rav aharon kotler's sister

For all of his intensive immersion in Torah study, including giving shiurim, and the burden of sustaining the yeshiva, especially after the Great Depression of 1929, Rav Aharon never lost sight. Irving Bunim funded the initial purchase with donations from his brother-in-law Isidor Farber as well as his friends Samuel Kaufman and David Shapiro. 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. Torah education is being built, dinner is served and the ever present Mishna Berura never leaves his hand. The Gerrer Rebbe, who was not used to being turned down, smiled and quipped, ah chassid vet er nisht zayn he will never be a chassid, at which Rav Aharon quickly instructed his grandson, Zog amen! 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. When he returned and found him gone, he hastened to Mir with the intention of bringing back his treasured student. The rav of Kletzk, Rav Chaim Shimon Herensohn, is on Rav Aharons immediate right. He is about 48 years, blue smiling eyes, small stature, powerful determination, and penetrating vision. And of course we have the regular expenses of feeding the yeshivah. He was followed there by the rosh yeshivah Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein and a few dozen loyal students. [4], In 1943, Kotler founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, with 15 students. Rav Shach remained in Kletzk through the early 1930s. Pacing up and down in the little room, he quickly supplied the answers. 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! If I knew how to type, I would do it myself for Rav Aharon! he told them. He continued as if he had never stopped. [8], Upon the death of his father-in-law, he inherited his father-in-law's position of rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim Yeshiva of Jerusalem. They were then instructed to wait for the Alter to return from Kelm where he had spent Yom Tov with his family. The lack of recruiters meant that few Americans came to Kletzk. When the Nazis enacted a law in Germany during the 1930s banning traditional shechitah, Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg of Berlin wrote to halachic decisors of the time to elicit their opinions on whether German Jewry could rely on a leniency to stun the animals prior to shechitah. 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. There was also a family connection as Rav Isser Zalmans ancestors had previously been rabbanim of the town. In the postwar period, Rav Aharon would be universally recognized as an Agudas Yisrael leader in the United States, and more surprisingly, even in Israel. To that end, pushkes were distributed to shuls and private homes, a publicity campaign was launched to encourage the public to donate in the local pushkes, and gabbaim were hired to oversee operations in each locality and empty the pushkes at regular intervals. As the Jewish Socialist party, the Bund, began to make inroads in the region, workers began to organize and demand better salaries and working conditions. Must leave Moscow within 24 hours. They came with a value of avodahtefillah. Jewish Action | A publication of the Orthodox Union That same thinking likely prompted Rav Aharons decision not to attend the famous Rabbis March on Washington in October 1943. Picking up the phone, I heard a voice say in Yiddish, This is Kotler. Sensing the detrimental effect a steady correspondence with his sister might have on his potential growth, the Alter initiated a dramatic step. Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz was present when Beth Medrash Govoahs financial director Rabbi Yaakov Weisberg informed Rav Aharon that the yeshivah hadnt paid salaries for five months and suppliers were threatening to stop deliveries. Reunited with his family and talmidim, Rav Aharon sought to move the yeshivah away from the bustle of Vilna and found refuge in the small town of Yanova, north of Kovno, in January 1940. [9] Along with Rabbi Eliezer Silver , Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz and others, he worked day and night, using both private and government channels to try and save lives. The faculty at Slutzk realized that the yeshivah would have to move away from Bolshevik sovereignty in order to continue operating, yet Rav Isser Zalman categorically refused to abandon his rabbinical responsibilities to his community. Hed clarify that his fundamental position hadnt changed; it was rather counterbalanced in individual cases when specific needs arose (such as financial straits, the military draft, etc.). He studied in the Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania under 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. Upon returning, they received a stark reminder as to why they had departed America in the first place the lack of a world class yeshivah faithful to European Torah values. A farewell party in Kletzk for Nochum Uzder (6th from left, bottom row). Kotler was born Aharon Pines[1][2] in visa, Russian Empire (historically Lithuania, now Belarus) in 1892. Rebbetzin Baila Hindas father was Reb Shraga Feivel Frank, a student and devoted supporter of Rav Yisroel Salanter. Today, his grandson, Rabbi Zevulun Schwartzman, heads a kollel located at Etz Chaim Yeshiva. In 1941 Rav Aharon Kotler arrived in America and expressed his desire to open a yeshivah based upon the structure and values of his yeshivah in Kletzk. Following a quick stop in Cincinnati, he arrived at Penn Station on April 21, 1941. These tempting ideologies threatened to ensnare many of the days finest young Torah minds. Torah discussions filled the air, ideas debated, sugyos clarified. Something like I would imagine the Chasam Sofer and Rav Akiva Eiger spoke. He was soon followed by several others, and the appeal was a success. The chassan is in the far left and is flanked by his grandfather Rav Leizer Yudel Finkel. 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. With the eventual formation of the War Refugee Board in January 1944, Rav Aharon and Irving Bunim were able to work with its head John Pehle on several rescue attempts. Rav Dachowitz whispered to Rav Aharon: You must understand what is going on here! It had the added bonus of a steady stream of Jewish vacationers who could potentially serve as a fundraising base. He still recalls a Shabbos visit to the yeshivah by some rabbis who were visiting Lakewood for a convention. Listen, said the man without the least bit of cynicism. Aharon Kotler (1891 - November 29, 1962) was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States, where he founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. 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. Somewhere on the towering dais sat a senior student of Rav Aharons from the early days of Beth Medrash Govoha. Cheder attendance began to dwindle, and in 1900a modern Hebrew school was opened. One of his childhood friends later reminisced in the towns Yizkor (memorial) book: I would visit the house of the rabbi as a friend of the delightful child Arke (today Rav Aharon Kotler). On June 15, 1940 only eight months after the Kletzk Yeshivah escaped to Vilna the Lithuanian government caved to a Soviet ultimatum and the Red Army entered the country. In fact, he seldom mentioned it altogether, never evoking the memory of his own yeshivah nor engaging in nostalgia of his decades at its helm. (When Rav Shach assumed a position at one of the Novardok branches and later at the Karlin yeshivah in Luninitz, his family remained in Kletzk. The Mir rosh yeshivah, Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, understood that if Rav Aharon was exerting such energy to retrieve Rav Noach, then he must be worth keeping, and so argued that he already belonged to Mir. In Lakewood, Torah iz di beste sechoirah is not a lullaby to put a child to sleep. Just weeks after Rav Aharons arrival in Americaon Erev Pesach of 1941, the Nazis invaded Soviet-occupied Lithuania andbrought an end to the golden age of Torah study in Eastern Europe. Rav Isser Zalman then closeted himself in a room with the Chofetz Chaim to discuss the matter. Among the younger group, there were three younger bochurim [known to be exceptional], they were almost yingerlach (children): The Vishker Illui, Hershke Semiatytcher, and last but not least Arke Sislovitcher. Rav Mordechai Elefant is to his left. [He presented] complicated mathematical problems that would be hard for a licensed engineer to solve, and the Sislovitzer resolved them in no time. That was Rav Aharon, says Rav Kalman. The Eibishter says, Smach Zevulun btzeisecha Zevulun, when you will leave the world, you will be given this simchah that you missed in This World because you supported Torah. Once the boy arrived, it was Rav Aharon who caused the transformation, | Torchbearer: Rav Aharon Kotler Supplement |, Rav Aharon Kotler inspired a Torah revolution on three continents but thats just part of the story. 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. A third group of older bochurim went to Duksht. By MIRIAM GOTTLIEB Change, especially drastic change . Rav Aharon refused to enter until Rav Boruch Ber went first. Rav Schorrs student, Rabbi Nosson Scherman, related that Rav Schorrs parents had provided the young couple with mattresses for their stay in Kletzk. Rav Aharon in conversation with Rav Elchonon Wasserman and Rav Moshe Blau at the 3rd Knessiah Gedolah in Marienbad in 1937. Following the call of their leaders: When Vaad activist Herman Hollander (not pictured) and his wife Grace learned that there was a possibility that Jewish lives could be ransomed from the Nazis, with a sense of alacrity, they sold their hard-earned, newly acquired Brooklyn home, with the proceeds benefiting the life-saving work of the Vaad Hatzalah. When he arrived in the United States in April of 1941, while the fire of Nazism was raging in Europe, he addressed an audience, For myself, I wouldnt have come. Rav Aharons opposition led to an abandonment of the project. 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. Rav Aharon Kotler, - The Early Years - The 5 Towns Jewish Times As he gazed out from his place of honor, he could not help but notice that the endless sea of roshei yeshivah, roshei chaburah and rabbanim sitting alongside him easily outnumbered the entire sum of the postwar Olam HaTorah. The creation of a farm settlement project, where the time of these men could be divided between tilling the soil and the continuation of their studies, would be a step forward in giving them a certain degree of independence and security. When Rav Aharon would take a flight, the rebbetzin would fast until she was assured that he had arrived at his destination. Following Rav Reuven Grozovskys incapacitation in 1952, Rav Aharon assumed the role of chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudath Yisrael of America. Reb Aharon founded a yeshivah in Lakewood, New Jersey. Thank you. His yeshivah had already escaped the Soviets 18 years earlier from Slutzk, crossing the border illegally into Poland. 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. Connect to the World Family Tree to find out, Yosef Chaim Shneur Zalman Kotler, Sarah Schwartzman (born Kotler), , ( ), Rav Yosef Chaim Shneur Ry Bmg-lakewood Chaim Shnior Kotler, Sarah Pesha Schwartzman ( Kotler), Yosef Chaim Shneur Zalman Kotler, Sarah Pesha Schwartzman ( Kotler), Slutsk, Slutsk District, Minsk Region, Belarus, Klezk, Kletsk District, Minskaja Woblasz, Belarus, Jerusalem, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem District), Israel, Rabbis and Students of Slutzk Yeshiva - Etz Chaim, Revered Rabbis, Kabbalists, Sages, Torah Scholars and Luminaries of Renown, Rabbi Shneur Zalman Pines-Kotler, ABD Sislowitz. As time went on, however, and the security situation in Poland necessitated emigration, Rav Aharon often penned letters requesting certificates to Palestine on behalf of talmidim who requested his assistance. 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. Fearful of these. Rav Aharon's sister, Malka, also in Minsk, traveled in different circles in Minsk than her uncle, the dayan. He therefore has a tremendous obligation. (The religious populace was predominantly non-chassidic, so much so that tradition had it included among what were said to be four exclusively misnagdic towns in the region, nicknamed Karpas: Kossovo, Ruzhinai, Pruzhan and Slutzk. In From Kletzk to Siberia, Rabbi Alter Pekier writes: On Erev Shabbos, November 8, 1940 the yeshivahs faithful secretary Reb Berel Starobin was typing Rav Aharons chiddushim when agents of the NKVD burst in and began conducting a search. My Blog rav aharon kotler's sister 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. Such was the incredible balancing act of Rav Aharons leadership of his people in so many ways., Rav Michel Shurkin describes with amazement how the gaon of the generation would fundraise nonstop, and work around the clock, all so that a Sephardic child in Dimona should learn some Torah. It was after the treaty was signed between the Bolsheviks and the Poles, placing Slutzk under Soviet control. Rabbi Aaron Kotler | kevarim.com He was excitable. And since he has the ability, he must persevere! A secret clause of the agreement was the division of Poland. In summarizing the shmuessen, Rav Nosson Wachtfogel once remarked, The rosh yeshivah had just one shmuess the requirement to study Torah, the need to accept upon oneself the yoke of Torah., In eulogizing Rav Aharon, Rav Moshe Sherer utilized the Gemaras description of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel at the Simchas Beis Hashoeivah celebrations in the Bais Hamikdash. In advance of his arrival, The Morgen Journal profiled the Kletzker rosh yeshivah: Rav Aharon was already known in his youthful years in Slabodka as the Sislovitzer Illui. 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. 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. This man has a butler who works until then, but after eight hell open the door himself, and hopefully once he sees us, hell let us in!, Once Rav Aharon concluded a rather unsuccessful day of fundraising by telling his driver Velvel Pearl with a half-smile, Dont tell anyone how little money was raised; no one will want to become a rosh yeshivah.. The other side of the coin is the financial struggle, which is MAR bitter.. Rav Aharons immediate placement in the yeshivah proper awarded him unique status. When they felt themselves beginning to suffocate, one of them told Rav Aharon they couldnt remain any longer. In a letter to the Brisker Rav, he describes Mr. Wolfson in glowing terms, and in one addressed to Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, he uses the biblical term Lemichyah shelacho Hashem sent him as the sustainer. He finishes by writing, His suggestions seemed farfetched in my eyes, but I did not ignore them because I know that the perpetuation of the Torah depends on miracles, and his plans came to complete fruition.. Eternal Child of the Yeshiva - Mishpacha Magazine I am old and weaker, and I apologize that I cannot come visit you personally. The Torah world watched as its emerging leader proceeded to build one of the greatest yeshivos of the era. I could not break out of what sounded to me like a harangue against secular study. Yekusiel, sing.. [citation needed], Following his arrival in the United States, he joined the presidium of the Vaad Hatzalah, working feverishly to save Rabbis and Yeshiva students who were trapped in Europe. The departure of Rav Bishko soon after the yeshivah opened compounded the financial strain. Rav Aharon suggested three candidates to lead the institution Rav Yitzchok Hutner, who was then employed in a non-leadership position in Chaim Berlin; Rav Yechezkel Burstyn, rosh yeshivah of Ohr Yisroel in Slabodka and author of Divrei Yechezkel; and his own brother-in-law Rav Yitzchak Meir Patchiner (Ben-Menachem), then a talmid in Slabodka-Chevron. One by one, both men and women came forward with donations: money, bracelets, rings, silver pieces, gold pieces just as during the building of the Mishkan, they offered whatever they had, and they didnt stop there. Many young orphans found themselves in Aix-Les-Bains after the war, and Rav Leibel realized that if he didnt act quickly, he would lose these drifting young Jews to the various secular refugee aid groups. The nucleus of the venture included Rav Mordechai Yoffe, Rav Hershel Genauer, Rav Shmuel Shechter, Rav Nosson Wachtfogel, Rav Yitzchok Hoffman, Rav Zeidel Leshinsky, Rav Osher Katz, Rav Simcha Zissel Levovitz, Rav Shachne Zohn, Rav Pesach Cohen, Rav Yisroel Bergstein, Rav Menachem Moore, Rav Hirsch Kaplan, Rav Dovid Hershowitz and others. He didnt have to think over what he was saying, and what he wanted to say now. The name Pines was derived from the words, al pines by a miracle, marking a miraculous salvation that took place generations prior. John Pehle, Hon. This cousin joined a group that was leaving for Israel with the Jewish Agency, and was r"l lost to Yiddishkeit." He then related the following story. After the war, he walked to Bratislava with an older cousin. But Rav Aharons vision has prevailed. Vilna and its surroundings would be returned to Lithuania which was neutral during the hostilities and in return the Soviets would be allowed to establish military bases on Lithuanian territory. Nosson Tzvi Finkel, and Moshe Mordechai Epstein. Oftentimes it wasnt limited to mere abandonment of religion; it was openly hostile toward mitzvah observance. During his trip to Europe, Rav Isser Zalman visited the Chofetz Chaim in Radin. Fourteen-year-old Rav Aharon, however, noticed something amiss. They assumed diverse leadership roles in the wider Jewish community, and were inspired by his palpable sense of urgency to act for the benefit of their nation. But what can I do? Little is known about the time Rav Aharon spent at Knesses Beis Yitzchak, but the presence of the young student caused a stir in Slabodka, so much so that a plan was eventually put into motion to try and bring him to the Alters yeshivah, Knesses Yisrael. After a short while, he informed them that the yeshivah was likely too crowded for the upcoming zeman. Rav Aharon's sister, Malka, also in Minsk, traveled in different circles in Minsk than her uncle, the dayan. The Vaad worked together with the JDC, in an often-rocky relationship, to provide the bedraggled survivors with kosher food, religious articles, and religious education until they could relocate to established Jewish communities. In 1938 the journalist Hirsch Movshowitz (under the pseudonym M. Gertz) shared memories of his time in Slabodka in the Riga-based Yiddish newspaper Haynt in an article entitled: The Once-in-a Generation Gaon, HaRav Aharon Kotler, excerpted below: Thirty-two years ago, when I came to Yeshivas Slabodka, Knesses Yisrael had a number of bochurim that were renowned giants in Torah. Along with another young activist named Moshe Berger, the duo spent the entire night drafting a new dossier, after which Mike got on a 5:00 a.m. train to Washington and managed to find a sympathetic State Department official to send an authorization letter to the US Embassy in Moscow. The following day the two were called in to the rosh yeshivah, Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein, for their entrance exam. The activities of the Vaad did not cease with the end of the war, because there were still Jews in Europe who desperately needed help. During the week he resided in an apartment on 47th Street and 15th Avenue in Boro Park, his center of operations managing, leading, setting policy and fundraising in his capacities as the head of Agudas Yisrael, Chinuch Atzmai, Torah Umesorah, and other communal organizations. Dividing into three factions, the largest went to Salock in northern Lithuania, together with Rav Aharon himself. I cannot even describe the bitterness and pain we felt upon my departure. A Plague on Their House? - Mishpacha Magazine At an emergency fundraising meeting, he put it in approximately these words: I dont want you to misunderstand me; I dont want to mislead you. America. 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. Aharon Kotler - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia Rav Aharon Kotler would call him every Rosh Chodesh. In addition to the respect that Rav Aharon garnered as a rosh yeshivah and Torah leader, he was also occasionally asked to opine on halachic issues. Life in Israel: The Frum Version Of The Kennedy Curse - Blogger

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