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U.S.A.$3.00 I Foreign $4.00 Volumexxv /Number4 Tribute to Al of Roic Service IYAR 5752 I MAY 1992 U.S.A.$3.00 I FOREIGN $4.00 VOLUMEXXV /NUMBER4 TRIBUTE TO AL OF ROIC SERVICE eventy years are the life of man. When an organization reaches its seventieth year as the spokesman of man's primary mission, it is a time for assess­ L.=::=----_, ment, ·reflection, and dedication. Agudath Israel has lived its lifetime well, superlatively well, It has breathed inspiration and pride into American Orthodoxy. · From its .earliest days· - when the Agudah consisted of a handful of young families with roots at Sinai, eyes focused on Eastern Europe's Torah life, and hands engaged in building loyal homes in America - Agudath Israel stood for Kiddush. Hashem and .unwavering fidelity to Toras Hashem. Then, its voice was tiny and local; today it is resonant and national. But its message is unchanged, and has brought pride and strength to the cause it serves. We are proud of Agudath Israel and our association with it. And we pay tribute to its leaders, its staff, and all those who make itswork possible. May Hashem Yisborach bless them all with good health, long life, and many more fruitful decades of serving Kial Yisroel. 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Box 1002, Sergeant Bluff, IA 51054-9913 a FREE certificate good for $20 of Terms: I select MCI Long Distance Service as the primary long distance carrier complimentary calls. ® for the telephone number listed above. I authorize MCI to notify my \cxoal telephone company of my choice. I understand that I may choose only one Also, ask about MCI's discount calling primal)' long distance company per number and that the local telephone plans to other countries. company may impose a small charge for this and any later changes. MCI ~--------------------------------~ The makers of All Haolam Cheese products are made in the U.S.A. under the strict rabbinical supervision of: The Rabbinate of K'hal Adath Jeshurun Washington Heights, NY I the most trusted name in Cholov Yisroel cheese, take pride in congratulating Agudath Israel of America on 70 years of exemplary service to the Kial. About the Cover: Rabbi Dr. Meir Hildesheimer (2nd from the left), member of Agudath Israel delegation to America in 1921, commenting on the state of Judaism in the New World: "We were expected to organize the Jews ofAmerica in three or four months -an impossibility! There are three million Jews .. .4,200 Orthodox shuls ... served by 2,500 Orthodox rabbis, and no one has an interest beyond his oum congregation. Such disarray! Such divisiveness! Yet­ perhaps for that very reason - the ideal ofAgudath Israel may well be more relevant to the Jews ofAmerica than it is to European Jewry." THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 MARKING 70 YEARS OF A.GUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICA is published monthly except July and August by the Agudath Israel of America, 84 William Street, 6 New York, N.Y. 10038. Second class postage paid in New York, N.Y. Thinking Aloud Subscription$22.00peryear:twoyears,$36.00; Rabbi Moshe Sherer three years, $48.00. Outside of the United States (US funds drawn on a US bank only) $10.00 12 surcharge per year. Single copy $3.00; foreign Daas Torah $4.00. Send address changes to The Jewish Rabbi Yaakov Feitman Observer, 84 William Street, N.Y., N.Y.10038. Tel: (212) 797-9000. Pr'1nted ·1n the U.S.A. 28 Spokesman in the Halls of Govemment­ RABBI NISSON WOLPIN, EDITOR AnunATH ISRAEL'S EvoLVING Ptrauc ROLE EDITORIAL BOARD IN SHTADWNUS AND ADVOCACY DR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER Rabbi Nasson Scherman Chairman RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS 38 JOSEPH FRIEDENSON RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN Elimelech Gavriel Tress 7"t-A Hero In Our Time Gershon Kranzler MANAGEMENT BOARD NAFTOLI HIRSCH ISAAC KIRZNER 47 RABBI SHLOMO LESIN Books in Review NACHUM STEIN RABBI YOSEF C. GOLDING 50 Buslne!IS Manager A Letter and an Essay: Published by Moetza'ei Shabbos Kodesh, Kiev Agudath Israel of America Goldy Rosenberg RABBI MOSHE SHERER PRESIDENT 51 THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not Letters to the Editor assume responsibility for the Kashrus of any product, publication, or service 54 advertised in its pages Poetry: The Traveler and the Princess ©Copyright 1992 Libby Lazewnik MAY 1992 VOLUME XXV I NO. 4 Rabbi Moshe Sherer tAgudath Israel of America we being a time for celebration, must be of the role of the American Agudah - frequently refer to ourselves a time for introspective reflection and and no greater danger to its future as as a "broad-based grassroots self-evaluation. a vitalforce inAmerican Orthodoxy­ movement." On the surface, this than the myth that Agudath Israel of characterization may appear to be AS A "MOVEMENT" America is merely "a service agency." just another Madison Avenue-type cliche, a p.r. label bywhich the Ameri­ top any Yanke! Q. Public on the First and Foremost, an can Agudah would like to be recog­ street, ask him what Agudath Ideological Movement nized. S Israel of America means to But in truth there is great depth him, and his response will probably gudas Yisroel is, first and fore­ beneath the four-word surface. As we refer to one or several of Agudath most. an ideological move look back at Agudath Israel of Israel's manifold services for the indi­ A ment, a movement with an America's beginnings 70 years ago, vidual and the community: its effec­ historic mission. The primary goal for when a small nucleus of dedicated tive shtadlonus and advocacy activi­ which the world's foremost Gedolei young idealists founded the organiza­ ties, the chessed programs for men, Torah established the Agudah move­ tion as the American arm of the women and children of all ages, the ment 80 years ago, and to which it re­ worldwide Agudah movement, and Oaf Yorn! and other Torah study mains firmly committed still today, perhaps even more importantly as we projects, hatzolah work internation­ was well summarized by Moreinu ponder the urgent and difficult chal­ ally, to mention but a few of the bet­ Yaakov Rosenheim during his re­ lenges that loom on the Agudas ter-known Agudah activities. marks at the historic Kattowitz con­ Yisroel horizon in the years ahead, we Of course, all of this Is true. ference at which the Agudas Yisroel would do well to reflect candidly upon Agudath Israel of America has been a world organization was founded: the implications of being a "broad­ trailblazer in providing numerous 'The aim ofAgudath Israel is to re­ based I grassroots I movement." A services that touch the lives of many vive an ancient Jewish possession: 70th anniversary, even more than thousands of people and countless the traditional concept of Kial Yisroel Torah institutions throughout the - Israel's collective body, animated Rabbi Moshe Sherer is president of Agudath Is­ rael ofAmerica, and chairman of the World Aguda.h United States and across the globe. and sustnined by its Torah as the or­ Organization. Yet there Is no greater misconception ganizing soul - which we seek to re- 6 The Jewish Observer. May 1992 alize in the midst ofthe civilized world, Translating Ideology Into Action through our Agudath Israel and with the technical means provided by civi­ f course, an ideology must be lization." accompanied by maasim.
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