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Sivan 5762 • May 2002 U.S.A.$3.50/Foreign $4.50 •VOL XXXV/NO. 5 THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 is published monthly except July and August by the Agudath Israel of America, 42 Broadway, New York, NY10004. Periodicals poSlage paid in New York, NY. Subscription $24.00 per year; two years, $44.00; three years, $60.00. Outside of the United States (US funds drawn on a US bank only) $12.00 sur­ charge per year. Single copy $3.50; for­ eign $4.50. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Observer, 42 Broadway, NY., NY. 10004. Tel: 212-797-9000, Fax: 646-254-1600. Printed in the U.S.A. REDRAWING THE TORAH MAP OF AMERICA RABBI NISSON WOLPIN, EDITOR 6 "A Time to Build;' Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller EDITORIAL BOARD RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS 16 Report From Dallas:"You're the Beracha;• Chairman Kenneth Broodo RABBI ABBA BRUDNY JOSEPH FRIEDENSON 10 An Open Miracle:And the Rains Came, RABBI YISROEL MEIR KIRZNER RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN Alan Haber PROF. AARON TWEASKI 13 Kol Yisroel Areivim:The Kiruv Imperative, OR. ERNST L. BODENHEIMER Z"L Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz RABBI MOSHE SHERER Z"L Founders 19 Is it Time to Celebrate? Robert}. Kurtz MANAGEMENT BOAAO AVI FISHOF, NAFTOLI HIRSCH JO Reh Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz ';"lit, a review article ISAAC KIRZNER, RABBI SHLOMO LESIN NACHUM STEIN by Rabbi Aaron Brafman RABBI YOSEF C. GOLDING Managing Editor READER'S FORUM Published by Agudath Israel of America 34 The World of the Ba'al Teshuva U.S. TRADE DISIBIBUTOR ISRAELI REPRESENTATIVE Feldbeim Publisher.; lntnl. Media Placemen! 200 Airport Executive Park POB 7195 / 5 Even Israel RABBI REFOEL LEVINE, 7"llt Nanuel, NY 10954 Jerusalem, ISRAEL BRITISH REPRESENTATIVf BELGIAN REPRESENTATIVE 35 Foundation of the World, Rabbi Hillel Goldberg M.T. Bibelman Mr. E. Apter Grosvenor Works Lange Kievitstr. 29 Mount Pleasant Hill 2018 Antwerp JS Our Generation's Tzaddik of Jerusalem, Moshe Schapiro London ES 9NE. ENGLAND BELGIUM FRENCH REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH AFRICAN Rabbi Bamberger REPRESENTATIVE 21 Boulevard Paixhans Mr. V. Tabacll 43 A Summons to Greatness, a review article of 57000 Metz PO Box 51552, A Gi~ of Speech, by Rabbi Moshe Eisemann FRANCE Raedene, Johannesburg 2124 SOUTH AFRICA Letters to the Editor SWISS REPRESENTATIVE 44 Mr. s. Feldinger Leimanstrasse 36 4051 Base!, SWITZERLAND THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not assume responsibility for the Kashrus of any product, publication, or service Cover photo courtesy of Partners in Torah, a project of advertised In i1$ pages Torah Umesorah © Copyright 2002 REDRAWING THE TORAH MAP OF A.MERICA ''A nme to Build'' nil:J? n An Historic Perspect on the American Tora. Renaissance, Current Tre and Future Prospects I. AMERICA AND EUROPE: spiritual and material beracha in Amer­ k'vod Hashem-the glory of the Ribbono A STUDY IN CONTRAST ica, in Bretz Yisroel. We witnessed an Shel Olam- should not be undermined astounding growth of Torah and Yid­ in the world?" He quotes the Gemora in "What is Going to Happen to Our People?" dishkeit. Now we are going through hard Temura (14b): "It is preferable that the times again. But we cannot become Torah should not be observed than that t the most recent Agudah con­ despondent. We will weather this storm Torah should be forgotten from the Jew­ vention, a young woman with too. We'll still be around, vibrant and ish people." He explains that should A tears in her eyes approached strong ad bias go' el tzeddek! -till Moshi­ someone transgress a mitzva of the me, "Rabbi, we've heard so much talk of ach comes!" Torah, even though he will have to give September 11 and the tzaros in Bretz Yis­ But it is precisely in ti1nes such as an accounting for it in the World to roel, the uncertainty of the whole world these that we have to try to understand Come, he still is included in the Jewish situation, and the long list of gedolei Yis­ what is required of us. If there are omi­ people. If, however, chas v'shalom, Torah roel who have left us this year. What's nous clouds on the horizon, we must is forgotten from the people of Israel, we going to be with our people?" continue to build. And in order to build cannot imagine the awful consequences. I said to her, ('We're going to survive. Torah, we must step back and look at the He continues: But we're not only going to survive, we're history of what has developed into one "At the present time, because of our going to thrive and grow. of the greatest Torah renaissances in the many sins, we see something entirely "We have the berachos that were given history of our people, and try to draw new in the world. Just a few years ago, to our forefathers Avrabam, Yitzchak chizuk and lessons for the future build­ the strategy of the yeitzer hara was to and Yaakov. In our time, we lived ing of Torah throughout the country. entice a person into some aveira through the almost complete destruc­ The situation that we have now, in (transgression), but not to touch the tion of European Jewry. A thousand 5762, in America, is extremely different Torah itself. Thus, when the individ­ years of Polish Jewry were finished in a - almost the exact opposite- from what ual Jew would begin to learn Torah and few years. The thriving communities of was in Europe between the wars, and would find that something he had Lithuania, Hungary, Germany were even before the First World War. done was against the will of Hashem, wiped out. Russia had already been spir­ he would be aroused to do teshuva. But itually destroyed, by Lenin and Stalin. A Century Ago: Europe From the now, the yeitzer has begun to use all So many thought: What's going to be Chofetz Chaim's Perspective of his forces to cause Torah to be for­ with the Jewish people? Baruch Hashem, gotten, and to entice baalei battim not the Ribbono Shel Olam showered us with he Chofetz Chaim in Chomas to give their children a Torah educa­ HaDas, published over I 00 years tion, except when they are very young Rabbi Keller is Rosh Hayeshiva of Tel she, Chica­ ago ( Petrikov 5660/1900 ), to teach them Aleph Bais, to daven, or go. This article is based on his address on the topic T addresses the question: "In what area do a bit of Chumash. Now, one out of "Redrawing the Map: Creating Torah Commu­ nities Across the USA" at the most recent nation­ we have to strengthen ourselves most at I 000 will arrange for his son to learn al convention of Agudath Israel of America.