Kislev 5764 • December 2003 U.S.A. $3.50/Foreign $4.50 • VOL XXXVI/NO. 10

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THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021- 6615 is published monthly except July and August by the Agudath Israel of This is the full Table of Contents of the print edition of the America, 42 Broadway, New York, NY10004. Periodicals postage paid in Jewish Observer. The web edition contains only a selection of New York, NY. Subscription $24.00 per articles (indicated in color). Click on the title to go to the year; two years, $44.00; three years, $60.00. Outside of the United States beginning of that article. Navigate using your browser’s menu (US funds drawn on a US bank only) $12.00 surcharge per year. Single and other options. copy $3.50; foreign $4.50. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Observer, 42 Broadway, NY., NY. 10004. Tel: 212-797-9000, Fax: COVER ARTICLE 646-254-1600. Printed in the U.S.A. 6 Searching for Meaning in the Maelstrom, NISSON WOLPIN, EDITOR Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller

EDITORIAL BOARD RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS A HISTORICAL RETROSPECT Chairman 16 Torah Shines Forth From New Haven… and Cleveland, RABBI ABBA BRUDNY JOSEPH FRIEDENSON Ari Z. Zivotofsky RABBI YISROEL MEIR KIRZNER RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN PROF. AARON TWERSKI THREAT FROM WITHIN

DR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER Z”L 23 Israel and the Jews’ Jewish Problem, RABBI MOSHE SHERER Z”L Founders Rabbi Yonoson Rosenblum

MANAGEMENT BOARD HANUKA SSAY AVI FISHOF, NAFTOLI HIRSCH C E ISAAC KIRZNER, RABBI SHLOMO LESIN NACHUM STEIN 30 The Chanuka Menora and The King’s Crown, Rabbi Yisroel Greenwald RABBI YOSEF C. GOLDING Managing Editor

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December 2003 VOLUME XXXVI/NO. 10 SUBSCRIBE TO THE JEWISH OBSERVER. CLICK HERE. The following article is based on two presentations by Yemos Olam Program in Chicago during the summer of Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller, Rosh Hayeshiva of Telshe Yeshi- 2002; the other, at last year’s national convention of va of Chicago: One, as part of a seminar for mechanchim Agudath Israel of America in Stamford, Connecticut. This on Churban Europe sponsored by Torah Umesorah’s Zechor article was prepared for publication by Isaac Kirzner. yl rva ‘h Csub bsa yc Searching for Meaning in the Maelstrom

Gaining Strength and Faith From the Torah Renaissance That Emerged From Churban Europe

I. BEYOND HUMAN COMPREHENSION insignificance compared to that awesome peri- e live in very difficult times – know that it is od. Those who lived through it felt they with terrorism, worldwide not so: We do not control the world; we were seeing the fulfillment of the terri- Wanti-Semitism, financial do not even control our own lives. fying vision of Avraham Avinu:“And it instability and personal tragedies But there the comparison to the happened, as the sun was about to set, increasing on a frightening scale. maelstrom stops. There is no situation a deep sleep fell on Avram; and behold Searching for order and purpose in a of hopelessness. Hashem is in charge. We – a dread! – a great darkness fell upon complicated and depressing period of know that in His great mercy and wis- him” (Bereishis 15,12). The Midrash tells history while living through it can be dom, Hashem has a plan for the Jewish us that the four expressions, (1) dread! compared to searching for meaning in people and for the world. We know that (2) a great (3) darkness (4) fell upon the maelstrom, a huge whirlpool off the every event in human history, whether him, refer to the four periods of Galus coast of Norway. If you are caught up great or small, leads to an ultimate glo- that the Jewish people were to endure in the maelstrom, there is very little rious resolution.“Kol ma de’avid Rach- through their painful history: Bavel meaning you can find in it. You are help- mana letav avid – Everything that (Babylonia), Madai (Persia), Yavan lessly trapped in a dizzying situation Hashem does, He does for the good” (Greece), and Edom (Rome). (Midrash over which you have no control. Perhaps (Berachos 60b). But how the events to Rabba 44,17) We are now living through that itself is a meaning that Hashem is which we are witness in our own life- Galus Edom, which began with the conveying to us. When everything time lead to the geula sheleima (ultimate destruction of the Second Beis Hamik- seems just fine and we are completely redemption) escapes us. dash by the Roman empire and contin- in control of the situation, He lets us To reinforce our faith in Hashgacha ues through the present day. The (Hashem’s ongoing involvement in the Midrash cites Daniel’s prophetic vision Mr. Kirzner of , NY, a member of The world), let us review the events of Chur- of four fierce beasts, each corresponding J.O.’s management board, edited the English trans- lation (from the French) of Rabbi Eli Munk’s The ban Europe and its aftermath. Our to one of the Galuyos.The fourth Call of the Torah, published by ArtScroll. present difficulties pale into beast, far more terrifying and awesome

6 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 than the others, represents Edom (Daniel 7,7). During Churban Europe, all those ashem’s Hashgacha works in inscrutable evils seemed to have been rolled into one. There was terror, darkness, suffering, and downfall, and there was no hope and Hways, and that which seems to be absolutely no explanation for what was transpiring. A thousand years of Jewish completely bad can be the vehicle for great good life, great yeshivos,Chassidic courts, kehil- los kedoshos (holy communities) were destroyed in a few short years. and serve as the means to achieve it.

II. PATTERNS IN HISTORY

ut the time that has since passed gives us a perspective that we did before [on Mount Sinai]…” ibid 9,27). If we saw “and the land of your ene- Bnot possess earlier. After the From an impending tragedy which mies will swallow you,”we also saw the smoke has subsided, perhaps we can appeared at the time hopelessly fulfillment of the promise: “But despite begin to perceive the outlines of a pat- unavoidable emerged a new kabbolas all this, while they will be in the land tern,a pattern that should inspire haTorah, an enthusiastic acceptance of of their enemies, I will not despise them amazement and wonder. Torah, which changed the course of the nor will I reject them to obliterate Over 200 years ago, Rabbi Chaim history of the Jewish people. The megilla them, to annul My covenant with Volozhiner said that America would be is called “Esther”because the miracle was them, for I am Hashem, their G-d” the last station of Torah before the geula hidden (nistar) in what seemed a nat- (Vayikra 26,44). And perhaps in under- sheleima, and he burst into tears. The ural course of events.1 standing this, we can gain some per- author of Nachalas David,Rabbi David spective, some powerful tools to navi- Tevel, was present and asked, “But The Tochacha Perspective gate the stormy, troubled waters in Rebbi,why are you crying?” which we now find ourselves. Reb Chaim answered, “Oy,Reb hat we saw during the period The mystery of Jewish suffering Dovid Tevel, you don’t know how of Churban Europe,which throughout the ages was expressed by much pain this will involve…with how Wappeared to us as utter dark- David Hamelech in the words: “Mish- much suffering, anguish, and shefichas ness and destruction, beyond under- patecha tehom rabba,Your judgments damim (bloodshed) this will come standing, was part of a miraculous man- are [like] the great depths of the about….”We witnessed it. ifestation of Hashgacha.And when we ocean” (Tehillim 36,7). Human When reviewing Megillas Esther, the understand that, we will also understand understanding cannot hope to plumb miracle that transpired in ancient Per- that these were not a series of random the depths of Hashem’s judgments, sia seems easy to grasp. But if you would occurrences, but part of a process of the which we witnessed. But we also saw have lived through it, and stopped the fulfillment of Divine prophecies – as “tzidkas’cha keharerei eil,Your right- sequence of events at any point, they harsh as they were – which in themselves eousness is like the mighty moun- would seem to be almost unrelated – a can give Jews the strength to look for- tains.” Our faith in the towering royal celebration, a search for a new ward and to hope for the yeshua (sal- righteousness of Hashem,His good- queen, overheard conspiracies, a terri- vation), which the Nevi’im also foretold. ness and His mercy, which were ble decree of destruction, insomnia, con- Each year, we read with dread the obvious in the aftermath of the struction of gallows, and the final glo- Sedros (weekly portions) containing Churban, should give us the strength rious denouement. Only when you put the Tochacha (Admonition), the harsh to endure the tehom rabba of His them all together, do you recognize the punishments foretold in the Torah judgments. For we survived, as extraordinary miracle that transpired. (Vayikra 26 and Devarim 28). And so, Hashem had promised. What had begun with Haman’s evil when some of those fearful things In the Gemora (Megilla 11a), we find intent to destroy all the Jews of the Per- actually happen, we should know that that Shmuel used the verse of comfort sian empire resulted in a miraculous it is not a random occurrence. Things from the Tochacha,cited above, to reversal to the point of “la’Yehudim hoysa have not spun out of control. Hashem introduce the study of the Megilla.He ora vesimcha – the Jews had light and had told us in advance that this would observed that the verse was fulfilled in gladness” (Esther 8,16). And with this, occur. specific periods of Jewish history, when “kiymu vekiblu ha’Yehudim – they con- 1 Esther min haTorah minayin? “Ve’anochi hasteir Hashem dispatched His shlichim firmed that which they had accepted astir panai…” (Chulin 139b). (agents) to insure Jewish survival in each

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 7 generation. Thus, the beginning of the (Shemos 1,5). One of the messages of ahead of him to Goshen” (Bereishis verse,“I will not despise them,” refers to that statement is that the Jewish people 46,28). Rashi cites the Midrash that the time of the Kasdim (Chaldeans), were able to survive that galus because Yehuda was directed to establish a Beis when Hashem’s agents were Daniel, Yoseif was in Mitzrayim.The Shela (House of Study). Yaakov Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya. This HaKadosh explains that by having come understood that surviving the challenges was the time of the Galus Bavel,a ter- to Mitzrayim in advance, Yoseif prepared of Mitzrayim required a yeshiva. This, ribly bitter period for the Jewish peo- the way by introducing a force for moral too, was a factor in Klal Yisroel’s survival ple, but Hashem did not take away the strength in that land of immorality. In through the galuyos that lay ahead. ruach hakodesh (holy spirit) that comes effect, he defeated the Sar shel Mitzray- through the study of Torah. Daniel, im (the heavenly being that ruled the The First Torah Scholars In Bavel Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya were destiny of Egypt), thus ensuring that sent to help us survive. when the children of Yaakov would his pattern obtained in subse- The next phrase, “nor will I reject come, they would not be swallowed up quent galuyos.The last king in them,” refers to the era of the Greeks, by the culture of that decadent society. TYerushalayim before Galus Bavel when Hashem’s agents were Shimon Yoseif himself said as much when he was Tzidkiyahu, who reigned for eleven Hatzaddik and Matisyahu and his sons, revealed himself to his brothers: “And years before Nevuchadnetzar broke the Chashmonaim. G-d has sent me ahead of you to insure through the city walls and destroyed the “To obliterate them,” refers to the time your survival in the land and to sustain Beis Hamikdash.But Tzidkiyahu was not of Haman in ancient Persia, when you for a great deliverance” (Bereishis 45, the first king to be taken to Bavel in Mordechai and Esther were charged 7). By then, Yoseif understood his mis- chains. The previous king, Yehoyachin, with the Divine mission. The verse con- sion in going down to Mitzrayim, was taken into captivity by Nevuchad- tinues, “to annul my covenant with although at the time of his arrival, he netzar’s armies, together with the royal them,”referring to the time of the had no way of understanding what was household, his army, and one thousand Romans, when Hashem provided the happening to him, or why. Torah scholars, referred to as “hecharash scholars of the School of Rebbi, and the Yoseif continued, “And now, it was vehamasgeir”(Melachim II 24,16). sages of subsequent generations. not you who sent me here, but The Gemora (Gittin 81a and San- Finally,“for I am Hashem, their G-d” Hashem;He has set me as a father to hedrin 38a) points out that Hashem is a reference to the Time to Come, when Pharaoh, and as a master of his entire caused the final destruction of Yerusha- no nation or people will be able to dom- household, and as a ruler in the entire layim under Tzidkiyahu to occur two inate the Jewish people. Land of Mitzrayim.” years before originally decreed. This has- As Ohr Hachaim explains, when On the surface, Yoseif was talking tening of the calamity was an act of Hashem assured us that He would not about sustaining the Jews in a time of charity to the Jewish people (see Daniel despise us and He would not reject us, famine. But the Shela Hakadosh says that 9,14). Rashi explains that Hashem thus nor would he annul His covenant with their ability to survive Galus Mitzrayim ensured that the Torah scholars of us – that covenant was the Bris HaTorah was dependent on much more than Yehoyachin’s exile would still be alive in which guarantees the survival of the Jew- material sustenance. Their moral and Bavel to teach those who followed ish people. Without Torah there is no ethical survival was secured by the pat- them. They followed the pattern set by Jewish people, and without the Jewish tern of behavior that Yoseif had estab- Yehuda, who had prepared the way in people there is no Torah. The fact that lished there – behavior that became a Goshen in that initial galus. Hashem never abrogated the Bris model and a guideline for subsequent HaTorah was manifest in every gener- generations. By resisting the seductions The Four Captives ation by His dispatching wise and of Potifar’s wife when alone in Mitzray- righteous people to ensure our salvation im,Yoseif triumphed over the Sar shel nother example of key individ- through Torah. He never abandoned us, Mitzrayim. That spiritual victory earned uals’ preparing for the migration nor will He. Yoseif his designation as Yoseif Hatzad- Aof later exiles is the episode of the dik, and he became Hashem’s agent to Four Captives, which occurred some III. PREPARING THE WAY rule over Mitzrayim.And the power of time after the destruction of the Second that victory gave the Jewish people the Beis Hamikdash, as is recorded in Sefer amban calls Sefer Shemos,“Sefer strength to leave Mitzrayim in triumph Hakabbala.While small communities of Hagalus Vehageula – The Book of (beyad ramma), as well as to survive Jews could be found in other places, Rthe Exile and the Redemption.” other galuyos yet to come. none rivaled the Torah scholarship The Book begins with a listing of the Another observation about that first found in Bavel.Yet,Torah knowledge in names of the Children of Israel who galus:When Yaakov prepared to leave his Bavel was already in decline. Four lead- came to Mitzrayim (Egypt), concluding home for Mitzrayim,“He sent Yehuda ing gedolim (eminent Torah scholars) of with, “And Yoseif was in Mitzrayim” before him to Yoseif, to show the way Bavel were passengers on a ship that was

8 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 captured by pirates in the Mediterranean had been lost, to the extent that was Torah pioneers came to America, they Sea. One was Rabbeinu Shemaryahu, humanly possible. There were so many found a land where Torah was virtual- who was ransomed by the Jewish com- that it would be impossible to even think ly non-existent, a land immersed in munity of Alexandria, Egypt, and of beginning to catalog all of their great materialism, a spiritual wilderness. Reb became its leader. Rabbeinu Chushiel names. I tremble at the thought that Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz arrived on was put ashore near Morocco, where he omissions may be misunderstood as an these shores in 1913. After several years began the building of the great Torah insensitivity to their greatness. in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Con- centers of North Africa. Rabbeinu necticut, he was called to Yeshiva Torah Moshe and his son Rabbeinu Chanoch America Vodaath in Brooklyn in the 1920s, later were brought to Spain. Both were ran- founded Torah Umesorah, and has somed by the Jews of Cordova, trigger- n America, the process of preparing been called the father of chinuch (Torah ing the growth of a great Torah center the ground in advance began almost education) in America. there. (The fourth is unknown.) And so, Ia hundred years ago. When the first He founded the high through the mercy of Hashem, the pending decline of Bavel was offset by the building of Torah in new places on an expanded scale. Simcha Guidelines IV. THE REBUILDING OF TORAH THE VORT • The menu for the seuda is limited to 3 AFTER THE CHURBAN • The Vort celebration is to be courses followed by a regular dessert. discontinued. The L’chaim (held at his pattern was repeated in our • No Viennese table and no bar. the time that the engagement is own generation. Sadly, we saw the THE MUSIC fulfillment of Hashem’s words to announced) should also not turn into a T Vort. • A band may consist of a maximum of Moshe:“And it shall be that… great evils and troubles will overtake them” THE WEDDING 5 musicians (one of the musicians may act as a vocalist) or four musicians and one (Devarim 31,21). But we also saw the • Only 400 invited guests may be realization of the other words in the additional vocalist. seated at the chassuna seuda. same verse: “… the Torah will not be • A one-man band is recommended. forgotten from the mouths of their chil- • The kabbolas panim smorgasbord dren.”We have witnessed this in our own should be limited to basic cakes, fruit plat- FLOWERS & CHUPA DECOR days – in America, in Eretz Yisroel,in ters, a modest buffet, and the caterer’s • The total cost of these items for the entire England, as well as in other parts of the standard chicken or meat hot dishes. wedding should not exceed $1,800. world. Nothing that I write here is really FOR THE FULL VERSION OF THE SIMCHA GUIDELINES new. But because it is so well known, we AND THE ACCOMPANYING KOL KOREH, tend not to understand it. Before men- please email [email protected] or call 212-612-2300 tioning only a few of the many agents that Hashem dispatched to achieve the We the rabbinical signatories — barring familial obligations — and unusual and fulfillment of His promise, I should extraordinary circumstances — will not participate in or attend a wedding celebration that emphasize that when we speak of Chur- disregards these guidelines. (Rabbinical Listing in formation) ban Europe;we are speaking of a gen- Rabbi Shmuel Birnbaum Rabbi Eli Simcha Schustal Rabbi Elya Ber Wachtfogel eration of kedoshim,who sacrificed their Rosh Hayeshiva, Mirer Yeshiva Rosh Hayeshiva, Bais Binyomin, Stamford Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshiva Gedolah of South Fallsburg lives, and we are speaking of a genera- Rabbi Elya Svei Rabbi Yisroel Rokowsky Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Gedola of Philadelphia Rabbi Yisroel Simcha Schorr Rabbi Chaim Boruch Wolpin tion who were mekadeish Hashem in Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Karlin Stolin Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetzky Roshei HaYeshiva, Yeshiva Ohr Somayach their lifetimes by carrying out the mis- Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Gedola of Philadelphia Rabbi Aryeh Rabbi Zecharia Gelley Rav, Khal Adas Jeshurun sion with which Hashem entrusted Rabbi Rosh Hayeshiva, , Lakewood them. The unique individuals who Novominsker Rebbe Rabbi Yisroel Tzvi Neuman Rabbi Lipa Margulies Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva & Mesifta Torah Temimah arrived before, during, and after World Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Feigelstock Rosh Hayeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva of Long Beach Rabbi Dovid Kviat War II cherished what had been Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Schustal Rabbi Moshe Wolfson Chairman, Conference of Synagogue Rabbonim Rosh Hayeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood destroyed, and recognized that it was Mashgiach, of Agudath Israel their sacred duty to rebuild. They were Rabbi Aron Moshe Schechter Rabbi Yeruchem Olshin Rabbi Shlomo Mandel not willing to accept anything less than Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Chaim Berlin Rosh Hayeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva of Brooklyn restoration of the study and observance Rabbi Yosef Rosenblum Rabbi Mattisyahu Salamon Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman of Torah to the same level as that which Rosh Hayeshiva, Yeshiva Shaarei Yosher Mashgiach, Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood Rosh Hayeshiva, Mesivta Meor Yitzchok

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 9 school in Torah Vodaath and later added on a beis midrash. He suc- ceeded in engaging Rabbi David Lei- bowitz as Rosh Hayeshiva from 1926 to 1933, who then founded Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, now flourishing in Queens. Reb Shraga Feivel brought Rabbi from Bara- novitch, who served as Rosh Hayeshi- va until his passing in 1944, and then engaged Rabbi Reuvain Grozovsky and Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky. By the time those fleeing the destruction of World War II arrived, they found a Jewish community able to receive them. Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch Rabbi In 1937, Mr. Mendelowitz (as he preferred to be addressed) had sent Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner, who built up given to this barren land. Among the some students to Europe – foremost Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin, and Rabbi great luminaries of those early years were among them, Rabbi Gedalya Schorr Avrohom Kalmanowitz, who brought Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbi Elya Meir – to draw from its wellsprings of over the Mirrer Yeshiva to these shores. Bloch, the Satmar Rav, the Klausen- Torah knowledge and spirit. Other Rebbetzin Vichne Kaplan, who came berger Rebbe, and the Bobover Rebbe. Americans had also gone to Eastern during that period, revolutionalized When these heads of yeshivos and great Europe to study in yeshivos during chinuch habanos by founding the Bais Chassidic leaders came, Mr. Mende- the 30s – including Rabbi Mordechai Yaakov movement here. Rabbi Aaron lowitz was there to assist them. Gifter, Rabbi Yehuda Davis, Rabbi Kotler said regarding Rebbetzin Kaplan Rabbi Aharon Kotler introduced , and Rabbi Nosson that were it not for her, it would be the kollel concept as a way of life. As Wachtfogel – and returned to make impossible to have kollelim in America, the Brisker Rav said, “Hashem did us their mark on American Torah life. for who would marry the b’nei Torah? a great kindness by sparing Reb Great Roshei Yeshiva came to Amer- With the onset of the War, the small Aharon.”Before Reb Aharon came to ica during the decade before World War stream widened. It is not possible in this America, the idea of young men II – such men as Rabbi , limited space to do justice to all of the devoting themselves to Torah study who became the poseik hador,Rabbi courageous Torah visionaries Hashem after marriage was considered out- Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, who found- brought to our shores. Mentioning a few landish. Because of the efforts of this ed Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, names can indicate the blessing that was one inspired man, it has now become the standard, resulting in generations of Torah scholars. As soon as Reb Aharon arrived in America, he devot- ed himself fully to saving the Jews of Europe. He then established Beis Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, whose talmidim established yeshiv- os and kollelim all over America. He – in close association with Rabbi Reuvain Grozovsky – was the activist behind Agudas Yisroel, and fought many battles for the honor of Torah, all the while immersed in Torah study. * * * When Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch and his brother-in-law, Rabbi , came to the United States, in 1941, they called a meeting of Telshe alumni in the Broadway

10 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 Central Hotel in downtown Manhat- mination, and went on to build great tan for the purpose of opening a Telshe mosdos – thriving institutions and Yeshiva in America. Reb Elya Meir said, communities. When the Satmar Rav “You view us as refugees in flight for our arrived in America, by the first Rosh lives.” He then referred to the story of Hashana, he had seventy people. Yonasan, son of Shaul, who arranged Today, Satmar mosdos serve many, a signal with David to warn him of many thousands. Shaul’s fury. Yonasan would shoot * * * three arrows and then send a boy to The Klausenberger Rebbe spent fetch them, “If I say to the boy, ‘Behold, the war years in the camps, carrying the arrows are beyond you,’then go, for sacks of concrete while reviewing this is a signal that Hashem has sent you entire volumes of the Talmud by away”(Shmuel I 20,22). Yonasan chose heart. He gave courage to his fellow the word “leich” (go), not “berach” prisoners, people who were very far (flee). David was not running away. He from the traditional congregants of was sent on a mission as directed by his home town, serving as a father to Hashem. “By the same token,”Reb Elya them. He stayed on in the DP camps Meir emphasized, “we’re not refugees. after the war to help rehabilitate We have been sent on a shlichus (mis- them; only when they were settled did sion) from Hashem to build Torah in he come to America. He then imme- America.”Eventually, he and Reb Mot- diately embarked on rebuilding the tel founded the in Cleve- Klausenberger court and its mosdos land, which now has offshoots in of Torah in the Williamsburg section Chicago and Riverdale. of Brooklyn, subsequently in Union In the manuscript of one of his shi- City NJ, and Netanya in Eretz Yisroel. urim, he apologizes for not having All of these pioneers started in a new investigated a particular issue as much land with essentially nothing – except as he would have liked. He explains that siyata deShemaya (the help of Heaven) “just two hours ago, I heard of the loss and their dedication to the task of of my loved ones” – the death of his wife rebuilding Torah. and children, his brother, and the The survival of the entire Mirrer destruction of the Telshe Yeshiva. He Yeshiva, later transplanted to Amer- continues: “If somebody will ever read ica and Eretz Yisroel,was an obvious these words, I ask him not to think that miracle from Hashem.There was an I’m an unfeeling person, even though extraordinary window of opportunity I am writing Torah after hearing this in Lithuania from October 1939 to news. In the first place, it had already June 1940, when the Germans were entered my mind that this had hap- poised on one side, threatening death, pened. Besides, I feel that this is not a and the Russians on the other side, time when a person can worry about his threatening spiritual destruction. It own problems. The first order of busi- was then that the Russians turned the ness has to be eisek haTorah – engage- city of Vilna over to Lithuania, and ment in the profound study of Torah. the Polish border was opened. Dur- Of what consequence are the problems ing that brief time, 20,000 Jewish of the individual compared to the refugees came to Vilna, of which 2500 needs of the klal (community)? This is were from various yeshivos.Through a time to build.” the mercy of Hashem, many gedolim * * * used Vilna as their launching pad to The Satmar Rav got out from obtain visas to the free world and thus under the noses of the Nazis, with sto- escape the war zone. ries of nissim.The same is true of the Miraculously, the entire Mirrer survival of the Bobover Rebbe, the Yeshiva, 250 strong, escaped com- Vizhnitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yonoson pletely from under the shadow of the Shteif and Rabbi Joseph Breuer. Each Nazis and the Communists, and ulti- escaped with nothing except deter- mately found a haven in .

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 11 Upon arrival, they found the mag- nificent Bais Aharon Synagogue in the middle of the business district of downtown Shanghai, an institution that Sefardi Jews had built, which at that time was used primarily for Min- cha services. It was essentially empty, waiting for its new occcupants, with a dining room large enough to accommodate 250 people. Thousands of talmidim of the Mirrer Yeshiva in America and Eretz Yisroel, as well as of many other yeshivos,are the direct beneficiaries of what was preserved by their roshei yeshivos and rabbeim who were of Yeshivas Mir in Shanghai that select group in Shanghai. Rabbi arrived from cultural activities on a solid halacha Eretz Yisroel Slutzk, Russia, to head Yeshiva Eitz basis. He became the patron of yeshiv- Chaim in 1923. In addition, the Alter of os throughout the land, and was the he Yishuv Hayashan (old settle- Slobodka (Rabbi ) architect of Bnei Brak, as an Ir Torah ment of chareidim) in Eretz Yis- established his yeshiva in Chevron in – a City of Torah. When Ben Gurion Troel had served as an unbroken 1924. After the Arab massacre there in decided to discuss religious conflicts link with the distant past. But in the 1929, the yeshiva relocated in Yerusha- stemming from policies of the new 1930s, the Yishuv was under siege. The layim, where it is still thriving. State, he went to the Chazon Ish. The new wave of Socialistic and secular Zion- The Chazon Ish (Rabbi Avraham Chazon Ish told him, “When a full ism was attempting to redefine Yeshaya Karelitz) came to Eretz Yisroel wagon and an empty wagon are on a as a nationalistic concept, threatening to in 1933. The first question he asked collision course, the full wagon takes reduce Torah to a cultural curiosity. The when he stepped off the boat was not, precedence. Our wagon is full with our current expansion of the Torah world “Where am I going to sleep tonight?”; historic legacy, while yours is empty.” there had already began with the arrival but, “What are local practices regard- If the Chazon Ish was the architect of Rabbi Eliezer Shulevitz in Eretz Yis- ing terumos and maaseros (tithes)?” He of Torah in Bnei Brak, the Ponevezher roel in 1922, when he laid the ground- understood that Hashem had sent him Rav (Rabbi Yoseif Kahaneman) was the work for the founding of the Lomza to Eretz Yisroel for a purpose, and he builder of Torah in Bnei Brak and other Yeshiva in Petach Tikva (1924). And immediately set about guiding agri- cities. The Ponevezher Rav had come to Eretz Yisroel in 1940. The inspiration to establish a yeshiva came to him at the height of the war, when General Rom- YBH of Passaic - Hillel mel was leading the Nazi armies across Rapidly expanding Northern NJ Yeshiva (N-8) seeks dynamic, warm and accomplished North Africa to the boundaries of Eretz Yisroel. The Rav lay in Jerusalem, Menahel - Principal stricken with a serious throat ailment. Doctors had given him strict orders not Requirements: • Lead an established Yeshiva of to speak, but news of Nazi atrocities did 350 students • Eight years administrative • Maintain excellence in Limudei Kodesh Yeshiva experience not allow him to remain silent. The Rav and General Studies • Strong administrative, management forced himself into a sitting position, • Continue to instill in our students Midos and communication skills and – in a voice faint, yet conveying Tovos, Hislahavus for learning, and a love • Ability to develop, implement and spiritual strength – said, “The Lithuan- of Torah and its ideals oversee curriculum ian peasant is lazy by nature, but when • Join us in constructing our brand new • Advanced educational degree(s) preferred state-of-the-art facility harvest time comes, he becomes invig- orated. And when he sees clouds on the Great opportunity for highly motivated individual • Excellent compensation and benefits horizon, the thought of his crop being Please forward cover letter, resume and references to: YBH Search Committee ruined by rain sends a sudden burst of 565 Broadway, Passaic, NJ 07055 • Fax (toll free): (800) 299-1716 energy through his bones. One can E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.ybhillel.org hardly recognize the lazy farmer of yes-

12 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 The Chazon Ish, with Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler Reb Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz terday.” In a voice charged with emo- from the Nazis, stood at the helm of the efforts and impact of these gedolim, Eng- tion, the Ponevezher Rav continued, battles for clear Daas Torah,and reestab- land became an achsanya shel Torah,host “Now is the time. I will immediately lished, with a small group of talmidim, to Torah institutions. begin the task of reestablishing the Pon- that which is today the crowning glory Rabbi Dessler writes to his children, evezher Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Storm of the Brisker yeshivos? How can one as recorded in Michtav Me’Eliyahu: clouds hang overhead. There is no assess the awesome impact on the “You should know that we’re living in time to waste. We must act now.” Torah world made by Harav Elazar a time of churban. Even though the pic- Some in the room protested, “Pon- Shach and the Steipler, who later ture of that tremendously rich past of evezher Rav, are you making a yeshi- became the recognized leaders of the ours is still alive, and we see it before va while Rommel is invading?” Olam HaTorah after the Chazon Ish and our eyes, it’s not there. The spiritual He replied, “That’s when we have to the Brisker Rav? wealth that we had has left us. The pres- build Torah!” ent is empty. The wealth of the yeshi- And so he started – with five England va, that true aspiration for gadlus talmidim. (greatness in Torah learning), that On another occasion, when he was or hundreds of years, England was lomdus (scholarly depth), that yiras describing his ambitious plans for a Jewish backwater. Torah presence Shamayim (piety), that hartzigkeit rebuilding all the yeshivos of Lithuania, Fwas minimal. But the Hashgacha that (warmth) – they’re gone. The kedoshim his listeners told him, “Ponevezher brought Torah visionaries to America and are gone. The kedusha went with them. Rav, you’re dreaming!” Eretz Yisroel was also active here, at the edge What should we do now? Should we kill He answered, “True, I am dreaming, of the abyss that was Europe. Rabbi within ourselves those sparks of life that but I’m not sleeping.” Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler came to England are left? No! No! No! By no means!” The Jewish population grew dra- in 1925 as a private rebbi.With the And so he emphasized his unshak- matically in the mid-40s as a result of approach of the Churban, he turned into able commitment to rebuilding that the horrific events in Europe, but the a different person. He built the Gateshead which had been destroyed. He said chareidim were in danger of being over- Kollel, an institution that was destined to that maybe we could still bring back whelmed by the new forces. Miracles energize Torah observance in the entire the kedusha. If we truly feel that we were needed – and Hashem provided country and to provide Rabbanim, can, then we have not died. If we can them. From the charnel house of Dayanim and Roshei Yeshiva for Western resuscitate that longing for life, then Europe came visionary leaders and Europe after the war. It also spawned the we’re alive. builders like the Chebiner Rav, the Imrei founding of the Gateshead Yeshiva and Emes, the Beis Yisroel, and Reb Arele the other outstanding Gateshead V. DIVINE BLESSINGS AFTER Belzer. Members of the Mirrer Yeshiva institutions. THE DESTRUCTION came to Eretz Yisroel from Shanghai after The Hashgacha also brought Rabbi the war, to be led by Rabbi Lazer Yudel Moshe Schneider (who established a hen one considers all of the Finkel and Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz. high-level yeshiva in London), Rabbi individual circumstances that And who can describe the tremen- Yechezkel Abramsky, Rabbi Eliyahu Wbrought these great men to dous effect of Torah giants like the Lopian, Rabbi Leib Lopian, and Rabbi America, Eretz Yisroel and England, one Brisker Rav, who escaped with nissim Leib Gurwicz to England. Through the is forced to conclude that a tremendous

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 13 siyata d’Shmaya (Divine assistance) a period of reconstruction. In the parable to what exists today. was involved – on a global scale. Hashem strictest sense, European Jewry was And who ever encountered a baal demonstrated after the Mabul (flood of never reconstructed. What we have teshuva in Poland? Now, thankfully, Noach) that He does not want the witnessed in our time is an historic ful- people are returning to Torah in great destruction of the world that He creat- fillment of the Divine havtacha (prom- numbers. Even people who had no ed. And so He blessed the rejuvenation ise) to transplant and enhance Torah, in connection to Torah are “returning.” of life on earth. Churban Europe was the certain ways even surpassing what was This trend has been accompanied and Mabul of our day. We are the benefici- in Europe. nourished by an explosive growth in aries of the subsequent blessing. We need In the period before the First World Jewish publishing. Torah learning has only look to see it. War, the Chofetz Chaim spoke of the been made available in every language, We are not dealing here merely with (decline) of Torah study and liv- and in forms that are accessible to ing in Europe2.Then World War I every aspiring student. wrought havoc with all the commu- When you put all these pieces of the nities of Europe, followed by a down- jigsaw puzzle together and recognize ward spiral of Yiddishkeit between the what has emerged from the Churban, two wars. Yes,the yeshivos blossomed. it contributes in some measure to alle- The numbers of talmidim (students), viate the nagging doubts raised by that however, were small, and in no way period of history. The downward spi- comparable to the numbers we have ral of the abanddonment of Torah was today. reversed, and we are perhaps beginning Yet the eichus (quality) was impres- to catch a glimmer of Hashem’s plan. sive, producing genuine gedolim Ramban (end of Parshas Bo) dis- (giants of Torah scholarship and lead- tinguishes between a nes nistar and a ership). Our generation has yet to wit- nes nigla – a hidden miracle and one ness similar eichus of Torah greatness. that departs from the laws of nature. In kammus (quantity) – the large However, when a nes nistar occurs with numbers of b’nei Torah – pre-War the entire nation, it becomes a nes Europe paled by comparison with mefursam (an obvious miracle). This what now exists in Eretz Yisroel and does not make it into a nes galuy (open America. miracle), such as the miracles of the Between the wars in Europe, the Ten Plagues in Mitzrayim, but it is nev- prestige of the ben Torah had sunk very ertheless a miracle that can be recog- low. The fact that so many b’nei Torah nized by all. We are dealing here with married late was a symptom of this nothing less than a nes, an obvious condition. Nobody wanted to take a manifestation of Hashgochas Hashem ben Torah! In our times, the conditions (Divine Providence), the likes of have become totally reversed. A young which has not been seen for, literally, man in the chareidi community seek- centuries. ing to get married today feels social pressure to identify himself with con- VI. VIEWING THE ENTIRE TAPESTRY tinued Torah learning. Not only was Torah transplanted o each Jew who survived the from Europe to America and Eretz Yis- Churban of Europe, we could roel,but there was a tremendous Tapply the words of Akdomus,“If upsurge in kevod haTorah (the honor all the seas would be filled with ink…,” of Torah). In terms of numbers, it would be impossible to transcribe Europe had no yeshiva comparable to what that one person went through – Ponevezh or Mir in Eretz Yisroel,or the humiliation, the despair, and the Lakewood in America, with their miracles. The pain was unbearable, but thousands of talmidim. One would in spite of this and in many cases, have to go back to Talmudic times to davka because of these trials, many find numbers and kevod haTorah com- experienced tremendous chizzuk, and emerged to new greatness. 2 This was published in his Sefer Chomas HaDas. See “A Time to Build,”JO May ’02 for a full quo- If this can be said about individu- tation. als, what should we say when we scan

14 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 the entire wondrous picture of the And we have to be hlyptl hlvag Cmvo emergence of Torah after the Churban? (follow recounting redemption with Looking closely at sections of a tap- prayer). When we recite the beracha of estry, one’s view is limited, but when “larsy lag” and give thanks to Hashem one steps back, one can appreciate the for redeeming us from Egypt, we have entire picture. And so it is when we to follow it immediately with tefilla. look back from the vantage point of 60 For from realization that Hashem years of Jewish history, we may be saved us from what seemed like inex- tempted to focus on individual, seem- orable servitude, we can put our faith ingly unrelated events. But when we and our trust in Him, and pray for piece it all together, the overwhelming, future salvation. breathtaking panorama of what has If in our days we witnessed the res- happened becomes evident. While the cue of our people from complete pattern is clearest in America, Eretz Yis- annihilation and saw a spiritual ren- roel, and England, the growth and aissance emerge from the ashes of an intensification of Torah Judaism is a awesome cataclysm, we can hope and worldwide phenomenon. We see it in we must pray that He will in His infi- Australia and South Africa, Western nite mercy save us from our present Europe, South America, even in the difficulties. Let us strengthen our tefil- former . Before the bi’as los for Acheinu kol Bais Yisroel hanes- Go’eil (the coming of the Redeemer), sunim betzara.And let us hope that, there must still be a fulfillment of those Ponevezher Rav, Rabbi Yoseif Kahaneman speedily in our days, we will be zocheh momentous words: “And the glory of to ryat Nvyx li sdu rva, and that then we Hashem shall fill the entire world.”Till what is really important in our lives: will understand how that light came the light of the Shechina (Divine Pres- What does Hashem want from us, and from the darkness which we suffered ence) emanates from the Beis Hamik- what do we want from our children? for these long millennia. ■ dash,that holy light has been and will continue to be spread throughout the world by Klal Yisroel and the Torah in Galus. Yeshivas VII. LIGHT FROM DARKNESS hat conclusions can we draw Bais Pinchos from all this? What lessons is a mesivta geared for serious b’nei Torah who wish to shteig, not only Wcan we glean for our own troubled times? Moshiach has still not in their learning but also in their middos, yiras Shomayim and tefilla. arrived. We are still in an eis tzora,in A high level of learning is maintained in the Nvyi riys as well as in our entire troubled times. But we must under- well-rounded curriculum, which includes tvaykb, smvu, hclh and rovm. stand that we are in the middle of a process. We know that the final Our Menahel and ninth grade Rebbe is Horav Yaakov Licht, shlita, whose twenty years of experience in the field of chinuch have earned him a reputation redemption will surely come. We have as a master at teaching, motivating and inspiring his talmidim. no idea of when or how it will come about. But this we do know; Hashem’s Our disciplined Limudei Chol program is headed by Horav Moshe Young shlita, a veteran principal and educational consultant. Hashgacha works in inscrutable ways, and that which seems to be complete- Bais Pinchos, which enjoys the immeasurable benefits of being located in ly bad can be the vehicle for great good Lakewood, NJ, offers accommodations for out-of-town bachurim. and serve as the means to achieve it. Our current 9th grade has baruch Hashem enjoyed extraordinary success. th th If we were complacent about our Applications for 9 and 10 grade are now being accepted for Elul 5764. material prosperity, and smug about our spiritual attainments, Hashem is send- Hanhala ing us a message to arouse us from our Rabbi Yaakov Licht Rabbi Binyomin Nierenberg Rabbi Moshe Young torpor. He is letting us know that we are not in control, and that we have to take 1951 New Central Avenue, Lakewood, NJ 08701 control, so to speak, by asking ourselves 732-367-2880 • Fax 732-364-5258

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 15 THREAT FROM WITHIN Yonoson Rosenblum

Israel and the Jews’ Jewish Problem I. SOME OF THE HARSHEST CRITICISM no desire to be associated. In response, of anti-Semitism in Europe. His expla- they often lash out against Israel. nation was short and crisp: “The poli- erhaps the most extraordinary Meanwhile, within Israel itself, large cies of the Bush administration and the aspect of the current assault on numbers of secular Jews who profess Sharon administration contribute to PIsrael in the court of public opin- allegiance to the Zionist ideal of Jews as that.” Change those policies, and anti- ion is the degree of participation of Jews actors on the stage of history, neverthe- Semitism will decline; fail to do so, and not only in criticism of specific Israeli less seek to denude the state of any attrib- anti-Semitism will continue. policies but in the delegitimization of utes of particularistic Jewish identity. Soros was careful to note that he is Israel’s very existence. Their goal is to render Israel a completely critical1 of “those policies” – presumably For many Jews, the term “Jew” secular state devoid of any identifying both those of the Sharon and Bush gov- denotes only abstract, universal ideals, Jewish characteristics. Never before has ernments, but failed to similarly con- such as “social justice.”They feel no spe- a political party dedicated to the com- demn expressions of anti-Semitism. cial connection to other living, breath- plete secularization of the Israeli public Reading Soros’ remarks, one could not ing Jews, nor to Israel, the only country square wielded the balance of political avoid the feeling that he views the resur- in the world with a majority Jewish pop- power to the degree that Tommy Lapid’s gent anti-Semitism not only as a natu- ulation. Israel makes them uncomfort- Shinui Party does today. Perhaps not ral response to American and Israeli able both as an expression of a collec- coincidentally, as the assault on the tra- policies, but as a justified one as well.2 tive Jewish identity and of Jews acting ditional aspects of Jewish identity has 1 within the messy, morally ambiguous gained momentum in Israel, so has the Just how critical can be gleaned from a Wash- ington Post interview, in which Soros described terrain of the real world. Israel challenges assault on Jewish collective identity, as how he had made “the central focus of his life” the universalist, self-identity of such Jews. expressed by the State of Israel, gathered defeating President Bush, whom he described as And when Israel itself becomes the object steam in the international community. a “danger to the world” whose rhetoric is remi- of worldwide opprobrium, they find niscent of the Nazi slogans Soros heard as a boy themselves in the distinctly uncomfort- Exhibit A in occupied Hungary. 2 able position of being identified with a To Soros’ credit, he is consistent in his blame the victim approach. Outgoing Malayasian Jewish collective with which they have t a recent gathering of the Jew- prime minister Mahathir Mohammed has in the ish Funders Network, billionaire past blamed Soros’ manipulation of currency Rabbi Rosenblum,who lives in Jerusalem, is a George Soros, one of the world’s markets for his country’s financial crash and cited contributing editor to The Jewish Observer.He A Soros as a prime exhibit of Jewish control of the largest donors to charity (though none is also director of the Israeli division of Am Echad, world. And indeed, Soros expressed his concern the Agudath Israel-inspired educational outreach of his philanthropy goes to Jewish for his own role in the growth of worldwide anti- effort and media resource. causes), was asked about the resurgence Semitism.

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 23 Exhibit B humiliation of its neighbors and ene- not. The conditions imposed on Pales- mies.” tinians are a direct consequence of the eorge Steiner, professor of com- He goes on to accuse Israel of being need to protect Jews from being blown parative literature at Oxford a blot on Jewish history and the privi- to smithereens by Palestinians who Gand Cambridge, and the Norton lege of being a Jew: “For two thousand prefer continuing to seek Israel’s Professor of Poetry at Harvard, may be years, we Jews were not in a position to destruction over living in peaceful less known to the general public than torture other human beings. That was coexistence. Soros, but he is one of the principal our incomparable nobility and mission. arbiters of culture in the English-speak- Israel has taken this immense privilege Exhibit C ing world. Responding to an article in from all living Jews, wherever they may the Summer 2003 issue of the Israeli be.” ome of the harshest criticism of journal Azure,“George Steiner’s Jewish Steiner writes as if the force of arms Israel has come from within Israel Problem,” Steiner writes: “To survive, employed by Israel were an inevitable Sitself. Much of that criticism has Israel must use torture and systematic consequence of Israel’s existence. It is been expressed in forums and language specifically designed to turn Israel into a pariah nation in the eyes of the world. While the phenomenon of Israeli aca- demics adding their names to any peti- tion castigating Israel, including those demanding an academic boycott of all Israeli institutions and academics, is not a new one, the condemnations of Israel today no longer come from the aca- demic fringes, but from leading figures of the Israeli political establishment. MK Avraham Burg is a former chair- man of the Jewish Agency and a former Speaker of the . He still enter- tains ambitions of being the Labor Party candidate for Prime Minister one day. In early September, Burg published “The Zionist Revolution is Dead,” in Le Monde, the Guardian, the Internation- al Herald Tribune, and the Forward. His screed attracted worldwide attention, and, as Burg surely realized it would, now occupies pride of place on anti- Semitic and anti-Israel websites. Having lost both a “just peace and an ethical leadership, the end of the Zion- ist enterprise is on our doorstep,”Burg declares. He goes on to place the entire onus “for trampling any chance for peace,”not on Yasir Arafat’s declaration of war after being offered a Palestinian state at Camp David, but on “the bru- tality of the [Israeli] occupation.” Burg provides no context for any of the Israeli policies he condemns, such as checkpoints and closures. One would never know from his account that nearly a thousand Israelis, the over- whelming majority of them civilians, have been killed over the past three years.

24 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 Burg mentions suicide bombers only leading columnists, describes the mood to the ardently pro-Israel New Repub- to express his understanding: “Having in England, but what she writes of Eng- lic, and his major academic work is a ceased to care about the children of land is equally true of the rest of West- criticism of the French intellectuals for Palestinians, [Israel] should not be sur- ern Europe. “I no longer feel comfort- their susceptibility to Communism. prised when they come washed in able in my own country,”writes Phillips, Judt charges Israel with holding hatred and blow themselves up in the “because of the hatred that has welled world Jewry “hostage”: centers of Israeli escapism.”They do so up toward Israel and the Jews…: [A]t Today, non-Israeli Jews feel them- because “they have children and parents present it is open season on both Israel selves once again exposed to criticism at home who are hungry and humiliat- and Jews.”The political Left in England and vulnerable to attack for things they ed.”(Burg is apparently unaware of the has captured the intellectual establish- didn’t do. But this time it is a Jewish social science literature exploding the ment, she says, and promulgates the view state and not a Christian one, which connection between low socio-eco- that “Israel should not exist, that it is a [sic] is holding them hostage for its nomic standing and becoming a suicide Nazi state and that Jews control Amer- own actions. Diaspora Jews cannot bomber.) ica.” Israel is the only country in the influence Israeli policies, but they are In honor of the arrival in Israel of world whose right to exist at all is reg- implicitly identified with them, not 4,000 delegates from the General ularly questioned in respectable intel- least by Israel’s own insistent claims Assembly of Jewish Communities, Burg lectual journals, and found wanting. upon their allegiance. The behavior of expanded his tirade against Israel as Tony Judt’s call for the dissolution of a self-described Jewish state affects the something “strange and ugly” in the Israel in favor of a binational Jewish and way everybody looks at Jews. The November 14 English-language Palestinian state in the New York Review increased incidence of attacks on Jews Ha’aretz. To create an entirely false par- of Books and the Los Angeles Times fur- in Europe and elsewhere is primarily allel between Jews and Palestinians, he nishes a good example of how unnerv- attributable to misdirected efforts, alleges that Jerusalem schoolchildren ing the recent outbreak of anti-Semitism often by young Muslims, to get back told him that when they become soldiers has been to Jewish intellectuals. Judt, it at Israel…. The depressing truth is that they will “kill old people, women, and is important to note, is no fire-breath- Israel today is bad for the Jews (empha- children without giving it a second ing Leftist. He is a contributing editor sis added). thought.” Presumably Burg is aware that Israel has yet to produce its first suicide bomber, while there is a seemingly end- less supply of young Palestinians clam- oring for the task. Arabs walk without fear everywhere in Israel. No Israeli Jew would enter any Palestinian town, and many Israeli Arab villages, with much hope of coming out alive.

II. EXPLANATIONS

hat factors explain the rancor directed at Israel by Jews who Wappear to harbor no deep- seated resentment over being born Jew- ish and are not from the wild-eyed Left? There are no Noam Chomskys in the group mentioned above. For some, despair over the seeming immutability of Arab hostility to Israel has led them to place the blame on the only party deemed susceptible to exter- nal pressure – Israel. And to a large extent, the ferocity of the hatred being directed at Israel and Jews has unnerved many Jews. Melanie Phillips, one of England’s

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 25 One senses that unkind things have Indeed, we have previously noted in ing against all and sundry from a point been said to Judt at faculty dinner par- these pages how galling it has been since of his infinite superiority, a taste inher- ties, and he would now like Israel to dis- 1967 for Israeli Jews, who view them- ited from his mentor, the late Yeshaya appear. In his devastating critique of Judt selves as people of culture and broad sec- Leibowitz, who was wont to call Israeli in the New Republic,Leon Wieseltier ular learning, to find their country sub- soldiers “Judeo-Nazis.” noted that Judt had implicitly bought ject to widespread opprobrium into the traditional anti-Semitic frame- wherever people of culture and under- It is No Longer 1961 work: standing gather to discuss the great The notion that all Jews are respon- issues of the day.4 n his coolness to the suffering and sible for whatever any Jews do, that Already in the heady early days of death of Israeli Jews and his concern every deed that a Jew does is a Jewish Oslo, Martin Peretz, a cautious sup- Ito preserve his self-image as exem- deed, is not a Zionist notion, it is an porter, noted the overly great concern plar of the Jew’s role as a light to the anti-Semitic notion…. It is the essence of Oslo proponents with world opinion: nations, Burg, though no intellectual of anti-Semitism… to call its object its These Zionists acted as they did himself, typifies long existing trends cause…. [I]f you explain anti-Semi- because they valued something more among Jewish intellectuals.5 As far back tism as a response to Jews,… then you than territory, more even than the pro- as 1961, long before Israel became a have not understood it. Your have tection that territory gives. They want- pariah state in the eyes of much of the reproduced it.3 ed recognition of their legitimacy…. world, the young Jewish intellectuals The rancor of recent anti-Semitism This is perhaps a weakness of the Jews, who participated in a Commentary explains, in part, the increased unease worrying far too much whether oth- symposium entitled “Jewishness and the with Israel on the part of Jews who ers acknowledge their peoplehood. Younger Intellectuals” professed little spend their days among those for Avraham Burg, who pronounces the interest in Israel. A few acknowledged, whom Israel’s role as the greatest threat death of Zionism, with a European audi- with a certain embarrassment, that to world peace is a given. But the vul- ence in mind, is just the latest example they rooted for Israel in its wars. But the nerability of certain Jews to fears of of that too great concern with the good more common response was to bemoan being outside the prevalent intellectu- opinion of others. Burg also enjoys play- the fledgling state’s bellicosity and its al Zeitgeist is not something new. ing the role of Biblical prophet inveigh- mistreatment of the Arabs, both in the

26 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 interests for the sake of world peace and social justice. f they found anything of value in Judaism, it was These intellectual trends, already evident forty years ago, find heightened Ithe universalistic values of justice and morality. expression today in the writings of Jew- ish intellectuals like Steiner and Judt. For But even these provided no warrant for Judt, Israel is a faith-driven ethno-state, continued Jewish existence. Since these values and as such, “an anachronism” in the modern world in which “nations and had been widely adopted by the rest of the peoples increasingly intermingle and intermarry at will; where cultural and world, Jews were no longer needed. national impediments have all but col- lapsed….”6 All that is particularistic in Judaism – endogamy, choseness, a Jewish state – War of Independence and afterwards. attractive: the image of the Jew as the is rejected out of hand. In his novel The And that was in 1961, when Israel still eternal Other, the critic of society commanded widespread admiration as speaking truth to power. In short, the a doughty David. Jew as alienated intellectual. The Jew’s Uncle Moishy, Dedi The younger intellectuals professed status as victim and exile had, in the Avrohom Fried, an almost total lack of interest in their intellectuals’ view, uniquely imbued and other leading Judaism – either as students or practi- him with sensitivity to the downtrod- Jewish entertainers tioners – and no qualms about inter- den. (In identifying the Jew’s essence as marriage, either for themselves or their victimhood and exile, these intellectu- are available children. (In that, they were a genera- als adopted, perhaps unconsciously, to visit tion ahead of the rest of American the traditional Christian perspective.) seriously ill Jewry.) Whatever was particularistic Noteworthy in all this is the degree children about Judaism – for instance, the idea to which the State of Israel threatened thanks to of Jewish chosenness – was anathema to the comfortable self-image of Jewish SIMCHAS CHAVA tmsn rczl them. intellectuals even at that early date. The h’’i bkiy ‘r tb hvu If they found anything of value in Jewish people, wrote one panelist, “by A Chessed project run by Agudath Israel of America Judaism, it was the universalistic values their patient suffering preserved and in conjunction with of justice and morality. But even these nourished the ideal of a world based on Suki & Ding Productions To set up an appointment, call: provided no warrant for continued universal justice.”On that basis, he coun- (212) 797-9000 Ext.235 Jewish existence. Since these values had seled Israel to sacrifice its national been widely adopted by the rest of the world, Jews were no longer needed. One aspect of their Jewishness, how- ever, the young intellectuals did find

3 Steiner does not accuse Jews of being the cause of Jew hatred, as does Judt. But he makes an even more stunning claim: He condemns Jews for revealing man’s ultimate bestiality by virtue of WEDDINGS & their suffering at the hands of anti-Semites, cul- minating in Auschwitz. BAR MITZVAHS 4 “The Chickens Come Home to Roost: Zionism’s FOR Internal Contradictions and the Peace Process,” Since 1966 Jewish Observer, June 1994, p. 23. THE FINEST 5 For a fuller treatment of these patterns of Jew- IN ish intellectual thought, see “As the Intelligentsia 623 CORTELYOU ROAD Sees It: The View from Commentary Magazine,” PHOTOGRAPHY (Off Ocean Parkway) The Jewish Observer, December 1996, pp.17-18. AND VIDEO BROOKLYN NY 11218 6 Judt chooses to ignore that the Palestinians are hardly exponents of the universal brotherhood USA / ISRAEL of man and that Jewish nationalism is opposed by a far more exclusivist and virulent Palestin- (718) 941-5500 ian nationalism.

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 27 Portage to San Cristobal of A.H., Stein- nationalism.7 Unlike European nation- permanent international supervision. er goes so far as to put into the mouth states whose national identities were Not Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat of a fictional Adolph Hitler (A.H.) a forged in war and conquest in the dis- shaking hands, but Hans Blix zipping speech in which he traces his Master tant past, Israel’s creation under fire took around Palestine in his little truck.” Race ideology to the Jewish idea of a place in living memory. The constant Chosen People. warfare that has been a fact of life since III. WHY THESE TRENDS For Steiner, the great glory of the Jew, Israel’s birth, and the evident pride of MAKE A DIFFERENCE “an honor above honors,” is to be an many Jews in its creation after 2,000 eternal wanderer, the perpetual “moral years of exile, have caused Israel to oth the fear factor and the intel- irritant and insomniac among men.” become the exemplar of discredited lectual trends identified above From that vantage point, the idea of a nationalism. Bhave large implications for the Jewish homeland is a debasement of If Jews, in the words of University of future of American Jewry. Almost all what it means to be a Jew. Chicago professor Mark Lilla, once American Jewish youth today attend col- The rejection of Jewish particularism “were mocked for not having a nation- lege, and most of them will find them- by Jewish intellectuals converges today state, now they are criticized for having selves spending their college years on with broader trends in Western intel- one.” Judt exemplifies this attitude. campuses where the atmosphere is lectual life. The nation-state has been “The very idea of a ‘Jewish state’ – a state highly charged against Israel. As a con- thoroughly discredited in Western in which Jews and Jewish religion have sequence, they will become increasing- Europe. Nationalism is blamed for the exclusive privileges… – is rooted in ly afraid to identify themselves as Jews. carnage of the two world wars of the last another time and place,” he writes. To be sure, most Jewish students century, and its cure is supposed to lie The dreamed-of future for Israel already enter college with a tenuous Jew- in the creation of transnational bureau- among Europeans, writes Lilla, is no ish identity. A University of Chicago stu- cracies and arrangements of interna- longer of a Jewish nation-state living dent summed up the matter well in tional law. peacefully side by side with a Palestin- explaining why Arab and Moslem stu- Israel has become, in the eyes of ian state, but of some “post-national, dents dominate the campus debate on many, the emblem of a discredited post-political order growing up under the Middle East, despite being greatly outnumbered by Jewish students.“The Palestinians are very rooted, unlike the Jewish students who generally range ARE YOU MOVING? from indifferent to apathetic.” After a IS YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS PRINTED recent tour of 13 American campuses, Natan Sharansky estimated that no INCORRECTLY ON THE JO MAILING LABEL? more than 10% of Jewish students par- We need your help to ensure proper delivery of the Jewish Observer to your home. ticipate in any form of Jewish activity. Please attach current mailing label in the space below, or print clearly your address and Other small groups of Jewish stu- computer processing numbers that are printed above your name on the address label. dents, like the one who threw a pie in Sharansky’s face on the Rutgers campus, inevitably spearhead anti-Israeli activ- ities. At a demonstration in Harvard Affix old label here Square, anti-Israel protestors enacted scenarios of Israeli soldiers humiliating pregnant Palestinian women at check- points. A high percentage of the “actors” Name ______were Jewish. New Address ______If men as rich and powerful as George

City, ______7 The joined condemnation of both America and State, ______Zip ______Israel in Western Europe and on American col- lege campuses derives in large part from the rejec- Date Effective ______tion of the traditional nation-state. President Bush is reviled as a mad cowboy for refusing to Send address The Jewish Observer subject American sovereignty and power to inter- changes to: Change of Address national organizations like the U.N. and to var- ious treaty arrangements. And Israel, too, is con- 42 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004 demned for not submitting its fate to the Please allow 4-6 weeks for all changes to be reflected on your mailing label. We will not determination of the consistently hostile U.N. and be responsible for back issues missed unless you notify us 6 weeks prior to your move. European Union.

28 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 identification as a Jew is to intermarry.8 In sum, to send Jewish students who have no solid grounding in Jewish texts or observance, and who have not been raised in communities and schools centered around Jewish identity and t is a painful irony that the same state that designed to imbue them with the most intense identification with their fellow Idid so much to preserve Jewish identity Jews, is to send them into a war zone today provides the impetus for many unarmed, and with predictable conse- quences. young Jews to shed whatever tenuous Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky once said at a convention of Agudath Israel of Jewish identity remains. America that the creation of the State of Israel had served to preserve the Jew- ish identity of millions of Jews around the world after the Holocaust. Without the hopes raised by Israel’s birth, for many, the mood of despair caused by the Holocaust would have simply been too Soros and holders of prestigious aca- Forces had conducted a wanton overwhelming to continue identifying demic positions like Tony Judt are slaughter of defenseless civilians in themselves as Jews. It is a painful irony unhinged by the fear of being identified Jenin (falsely reported by the media), that the same state that did so much to with their fellow Jews in Israel, how much as that the IDF took measures that no preserve Jewish identity today provides more so college students of an age when other army in the world would have the impetus for many young Jews to the need to feel accepted and popular is taken – and at the cost of at least 13 shed whatever tenuous Jewish identity strongest. Even the most identified stu- Jewish lives – in order to minimize remains. ■ dents find themselves intimidated. A Har- civilian casualties. vard Business School student told Sha- On the basis of his recent campus vis- Rabbi Aryeh Schechter ransky that she was afraid to express its, Sharansky laments American Jewry’s support for Israel. The mood on campus, inability to develop future leadership. He Rabbi she said, was so sharply anti-Israel “that notes that as Israel’s Minister for Dias- SOFER S’’TAM she was afraid her open identification pora Affairs, he finds himself meeting Schechter1558 41st 2" Street could cost her, damaging her grades and with the same Jewish leaders as during Brooklyn NY 11218 her academic future.”In the course of his his time as a Soviet refusenik more than We make “housecalls” tour, Sharansky found such sentiments three decades ago. (718) 972-4003 widespread. But the problem goes a lot deeper kdvb • btvc Jewish students, like their intellectu- than the production of new pro-Israel hrvt yrpo tvzvzmv Nylypt al forebears of two generations ago, activists among American Jews. Vul- pride themselves on their intellectual nerable Jewish students – and the over- independence and ability to overcome whelming majority fall into this category Specializing in small batim for a perfect fit. particularistic feelings for their fellow – find themselves in the position of Jews (a problem that does not seem to wanting to do everything possible to bother their Arab and Moslem fellow avoid being identified with Israel. For students). Anyone who attempts to some, that means proving their pro- GittyGitty defend Israel to them will soon find gressive bona fides by leading the himself being asked to present the attacks on Israel. And for the largest Palestinian perspective as well.“How do number, it means attempting to deny PinterPinter we know you are telling the truth and one’s Jewish identity. At a subcon- Experienced Shadchan not feeding us propaganda?” is the scious level, the easiest way to shed one’s for all age groups inevitable first question. 8 for the Orthodox Jewish community. There is no presumption in favor of I do not mean to suggest that the soaring rates of intermarriage owe entirely or even largely to Rabbinical references available fellow Jews. I would venture that many the prevalent anti-Israel feeling on university Jewish college students found it at least campuses, only that such feelings will serve as one Home: (718) 338-1765 as credible that the Israel Defense more factor encouraging intermarriage. Pager: (917) 486-5655

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 29 “Baby Einstein” and the Ashrei Yeladeto F actor

he have taught that the there (see Yerushalmi, Yevamos). American babies, he has been watch- introduction and subsequent Undoubtedly, children absorb ing videos from the “Baby Einstein” Tunfolding of a child’s strengths information, learn skills, and form atti- series almost since his birth. and weaknesses begin at conception, tudes from a very young age, and there In fact, more than a quarter of continuing through the fetal stage have always been parents who fill their children under 2 have televisions in and early infancy, into childhood. children’s lives with educational expe- their room, according to a large A story is told: riences and inspiring stimuli. Of study of young children’s media A young couple brought their course, just as there are some who habits that was issued yesterday by infant to the Rav for a blessing: “We make a practice of over-feeding their the Henry J. Kaiser Family Founda- want him to grow up to be a big tzad- offspring, there are those who over- tion. dik and talmid chacham.” stimulate them. And yet others who On a typical day, the study found, “You seem to be aspiring for him delegate the responsibilities of early 59 percent of children 6 months to 2 to achieve greatness,” commented the childhood education and engagement years watch television, and 42 percent rabbi. “How old is he?” to toys, games, and the all-time elec- watch a videotape or a DVD. The “Three months old.” tronic baby-sitters, television and median time they spend watching “I will pray for his development, videos. The latest wrinkle in this area some form of media or another on but for maximum fulfillment of his was the subject of a front-page article the screen is slightly more than two potential, you should have started in The New York Times,which was hours…. preparing a year ago.” headlined: “A Growing Number of According to the study, 10 percent In fact, we are told that among Video Viewers Watch From Crib.” The of the babies and toddlers from 6 Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai’s five pri- story reports, in part: months to 2 years have a television mary disciples, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Half an hour before bedtime, remote control designed for children. Chanania was distinguished as “ashrei John Hill-Edgar is in his blue boun- And 32 percent have videos from the yeladeto – praiseworthy is she who bore cy chair, watching the “Baby Bach” “Baby Einstein” series, created seven him” (Avos II, 11). The commentaries DVD, riveted by the sound of “Joy of years ago as a way of exposing say that this accolade refers to Rabbi Man’s Desiring” and the pictures of infants to poetry, language, music Yehoshua’s mother’s practice of wheel- a toy train, a baby, and a bubble- and art. ing his carriage into the beis midrash blowing toy bear. [The story adds:] so he could imbibe the influence of the He is just 7 months old, too The baby-media blitz began in the Talmudic discussions taking place young to talk, but like many other late 1990’s, on the heels of a flurry of

38 The Jewish Observer, December 2003 publicity about how the earliest pushka; singing “Modeh Ani”; saying who can calculate how deeply the years were the most important for a Shema.The list is endless. kedusha of his surroundings had per- child’s brain development. There The dimensions in which a child meated his being, and contributed to was so much discussion of the develops are also manifold, as he or she his general readiness – and inclination “Mozart effect” – the idea that expo- responds to spiritual influences, expe- – for more Torah? sure to classical music made a person riences emotional bonding, develops In sum, Rabbi Yehoshua’s mother – smarter – that Zell Miller, then the social skills, and gains physical dex- and some of our own Bobbes,by the governor of Georgia, proposed that terity (e.g., hand-eye coordination). same token – was way ahead of the lat- the state give a classical CD to every Most important, then, is identifying est spin on technological stimula- new mother leaving the hospital. positive forces and harnessing them, tions. Sensitizing a child and stimu- [On the other hand,] the Ameri- while avoiding possibly debilitating lating his growth is most effective when can Academy of Pediatrics adopted a influences. Yes, the environment, begun in the cradle, at the neshama statement that said children under 2 beginning from the earliest embryon- level. Should one feel that the latest should not watch television and that ic stages, including sounds, also con- technology is a step ahead in some way children of all ages [emphasis ours] tributes to a child’s development. Nig- or the other, pause for a moment and should not have a television in their gunim and zemiros – melodies and think in terms of nurturing a budding room. Shabbos and festival songs – their Rabbi Yehoshua, and how that was done. “Maybe it should be phrased rhythms and harmonies form the ■ more positively, that children do basis of esthetic appreciation and best with the maximum free play, the emotional catharsis, laying the maximum interaction and maxi- groundwork for responding to musi- MASTER DAF mum face time with their parents,” cal stimulation in the future. In fact, 4-5 blatt per tape said Dr. Michael Rich, a member of thoughts and even unspoken motives • the academy’s committee on public can mold the developing neshama in • Each Daf is read, education. astounding ways. translated, and explained Apparently, too much passive These are all part of the spiritual slowly and clearly in just watching can have debilitating effects dimension of growth. And this facet of 20 minutes on the viewer. Yet conscientious par- the growing child continues to • $4 per tape (plus S&H) ents may still feel that a home without respond to its environment, through • Subscription rate: $3 per tape (plus S&H) “Baby Einstein” – or “Baby Shake- the “Ashrei yeladeto” stage. Yes, Rabbi speare” and “Baby Newton” – is short- Yehoshua ben Chanania undoubtedly 1-718-435-5438 • 1-800-966-6026 changing its children. After all, there learned, in later life, to associate the A project of the Slabodka Yeshiva are many ways in which one can sounds of Torah debated and analyzed guide and stimulate one’s children’s with the security and comfort he had development. And by the same token, experienced in his crib, which was there are numerous areas in which the placed in the beis midrash by his KARKA IN ERETZ YISROEL Call Rabbi Gavriel Beer for information responding child can develop and mother with loving care. The sounds on obtaining cemetery plots in Beth mature. The visual, the aural, the tac- of Torah pilpul were his “security Shemesh and other locations in Israel. tile… listening to stories, hearing blanket,” and became a source of songs and singing along… pouring, comfort to him in the years ahead. And 011-972-2-656-9427 stirring, mixing, baking… eating, drinking… being held, holding a doll, a hand… touching, grabbing… and watching. Jewish homes have always been aware of the myriad possibilities for acting on these goals. Many parents decorate their children’s rooms with Gedolim pictures; others sing “Aleph Bais,” pointing at the letters as they go along; some mothers give their three- year-olds their own clumps of dough to knead into a challah.There’s story- time on the lap, pointing at pictures in the book; putting a nickel in the

The Jewish Observer, December 2003 39