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THE JEWISH OBSERVER (ISSN) 0021-6615 is published monthly except July and August by the Agudath Israel of America, 84 William Street, New York, N.Y 10038. Periodicals postage paid in New York, N.Y. Subscription S24.00 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 surcharge per year. Single copy $3.50: foreign $4.50. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Jewish Obseiver, 84 William Street N.Y., NY, 10038. Tel: 212-797-9000. Fax: 212-269-2843. Printed in the U.S.A.

RABBI N!SSON WOLPIN, EDITOR

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© Copyright 2001

January 2001 VOLUME XXXIV/NO. 1

Teves 5761 •January 2001 U,S,A, $3.50/Foreign $4.50 ·VOL XXXIV/NO. I

4 The Kiddush Hashem Imperative, Yonason Rosenblum I 2 Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky ?·Olr

I 3 Bidding My Rebbe Farewell, Rabbi Yissacher Frond I 8 Remembering Rabbi Kulefsky, Rabbi Eliezer Gibber 19 "Dear Mrs. Kulefsky,'' a letter from Rabbi David Kapenstein

THE WORLD OF THE BAAL TESHUVA

2 I Israeli Kiruv Trends: One Destination, Two Very Different Paths, Moshe Schapiro

Focus ON HALACHA

2 S Short, But How Sweet? The Use and Abuse of the "Hoicha Kedusha,'' Rabbi Matis Blum

28 The "Potch," Pnuel Peri

SECOND LOOKS

3 0 The Silence Revolution - One Man's Initiative, Rabbi Pinchas Jung

LETTERS FROM ISRAEL

3 I "Abba, Abba," Dan Mishell 3 2 "Dear Judy,'' Mrs. Leah Oriel

BOOKS IN REVIEW

3 S Inner Peace: Achieving Self Esteem Through Prayer, by Yisroel Roll I Rabbi Moshe Eisemann

3 7 Rav Dess/er, by Yonason Rosenblum I Rabbi Joseph Elias

3 9 Letters-to-the Editor

42 Index to Volume XXXlll: Subjects and Authors

I. CHILLUL HASHEM -AN UNCONSCIONABLE HORROR

The time has come to place the mitzva of Kiddush Hashem at the top of our educational agenda.

The most obvious reason is the damage to the image of Torah every time a Jew outwardly committed to its observance and study is involved in a Chillul Hashem (desecration of the Divine Name). Yet a stress on the mitzva of Kiddush Hashem is not only outward directed; it is also a means of providing our children with a deeper and richer attachment to Torah.

Every time we are confronted with another of the periodic scandals involving a shomer Shabbos Jew, the same questions come to mind: True, religious Je\vs are not immune to the temptations that afflict the rest of mankind, but why wasn't the fear of causing a Chillul Hashem enough to forestall such violations of both halacha and civil law? Didn't the person in question ever learn in Pirkei Avos that even unintentional Chillul Hashem is punished as if it vvere intentional?

The fact that such scandals are no longer easily dismissed as isolated events strongly suggests that we are not paying enough attention in our chinuch ( education) to issues of Kiddush Hashem and Chillul Hashem. Every Orthodox child instinctively recoils at the thought of eating non-kosher food. That sensitivity is instilled at a very young age. Our task today is to instill the san1e instinctive revulsion at the thought of committing

Yonason Rosenblum who lives in Jerusalen1 is a contributing editor to The Jewish Observer. He is also director of the Israeli division of Am Echad, the Agudath Israel-inspired educational outreach effort and media resource.

4

Yonason Rosenblum

h Hashem • ative

a Chillul Hashem, an even more serious transgression. That we have not yet succeeded in doing so is quite apparent. A friend recently described watching a group of first and second graders pour out of cheder and deliberately fill up the adjacent street and block it to traffic. Young as they were, none of those children would have deliberately put a non-kosher candy in their mouth.

Nor is a young child's lack of concern that his actions will cause others to think poorly of religious Jews a blemish that passes automatically as he or she grows older. A woman, who is justly known as an exceptional tzaddeikes, was shocked to learn that her teenage son \Vas using a friend's city bus pass. Her son \Vas no less surprised that she saw anything an1iss in his actions, and considered her insistence that she pay for his bus fare nothing less than baa! tashchis (wasteful). A few days later, he came back to her and told her that he had discussed the matter with his friends and they all agreed that he was right.

Unless vve succeed in inculcating a horror of any taint of Chillul Hashem in our young, we will continue to suffer from it. Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky once expelled a bright teenager from Torah Vodaath for taking the New York State Regents exam for another student. Decades later, that former student was implicated in a major financial scandal. Reb Yaakov commented that the responsibility for the scandal rested on those who had been quick to admit him to another yeshiva. If he had learned then, said Reb Yaakov, that cheating and deception are absolutely forbidden, the lesson would have stuck with him. Instead he received a message - unintended as it may have been -that cheat-

ing the government would be tolerated, and the result was a large-scale Chillul Hashem years later.

II. FROM THE MOST ETHEREAL TO THE MOST MUNDANE

The mitzva of Kiddush Hashem, however, is far broader than simply avoiding its opposite: Chillul

Hashem. The rnitzva provides an overarching framework for every thing we do. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch gave eloquent expression to the Kiddush Hashem imperative. A Jew's every action, he stressed, n1ust reflect the refining power of the Torah:

"And the Luchos were written on both their sides, on the one side and the other were they written" (Shemos 32, 15).

The word from Sinai must not grip us only superficially and one-sidedly. It must penetrate us through and through, it must set its stamp indelibly on every part of our being, and whichever way we are turned, the writing of G-d must be visible on us clearly and legibly .... Be a Jew through and through. Whichever way you are turned, be a Jew ....

In relation to G-d there is no reverse side and no opposite side; everything is turned to G-d and must be taken equally seriously, on every side the stamp of the Divine will is to be placed with the saine force and care and directness. Let yourself be penetrated through and through from all sides with the Divine word! This ideal has guided all the great

Torah leaders in every generation, and it is one that they worked hard to impart to their talmidim. ln the early l 930's, long

The Jewish Observer, January 2001

before he entered the public eye, Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler gathered around himself a group of young students in London with whom he learned privately. Rabbi Aryeh Carmell, the editor of the posthumously published Michtav Me'Eliyahu, was one of those students, and Rabbi Mordechai Miller, '>':>It, the recently deceased principal of Gateshead Seminary, another. Rabbi Dessler instructed the young Aryeh Carmell to walk to his lessons down a certain street in which a larger number ofbeggars were lined up and to drop a small coin in the tin can of each.

Mordechai Miller was given a different way of bringing honor to the Torah. Rabbi Dessler instructed him to always go to the upper deck of London's doubledecker buses. Since the journey to Rabbi Dessler was a short one, there was a good chance that the conductor would not reach him before young Miller had to get off. If that happened, he was to walk up to one of his fellow passengers and announce in a loud voice, which all were sure to hear, "The conductor has not taken my fare and this is my stop. Here is my fare. Please pay him." The purpose of the whole exercise was to demonstrate to all the passengers that a religious Jewish boy would never think of evading payment.

Rabbi Miller learned from Rabbi Dessler not just the importance of Kiddush Hashem, but how much intelligence

has to be applied to seeking out new opportunities for Kiddush Hashem. One time, Rabbi Miller arrived for his lesson at Rabbi Dessler's apartment and found a workman installing a window sash. Rabbi Dessler asked the workman whether he was using good material, and the latter replied, "Only the best:'

Rabbi Dessler told him, "I don't require the best. Only what is serviceable:'

Later Rabbi Dessler explained to his talmid that the workman knew he was renting and that the general practice was for renters to order the most expensive repairs and then deduct them from their rental payment. He wanted the repairman to know that a religious Jew would not take advantage in this fashion.

As leader of K'hal Adath Jeshurun of Washington Heights, Rabbi Shimon Schwab constantly stressed the ideal of Kiddush Hashem. He was always on the lookout for opportunities for Kiddush Hashem, a sensitivity he made every effort to transmit to his children. Once Rabbi Schwab was taking a subway with one of his sons when the latter exclaimed happily that he had found a silver dollar at the turnstile. Though according to halacha there was no question that the silver dollar belonged to the young yeshiva student, Rabbi Schwab told his son to return the money at the ticket counter. "And when you do;' he added," I'll stick my big beard into the ticket window so

the clerk dearly understands that it is a frum Jew returning the money."

The Kiddush Hashem perspective informs both the most mundane activity and the largest undertakings of our gedolim. Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky once found himself in a doctor's office together with a five-year-old boy. Reb Yaakov found a ball and began playing catch with the youngster. "I can't speak English with him;' Reb Yaakov explained," but I might be the only Jew with a white beard he ever meets, and I want the memory to be a positive one."

In the course of a death march near the end of World War II, the Klausenberger Rebbe '>""1 vowed that if Hashem gave him the strength to survive, he would one day build a hospital. The purpose of that hospital was to provide a living example of the Torah perspective on healing and the sane -tity of life. It took the Rebbe fifteen years to make good on that vow, but he did.

Such stories of the sensitivity of our gedolim to the implications of Kiddush Hashem should be a mainstay of our chinuch. When we tell these stories, however, the point is not to prove the greatness of our Torah leaders. Rather, it is to teach our children how their actions are models for our own, and that those actions are equally within the ability of a simple Jew. (There are plenty of examples of Kiddush Hashem by ordinary Jews to reinforce this point.)

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The Jewish Observer, January 2001 5

After Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky's passing, the Mother Superior of a nearby convent, on Saddle River Road in Monsey, told so1neone how n1uch she and the other nuns missed the old rabbi who always used to greet them when he passed them. But then she added something that should give us pause: "No one else ever greeted us." Most of us will never be the Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath or the leader of the generation, but each of us can smile as easily as Reb Yaakov could.

A talmid of Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky, Reb Yaakov's son, once told me how he was driving with his Rosh Yeshiva in a deteriorating neighborhood when they saw a black man standing by a car with a flat tire. Reb Shmuel immediately told his talmid to stop so they could help the man change his tire. Again, not everyone can be the Philadelphia Rosh Yeshiva, but most of us know as much as Rabbi Kamenetzky does about changing a tire. By stressing this message to our young) we provide each of them with an arena in which they can excel no less than the most revered figures of our ti1ne.

Ill. THE KIDDUSH HASHEM PERSPECTIVE AND FOSTERING

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existence. Having done that, we n1ust somehow use our imaginations and human empathy to try to understand the world from their point of view. Both these qualities develop naturally as one's sensitivity to the Kiddush Hashem imperative grows.

'fhe more we concern ourselves with Kiddush Hashem, the more we become aware that we are constantly being observed by others. (An awareness of our flesh and blood audience also increases our awareness of the audience of One Who is always present.) Conversely, an indifference to the impression we make on others is a major source of Chillul Hashem. A friend of mine once considered putting up a sign in downtown Lakewood, "We don't drive this way because we are religious Jews but because we are New Yorkers:' A good joke. But it reflects a sad reality. 1bo many religious Jews are either unaware of the impact of their actions on others' feelings about Torah scholars, or they don't care.

Every successful Orthodox parent today devotes much energy to teaching his children to shut out the ubiquitous 1nessages of the surrounding society that are antithetical to all Torah values. Sometimes, however, we are so successful in this regard that our children lose sight of the fact that the surrounding society is composed of our fellow human beings- and for those living in Eretz Yisroe~ our fellow Jews. The line between blocking out the surrounding society and losing all awareness of the individuals who make up that society is a thin one.

Yet the distinction is a crucial one. We all interact with the surrounding society on a constant basis - on the subway, in our cars, at the bank. If we allow ourselves to become blind to all those who do not come from our own community, we will conduct ourselves very differently than if we are acutely aware that we are being constantly observed and judged - and with us, the Torah. Developing a Kiddush Hashem perspective thus is the key to maintaining the distinction between outside society and the individual members of that society.

Kiddush Hashem, it must be stressed, does not mean that we shape our actions

to find favor in the eyes of a world ignorant of the Torah. Kiddush Hashem is not a hetterfor any departure from the Torah's commandments. The mitzva is: to become an example of a personality shaped only by the Torah's values, not to distort those values.

Nevertheless, adopting a Kiddush Hashen1 perspective forces upon us an awareness that everything we do is potentially observed and requires that we ask: How will this look in the eyes of others? What message will it convey about 1brah and Torah Jews? An awareness of the "other" is thereby forced upon us, as is the need to consider that "other's)' perspective, even if we do not adopt it as our own.

Understanding where someone else is coming from is a precondition for any effective con1munication with others, including the teaching of Torah. If we cannot understand how someone else sees the world and what makes him or her tick, there is no way to communicate with him.

Much of the animosity directed at religious Jews could be avoided if we just learned the simple trick of putting ourselves in someone else's shoes. In IsraeL for instance, every Remembrance f)ay the papers and news broadcasts are filled with pictures of chareidim going about their business during the sounding of the siren calling for a moment of silence in honor of those who fell in Israel's wars.

How many of those who carry on oblivious to the siren have asked themselves how they would feel if they were a parent of a fallen soldier and they saw members of the community least likely to serve in the army apparently unwilling to acknowledge their son's sacrifice. One who did ask that question was Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz, the great Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva. During the Yom Kippur War, Rabbi Shmulevitz limited the amount of time bachurim could spend looking for the arba minnim (the four species used on Succos - e.g. lulav, esrog, etc.) to the bare n1inimum. He explained to then1 that the sight of bachurim looking as if they had all the time in the world would great cause pall1 to those whose sons were on the front lines or had been killed in the battle.

V\lhile the argun1ent is sometimes

·---------------------------· 6 The Jewish Observer, January 2001

made that a moment of silence is not a Jewish form of mourning, that is not an idea that can be conveyed in a public setting and certainly not by ignoring the siren. The way to make that point is to recite Tehillim or learn Mishnayos during the siren rather than ignoring it altogether. (I have never seen a religious Jew who chose the for1ner course criticized for doing so.)

The failure by some to stand in public during the memorial siren is but one example of a more general phenomenon of arousing animosity to religious Jews by virtue of our insensitivity to the feelings of others and inability to even understand those feelings.

III. COMBATTING MITZVOS ANASHIM M'WMADA

The development of American Torah Jewry over the last sixty years - the rapid growth in numbers, the

ever higher halachic standards in every area, from tzenius to kashrus, and the nu1nber of young men who have consecrated their lives to Torah study at advanced levels- has been nothing short of phenomenal.

The American Torah world takes justified pride in what has been built. But success brings in its wake its own set of problems. Our children will not have to battle the tides all around them to re1nain observant, as their grandparents and great-grandparents did. They are born into a world of well-established Orthodox institutions, and from an early age, most, if not all, of their friends will come from homes much like their own. For them, the challenge is to keep their mitzva observance from becoming mitzvos anashim m'unzada - tnitzvos observed by rote.

If we took a snapshot of today's yeshivaleitand Bais Yaakovgirls and compared it to a snapshot of the group of young men and women who went with Reb Elimelech (Mike) Tress to meet Rabbi Aharon Kotler at Penn Station in April 194 l, the comparison at first glance would seem to inure entirely in favor of the former. Many of the young women in the older snapshot might have still been wear-


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ing short-sleeve dresses. And few of the young men dreamed ofleaming for years past high school and certainly not of kollel after marriage.

But the group that accompanied Mike Tress were idealists. Many of them spent several late nights a week packing parcels for Jews trapped in Nazi-held Europe or in filling out the four-foot long forms required for visa application. Whatever they possessed of Yiddishkeit had been hard won.

And they had been inspired. They had heard Mike Tress repeat the name "Rav Aharon Kotler" so many times that they were prepared to follow his leadership, and that of the other great European gedolim who arrived in America during the War, despite having had little exposure to the intense Torah learning tl1at Reb Aharon and the others hoped to rebuild in America.

One of the veterans of that era, when asked to compare her youth to that of her grandchildren, did not hesitate: "Then we really lived; today they only compete."

If we want our children to be similarly alive, to live their Judaism with passion, we must inspire them with goals that call forth all their youthful idealism. An emphasis on Kiddush Hashem can provide that goal.

A. Halacha as a Checklist

Too many of our children view halacha - or at least some aspects of halachic observance - as a

checklist of do's and don'ts. The teaching of tzenius is one glaring example. Many teenage girls, for instance, come to think of tzenius purely as a dress code rather than as an entire attitude towards life and a way of defining one's essence. (Too often the problem lies in the way they are taught.) Yet without cultivating that inner attitude, the dress code becomes a source of resentinent, something to be circumvented, if not in the details themselves at least in the message conveyed by one's dress.

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vides an overarching context within which to place the mitzvos so that they do not come to seem like so many details. The goal of our every action is nothing less than to bring out the Divine image within each of us: "He is gracious and merciful, so should you be gracious and merciful." One's Yiddishkeit becomes richer to the extent that one continually asks oneself the question: What does it mean to be created in the image of G-d in the situation in which I now find myself! Without providing such a context, halacha too easily becomes something dry and uninspiring in the eyes of our children and students.

A stress on the importance of Kiddush Hashem is the antidote for an attitude towards mitzvos as obligations that must be paid, after which one is able to reclaim one's life for oneself: Modeh Ani - check; Birchos HaShachar- check; Krias Shema - check. The mitzva of Kiddush Hashem destroys the false dichotomy between time "owed)) to Hashen1 and our time. Every moment is an opportunity to sanctify ourselves to a yet greater extent, and to thereby bring into a world in which the very concept of holiness has been lost another example of what it means to devote one's life to the pursuit of holiness: "Be holy because I, the L-rd Your G-d, am holy."

B. Restoring a Lost Idealism

One aspect of the achievements of religious Jewry in this past century that has not received suffi

cient attention is the role played by young men and women, some in their middle teens. Many of the first Bais Yaakov teachers sent out by Sarah Schenirer were no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. After Sarah Schenirer accompanied them to the small shtetl where they were to establish a Bais Yaakov school, she left them all alone - far from their family, without any friends, and without a preexisting infrastructure into which they could fit. They had to create something totally new all by themselves.

The Agudath Israel Youth Council was the most effective organization attempting to secure visas for desperate Jews


trapped in Europe during the Holocaust. I

Almost all of that work - which involved filling out four-foot long forms in sextuplicate, soliciting affidavits of financial support from strangers-was done by young volunteers, many of them still in high school. When the War was over, other groups of teenagers \vould come to 616 Bedford Avenue late at night and pack packages of desperately needed food and religious articles destined for the survivors in the Displaced Persons camps.

A decade later, a small group of yeshiva bachurin1 in Eretz Yisroel - the founders of P' ey/im - laid the foundations for the resurgence of Oriental Jewry in our day. In the refugee camps into which the Oriental Jews were herded, the Yemenite children had their peyos cut, and children were separated fron1 their parents and taught that neither Shabbos nor the other mitzvos any longer applied in Israel. Torah learning was discouraged, and in some cases banned entirely, and those who sought to teach Torah barred from entering. But for the young P' ey/im activists who burro\ved their way under the barbed wire fences in the middle of the night to teach the young immigrants and who later created the first makeshift yeshivas tOr them, an entire generation would have been lost.

Obviously, what primarily drove the young people I have described was not a concern with Kiddush Hashem. They were responding, first and foremost, to a particular crisis within the Jevvish world. Equally obviously, we cannot expect of today's Bais Yaakov students and yeshiva bachurim that same passion and idealism that fueled the early Bais Yaakov movement, or the Agudath Israel Youth Council, or P'eylhn. Great events elicit such responses.

Nevertheless we can pity our children the want of a feeling of being involved in a great cause. And that is where an en1phasis on the imperative of Kiddush Hashern can provide a partial antidote.

By reinforcing for our children the potential significance of every single action, we can help them find another outlet for their idealism and passion. Being Hashem's ambassador to the world is, after all, not a small task.

The Jewish Observer, January 200 I

Not so long ago, I had three students from a nearby ba'al teshuva yeshiva at my house for a Shabbos meal. They had all been working in Hollywood, and each had already begun to attain a certain level of success in the film industry. One Shabbos morning, they were eating a late breakfast in a restaurant when they noticed a young, frum family walk by on their way home from shul. The image of that family struck a responsive chord within each of them, a sense that for all their successes to date, something was lacking in their lives. From that initial encounter with an Orthodox family, merely observed from afar, each found his way back to Torah. Today they have all started their own families, and each is learning or has learned in a major yeshiva. The family who passed by at that

opportune n1oment will never know that they had such a major role in three lost branches of the Jewish family being regrafted to the tree of Torah. Had the father been yelling at one of his children,

instead of smiling, at that moment, there would likely be three less religious families in the world today.

Our children and students have to be constantly ex-posed to such stories so that they understand that they are a walking advertisement for or against Torah every time they walk down the street. A lot of responsibility to be sure, but with it goes the feeling of being involved in a worldshaping task

That responsibility is equally incumbent on every Jew, and as the story of the anonyn1ous fumily de1nonstrates, one that every Jew is capable of discharging in his own way.

One byproduct - perhaps an inevitable one - of the paran1ount i1nportance our world attaches to excellence in Torah learning is that many of our youngsters feel themselves to be mediocrities and failures if they do not excel academically. That, in turn, often creates resentn1ent towards a society that has, in their eyes, caused them to feel this way, and that seems to provide so fc\v outlets

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10 The Jewish Observer, January 2001

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RABBI YAAKOV MOSHE KULEFSKY i1:J1:1'? j7')j~ 1:J1'

The Torah world suffered an in11neasurable loss with the passing of Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulef

sky ':>"lit, Rosh Ha Yeshiva of Ner Israel in Baltimore, this past November 30, 3 Kislev. Among the first American-born-andeducated yeshiva students to become a leading Torah figure, his understanding of the American mindset helped him become a remarkably effective transmitter of Torah to American youth.

Rabbi Kulefsky was born in Chicago in 1925. His family then moved to St. Louis, Mo., \vhere he attended cheder. Before his bar initzva, his parents sent him to the Beis Hamedrash Lerabbanim in Chicago, where he experienced his first exposure to in-depth Torah study in the European style.

Then, he transferred to Mesivta Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn, where he blossomed under the guidance of the Roshei Yeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Heiman ':>"lit, and later, Rabbi Reuvain Grozovsky7"llt.

During World War II, he received a draft notice. Sent before a rabbinical review board to obtain an exen1ption, he explained that he was learning Torah for its own sake. The draft board rejected his request, for they only exempted students studying for a "purposeful" reason. After 14 months, his father, protesting the board's decision, managed to obtain a court injunction releasing him ti-om the arn1y.

Rabbi Kulefsky returned to Torah Vodaath and later \vent on to Beis Medrash Elyon, in Monsey. He married Sarah Gartenhaus, and became one of perhaps two rninyani111 of young 1narried couples in America continuing to learn after their wedding.

ln 1954, he was invited to become a sho'el u'meishiv (resource person in the beis midrash) in Yeshiva Ner Israel in Baltimore. He developed an extremely close relationship with the Rosh Hayeshiva, Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Rud-

----- --- ---

12

erman ':>"lit. Soon after joining the yeshiva, his magnetic appeal to bachurini was so compelling that he was assigned the second-year beis n1idrash shiur- a position through which he reached generations of taln1idin1, for over 47 years. Learning and teaching Torah were the essence of his life, the pulse-beat of his existence, his foremost joy.

With the passing of the previous Rosh Hayeshiva, Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg '>"lit, during summer 1999, Rabbi Kulefsky succeeded him to this position.

Even though his levaya took place on one of the shortest Fridays of the year, grief-stricken taln1idin1 made it their business to travel to Baltin1ore fn)n1 all over the country to bid farewell to their beloved Rebbe. He leaves behind a wife, thousands of devoted talrnidin1, generations of children and grandchildren, and a legacy of Torah knowledge enhanced by a joy that spread to all who had contact with him. II


As Shlomo Hamelech says in Kohel/es ( 12,9):mn n':r.1p;i>;w1T1~ o~?\!lr.l 1v11 1rN cvi'I nN nv1 .,r.r;. i1:V

.i'l:11il

"Besides being wise, Kohel/es also imparted knowledge to the people; he listened and sought out; and arranged many proverbs:' The import of that pasuk is truly astounding. As wise as Shlomo Hamelech was - and indeed, Chazal say that Shlomo's chachma ( wisdom) exceeded even that of Adam Harishon - Shlomo possessed an attribute that even exceeded his wisdom: He was able to convey the Torah's wisdom to the people, as well.

Or in the words of the Midrash on Shir Hashirirn, he created oznayin1 le Torah - he fashioned "handles" with which to gain a grip on Torah.

He made the words of Torah accessible to the people. In contemporary parlance, he made them user-friendly. As a result, all were able to quench their thirst for knowledge with the cool refreshing waters of the Torah.

We can paraphrase the words of the pasuk and apply them to Rabbi Kulefsky: he was an extraordinary ta/mid chachatn in virtually every area that is crucial to the making of a ta/mid chacham - lomdus, halacha, hashkafa, and machshava.

The Rosh Hayeshiva was the kol bo. He was the extraordinary latndan - an in-depth thinker - who not only knew the reid (popular analytical discussion) on any sugya (topic), but had his own original insights on any sugya that one would bring up. There was virtually no sugya in which one could not speak with

-~~···----

Rabbi Frand is a n1ember of the faculty of Yeshiv-as Ncr Israel in Baltimore.


Rabbi Yissacher Frand

Bidding My Rebbe Farewell

Excerpts from Rabbi Yissacher Frand's eulogy for Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky ?'17,

the late Rosh Hayeshiva of Yeshiva Ner Israel in Baltimore.

him - in Nashim, Nezikin, Moed or Kadoshim.

And he was a poseik ( decisor ), as well. He knew Shulchan Aruch thoroughly, exhaustively. He knew Yoreh De' ah like the palm of his hand. He knew the classic con1mentaries - Pri I'vtegadim, Chavos Daas and the Pis'chei Teshuva. You could discuss virtually any area of halacha with him.

But he had one attribute that exceeded all of these accomplishments.

He was the constunmate, unrivaled maggid shiur (teacher of Talmud). In his ability to convey Torah thoughts with clarity, to create "handles" with which to grab 10rah, he was peerless.

Yes, there are those who are exceptional la1ndanirn, but are not poskirn. There are others vvho have expertise in halacha, but do not excel in lomdus. And there are perhaps a few that are both /amdanim and poskim, but do not have the ability to convey their thinking to others.

He was all of the above.

THAT EXTRA FACTOR: MESIKUS

In that role of maggid shiur, he was able to transmit to literally thou· sands of talmidirn an extremely

precious commodity: rnesikus - the sweetness of Torah. Indeed, countless talmidirn testify that it was the Rosh Hayeshiva who gave them the very first taste of that rnesikus.

Have you ever given a baby its first lollypop? The child puts it into his mouth, not knowing \vhat to expect, and you can literally see him thinking, Hey, this is good! And a life-long attraction to sweet things is formed.

So it was with the Rosh Hayeshiva. Rabbi Elazar Shach N .. V,?v eulogized

Rabbi Shmuel Rosovsky ., .. lit (Rosh Yeshiva in Ponevezh until his passing 20 years ago), quoting the Midrash in Shir Hashirirn Rabba:

Rabbi Yosi said, "When presenting words of Torah in public, they should be rendered (sweeter than honey and drippings from the combs.' If not, it would have been preferable that he had not said them." Whenever Rabbi Shmuel Rosovsky

taught Torah in public, Rabbi Shach said, their sweetness met that exacting standard.

I an1 convinced that the same can be said about Rabbi Kulefsky, for he saw it as his n1ission to give a bachur a geshrnak in learning. Let him taste the sweetness, and then he will continue to study Torah for the rest of his life.

A Yungerman last year took his three-year-old over to the Rosh Hayeshiva for a beracha before his opsheren (first haircut). Rabbi Kulef sky responded: "You should always find a geshmak in learning." He was not in a position to bless the boy to be a talmid chacham, because that is up to the person. But if you endo1v a person with a geshmak, that is as close as you can get to guaranteeing that he will always learn, and eventually become a talmid chacham.

SHARING HIS AHAVAS HATORAH

Not only did he share that ntesikus with us, he also gave us an insight into another of his

treasured possessions - his remarkable ahavas Torah.

73

Those of us who have been in Yeshiva Ner Yisroel for a number of years will always associate tekias shofar (the blowing of the shofar) on Rosh Hashana with the Rosh Hayeshiva. And indeed he was, in addition to all of his other achievements, an accomplished baa/ toke' a. His tekios (shofar blasts) had a certain eidelkeit (delicacy) about them - they were pristine and pure, aln1ost like the classic kol de'mama daka - a frail, whispering sound. As the teki' os were inspiring, so was the manner in which he said the six pesukim (passages)

before teki' os absolutely gripping. This coming Rosh Hashana, hearing those pesukim before teki'os will be a haunting experience, increasing our awareness of his absence.

One of those pesukim in particular seemed to define who he was '~lN """

.~i ?7w ""'"~ inir.iN ?v "I rejoice over Your word like one who finds abundant spoil" ( Tehillim 119, 126).

His simcha was like that of a person who finds a n1etzi'a - a real "find"; but not just an ordinary metzia; a bounty, a bonanza, that one cannot possibly keep

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to himself, but must share with others. Few people enjoyed a vort more than he did. And, indeed, that is one of the many things that we will miss; he won't be there for us to offer him a geshmak' e vort, a kushya (puzzling question), a ma'aseh (story).

I would tell him a kushya and be on the verge of telling him the terutz (resolution) when he would say"Vart- Wait a inoment!" He would pause, so as to formulate a terutz of his own. When he could not come up with his own approach, I would offer him mine. If he liked it, a broad smile would wreath his face, and he would maintain that pose as he savored the terutz. Then the smile would disappear, and one could almost see the wheels turning. Invariably he would have something to add, to expand on the insight.

But now he is gone, and every time I encounter a geshrnak'e vort, I will think of how I will tell it to Rav Kulefsky. But then I'll catch myself, because he is no longer here ....

Ahavas haTorah. It explains so much about him. It explains why he would insist on asking a bar mitzva bachur to tell him his shtikel Torah (Talmudic discourse) if he was unable to attend the bar mitzva personally .... Because Torah is Torah, and did not matter if it came from a thirty-year-old or a thirteen-yearold.

"When my son Yaakov was nine or ten, 1 completed Mishnayos Shabbos with him, and arranged for Rabbi Kulefsky to give him what I thought would be a short, even perfunctory, bechina (oral examination). But he kept him there for close to an hour because 1brah is Torah. My son still remembers walking out of his apartment with not just a little treat, but a bag full of candy corn, thinking how he had struck it rich. Little did he know that ten years later, he would still be taking leave of Rabbi Kulefsky with a treasure trove of sweets, as I did a generation before him, and others did a generation before me, and still others did after him.

That was one of the things that struck me at the levaya (funeral): there were talmidim (disciples) there who are in

·-----The Jewish Observer, January 2001

their sixties and talmidim still in their teens. Close to fifty years of harbotzas Torah. Fifty years of giving people that special taste that is "sweeter than honey and drippings from the combs."

His ahavas Torah also explains why he never tired from saying over a vort - the same vort, even year after year. He could repeat the sa1ne shiur again ... and again ... and never lose a geshmak in it. How did he do it? Because if you love something so passionately, you never tire of it.

Someone who had learned in Rabbi Kulefsky's shiur more than twenty years ago came back to visit, and sat in at the shiur. I asked him how Rabbi Kulefsky had changed in those twenty years. "Not a bit," he said. "He delivered with the same bren (excitement), the same geshmak and the same enthusiasm as he had twenty years ago."

"Burn-out" had no relevance to him. Ahavas haTorah: It even explains why

he was often late in ending his class or his shiur. For many, many years, lunch was an abstract concept, not an enticing, waiting reality to the bachurim of Rabbi Kulefsky's shiur. If you were in the middle of analyzing a Rav Akiva Eiger, 1

who could think about food? Rashi explains the pasuk: ,,,,~,,,..~

1'l:l11'1ll!IT1 - "Through love of an object, one comes to constantly err" (Mishlei 4, !9) to refer to how a person becomes so enamored with Torah thoughts, that he simply abandons other pressing involvements to pursue divrei Torah, even if he appears to be a fool in the eyes of onlookers. As an example of this phenomenon, the Gemora cites Rabbi Elazar ben P'dos who was so great that he would be totally immersed in saying a shiur in one place, unaware that the tallis he should have been wearing was in another place (Eiruvin 44b ). The Netziv adds that when a person becomes so enraptured with his Torah study, this serves as a source of glory for him.

Rebbitzen Ruderman n":V commented on more than one occasion when the Rosh Hayeshiva, Rabbi Rudermanf:,··::n, was late coming home from the Yeshiva on Shabbos morning, "Ehr

rett in lernen mit Rav Kulefsky." For certain, he was discussing a Torah topic with Rabbi Kulefsky. Ahavas haTorah: it explains anoth

er thing about him. That same Gemora in Eruvin refers to a pasuk in Mishlei, that Torah is a source of 1n - grace and pleasantness. One must say that the Torah endowed him with an additional glow that endeared him to so many people.

You could share a clever remark \Vith him, tell him a good line, and he would enjoy it. He was so accomplished in learning and yet he was so normal. He was so ruchni - so spiritual a person -and yet so human.

He was so great, and yet so humble. A talmid from the ?O's remembers

how in his year the shiurpresented Rav Kulefsky with a tall is bag, with his name "Harav Yaakov Moshe Kulejsky" embroidered on it. He would not use the bag until they removed the word "Harav."

And that explains why he did not want to succeed Rabbi Weinberg'> .. ,,, as

Rosh Hayeshiva after the latter was niftar. He honestly and sincerely felt that he was not worthy.

The last vort that I had wanted to share with Rabbi Kulefsky was a Chasam Sofer 2 on Parshas Shemos. It was the type of vort that I knew he would enjoy. The Chasam Sofer explains the dialogue between Moshe Rabbeinu and the Ribbono Shel Olam when He first asked him to lead Kial Yisroel out of Egypt. Moshe Rabbeinu demurs, saying: "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?"

Hashem responds by telling him: "This is the sign that I sent you, when you will lead the People out of Egypt, they will serve Me on this n1ountain."

The obvious question is: There was need for a Divine sign now. How could a future event serve as a sign for now?

The Chasam Sofer explains that the fact that Moshe's initial reaction was "Who am !?"is the strongest indication that he, indeed, was worthy to be the manhig, the leader.

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PERSONAL CONTACT

For several years I had the privilege to serve as Rabbi Kulefsky's assistant, in helping his class revie\V his

daily shiur. As such, I would meet with Rabbi Kulefsky every day after he had delivered his shiur, to allow 1ne to hear the shiurand be prepared to answer his bachurim's questions. I enjoyed the assignn1ent in11nensely; it gave n1e an opportunity to maintain n1y relationship with him many years after I had left his shiur. But I did not realize then the profound impact that it would have on me

in later years. It was an opportunity to learn from Rabbi Kulefsky how to deliver a shiur. I saw and heard why he chose to include this piece and where to include it; how he crafted a shiur so that every piece fit so perfectly. Any success that I enjoy in saying a shiur is due in large measure to that which I gleaned from him.

If learning can be (le'havdil) likened to a science, then saying a shiuris an art. One cannot n1aster an art through reading about it. One 1nust experience it. And one v.1ay to experience it is to observe a maestro. It was 1ny good for-

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tune to observe a 1naster. Finally, I would just like to share with

you an insight that I gained over the last few years: Several years ago, Rabbi Kulefsky lost his mother. As halacha requires, he changed his seat in the beis midrash for tefilla, and sat next to me. The circumstances that brought him there were unfortunate, but for me it was a windfall. I looked forward to Shabbos because I had additional time with Rabbi Kulefsky. I gained an opportunity to see, as never before, how he davened. His yiras Shatnayin1 \Vas almost palpable.

Two things were especially noteworthy during that special year. By that time, his eyesight was very poor. Yet he strained himself to say" Ve'hu Rachu1n"3 on Mondays and Thursdays. It would have been so understandable for hin1 to allow himself to forgo saying this tefilla. But he would hold the Siddur up to his face and say every \Vord.

Nor will I ever forget that Yorn Kippur- how he bent over to say the Viduy (confessional) and the Selichos, his face literally buried in the Machzor. When he finished one of those Viduys, having been bent over and wrapped in his tallis, he emerged - his face dripping with perspiration ....

I believe that some of his Ahavas ha Torah actually rubbed off on me, and I learned hovv to say a shiur from

him. But, to paraphrase what Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik said regarding the Beis Haleivi'i when he vvas niftar. "He took his capacity to understand p'shat (plumbing the depths of the meaning of a passage) with him to the grave." I can say the san1e about the yiras Shan1ayitn that \Vas distinctive of Rabbi Kulefsky. I witnessed it from close. And now it is truly gone. 1111

1 Leading figure and Taln1udic con11nentator of bis ti1ne ( 1761-1838) ~Rav of Posen, whose discussions are prototype fOr the analytical approach to Talinudic study.

2 Leading rabbinical figure, co1nn1entator and poscik ( 1762-1839) - Rav of Press burg.

-1 A long penitential prayer added on those days.

4 I-lis father, Rabbi Yosef Dov Solovcitchik, referred to by the naine of his s~(er.


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Remembering

Rabbi Kulefsky '"~j

Rabbi Kulefsky was my Rebbe and still is - in so many compelling \vays. There were three corner

stones to the way he presented his shiuritn that could serve as a model for what every teacher, every Rebbe, every Rosh Yeshiva, should strive to emulate. (At least I try.) 1. He was exceptionally well prepared. One could say that his motto was - ''Prepare! Prepare! Preparel"

He once recounted how, as a bachur in Mesivta Torah Vodaath, he would attend a weekly shiurin Nach (Prophets) given by the legendary menahcl of the Mesivta, Reb Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz ?''Yr. On one occasion, he - a1nong many others - filed into the lecture room where the class was to be given. Reb Shraga Feivel entered, sat down, looked around the full classroom, and announced, "I'n1 sorry bachurim. There will be no shiurtoday. I did not have an opportunity to prepare."

With that, he arose from the chair and walked out.

"We knew that he could shake com-1nentary, explanation and inspiration out of his sleeve, without any advance preparation;' commented Rabbi Kulefsky. "But he had wanted to devote time to selecting what he would be presenting, tailor it for whom it was intended, and decide how it should best be

Rabbi Gibber, R;;f1 Yesl1iva cl· New En-gland Rabbinical College, in Providence RI, spent fifteen years in Yeshiva Ner Israel. The above article is based on an interview with Rabbi Gibber.

18

expressed. No preparation, no shiur." Rabbi Kulefsky lived by this same

credo. I recall one occasion when he delivered a shiur to his regular class on a Friday - after assiduous preparation, of course. On Sundays, he would deliver a shiurto older bachurim and kollel fellows. He decided that Friday's lecture would be suitable for this group, too, so - again - he prepared diligently. Later that week he went on an AARTS accrediting visitation to Yeshiva 10ras C~hain1 in Denver, where he was scheduled to deliver a shiur to the beis midrash. The topic selected \Vas the san1e as the one he had addressed the past Friday and Sunday. So he gave the same shiur again - but only after preparing ... industriously, of course. 2. There was beauty in his presentation.

It \Vas an aesthetic experience to hear Rabbi Kulefsky lay out the problem, examine crucial texts, and weave the strands together to present a resolution. One could sit back and relax, the process of listening was so effortless. His questions, his resolutions, sliced through the sugya (topic under discussion) like a hot knife through butter. The entire process was one of startling clarity. The classic term" K'Shulchan Aruch" - a set table, with each course following its predecessor by logic and protocol- was fully realized in the way he spoon-fed the shiur to us. 3. And then there was his contagious, allconsuming joy that he exuded as he developed his thesis ... a joy that caught

Rabbi Eliezer Gibber

us and carried us away \Vith hin1. His infectious enthusiasn1 in learn

ing had early roots. (An oft-told tale is no less relevant simply because it 1nay be familiar to many readers.) As a child, young Yaakov Moshe so enjoyed his Ge1nora studies, that he had no interest in sports and childhood games. His desperate mother took the pale, drawn boy to the family doctor for advice. "The boy must spend time playing outside with his friends," he prescribed.

The next day, Mrs. Kulefsky sent her son back outside as soon as he can1e home from school, and locked the door in his face. A while later, she discovered him in his room, an open Gen1ora in his sooty hands, and a jubilant smile lighting up his blackened face: he had climbed into the cellar through the coal chute, and now he was reunited with his precious Gemora.

The triumphant smile continued to light up his learning and teaching for the next sixty-five years. 4. Other aspects of his imprint on others: Total constant immersion

Rabbi Kulefsky's uninterrupted involven1ent in Talmudic discourse was so integral to his personality, one simply cannot think of him without his learning, talking or thinking Torah. His son-in-law, Rabbi Dovid H .. osenbaum, recounted how he had been summoned to his father-in-lav./s house son1e twenty years ago; Rabbi Kulefsk7 was not feeling well. As soon as Reb Dovid entered, Rabbi Kulefsky engaged him in a dis-


Dear Rebbetzin Kulefsy, Written by a Former ta/mid, Rabbi Dovid Kapenstein

With great sorrow and feeling ofloss 1

I attended Rav Kulefuky's ?"lit funeral this past erev Shabbos. Having had time to collect my thoughts, I want to share them with you.

When I came to the Yeshiva about 17 years ago, Rav Kitlefuky's shiurwas the first place I went. From the first time I heard Rebbe give shiur, I was hooked. It was like being a child in a candy store. Rebbe's clarity was legendary, and he never disappointed us. The most difficult concepts and thought-provoking insights were explained so thoroughly and clearly that we used to joke that by the time Rebbe finished the shiur, the walls understood the Gemora. Still, it wasn't just so much instructing as navigating us through the choppy waters of the Rishonim and Acharonim (earlier commentaries - 11-lsth century- and later commentaries- post-ls th centuty).

He would painlessly and methodically build up a principle that he wanted us to understand. He remained constantlymindful that there were bachurim with varying levels of understanding. As such, he would repeat and repeat the concepts always approaching them from a slightly different vantage point. This way, the slower learners caught on, while the faster learners marveled at his precision and depth.

Rebbe shared with us not only his Torah insights, but those of his rebbeim. When Rebbe taught us a novel thought from his Rebbe, Rabbi Reuvain Grozovsky, you felt the excitement he had in sharing a chiddush. You weren't just sitting in the blatt room at Ner Israel, but we were somehow magically transported to the shiurwhere Rebbe himself first heard the. chiddush, as though we were hearing it from Reb Reuvain himsel£ We were connected, through Rebbe, with Gedolim whom we never saw - hearing their thoughts so masterfully explained by our Rebbe who understood them so well.

Rabbi Kapenstein serves as Director of Development in the Torah Day School of Atlanta, Georgia. In deference to the author's rela~ tionship with Rabbi Kulefsky, he usually refers to him as" Rebbe," rather than byname.

The Jewish Observer;. January 2001

Rebbesnearlyperrnanent state of simcha was contagious. His smile could break through the most melancholy feelings of tense situations. One day when Rebbe was asking a bachur whether he understood a particular Tasafos, he asked the talmid to explain the second answer that Tosafosgave to a question on the Gemora. The bachur thought and thought, but could not remember what Tosafos said. In desperation the bachur said, "Could Rebbe help me start the answer, and then I am sure I'll remember the rest?" Rebbe looked up, smiled from ear to ear, and said, "Sure I can help. The second answer in Tosafos is ... :' Rebbes simcha had defused the anxietyfilled situation, while maintaining the dignity of the nervous young man.

We marveled at his dedication to Torah and how, when he drove out to the store to shop for groceries, he would sit in the car learning. He never even noticed the hustle and bustle of people passing by. I recall the trepidation I had when I once went to Rebbeto ask permission to go to a wedding that would necessitate missing shiurone day. Rebbe listened intensely while I described why I felt that it was important for me to go. After r presented my dissertation, I waited for what seemed like an eternity for a response to my request. Finally, I broke the silence by asking if it was OK for me to go. ccDovid;' he commented, "I can't tell you whether it's OK for you to go. I have enough problems worrying about my bittul Torah; I can't speak for yours."

r will never forget the trip to the airport when Rebbe agreed to start testing me on the material r learned for s'micha. I had studied over and over again the material I anticipated being asked. To my great surprise, Rebbe began the test asking me what is the halacha if a person makes a vow not to eat a certain food and that food falls into a mixture of other 1

food. He wanted to know under what circumstances the forbidden food would become annulled into the larger mixture and thus be permissible to eat. I was dumbfounded. r expected a question

about something much more conventional, such as when non-kosher meat mixed with kosher meat, or a drop of milk fell in a pot of meat. Rebbe just leaned his head back, stroked his beard, looked at me through the bottom of his glasses and said, "Didn't you learn Rabbi Akiva Eiger?"

Of course, we learned Rabbi Akiva Eiger's glosses on the Shulchan Aruch; however, many of them seemed far too esoteric in our eyes to spend any length of time committing them to memory. After all, people are not supposed to make vows, and no one we know was vowing not to eat meat. Still, Rebbe wanted to send me a message. The breadth and depth of Torah knowledge go far beyond the requirements of a s'rnicha exam.

I recall one unsuspecting young man who took his s'micha bechina. There was, as you_ can imagine, an ('oral tradition" about which topics Rebbe would query. Everyone knew that Rebbe never asked any question on the topic of k'chaL These are the detailed laws surrounding the halachic status of milk found in a cow's udder after it was slaughtered. Sure enough, Rebbe asked this young man some questions about k' chaL After some hesitation, the bachur, told Rebbe that he didn't really learn the laws of k'chal because it was well known in the Yeshiva that Rebbe never questioned anyone about k'chal Rebbe immediately sent him back to the beis midrash with explicit instructions that Rebbe does indeed ask questions about k'chal.

You and your children and grandchildren were so very privileged to have Rebbe at the helm of your family. I know that he will be missed greatly. r know that I speak for thousands of talmidim when I thank you for sharing Rebbe with us. I had fervently hoped that my children would also someday be able to be in Rebbe's shiur.

I also know the reason he was able to devote so much time to talmidim, both in and out of the Yeshiva, was because of the support and encouragement you gave him. We are forever grateful to you.

DOVID KAPENSTEIN

19

cussion regarding a specific statement by the Ran, a classic commentary, on Mesechte Nedarim. After a brief exchange, Rabbi Rosenbaum deemed it safe to leave.

telephone call: Rabbi Kulefsky took a turn for the worse and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Rabbi Rosenbaum rushed there, to find his father-in-law connected to life-support systems. Rabbi Kulefsky pulled Shortly afterwards, he received a

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his face away from the oxygen mask to tell Reb Dovid, "] have a terutz to explain the Ran!"

Reb Dovid wondered, When did he have an opportunity to think through the troubling Ran? Jn the ambulance on the way to the hospital? 5. Extra-Curricular Concerns

Rabbi Kulefsky felt a special kinship with the Iranian students who can1e to the Yeshiva during the unrest fifteen years ago. He was involved in arranging shidduchim (suitable matches for them), and even earned himself the sobriquet, "Father of the Iranians in the Yeshiva."

One particular Iranian bachur became engaged to a young lady with a unique name - a name that appeared on the label of a rather exotic liquor, surrounded by stars. How appropriate for their vort (engagement party)! he thought. He visited several local liquor stores in search of the beverage, to no avail. Eventually, he had the chassan and kalla over for a Shabbos meal, at which this elusive brand of liquor was served, to everyone's delight. When asked later where he found the bottle, he replied that he had originally seen it during a visit \Vith his children in Montreal. He had asked his son to send him a bottle of this choice drink special for this occasion.

!cannot sum up my debt to Rabbi Kulefsky any better than he himself did during his last class, on the day

before his passing. As Rabbi Berel Weisbord recounted at the levaya (funeral), he closed the shiur- and his life- comn1enting, '(I hope I made nlyself clear."

He did. Most eminently. Ill

Brooklyn NY I 1218

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ISRAELI KrRUV TRENDS

One Destination,

Two Very Different Paths

Moshe Schapiro

Teshuva For Ashkenazi Israelis Not the Shortest Distance from A to B

Kiruv in Israel is often a topical item. Many of us have heard and read stories about how, after just

a single encounter with a real Shabbos, an entire non-observant fan1ily- n1other, father, kids, uncles, aunts and cousins - decides to take on a life of Torah and mitzvos. Such accounts are liable to give one the impression that kiruv \vork in Israel is a n1atter of stirring the e1nbers smoldering under the surface and fanning the flames of spirituality back to life. And while in some cases -probably a sn1all minority- this is a fair description of the process, it is only one side of the story.

Think about it. When is the last time you read a "quick-change" baa! teshuva story about son1eone of Ashkenazic background? About someone who in the last election voted for Meretz, not Shas?

The reason is that most Israeli Ashkenazin1 just don't become observant this way. Theirs is a different approach altogether.

Kiruv professionals explain that with most Sefardi Israelis, the main challenge is to find a way to tap into the deep wellspring of ernuna sin1mering just beneath -·-----------·-----------~

Moshe Schapiro is a journalist who lives in Jerusale1n. His byline appears in a nun1ber of English-language publications around the globe including the English language Yated Nc'erna11, where he is a regular colutnnist. I-fc was represented by"Drawing Lines in a Moving Field" in 10 Mar. '00.


the tough exterior, and enthusiasm for the Mesorawill push forth. This isn't necessarily an easy task - in fact, it can be quite difficult - but usually one is handsomely rewarded for the effort.

But dig beneath the surface of your typical Ashkenazi university professor or high-tech professional and, instead of hitting a wellspring of enwna, you will hit a solid wall of intensely cynical atheism. Go beyond that wall, and you will run head-on into yet another wall, this time comprised of icy intellectual doubt. After that, you reach the wall of emotional denial, followed by the wall of fear, and only then can you start talking about G-d.

rfhis is not to say there is no progress being n1ade in the Ashkenazi comn1unity. Arachim, one of Israel's largest kiruv organizations, has proved that Torah can be brought to the secular citizens of Tel Aviv. lt's just a matter of using the right approach.

All caustic declarations a la Yossi Sarid aside, the fact is that members of this reluctant com1nunity can be brought to the well. Only it has to be done one step at a time) one question at a tin1e, one lecture at a ti1ne, one se1ninar at a tin1e. ~fhen "suddenly/) after four or five years of intellectual deliberation, everything falls into place.

This) then, is a story about a very dif-

ferent kind of kiruv. It is a sknv kiruv and it is a quiet kiruv. But it is a kiruv that is taking place more often than most of us think.

GETTING A FOOT IN THE DOOR

Although Arachim gives 120 outreach sen1inars in Israel and elsewhere around the globe each

year, it is perhaps best known for its series of"academic se1ninarsn for secular Israelis. (These, by the way, comprise the foundations of a nun1ber of similar programs, including Gateways in New York, Maor in Los Angeles, SEED in England, Aish Ha Torah's Discovery, and others in France and South Africa.)

The four-day events are held seven tin1es a year and focus on intensive analysis of contemporary topics from a Torah perspective. Leading rabbinical personalities deliver the lectures, but the general atmosphere 1nore closely resembles the university lecture hall than the beis midrash.

Planners adapt the program to fit with changing trends. Reconciling the Torah account of the Creation with scientific theories was a popular subject five years ago. But more recently) upscale Israelis have joined the rest of the Western world in a search for alternative sources of spirituality, so no\v the organization)s sen1inars are decorated in the

27

more avant-garde vestments of the latest craze.

Left-wing Ashkenazim may have derided Shas's use of amulets to win votes during the last election, but that does not n1ean they are not discussing mysticism and holistic healing in their Tel Aviv coffee houses. So to attract the crowds, Arachim will put together a seminar on Torah and Kabbala, and another on ancient "falmudic secrets about alternative healing. These topics are not used merely as tantalizing bait to lure errant souls - they are actually discussed in-depth, albeit from the Torah perspective.

And the crowds come.

A MATTER OF COMMUNICATING

Arachim)s success is not only due to its ability to keep its finger on the pulse of secular society. It also

places heavy emphasis on perfecting its lecturers' com1nunication skills to match the sophisticated expectations of

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its media-savvy professional and upscale constituency.

For instance, at the back of their glossy magazine is an advertisement for a raffle. The prizes include a silver mezuza - and a silver Mazda. Request information about the organization from the main office and you receive eye-catching pamphlets in modish earth colors. Illustrations consist mainly of graphs and charts. Photographs of smiling kids making Kiddush are conspicuously absent.

Attend a lecture sponsored by the organization, and the rabbi who is speaking will be dressed in a neatly pressed suit one notch above anything the executives in the crowd are wearing. He is organized and articulate in his speech, illustrates his points with a Power Point presentation run from his laptop and directed on the wall with a laser projector, distributes impressive printed handouts, and even provides resources for further reading. This may not seem out-of-the-ordinary to an

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average North American) but it makes a very big impression on the university-educated Israeli, who rarely regards the terms «rabbi" and "professional" as synony1nous.

It is common knowledge that today in Israel, as in most places in the Western world, infor1nation is king) and the ability to present this information well is paramount. Therefore, the well-spoken lecturer is crucial, the glossy magazine is a must, and the well-designed brochure that announces an upcoming seminar is critical. It's all a n1atter of marketing.

But the differences in approach required to have an impact on Ashkenazic Jews are not limited to snazzy presentation tools and sharp suits. According to Rabbi Yosef Walis, founder of Arachim and director of its 500-member staff, "You also need to know how to reach out to them."

WHERE OTHER KIRUVPROS DARE NOT GO

abbi Walis, an American-educated native Israeli whose OV•ln

eturn to Judaism began with an academic lecture many years ago, says thing like religious radio stations broadcasting Tehillim to the lilting tunes of Middle-Eastern music just don't do the trick with Ashkenazic Jews.

Instead, Arachim activates the existing network of seminar graduates and friendly contacts to send its brochures into places where most other kiruv organizations would never be able to set foot: high-tech companies, banks, hospital staff rooms, universities, and the stock market. If the organization doesn't have a "mole" in the company, however, getting the brochure placed there becomes more difficult. But even then the organization does its best.

"We explain to the reluctant company executive," says Han Buzaglo, Arachim's Director of Academic Seminars, "that although we are a religious institution, our seminars are on topics that have universal interest and practical applications, such as parent-child relationships or improving interpersonal dynamics. We


stress that since the Torah has unique and worthwhile information to impart about these issues, the employees would benefit by attending the lecture."

Once the company understands that the seminars are about an exchange of information - that magic word in today's society - they are usually willing to post the brochure.

But Buzaglo concedes that most of the people who attend the seminars are not people who have signed up after one glance at a brochure.

"For many people, the seminar is the step that comes near the end of the teshuva process," Buzaglo continues. "It's a big step. Spending two or three days in an atmosphere of intensive learning is a real commitment, and it usually only happens after someone has been in contact with us for a long time:'

What, then, does the brochure accomplish?

It is often enough to make a person pick up the phone and call Arachim. And these people usually express only a vague interest in finding out more about Judaism. But give the organization's kiruv workers an opening as small as the eye of a needle, and they will create an opening that may not yet be as large as a banquet hall, but is definitely as large as a door- the front door of the person who called.

HOME DELIVERY

After receiving that phone call, Arachi1n sets into motion a particularly Israeli institution

known as the "chug bayit,'' where a s1nall group of friends and relatives get together at someone's home to hear a lecture or have a discussion about a current events issue. The setting may resemble that of an informal Torah shiur, but at this early stage the phrase "Torah shiur" is still taboo.

The organization initiates further contact by asking callers if they would like to host a "chug bayit" in their homes. Arachim provides the lecturers, and the callers produce the audience, which is usually comprised of relatives, friends and business acquaintances. It's all very


informal, very nonthreatening, very convenient and - excuse the expression - very cool.

And as the following story shows, it works.

Menachem and Tulin Weinberg are good exarnples of ne\v Israelis. He manages his own accounting firm, as \vell as three publicly traded companies. She has a good job in hotel management. Every September the affluent, well-educated, secular couple and their children would pack their bags and head to Ben Gurion airport for a well-earned month-long vacation in the Far East. They prided themselves on their open outlook and their willingness to expose themselves and their children to foreign cultures and custo1ns.

But their openness to foreign cultures was only in direct proportion to how far they had traveled from their own. They may have been knowledgeable about Buddhist rites and rituals, but their children had never been in a shul on Yorn Kippur or held a lulav in their hands during Succos.

In other words, the Weinbergs were just the sort of people that organizations such as Arachim are on the lookout for.

It was while they were traveling in India that the Weinbergs got their wake-up call. While visiting a shrine they asked a monk about his traditions. But when he discovered the family were Jews from Israel, he told them to go home.

"Your tradition is the source of all," the monk said. "I have nothing to teach you."

When they returned home, the Weinbergs decided to learn more about Judaism.

But as they settled into their busy routine, Judaism was quickly shifted to the back burner, soon to go into deep freeze.

Then one day Mr. Weinberg related his bizarre experience with the monk to a client, and it was from him that he first heard about Arachim. Weinberg called to find out more details about an upcoming seminar in Herziliya, but it

wasn't in September - vacation month - so the busy executive didn't have time to attend. But he and his wife did agree to host a "chug bayif' at their home.

The Weinbergs invited their neighbors and friends, and the evening was a major success. l"he next step in their con1mitment was attendance at a threeday seminar, which also went well. And when September rolled around the following year, the Weinbergs traveled to a place they had never been to beforeTishrei in Eretz Yisroel, where their children heard the shofar blown for the very first time.

KNOWING WHAT TO ANSWER

T he Weinbergs' connection with Arachim - and Judaism - all began with that chug bay it. And

outreach professionals say that while the chug bayit demands a great deal of organizational effort, it is a very important and effective tool.

At the initial lectures, the rabbi doesn't speak about mitzvos, but about the wisdom that can be found in the Torah. If the topic under discussion is Shabbos, it is not the 39 melachos (forbidden labor) that are analyzed, but the

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23

way that Shabbos enhances the quality of life of the individual, the family unit, and society as a whole.

Of course) the lecturer comes prepared to answer questions relating to the topic, but n1ore often than not, at son1e point in the evening a member of the group will raise his hand and ask one of the "big" questions, such as why the Holocaust happened.

According to Buzaglo, this is the n1ake-or-break 1non1ent for the evening - and often, for the future of the group. If the lecturer chokes under the pressure and begins to fumble for words or, on the other hand, glibly replies with a superficial answer, the group can be left with the impression that the Torah has nothing meaningful to say about the really important issues of life.

How do Arachim's lecturers handle such situations?

"The first thing the lecturer does;' says Buzaglo, "is acknowledge that the question is an in1portant one. The second thing is to point out that the subject is complex, and so there are no easy

0 R C H E S T A A S

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516 569 4949 718 237 2988

answers. \iVhen you compare the religious response to the Holocaust as being sin1ilar in complexity to the recent Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, secular Israelis understand that you're not just trying to dodge the question."

In addition, the lecturer will suggest that if the group is really interested in receiving an answer to a difficult question, Arachim \Nill arrange for then1 two or three evenings of discussions on this topic alone. Or else the organization will refer them to books or tapes that discuss the subject in-depth. In other words, the burden of answering the question is placed back on the individual and the group as a whole to either tackle the issue in a serious 1nanner, or admit that they, and not the Torah, do not have the answer.

Sometimes a couple will attend a chug bayit for six months or a full year before they shows signs of wanting to move forward. The next step may be a request for private study or, finally1 attendance at a sen1inar.

THE SEMINAR -THINKING THINGS THROUGH

Arachin1's seminars are intense. In addition to the full schedule of presentations by rabbis and pro

fessionals from the field, staff members are available to speak to participants on a one-to-one basis at any hour of the day or night. This is the opportunity for an individual or a couple to ask any question under the sun, and s1nall groups huddled together in deep discussion can be seen scattered about the hotel lobby until the small hours of the morning.

But despite the powerful impact of the sen1inars, where people spend three full days immersed in 1brah learning, this is not yet the end of the story. Re1nember, these are Israeli Ashkenazim who were fed atheis1n along with their mother's milk, and who are 1nen1-bers of the country's intelligentsia to boot. While others may be moved to change their entire lives on the basis of the emotional impact of their exposure to Torah life, it is not the case with these people, who pride then1selves on their

intellectual acumen and their ability to think things through logically.

So after every se1ninar, Arachin1 arranges a reunion "\vhere participants can get together and discuss "\Vhat sort of effect the seminar had on them. And if groups \.Vant to continue to learn together, Arachim helps them form their own periodic n1ini-seminars.

Of the 1,200 people who attend the acade1nic seminars each year, about 80 percent continue to learn at other Arachim programs. Everyone follows his own path, participates in what he wants to participate in, and the organization stays with him on this journey that can take anywhere fron1 t"\vo to six years.

Of this group, approximately 40 percent drop off along the way. The time and energy spent on them, hovvever, is not a total loss, since their outlook on Judaism in general and on the religious co1nn1unity in particular changes radically in the process.

But in the end, each year between 600 and 700 people eventually become baa/ei teshuva. And since the majority of the sen1inar participants are parents, the real long-tern1 in1pact is even greater.

IN SEARCH OF A FAST TRACK

Iust one question: With all its computerized follow-ups, profiles and statistics, can't Arachim find a way

speed things up just a little? According to Buzaglo, the answer is

no. The Ashkenazi Israeli has to go through the entire process. There are no shortcuts for him. Each layer of skepticism has to be peeled off by the sharp edge of intellectual challenge and counter-argument. The person has to be forced to delve deeper and encounter the next iron curtain of doubt. It's the only \.Vay.

And then what? "We do what \Ve can," says Buzaglo,

"but we knovv that creating that special moment when everything finally falls into place is really not in our hands. When everything is said and done, it's all still a matter of Hashgacha Prattis. It's in His Hands:' 1111


Rabbi Matis Blum

Short, But How Sweet? The Use and Abuse of the "Hoicha Kedusha"

THE HISTORY OF TEFILLA

"What nation is so great that they have G-d close to it, as Hashem, our G-d is, whenever we call to Him?",

The unique relationship between the Jewish people and their Creator is exemplified by their prayer

- an outpouring of love and devotion and heartfelt entreaties for all of their spiritual and physical needs. Tefilla -prayer - is called "Avoda She'baleiv'' -service of the hearF because it involves the very essence of the person in serv~ ing and con11nunicating with his Maker.

Tefil/a has been an integral part of the Je\vish nation since its inception. Our Rabbis1 tell us that the Patriarchs established the various prayers, and those prayers were later n1ade to correspond to the sacrificial service in the Holy Temple. The Midrash1 relates that Moshe instituted that Jews pray three times a day. King David proclaimed in Tehil/im:5 "Evening, morning and noontin1e I pray ... "

Although the Brachos of Shmoneh Esrei are alluded to in Chana's prayer and in Tehillim'', the formal structure of the Shmoneh Esrei (which is referred to as Tefilla) was established by the Anshei Knessess Hagedola (Men of Great Assembly), and when it was forgotten, re-established by Shimon Hapekuli in the presence of Rabbon Gamliel in Yavneh.7 The nineteenth was added by Shmuel Hakattan.8 A more detaile...i discussion on the

- --~-·--------~-~~-Rabbi Blum co1npi!es and edits T,1rah Lodaas, a weekly co1npendiun1 of co111111entaries on the Parsha, which has been appearing regularly for the past nineteen years. He a!so lectures in various Bais Yaakov high schools in the New York area. His article "Is Anyone in Charge rrere?" was foaturcd in j(), Scpte1nber l 995.


development of the Tejilla is beyond the scope of this article.9

THE CHAZORAS HASHATZ

In addition to the silent prayer, the Rabbis established that the Shali'ach Tzibbur (the one who leads the con

gregation) repeat the tefilla ( Chazoras Hashatz) when there is a minyan (quorum) present during Shacharis, Mussaf and Mincha.w Rabban Gamliel was of the opinion that Chazoras Hashatz is the primary tefilla, and the silent Shmoneh Esrei was established as an opportunity for the Shaliach Tzibbur to prepare himself for the repetition of the Shmoneh Esrei. The Rabbis disagreed, saying that each person must pray privately for his needs; the Chazoras Hashatz was merely for the benefit of those who were illiterate or other\vise incapable of praying themselves.''

Regardless of the reason, it was accepted by the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi, the Ge'onim and the Rishoninz) that the congregation first recite the silent Shmoneh Esrei and that the Shaliach Tzibbur then repeat it out loud. Even when the entire congregation is literate, the Shaliach Tzibbur must repeat the Shmoneh Esrei in order

to fulfill the decree of the Rabbis."

THE RAMBAM'S ENACTMENT

!though the Rambam writes in a esponsun1 u and in the Yad JlaC~ azaka,., of the importance of the

silent Shmoneh Esrei as well as the Chazoras Hashatz, a situation arose in Egypt during the tin1e that the Ra1nba1n served as the Rav of the co1n1nunity (as well as being the royal doctor) which prompted him to abolish the silent Shmoneh Esrei followed by the Chazoras Hashatz. What happened was that those who were capable of praying on their own did so, and when the Shaliach Tzibbur recited Chazoras Hashatz, they would talk and act disrespectfully. (Unfortunately, this scenario is not entirely unheard of today, too.) Upon seeing this, the illiterate people followed their example and paid no attention to the Chazoras Hashatz, and consequently did not fulfill their obligation of tefilla. This

I Dcvarim 4, 7

2 Ta'anis 2a

3 Brachos 26b

4 Tanchu111a, Ki Savo l

5 55, 18

6 Shrnue! l: 2 see Yalkut Shi1noni, Shn1uel I, Ra1naz 80, 2; Sefer Ha'eshkol and Avudrahan1

quoting the Yerusahln1i; Tosefta Brachos J, 25

7 i'vkgilla l 7b

8 Brachos 28h

9 see, for instance, Yesodos HatefiHa, by Rabbi Eliezer Levi for a detai!ed discussion

10 see Ra1nban1, Hi!.Tcfilla 8, 4; Tur, Orach Chai1n 124

l l see Rosh Hashana 33b, 35a

12 Teshuvos HaRan1ban1 (Frie1nan) #37; Avudrahan1 (Shacharis Shel Chol); Beis Yoseit~ l)rach Chai1n 124; and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chain1 124, 3

13 ibid.

14 I-Iii. 'ICfilla 9:

25

caused a great Chillul Hashem ( desecration of G-d's Name) because those who observed the goings on concluded that prayer \-vas unimportant to the Jevvs, and that it was a time of frivolity and lightheadedness. To ameliorate the situation the Rambam instituted that the Shaliach Tzibbur begin reciting Shmoneh Esrei out loud immediately, while those who were capable of daveningwould quietly daven along, and the illiterate people would listen quietly and answer "An1ein."15

RETURNING THE CHAZORAS HASHATZ TO THE DAVENING

During the times of the Radvaz,1' who served as the Rav in Egypt approximately three hundred

years after the Rambam, the situation changed and the Radvaz ruled that the practice established by the Rambam be abolished and that they should return to the original practice of having a silent Shmoneh Esrei followed by a Chazoras Hashatz. The Radvaz writes in a responsun111 that everyone -including the Rambam - agree that according to the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi, the Ge'onim and all the poskim, it is necessary to have two Shmoneh Esrei's- one silent, and one, out loud. (By that time, most of the communities in Egypt had already abandoned the Rambam's enactment.)

One reason for re-establishing the

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Talmudic practice, writes the Radvaz, was because the problem that the Rambam hoped to solve, was not solved. "I testify that I witnessed with my own eyes that the Shaliach Tzibbur had not reached the halfway point of his Tefilla (out loud) when most of the congregation had concluded [their silent Tefilla J and began talking among themselves, and so, the original problem has returned. What has happened is that we are going against the words of the Gemora, the poskim and the Ba'alei Kabba/a, and nothing had been solved with the enactment [of the Rambam J since the Rav [the Ram barn J ?··1 established that they should pray with the Shaliach Tzibbur word by word .... And since we have accomplished nothing, we should return to the law of the Gemora, since we are certain that if he (the Rambam) were still alive, he would return the matter to the law of the Gemora .... This is very clear."

As mentioned earlier, all poskim- the Rambam, Tzir, and Shulchan Aruch -rule that all tefillos (with the exception of Ma'ariv) require a silent Shmoneh Esrei followed by Chazoras Hashatz where a 1ninyan is present.

At the time of the Beis Yoseif, it was standard practice in a nu1nber of Sefardic communities that the Shaliach Tzibbur begin reciting the first three brachos of Shmoneh Esrei our loud, then said the middle brachos silently with the congregation, and then resumed saying the last three brachos out loud. is However, n1any poskiln including the Reis Yosei/19 and the Mabit20 were strongly opposed to this practice.21 The Rema in Darkei Moshe22 also writes that the custom of the Ashkenazim was to have a silent Shmoneh Esrei followed by Chazoras Hashatz for Mincha.

WHEN A HOICHA KEDUSHA IS PERMITTED

There are, however, certain extenuating circun1stances under which it is permissible for the

Shaliach Tzibbur to begin Shmoneh Esrei out loud immediately without waiting for a silent Shmoneh Esrei.23 This

is colloquially referred to as a Hoicha Kedusha (literally: a loud Kedusha). One situation is when it is late and it will be impossible to daven both the silent Shmoneh Esrei as well as the Chazoras Hashatz before the end of Z'man Tefilla (the latest time when one may recite Shacharis or Mincha).2'

Another situation that would justify a Hoicha Kedusha is where there is doubt concerning whether there will be ten men listening and answering Amein to the entire Chazoras Hashatz. By making a Hoicha Kedusha, the Shaliach Tzibbur precludes the possibility of reciting brachos in vain.2s

Additionally, if the minyan does not include at least six men who had not davened yet, they should not daven silently and then have a Chazoras

15 Teshuvos HaRan1ban1 (Frietnan) #35-38

16 Rabbi Dovid ben Zimra (1480-1574 CE)

17 Teshuvos HaRadvaz, JV, 94

18 Beis Yoseif, Orach Chaim 234

19 ibid.

20 Teshuvas Mabit III, 190

21 The Beis Yoseif writes that in Tzefas, they decreed Nidui (a forn1 of exco1nn1unication) on anyone who did this. The Mabit says that it is a inistaken custom. The Mabit writes that he arranged a con1pro1nise of sorts in his con1munity whereby the first Minyan for Mincha in shul which had a large number of people attending \\'ould have a silent Shmoneh Esrei and a full Chazoras Hashatz. However, the later n1inyan[in1] -where it v.'as doubtful if ten people were answering Amein to all the brachos - would have the Shaliach Tzibbur begin the Shmoneh Esrei out loud.

22 Orach Chaim 124, 3

23 It should be noted that there are two n1ethods of doing this. Some begin reciting the Sh111oneh Esrei with the Shaliach Tzibbur and say the first two brachos with hin1 word by word, then recite the appropriate portions ofKedusha for the congregation, and finally conclude the third bracha with hi1n. After this they conclude the Shmoneh Esrei silently (Raina, Orach Chain1 124, 2). Others listen quietly while the Shaliach Tzibbur recites the first two Brachos, then answer Kedusha and An1ein to the third bracha, and only after this, they begin reciting the entire Shn1oneh Esrei silently. (Mishna Berura 124, 8 cites a ntunber of Acharoni1n who maintain that this is the preferable n1ethod unless there are tin1e constraints.)

24 see Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaiin 124, 2

25 Tcshuvos Yechava Da'as III, 16, quoting inany poski1n


Hashatz. Rather, they should recite a Hoicha Kedusha.26

A fourth instance: in Telshe, as well as Slabodka and its satellite yeshivas in Europe, and some n1ajor yeshivas in America, Hoicha Kedusha was utilized in Mincha to maximize time for Torah study. Nowadays, some yeshivas have dropped this practice because Mincha is usually recited immediately before or after a large break for bein hasedarim (the lunch break between the morning and afternoon study sessions).

ABUSE OF THE HOICHA KEDUSHA

Although there are a number of situations in which a Hoicha Kedusha is acceptable or even

preferable, there are other situations in which it is abused. There are times in which people rely on a Hoicha Kedusha for merely convenient purposes: to allow more time for their lunch break at work," on Chol Hamo'eid trips at amusement parks, and at weddings. These are situations in which the extra five minutes are better spent listening to Chazoras Hashatz than on other matters.

The Mishna Berura28 cites many Acharonim'' who permit a Hoicha Kedusha only "b'sha'as hadechak" -under very difficult circumstances. None of the aforementioned scenarios could honestly be classified as a sha'as hadechak.

By reciting a Hoicha Kedusha instead of a regular Chazoras Hashatz, in addition to deviating from the original enactment of Chazal, one is losing the opportunity to answer sixteen "Ameins." The significance and great reward for even one Amein is emphasized by Chazal in a number of places.JO One who davens Mincha at work every day where a Hoicha Kedusha is recited - as praiseworthy as it is for him to daven with a Minyan -loses more than 3,000 opportunities per year to answer Amein.

Another benefit of having a silent Shmoneh Esrei followed by a Chazoras Hashatz is that the Chazoras Hashatz serves as an additional reminder to


people to add the appropriate sections to the tejilla. Thus, if one forgot to recite Ya'aleh V'yavo, it can serve as a reminder to him to repeat Shmoneh Esrei.

Additionally, the silent Shmoneh Esrei followed by Chazoras Hashatz give latecomers who cannot daven Tefilla B'Tzibburwith the congregation an opportunity to daven with the Shaliach Tzibbur. This is better than davening privately. (Some consider this Tefilla B'Tzibbur while others consider it Te/ilia im Hatzibbur.) 31

It is said that the Vilna Gaon 7"'1t

emphasized the importance of the silent Shmoneh Esrei and the Chazoras Hashatz. He explained that when

26 see Magen Avraham 69, 4

27 If the time saved is used for a Daf Yon1i Shiur and the like, one should consult "''ith a competent Halachic authority concerning whether a Hoicha Kedusha would be appropriate in that situation.

28 124, 6

29 Magen Avraha1n, Ma'atnar Mordechai, Magen Giborim, and other Acharonim

30 Brachos 53b, Shabbos l l 9b

31 see Eishel Avraham (Butkatch) 52; Teshuvos Chasan1 Sofer Hechadash (3); Pri Megadim, Eishel Avraham 52, I; I 09, 4; Iggros \tloshe O.C. III, 90. Shaln1as Chaim 91; Ishei Yisroel 12, 9

32 Brachos 32a

33 Ma'aseh Rav Hasha!eim 43, 2

34 cited in Ma'aseh Rav Hashalcim ibid

35 see Kaf Hachaim 124, 2

Chazal say12 that if one sees that his prayer was not answered that he should daven again, it means that he should listen to Chazoras Hashatz.35 The Ohr ChadashJ" writes very strongly against those places that are robbing the public [of an important mitzva].

The Ariza/ is quoted as having stated that, according to Kabba/a, the Chazoras Hashatz is more lofty than the silent Shmoneh Esrei, and both of them are obligatory.·"

CONCLUSION

We have discussed briefly the history and significance of Chazoras Hashatz as well as

the Hoicha Kedusha. We have seen that, while there are certain extenuating circumstances under which a Hoicha Kedusha is acceptable, it should not be used simply as a timesaving measure. In the merit of following the enactments of Chazal, as well as respectfully listening and responding to Chazoras Hashatz, may we merit that all of our prayers be accepted. •

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It was a particularly trying Monday n1orning in shul.

Pesukei d'zin1ra rushed past iny lips, and I thought, "Oh no! There's a long Tachanun and a kriah today! So much for making my bus!"

Barachu sum1noned us. Krias Shema and its blessings

girded us. We stood before the King of

Kings, and train-like, Shmoneh Esrei sped and abruptly halted. I bowed, stepped back and stood, gazing at the praying congregation.

"VVhat a supreme fool that one is," I thought, staring at a n1an in a green hat and white socks. He was American, newly religious and childish, an assessn1ent that I ventured within seconds of first seeing him and had not since had occasion to a111end. For a period we even glared at one another in the n1ikva1 where he would inscrutably close every window and shut down the ventilating fans, transforn1ing the place into an unbearable sauna.

An impeccably dressed man with a short, graying beard stood in the center of the roon1, frowning as he scrutinized each person to discern who had finished praying. Finally, he signaled the waiting ba'al tefilla, and the repetition of

Pnuel Peri of Jerusale111 is a frequent contributor to these pages, n1ost recently \Vith his article on Birth Right Israel in Sept. '00.

Shmoneh Esrei began. "1~he quintessential ba'ale bos)" I

thonght, regarding him with mild disgust.

Until quite recently he wore his tefillin she! msh far too low upon his forehead. When he would survey the congregation

with deadly seriousness) as now, or distribute aliyos to the Torah with the air of a king apportioning fiefdoms, one had to suppress a smile at the sight of the large, black leather box, a crown of a1nharatzes, resting one centin1eter above his eyebrows.

Risking banishn1ent from the realn1 and perpetual obscurity during Torah readings, some brave soul had advised him to raise the tefillin above his hair-

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line. To his credit, the king bore his shame and changed the habit of a lifetime, yet I still resented his self-important air, which he sensed and repaid with icy indifference. Only once did he breach his aloofness) when one evening, as the shul emptied and I stood

alone in prayer, he approached and whispered "Tircha d'tzibura!" because a light had been left burning just for me.

I listened to the ba'al tefilla repeating Shmoneh Esrei and scowled. His Sof was a Tav, his ko1netz a patach, and I did not need to guess which kind of Kippa he wore beneath his hooded tallis.

((These Ileligious Zionists are shameless," I thought, as though hearing the modern Ashkenazic pronunciation for the first tin1e. "1"his is not davening. 1~his is street slang! Must the evolved language of the street be regurgitated in the beis n1idrash?"

Of course) there lies the problen1, I mused. They think that in the new Medinat Israel the street, army, uni

versity, job and beis n1idrash are one, for everything is Torah. And if everything is new and holy, why shouldn't a vestigial ghetto-kometz be reborn a patach, bold, brawn, liberated?

"Nebuch," I spat and glared at his hooded, bobbing head.

Tachanun was recited. "VVe have becon1e guilty; \Ve have betrayed; we have robbed; we have slan

dered; we have perverted; we have vilified ... " Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap .... Yet even here the heart slept.

Two enormous lamps flanked the bima, the large, elevated table upon which the Torah is read. Each bore thirteen incandescent bulbs, perched like frozen white flames atop thirteen metal arms that joined at the center in a heavy pillar of thirteen metal cylinders. Moored in wood atop the enclosure surrounding the bima, they stood eight feet above the stone floor below.


Before a sefer Torah was removed from the black marble ark at the front of the shul, a man reached beneath the large wooden base of one lamp and lifted the switch. Click. The room's light intensified. He dutifully skirted the bima and bent toward the base of the second lamp. Click. Slowly, imperceptibly, the lit wreath of white glass, steel, and wood fell forward, away from the bitna, down, do1vn, and crashed upon the upper back of an older man standing in the second row. Bulbs shat· tered on impact. The man slowly bent beneath the mass. His loud, long groan filled the frozen room.

"Oy vey!" someone shouted. "Ribbono shel olam!" another cried. Several people leaped from their

seats, a flurry of falling talleisim, and together removed the lamp from the 1nan's back, resting it gently upon the rovv of \vooden seats.

Incredibly, tl1e man slowly straightened and looked around, dazed. His hair and tall is were filled with frosty white shards. Hands carefully plucked the glass.

The fool in the green hat hurriedly lifted the man's tallis and the back of his shirt and tenderly examined the spreading bruise. He hardly seemed foolish. His alacrity and courage shan1ed me as I stood, horrified, in my place. After a minute, he seemed satisfied. No cuts. Nothing broken. No extreme traun1a.

An army of technicians descended upon the prostrate lamp, and possible causes were argued. In the end it was agreed that portions of the aged wooden base had rotted, rendering its securing screws useless.

The service resumed. A sefer 10rah was brought to the bima and read. Standing to the side, his hand rest

ing upon the ornate wooden handle of the opened parchment scroll, the king repeatedly glanced down upon the fallen lamp, its exposed wires still feeding into the electrical outlet beneath its splintered perch. He was deeply hurt by the mishap and had apologized to the man profusely. He had been part of the lay leadership of the shul since its inception forty years ago in a sn1all neighborhood i


apartment, and now, every aspect of this building of stone and marble bore his meticulous mark. That his shul should be an instrument of someone's suffering seemed unbearable to him.

He gave the man the third aliya. The man recited Gome/, the blessing of thanks for surviving life-threatening danger, for had he been sitting, the lamp would have struck the back of his head, perhaps killing him.

When the man returned to his seat, I approached and asked, "Are you all right?"

"My rebbes prepared me for this!" he declared, a reference to the clisciplinary tactics of his rebbes in yeshiva some sixty years ago in New York. We laughed. He had received quite a patch indeed.

I found the release of laughter oddly soothing, as though having been patched myself. The whole room, in fact, seemed jarred or somehow altered. The toppled lamp, its bare and jagged sockets, its twisted wires drawn taut, was surreal in our midst as the service resumed. People's movements were slo\ver, more flowing, their pauses more graceful, their gazes more clement. The fool was a gentle man of action behind his awkward social mask; the king vvas a coin passionate man of the people beneath his stern communal crown; and the ba'a/ tefilla was a nice Jewish boy amongst elders and peers who for better or for worse embraced the new.

The latter third of the morning prayers is characteristically anticlimactic. It is a winding down. But

oh how we spoke to G-d that morning as Shacharis waned and our hearts 1vere softened by near tragedy!

How we sang and savored each psalm! How we listened to our own \vords and closed our eyes, each verse a love song! Ho\v we lingered at the end, reluctant to leave, and finally, slowly left!

I walked home, gazing at people and the passing traffic, and suddenly paused. "Dear G-d," l thought, my eyes slightly tearing, "if it takes such a patch for twenty Jews to pray together as Jews, what terrible blows could befall us all before we are again kno\vn, both to ourselves and the world, as a kingdom of

priests and a holy people?" May we merit the insight to come

together without such terrible blows.II

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SECOND LOOKS

How a n1odest, unassuming 111an, sitting in his base

ment, managed to 1nove Heaven and earth all on his own!

Max Safrin 7"t of Elizabeth, New Jersey, taught all who knew him and countless others a powerful lesson. He proved to them that one man, with drive and determination, motivation and enthusias1n can in1pact a world.

My father 7"t would say that the best con1mittee is one of three people with two absent. Max never even bothered to co-opt the two sleeping partners. His resolve to act when he saw an intolerable situation was enough to propel him to success.

Max refused to con1e to tern1s with the lax behavior and tendency to socialize that is all too common, sadly, in so many shuls. Doubtless, many others have been upset by this widespread malady. The difference was that Max decided to do something concrete about it. His method was not to add to the commotion by shouting at offenders or thumping his fist on the bima. His approach was not to hurt, abuse, or

Rabbi Pinchos Jung, serves as Mashgiach of Yeshiva Kol Yaakov, as well as Dean of Beth Rochel School for Girls, both in Monsey, NY. His "Let the Reader Bevvare" appeared in JO Nov '00.

30

Rabbi Pinchas Jung

e Silence folution

insult the culprits. He would just smile at them -or present them

with one of his tan1ous bookmarks complete with a slo

gan - thus his n1essage vvas well received.

It is worthwhile recording that Max Safrin did not limit his interest to his own shul alone. He single-handedly succeeded in setting up an organization called "Awareness" which threatens to n1ake socializing in shul out of fashion.

He built up a most impressive inventory of pamphlets, posters, bookmarks, reprints, certificates, and any other literature relevant to the promotion of his campaign. These he sent to shuls and schools as well as individuals all over the USA and beyond. He reprinted an indepth study entitled, "Talking During Tefilah - Understanding the Phenomenon" ten tin1es over, a total of more than 10,000 copies.

A second booklet, entitled, "Let's Shmooze About Davening" (reprinted from The Jewish Observer- September '94 issue), a collection of several shorter features was subsequently published and distributed in sin1ilar quantities.

A third collection, "Proper Decorum in Shu/;' was prepared and released since his passing by members of his close

-One Man's

Initiative

family. There could be no more appropriate way of perpetuating Max Safrin's memory than by dedicating to him the booklet he was planning to put together himself had he been granted the extra tin1e.

Wisely, during the painful yet productive evening of his life, Max turned his efforts toward the younger generation. He established the Silence During Davening Club (SDDC) with all the gimmicks required to attract the kids. These included membership cards, special cer -tificates, illustrated posters, bookmarks with relevant slogans, which he collected by way of contests for the youth.

Probably the most effective tool in rv1ax's ''Awareness" campaign is the annual" Shabbos Tacharishun" pro

gram. Many hundreds of shuls, with the support of their Rabbanim and Gabbo' im, participate in this event. The idea is ever so simple - at least one Shabbos per year - Parshas Beshalach - participating shuls ensure that things are done right. There is an all-out effort to ensure that silence replaces chatter and davening replaces socializing. The Rav explains the purpose of this exercise several weeks before, and the Gabbo' im publicize it with posters and handouts. Thousands of shul-goers are thus involved, and the results reported tended to be almost unreal. And once a


person has tasted the flavor of genuine tefil/a, there is every chance that he will be inspired to continue.

Countless thousands of adults and youngsters have thus had their lives touched and their tefilla experience enhanced as a result of the extraordinary efforts of a inan who n1ust have knovvn that tin1e was running out.

One cannot begin to in1agine the extent of zechus of this determined individual. Whilst struggling with an acutely painful terminal illness, Max was not only preoccupied with enhancing avodas hatefil/a, he was engaged in chessed projects for the sick and elderly, too.

The world is poorer having lost Max Safrin. But he left us all a loud and clear message together

with a major project to continue. The group of family members and friends who assembled to try to fill the void are working hard to achieve together what Max managed so efficiently all on his own.

There could be no more appropriate time than the present to focus on this allin1portant issue. Everyone is a\vare of those staggering lists of cholim (sick people) appearing in the press, of those countless names in the Mi-Sheberach after leining. Surely tefilla is the definitive answer to this dile1nma. But we must ensure that our tefil/os are accepted. To achieve this we have to respect tefilla as

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tory attacks. Our best weapon is our mouth, the kol of Yaakov. It only requires a little awareness and a little more determination. Max Safrin 7~r has shown us the way. We must keep up the good work. •

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My wife and I were in Israel for Pesach. Erev Shevi'i she/ Pesach, we decided to daven Mincha at

the Kosel. We weren't the only ones who had this idea. When we got into the nu1nber t\vo bus in Matersdorf, it was already crowded, and it got more crov.1ded as we proceeded. Not only was the bus crowded, but the streets \Vere also packed with throngs of people converging on the Old City in

A buses, taxis, cars and on foot. To add a bit of Middle Eastern spice to the voyage, our bus was subject to soine stone-throwing as we passed through East Jerusalem.

Finally we arrived, left the crowded bus, and joined the crowd afoot. When davening at the Kosel, one has a variety of challenges. The first two are: finding a minyan that is just starting and finding a 1ninyan that will daven your nusach. My luck was quite good as I walked right up to a niinyan that was just starting, and it quickly revealed itself to be nusach

Mr. Mishell recently n1ovc to Jerusalcn1 fron1 California. This article originally appeared in The Ohr Torah Newsletter.

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Ashkenaz. The next challenge has to do with concentration. With niinyani1n going on to your left, right, in front of you and behind you, each in a differ-

ent stage of fulfillment, one needs to sumn1on all of one)s resources to focus on one's prayers.

At this point, I must seemingly digress and state that it has been my

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observation, that whereas it is an inspiring and uplifting sight to see fathers and sons praying together, it son1etimes happens that there are

fathers who inappropriately bring their young sons to shul. These are little boys of three or four years of age who have no desire to be brought along. They would rather be playing, or with their mothers. These little boys have a way of co1nmunicating their displeasure to their fathers... they wait until Shmoneh Esrei, and then they have a fit.

This was the situation in which I now found myself: After being a sardine in the number two bus, after being stoned, having found the perfect minyan, and finally, struggling to concentrate, I a1n now treated to a small boy, somewhere off to my left quadrant, throwing a fit." Abba, Abba," he is crying. "Concentrate, concentrate," I am saying to 1nyself. "Abba, Abba." "Concentrate, concentrate." Suddenly it occurs

to me: Why am I here? What am I doing? Why did I come to Israel? Why did I come to Jerusalem? What am I doing at the Kosel? Am I not, myself, saying "Abba, Abba"? To whom am I trying to talk? Well, of course, to Hashem, whom I often address as Hashem, or Ribbono Shel Olam, or Hakadosh Baruch Hu; but when I really want to con11nunicate in tefilla, what is n1y relationship ... or what would I really want it to be? Abba. Abba, Abba. If only I could say ''Abba, Abba" with the intensity and passion of this child!

Suddenly, the tension melts away. "Give n1e some inore 'Abba, Abba,"' 1 a1n thinking. "Pour it on." It is inspiring nle and driving me on.

And later, in retrospect, I realize that here is another example of the Ribbono Shel Olam being in charge and always giving us the best. Every little boy who ever annoyed n1e in shul was preparing me for this little boy, and this little boy was here just for me. I only had to come to understand it. II

-----~·-~·---------


Dear Judy, I haven't "\Vritten in a \vhile, so

thought it about time \Ve resume contact) especially since this has been a particularly "interesting" past month to be living in Bretz Yisroel.

At the outset, I reassure you that here in Sanhedria, Jerusalem, we haven't been directly affected by the recent Arab unrest. My husband has had a longerthan- usual- Tishrei kollel break since the disturbances have resulted in intercity road closures, which have prevented him from getting to Maaley Adumim to teach.

But, vve don't have major transportation difficulties as do residents of Betar. A Jerusalem-Betar bus trip now takes about two hours each way, since the 40-minute short cut, opened three years ago, has generally been closed the past few weeks.

Baruch Hashem, my family and I sat in our succa the whole holiday without fearing shots from Arabs, as in Gilo. My eleventh-grader told me that her friend in Gilo and their neighbors even had reason to fear dismantling their succas and did as much as possible while crawling on the ground in order to avoid Arab gunfire.

On schools days, my daughters have been walking the 20-minutes from home through Geula every day as usual. Sixth-grader Elisheva reported that her teacher requested that anyone with a fax machine relay class news to a student who couldn't attend school because in her neighborhood of Beit-El everyone was in shelters, not to mention being cut off from the immediate surroundings due to road closures. This girl's family had spent Rosh Hashana in Jerusalen1, then returned to a nearly foodless home.

This week, I asked Elisheva whether Mrs. Oriel lives in Sanhedria, Jerusale1n. This is her first appearance in these pages.


her friend had returned to school, and she replied almost nonchalantly, "Oh yes, she just leaves a little early each day in order to make her transportation" - a special bus for Beit-El residents, which shuttles back and forth with a tank escort!

Seventh-grader Batya said Gila friend and family had spent part of Chol Hamoed touring the tanks touring the tanks stationed near her hon1e.

Although, as I say, my family hasn't been directly affected by the current Arab "intifada" in any major way, it resulted in the older children in our building having to wash the four flights of stairs because the Arab \.Votnan who's been doing it for at least the least 23 years that I've lives here hasn't come. I can't ren1ember what happened during the Gulf War - she probably didn't come then either, but aln1ost every other nonYom Tov Wednesday, she's been predictably conscientious. (Judging by the state of her pants, dress and head scarf, I think she also needs the 30 shekels she gets paid each week.) even during the big Jerusalem snowfall of 1991, she came, although with a slight limp saying she'd slipped on the ice.

Of course, the experience of "doing sponga" didn't harm my girls, but I found myself wondering whether the Arab hadn't come because prevented by her Arab family of neighbors, or because she feared Jews might taunt her of harm her. I was disturbed by either proposition, but most upset to note y ambivalence about the latter possibility.

I felt a bond with this woman. I don't even know her na1ne, since she hardly speaks Hebrew and I speak no Arabic, but for over two decades she has banged on the eight apartn1ent doors of our entrance and shouted, "Giveret, Giveret~ Mayim!" as she came to each landing and wanted her pail refilled to continue her washing.

Leah Oriel

Through the years, she noted each of my pregnancies with her toothless smile and hand gestures, then asked me, obviously full of joyful anticipation, "Ibn?" when I replied, "Baf' (daughter), each time, she (not I) sighed, then lifted her arms heavenward and said something clearly meant to "console" me -about it being from "Allah."

During these 23 years, about twice a yea when my parents visited from the States, the Arab

woman spotted the proud grandmother holding my baby, and conveyed what was unmistakably the Arabic equivalent of "May you have much nachas!"

V\Thenever it was my turn to pay after her approxin1ately 40-n1inute job, she again banged on my door with her "Giveret, Giverct!" I counted out the coins of what I thought was the payment she wanted into her hand because I could never con1prehend the amount she said (and she raised it every few years). Invariably, if some of the "teletain" (my husband shays this is 30) I her was in individual shekel coins ((it used to be liras), she'd return one coin to my hand and say a few words which even a non-linguist like me understood to mean "a present for your little girl." I sensed I'd offend her if I didn't accept her heartfelt gift, and put the coin into our tzedaka box with a mixture of emotions.

The \Veek before the current wave of Arab disturbances, I thought it was my turn to pay the cleaning lady, but I had to leave home before she arrived. I left a bucket of water outside my door with a plastic bag containing 30 shekels tied to the handle, hoping it wouldn't be stolen by other workers in the neighborhood, and being a little sad to deprive the wo1nan of her chance to give me her little "present." When I returned

33

home that afternoon, my neighbor gave me the plastic bag with the money, saying that the Arab woman had left in for me because it was not yet my turn.

The Wednesday before Shabbos Berisheis, the Arab woman returned to "do sponga" as usual. Our language barrier precluded me from discussing her absence with her. I felt the confusion of en1otions I've so often felt in this country. Baruch Hashem, maybe everything is back to norinal again. But is it?

My family's still among Jews worldwide praying for the release of"Avraham be Edna"

and "Adi ben Tzipporah," the Israeli soldiers whom Hezbollah kidnapped before

Yorn Kippur. (The religious radio station "Radio Esser" also reported a third Druse soldier whon1 Rav Bentzion Mutzafi N"1"'>11> blessed together with his comrades.)

A certain 22-year-oid Betar woman moved out of Betar only a month earlier. She happens to be my oldest daughter, mother of my first grandson, and I find the whole episode kind of eerie.

A few weeks ago, the price of cucumbers tripled because the unrest made Arab-grown produce unavailable, so Shmitta observance mandated flying vegetables in from Europe now cucun1-bers in stores are back to near-normal cost. Is everything back to normal?

I don't know. There is still no "gush katif" on the

market, the specially-grown bug-free lettuce, etc. it is still deemed too dangerous for the mashgichim to get hot houses near Arab settlements.

What's the bottom line? I told you, I don't knovv. I summarize and conclude this letter with words I overheard yesterday in the street from a middle-aged Jewish mother chatting with her friend (both clad in pants with hair uncovered): Moshiach has to come. It has to be really soon!"

I told you this is an "interesting" country.

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Inner Peace: Achieving Self-Esteem through Prayer by Yisroel Roll, Targum/Feldheim 1999, $17.95

I recall a tradition, even a kind of prediction, attributed to Rabbi Chaim Volozhiner, that America would be

<(die letzte stanzi'e:' the last stop on our long, long trek towards Moshiach, ;urn N1:l'W 01' 7.:>:i 17, let us long for his coming, every single day. I think that we all feel it in the air, particularly in these last, difficult few weeks. The strands seem to be coming together, our ears seem to pick up the seismic rumblings that herald the shifting forces harboring a new and terrible earthquake in their awful power, N'l omm ono1 w~ onm1 7YN 7N CJ'11i1 "l V"l" ".:J '>1i1

~ 'il N:n i1T!l1" l"1J i1'1V ~"::J VV1i1 "J!J~

"]r.ll' O'Wlj7 7::>, And you will flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of mountains will reach Atzal, and you will flee as you fled from the earthquake that was in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. And Hashem, my G-d will come; all of His holy ones will be with you. We are not quite sure what it all means. But I think that, for most of us, this pasuk awakened greater anticipation, when we heard it this last Succos, than it ever had before.

Why America? At a recent Agudah Convention, the

Philadelphia Rosh Hayeshiva, Rabbi Elya Svei ><""""'1, made a revolutionary suggestion. Kial Yisroel had passed the test of the vicious Gal us centuries - the rack

Rabbi f\.1oshe Eisemann, a Rebbe in Yeshiva Ner Israel of Baltimore, is author of the translation and con11nentary of the ArtScroll/Mesorah Yechezkel, l)ivrei Hayamim, and lyov, as well as other books under private label, including The Machzor Companion and Lighting up the Night He is a frequent contributor to these pages.


Rabbi Moshe Eisemann

The Last Frontier

and the lash, the spit and the degradation, the poverty and the killings - with flying colors. Through it all, perhaps because of it all, we had remained loyal to the Ribbono Shel Olam and to ourselves. Not all of us, of course, but the She'ar Yashuv, the remainder of Yeshayahu's vision, had made it through, the time had come for the more difficult challenge. Could we maintain our integrity in the land of freedom and plenty? Could embracing love smother more dangerously than the vise-grip of hatred? All of us, I think, are wondering. I doubt that any of us have a really convincing answer, convincing, that is, in the depth of our hearts, to ourselves. How well are we doing?

I was thinking about this when I saw Yisroel Roll's wonderful book, Inner Peace: Achieving Self-Esteem through

Prayer [Targum/FeldheimJ. It is really an account of a personal odyssey through the Siddur, in which each well-worn path becomes a road to discovery of uncharted terrain, the inner man where real things are really happening, the insights that he offers brought me face to face with another aspect of the pasuk: :i1ip '~

1l'1W)f;>l:J:l7.Jll"J:l, "'1:JUT.l l";N, Things are really very, close to you; it is your mouth and your heart that must be active in making them happen.

Here are my thoughts on Galus America.

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ishly and educate our children as we would wish them to be educated. [I know, I know. On this issue not everyone v.rill agree. I know the problem and do not know a solution. J We visit the sick, sup· port our Mosdos HaTorah and often have the time to learn ourselves and learn with our children. We send them to prestigious yeshivas and shep nachas from their

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accomplishments. New yeshivas and Batei Yaakov open up regularly and, within a short time, burst at the seams. In n1any of our gilded ghettos we practically have to hire a detective to find anything that is not glatt kosher or chalav Yisroe/, and because of the determined efforts of so1ne very special people, many of us can and do honor the halachos of chaddash, something that was not always possible. And the list goes on and on.

We serve G-d, and serve Him well, with our hands. What they do, can - to a greater or lesser degree - be bought. But not everything is up for sale. How much of this penetrates to our hearts? How much of "us" is really involved? These are questions that should keep us awake at night.

And the answer, for better or worse, lies in our shuls, our batei midrash and, in the final analysis, in our Siddur. Yis· roe! Roll shows us how that wonderful book supplies the map to the maze, the directions for the trek il1\vards. It is a long, long road, fraught with obstacles and detours. 'fo some of us, the inner, secret place to which it leads, is so unknown, so threatening, that we are not even sure how 1nuch we want to get there.

But we should want to. Oh, how much we should want to!

elf-respecting book review ought, at the very least, to give the reader ome idea of the contents of the

book. In this particular case it is not going to work. One might as well ask for a short inventory of Rabbi Roll's soul. I skim the Table of Contents. I see titles like, "My Morning Hug" [that, just in case you are wondering, describes putting on the tallis],

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"Empowerment" [ Pesukei D'Zimra], "The 'I' of the Matter" [the third Parasha of Krins Shem a, 'Ni th its stress on self-control], and many, many more just like these. Every· thing is fresh, everything is personal, and none of it can, in my opinion, be copied.

There is always the first dance and then there is the second one.' The first, the nat · ural bursting forth of bubbling exuber· ance that refuses to be contained; the second, a pallid reproduction, drained of the force of originality. The premise of Inner Peace seems to be that the author can never tell us what to think and feel. To paraphrase a well-known pasuk, .,rn::nmr.i '!'lrn:nvnr.i 16, His thoughts cannot and ought not to be mine. All he can do, and does very well, is to beckon us to undertake our own path of discovery. We probably will not find a "morning hug," but something else, equally personal and equally unexpected, is sure to turn up. This book is a new take on Chazal's admonition: m= l'<?N v~p "1f1';"m wn ?N, .!Jlprr.1'l!l?O'l1lt1!11 Do not pray by rote but rather make your prayer a heartfelt plea before G-d. Heartfelt pleas come from very deep \vithin, fron1 very private and secret places. It is there that we need to get. And Inner Peace shows us hov..r we might be able to get there.

Iwas particularly struck by the subti· tie of the book, "Achieving Self Esteem through Prayer:' I do believe

that the author has something important here. Once more to paraphrase: My prayers are in1portant to (f-d, ergo sun1, therefore I am! However, to quibble just a little, I am not sure that self-esteem leads to inner peace. My own feeling is that the opposite is true. 1'he more I achieve of the former, the less I will have of the lat· ter. Mattering n1atters and responsibilities weigh heavy.

In Inner Peace we learn so1ne of the beauty that can lie at the end of the rain· bow. If it is true that we have a hard road to travel, it is equally true that it is diffi. cult to think of a more pleasant companion than Reb Yisroel Roll to lighten our journey as he lights our way. Ill

l See Yehudah Gcll1nan, "Tes/1uv11h and Authenticity;' TRADITION, Fall 1982


A Review Article by Rabbi Joseph Elias

GAINING AN UNDERSTANDING OF RAV DESSLER Rav Dessler: The Life and Impact of Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler, the Michtav M'Eliyahu by Yonason Rosenblum, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, 2000, $23.99

T:elve years are not a long period in hich to inake one's mark in the

world. In the beginning of this biography, Yonason Rosenblum points out that Rabbi Dessler's public life stretched over no more than twelve years- fron1 1941, when he came to Gateshead to found its Kolle!, to his petira (passing) in 1953 in Bnei Brak, when he had moved to become the Mashgiach of Ponovezh Yeshiva. Yet during this period he played an extraordinary role in the growth of Torah Jewry, leaving a lasting iinprint on posterity.

Our Sages stress that men of great stature are rare, and therefore Divine Providence scatters them through the ages. Rabbi Dessler was such an outstanding personality - and he was chosen to live in a remarkable period and to make a seminal contribution to it. Rosenblum, who has previously earned our gratitude for his outstanding biography of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky, among other writings, has succeeded in this work to capture the essence of his subject. Rabbi Dessler's life encompassed the traumatic destruction of the Eastern European Torah world, and the efforts to rebuild 'forah in new locations; as product - and guardian - of the very best that pre-War Jewry possessed, he was able to transmit it to the new centers of Torah. This required not only greatness in Torah, but also a profound understanding of this new world, and the ability to address it in language that it understood. It is these qualities that emerge from this book.

There was a twofold way in which Rabbi Dessler placed his imprint upon his time: through his personality and through his teachings. They cannot really be sep--------·~·--~~-

Rabbi Elias, Chainnai1 of the editorial board of The Jewish Observer, is the author of a nun1ber of published works, including a new translation and con1-n1entary on Rabbi S.R. J-Iirsch's The Nineteen Letters (Feldhein1).


arated from each other for, in complete harmony, one complemented the other. But each made its own powerful impact and deserves attention.

The Imprint of His Personality

llibbi Dessler's towering personali

ty was the ideal embodiment of elm - a small town that repre

sented unique spiritual heights. Rabbi Rosenblum, carefully and at length, makes us understand the community, the Talmud Torah (as Kelm's famous mussar yeshiva

was known), and the personalities who molded Kelm. Their goal? To create individuals who were totally absorbed in serving G-d, with their emotions, desires and impulses, thoughts and actions, their relationship to their fellow beings, and to Gd Himself, all controlled by Torah alone. The means? The unique brand of Kelm mussar, a clear understanding of one's self, and a commitn1ent to the ways in which one could perfect himself.'

Rosenblu1n cites 1nany telling instances of how Kelm in general, and Rabbi Dessler in particular, put these demanding concepts into practice, and indeed many more examples could be added. Selfeffacemen t and utter humility were absolute prerequisites. Thus Rabbi Dessler saw in honorific titles and public acclaim real danger for the recipient. As recounted by Rosenblum, he was most distressed

that a shiur of his had been advertised in the Morgen Journal. (However, he did not say that it would have been better not to have had the shiur. He always felt an obligation to teach Torah whenever he could - rather, he said that he would have preferred a handful of listeners instead of a crowd attracted by an ad; indeed, numbers were never significant to him.)

He totally subordinated any personal concerns of his to the demands of the klal. IJavening before the an1ud at his venerated father's Yahrzeit was extremely important to him - but one year, when he was called out of town on con11nunal 1natters, he sacrificed this personal commitment (a similar episode involving Rabbi Dessler is recounted in the biography of Rabbi Elya Lopian, p. 238).

But Rabbi Dessler was not only concerned with the klaL He felt equally strongly his obligation to every fellow Jew. He insisted, when he headed the Gateshead Kolle! which he had founded, that he should not be considered - and treated -any differently than the youngest members of the Kolle!; but he was extremely concerned that each of them should receive utmost respect and consideration. After speaking at the Kolle! on Wednesday nights, he would take the night train to London. However, there were always talmidim who surrounded him with questions after the shiur, he would never cut anyone short or reveal impatience, even \Vhen it meant n1issing the train.

After Seuda Shlishis in the Kolle!, he would deliver a shiur, while at the same time a shiurwas given in the yeshiva. Fre-

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quently a number of yeshiva boys sneaked over to the Kolle! to hear Rabbi Dessler. He never commented - until one time when a short circuit plunged the Kolle! into darkness. Only then, when nobody would be embarrassed, he spoke out in objection to this practice.2 Rabbi Dessler was extremely careful, deliberate and thoughtful in what he would say. I was therefore momentarily taken aback to read in Rosenblum's book that he told the Kolle! members many bitter, funny, and scornful stories about his experiences in the English rabbinate of that time (p. 122). But, of course, it was not idle talk; he would not have spoken that way unless there was a constructive purpose in his mind.As explained in p. 221, "to those [in the Kolle!] who needed an additional incentive to fight against the temptations of a prestigious position, [Rabbi Dessler told] of the humiliations he suffered as a congregational rabbi."

The picture drawn in biographies of gedolim is all too often wooden and uninspiring. In contrast, the image that emerges from the pages of this book is a living mussartext tl1at will inevitably challenge the reader to examine his own standards of conduct. Indeed, somebody commented that it is so overpowering that it might discourage any effort to follow in its footsteps. However, while the overall goal is so high, an effort to get closer is surely within every reader's ability.3

His Teachings

Let us now turn to Rabbi Dessler' s teachings. As Rosenblum points out, his writings exert an extraordinary

influence, and this is further reinforced by the works of his disciples. Notably, Rabbi Chaim Friedlander's Sifsei Chaim, of which five volumes have so far appeared, elaborates and opens up deeper vistas on many issues that are presented in a 1nore concentrated forn1 in the five volumes of Michtav M'Eliyahu.

In drawing a magnificent picture of Rabbi Dessler's time and personality, Rosenblum modestly declares (p. 353) that no summary could do justice to the wide range of his thought and that, in any case, such an assessment of Rabbi Dessler's thought is far beyond his competence. However, this does not exempt us fron1 the obligation to try, if we want to do justice to Rabbi Dessler's impact on our age.

Actually, both in the body of the book and in the appendix, Rabbi Rosenblum very clearly delineates a number of themes that are crucial in Rabbi Dessler's thought- notably those with a close relationship to man's ability and need to grow spiritually (the make-up of his inner self, his free will, the overcoming of his innate selfishness, the need to becon1e a ''giver," and his role in the community). These topics are the subject of traditional mussar; but as Rosenblum points out, Rabbi

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Dessler dealt with them in his own way and drew on an encyclopedic range of sources, from Zahar, Kabbala and Chassidus to the great thinkers and commentators of all ages. Most important, however, while he always emphatically stressed the need to work on improving oneself, he set his teaching into a wider and deeper fra1nework, which we 1nust not overlook and for which he drew on all the sources mentioned. Rabbi Dessler saw himself as a teacher of Torah faith and thought- necessary prerequisites for the Toral1 Jew which, in our generation, cannot be taken for granted, in the face of intellectual, social and moral challenges posed by our environment. Hence he stressed man's role and responsibility against the background of the cosmic unfolding of the universe's history, from Creation to Moshiach, resurrection, and the World-to-Come (thus his many references to Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto; cf. Michtav M'EliyahuIV 150-156). He saw his particular function in helping his disciples to an understanding of the profound teachings of the Sages contained in Aggadata, following the lead of the Maharal. It was the depth of his teachings, and the light which they shed upon the major questions of life in our world, that account for the attraction and influence that they exercised on the n1ost varied circles in Torah Jewry, and that undoubtedly will continue to serve as a guiding light for our times. •

1 Rabbi Rosenblum in this connection refers to the division by the "Alter" of"desires" into physical and spiritual ones; this is actually found in n1uch earlier sources, and is brought in the Gra on Jyov and in letter 5 of Rabbi S.R Hirsch's Nineteen Letters.

2 Recounted by Rabbi Moshe Eisemann, fron1 his years in Gateshead,

3 An in11nense an1ount of research has gone into this book. Inevitably, some n1inor slips crept in. Rabbi Ehrentreu \Vas not "a rav in Chesha1n" but the rav of the kel1illa (p. l 86 ). Rav Dessler did not congratulate a student on the birth of a child three years earlier-he sent her a blessing on the birth of a child after she had been out of touch for three years (p. 164). The "Alter" certainly did not describe the opponents of 1nussar as "fools" (p, 153); the ter111 pesi should rather be translated as "unaware." Rav Dessler's vvarning to his talmidirn to treat even silly she'eilosseriously (p. 122) is actually enjoined by the poskirn.


APPROACHING HASHEM: NO ROOM FOR ANGER

To the Editor: It was with a feeling of great distress

that I read the article in the Elul edition (Sept. '00) of your publication entitled "From You to You." Specifically the section dealing with "Angry at Whom?" left me feeling that there was something deeply amiss with the perception and grasp of 'i1 '1'!1Wr.! as presented in the article.

I quote: "No matter how many times we tell ourselves that we must accept the will of Hashem with love, there is often a strong surge of anger and resentment when things do not seem to be as they should."

Could these possibly be the emotions of B'nei Yisroel who are tl'MNr.l 'D c>MNr.l? I myself am a survivor of four concentration camps. Even in the bleakest hours of our existence (just prior our liberation from Bergen-Belsen) we were only too happy to get hold of a Siddur and daven to Hashem. Never a thought of anger or anything similar entered our n1inds. How would we have restarted and rebuilt our lives had these thoughts been present? This is not how one reacts to 'i1 ''P!JWr.J!

We are b'nei Avraham, about whom we learn n":ipn '::7w l'n'!Ttr.J mN 1ilT1 N'7!, despite all the personal travails and tribulations he endured.

True, there may be some people who require guidance with regard to anger in difficult situations, but these are the exceptions. The presentation of the articl' suggesced that the reaction of anger is an accepted approach within the normal parameters of the thought process of an ehrlicher Yid. As a result of articulating the question, you are legitimizing the approach of anger to ·n '1'Q\!lr.>.

The average teenager or even the adult reader may feel that this is chas v'shalom the appropriate response and we would


therefore be guilty of educating them in a manner that is not consistent \Vith emunas Hashem.

No! We do not respond to 'i1 'V!l'Vr.l

with anger but with hachna'a to ratzon Hashem.

I quote once again: "Ho\v does a young widow struggling to support eight orphaned children say the words: the orphan and the widow He encourages?" Surely, this is not the correct question to ask even if it is followed by the presentation of an answer.

Every person who has endured ·n '1'n\!lr.l knows that Hakadosh Baruch Hu always has prepared for us a silver lining to every cloud and redeeming features in the bleakest situations. We need only a discerning eye to see them and an understanding heart to comprehend that they are indeed present.

Anger can only bring to bitterness. Where will that lead the person? It will certainly also close all avenues of personal growth from within the situation, because this emotion crushes the per-

son beneath it, leaving him with bitterness and frustration.

Is there a place for anger when we know that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is N1i1 W'1 i''i~ ,':riv 1'N1 nJ1l'JN7p?

We have to understand that we are to be Ovdei Hashenz in \vhichever situation Hashem puts us and that the difficulties we encounter in life are not a source of anger but a catalyst for growth, not a punishment but a personal challenge that will ultimately enable us to attain greatness.

Even if we cannot react initially to ·n 'V!l'Vr.l in this manner, we have to understand that this is our goal and our aim, and our thoughts have to be focused in this direction.

NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST

London

The author responds: When I wrote the article in question,

I anticipated a reaction of this sort from some readers. However, I did not expect it to come from such a formidable

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source. The rebuke lFeled against me is most humbling. Do I dare to argue about the capacity to rise above anger with someone who did so successfully in four concentration ca1nps? As the letter makes very clear, a person can align his emotions with the values of the Torah - even at the most basic gut level. And I am forced to plead guilty to the charge of under-emphasizing that concept. I should have stressed that any approach to processing anger at Hashem is merely a stepping stone. The ultimate goal is to transcend such feelings and to accept His Will with love and joy under all circumstances. I can only hope that whoever read my article will also get to read the above response.

Nevertheless, I cannot accept the basic position being espoused. It is truly inspiring to hear about those who 1naintained their fierce devotion to the Almighty throughout unimaginable horrors and suffering. But many others did not. There were many who let go of

their faith as a result of their experiences under the Nazis, and many more who had to struggle mightily in order to hold on. It is certainly elating to know that there are those who are above feeling anger towards Hashe1n - so far above it that they cannot even tolerate its validation. But there are many others who are not. Even people who are sincerely righteous and devout - many such people - do experience these emotions. If I assumed as much before I wrote the article, the responses I received since have strongly reinforced my opinion.

These people do not experience such feelings by choice, but because emotions cannot be legislated. All of the valid argu1nents against one's anger will not free a person from its grip when it occurs. E1notions are not rational; they do not submit to the dictates of logic. One's only route toward humble submission to the Will of Hashem is to work through contrary emotions until he can rise above them.

In order to do so, one must be allowed to validate his feelings. That does not n1ean accepting the1n as correct or proper. It means only the recognition that his feelings are not always under his control and they do not always coincide with his faith and beliefs. Thus, when gripped by unholy emotions, he must accept their presence and seek ways to shed them rather than vilify himself for having them in the first place. Otherwise, he will place himself in an emotional trap from which there is no escape.

In other words, I did not legitimate "an approach of anger;' only the recognition that feelings of anger often come unbidden. The correct approach to Hashem's judgment includes all that the writer expresses. But the correct approach to unwelcome feelings of anger is to deal with them honestly -possibly in the manner described in my article.

RABBI MAns ROBERTS

INDEX TO ARTICLES

SUBJECTS

Aging Quality of Life vs. Equality of Life/Moshe Borowski, Dec. '00; 'J\nd You Shall Live by Them"/Mrs. Karen Shoff, f)ec. '00; "Lasting In1pressions" (poem)/Mrs. Bracha Goetz, Dec. '00

Agudath Israel Dr. Ernst L. Bodenheimer: A Man of His Word ... and of Ours/Rabbi Sheftel Neuberger, Dec. '00; Working With Dr. Bodenheimer'"'1/Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, Dec. '00

Agunos Helping the Agunos- Halachic Solutions: Myth and Reality/Rabbi Yehuda Leib Lewis, May '00; Letters, Sept. '00

Animals The Wild Side of Chinuch/Nosson Sli!kin, Jan. '00

Art Art for Art's Sake: Chanuka Ruminations/Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair, Dec. '00

Baal Teshuva "Media "Darlings"/Yonason Rosenblum, Jan. '00; The Wild Side of Chinuch!Nosson Sli!kin, Jan. '00; Making My Way Homeward/Mrs. Debbie Maimon, Jan. '00; Israel's Children: Battleground for the Future/Rabbi Uri Zahar,

42

THE JEWISH OBSERVER

VOL. XXXIII Nos. 1-10

Feb. '00; The Ultimate Salesman: Meir Schuster/Mrs. Zelda Cutler, Feb. '00; Of Coats and Fires/Eric Simon, Feb. '00; Kav L'Kav, Opening Lines of Comrnunication/Ezriel Toshavi, Feb. '00; A Train on Its Tracks/Israel Goldman, May '00; "Kol Yisroel Areivin1 ... "!Dr. Meir Wilder, May '00; Redeeming the First-Born ... and Then Came the Tears/Mrs. Leah Dolinger, May '00; Notes From a Prison Cell in Villepinte, France/Eli Freedn1an, June '00; Learning from the Baalei Teshuva's Professional Secrets/Simcha Schreiber, Oct. '00; Confessions of the Mother of an FFB/ Anonymous, Dec. '00

Biographies Rabbi Yehuda Davis 7"lll, Builder of Torah and Kiruv in A1nerica/Rabbi Zvi Lampel and Mrs. Faygala Safran, May '00; Rebuilding the Glory of Bobov/Rabbi Aaron Twerski and Rabbi Benzion Twerski, Oct. '00; In the Pathways of Brisk: A Tribute to Rabbi Binyan1in Paler 7HYt/ Avrohom Birnbaum, Nov. '00; l)r. Ernst L. Bodenheimer 7'1: A Man of His Word ... and of Ours/Rabbi Sheftel Neu-

berger, Dec. 'oo Bloch, Rabbi Elya Meir Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch

'>"lll, 45 Years Since His Passing/Ephraim Lever, Jan. '00

Bobover Rebbe Rebuilding the Glory of Bobov/Rabbi Aaron Twerski and Rabbi Benzion Twerski, Oct. '00; Days of Awe in Bobov: Some Personal Glimpses/Mrs. Sudy Rosengarten, Oct. '00

Books in Review The I-Iolocaust and Jewish Destiny/Rabbi Moshe Eisemann, Jan. '00; The Jewish Seif Recovering Spirituality in the Modern World!Yonason Rosenblum, Apr. '00; A (;uide to the Passover Seder/Rabbi Labish Becker, Apr. '00; The Ethical Imperative/David Singer, Oct. '00; Partners With Hashem/Rabbi Labish Becker, Oct. '00; Jew vs. Jew: Cmcks in the American MosaidEytan Kobre, Nov. '00; The Gift of Speech/Rabbi Moshe Eisemann, Dec. 'oo

Books The Marketplace of the Mind/Hollis Dorman, Sept. '00; Let the Reader Beware! (SL)/Rabbi Pinchos Jung, Nov. '00

Calendar Sod Ha'Jbbur!Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky, Feb. '00; The Rabbi Sa'adia Gaon-


Rabbi Aharon ben Meir Controversy/Rabbi Y.G. Bechhofer with Rabbi A.Z. Zivotofsky, Apr. '00

Chassidus Listening to the Music of the Angels/Dovid Sears, Apr. '00; Rebuilding the Glory of Bobov/Rabbi Aaron Twerski and Rabbi Benzion Twerski, Oct. '00; Days of Awe in Bobov: Some Personal Glimpses/Mrs. Sudy Rosengarten, Oct. '00

Children At Risk Entire Mar. '00 issue devoted to response to Special Issue, Nov. '99; Letters, May '00

Children Caveat Emptor. The Ubiquitous PC/Editorial, Feb. '00; Making Things Better at Home/ Anonymous, Feb. '00; Internet Alert (PS)/Editorial, June '00; "Don't Rush Me"/Rabbi Shlomo Goldberg, Sept. '00; The Marketplace of the Mind/Hollis Dorman, Sept. '00

Children With Special Needs 'Pizza, Anyone!" (PS)/Randy Dorfman, June '00

Children: Guidance Teamwork/David Mandel, Mar. '00; Letters, Mar. '00; Drawing Lines in a Moving Field/Moshe Schapiro, Mar. '00; A Safety Net of Telephone Lines/Mrs. Sarah Shapiro, Mar. '00; Consequential Conversations... Without Being Confrontational/Rabbi Aharon Kaufman, Mar. '00; Dealing with "The Wicked Son"/Rabbi Avraham Peretz Friedman, Apr. '00

Children: Prevention Letters, Mar. '00 Children: Salvaging "Better Late Than

Never"/Rabbi Aaron Brody, Mar. '00 Chinuch The Wild Side of Chinuch/Nosson

Slifkin, Jan. '00; Some Kids on the Brink Can Be Saved/Rabbi Yisroel Wolpin, Mar. '00; Letters, Mar. '00; A Rebbi's Role in Building Kial YisroeVRabbi Chaim Epstein ~-1"7\!I, Oct. '00; Let the Reader Beware! (SL)/Rabbi Pinches Jung, Nov. '00; A Principal of Principle: Rebbetzin Soloveitchik il"V (SL)/Mrs. Sarah Cohen, Dec. '00

Commentaries Reb Tzadok of Lublin '"'11/Fishel Mae!, June '00

Conversion A Train on Its Tracks/Israel Goldman, May '00; Unsung Victims (SL)/Pnuel Peri, June '00; "Dayeinu"/Israel Goldman, Oct. '00

Daas Torah Facing Churban Europe; The Anguish, the Grief ... and the Sense of Mission/Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, June '00

Davis, Rabbi Yehuda Rabbi Yehuda Davis '"'11, Builder of Torah and Kiruv in America/Rabbi Zvi Lampel and Mrs. Faygala Safran, May '00; Letters, June, '00

Divorce Helping the Agunos- Halachic Solutions: Myth and Reality/Rabbi Yehuda Leib Lewis, May '00; Letters, Sept. '00

Ethics The Ethical Imperative/David Singer, Oct. '00; Ethics, Etfiics, Ethics/Sarah Lipman, Dec. '00; A Sumn1ons to Greatness (Review of The Gift of Speech)/Rabbi Moshe Eisemann, Dec. '00

Euthanasia Quality of Life vs. Equality of Life/Moshe Borowski, Dec. '00

Factionalism feiv vs. few. Cracks in the American Mosaic/Eytan Kobre, Nov. '00


Feminism Helping the Agunos- Halachic Solutions: Myth and Reality/Rabbi Yehuda Leib Lewis, May '00

Festivals and Fast Days Project Esther Purim)/Shana Kramer, Feb. '00; Pesach in Autumn/Rabbi Yisroel Greenwald, Apr. '00; Trials of Faith and the Festival of Faith (Pesach)/Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, Apr. '00; A Guide to the Passover Seder (review) /Rabbi Labish Becker, Apr. '00; Naomi's Return: A Challenge to our Sensitivity (Shavuos)/Rabbi Abba Zvi Naiman, May '00; Torah Wasn't Given to the An~els (Shavuos)/Rabbi Henoch Plotnik, May 00; "On This Day Was The World Conceived" (Rosh Hashana)/Rabbi Moshe Lieber, Oct. '00; Art for Art's Sake: Chanuka Ruminations/Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair, Dec. '00

Halacha The Weekly Discussion (review) /Rabbi Labish Becker, Jan. '00; Beyond the Letter of the Law (SL)/Rabbi Yosef Gesser, Feb. '00; The Rabbi Sa'adia Gaon-Rabbi Aharon ben Meir Controversy/Rabbi Y.G. Bechhofer with Rabbi A.Z. Zivotofsky, Apr. '00; Helping the Agunos- Halachic Solutions: Myth and Reality/Rabbi Yehuda Leib Lewis, May '00; Quality of Life vs. Equality of Life/Moshe Borowski, Dec. '00; ''And You Shall Live byThem"/Mrs. Karen Shoff, Dec. '00; A Summons to Greatness (Review of The Gift of Speech)/Rabbi Moshe Eisemann, Dec. '00

Halberstam, Rabbi Shlomo '""' Rebuilding the Glory of Bobov/Rabbi Aaron Twerski and Rabbi Benzion Twerski, Oct. '00; Days of Awe in Bobov: Some Personal Glimpses/Mrs. Sudy Rosengarten, Oct. '00

Hashkafa (Torah Philosophy) Freedom vs. Limits/Rabbi Aaron Brafinan, Jan. '00; Sod Ha'/bbur/Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky, Feb. '00; Speaking of StunninP, Accidents/Mrs. Sarah Shapiro, Feb. 00; Pesach in Autumn/Rabbi Yisroel Greenwald, Apr. '00; Trials of Faith and the Festival of Faith/Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, Apr. '00; Dealing with "The Wicked Son"/Rabbi Avraham Peretz Friedman, Apr. '00; The Jewish Self Recovering Spirituality in the Modern World (review)/Yonason Rosenblum, Apr. '00; Reb Tzadok of Lublin '"'11/Fishel Mae!, June '00; Whither jerusalem?/Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman, Sept. '00; "From You ... to You" - The Road to Meaningful Prayer /Rabbi Matis Roberts, Sept. '00; "On This Day Was The World Conceived" (Rosh Hashana)/Rabbi Moshe Lieber, Oct. '00; The Call of Shmitta/ Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, Nov. '00; Art for Art's Sake: Chanuka Ruminations /Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair, Dec. '00

Hatzala (Rescue) Facing Churban Europe; The Anguish, the Grief ... and the Sense of Mission/Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, June '00; The Grand Escape From Lithuania to Japan/Dr. David Kranzler, June '00; Letters, Oct. '00

History The Rabbi Sa'adia Gaon-Rabbi Aharon ben Meir Controversy/Rabbi Y.G. Bechhofer with Rabbi A.Z. Zivotofsky, Apr. '00; Facing Churban Europe; The Anguish,

the Grief... and the Sense of Mission/Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, June '00; The Grand Escape From Lithuania to Japan/Dr. David Kranzler, June '00

Holocaust The Holocaust and Jewish Destiny/Rabbi Moshe Eisemann, Jan. '00

Hutner, Rabbi Yitzchak Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner '"'.'11: A Talmid's Reflections/Rabbi Yitzchok Alster, Dec. '00

Image Of Coats and Fires/Eric Simon, Feb. '00 Internet Caveat Emptor: The Ubiquitous

PC/Editorial, Feb. '00; Making Things Better at Home/ Anonymous, Feb. '00; Internet Alert (PS)/Editorial, June '00

Israel Speaking of Stunning Accidents/Mrs. Sarah Shapiro, Feb. '00

Israel: Children Drawing Lines in a !'v1oving Field/Moshe Schapiro, Mar. '00; A Safety Net of Telephone Lines/Sara Schapiro, Mar. '00

Israel: Politics On Religious-Secular Strugeles in Israel/Rabbi Aharon Feldman, Feb. 00; Whither Jerusalem?/Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman, Sept. '00; Israel on the Brink/Yonason Rosenblum, Nov. '00

Israel: Religion On Religious-Secular Strugeles in Israel/Rabbi Aharon Feldman, Feb. 00; Israel's Children: Battleground for the Future/Rabbi Uri Zohar, Feb. '00; The Ultimate Salesman: Meir Schuster/Zelda Cutler, Feb. '00; Kav L'Kav, Opening Lines of Co1nmunication/Ezriel Toshavi, Feb. '00; Whither Jerusalen1?/Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman, Sept. '00; [srael on the BrinkJYonason Rosenblum, Nov. '00

Israel: Security Whither jerusalem?/Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman, Sept. '00; Israel on the Brink/Yonason Rosenblum, Nov. '00

Jews From Former USSR Redeeming the FirstBorn ... and Then Came the Tears/Mrs. Leah Dolinger, May '00

Jews in Former USSR A journey to the Ends of the Earth/ Yaakov Yosef Reinn1an, Apr. 'oo

Jews in Israel Revivim (SL)/Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, Dec. '00

Jews in Prison Notes From a Prison Cell in Villepinte, France/Eli Freedman, June '00

Jews in USA Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch ., .. '11, 45 Years Since His Passing/Ephraim Lever, Jan. '00; Rabbi Yehuda Davis'""'· Builder of Torah and Kiruv in America/Rabbi Zvi Lampel and Mrs. Far,gala Safran, May '00; Kiruv? I'm Just a 'Regular Jew!"/Rabbi Leonard Oppenheimer, May '00; Reminiscences of a Former "Kid on the Fringe"/Rabbi Shnuer Aisenstark, Sept. '00; The Lieberman Phenomenon (PS)/Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, Sept. '00; Rebuilding the Glory of Bobov/Rabbi Aaron Twerski and Rabbi Benzion Twerski, Oct. '00; Jew vs. Jew. Cracks in the An1erican lvlosaic/Eytan Kobre, Nov. '00

Kashrus Kashrus in the Year 2000 (PS)/Judith Leff, Sept. '00; Letters, Nov. '00

Kiddush Hashem"Kol Yisroel Areivim ... "/Dr. Meir Wikler, May '00

Lev I:Achim Israel's Children: Battleground for the Future/Rabbi Uri Zohar, Feb. '00

43

Media "Media "Darlings" /Yonason Rosenblum, Jan. '00; Immorality and ViolenceThe Torah's Vie~oint (PS)/Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, Feb. 00; Dr. Ernst L. Bodenheimer 7""t: A Man of His Word ... and of Ours/Rabbi Shefte! Neuberger, Dec. '00; Working With Dr. Bodenheimer7"t/Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, Dec. '00

Middos (Character Building) Letters, Mar. '00 Missionaries Confronting Missionaries in

the New Millennium (PS)/Editorial, Jan. '00 Mitzva Observance Project Esther/Shana

Kramer, Feb. '00 Music Listening to the Music of the

Angels/Dovid Sears, Apr. '00 Narrative Making My Way Homeward/Mrs.

Debbie Maiman, Jan. '00; Israel's Children: Battleground for the Future/Rabbi Uri Zohar, Feb. '00; Of Coats and Fires/Eric Simon, Feb. '00; Tuesdays With Morrie -on Saturday/Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, Feb. '00; Beyond the Letter of the Law (SL)/Rabbi Yosef Gesser, Feb. '00; A Journey to the Ends of the Earth/ Yaakov Yosef Reinman, Apr. '00; A Train on Its Tracks/Israel Goldman, May '00; "Kol Yisroel Areivim ... "/Dr. Meir Wikler, May '00; Notes From a Prison Cell in Villepinte, France/Eli Freedman, June '00; Schnorrer or Tzeddaka Gabbai in Training?/Rabbi Joseph C. Karmel, June '00 (PS); Footnotes to a Cover Scene (PS)/Rabbi Nissan Wolpin, Sept. '00; ·~nd You Shall Live by Them" /Mrs. Karen Shoff, Dec. '00

Orthodox Jewry "Media "Darlings"/Yonason Rosenblum, Jan. '00; Of Coats and Fires/Eric Simon, Feb. '00; Jew vs. few. Cracks in the American Mosaic/Eytan Kobre, Nov. '00

Outreach (Kiruv) The Wild Side of Chinuch/Nosson Slifkin, Jan. '00; Israel's Children: Battlegrouod for the Future/Rabbi Uri Zahar, Feb. '00; The Ultimate Salesman: Meir Schuster/Zelda Cutler, Feb. '00; Kav L'Kav, Opening Lines of Communication/Ezriel Toshavi, Feb. '00; KiruV. I'm Just a "Regular Jew!"/Rabbi Leonard Oppenheimer, May '00; "Kol Yisroel Areivim .. . "/Dr. Meir Wilder, May '00; Jewish Education (SL)/Pnuel Peri, Sept. '00

Packaging The Marketplace of the Mind/Hollis Dorman, Sept. '00

Parenting Reader's Forum, Jan. '00; On Being A Trusted "Friend" to Your Children/Rabbi Shimon Schwab 7"'0lt, Mar. '00; Letters, Mar. '00; Parents' Perspective/Rabbi Nissen Wolpin, Mar. '00; The Kids Speak, Mar. '00; Chinuch Habannim Workshops/Rebbetzin Malka Kaganoff, Apr. '00; Its 4:30 p.m. Do You Know Where My Mommy Is? (SL)/Anonymous, May '00; "Don't Rush Me" /Rabbi Shlomo Goldberg, Sept. '00; The Marketplace of the Mind/Hollis Dorman, Sept. '00; Partners With Hashem (review)/Rabbi Labish Becker, Oct. '00

PC Caveat Emptor. The Ubiquitous PC/Editorial, Feb. 00

Personal Growth Freedom vs. Limits/Rabbi Aaron Brafinan, Jan. '00; Learning ftom the

44

Baalei Teshuva's Professional Secrets/Simcha Schreiber, Oct. '00

Personalities Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch ';·~, 45 Years Since His Passing/Ephraim Lever, Jan. '00; Rabbi Yehuda Davis ';·~, Builder of Torah and Kiruv in America/Rabbi Zvi Lampel and Mrs. Faygala Safran, May '00; Rebuilding the Glory of Bobov/Rabbi Aaron Twerski and Rabbi Benzion Twerski, Oct. '00; Days of Awe in Bobov: Some Personal Glimpses/Mrs. Sudy Rosengarten, Oct. '00; In the Pathways ofBrisk: A lhbute to Rabbi Binyamin Paler 7"~/ Avrohom Birnbaum, Nov. '00; Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner':>"'Olt - A Talmid's Reflections/Rabbi Yitzchok Alster, Dec. '00; Dr. Ernst L. Bodenheimer 7"t: A Man of His Word ... and of Ours/Rabbi Shefte! Neuberger, Dec. '00; Working with Dr. Ernst Bodenheimer 7"1/Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, Dec. '00; A Principal of Principle: Rebbetzin Soloveitchik ;rv\SL)/Mrs. Sarah Cohen, Dec. '00

Poetry 'Dayeinu"/lsrael Goldman, Oct. '00; "Lasting lmpressions"/Mrs. Bracha Goetz, Dec. '00

Politics The Lieberman Pheno1nenon (PS)/Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, Sept. '00

Portland, OR KiruVI I'm Just a "Regular Jew!"/Rabbi Leonard Oppenheimer, May '00;

Post-Zionism Whither Jerusalem?/Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Klugman, Sept. '00; Israel on the Brink/Yonason Rosenblu1n, Nov. '00

Purim Project Esther/Shana Kramer, Feb. '00 Reb Tzadok of Lublin Reb Tzadok of Lublin

7''0lt/Fishel Mae!, June '00 Reform Judaism Of Coats and Fires/Eric

Simon, Feb. '00; Unsung Victims (SL)/Pnuel Peri, June '00

Reminiscences Reminiscences of a Former "Kid on the Fringe"/Rabbi Shnuer Aisenstark, Sept. '00; Days of Awe in Bobov: Some Personal Glimpses/Mrs. Sudy Rosengarten, Oct. '00; A Paradigm of Brisk: A Talmid Remembers Rabbi Binyamin Paler ';··~/Rabbi Moshe Einstadter, Nov. '00; Working with Dr. Ernst Bodenheimer 7'1/Rabbi Nissan Wolpin, Dec. '00

Sanctity of Life Quality of Life vs. Equality of Life/Moshe Borowski, Dec. '00; 'And You Shall Live byThem"/Mrs. Mrs. Karen Shoff, Dec. '00; Ethics, Ethics, Ethics/Sarah Lipman, Dec. '00; "Lasting Impressions" (poem)/Mrs. Bracha Goetz, Dec. '00

Shabbos Tuesdays With Morrie - on Saturday/Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, Feb. '00

Shmitta The Call of Shmitta/Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, Nov. '00

Social Comment Media "Darlings" /Yonason Rosenblum, Jan. '00; Caveat Emptor. The Ubiquitous PC/Editorial, Feb. '00; Immorality and Violence - The Torah's Viewpoint (PS)/Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, Feb. '00; Helping the Agunos -Halachic Solutions: Myth and Reality/Rabbi Yehuda Leib Lewis, May '00; Schnorrer or Tzeddaka Gabbai in Training? (PS)/Rabbi Joseph C. Karmel, June '00

Social Comment Freedom vs. Limits/Rabbi

Aaron Brafman, Jan. '00; Jewish Education (SL)/Pnuel Peri, Sept. '00; Jew vs. Jew. Cracks in the American Mosaic/Eytan Kobre, Nov. '00

Stammering "Pizza, Anyone!" (PS)/Randy Dorfinan, June '00

Technology Caveat Emr,tor. The Ubiquitous PC/Editorial, Feb. 00; Making Things Better at Home/ Anonymous, Feb. '00; Internet Alert (PS)/Editorial, June '00

Tefilla "From You ... to You" - The Road to Meaningful Prarer/Rabbi Matis Roberts, Sept. '00; Israe on the Brink!Yonason Rosenblum, Nov. '00

Telshe Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch ';··~, 45 Years Since His Passing/Ephraim Lever, Jan. '00

The Jewish Observer Dr. Ernst L. Bodenheimer 7"t: A Man of His Word ... and of Ours/Rabbi Shefte! Neuberger, Dec. '00; Working with Dr. Ernst Bodenheimer 7"t/Rabbi Nissan Wolpin, Dec. '00

Torah Study Torah Wasn't Given to the Angels/Rabbi Henoch Plotnik, May '00; A Paradigm ofBrisk: A Ta/mid Remembers Rabbi Binyamin Paler ';·~/Rabbi Moshe Einstadter, Nov. '00; Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner 7"'1r -A Talmid's Reflections/Rabbi Yitzchok Alster, Dec. '00

Translation and Adaptation "On This Day Was The World Conceived"(Rosh Hashana)/Rabbi Moshe Lieber, Oct. '00; A Rebbi's Role in Building Kial YisroeYRabbi Chaim Epstein N"1>"n>, Oct. '00

Women in the Torah Society Helping the Agunos - Halachic Solutions: Myth and Reality/Rabbi Yehuda Leib Lewis, May '00; A Principal of Principle: Rebbetzin Soloveitchik n""p (SL)/Mrs. Sarah Cohen, Dec. '00

World War II Facing Churban Europe; The Anguish, the Grief ... and the Sense of Mission/Rabbi Nissan Wolpin, June '00; Footnotes to a Cover Scene (PS)/Rabbi Nisson Wolpin, Sept. '00; Letters, Oct. '00; Letters, Dec. '00

Yeshivos Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch';·~, 45 Years Since His Passing/Ephraim Lever, Jan. '00; Some Kids on the Brink Can Be Saved/Rabbi Yisroel Wolpin, Mar. '00; Rabbi Yehuda Davis 7"'0lt, Builder ofTorah and Kiruv in A1nerica/Rabbi Zvi Lampel and Mrs. Faygala Safran, May '00; Reminiscences of a Former "Kid on the Fringe" /Rabbi Shnuer Aisenstark, Sept. '00; A Rebbi's Role in Building Kial Yisroel/Rabbi Chaim Epstein N"""""1, Oct. '00; In the Pathways ofBrisk: A Tribute to Rabbi Binyamin Paler 7"~/Avrohom Birnbaum, Nov. '00; A Paradigm of Brisk: A Ta/mid Remembers Rabbi Binyamin Paler ';··~/Rabbi Moshe Einstadter, Nov. '00; Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner 7"'0lt - A Talmid's Reflections/Rabbi YitzchokAlster, Dec. '00

SL Second Looks; PS Postscript

For reprints or back-issues) write to The Jewish Observer, 42 Broadway, NYC 10004, or call 212-797-9000


AUTHORS

Aisenstark, Rabbi Shneur Reminiscences of a Former "'Kid on the Fringe," Sept. '00

Alster, Rabbi Yitzchok Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner 7":tt: A Talmid's Reflections, Dec. '00

Anonymous, ¥akin~ Things Better at Home, Feb. 00; Its 4:30 p.m. Do You Know Where My Mommv ls? (SL), May '00; Confessions of the Mother of an FFB, Dec. '00

Bechhofer, Rabbi YosefThe Rabbi Saadia Gaon-Rabbi Aharon ben Meir Controversy, Apr. '00

Becker, Rabbi Labish Book Review of The Weekly Discussion, Jan. '00; Book Review of A Guide to the Passover Seder, Apr. '00; Book Review of Partners With Hashem, Oct. '00

Berman, Rabbi Mayer Tzvi A Rebbi's Role in Building Kial Yisroel (translation and adaptation), Oct. '00

Birnbaum, Rabbi Avrohom A Tribute to Rabbi Binyamim Paler , .. ,,, , Nov. '00; The Call of Shmitta (translation and adaptation), Nov. '00

Borowski, Moshe Quality of Life vs. Equality of Life, Dec. '00

Brafman, Rabbi Aaron Freedom vs. Limits, Jan. '00

Brody, Rabbi Aaron "Better Late Than Never," Mar. '00

Cohen, Mrs. Sarah A Principal of Principle: Rebbetzin Soloveitchik n·v (SL), Dec. '00

Cutler, Mrs. Zelda The Ultimate Salesman: Meir Schuster, Feb. '00

Dolinger, Leah Redeeming the First· Born ... And Then Came the Tears, May '00

Dorfman, Randy "Pizza, Anyone!" (PS), June '00

Dorman, Hollis The Marketplace of the Mind, Sept. '00

Einstadter, Rabbi Moshe A Talmid Re1nembers Rabbi Binyamirn Paler ?·yr, Nov. '00

Eisemann, Rabbi Moshe Plumbing the Depths (review of The Holocaust and Jewish Destiny) Jan. '00; A Summons to Greatness, (review of The Gift of Speech) Dec. '00

Epstein, Rabbi Chaim A Rebbi's Role in Building Kial Yisroel, Oct. '00

Feitman, Rabbi Yaakov The Lieberman Phenomenon: Opportunities and Challenges (PS), Sept. '00

Feldman, Rabbi Aharon On ReligiousSecular Struggles in Israel, Feb. '00

Finkelman, Rabbi Shimon In1n1orality and Violence - The Torah's Viewpoint (PS), Feb. '00; Trials of Faith and Festival of Faith, Apr. '00

Freedman, Eli Notes From a Prison Cell in Villepinte, France June '00

Friedman, Rabbi Avrohom Peretz Deal-


ing With the "Wicked" Son, Apr. '00 Gesser, Rabbi Yosef Beyond the Letter of

the Law, (SL) Feb. '00 Goetz, Mrs. Bracha «Lasting Impres

sions" (poem), Dec. '00 Goldberg, Rabbi Hillel Tuesdays With

Morrie - On Saturday, Feb. '00 Goldberg, Rabbi Shlomo "Don't Rush

Me!;' Sept. '00 Goldman, Israel A Train on Its Tracks,

May '00; "Dayeinu," (poem), Oct. '00 Greenwald, Rabbi Yisroel Pesach in

Autun1n, Apr. '00 Hisiger, Rabbi Yisroel Book Review of The

Fifth Conunandtnent: Honoring Parents, Jan. '00

Jung, Rabbi Pinchos Let the Readers Beware (SL), Nov. '00

Kaganoff, Malka Chinuch Habannim Se1ninars, Apr. '00

Karmel, Rabbi Joseph C. Schnorrer or Tzeddaka Gabbai in Training? (PS), June '00

Kaufman, Rabbi Ahron Consequential Conversations (Without Being Confrontational), Mar. '00

Klugman, Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Whither Jerusalem? Sept. '00

Kobre, Eytan Jew vs. few. Cracks in the American Mosaic (Review of few vs. Jew), Nov. '00

Kranzler, Dr. David The Grand Escape From Lithuania to Japan, June '00

Lampel, Rabbi Zvi Rabbi Yehuda Davis 7-YT, Builder of Kiruv and Torah in America, May '00

Leff, Judith Kashrus in the Year 2000 (PS), Sept. '00

Lever, Ephraim Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch 7".Yt,45 Years Since His Passing, Jan. '00

Lewis, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Helping the Aguno£ Halachic Solutions - Myth and Reality, May '00

Lieber, Rabbi Moshe "On this Day Was the World Conceived;' Oct. '00 ·

Lipman, Mrs. Sarah Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Dec. '00

Lopiansky, Rabbi Aaron Sod Ha'Ibbur, Feb. '00

Mae!, Rabbi Fishel Of Uniqueness and Unity: an Appreciation of Reb Tzadok of Lublin ?·yr, June '00

Maimon, Mrs. Debbie Making My Way Homeward, Jan. '00

Mandel, Dr. David Teamwork, Mar. '00 Mendelson, Rabbi Yehuda Basic Princi

ples of Parenting: PostScript, Mar. '00 Naiman, Rabbi Abba Zvi Naomi's Return:

A Challenge to Our Sensitivity, May '00 Neuberger, Rabbi Shefte! Dr. Ernst L.

Bodenheimer 7~1: A Man of His Word ... and of Ours, Dec. '00

Oppenheimer, Rabbi Leonard Kiruv? I'm Just a "Regular Jew!," May '00

Peri, Pnuel Unsung Victims (SL), June '00; Jewish Education (SL), Sept. '00

Plotnik, Rabbi Henoch Torah Wasn't Given to the Angels, May 'oo

Reinman, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef A Journey

to the Ends of the Earth, Apr. '00 Roberts, Rabbi Matis ''From You to You"

- The Road to Meaningful Prayer, Sept. '00;

Rosenblum, Yonason Media "Darlings," Jan. '00; Discovering the Essence of the Jewish Self (review of The Jewish Self Recovering Spirituality in the Modern World), Apr. '00; Israel on the Brink, Nov. '00

Rosengarten, Mrs. Sudy Days of Awe in Bobov: Personal Glimpses, Oct. '00

Safran, Mrs. Faygala Rabbi Yehuda Davis 7~:yr, Builder of Kiruv and Torah in America, May '00

Salomon, Rabbi Matisyahu The Call of Shmitta, Nov. '00

Schapiro, Moshe Drawing Lines in a Moving Field, Mar. '00

Schreiber, Simcha Baalei Teshuva's Professional Secrets, Oct. '00

Schwab, Rabbi Shimon Chinuch - On Being a Trusted "Friend" to Your Children, Mar. '00

Sears, Dovid Listening to the Music of Angels, Apr. '00

Shapiro, Mrs. Sarah Speaking of Stunning Accidents, Feb. '00; "A Safety Net of Telephone Lines;' (an interview) Mar. '00

Shoff, Mrs. Karen "And You Shall Live by Them," Dec. '00

Simon, Eric Of Coats and Fires, Feb. '00 Sinclair, Rabbi Yaakov Asher Art for Art's

Sake: Chanuka Ruminations, Dec. '00 Singer, David Book Review of The Ethi

cal bnperative, Oct. '00 Slifkin, Nasson The Wild Side of Chin

uch, Jan. '00 Twerski, Rabbi Aaron Rebuilding the

Glory of Bobov: A Biographical Tribute to the Late Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam ?·yr, Oct. '00

Twerski, Rabbi Benzion Rebuilding the Glory of Bobov: A Biographical Tribute to the Late Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam,.,,,, Oct. '00

Wikler, Dr. Meir "Kol Yisroel Areivinz ... ," May'OO

Wolpin, Rabbi Nisson Readers Forum, Mar. '00; Facing Churban Europe: The Anguish, The Grief ... and The Sense of Mission, June, '00; Noted With Sorrow & Grief, Sept. '00; Footnotes to a Cover Scene (PS), Sept. '00; Revivim (SL), Dec. '00

Wolpin, Rabbi Yisroel Some Kids on the Brink Can Be Saved, Mar. '00

Zivotofsky, Rabbi Ari Z. The Rabbi Saadia Gaon-Rabbi Aharon ben Meir Controversy, Apr. '00

Zahar, Rabbi Uri Israel's Children: Bat· tleground for the Future, Feb. '00

SL Second Looks; PS Postscript

For reprints or back-issues, \Vrite to The Jewish Observer, 42 Broadway, NYC 10004, or call 212-797-9000

45

Shmitah. Every seven years, thousands of Israeli farmers are out of work.

This year is one of them. Ovadia Levy is taking a year off. So are hisJields. Levy is one of some 5,000 Israeli farmers who are not harvesting their crops this year in observance of Shmitah, the sabbatical year for our fields and crops in Eretz Yisrael. Giving up their main, and often only, source of income is a sacrlficein the name of kedusha, and a growing hlJll'lberof Israelis - b.oth secular and religious - have taken on this important mitzva.

Witha rapidly expanding market fueled by immigration, observing Shmitah i.i; !ln increasingly costly decision. Th: niso~o~ of not working the fields, especially for those

that come from nonreligious backgrounds, is immense. Many will take on part-time, non-agricultural work, while some .. \Viii sttidy .in special. J<pllelim, ~!J( C!il)'lost all of them witl<receive assistance froin. !<ei'en

Hashviis, the orgC1nization · cd"iriirti~ed'to nurturing the growing trend of Shmitah observance by easing their burden.

Your help,)YitJl)'liike .!l,?iffer,e0ceir\:l\JJan~ing ~IJe ked~sh~ of\l?~z~isra¢~; AnS\Ver the call of leaqil\g, 9ed°:lei !orah by IJelping us help 5,000 ·farmers overcome the chalJen~es an~ travails .of the, Shmitah year, today: ·

Help make it YES I I wish to help the more than 5,000 farmers • in Eretz Ylsrael who are observing Shmitah.

a special year for 5,000 Israeli

farmers and their families!

Enclosed please find my contribution of $ _____ _

ADDRESS

CITY/STATEiZIP ----------------

PHONE __________________ _

FEBRUARY 4, 2001 • 7:30 P.M.

METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE TORONTO KOL CHAVERIM CHOIR

CONDUCTED BY HARVEY ERLICH

NEGINAH ORCHESTRA CONDUCTED BY YISROEL LAMM

GUEST CONDUCTOR SThfCHA (STEVE) BILL

SHLOMO PERL,

CONCERT CHAIRMAN

ROSEMARIE WEINGARTEN, DINNER CIIAIRPEF1SON

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