rav aharon kotler's sister

On June 22, 1941, the Nazis violated the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and invaded the Soviet Union. Arke may have had a shining reputation, but his childhood was marred by tragedy and pain. A Lithuanian tradition from the Vilna Gaon advised adding a prefix when using the name in the future. Photos: BMG Archives, Agudah Archives, DMS Yeshiva Archives, Wolfson Family, Hoberman Family, Kamenetsky Family, National Library of Israel, US Dept of State, Prof. Chaim I. Waxman, YIVO, Torah Umesorah Archives, Chinuch Atzmai Archives, Perr Family, Golding Family, Bunim Family, TAJ Art and Judaica, Feivel Schneider, A child is playing outside a shul. Its simply not worth it for me to stay here and miss out on such blessings.), The Chanukas Habayis in Kletzk was an impressive event that enhanced the yeshivahs prestige. The following day saw the Alters return. Rav Aharon addressed the crowd and then Rav Dachowitz announced that for $12, one could cover the expenses of a student for a month. On October 28, 1939, the Red Army withdrew from Vilna, and the next day the Lithuanians staged a military parade through the city center. Rav Dachowitz whispered to Rav Aharon: You must understand what is going on here! As is traditional in chassidic circles, the Gerrer Rebbe offered the little boy an apple, which he declined saying he wasnt hungry. Rav Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the Freidiker Rebbe of Chabad. In 1956, Rav Aharon enlisted Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik to serve as guest of honor at the Chinuch Atzmai dinner, (correctly) surmising that his presence and endorsement would draw a large, diverse audience of supporters. The Russian principal was astonished. Left to right: Irving Bunim, Hon. As the yeshivah grew in size, Rav Aharon worked to ensure it grew in quality as well. Rav Aharon Kotler - SukkahScenes When word spread about the yeshivahs impending arrival, many of the local residents were suspicious or even dismayed. 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. At this point, it was anathema to him to abandon his talmidim and he politely turned down the offer, still seeking a collective solution to the growing predicament. At the wedding of Rav Shmuel Kamentsky: (left to right): Rabbis Shaul Goldman, Nachum Goldberg, Berel Peker, Rav Aharon, Chatzkel Horowitz, Paul Z. Levovitz, Shmuel Kamenetsky , Elya Svei, and Rav Dovid Bender. Rav Chatzkels daughter, Rebbetzin Zlata Ginsburg, recalled the exuberance of the Kletzk townspeople when they learned of this exciting development. Kletzk Yeshiva in Yanova. ), The new couple settled in Slutzk, where Rav Aharon soon joined the faculty of his father-in-laws renowned Slutzk Yeshivah. Rav Aharons talmidim gained a privileged close-up view to the fiery genius who became the architect of Americas postwar Torah world. After a short while, he informed them that the yeshivah was likely too crowded for the upcoming zeman. Menucha Frank instead married Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein. With his arrival in Slabodka, he enjoyed a . Sensing the detrimental effect a steady correspondence with his sister might have on his potential growth, the Alter initiated a dramatic step. One of the great Torah builders of the next generation Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel is standing on the far right. We can find another maggid shiur, but someone who can build a Bais Yaakov? His stanzia (lodging place) was two blocks from the yeshivah, and the young teenager was often fearful to walk alone late at night. This arrangement presented an open door for the various ideological movements sweeping the increasingly radicalized Jewish street. Still short of $10,000, he personally borrowed the funds. And of course we have the regular expenses of feeding the yeshivah. The rosh yeshivah! In an interview conducted with the president of Lakewood's BMG, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, a myth and legend that has been well-entrenched in the chareidi world about famous Jewish composer and. The White Plains group sent a delegation led by Rav Mordechai Yaffe to meet with Rav Aharon. This group, known as the Yad Hachazakah, included future Torah leaders such as his son Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, his son-in-law Rav Yehuda Leib Plachinsky, Rav Reuven Katz, Rav Alter Shmuelevitz, Rav Pesach Pruskin, Rav Moshe Yom Tov Wachtfogel, and Rav Yosef Konvitz. And he (Zev) has a tremendous part in this accomplishment (to strengthen Chinuch Atzmai), through lobbying efforts and other means. 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. Years ago he knew a little child in Minsk, and he remembered giving money for this childs ticket to Slabodka. Ironically, Rabbi Waxman had been one of the student delegates representing Mir Yeshiva at the Kletzk groundbreaking in 1929, and had written to Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel a few months prior, trying to convince him to reestablish the refugee Mir Yeshiva in Lakewood. Rav Archik had once been engaged to one of the Frank daughters. Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky then rose and declared, I will explain why the Kletzker Rosh Yeshivah feels the way he does. He then proceeded to share their Slabodka experiences, how Rav Reuven played a crucial role in their transfer from Minsk to Slabodka, and how he looked after their welfare there. Rav Mendel Krawiec, later rosh yeshivah of RJJ, recalled arriving for his entrance exam in Rav Aharons home in Kletzk: The three-room apartment was sparsely furnished and was packed with yeshivah students who had come for their daily meal. A secret clause of the agreement was the division of Poland. Standing (left to right) beginning with Rabbi Nissan Waxman (with mustache): Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary, Rabbi Shlomo Aron Kazarnovsky, Rabbi Nissan Mindel and Rabbi Chaim Lieberman. Another talmid, who had been raised in relative comfort, once commented to Rav Aharon that he was having a hard time with the austere kollel lifestyle. Yekusiel, zing. During this time of uncertainty, Rav Aharon launched a new shiur for a select group of students on Seder Zeraim, an area he continued to lecture on upon arriving as a refugee to Manhattan. Rav Aharon Kotler was leaving the world. You know what? Rav Aharon and his father-in-law once debated whether it was permissible for a short student to lend himself a taller appearance by inserting wooden slats in his shoes before meeting a potential shidduch prospect. A neighborhood group organized a petition against the sale, citing potential noise issues in the quiet neighborhood. Rav Aharon and Rav Shlomo Heiman in Camp Mesivta.Following Rav Shlomos sudden passing in 1944, Rav Aharon volunteered to fill in and say his shiur during the week. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. His flaming blue eyes bore into the souls of all present. When he was criticized for meeting with the leading Reform Rabbi Stephen Wise, Rav Aharon famously declared, Id work with the Pope himself, if it would help save the fingernail of one Jewish child., Rav Aharon was once berated publicly by an official from a secular organization that likewise engaged in rescue work. Utilizing the emergency visa obtained for him by the Vaad Hatzalah, he, his wife, and daughter received their Soviet exit visas and departed Lithuania for Moscow on February 7, 1941. How could it be that such a small boy, who in his life never even visited an elementary school, should, on his own, immediately solve complex problems? Every so often, individuals emerge in Jewish history who, by dint of their personality and intellect, profoundly change the topography of Jewish life. After hovering at around 150 talmidim for several years, the yeshivah experienced a growth spurt in the early 1930s and by 1932 counted 230 talmidim. A week later the Wehrmacht invaded Poland from the west, while on September 17 the Red Army invaded from the east. Son of Rabbi Shneur Zalman Pines-Kotler, ABD Sislowitz and Sara Pesha Pines Even more astounding is that his reach wasnt limited to the United States. The yeshivah was in the process of welcoming a new rosh yeshivah, Rav Baruch Ber Leibowitz, whose shiurim would dominate the Lithuanian Torah landscape for the next 35 years. Much of the difficulties faced by Rav Aharon in America stemmed from the fact that Kletzk was a relatively new yeshivah and didnt have many alumni serving in prominent roles in America to assist in making connections and collecting multi-year pledges Rav Aharon had received. Senior yeshivos like Mir and Slabodka had alumni networks that greatly assisted with this process. She was to remark to her friend that she had never seen her father-in-law raise his voice or get angry at anything. Nein! [3], Some of those noted Jewish activists who supported Kotler in his efforts were Irving Bunim, Moses Feuerstein,[12] Stephen Klein and Zev Wolfson[13]. On Monday, the first day of Chol Hamoed, Rav Aharon took a train east, spending the second part of Yom Tov with Rav Ephraim Epstein (a Vaad Hatzalah leader and the brother of Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein) in Chicago. The Vaad HaYeshivos decided to honor its founder with the writing of a sefer Torah in his memory, with the proceeds going toward the support of its affiliate institutions. Rav Shneur Zalman, the third son of Rav Moshe Pines, was born during the reign of Czar Nicholas I, when the dreaded Cantonist laws were in effect. Immediately they began to interrogate him about the suspicious contents theyd seized. The wedding was celebrated on 8 Adar, 1914 in Slutzk. Apparently, he was studying two different masechtos in depth, simultaneously. Rav Aharon in an animated discussion with Rav Avraham Farbstein while attending the engagement party of of future Mir rosh yeshiva Rav Refoel Shmuelevitz 15 Shvat 1962. Rav Aharon refused to enter until Rav Boruch Ber went first. Though Rav Aharons name is most closely linked to Lakewood, the impact of his Torah trailblazing goes far beyond a single yeshivah. If you study Torah lishmah and inculcate that value in others, Rav Aharon told him, Hashem will care for your children. Rav Shmuel often repeats this promise to parents moving to distant locales to spread Torah. From Lakewood To Yeshiva University: An Interview With Rabbi Aaron His son, current Shaar HaTorah rosh yeshivah Rav Kalman Epstein, who was then a young boy, accompanied his father. Rav Aharon loved these children. I know you do a lot, but Im begging you to do even more considering the circumstances. There will never be another like her.. In Minsk, Arke became acquainted with another budding Torah scholar just a few months his, senior named Yaakov Kamenetsky, with whom he developed a close relationship. [1] During his tenure, he developed the Lithuanian -style, Haredi but non- Hasidic yeshiva into the largest post-graduate Torah institution in the world. Leadership meant responsibility, responsibility always translated into activism, and activism invariably took the form of launching initiatives, motivating others, and getting the job done. Rav Aharon is much more than just the rosh yeshivah of Kletzk!, Rav Aharon delivering a shiur in Kletzk In listening to Rav Aharon, one always sensed the genius of a deep and penetrating mind arriving at simple conclusions. Not this shul and not any other shul I have much bigger plans for you!, Exiting the Chinuch Atzmai dinner in 1956 (right to left) Agudah MK Rabbi Menachem Porush, Rav Aharon, Zev Wolfson, Julius Klugman (to Mr. Wolfsons right in background), Zev Wolfson survived the Holocaust as a teenager in Asiatic Russia and arrived in America with his mother and brother in 1947. Instead, he wanted to ensure that the shul was built away from the towns hotels, because he believed that a visible Jewish presence would diminish their value. I have come only to help save, with your assistance, American Yidden, the centuries-old Torah centers of Europe. In 1943 Rav Kotler pulled off a historic accomplishment by opening one of the first European standard Yeshivos, Bais Medrash Gevoha in Lakewood NJ, on the shores of America. Rav Moshe Zevulan Margolies (Ramaz) would spend the winter months in Lakewood during his later years. Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l - The 5 Towns Jewish Times The Lomza rosh yeshivah, Rav Yechiel Mordechai Gordon, was stranded in the US during the war, and he was hired to serve as rosh kollel. Following Rav Reuven Grozovskys incapacitation in 1952, Rav Aharon assumed the role of chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudath Yisrael of America. The world will yet survive without another one. While Rav Meir Shapiro, Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz, Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, Rav Shimon Shkop and others had conducted fundraising trips to America in the 1920s with varying results, no one had attempted such a journey since the stock market crash of 1929 and ensuing Great Depression. His son is the great posek, Rav Dovid Cohen, rav of Gvul Yaavetz in Brooklyn. A Yid fun Amerike, the man mumbled to himself. In Krinik, Rav Aharon joined a seasoned group of older students, but had no difficulty keeping up and even standing out with his quick mind and impressive diligence. Aside from Vaad Hatzalah of the war and immediate postwar years, he served in a leadership capacity in the Agudath Harabonim and presided over the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudas Yisrael. Ha Rav Aharon Kotler - Shema Yisrael The Sislovitzer paced up and down the room, lhavdil like a Slabodka bochur with a difficult question in the Gemara, spun his thumb and readily solved the difficult mathematical problem. When I talk about Rav Aaron and mibeis abba, I dont mean just his scholarship, his Torah, but the qualities of a gadol, the warmth and other great middos. After a brief stint in Krinik, he arrived in Minsk where he formed a lifelong friendship with Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky and Rav Reuven Grozovsky. Rabbi Shurin then added: Rav Isser Zalman shared something personal with me. In addition to their regular shiurim, Rav Isser Zalman and Rav Aharon delivered halachah shiurim in hilchos Gittin and Choshen Mishpat to enhance the talmidims understanding of the relevant sugyos they were studying. The house of the rabbi shone with the splendor of(his son) the gaon. When he stepped off the platform in midtown Manhattan on that fine spring day, few knew that the Torah landscape of America was about to be transformed forever. A savior arrived in the form of Rav Reuven Grozovsky, an older student of the Alter of Slabodka. When Rav Aharon noticed, he said to the student, Let him speak, perhaps hes right.. What he said was magnificent. Rav Aharon Kotler was one of the very few Torah giants who contributed mightily to the transformation of the face of American Jewry in the middle of the twentieth century from one of Torah ignorance and mourning over the Holocaust to significant progress in Torah knowledge and partial recovery from the tragedy of the Holocaust. 'Kennedy curse' strikes again? RFK's granddaughter dies at 22 Historian Dr. David Kranzler writes of the somber atmosphere that filled the Kotler home during the war years. Rav Aharon at a town meeting in Kletzk (second row, third from left). When he lost his money, he stopped hearing from all the rabbis who had solicited him for donations. Along with the influx of revelers came the need for local services and businesses. Rav Isser Zalman described to me how he rose from his chair, donned his peltz (fur coat), and informed his rebbetzin, Baila Hinda, I must go finalize the shidduch immediately. He traveled to Slabodka and asked his brother-in-law Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein to arrange the match. College education was seen as a necessity, even among the small American yeshivah community of the 1940s. Disappointed, the new Mafia chiefs bid farewell to Rav Shneur and left. But what can I do? You will live for many years in Eretz Yisrael; HaKadosh Baruch Hu will yet help you, and in Eretz Yisrael you will come up with great chiddushei Torah., After hearing such things from the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Isser Zalman declared, I wouldnt stay here for all the money in the world! Young Aharon was left alone, bereft of both parents in a volatile world. Something like I would imagine the Chasam Sofer and Rav Akiva Eiger spoke. Had all his communal responsibilities been merely ceremonial roles, that would have been impressive enough. Slutzks 10,000 Jews comprised more than 75 percent of the population. Rav Aharon passed away in 1962, and her husband Reb Shneur became Rosh Yeshiva. Fourteen-year-old Rav Aharon, however, noticed something amiss. Suffice it to say that Rav Aharon believed that the very future of Torah education in Israel was at stake and devoted all his energies to the establishment of an entirely new educational infrastructure from scratch. The Vaad HaYeshivos, which was the brainchild of the Chofetz Chaim, would serve as an umbrella organization for the fundraising and budgeting operations of all member yeshivos. Initially, the proud but small Kletzk community planned on supplementing the building fund through donations from the Kletzk Landsmanshaft communities in the United States. Luminaries who studied in Slutzk during its first two decades include Rav Elazar M. Shach, Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin, Rav Aryeh Levine, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rav Moshe Aharon Poleyoff, and Rav Moshe Feinstein. When her wealthy husband passed away in 1906, she vowed to donate her fortune to charity. 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. When Mr. Rabinowitz approached a potential seller, Matthew J. Sullivan, with a lowball offer to buy 617 6th Street on the yeshivahs behalf, Sullivan recalled that his interlocutor had sung beautifully at the memorial event two decades earlier and was impressed that he was refraining from charging the accepted realtors fee. From year to year he grew in his brilliance, and now he is among the giants of the generation. Several visiting European roshei yeshivah spent Shabbos in Lakewood, including Rav Elchonon Wasserman, Rav Shimon Shkop, and Rav Pesach Pruskin. He knew all too well how dangerous they could be. All water, he said with excitement. They claimed it would cause collateral damage to an already frosty relationship between Chinuch Atzmai and the Israeli government, which was vying for the same funding for its own educational and cultural institutions. The rabbonim at front, from right: Rav Yosef Leib Nenedik, Rav Aharon Kotler and Rav Nachum Baruch Ginzberg of Yanova. Each Generation and Its Maimonides: The Maimonides of Rabbi Aharon His yeshivah had already escaped the Soviets 18 years earlier from Slutzk, crossing the border illegally into Poland. You babble like a shaigetz!. Yet, as is evident from a speech he delivered at a family simchah of Mr. Wolfsons just weeks before his passing, Rav Aharon, in his wisdom, saw his young charges potential to make a continuing and unprecedented impact and encouraged him to do even more: The plan was, G-d forbid, for a totally different type of education to take hold (in Israel), which would undermine the very existence of a life according to Torah values. There were a few precocious children in the shul there, and he paid for train tickets for two of them to go to Slabodka. Kletzk was forced to leave Yanova and split up to evade detection. A bird looks around and sees that it was created with wings, thereby it knows that it was endowed with special powers to be able to fly. Prior to his passing, Reb Shraga Feivel Frank requested of his wife to ensure that their four daughters all married young men who were fully engaged in a life of Torah. 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. Rav Isser Zalman conveyed the Frank familys position to the Alter of Slabodka, emphasizing the pain this was causing his mother-in-law, the elderly widow. That made it official. Look no further than the recent display of kavod haTorah that took place at the Adirei HaTorah event at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, where a phalanx of modern-day Zevuluns packed the rafters for a chance to pay tribute to the thousands of Yissachars on tiers below them who were the evenings guests of honor. 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. Due to Rav Aharon Kotler's influence, Rav Mendel was appointed rosh yeshivah of RJJ on the Lower East Side in 1948. Torah discussions filled the air, ideas debated, sugyos clarified. He was introduced to admirers who would become his loyal supporters. To rescue such a child and give him the chance to study Torah, there is no greater chesed in the world! Right to Left: R. Shneur Kotler (unidentified), R. Aharon Cohen, R. Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, R. Aharon Kotler (holding the cup), and R. Yitzchok Chevroni, Reb Dov Wolowitz recalls driving Rav Aharon to a Moetzes meeting on the Lower East Side. It was not so easy to decide upon the move and the pleas of the local Jewish community in Kletzk for them to remain made the task more difficult. 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. He dedicated his life, night and day, to the building of Torah in America and by leadership of an organization called Chinuch Atzmai, Independent Torah Education, in Israel as well. He became a successful businessman also known for his Ethics from Sinai, a beloved commentary on Pirkei Avos. Rav Aharon Kotler, - The Early Years - The 5 Towns Jewish Times They named it Beth Medrash Govoha. In 1885 he was appointed rabbi of Maltch. Rav Noach himself was questioned as to his preference to which he responded softly that had he wanted to stay in Kletzk, he never would have come to Mir. (On one of Rav Aharons visits to Israel, a Yerushalmi Jew requested a brachah for his young son from Rav Aharon. He shared his reminiscences: Before Rav Aharon would say the shiur for the entire yeshivah, he would first go over the shiur with a few select talmidim. Under the direction of Rav Chaim Ozer and several of the leading roshei yeshivah of the 1920s, the Vaad HaYeshivos oversaw a fundraising and distribution apparatus that attempted to somewhat alleviate the burden sustained by each individual institution. Hashem gave you these abilities, he is the one who gave you the power to be successful. My first memories of my grandfather are from when we lived in Hartford, CT with my uncle Rav Yankev Katz [1]. There was also a family connection as Rav Isser Zalmans ancestors had previously been rabbanim of the town. Rav Aharon Kotler is the Rosh Hayeshivah there. He explained that he used to be a butcher in Minsk, and he took a kopek from every ruble he made and put it aside to support Torah learning. [3] By the time of his death in 1962, the yeshiva had grown to 250 students. On October 8, Rav Aharon traveled to Vilna to consult with Rav Chaim Ozer and other roshei yeshivah. Several months before the last Hungarian yeshivos were shuttered, following Pesach of 1943 Beth Medrash Govoha opened its doors in Lakewood with 14 students. True, his shiur consisted of cool logical analysis, but when he spoke, it was a fiery volcano.

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