramatic situations. He does not want to present an the life (and some of the problems) of the Cheder chil­ attractive evil-doer, nor wrongdoing as a real alterna­ dren in Jerusalem. The Special Yarmulka, too, is well tive to doing the right thing; in consequence, his heroes done-but it raises a question previously touched on by all too often tend to be one-dimensional "goody­ this reviewer: Should our children be confronted with goodies," his anti-heroes shadowy nonentities, and the Yarmulkas that pray and study Torah, and consequent­ plotline nothing more exciting than, say, finding the ly, are magically transformed?-Or Siddurim that talk? challah cover that was misplaced (not that this plot It is noteworthy that stories in some of the other books occurs in any of the titles here discussed). also feature such Siddurim-and one story in Mitzvos, A Yid Cares also presents what might be called real Mitzvos Everywhere , for example, is built around a issues, and will hold the reader's interest; however, the Kiddush cup that laughs and dances. I believe that this language and style are sometimes too colloquial and is an issue that deserves future clarification (Rabbi S.R. even flawed ("his arm was cut quite deep"). While its Hirsch, it should be noted, voiced his disapproval of a artwork is fine, special stress must be placed on the out­ fairytale approach to children's stories). standing illustrations of the Dov Dov volume by Esky Dov Dov in Seattle maintains the well-earned repu­ Cook; the artist actually drew the children of her tation of the Dov Dov series which has been mentioned neighborhood. previously in these columns. The stories deal intelli­ The Master of Good and Evil is the first booklet in a gently with live issues that will engage the interest of series, "Kids to the Fountain." It contains a collection of true stories, parables, and Rabbinic observations, all For Bnei Torah - dealing with the power of speech, its use and misuse. Colored full page illustrations add to the attractiveness Ba'alei Batim - of this publication; and additional titles in this series, Students - Rabbeim: devoted to other mitzvos, will certainly be warmly received. The Fox and the Sour Grapes, too, is the first JUST PUBLISHED~---~

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38 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 contains the well-known story of the fox who made his Mitzvos,Mitzvos Everywhere and M itzvos, Mitz­ way into the vineyard and could not get out again, with vos Everywhere in Alefbet Land are published in the Hebrew text and the English translation; it has out­ somewhat simpler form than the titles so far mentioned; sized letters, and lavish drawings on each page. It is they are offset printed from manuscript writing and very well done (though a few mistakes in punctuation typescript respectively. But they are attractively illus­ of the Hebrew text crept in); however, this reviewer trated and teach the young reader about good midos wonders whether the rather impressionistic style of the and about the Yomim Tovim; and the second booklet drawings is the one most suited for children's books. also provides Alefbet recognition drill. The stories are The Mighty Minds is another new series; thus far, nicely told, though they sometimes appear somewhat twelve titles have appeared, each of which deals with overburdened with the weight of all the information one great Torah personality of the past. We encounter that they seek to teach. Even so, they will be welcomed not only the Rif and Rabbi Joseph Karo, but the Ohr by anybody trying to keep pre-schoolers and beginning Hachaim, the Mishne Lamelech and the Radvaz. The readers entertained in a constructive manner. author presents historical information in an interesting The Devora Doresh mysteries, The Whispering and dramatic manner. Thus these booklets will be par­ and The Tattered Tallis, follow the pattern of ticularly welcomed by teachers who may use them as the earlier volume in this series, seeking to teach Jewish supplementary readings in teaching history. Future valµes through the medium of exciting mystery plots titles, however, should receive better editing. The con­ presented dramatically and in excellent style. This tent itself is well researched (though the Orach Chaim reviewer has no tolerance for Mezuzah charms (such as was not the first Hebrew volume to appear in print; it is appeared in The Whispering Mezuzah) and was rather wrong to say that "the Remoh is considered the final puzzled by a passage in The Tattered Tallis about how poseik ... binding to the end of days"; and from an long one can daven Shacharis; but it is a tribute to the educational viewpoint, the treatment of the Semicha two volumes that no more serious points can be raised controversy and of Rabbi Yitzchok lbn Geyut' s conflict in connection with books presenting so much action with the Rif raises some questions). But it is the imper­ and ranging so widely through Jewish themes.The basic fections of style and language which are largely due to question that some raised in connection with the first translations from Hebrew that will disturb the reader. volume, whether we should cast a girl detective as a role (Would a child understand "an honorary podium" or model, will of course apply to the two new volumes too; "a teacher who would stabilize his personality"?). but, on balance, this reviewer continues to feel that the There are spelling mistakes and odd transcriptions positive values of these books far outweigh this con­ (Mehrein for Maehren, Ruttenberg for Rothenberg, or sideration - none of our girls will become detectives as Dukas Nakos for Duke of Naxos). It is a pity that this a result of reading Devora Doresh, and they may well beautiful and valuable undertaking should be marred pick up a lot of worthwhile ideas and inspiration by such imperfections; while the twelve pamphlets are through the medium of entertaining reading, vastly certainly fully usable in their present form, future edi­ more wholesome than anything they will find in the tions should be better edited. public library. c'< 1J .,.,nti\V Ttagl:'dy Strikes--- Third Time "Shehechianu vekimanu, vehigiyanu lazman hazeh!" oungmothet of nine thildren, from a highly cted family, who in recent years lost both her Readers of The Jewish Observer may recognize the ad reproduced here. husba_nd and a young son, has now passed away, She left behind unmarried chHdren, the youngest a little girl ·of-eight, with neither father nor mother Many of you contributed sums of money-large and small-to this family, for financial and -emotional support. for which they are most grateful. The following Gedolei Yisroel .k"Uii,JV, upon ht>aring of this immense tragedy, have Jssued an urgent call to you, C'Jtih'"l •J::i t:l'Jl:lni to contribute We say "Shehechiyanu" because recently the second son of this tragedy­ as generously as possible to help this family in stricken family has become engaged. This has made the family's financial their time of need, ffor.1v Y.ldkllv Yisn:i~I Kanirvsky Be;!< D(n 'fledr:k - needs grow immensely, but at least this time it is for a Simcha! (t11r Steip/er} [ida H.1~harrid'1s, J~rusaltm lfor.1v Yo<;ef 5hufom Ely••huv Hdzky You will surely welcome the opportunity to contribute to this most worthy ffordv M<.l"hl'" h>in~t<'ln H()raV Mo~he Stffn Horav tlil'"~N M- Schath (Deh>rlzinri /~11v) cause (as evidenced by the encouragement of so many Gedolei Yisroel). (P<>tum.-zhJ H<>ttsko Rrl>b'r)

lt1l•h1 \'1.,wr! frw1lm~n R~bb, Nos•<>n Sd1<'rmM1 R.11>1>, Ch.mi. Yi11dwk Tt!'nk Robbi N"son W<)lp1ri MIFAL TZEDDAKA V'Chessed c/o Yonoson Israel f,u ,ledu11i/1/~ ,-,H-riri/1.,tums um hr madr rmyabl~ to 1680 59th Street/Brooklyn, NY 11204/(212) 236-1666 Mil~l t1ht.fak~ v~ ths,~d '.,, -Y<>nos(ln Jqad Note to our many Canadian and overseas friends: - lt-110 ;,<)th Sr .!BIJyh, NY ·11204/(212) 837,6674 Please make checks payable in US currency.

Tlie Jewish Observer I April, 1980 39 The Jewish Education Program, ~~ who brought to you ,~~IJ 1~rJ Ill "From the Teachings of our Sages ..."

Now proudly presents to the public the 2nd volume in JEP's educational series; ... 1•1li1 '1111)Wi1 ~ A Guide To Torah Hashkofoh Questions & Answers On Judaism by Rabbi Eliezer Gevirtz

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40 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 CONSIDERING COMPUTER PROGRAMMING? WHY NOT THE BEST?

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The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 41 The Sixth Knessia Gedolah

We did not expect our report on the following lines of correction and the recent Sixth Knessia Gedolah of apology. It is hoped that our readers Agudath Israel to be totally com­ will accept this Postscript to the prehensive, but we had hoped that Knessia Gedolah as a supplement to it would be free of any serious the special double-issue on the errors or major omissions. If that topic. were so, we would not be writing

~~~~~~~~~~~~ I. Words from the Gerrer Rebbe M"~'71V The report on the Wednesday evening (Jan. 9) session Dvar Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah-at which members of the Council of Torah Sages addressed the gather­ ing-omitted the fact that the Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Simcha Bunim Alter K"1'''ilD had spoken. We present here some of his remarks: "I herewith wish to underscore the words of encouragement already spoken by my colleagues; that every individual study Torah regu­ larly, and encourage others to do so as well. This is especially urgent in regard to increasing support to our yeshivos, which are in dire financial straits and need every bit of help . . . . And those who support Torah are sure to be blessed with success in all their undertakings. "Agudath Israel must endeavor to achieve all the clauses of the co­ alition agreement with the [Begin] government that deal with religious The movement should endeavor to sponsored institutions all around cor.cerns. These features of the follow this course and increase the Eretz Yisroel. These included vari­ agreement, if realized, would bring numbers of our members . ..." ous orphan homes, kindergartens, appreciable improvement to the nurseries, care facilities for mother status of Torah and would enhance and child, and schools-all main­ a kovod Shomayim immeasurably. tained by the dedicated activities of "lf there is no meal, there can be II. N' shei Sessions N'shei branches around the world. no Torah. This is surely the case in A reception for the N'shei dele­ regard to housing: we must not Little of the Knessia Gedolah gates was tendered at the Plaza continue to crowd into the large report focused on the sessions of the Hotel by the American delegation. cities, and in general, we must N'shei Agudath Israel-the This informal session made it pos­ refrain from pursuing an extrava­ women's branch of the movement. sible for N'shei co-workers from all gant way of life. Actually a separate program for parts of the world to get acquainted "My sainted father 'i"~l put N'shei was conducted, with infor­ with each other and exchange ideas great effort into increasing the mative meetings, inspirational before the opening of formal membership rolls of Agudath Israel. forums, and trips to visit the N'shei sessions.

42 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 The highlight of the Knessia Gedolah for the ladies came on the second day. The main hall of the SHAAREY BNOS CHAYIL Jerusalem Convention Center, the The New Torah High School for Girls in Queens Binyanei HaUma, was overflowing with women and girls. The 5000 PROUDLY ANNOUNCES participants filled the seats as well as the aisles. Inspired talks were REGISTRATION FOR 1980-'81 given by members of the Moetzes Gedolei Ha Torah (including Rabbi THE 'SHEV ACH' HIGH SCHOOL aims to develop the Elazar Shach), as well as other total personality-a Bas Torah equipped to meet the chal­ prominent rabbis, Torah educators, lenges of 20th Century living-dedicated to the spirit and and leaders of Beth Jacob and education of Bais Yaakov. Chinuch Atzmai school systems. The world-wide Vaad Hapoel was formed under the chairmanship OUT-OF-TOWN STUDENT PROGRAM for a select of Mrs. Josephine Reichel, Co­ group of students. Housing in suitable homes in suburban President of the American N'shei. Mrs. Chaye Frankel and the Queens. Bostoner Rebbetzin of Boston were named as American delegates to this For additional information, CALL 847-5546 or WRITE: body. SHEVACH-84-20 !25th Street 1'he closing session consisted of Kew Gardens, N.Y. 11415 a lively give-and-take. It included the viewing of the American audio­ MR. JACK FRIEDMAN, President visual slide presentation, '"A Story of Chessed." RABBI A. MOSHE POSSICK, Principal The opening of a new room in the Dedicated to the Spirit arid Education of Rais Yaak_ov -----' N'shei kindergarten in the Geula section of Jerusalem was dedicated to the memory of Pepi Licht ~"Y by her classmates of the Beth Jacob Seminary in Brooklyn. >,,:\MIGDAL Pincus Mandel towers above Over 50 Years of Shel Emes them all... Kauod Haniftar- A CAREER - not a money-making schemer. H ighe\t in <..jtw!ity, 1•Utst;1 nJ1ng in fl av\ 1r anJ a large selecti1in (lfcher.~e fav1intes. Over 25 Years Experience in KVURA JN ERETZ YJSRAEL Make sure that y(iur next chet'St' 1~ MigJa!.lt's nn t;1ll tale when thev y,n· PINCHAS MANDEL that "t-...11gJ;1I" is the m\1_..,t rru_..,tecl Agent for name in Ktlsher chee\<:. Har Hazaisim, Sanhedria and Har Hamnuchot in Jerusalem, and all •'>JI( l-llc\,l.lUW A\.•'-U( !JlSKI"'- Responsible, Community-Owned • '-1 J( ! ll)..1l 'f\.'-1!-R· "Lil 'f·l\1 (ll_fl\ Cemeteries in Israel. ·!\All\' ( :1 l\ 'PA• !l.'lf\Y M! '1-NSTf-R • ( ! II-Ill 1'\R '-Tl( K'- •I \1\\' S( lllll 'M ( 'HH:.'+_ •IW K\lf\) "M(lKl·ll!V,R~'IH-l-.D PINCUS MANDEL • f\A!W f-ARMf:R'"( f!U-'+ •Ml ;1-~STH< ( 'H\'~K 1569 47th St., Brooklyn, N.Y. • 1.-111/7ARf-LI .'I\ Hl '~K ~SU\ '!:11 11219 Day/Nite Phone: (212) 855-5121 All Bills Rendered on Actual "Costs· Plus" Basis Under tht stt1c! Rab~' nica! supe?V>W>n oi K'hal Adas Jeshuru, Honesty-.--fntegrity.-Responsibility Agudo member-ouer SO years THI BM lll\l lO, . W( lRI.11( lllcbl U l 1:-i< . \JEW YORK. CJ Y

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 43 III. Photographs, pages 32-33-did not. This is deep­ these lines we express apologies for ly regretted, especially because a our omission and deep appreciation Credits and Captions number of these were taken by for his consummate skills. Frank Storch, of Baltimore, Md. Also: the caption under the While most of the photographs Mr. Storch had contributed his photograph of the dais (Page 6) dur­ that were featured in the previous skills and his resources of time, ing the memorial "Kel Molei issue of The Jewish Observer had money, and equipment to preserve Rachamim" was incomplete, and credits, many-notably those that the many special moments of this partly incorrect. Below we present had appeared on the cover and on historic occasion for posterity. In the corrected caption.

In Memory of Six Mi11ion Martyrs: (from left to right) Rabbi Sholom (Ponovezh), Rabbi Klein (saying the "Kel Molei"), Gerrer Rebbe, Noach Brozovsky (5/onim), Rabbi Leib Gurwicz (Gateshead), Vizhnitzer Rebbe (Bnei Brak), Rabbi Shlomo Zalmen Auerbach (Jeru­ Machnovke Rebbe (Bnei Brak), [Rabbi I. Piekarski, Rego Park/ salem), Rabbi (Lakewood), [Rabbi M. Sherer, USA}, Lubavitchj, Rabbi Yitzchok H1-ltner (Y. Chaim Berlin/Cur Arye), Modzitzer Rebbe, Erlauer Rav, Rabbi S. Y. Elyashuv, [Mr. Klagsbald, Rabbi P.M. Alter (Yesh. Sfas £mes), Rabbi Y. Y. Ruderman (Ner / Bostoner Rebbe (Brookline, Mass), Rabbi Chaim Kreis­ Israel), Rabbi Y. Kamenetzky (Torah Vodaath), Rabbi E. Shach wirth (Antwerp).

gudist Ben~vole~t Soci~ I THE WORLD FAMOUS A Shas Kolle! geared to the Oaf Gmillas Chesed I DIGEST OF MEFORSHIM Yomi is b'ezras Hashem being or I '"~" "11'\'l '1'11'? organized, initially in New York r1 Lapidus Bros. l ,.SI .,yu'1t ~))lll ,., l"~"l.1t.l City. A full stipend of day I Gemihrth Chesed Availobf• of machsoro is necessary for each Assn. of the Crown Hts. LEKUTEI INC. Kolle! fellow, for a Kolle! of this 1· Agudath Israel Inc. c/ll I. Rosenberg calibre to succeed. tC We~+ -47th- St'rt.t, Room 102 for applications call Ntw Yott, N._ Y. lOOlt. Your support is needed and Rabbi Joshua Silbermintz 20 Volumes on Torah. Pem, requested, especially now. 1 at 964-1620 or write Medruh, Megilas ancl T almucl. · Help us start by doing your c/ o Agudath Israel Pr~c..d; oJ ,.,•• ditt6b11+.d OMOftf part. If you are interested, send 5 Beekman St., Yftlt;iwo.s O;;d uttd lor tlfilt'illfllff in your commitment to: New York, N.Y. 10038 ol vo/uftt•• -ou1-ol.pti11I PR1CESSPtlt VOLUME Kolle! Chasdei Avos c/o Y. L. Solomon 2 Park Lane Come To

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44 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 ======:i:::ii::i? i''1'1 i:n""""======Noted in Sorrow

During these past few weeks, the American Jewish utions to the host country-both by active service and community suffered the loss of two towering figures. as inspiring example. While the full story of each of Each in his own way had succeeded in transplanting the these distinctive leaders must be told, we are here pre­ full blooded multi-dimensional Kehilla from pre-war senting a brief sketch so the loss should not pass with­ Europe to these shores, preserving a rich, sacred tradi­ out note: tion and at the same timP m,,,L-; ...... ;.nvaluable contrib-

I. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak yeshiva, shechita, milk, wine, kollel, a trusted Kashrus operation, Grunwald- matzos-all under the supervision a mikva, a and a The Tzehlemer Rav of the Rav. His community was in host of enduring organizations of fact the forerunner of the other chessed. But most of all, he built ;i:ii:i? p'ill i:i1 Orthodox kehillos which grew up people, inspiring them with his after the war, composed of newly truth and humility, straightfor­ Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Grunwald, arrived immigrants from Eastern wardness and sincerity, purity and Rav of Kehillas Arugas Habosem in Europe. · integrity, traits that are almost non­ Williamsburg, known as the Tzeh­ Tens of thousands gathered at existent in today's c·onfused world. lemer Rav, died on 27 Nisson, April the levaya led by the Gedolei 12, in New York at the age of 87. He Harabbonim and Roshei Yeshiva, to was the youngest son of the Chuster pay their respects to the doyen of Rav and served as Rav in Visk and the Chassidic Rabbonim in New Orshiva in and in York and one of the final links with Tzehlem, Austria. In 1938, he was the last generation. called to New York by the talmidim of his father as the menace of the Nazis grew. II. Rabbi Dr. In Williamsburg, he headed a n:ii:i? p'iir i:i1 community composed of his father's former talmidim and refu­ gees from and Czechoslo­ Just one week later on 3 lyar, vakia under the name of Arugas April 19, Rabbi Dr. Joseph Breuer, Habosem, after the title of his Rav of the Kahal Adath Jeshurun father's published work. He was of Washington Heights, New York Rav of the Kehilla for 42 years until was niftar at the age of 98. Rabbi his petirah. Breuer personified the loftiest tradi­ tions of that His community was the first in The passing of Rabbi Dr. Joseph New York to be modelled on the his grandfather Rabbi Shamshon Rephael Hirsch had established in Breuer brings to a close an illustri­ Frankfurt-am-Main, 130 years ago, ous chapter of a family history that and that his father Rabbi Solomon spans over a century of the glorious Breuer had perpetuated there. era of German Orthodoxy. Rabbi Breuer was born in Puppa, Hungary, where his father was Rav. He later succeeded his father as Rosh Yeshiva in Frankfurt-am­ You're reading Main. When Rabbi Breuer arrived THE JEWISH OBSERVER, in New York in 1939, he was close but what do you to sixty, yet he rose to the challenge of rebuilding the Kehilla of pre­ "li&ten" to? War Frankfurt. His Kehilla mem­ To hear what's happening in bers were his ever abiding passion. the Torah community, tune in Indeed, Rav Breuer built monumen­ to Agudath Israel on the air. tal edifices:a complete yeshiva com­ W£VD 1330 AM and 97. 9FM Hungarian self-contained commu­ plex that includes a Beth Ha­ 9:30 PM every Motzaei Shabbos nities with its own mikva, cheder, medrash, teacher's seminary and

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 45 Rabbi Pinye Levine, Veteran Leader of Agudath Israel and Beth Jacob, dies zn Jerusalem

Rabbi Pinchos Yaakov Levine, cipal activity of Agudath Israel. a veteran leader of the World In addition, he remained a con­ Agudath Israel organization and stant liaison between the Gerer of the Beth Jacob movement, Rebbe and other Gedolim in passed away Motzoei Shabbos Europe on a full array of Shmini, (April 12th) at the age of Agudath Israel projects, and he 80. News of the sudden death of was later appointed director of the beloved leader spread quickly the Israel division of the Agudath throughout Israel and a large Israel central office in Warsaw crowd of mourners gathered for and published a journal, Eretz the funeral, which took place two Yisroel. hours after his passing. After escaping to Israel along Rabbi Levine was born in , with the Gerer Rebbe during Poland, to Rabbi Chanoch T zvi World War II, Rabbi Levine Levine, known as the Bendiner helped found the Beth Jacob Rabbi Levine at the recent Rov-a son-in-law of the Sfas Sixth Knessia Gedo/ah. Seminary in Jerusalem, which he Emes. Rabbi Pinye Levine and continued to direct until his last his older brother, Rabbi Yitzchok Bendiner Rov, the two brothers days. One of the initiators of the Meir Levine-later to become became actively involved with sixth Knessia Gedolah in Jerusa­ President of the Agudath Israel Agudath Israel from its earliest lem last January, Rabbi Levine World Organization-spent years in Poland. Rabbi Pinye was a major figure at the Knessia. much of their early years in the Levine became a major force in Though already weak and in ill home of the Sfas Emes. the Beth Jacob movement, which health, he left his mark on the Along with the third Gerer had emerged from the first Knes­ sixth World Congress of the Rebbe, Rabbi Avrohom Mor­ sia Gedolah (World Congress) of movement he helped organize 68 dechai Alter, and their father, the Agudath Israel in 1923 as a prin- years ago.

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46 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 falling off their feet with fatigue; charity which might otherwise go to feed hungry people, to build yeshi­ second looks vos in South America or to provide a living wage for a Rebbe; charity, moreover, which is being used to subsidize vacations, new cars, mag­ at the jewish scene nificent homes and all the other essentials of a good frum family. Is it not time that we recognize that Torah costs money and must be Bernard Fryshman paid for in full, as are expensive cameras, restaurant meals and new suits? If a child is from a family that is When Charity Begins at Home really poor, then of course that child must be educated, But the cost of that child's education must be paid Virtually every proposed solution inaccurate; scholarshipS are given for when that child is earning a liv­ to a problem facing the Orthodox tor performance. What the child has ing, There are literally thousands of Jewish Community seems to begin been given-nay, what the parents yeshiva graduates who received a with "Why don't the Roshei Yeshi­ have been given, is charity. Charity, Torah education only because dedi­ vas, , , ," Evidently, there is a recog­ which is raised a dollar at a time, by cated accepted starvation nition among Orthodox Jews that, Rashei Yeshiva who are literally wages in order to be able to fulfill religious considerations aside, there is a special competence, a special Trust your next Catered Affair to the finest leadership which rests among those individuals who head our Torah institutions.

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 47 their mission of raising generation money spent in repaying a loan. after generation of b'nei Torah. For the future we must restore a Young Yerushalmi is bed rid­ Unfortunately, these graduates do sense of dignity to the Torah world. den with heart condition. His not realize that they owe more than Everyone must pay his way; if not wife and 6 small children lack a debt of gratitude to their former now, then at a time when he is money for basic needs. yeshivas. In a very real sense, they capable of doing so. owe money. Indeed, a case can be Should this actually come to pass Please issue check to: made for the thesis that money they before Moshiach, then we will see Bikur Cholim Inc. send to their alma mater is not tzed­ the Roshei Yeshivos doing all the and mail to: dakah to be deducated from ma'aser things everybody expects them to Rabbi Avrohom (tithing for charity), but rather do. \.'I'. Blunmenkrantz 814 Caffrey Avenue Considering Office Far Rockaway, N.Y. 11691 Employment? .

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Shorthand/Secretary, 16 weeks ft ...... _ ...... -~ .. .., ...... ~ h•F'""tt'b0••1 "'""""" ~''"" "'\,,,-:" ' Bookkeeper/Secretary, 16 weeks n'w n Busi11ess Skills Division 1979 - 80 of ..I'! ' :, ,,._,,; Placement assistance available f "'"'"'- AC•DIMY-- Of C<>vf<>NO FOR MORE INFORMATION "~"-·'•''······.... --·. ""··<·••-.. • "'""'" AND ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES Catalog sent upon request. Send A dn••SIOl1 ol CALL C. V.I. 587-9257 , $1.00 for handling to: Agudath Israel HEBREW ACADEMY of America 5 Beekman St., Suite 513, N. Y., N. Y. 10038 I PUBLICATIONS DEPT. Reg;,tmd by the New YMk State Educahan Depa•tme:___j 1860 South Taylor Rd. L Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118 48 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 implicit Besides, it has been clearly Thank You, Elie Wiesel stated many times: Until now we Jews suffered a go/us mentality, and accepted our fate like sheep, We I have no trouble explaining to for example, "remembers" on the were not worthy of nationhood, myself why I should overcome 20th day of Av, , , , The rest of us With this military action of the instinctive emotional impulse, and rely on Tisha B' Av, the day of Warsaw Ghetto uprising, however, stay away from Yorn Hasho' a national mourning, for our remem­ we've proven our worth. We can assemblies. I mourn the losses of bering and our grief, fight, And we will again, The long World War II, and I do seek a centuries of suffering are closed legitimate format for expressing my * * * with armed might, which in turn grief. Yet I can not participate in More, there are ideological ushers in a new era of statehood , .. these public gatherings and I find reasons why I cannot accept the dignified nationhood, my reasons compelling. Yorn Hasho' a date, It is not mere How can I accept this without But every so often I meet people happenstance that placed this denying the dignity of those of the who are genuinely disturbed - commemoration just a few days Six Million that had no recourse to survivors, children of survivors, prior to Yorn Ha' atzmaut, selecting arms, and yet had the courage to men and wumen of conscience, the day marking the end of the preserve their Judaism, and their compassion, and concern - and Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, The basic humanity, in the presence of somehow my reasons do not satisfy choice of date is a political statement their murderers? Are the men of them: Why don't you join us in by an Israeli Knesset subcommittee, spiritual might less heroic than the communal mourning? Occasions and I do not subscribe to that state­ men of the daring Molotov cocktail? such as this must cut across ment. For a clearer understanding of Wouldn't I be identifying myself denominational differences, We the reasoning behind it, take note of with those who believe in "the were all equal as victims, and we its complete name: "Yorn Hasho'a might of my arm" if I focus my should all be together as remem­ Vehagevura Holocaust and memorial for six million martyrs berers! , , , Now I believe I can Heroism Day," and the message of exclusively on those who bore arms answer them, thanks to Elie WieseL this juxtaposition is more than to fight? This I refuse to do, * * * My reasons are simple enough. The day selected for Yorn Hasho' a is the 29th of Nissan, and halacha for­ bids us to express mourning· pub­ 'Haolatn' Cheese licly during the month of Nissan, Even when a person dies during this month, eulogies and tearful com­ a tradition ... memoratives are postponed .... We KASHRUTH, VARIETY dwell within the time-frame of our QUALITY AND EXPERIENCE calendar, and it does not tolerate tears during the month of redemp­ For over 25 years you've heen tion. enjoying our Kosher How about another day, another cheeses produced from Cho Inv month? The question was posed to Y1sroel under rhe supervision & the revered Chazon !sh, and he cert1tieJ ko>her hy answered very simply: "We in our K'hal AJa5 Je>hurun, time are not of great enough stature N. Y. t-faol

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 49 There is more: can I join this This monologue, of course, is a should my colleagues - unless they memorial celebration without deny­ lie. The shammos who survived, no thoughtlessly follow in the footfalls ing nineteen hundred years of state­ less than the congregants who of Wiesel ... like sheep. !.'I'. less nationhood? Was there no didn't, had "Shma Yisroel" on his Jewish People prior to 1948? It lips to the very end. If Mr. Weisel, ....• • seems that the exponents of Medi­ in his time of suffering, did not, e=sHEllV ...... niut stop at nothing to promote who are we to judge him? But in .. . . their ideology, and do not even denying the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, ...... hesitate to exploit the memory of and Jacob in the hour of remember­ = lADli ...... the Six Million, if necessary, to sell ing, we do not accept him ... We .... E · ardlestra : .: . their particular brand of heroism, only use his words as corroborating . • .• their concept of peoplehood. I, for testimony to that which we knew all = 438-3402 one, cannot be a party to their along: "But alas, there is no fear of designs. G-d in this place" (Abraham to the Canadian readers are advised either King of the Philistines). to subscribe at the overseas rate of * * * No less than the neshamos of $1 additional per year, or to indi­ Then there is a matter of loca­ the kedoshim, I too cannot enter the cate on their checks that the $9.00 tion. The big Memorial Assembly portals of a place devoid of fear of payment is to be made in U.S. that attracted national attention was G-d. Neither, for that matter, funds .. held in New York's Temple Emanu­ el, a place that halacha enioins one RABBI MOSf.S FE:INSTf.JN not to enter. ... A place where most America's Torah '" r. D. fl. muvt .. r·~" ~ .. of the Warsaw Ghetto martyrs ~"~ \'o'> N Y LOOD1 would not only feel like "strangers Leaders Joins Those ofEretz Yisroel in an alien place," but would likely "'" e•n~l1 ""'n' "'" "" \! '1U 1•• '"' "" "°'""" """ o'•"ro..- '""'"' "'"•" "'' 1'" ,,,, '"'' "" cross the avenue to avoid passing in in Calling for "'"'""" "" "'' """""" """ '""'" •o: "'""" >n "" "'''" H'"'·' '"" "" """' "" "'''' """' '''lO' the shadow of its imposing facade. """" ""''" l'>' "'' ,.,,_ .,,.,,, '"'"' """' '""' ""'"' Your Support of ""'" ., 1'"" .• , .,.,,. "''"" ''"'" •'"''"" '1'• ,,, •• . . . A- service in this house of wor­ ·""····-· p' '''"'""- .• ,,. ,.,,, .. .• ,,- ""'"•• ,,, ,,,.,.,,.,, "''''" "'"' """' '"ll ,,,.,.,,,, ""'"'' .. the Men of Valor 1'"'' """'" ''' '"'''" a1• ''' '>H 0•1•a , • .,., """ ship is less a tribute than an insult '"'"" ••• ,. ,,., .... ,, ·~- , .. ,.,, '" •"1 ,,,.,. , •.,, ,,., ''" '"' 1'''' "" ·''"' "'"" "" 01•r "'" '"'' ,o to their memory. Who Are •"''"' '-" '"' r'"e" "'"' ''·' ,,.., "''"' '" 11'"• '' '' ,,,,_ •• >""•' O"':': :""I''"'"' K\"t\ !•:'> "'" ··~''' 1·· .. ··~·'· .... ,_ '• .,., , •• ,." •••• •"•''" .... ,, But when welled-up emotions Keeping the Shmittah ,0'>'':'" 0"<0 ">": oo••oo '1"> "''"OK •"H •'':• 0'·'1' ¥1'•> >' '"' O'I'> c'•l"' " ;'Pl '!I;) ,.,_, ,-;p;\ cry out for release, and along comes ·un "''"" °'~ ,.,,,, ,, ___ ., :•i:•• ''''' H'J"''' ,;,; During the Year """:"' ,, ..,,.,, "'"' ""' ""''~' ,.,. "''"' """'' ~,, this widely publicized gathering, ,,,.., ""'~"~ '"''~ ., ,,. '"'" •:: "''"' ,.,, """' ·'''""" "'" , .. ,,.. ,,,. .., "'""' ,,, '""' ,.,, "' arguments spoken from my head do 5740. not always sway the heart of the listeners. So, in the past, my ex­ planations for staying home were not accepted by all Yorn Hasha' a mourners who asked: "And why weren't you there?" This year, however, my lot was made much easier, thanks to Elie Wiesel, poet of . His Ri:ibbi Moshe Feinstein (see lette_r), thl' words gave me words of explana­ .------·--Keren H_aShvi'is.fc.. /6_ A. gud. ath_ Israel of I tion that others must accept. I quote -Agudos Horabbor1im, and the Hisachdus America/5 Beekman St/NYC 10038 or c/o to you ! from the New York Times: Horabboilim, among others1 turn to -Rabbi YaakoV Perlow/1569-47 St./ 1 help-the 1300 indepettdent farmers who have Brooklyn. N.Y. 11219 I There was a hush as Elie Wiesel, responded to the call of Mo$hav Kommemius I the writer, told of the shammos, or to keep the Sabbatical year of rest , 1 fn response to the can of Gedolei Yisroel_,I beadle, of a small Eastern Europe These men now rriust find means of sup~ 11 am enclosing my contribution of $ to the synagogue who after each massacre port during this year of abstenance from I Ker~ Hashvi'is. ' of Jewish townspeople wou Id say to farming. Israel's Torah leaders have Cr'eated a G~d, "You see, we are still here." fund -to support this undertaking-iroic I Address l whisper, "You see, I am still here." mitzvah of keeping the Shmittah and -as our ''But," he added, "You, G~d of teacht>rs have told us-hastening the -arrival I Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, where of Moshiach. City, State, Zip are You?" J

50 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980

-""·------and . Due to our location, we are 10 Letters rhc f,'diror The Kolle! also maintains a privileged to have such Torah Torah Tape Library of dbout 150 luminaries as Rabbi Yaakov Kame­ ® cassettes (the number is expanding) netsky and Rabbi Y. Y. Ruderman of the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Zweig's attending basic kollel functions. lectures on Chumash and Jewish These are but a few of the spiri­ ,ophy. Copies are ordered tual activities taking place in what was known as the materialistic Kolle! in Miami Beach from all parts of the USA and many parts of the world (Australia, Japan, capital of America.

To the Editor: South Africa, Canada, England and YECHIEL MoisHE NAKDIMEN Your recent article dealing with T<:r.:H>I \ Miami Beach, Fla. the new kollelim (Oct '79) omitted one of the oldest and most promi­ Announcing the Completion C>f ArtScroll's nent - the Miami Beach Kolle!. I have the good fortune to have atechezket I EZEKIEL been with the kollel from its incep­ The prophecies of redemption are brought to life tion in Elul 5734, and have watched With rare beauty and depth. it grow dramatically, both internally Rabbi MoshE! Elsern of kOharrii-n and tituaL 17 iwekesbury- Dtive ended with prophecies of redemption,"' and the rtl l'litY This volume is a hy to and Magog is 'foretold tioris of th(';Se obscure chapters Neuer have these chaptel'E been so /ul!y- end so deerly the many problems arising out of the im­ - elucidated betwe<'h the covers of a slngle volume. pact of pre-sent~day conditions On NEW: Volume Ill - The Thi_rd Temple - Will undoubtedly Marriage-, and Divorce:- Civil Marriages; Vol. Ill (chapters 40·48)."J'heThird Temple. Yechezkel ~!and a's the definitive work on the to}'.llc. a sefer that stands Gittin al i'hai'by-a -soldier before joining describes the construction of the future. Temple. the iww alone the ,Forces; the Agunah problem in the future; Kiddlishim al T'n<.ii; the status of Vol. I Vol. Ill The Thl'f'd Temple (Chs. 1·20,'\nduding 'OvettJiew! (Ch, 40-Condusion) THE PERFECT GIFT the educated deaf·fnute i'n Jewish Law. lnc!udlng pull·out diagram, All three volumes are available All these problems' are deah with _by the Vol.JI {Chs. 21-40) Appendices. Biographical sketches as a set in an elegant gold-stamped slip case An ideal gift learned author with caution and erudi~ ~,, and comprehE!nslve lndell. 95 fion, and_ Formula.des are appended 1n 95 5 horo'couer$38 Poperbock$2995 connettion with each subject. fwrdcouet$12 Paperback $99 hardcov-er$119& P~petback$895 Vol. 3 $10. plus P.P. SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR READERS OF This is truly an- EncydopaE!dic work, 1HE JEWISH OBSERVER: 10%...... OFF LIST PRICE ..._ and is_ of an exc_eptitinally:high standard ------______I Ml!1lorah Pubhcatlons, Ltd as regards c:ontent, style and methods of fowl$ preseritation, J :ie(~;[,;~~:~y· lrge Ni~y ,,; ,; .n~wwi:i i'o•Wge and hond/rn paedicwork. Specially recommended for YECHEZKEL/EZEKIEL vol. Ill Cit;-· Slaie Rabbis, Teachers_ an_d Laymen, I 1-.ordcowr ,,; $11.95 paperback '" $8.95 3 Vols. (Hebrew) $18 I YECHEZKEl/EZEKIEl vols. !,JUI (eieganlly sl•p-cased! AJ!ow 34 weeks for deU.,..ry I Postage and Pkg. Extra \. hardcover '" $38.95 paperbork '" $29.95 - 1111 /<>r~''l" ordy,-., l'I be r>

52 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 "Only Torah Can Unify Jews," Agudath Israel 58th Dinner Hears

58 ¥~RS flijr"llJH!l 5:.ti!V'.Jl'JU!t AGUDA:Tff .ISRAEt #AMERICA 1 TORAH COALITION ADVOCACY.SEl?VIC£

"Jewish leadership is destined to failure Agudath Israel as "more than an umbrella for Director of Agudath Israel, presented unless it seeks to bind together diverse ele~ a large number of highly effective service A vodas Hakodesh Community Service ments of Jewry through Torah." This was the bureaus. It is Kial Yisroel in microcosm, Awards to Chaim Czermak, Rabbi Yaakov gist of the message which Rabbi Yaakov expressing the various roles and functions of Fink, Rabbi Dov Greenbaum, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky, the senior member of the the Jewish totality under Torah guidance." Klass, David Klugmann, Mordechai Neu­ Moetzes Gedolei Ha Torah (Council of Torah A narration entitled "History Repeats - stadt, Leo (Labish) Rapaport, David Singer, Sages), told the over 1200 guests at the 58th But Not By Itself" dramatically brought to and Moshe David Tabak. Annual Dinner of Agudath Israel of America life Agudath Israel's fidelity to its ongoing The dinner was opened by Menachem this past Sunday, May 11. The revered Rosh tradition of youth work, service to the new Shayovich, veteran Agudath Israel activist, Yeshiva stated: "Jews have always been dis­ immigrant, and advocacy before government who was dinner committee chairman; the tinguished by different approaches of service agencies on behalf of Jewry. Interwoven with evening was chaired by Rabbi Elozor Meir to community and to G-d. In view of these the narration, delivered by Dr. Solomon Teitz of Elizabeth, N.J. differences, strife and conflict would be in­ Simonson of Monsey, N.Y., were brief testi­ evitable, if not for a dynamic binding leader­ monials by individuals who had benefitted ship. But without Torah, that leadership is from Agudath Israel programs - ranging K A R K· A I N I S R A E L without meaning or strength of cohesion. from a yeshiva rebbe who had been brought Take advantage ot the opportunity These past ten years have witnessed a re­ from public school to yeshiva by his Pirchei to purcha·se cemetery plots 1n surgence of a Torah-based leadership. This Agudath Israel leader forty years ago, to this Eretz Yisroel in Mifgash Shimshon trend must be furthured by the community's year's Pirchei Mishnayos champ, who com­ rtear Yerushalayim through our increased involvement in the activities of pleted all Six Orders of Mishnayos for his newly established Agudath Israel, which is the historical ex­ Bar Mitzvah; from an immigrant who in CHEVRAH OSEH CHESED pression of a Torah coalition force." 1941 was housed in Agudath Israel's Refugee OF AGUDATH ISRAEL The guests that crowded the grand ball­ Home headquarters at 616 Bedford A venue, Membership in the Chevra en­ room of the New York Hilton on this occa­ in Brooklyn, where he launched the Shatnez title; one to all bonefits which sion to pay tribute to the movement's ideals Laboratory, to a recently-arrived Russian accompany the services · of a and express a vote of confidence in its child who just had a bris, thanks to Agudath Chevra Kadisha ~nd interment. designs for further growth, included out­ Israel. When you purchase a plot from standing rabbinic leaders, yeshiva deans, The evening also featured the presentation the Chevra Oseh Chesed of Agu­ representatives of Chassidic communities of awards to outstanding community leaders dath Israel. you are supporting the and lay leaders. by Rabbi Moshe Sherer, the movement's many Agudist activities especially The guest speaker of the evening was president. The awardees were Al Rieder, the Pirchei and Bnos ac·tivities as Rabbi Baruch Horovitz, British-bred founder recipient of Reb Elimelech Tress Memorial well as a Free Loan Fund in Israel. and dean of the Yeshiva D'var Yerushalayim Award, as the "Shearis Hapleitoh Man of the For an applicatiot1 <'Ind information c.*!L in Jerusalem, which was one of the first Year" for exemplary service; Alan J. Rosen­ (212) 964·1620 Israeli yeshivas established to meet the needs berg, recipient of Moreinu Yaakov Rosen­ of the baa! teshuva. Rabbi Horovitz declared heim Memorial Award for distinguished ser~ that "the time has come for our community vice to Agudath Israel; and Ezriel Tauber, FV 7-17'.iO to stop fretting about outside influences and recipient of the Hagaon Rav Aharon Kotler abandon retrenchment. Now we must direct Memorial Award for distinguished service to ~'''"":e ·N~ our efforts outward toward our searching Torah. it:t:-'~'"'i'C 1":~ "e;:;\:.'~•.•,•.~:; brethren." The Yeshiva dean declared Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, Administrative ----·-----·-----·------

The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 53 $5 Million to Save Boro Park Blighted Area: Agudath Israel Announces

A $1 million federal Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) combined with a $4 million private financing package will help develop a large portion of the northeastern Baro Park section of Brooklyn to save the neighborhood from blight on its borders, it was announced by the Southern Brooklyn Community Organization (SBCO), the community development agency of Agudath Israel of America. The project will provide home ownership for large, moderate-income families. At a press conference in Brooklyn, at which city, state and federal officials were present, SBCO-a broadly based inter~ethnic coalition-said that the development will be situated on vacant lots along Fifteenth Avenue between 38th Street and 41st Street and will contain condominium apartments, each with four bedrooms. The package also includes a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 235 subsidy which will reduce the mortgage rate to as low as 4%. Congressman Stephen Solarz, who played a key role in obtaining the grant, told the press that this is the first UDAG to be used exclusively for housing and the first section 235 allocation in the City of New York. In New York City, UDAG projects are coor­ dinated by Council President Carol Bellamy and Deputy Mayer Peter Solomon. Just two years ago, the lower Fifteenth corridor was A lot on 15th Avenue Boro Park, where new SBCO-sponsored housing will replace experiencing decay in its housing stock and deteriorating conditions. quality of life. Louis Glueck, a prominent Boro Park community leader and chairman of the Mayor's Office for Economic Develop­ two years ago. SBCO is the product of the the Baro Park Community Development ment, the City Planning Commission, the neighborhood self-help movement which Corporation, opened the conference. "People Department of Housing Preservation and has been encouraged by Assistant Secretary were moving out in droves, small homes were Development and the prestigious Washing­ of HUD Geno Baroni." He praised the being abandoned, real estate values were ton law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver Greater New York Savings Bank which will declining and the area was becoming a ghost and Kampelman, the SBCO Board and staff provide about $4 million in permanent town-that is, until SBCO came into the pic­ devised the Fifteenth Avenue Gardens plan. financing for the project and Anchor Savings ture," said Mirla Meisels, a local comunity Henry (Naftali) Hirsch, a local resident Bank for construction financing. leader. who is President of the Borough Park Com­ In the 2 1/z years of its existence, through SBCO Chairman David Singer added: munity Development Corporation (BPCDC) its community organizing and housing "SBCO was formed because we saw a cancer praised Mayor Koch, Deputy Mayor Nathan development activities, SBCO has reversed developing and wanted to nip it in the bud. Leventhal, and Housing Commissioner the trend of decay on the 15th Avenue cor­ We could not wait until the neighborhood Anthony Gleidman for their leadership role ridor and is making significant progress was so bad that it would be impossible to in the project. "These men, by their involve­ towards that goal on the 10th Avenue corri­ save. ment in the project, have demonstrated dor. A community marketing project in the With the help of the Ford foundation and genuine concern for the middle class com~ Kensington/Ocean Parkway area is begin­ subsequent financial assistance from the munities of our city. We were impressed with ning to see much success as well. New York State Department of Housing and the spirit of cooperation among the various The Fifteenth Avenue Gardens project is Community Renewal, SBCO began to or~ development agencies." Organized by SBCO, ganize the residents of lower fifteenth BPCDC is an independent corporation which expected to be completed within approxi­ Avenue to combat fear and fight for an will purchase and develop the properties for mately one year. Residents will have the improved quality of life. Meanwhile, SBCO the Fifteenth Avenue project. benefit of the 38th Street park which is being researchers feverishly examined all the pro­ Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz, Executive refurbished under a government grant. perties in the area and began to explore Director of SBCO spoke of the grassroots Architects for the project are Rothzeid, strategies to reverse the tide of blight that community involvement in the project. "The Kaiserman and Thomson. Sandor M. Weiss was engulfing the area. With the help of the community has actively participated in the of TAC+, who is a community resident, has staffs of Congressman Stephen Solarz and process of redevelopment beginning with the been engaged as a consulting architect. Borough President Howard Golden as well as demolition of the previous structures almost Jordan Industries will be the builder.

54 The Jewish Observer I April, 1980 Agudath Israel Archives: New Acquisitions Rabbi Elias Spiritual Director of Camp Bnos The Orthodox Jewish Archives of Agu­ presented his papers to the Archives. In­ dath Israel of America was created in 1978 to cluded in his gift are photostats of The Rabbi Joseph Elias, well-known Torah preserve the history of Agudath Israel of Agudah World, published by the American educator and writer has accepted the position America, its impact on the Orthodox Jewish Agudah in 1934, which Mr. Wiederkehr of Manhig Ruchni (spiritual director) of community in America, as well as the general edited. These copies offer intersting insights Camp Bnos, Agudath Israel of America's development of Orthodoxy in this country. into Agudath Israel activities aimed at camp for girls, which is located near Liberty, The Archive's files contain records of strengthening Jn the pre­ New York-according to an announcement rescue and relief activities by Agudath Israel Yeshiva era of the 1930s. by Alan J. Rosenberg, chairman of Agudath and other religious organizations, as well as Other recent acquisitions include the col­ Israel's Camps Committee. Rabbi Elias, who by individuals. While these activities were lections of Mr. David Turkel and Rabbi is principal of the Rika Breuer's Teacher's most intensive during World War II and in Nathan Baruch. Mr. Turkel is a long time Seminary and Yeshiva Rabbi SamsOn the aftermath of the Hungarian Revolution, Agudah activist and was a writer in his youth Raphael Hirsch High School for Girls, brings there are also records of efforts on behalf of in Vienna. His papers include the official to the position decades of pioneering accom­ escapees from other totalitarian countries. German language newspaper of the third plishments in Torah education; as former· Other holdings shed light on such activities Knessia Gedolah, in Marienbad, 1937. (This principal of the Beth Yehudah Schools of of Agudath Israel as support for yeshiva edu­ was the first Knessia Gedolah to have an offi­ Detroit; editor of the trailblazing Jewish cation, legislation to protect the rights of cial delegation from the USA). Pocketbook Series published thirty years ago religious Jews, development of social service Rabbi Nathan Baruch was director of the by Zeirei Agudath Israel and the Spero programs, and activities in cooperation with Foundation; author and translator of numer­ the Agudath Israel movements in Eretz Yis­ Yaad Hatzala in Germany after World War II. He presented the Archives with simple ous articles on Torah philosophy and roel, Europe, and South America. ideology; charter member of the editorial M (212)344 0011 tions distributed food for Pesach to 350 could give. She adds: "The mere fact that - Who/e,dlP Russian Jewish families in Rome who are someone thought enough about them to take - 1\;fdi/ ()rdPr awaiting to leave for the U.S. In addition to time out and bring them a card, especially a RPtdi/ food, Haggadahs and other religious articles Pesach card, made their Yom Tov a festive \pt•f 1dl Redu1 (HH1' to al! Re.irJpr, .,1 were also distributed. occasion '----~l~l~H. II~'\ l\H CJH<..,f R\ f R

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