rav aharon kotler's sister

You can tell Reb Aharon, I have fulfilled your bidding., At the 4th Knessia Gedolah of Agudath Israel in Yerushalayim in 1954 From left: The Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz, Rav Eliezer Silver, the Beis Yisroel of Ger, Rav Aharon, Mr. Harry Goodman, Moreinu Yaakov Rosenheim, Rav Yitzchok Meir Levin, Rav Elya Meir Bloch (speaking), Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank. (Rav Shneurs full name was actually Yosef Chaim Shneur. One would imagine that such an accomplishment would draw endless praise from Rav Aharon. I am old and weaker, and I apologize that I cannot come visit you personally. Back then, it was known simply as the Lakewood Yeshivah, and Rav Aharons leadership role was far from a given. I fully believe that whatever comes out of the Chofetz Chaims mouth is prophecy. ln keeping with the author's style, it was decided to main tain the usage "the Rosh Ha Yeshiva" throughout the arti c]p when referring to Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Zt''L 22 Yechiel Yitzchok Perr Saam Chayim Memories of the Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Aharon Kotler Following the founding of Torah Umesorah, he worked in lockstep with Dr. Joseph Kamenetsky, Rabbi Alexander Gross and Rabbi Bernard Goldenberg to found day schools in cities across America, making it clear that he was willing to sacrifice a day saying an intricate shiur on a sugya in Yevamos to ensure that a Jewish child in Minneapolis or Seattle would have the chance to learn the Alef-beis. Youre right, Rav Aharon responded. Many of them were seasoned scholars, having spent nearly a decade in Mir, Kaminetz, Slabodka or Kelm. Rav Aharon stopped talking and looked out the window, to the right and to the left. In most instances he established and served at the helm of a local yeshivah as well. That made it official. His nusach for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur became popular as well. Cheder attendance began to dwindle, and in 1900a modern Hebrew school was opened. Two decades after Rav Isser Zalman spoke out on his behalf, Rav Moshe Mordechai finally had an opportunity to repay him by arranging the shidduch between Chana Perel and Rav Aharon. Erupting in torrents of thought like a volcano, hed cite a tradition from Rav Yisrael Salanter that Torah is studied with venom, not with calm equanimity or coldness and apathy. He spoke quickly. A traditional Jew from Cincinnati named Dr. Samuel Schmidt was sent to Lithuania by Rav Leizer Silver as an emissary of the nascent group. One shoved Reb Berel to the side while the other grabbed the typewriter and a pile of papers. Rav Aharon used to say, The acronym of Rosh Mesivta is RAM, which when reversed are the letters MAR, which means bitter. He didnt have to think over what he was saying, and what he wanted to say now. Havent seen one of these in a while.. Prior to the construction of the Verrazano Bridge and Garden State Parkway, central New Jersey was a distant location from crowded New York City. The youngest of them all was Arke Sislovitcher, a child of 13 or 14. The House. Last Friday marked the 54th yahrzeit of Rabbi Aaron Kotler, a leading Rosh Yeshiva in pre-WWII Europe who formed Lakewood's Beth Medrash Govoha in 1943. The Yeshiva began very humbly; Rabbi Ezra Novick, one of the earliest students, reports that when he joined the Yeshiva, there were only three students. He had a mind like the Rogatchover, Rav Shneur recalled his father saying. The older students would steal across the still-porous border led by the young and talented son-in-law of the rosh yeshivah, Rav Aharon Kotler. I remember just one time; we were together in Romshishuk for vacation. In Lakewood, however, he began delivering them on a regular basis. Perhaps hed be willing to become my communitys shochet.. Despite a deep fear of flying, Rav Aharon flew often to Israel throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. Rav Shneur Zalman refused to take part in the polemics some were hurling at his opponent, but those close to him saw that he was suffering greatly. His flaming blue eyes bore into the souls of all present. Around the same time, Rav Hillel Bishko came to Lakewood on a fundraising trip for the kollel and delivered a rousing speech, alluding to what the Nazis were currently doing in Europe, dramatically saying, Dear Friends, I am here to invite you to the funeral and burial of Torah.. The calm before the storm Inside the beis medrash in Kletzk during the summer of 1939. In hindsight, this relatively overlooked aspect of Rav Aharons early leadership served as a prologue to his later efforts to build Torah across the ocean. Rav Aharon Kotler, rosh yeshivah of the famous Kletzk yeshivah, had recently arrived in the United States, and theyd come to hear him speak as much out of pity and respect as out of ideology. He was so short that he stood on a chair in order to be heard. He named it Anaf (branch of) Etz Chaim after his alma mater of Volozhin. After one Shabbos afternoon where they were interrupted several times by gawkers, one student (currently a rosh yeshivah) started flailing his arms like an animal in a zoo until it dawned on the onlookers that perhaps it was inappropriate to be staring as such. Rabbi Henoch Cohen, who served as Chinuch Atzmais North American director for nearly a half century, related a shocking episode. During the first World War he fled eastward, eventually making his way toward the land of Israel where he settled in Yerushalayim until his passing in 1923. Then he rose from his armchair and, looking the Rosh Yeshivah straight in the eyes, said, Tell the rabbi, I am a Jew. The Alter cared for the neophyte as he would his own child, hosting him at his apartment adjacent to the yeshivah for Shabbos and Yom Yov meals alongside some of his closest older students. At 29 he was the youngest of Polands interwar roshei yeshivah, and he had now entered the public sphere as a rosh yeshivah, educator, leader and builder. It was a lesson that many young Americans absorbed, because in addition to producing a cadre of future Torah leaders, Rav Aharon sought to educate a new generation of balabatim about the primacy of supporting Torah and mitzvah observance. Slutzks 10,000 Jews comprised more than 75 percent of the population. When Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky was encouraged by Rav Aharon to open his yeshivah in Philadelphia, he expressed concern: what kind of chinuch would his children receive in a city that lacked a proper religious educational infrastructure? Der Rebbe hot gegeiben ah brachah Say Amen, the Rebbe gave you a brachah!. The granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, died on Thursday at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, according to a spokesperson for the Kennedy family. Rav Reuven decided to ensure that Arke would be protected by bringing him to Slabodka where the great educator, the Alter of Slabodka, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, could take him under his wing. Its hard to conceive of such a thing now, when the names of Rav Aharon, Rav Moshe, and Rav Yaakov are uttered with such awe, but I was once in a car with the three gedolim en route to a wealthy individuals home to fundraise for Chinuch Atzmai. He never ceased to praise the tireless efforts and the exceptional brilliance of Rav Aharon. The towns rav, Rav Chaim Shimon Herensohn, recalled that his father and predecessor had invited Slabodka to establish the branch there upon its founding in 1897. Contents Address of Rav Aharon Kotler Chinuch Atzmai Dinner 1956 50th yartzheit of harav aharon kotler zt l lakewood Rav Aharon pleaded with Schmidt to help arrangea transfer of the fragmented Lithuanian yeshivah world to the United States. With great trepidation, Rav Aharon walked to the local headquarters. The rabbonim at front, from right: Rav Yosef Leib Nenedik, Rav Aharon Kotler and Rav Nachum Baruch Ginzberg of Yanova. Fourteen-year-old Rav Aharon, however, noticed something amiss. Tell your rabbi that hed better appear at our headquarters by tonight!. Just weeks after Rav Aharon was born, a small township in central New Jersey received its charter. Each coat, Bunim said, cost a then-enormous $260. Left to right: Irving Bunim, Hon. But thankfully, he likewise inherited his fathers sharp mind and endless capacity to absorb knowledge, though it was his legendary diligence an unusual intensity and zeal that caused him to stand out among his peers. It says smach Zevulun btzeisecha. Simchah can only be achieved in this world if the person grows in Torah. In fact, I heard from Reb Zev understood from him that all of his activities were the bidding of Rav Aharon. He was introduced to admirers who would become his loyal supporters. Hashem gave him certain strengths and abilities and when one sees results, one cannot let anything stand in the way, and must do whatever is possible to uphold the generation and fight for Yiddishkeit. Another contingent, headed by the mashgiach Rav Yosef Leib Nenedick, went to Doshad. When Rav Aharon told Reb Shraga Feivel of his plan to open the yeshivah in Lakewood, without hesitating, Reb Shraga chose some of the Mesivtas best including Rav Elya Svei, Rav Yisrael Kanarek, and Rav Yaakov Weisberg and sent them to Rav Aharon. Rav Aharon, however, had no qualms about taking blunt political positions, even if it meant alienating donors who were Mizrachi supporters. A rapid Sovietization of Lithuania ensued. [He presented] complicated mathematical problems that would be hard for a licensed engineer to solve, and the Sislovitzer resolved them in no time. Our talk was limited because of lack of time, two hours in all and half an hour of this we spent in the yeshivah observing the bochurim study. It was after the treaty was signed between the Bolsheviks and the Poles, placing Slutzk under Soviet control. [10] A committed anti-Zionist,[11] Kotler also helped establish Chinuch Atzmai, the independent religious school system in Israel, and was the chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel. Rav Aharon was once delivering a shiur in Kletzk when a stranger entered. Another organizer of the New York event was a former Slutzk talmid named Zadok Kapner, a brilliant scholar who had become a successful physician but was still said to be one of the greatest Talmudic minds in America. The attendees were an assemblage of senior yeshivah students from NewYork yeshivos such as Torah Vodaath, Rabbeinu Yaakov Yosef (RJJ), and acouple of others. Must leave Moscow within 24 hours. After a brief stint in Krinik, he arrived in Minsk where he formed a lifelong friendship with Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky and Rav Reuven Grozovsky. Thousands of straying children came home in his merit they returned to the Torah, they became Shabbos observant, they adorn Tefillin, they are occupied with Torah study, and they are building homes of Torah. Rav Aharon once brought one of his grandsons along with him to a meeting with the Beis Yisrael of Gur. It was not until after one oclock in the morning that Rav Aharon returned home. Despite not having understood, that image is engraved in my mind for eternity.. His letters back home from that trip are an important source towards understanding those tumultuous months. Rav Aharon's sister, Malka, also in Minsk, traveled in different circles in Minsk than her uncle, the dayan. Rav Chatzkels daughter, Rebbetzin Zlata Ginsburg, recalled the exuberance of the Kletzk townspeople when they learned of this exciting development. Rav Yaakov, who wasnt prone to hyperbole, later recalled his mothers reaction upon meeting his friend: Who is this boy? Legend has it, as believed by many in the "yeshivishe" world, that the curse began with Joe Kennedy. Without total submission to Torah learning, he said, without fundamental lomdus, toil and perseverance, Torah cannot takeroot in the individuals soul, cannot change hisbeing or essence. It broke out this past eighth of Tammuz. November 29, 1962 - Kislev 2 5723 Anyone with biographical information is asked to please send it in. One Erev Shabbos he saw a small kiosk in Tel Aviv, and someone asked the proprietor for a pack of cigarettes. Hashem grants a person the zechus to be able to accomplish, and he has special abilities; he witnessed a special Hashgachah Min Hashamayim to be successful, because now it is possible to achieve success. In a fiery mussar shmuess (see Mishnas Rav Aharon 3:250), he thundered that "hakoras hatov is the basis of serving Hashem." In life, he never forgot a favor from Jew or . The Vaad HaYeshivos attempted to centralize fundraising efforts on behalf of the yeshivos within the Kresy region. Reb Shraga Feivels youngest daughter Devorah Kramer recalled the eulogy delivered by Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spektor, the Kovno Rav, at her fathers levayah. In doing so, he expressed his hope to pay tribute to his illustrious forebear, and to imply that his yeshivah was to be a resurrection of the mother of all yeshivos which had been shuttered several years prior. It had the added bonus of a steady stream of Jewish vacationers who could potentially serve as a fundraising base. Kennedy, a rabid anti-Semite, refused, and Rav Aharon cursed him. He took strong stances on many contemporary issues in both the US and Israel, and elicited anger from supporters with his vocal protests against Israels draft law for women as well as the ensuing proposal of Sherut Leumi. Rav Aharons efforts ultimately made a deep imprint upon American Jewry. On June 22, 1941, the Nazis violated the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and invaded the Soviet Union. Rav Aharon and Rav Boruch Ber: They were once walking together and came to a door. Though his pleas generally didnt find a receptive audience, he and other rescue activists did manage to find an ally in the form of Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. Irving Bunim shared Rav Aharons role in awakening a sleeping giant in his memoirs: I recall when our great rebbe called on Secretary Henry Morgenthau. The interwar years saw steady growth of the Jewish population in Lakewood and its environs, including several Jewish chicken farmers in the 1920s. Last year you gave me ten dollars. In Lakewood, Torah iz di beste sechoirah is not a lullaby to put a child to sleep. Rav Aharon's sister, Malka, also in Minsk, traveled in different circles in Minsk than her uncle, the dayan. While initially his focus was providing them with kosher food and religious articles, he soon realized that would not suffice and contacted the Vaad Hatzalah for help. The extent of Rav Aharons mesirus nefesh for Americas Torah future and the steep nature of that uphill battle are neatly encapsulated in a recollection shared by Rabbi Berel Wein. The smaller Yeshivos followed the lead of the larger Yeshivos, and either escaped with them to Japan and China, or were arrested by the communists and sent to Siberia or Kazakhstan. Even as the yeshivahs deficit grew, the mashgiach, Rav Chatzkel Levenstein believed that the yeshivah needed its own building, and a building campaign was initiated. Unfortunately, the trend toward socialism wasnt limited to labor unions, and ambivalence toward religion soon turned into animosity. He then asked Rav Aharon to locate five different passages in Talmud Yerushalmi and Rav Aharon knew them all, earning the right to be Rav Katzs guest. Leadership meant responsibility, responsibility always translated into activism, and activism invariably took the form of launching initiatives, motivating others, and getting the job done. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Hundreds of eyes shifted their gaze towards Arke Sislovitzer. The Alter then reconsidered Rav Archiks appointment, and instead hired the Frank son-in-law Rav Moshe Mordechai as the second rosh yeshivah. Letters to Mrs. Necha Golding in the years following the trip beg her to follow up on pledges from others that went unpaid. He related the story about a poshute Yid who set aside a kopek from his earnings for hachzakas Torah. An environment of materialism, the relative ease with which immigrants integrated, coupled with the desire for their children to succeed, were factors in this development. Fifty years later, almost to the day, at Mr. Wolfsons levayah, the rosh yeshivah Rav Malkiel Kotler, declared, The relationship between my grandfather and Reb Zev was that of a father to his son. There he persuaded Rav Aharon to return to Slabodka, and thus the future Torah leader was preserved. Reb Shmuel Teitzmaller, whose family owned the local construction firm that built the yeshivah, described this exuberance decades later in a Beth Medrash Govoha newsletter: You could see a simple laborer or one of the balabatim grab a free moment, run over to the construction site, grab a few bricks and hand it to a bricklayer. Dershowitz Family Saga. German Jews arrived in the 19th century and built institutions of chesed, Jewish hospitals, philanthropic organizations such as the Joint but abandoned traditional Jewish observance. Shed often sit outside the dining room where a shiur was taking place and quietly mouth the answers to herself. In 1924 this emissary was dispatched to Germany. He recalled how the small group had been tasked by their general with holding the line, as he promised the imminent arrival of reinforcements. They were all excited and willing to sacrifice We would work from morning till night in the long summer days and not feel at all tired.. This man is legally blind and hardly has any money to his name. It is being maintained largely through the efforts of a limited number of people. Rav Aharon Kotler is the Rosh Hayeshivah there. Shortly after he arrived in New York, Rav Aharon attended a meeting of the Agudath Harabonim and declared, I am the father of sons who are wandering aimlessly from one place of exile to another, totally abandoned, forsaken. Rav Aharon believed that the appropriate form of activism was for the American Jewish community to aim its frustration directly at elected officials, and that success was more likely through quiet diplomacy conducted behind closed doors. Chassidic lore has it that Slutzk was condemned after the town mistreated the Baal Shem Tov.). He earns a mere $12 a week as a peddler, and hes donating his entire weekly salary to the yeshivah.. Rav Isser Zalman, who was a vaunted student of Rav Chaim Brisker and author of the Even Haezel, marveled at the logic of his son-in-law. However, the raison dtre of Lakewood is limud haTorah lishmah the study of Torah for its own sake. He had just a handful of students at first, but he knew the yeshivah would grow. That wide-lens view accompanied him throughout his life, marking him not only as the Rosh Yeshivah who transformed Americas relationship with Torah learning, but as the leader who burned with a constant urgency to rescue, restore, initiate, rally, and support the growth of Torah wherever Jews could be found. It was a desperate time for Jewry in general, but most certainly for the outnumbered and outgunned Orthodox Jewish community.. Startled, she asked if anything was wrong. It eventually became the light that disseminated Torah across France under the leadership of Rav Chaim Chaikin, and yet another initiative of Rav Aharon that wielded a monumental impact. The name Pines was derived from the words, al pines by a miracle, marking a miraculous salvation that took place generations prior. In 1903 he was offered the rabbinate of the larger town of Krinik, which he accepted on condition that he could open a yeshivah there as well.

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