Dear Mum - 4

Or Leyom Vav Nitzovim-Vayelech – 4 September '53

Dear Parents Amv"sh

This must be about the sixth letter I have written since my arrival. I hope you do not expect me to continue at this rate. It is only in the first few weeks that one has so much to write. At the present moment I am not thinking of changing to another Yeshivah. Since my arrival I have seen many and spoken to several people. The fact remains that a Yeshivah with every maaleh does not exist. The Chazon Ish said there was no reason why I should not learn here and even the Gerer Rebbe did not raise any objections. He has in fact several Chasidim with the full attachments learning here. The food, though different here from England, is quite reasonable. At the moment I am managing without the milk since it contains avkas cholev [milk powder] as the Chazon Ish is only matir in case of illness L"O.. ... In the Mir [Yeshivah], as I had previously heard, the crowd is more heimish but as they are mostly married the attendance 　is poor and there is difficulty in obtaining a chaver. Here I have made provisional arrangements to learn Zevochim with a good bochur next zman. Yesterday I went to see the Tchebiner Rov [R' DovBerish Weidenfeld]. He asked me where I came from and my name. When I said Manchester and Reich he immediately asked me if my name was Elozor! It is either Ruach Hakodesh or another possibility I can think of. I asked him a few shaalos all of which he answered immediately. He then asked me if I knew a few of his Talmidim, e.g. R' Avrohom Rand [my Rebbe in Staines Yeshivah], and abruptly wished me KV"T, which doubtlessly meant that the interview was at an end.



The Yeshivah here has an exceptionally large library which is only open a few hours a day and quite a few people come in to use it. Amongst them is one regular whom if I had not seen and heard myself I could never have believed. He is not a big Lamdan but is reputed to be the biggest Boki in all of Eretz Yisroel, in fact in the world. Without the slightest trace of guzma, I have seen it myself. You can ask him how many machlokes R' Yochanan and Resh Lokish there are in Yerushalmi Maasros and he will give you the answer without the slightest hesitation. The same applies to all Bavli and Yerushalmi, all the Rishonim and all the popular Achronim such as the Nosay Kelim of the Shulchan Aruch and the Nesivos, Ktzos, Tumim, Minchas Chinuch, Or Someach etc. For fun I asked him to tell me all the Machlokes of the Tshuvos Chemdas Shlomo and R’ Akiva Eger. I had to listen for a quarter of an hour whilst he reckoned them out. This is not an exaggeration; it is unbelievable until one sees it. As he does nothing but learn and has no official position he is a pauper. Such Yieden one meets in Yerusholayim!




The weather here is bothering me far less than I expected. As long as one does not walk about in the heat it is quite comfortable. The Beis Hamedrash is large, high and airy, in fact far more suitable for learning than its Gateshead counterpart. How pleasant it is always to see blue skies while at night there is such a clear heaven and bright stars. On Shabbos here it is so pleasing to see in the Meah Shearim district (which is near the Yeshivah) all the children with Shtraamlech and long peyos. The town really is far quieter with only taxis and a few private cars. Some districts are chained off to ensure no vehicular traffic passes through and in the others when a car does go through the children and a lot of people shout Shabbos! Shabbos! It was for such an offense that R’Amram Blau (the uncle of the one who was in Manchester), who is one of the leaders of the Neturai Karta, was imprisoned for three months. He refused to sign a good conduct promise. The Chazon Ish went to visit him in jail and was only admitted the second time. All this was proclaimed on the posters which are plastered here every few days. There is a poster issued by the Government headed "The truth about military service for women" (in Ivrit) set out in question and answer form. The Edah Hacharedis answered with a similar poster with the same questions, but different answers. Well I must finish now........

Binchem Elozor

יארצייט פיקטשערס

At the wedding of Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky of the Chotiner shul in the Bronx, 1961: [RYYT married the daughter of the Kopycznycer Rebbe, Reb Avrohom Yeshua Heschel, zt"l. ] (L-R) The Bluzhever Rebbe, Reb Yisroel Spira; The Boyaner Rebbe, Reb Mordche Shlome Friedman; The chosson, Rav Aron Kotler, Rosh Yeshivas "Eitz Chaim" in Kleck and BMG in Lakewood. RYYT was the son of the Azarnitz-Chotiner Rebbe, Reb Mordche Yisroel Twerski HYD, and led the Chotiner Congregation in the Bronx until his passing in 1991. He may have been a talmid at BMG, I do not know, which would explain RAK's presence at the wedding, or maybe it was his relationship with the KR that brought him there. The Boyaner Rebbe was a cousin to the Kopycznycer, and later his mechutan, when his son Reb Zushe's daughter married the Boyaner's grandson, Nochum Dov Breier, the present Boyaner Rebbe in Yerushalayim. The Bluzhever Rebbe was a fellow member of the MGT of the AI. Behind them with the black beard is the Boyaner Rebbe's gabbai, Katz.



The second photo finds the two again at a chupah, with an unidentified third gentleman at the KR's right. [ aderaba, if you know who it is let us know, as well as who any of the others in the photo may be.] RAK, with his fist clenched and sefer in hand, seems engrossed in a sugya, as he surely was. Click on the photos for amazing detail and clarity. You feel like you're right there with the Gedolim, watching them as they walk down the aisle. Today is Reb Aron's Sislovitcher's yohrtzeit, and to show you fellas how impartial and open-minded I broke the bank and posted these pictures, so that my YESHIVISHE brethren can have a little geshmak too. Other sites give you nothing but watermarked tiny rehashed pictures, we give you quality, large and clear pictures that let you be mekayem והיו עיניך to the fullest and beHidur. That's right, kids, your man Hirshel Tzig is always on the lookout for you, helping you do what's right and just, and always with a smile and free of charge. Don't you ever forget that, even when you think you see me being disrespectful to certain luminaries, it's all a figment of your imagination.



Exhibit 3 was sent to us by a good friend of the blog. What we have here is a Datshe somehwere in di Lita, maybe Druskenik, where bachurim, Roshei Yeshiva and Baalei batim mixed freely and basked in the glory of the great men of their day. Today the hierarchy is afraid that the hameyn am will see that they're human, so they're whisked away to far-away Switzerland or Florida, and are kept away from the oylem. Then they had nothing to hide. Here the Klecker Rosh Yeshive is talking to among others his cousin from Vaboylnik, [who has his back to the camera] who married his cousin, the niece of Reb Isser Zalman Meltzer. Lebben zei shteyen Bnei HaYeshiva, eppes a BaaliBos mit a kurtze sirtuk un a heyche yarmulke, and also what looks to be a local goy (left) with the mustache next to RLS. They may have taken a break from learning and are about to head back into town. Maybe the goy is a Baalegoleh who's negotiating a fair price. I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the break I took from the heavy, political writing you've had from me these last few weeks. I'd love to hear your opinions on the pictures.

Jewish Week quotes the Tzig - aka Tzig speaks for Orthodox Blogs

See Here

"On the blogosphere, many fervently Orthodox Jews were rallying to Rubashkin’s defense — and criticizing Jewish organizations for not doing more to help him. Herschel Tzig, a blogger who describes his “Circus Tent” site’s purpose as providing “a counter opinion to the Chabad bashing that is so prevalent in the blogosphere,” posted a critique of the Orthodox Union for not coming to Rubashkin’s aid, although he did not state what the organizations should have done.
“The idea that bank fraud can put a man away for possibly the rest of his life while mass murders (their spelling mistake - not mine) — think 9/11 detainees — may walk free and have Government appointed lawyers and advocacy groups, speaks volumes about the situation in these United States today,” he wrote, adding “WHERE WAS THE ORTHODOX UNION IN ALL OF THIS? WHY WERE THEY NOWHERE TO BE FOUND? Why was it OK for them to profit from Rubashkin all this time, despite pressure from the [Modern Orthodox]/Conservadox community to remove the Hekhsher — yet not have one nice word to say about him when he needed it most?!”

Notes to Ms. Weiner:

1) I DID mention what they could've done. I asked that they come and testify on his behalf, just like the KAJ did. That isn't too much to ask, now is it? Mass murderers have character witnesses come and testify on their behalf, so why not Sholom?

2) My name is Hirshel, not Herschel.

It's times like these that you realize that reporters are not just human beings who make mistakes, but the air of professionalism that they purport to sport is a bunch of hooey, and that their stories are peppered with personal opinions masquerading as news and fact

Smile!

Browsing some of the galleries of the kinus Hashluchim gala banquet I saw many familiar, unexciting faces, but some of them jumped off the page! Like the two here. The first one is Rabbi Yankel Bleich, Chief Rabbi of Kiev and the Ukraine, who was a guest of his brother Moishe, seated next to him, as was the case last year. Moishe is my landsman, and maybe yours too if you grew up in Boro Park, and is today what you'd call a successful shliach himself in the feminist utopia of Wellesley, Massachusetts. Not exactly where his Stoliner principal expected him to be now, but nice, nevertheless. I think this cooperation - where Lubavitch brings people from the outside, and not just financial backers ("layleaders") - is a big step in the right direction, where all groups respect and work with each other. The 3rd man in the picture is R' Levi Gorelik, son of Reb Gershon Mendel of Milan. RLG is a son-in-law of the Rebbe's mazkir Reb Binyomin Klein, and is a top mashgiach for the OK and a known lecturer in Crown Heights and abroad. ( I hear now that he's no longer associated with the OK, and that he's involved with the RCE/Merkaz Rabbonei Europa I'm not sure if the three know each other or were just placed at the same table.


R Yankel Bleich

The next picture is what really surprised me, especially since the all-important Agudah convention is only a week away, when Reb Abish Brodt, pictured here on the left, is the feature entertainer, bringing Reb Chaim Dovid, Esq., into a frenzy on Motzoei Shabbos at Melava Malka. With him are (L-R) Meir Eichler of Eichler's in Flatbush, Lipa Brennan, who organizes the kinus but is the Administrator at Yeshivas Novominsk and the NR's right hand man, and Yerachmiel Benjaminson, Chief knakker at Tzivos Hashem and the Jewish Children's Museum. I would imagine that AB was the guest of either ME or LB, but I'm not sure where YB comes in here. Maybe he too was just a tablemate here. Why either one of them chose AB as their guest is not something I know; maybe one of you can enlighten us. I would think that he - being a staunch supporter of the Agudah and BMG - would not be very fond of Lubavitch, but I could be very wrong. Maybe the times they are a'changin' after all; maybe this is the dawn of a new era of mutual respect and cooperation after all, and maybe Meir Eichler will be prominently displayed in the picture galleries of this year's convention on Thanksgiving Weekend!


Abish Brodt

Dear Mum - 3 (great stuff!)

[More zaftige letters from Elozor Reich home to Manchester. The words that are crossed out obviously never made it into the Jewish Tribune... I left in the lines just so you should see what never made it to press.]

Yom Sheni Leseder Nitzovim-Vayelech, Yeshivas Chevron, Yerusholayim – 31st August 1953

Dear Parents

Even though I have not yet got a permanent place here in the Yeshivah, as accommodation is very short, I have nevertheless got a bit used to the place and have started to learn. This is far more difficult than at the start of a normal Yeshiva Zman as there are so many things to get used to. Firstly, the food and then the people. It is true that a great proportion of the bochurim are of a modern type here, but that matters far less than I expected. The reason is that it is not like Gateshead or in Staines [Yeshivos where I had previously learned] where each bochur was on the best of terms with each other. Here the Yeshivah tends to segregate several groups who, though amongst themselves are very friendly, have very little to do with the others. Most of the bochurim here have never even spoken to half the Yeshivah. There is an olam of Chassidishe who tend to keep together. I shall IY"H write more about it when I have been here longer.

On Friday night I went to the Gerer Tish which is not far from here. It was an interesting experience. Both before and after the Tish the Rebbe marches up and down and across the room. Even though it is densely crowded a path is formed and he looks who is there and every now and then says something to one of his Chassidim. As I had already been to see him he recognized me and shouted "Ver hot dich du aher geshlept". After the Tish I went together with [R' Mordechai Yosef] Kamionka and a few others to his house. He served us with tea and talked to us for about one and a half hours. He was very interested to hear about you and all Manchester, especially his Chasidim there. He told us some Torah and a story about a bochur from Chevron who thought of a Torah to a Schverer Rambam in a cinema and had the Mesiras Nefesh to go out and check it up. He is very interested in British politics and is not lacking in general knowledge. He also gave me a few thumps and smacks and pulled my hat off to see if I had a chupik, but I am told that this is nothing extraordinary. It gets dark here at quarter to eight, and at six on Shabbos afternoon I went to Belz. This is on the other side of Yerusholayim and takes three quarters of an hour to walk. I arrived a quarter hour before Kiddush and as I was a visitor and brought the Gabbai regards from his brother in Manchester I was allotted a good place. The Rebbe, who looks very weak and can hardly see, is carried in on a chair. He is covered with an enormous coat and never looks up, so it it difficult to get a proper glimpse of him. But the hispaalus of being so near to such a Tzaddik is tremendous. The Tish here is quite quite different from Ger. There is a complete lack of ceremony. There is a Moitze then Shirayim, fish, Shirayim, soup ditto, and so on. After every now and then the Rebbe is carried [out] and there is a pause which lasts from five minutes to a few hours. Fortunately, the ones when I was there were nearer the former.



After the Moitze it was beginning to get dark so they davened Mincha and then there was a pause before the fish. With several pauses it was about 9 (well after dark) when the first Seudah was finished. I had intended staying for Seudah Shlishis which was due to start any time and finish about midnight and would then have had a small chance to go in to see the Rebbe, but the pushing which was incessant had tired me and I took the bus back. Next time I intended taking the bus after Shabbos and arriving for Seudah Shlishis. I must say that even though I found he Gerer tish more interesting and lebedik (in Belz they just daven the Zemiros, and you know how they daven in Belz). Nevertheless the Belzer Tish was for me more impressive. I have met many people who I know from England here including Luria, Yochanan Twersky, Steinhaus, who sends regards to Duvy, and various Meshulochim. Last week there was strike in Ponovez Yeshiva on account of the food. The bochurim won and the position there regarding food is now satisfactory. I intend going to Bnei Brak tomorrow to see the Chazon Ish with a certain friend of mine and I intend on visiting the Yeshivos there at the same time.

I have just received your first letter. A letter from home now has now a far greater Chashivus from such a distance. I have digested the contents. I do not intend to do any sightseeing (except for visits to various eminent Jews on the Sabbath) until Bein Hazmanim. Please write all letters now to Chevron Yeshivah, where I am staying now. I have been to the Roshei Yeshivos to say Torah and they seem satisfied. I see myself that a Chassidishe Yeshivah is impossible due to previous objections. Today I heard a Mussar Shmues from the Mirrer Mashgiach [R' Yechezkel Levenstein] who is one of the Tzadikei Hador. Every chosid here admits to that. Afterward I had a talk to him. He is such a nice person. He knew all about my coming to EY and invited me to learn in Mir. If there is anywhere else where I go to learn in Yerusholayim it will be there. The davening there is a mechaye. But the trouble is that the attendance there is very poor. In the evening the Beis Hamedrash is nearly empty and it is very difficult to find a Chaver there.

Elozor

O [where are] U?

The News about Rubashkin obviously hit very hard. Just a bit harder in Lubavitch than elsewhere. That's not to say that most other Jews weren't shocked and pained by it. Although the mah yofis'nikkes were having a party... The idea that bank fraud can put a man away for possibly the rest of his life while mass murderers - think 9-11 detainees - may walk free and have Government appointed lawyers and advocacy groups, speaks volumes about the situation in these United States today - as far as frum Jews are concerned. Even some people who I thought had a gefiel for another Yid shocked me with recent comments, where they all of a sudden have a new respect in the "law." They see no problem with the fact that he may never see his kids again outside the prison walls.The only limud zechus you can have on such people is that their own lives are so miserable that they look desperately to kick the proverbial horse while down, no matter who he is and how long he must suffer.

To their credit - despite having terminated their relationship some years ago - the KAJ's Rav HaMachshir (and Rov of the Gerrer shtiebel in Flatbush) Rav Chaim Cohen did come and testify last week on behalf of Sholem Mordche. The big chachomim here will immediately respond with "a lot of good it did him," but that's totally beside the point. The point is showing solidarity. Your concern is not to make cheshbones of how much good it'll do. Kudos to Reb Chaim for that. We can ask where Rav Weissmandl was, and that would be a valid question, but we can agree that he's basically small potatoes, doesn't speak the language very well, and would not be a great help. But the big question is WHERE WAS THE ORTHODOX UNION IN ALL OF THIS? WHY WERE THEY NOWHERE TO BE FOUND? Why was it OK for them to profit from Rubashkin all this time - despite pressure from the MO/Conservadox community to remove the Hekhsher - yet not have one nice word to say about him when he needed it most?!

In order to beat you all to the punch I'll come out now and say that Lubavitch's voice could be much louder. Somebody mentioned that at the Kinus tonight there could've been more than just a quick shout-out before bentshen, especially since shluchim were do often beneficiaries of his kindness. I can see where you don't want to bring a sad story like this into your shining moment, but still. He's one of "yours" and is about to be the recipient of some major jail time G-d forbid, if you won't stick your neck out when it's uncomfortable, why would you expect groups that are prejudiced towards him to go beyond the zero that they've done until now?! Other so-called advocacy groups who say that they work so hard for you - (kri Agudas Yisroel) - are also deathly silent. I guess they can't see past the Lubavitch thing with him. Unless it's all behind the scenes with them, not wanting the publicity of course... Throw VIN into that mix too; he made sure to print the letter from the Hekhsher Tzedek buffoon as soon as he could put it together, almost as if he was working for VIN... He'll get his viewers any way he can, all under the supervision of the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation and Rabbeinu Artscroll, the purveyors of true Daas Teyreh...

Just when we thought that Jews were coming around, that they finally realized what's important for us as a nation, reality hits. You see the archaic opinions, the petty infighting, and very often they come from the enlightened ones, the "dina demalchusa" crowd, the same ones that thought Casper Weinberger was the reincarnation of Hitler when he locked up Pollard all of a sudden have full faith in Sioux Falls' most loyal civic servants. What does this tell us about our future generations, about the upcoming crop of "leaders?" It's times like these that you realize that this is not what the eibishter wants, that you're not fighting daas teyreh c"v when you speak up about these issues, but rather, you're fighting G-d's fight, you're the little guy speaking up for the big guy in the sky himself. That's what separates me from the heretics in the blogosphere, despite the fact that we often go after the same cast of characters. The heretics go after the "leaders" because they see them as part of what G-d wants, with me and some others it's the opposite. We see them as impostors, having no relation to G-d or his commandments, and we want them to stop claiming to represent the Torah way of life.

Watch the Kinus Hashluchim banquet Live!

UPDATE Tuesday: Video player removed. It seems like some of the older browsers were having trouble loading the blog due to the video player here.

Credit: Chabad.org

Elefant in the room... (sorry about that)

Photo by HeyU, beChadrei Charedim

ITRI. It's not as flashy a name as Ponovezh, Slabodka or Mir, but most of you know it, have at least heard of it, or may even have learned there or know someone who did. It seems like ITRI is not what it used to be anymore, Machlokes has ripped that place asunder, and a very small group of boys learn there now. Last week the Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Mordche Elefant, passed away, dealing another blow to the Institute. let me preface all this by saying that I know very little about him and the Yeshiva. The observations I'm making are based on what I've seen on forums and what I heard from people this week.


Here's what I heard from some very proud Litvaks(in italics, my comments are in normal scripts)

1) He had the Brisker Rov's (yesh lomar Reb Chaim's) kesovim and boasted about it to everybody that would listen. That means that the Rov never actually gave it to him, he got his hands on it somehow. Sounds to me like a Chassidishe Geneiveh. If he publicized them and let the world learn from it, then Tovoy olov brochoh. Why should the Solovejczyks just hold onto it like it's the most precious thing in the world, and that only they're allowed to see it or learn from it? Many of the kesovim in Chabad today are only available because of Chassidishe Geneivos - geneivos of chassidishe kesovim & chafeytzim. I never understood why one had to shlep to Bene Beraq and knock on the door, begging to buy a set of Kehillas Yaakov. What about bittul Teyreh? what about Kovid haTeyreh of Benei Teyreh? It must've been the chassidisher opshtam; "never trust a gevorener," they always say... Who do they think they are, bringing in all their chassidishe shtick into our communities? The beards and the peyos and the getting married early, and all the other chumros?! This isn't Hornosteipel, ya hear? we did things differently back in the old country!

2) He was the only one who wouldn't walk out backwards when leaving RYH's presence. This was mentioned on another blog without mentioning RYH, for some reason. I think he has some kind of beef with Chaim Berlin and its personnel. Here is another case of copying everything he saw happening in Lubavitch. Why the need to follow others if he was so original? We may never know the answer. RME said that he didn't do it for RAK, so he won't do it for RYH, which is cute, using RAK to belittle RYH. At least for me, it is. Take one look at the picture and you see that even when confined to a wheelchair he took nothing from nobody. You might say he was the last of the independent Litvaks; he did what he wanted to and marched to his own beat. The glasses, the scarf, the velvet on the collar and the cigarette remind you of a bygone era, when bosses ruled the big cities.


L-R: IM Bunim RAK, RME, Reb Aron Cohen of Chevron, RYH, (standing) (L-R) Nochem Herman, ?, Reb Leib Malin, Reb Meir Elefant. (Zaydie Herman was in Israel already.)

3) Zaydie Herman didn't like him at all. RME was a son-in-law of Nochum Dovid, brother to Racoma and Bessie Herman. The only frum people in the Lower East Side, they would have you believe. At least that's the way the book makes it sound. So Zaydie was very frum, so much so that he made life for his poor kids absolutely miserable, and he didn't like what he saw in young ME, no matter what kind of gutte kop he had. You might say s'hut em nit dershmekt. He had a good nose, the old Litvak. I'm not sure what it was he didn't like; maybe he was a little too smooth for him. Not that RPS was any less smooth looking back in the day, but it's hard to tell just from pictures. Why, even Reb Leib looks like a Flatbush Baal HaBuss in the picture, and we all know he wasn't one. Which is interesting, because in America most of the old Europeans changed their Levushim to a more respected hat and frock. But maybe this was still before Reb Leib got married. Maybe one of you can help me out here. The wedding picture was in 1951, was he married yet?

Reb Mordche was seemingly unique in our days that he never got the memo that all Litvishe Gedolim were also Kedoshim Merechem Imom. We know that chassidim believed this to be the case, but in the Olam Hayeshivos diLita this was never the case. So if you came to RME and told him where you're learning or where you learned in the past, he would let go with all the Loshen HoRah he knew about the Rosh Yeshivos. While a mature young man can maybe handle that expose on his Rosh Yeshiva, a 17-year old may find his world caving in after spending some time with him... My customary obligatory double-standard cry would be that he was best buddies with all kinds of irreligious politicians and members of the Israeli elite, but with him it was OK. Not only was it OK, but it was cute and cool. Yet the Rebbe got attacked by the very same zealots for accepting SHaZaR and other such politicians and for giving Hakofes to anti-dati Israeli politicians and such. Reb Mordche nebach had no children and probably died a broken man, seeing how his empire had crumbled these last few years.

zol er hobben a lichtigen gan eden.

Dear Mum - 2 (part 3)

Erev Shabbos Kodesh Ki Sovo – 28th August 1953

Dear Parents Amv"s

It is now exactly three days since I arrived in Eretz Hakodesh, but it seems much longer. There is so much to write – impressions, people I have seen, events – that I do not know where to start. Well, I think the first thing is the wonderful, thrilling feeling of being in Yerusholayim. To think that in these very streets walked the Acharonim, Rishonim, Amoroim, Tano’im, Anshei Knesses Hagedolah and even the Nevi’im and saw the same deep blue clear sky and the same rocky fields, is alone enough to make it seem worthwhile. But first I shall confine myself to the continuation of my previous letter. I arrived in the Yeshivah here on Tuesday afternoon and saw several friends including [Rav] Eli Sternbuch [now Rosh Beis Din in Antwerp], who have helped me a lot. There is a great shortage of rooms in the Yeshivah but they have many nearby, and I may have to sleep in one of those. Meanwhile, nothing is settled and I just have a temporary vacant bed. Chevron is just as I imagined it, no better and no worse. Whether I shall be satisfied here it is far to early to judge, but I shall certainly be satisfied that I came. The food is alright, except that it is quite bewildering to get used to being Mafrish Trumos and Maasros, worrying about Shemittoh and Orloh, which are both extensive problems here. But I shall write more about the Yeshivah later.

The afternoon when I arrived there was a massive demonstration against Giyos Bonos as that was the day of the final reading [of the Knesset Act] when it was passed. I did not realize how deeply it affects the people here until I saw a crowd of several thousand people saying Tehillim. In the evening I went round to Meah Shearim, which is near the Yeshivah. Full description later. On Wednesday I went to see S. [Rebbetzen Yaakov Arieli, ne Sternbuch] and her husband – a charming young man. ..... On Wednesday evening I went into the Gerer Rebbe [R' Yisroel] to say Shulem. There was a queue and I had to wait three quarters of an hour to get in. However, it was well worth it. I had a talk with him for twenty minutes in which he cross examined me about everything. How am I related to the Rottenbergs, the Sternbuchs? Who wears sheitels [in Manchester]? All details about my journey, cost, route, etc. Every now and then he gives a shout "Ich Her Nisht" and altogether shouts a lot at one, but I was forewarned about that. He also said in English, "Do you spik English?" and was interested in the rate of exchange I got and a lot more. He then gave me a brochoh after the exhaustive and exhausting inquiry. Thursday evening I went to Feter Yossel’s [Reb Yosef Halpern – a Manchester-based uncle] sister’s house and also met their father [ R' Shmuel Halpern – the first Moro D’asro of Zichron Meir] who is staying there at the moment. ... Of course they are very interested in the news from England. I also heard on the radio there is a recording of the Knesset debate about Giyus Bonos. Now that it has become law a Shul in Meah Shearim said Kinos last night with all the Tisha B’Av accessories.

It is now late for Shabbos.........

Elozor

אמר הציג: Notice how not many in Manchester wore sheitlach back in the day; we can see from the question that not many did. The same could be said for London outside Stamford Hill - that means you guys in Golders Green - or anywhere outside of New York for that matter. Ask your parents or grandparents if they lived out of town in the 50s or 60s and see them smile. Notice how the BY needed to know everything about him, his family and his trip. But most of all I was surprised by how the English bachur didn't think giyus banos was such a big deal! He needed large groups of people to say tehillim to see that. He's fascinated by the fact that they take everything so seriously there, even going as far as saying kinos and all. Which goes to show you how different even frum Jews were at that time. I dare say that had this happened in the US there would be no outcry, no cries of yeherog veAl yaavor, and no mass protests. Call me an insensitive Lubavitcher freyak, but you know I'm right. No Jew in America would rock the proverbial boat in 1953 and go out en masse against the Government. They were happy to be here and have refrigerators and wall-to-wall carpet.

Not Brisk turning it up a notch

A venerable masterpiece!


Photo from YU


Schneur commenting on Not Brisk turning it up a notch:


Bimechilas kevodo of the Rav; he had a Romantic and nostalgic view of Chassidus in Poland. Things were not as feigeldik as he decribes it. But the Rav was a darshan a master of homiletic, and as any good darshan and magid, you create an atmosphere imagined or real to prove your point. In Nefesh Horav, Rav Hershel Schacter has the Rav saying that good part of his droshes are theatrics, and of course thats true. See "Boston Boy" by Hentoff for a most interesting portrayal of the Rav as a preacher. Thousands of Chassidic young people were leaving the fold every year to become secular Jews, Zionists, Communists etc. The big Chassidic groups were not particularly spiritual, that's why Rebbes like the Piasecner, Reb Shimmele Zelichover, the Levertever, the Koznitzer and Chabad were gaining followers from the young people. Even those who stayed Chassidic joined groups like Zeirei Aguda and Poalei Aguda where politics was more important than other activities. See Mendel Piekasz's fine study of this subject in Hebrew, where he studies the state of Chassidus in Poland between the wars in depth. Rabbi Simon Huberband alludes to these issues in his book about religious life in the warsaw Ghetto.

Many Chassidim were not particularly learned either. That's another myth; as if the water carrier in Warsaw knew shas and the Vilner water carrier was a lamdan. Nonsense. Punkt farkert! until after the War you could be a good Orthodox Jew and not have anything beyond a cheder education. Today 99% of chassidim have attended yeshiva gedola and Kollel. Of course the pockets of chassiduth that did exist, were much more powerful than what passes as chassidus today. As I mentioned, you had spiritual Rebbes in Poland who were slowly rebuilding chassidus, like the Piasetzner and Levertever . You also had chavrayas studying Chabad, a network of shtieblech adhering to the teachings of Rav Kuk, and men like Reb Hillel Zeitlin HaY"d. But in general today's chassidim are much more learned in Gefes, if not in darchei hachassidus, And I presume the Rebbes of yore were more serious people. But let's not mince words, the Rav was wrong - Chassidus and chassidim have reconstituted themselves in the USA.

Let me add a controversial idea , I believe the last Lubavitcher Rebbe agreed with the Rav on this , and that's why he changed Chabad from a movement that stressed Avoda and "Haskolah" to a movement stressing pragmatic action. When the Hungarian and Galitzianer Chassidim started coming for dollars, I am convinced the Rebbe was a bit amazed that chassidus had grown in America with the classic levush, Yiddish, and the whole 9 yards, a lot of which had been left on the wayside by Chabad in America. Sure he saw some Chagas people in CH in the early 1960's but there was a tremendous shvachkayt there, Bobov in 1960 was not Bobov in 1980. But these groups were huge and more Chassidic by the 1970's and no longer in CH. I am sure the Rebbe would have been amazed to see life in BP in 1989.

Dear Mum 1 (part 2)

Monday 6.10 p.m.

We arrived in Cyprus this afternoon and I went ashore in a small boat as there is no proper harbour in Limasol, the port. It is a very interesting place, 95% ramshackle, old houses and shops and the other 5% would put anything in Upper Park Road to shame. It was boiling hot but we enjoyed walking around and seeing nothing but British cars, merchandise and firms, in fact everything is British. The post boxes are inscribed GR and cars go on the left. One shop has displayed "Representatives of Boots". Everything is amazingly cheap, but I could only get a few shillings of the local currency and had to content myself with apples at 6d per pound and grapes at 4d per pound. The biggest excitement of all will come, of course, tomorrow when at 7a.m. we arrive at Haifa. I am thrilled when I think of it.

Hemshech BEZH"Y.

Yom Daled Yeshivas Chevron, Rehov Hagai Yerushlaim IHK. BEH"Y, Omar Rebbe Yochanan - Kol Hamehalech Daled Amos Be’Eretz Yisroel Muvtach Shehoo Ben Olam Habo.

To continue where I left off – we were up very early next morning (Tuesday) and as it became light we got our first glimpse. You can imagine the excitement. The boat docked at Haifa at 7.30 but until all the formalities were completed a lot of time went and I only got off the boat at nine. Meanwhile, by shouting over the side I spoke for a minute to Mr S. (an acquaintance of my grandfather) who had managed to get into the harbour but not on board. He gave me his address and sent regards to Zeide and everyone. Then came the Customs... They opened each and went through it piece by piece. Arguments and arguments. When they discovered the [suiting] material all my protests were of no avail. I went to see the chief and argued again, but it was no use. I had to pay 17 Israeli Pounds. I also had to pay something on the toys and 17 pounds on Shtraamel Shvensen, but I’ll get that back [from the sender].

After finishing with them on leaving the harbour I met SL [a friend from Gateshead learning in Mir] who had come to meet me but had been unable to get into the harbour. He then saw to the matter of arguing with the taxi drivers etc and in another half an hour we were off to Tel Aviv where we changed cars. How wonderful it is to drive across the country seeing orange groves, banana plantations, and the actual wonderful beauty of the countryside. On the road signposts with such familiar names as Bne Braq, Rishon LeTzion helped to convince one that one really is in EY. I don't feel it properly yet, but I suppose and hope it will grow on me. Tel Aviv is Tel Aviv, boiling and nothing else but blocks of flats and shops with little taam. Yiddishkeit is not in great evidence. Half way between T.A. and Yerushlaim we begin climbing the Horay Yehudah. Scars from the [Independence] War are still noticeable. It begins to get somewhat cooler and suddenly were are in Yerushalaim. It does not take long by car to get through. We drove straight to Yeshivas Chevron where I am at the moment.

I shall end this letter now and write more later. Write to me at Chevron please.

Elozor

bedfellows...

R Mordechai Gross leaving Meron this Hoshana Rabbah. Notice the Aroves the young man is holding, I hear it's the latest craze in Bene Beraq...

A seemingly innocent blurb caught the Tzig's attention. R Mordechai Gross, Rav of Chanichei HaYeshivos, whatever that means, (which yeshivos?) is gonna be in Montreal for Shabbos. He will be the guest of Mr. Hershey Friedman, proprietor of the new Agri in Postville. Here's how "The Shteeble" described him: "Rav Mordechai Gross, Rov of Chanichei Yeshivos in Bnei Brak and dayan of Sheiris Yisroel is widely recognized as one of the young gedolim of the Israeli olam haYeshivos. We will have the merit of having him spend Shabbos Chayei Sara here in Montreal." We can definitely argue that fact, despite the innocuous description the blogger writes. Who decided who's a young gadol? I dare say that even among the Bnei HaYeshivos HaLitoyioys he's not a "gadol." Why just today I asked a very knowledgeable young man, who veiked zich by countless Rabbonim and Roshei Yeshiva in the Holy Land and he had never heard of RMG. Whatever, that's not the point here. I - not being of the conspiracy theory mindset - find it weird and complex that HF has this relationship with Gross, especially since he pulled Agri out from under the Rubashkins' feet. Rubashkin the Lubavitcher, that is. Obviously Gross had nothing to with this, and I'm not blaming Friedman for Rubashkin's demise, but I could not help myself but wonder about the relationship. Gross' connection to Shearis, which was founded only to counter the Hechsher of Rav Landau is what makes me go hmmm. I doubt most other gevirim in North America have Gross on their Rolodex.

Shoin, genug geplapelt, Hirshel.

Dear Mum - 1 (part 1)

{Read this. It's good stuff. Very English and Temimus'dik. There's a lot more of these letters, and I'd like to know if this interests the oylem out there. Otherwise I won't bother with the rest of the letters, some of which are very telling about the mindset of frum Jews in those days...}


The London Jewish Tribune this week started publishing a series of letters I wrote home some 55 years ago from Jerusalem. I flatter myself that they may be of interest to some of my family, friends and acquaintances, who would not normally see the Newspaper.The first article published in the 10 Sep '09 edition is addended below.

Good Shabbos
Elozor Reich

From the London Jewish Tribune: "In August 1953 Elozor Reich, then aged 21 years old, left his comfortable family home in Manchester to learn in the famous Chevron Yeshivah in Yerusholayim, after having earlier learned in Staines and Gateshead Yeshivos. His correspondence with his parents is a veritable historical treasure. The letters are reproduced (with some omissions) as written. Any clarifying additions are in square brackets. "

Home from Home

24 August, 1953

Somewhere between Greece and Eretz Hakodesh on S.S. Grimani

Dear Parents AMV"S

I am now aboard ship and I intend just starting this letter and adding to it later.

Since I left Manchester exactly one week ago today I have seen so many people and received so many impressions that it seems like a month already. Well, I think the best thing is to start at the beginning and describe in short my journey so far. The first thing I would like to say is that if you think of coming to EY, do so by air or alternatively as second best, travel first class and only take as much luggage as you can easily carry without assistance. As I do not belong to either category I have had a pretty rough time. It is difficult to describe a worse feeling than being utterly at the mercy of horrible porters.

Well to start – when I arrived in London I got my seven pieces to the Left Luggage Office at Liverpool St. Station and went to 121 [Manor Rd, N16] to find [R'] Moshe [Sternbuch] [his sister was married to my brother Yudel] in sole charge. He was controlling a traffic of endless meshulochim and other bearded and clean-shaven Jews. Some came in to sleep and some just to eat sardines from the tin and various other unwashed vegetables. Immediately when I arrived [R'] Moshe pounced on me and led me in and introduced me to all present and invited me to join in and share the sustenance. After that he found me a vacant bed and I managed to get to sleep after digesting a long list of people to whom to give his regards and a lot of general information about Yeshivah life in EY. I boarded the train at Liverpool St [for Harwich] next morning and the trip across to the Hook [of Holland] was very enjoyable. So far so good.



On arrival at Holland my troubles started. Since I had no train reservation my plan was to get off the boat first and grab a seat. Wishful thinking. My seven pieces of luggage made all my plans miscarry. Firstly, the was a great paucity of porters portering in this particular port. Secondly, they were all lazy. Thirdly, my luggage was all on the wrong deck. Eventually, I got off the boat about third last and found the platform where stood an immensely long giant train. But after asking three porters, two Cooks’ officials and one interpreter it transpired by majority vote that only one sole carriage was to Italy [where I had to catch my boat]. The rest were to be shed at diverse junctions across Europe; where exactly there was no clear majority. One porter who said the whole train was Rome-bound quickly lost his deposit. The train was due to leave in ten minutes so there was no time for a recount. My porter had deserted me and my seven pieces at the bottom of the platform (that did not prevent another angrily claiming the Union rate). The only thing to do was to get into the carriage marked Ventimiglia. Now, besides the normal people for their wagon there were a whole crowd like myself who had been diverted from France, so it was a rugby scrum. Three quarters of the seats were reserved and the odd quarter was taken long before I approached the battlefield. The only thing was to get on somehow. Having had some practice at various tishen I picked up the heaviest case, held it like a bayonet and charged. This operation I repeated several times and beyond being near a state of collapse, I was O.K.


My seven luggage pieces were littered at intervals along the corridor and I found myself in a vice between a Scottish priest and an aristocratic Italian student who could talk any language you can think of in less than ten seconds and knew everything about anything. Compared to us sardines in a tin were as far apart as the Poles. It was absolutely unimaginable. So started the journey across the Continent at 6.40 p.m. Monday. I was right at the back and at every second station officials would enter. Their entry necessitated lifting out a whole pile of luggage and a few bodies. At a frontier, and we crossed three, each time before and after, four officials would bother us, one to examine passports and ask questions, another to stamp them, a third to dish out forms asking silly questions and the fourth just stam a nosy parker. Not understanding Dutch and Italian and pretending not to understand German saved some bother. I did not get any sleep at all, firstly because of the oppressive conditions we were in and secondly because of the above officials and ticket collectors of whom there is a plethora right across Europe.



We arrived in Basel early in the morning and relief came. They tagged some coaches on and half the people got off. From then on I had a seat but the magnificent Swiss scenery, which I beheld for the first time, kept me awake. At 3 p.m. Tuesday we arrive in Milan over an hour late in broiling sun. There was no porter in sight and so again out with seven pieces on to the platform. After resting several minutes I hunted out a porter and managed to get him to understand that I wanted the stuff in the Left Luggage Office. This accomplished I mastered the intricacies of a strange telephone system and got through to Jose T [son of an Milan family, friends of my parents]. He immediately came round, showed me where to have a bath, took me to the flat where I met Mr & Mrs T, and where I had a bite. After that we went to see the shipping company, who treat you quite decently if you speak English and were informed that I would still have to register in Genoa. J. then showed me the sights of Milan including the smart shops and a brand new Bays Haknesses which looks like an opera house. After oversleeping the night in a hotel it was a big rush to catch the 7.35 a.m. train for Genoa. On getting there, again trouble with the porters (never will I take so much luggage again). I took a taxi to the port. There was not much bother there, just the formalities of the ticket and the Customs. The ship immediately looked rotten and so it proved. A cabin shared with fifteen others, no chairs, towels, air or room. There is only a small space of deck allotted to the third class and deck chairs cost 4/- [shillings]for the journey and every time you want your paid-for chair you have to eject someone. The food situation is not so bad but rather monotonous. I am living on hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, tinned salmon and sardines, and bread. So far the sea has been smooth and we have had only pleasant weather.



Immediately on boarding I looked round for Shoimray Shabbos etc. and found two; a Melamed and a very old Bochur from Venezuela going to join relatives. On Thursday we arrive in Naples and I joined a tour by bus. We saw Vesuvius and celebrated the ruins of Pompeii. It was very expensive but well worth it....... On returning I found two Bachurim from New York who were going to the Belzer Yeshiva and had boarded. This was already their third week at sea. Friday night there was a whole to-do about a Minyan. One Mechalel Shabbos who liked the Bretel scraped together a Minyan. Of course, the Belzer boys did not want to join in and there was a row. Shabbos afternoon we docked in Greece, Ve'Iyanti Besforim VeRo'isi SheMutar Loredes Min Hasphinoh, but the trouble was one had to carry a [reboarding permit] paper. I tried to avoid this but failed ignominiously and so had to stay on board.

Today is Sunday. We arrive tomorrow in Cyprus where I hope to go ashore and Tuesday Be'Ezer Hashem Nizkeh Laylach BoEretz SheAfilu Moshe Lo Zochoh Laylach Bo. On the boat there is a mixture of British, Americans (mostly 1st class), French, Italians, Greeks and Cypriots. There are also a few Sabras Mumrim LeHachis RCH"L . Never have I met Shekutzim as low. I have made friends with a few English people including one from Manchester! I spend the time learning, sunbathing, playing chess and talking to various people. Taking everything into consideration the ship journey could have been far worse.

Well, I shall leave off here until later.

Is VosIzNeias bought and paid for?!

I don't usually do this, but somehow I was struck by the disparity here. A disparity, that in light of what HAS been reported screams "bloody murder."

Anybody that has followed Vos Iz Neias over the last few years has seen it develop from a site that reported mostly on MVAs and such, (MVA = motor vehicle accidents, to you guys in Lakewood) to a full scale site that mostly copies and pastes from other news sites and blogs. Anything even remotely related to Jews, even new regulations and legislation that may affect Jews, is reported on in VIN. Scandals of any type - whether X-rated or not - get covered there. It used to be that they would either omit the name or put only the acronyms, but now - for the most part - they put the whole story for you to read right on their site, since a simple Google news search would direct you to the story anyway - which is the excuse they use when dealt the Loshen HoRah card. There was a story where a Monsey man - a ba'al tzedokoh - was accused of heinous se-ual crimes while posing as a doctor - the man was later acquitted, but the whole story was reported on VIN, with all the details intact. There was the story of the father who was accused of terrible crimes against his own daughter; that too was reported on VIN. The point is clear - EVERYTHING gets covered, they miss nothing there.

Well, they sort of do. There was one story last week where they removed the name of a prominent Flatbush gvir, one who is very close to the top-tier gedolim in Eretz Yisroel, when they reported about the scandal he's now tied to. No, it wasn't paying your bills late, or hiring illegal Mexicans, it was only a $50Million kickback. Nobody got hurt. No Chillul Hashem because the Forward didn't run with it for months and years on end, and because, because, because. Only butchers who hire illegals do that kind of CH thing. Whatever. Let Schron make his millions, and let him get his kickbacks. It makes no difference to me, I get neither richer nor poorer, and he could probably care less what losers like us think of his shady business deals. But what it does tell you is how the business is run, the information business, that is, and that what you see is NOT necessarily what you get. Often times - as we learn from the New York Times - it's what's NOT reported that tells you the story.

There was a very tragic death last week in Boro Park. A young man, 36 hours after getting married, died a horrible death at the foot of the Avenue Plaza Hotel in Boro Park. The circumstances surrounding his death are very unclear; I'm not here to delve into them. You can at least give me the benefit of the doubt here; I never, ever discuss such situations, and I've been attacked relentlessly by friends of young people who died for "covering for the establishment." Other websites that have a major beef with mainstream frum establishment Judaism; you know who and what I mean. Having said that, please understand that I'm not here to bring shame to any family involved here, and I DO have a heart, so can the attacks and don't even start. The point I'm trying to make by bringing it up is simple; there are plenty of other situations where great pain and embarassment was brought unto victim's families or even alleged perpetrators' families. They all had the crimes and misdemeanors of their loved ones plastered over the VIN webpages. Nobody was spared their wrath, a wrath cloaked in the guise of "information," not c"v expose's or attacks.

So what I want to know is very simple, not why was that incident NOT covered, but why were all the OTHERS covered extensively?! Newssites such as Matzav and beChadrei Charedim mentioned the story. There was little talk about how and where and more talk about the etzem tragedy. Even Matzav had something like 65 comments as of Monday morning, and all were respectful, consoling and lamenting their friend. Many had been to the wedding 2 nights earlier and were devastated. The fact that such a terrible tragedy is the one ignored speaks louder than a 1000 words. Things like this don't just happen, and if there is a coverup going on then VIN would be an accesory to the crime, despie the fact that they like to consider themselves trailbalzers on the issue of abuse and such in our communities. We need to keep their proverbial feet to the fire. If you guys think I censor comments then you have a lot to learn. Nobody has his finger on the delete button more than VIN. Keeping quiet at a time like this is criminal.

?איר הערט מיך, מיסטער וואס איז נייעס

IOW, Is VosIzNeias bought and paid for?!

Professors wanna have fun too

Professor David Berger doing what he does best...

מוצאי שבת מואוויס

Untitled from bhol on Vimeo.

Ponovezh and its other mosdos circa 1950. Good stuff. Lots to talk about. A lot has changed since then. One thing is for sure; the Ponovizher Rov was a master builder and fundraiser, and he did it all with a smile.

למטה מעשרה טפחים - נוסח פעסט

גיט א קוק אויף די ווידעא דא און זאגט מיר וואס איר טראכט דערוועגן. איך אליין בין געווען גאנץ איבערראשט ווי ווייט די היינטיגע בדחנים צולאזן זיך נאר פאר די פאר לאכעלעך. היות אז די אידן דארט אין לאנדאן הבירה זעהען אויס צו זיין א סאטמאריש-געשטימטען עולם בין איך געווען שאקירט צו זען וויזוי די פארזאמלטע לאכען מיט א פולען בויך פון זייער רבנו הקדוש והטהור זי"ע. נאר די נחמה איז אז ווען ס'קומט צו די ליצנות פון די ליובאוויטשער רבי'ן זי"ע דעמאלסט לאכן די קעלבלעך מיט גאר א גרויסן געשמאק. פון דעם איז געדרינגן - אזוי ווי די רבי'ס אין חיידער פלעגן זאגן - אז דאס איז סאטמארע חברה, אדער עכ"פ פון יענעם געגנט. וואס טראכט איר, מורי ורבותי, צי האט אונזער אלעמען באליבטער יואלי לעבאוויטש איבערגעצויגן די שטריק ווען ער האט געמאכט אזא געלעכטער פון די צוויי רביים, אדער בין איך סתם א פאראנוידער אינגל
?

Hot September Days and Cold Pepsis

click to enlarge

יש דורשין אותו לשבח, ויש דורשין אותו לגנאי. Chassidim - if this were to happen to one of their own leaders - would definitely see this as an act of defiance, of knowing that he's a Jew and does not flinch, even when facing certain death. He demands the comforts of home - as strange as they may be for a Gaon and tzaddik haDor - even when a big AK-47 is being waved in his face. He's full of trust in the A-mighty, despite seeing the Angel of Death and his eager assistants before his very eyes. Yet, when we see one of theirs demand this we cannot help but smile. Anybody I told this to broke out in a smile, almost as if they could not help it. We look at the story as if the Rosh Yeshiva cannot help but be chained to his routine - a creature of habit, if you will. As if he forgot that he's not at the Four Seasons now, and the temperature of his boisson du jour is not what matters right now... Yet even when we recount the story of a "simple" chossid we herald his bravery and place it on par with the greatest acts of heroism. We Jews are strange characters in a sense. I know what you people are thinking, he's going after YRCB again, but believe me, I'm not.

You always complain to me about how one-sided and full of kool-aid I am. So I'm trying this new objectivity thing; trying to look at everything objectively. This is Exhibit A. My motives are pure and sincere, and very much in line with the basic teachings of Chassidus BiChlal and Chabad BiFrat. I believe that following that path will make more acceptable to all of you, thereby spreading forth the wellsprings of Chassidus even more than till now. This, in turn, is good for all us, since it bring forth the Messianic period, the times we have been waiting for since the Creation, and the reason for which the world was created. The month was seem like a time with little to be joyful for, but we can change that this year. We can bring forth a time of immense joy if we only band together and do what's right - as one. One people trying to reach that same mutual goal using different routes to achieve it, but leaving plenty of room for others to be there and stay there. I thank you all for your continued support and wish you much success in all endeavors - both spiritual and physical.

נאר מיט שמחה

Read from page 109, the paragraph that starts with "Sam." It's AJH telling a story that happened to him as a youngster in Warsaw. It tells us a lot about the mindset of Chassidim in those days. I'm not sure which "Itchi Meir" this is; if it's the one and only. It seems like in the old days being BeSimcheh was THE most important thing, no matter what it took, and the money wasn't for bread and water, or even rent, it was for LATIN AND POLISH lessons!!! Yet misnagdim in those days didn't seem to have a problem with that, unless maybe they had no idea. They all sat together at the Knessiah Gedolahs and redt in lernen, I imagine. But somehow Heschel thought that Finkelstein and Lieberman, both Litvaks who may or may not have been Shomrei Shabbos BeTachlis themselves, - so they tell me that Lieberman was, I should've known that - would never understand the story and how it saved him for Judaism...





Here's another version, on page 70 of "Prophetic Witness."

תעשו מזה מטעמים

So another yohrtzeit passed by and the oylem here wanted very much to hear something from me on this auspicious day. I had ignored it since three years ago, and was planning to do the same this year, especially since his influence has waned to almost non-existent levels, but you all had to bring it up again! You just couldn't leave well-enough alone, now could you?! Besides, all it does is generate lots and lots of Loshen HoRah, something I'm not really into. I did like what I saw some weeks ago in the Mishpacha magazine, where they mention something that the Brisker Rov told Shloime Lorencz when he heard that RLS was welcomed into the Moetzes. As we all know RLS was the only one who the BR would enjoy redden in lernen with, since he was the geatest since Reb Chaim, maybe even since the Gro. The Rov was quite surprised about that invitation, since he knew Reb Lazer to be not very BeHavent in matters of this world, so why would they take him into a board of Rabbis who need to make important decisions, most of which deal with physical matters. I guess Lorencz saw that as being a compliment from the Rov....

This was one of the issues that the Rabbonim in both Europe's pre-WW2 and after that in the US could not come to terms with; namely that Roshei Yeshiva - who really never dealt with REAL issues, they sat and learned with talmidim metzuyonim, basically - were the ones that were trying to set policy in Europe, and managed to do so in post-WW2 and Israel. Lorencz, in his vast Hungarian perception, thinks that somehow all turned out for the best, but we know better. He thinks/thought that all of Yiddishkeit was somehow saved by that smart move by the MGH, but we know better. Yiddishkeit would've done just fine without that invitation. Being that we need to "fartzeyl uvdes" of the niftar, as is the minhag yisroel, here are two that I found on the web:

(I do not vouch for the stories)

סיפר הגאון הגדול רבי ישראל גרוסמן זצוק"ל: בשנת תשכ"ט התקיים דיון בקשר להקמת מתיבתות ברחבי הארץ. אחד מהנוכחים באותו דיון הזכיר את שמו של הבעש"ט הקדוש. ואז, לתדהמת כל הנוכחים, קם הרב שך ופער את פיו נגד הבעש"ט הקדוש במילים שאי אפשר לחזור עליהם ולהוציא מהפה. ראשי הישיבות הליטאיות שהיו באותו דיון הסתכלו עליו ממש בשאט נפש. אבל בעיקר הגדיל לעשות הגאון האמיתי רבי יחזקאל סרנא זצ"ל, ראש ישיבת חברון, שגער בו בקול רם ואמר לנוכחים "דער מענטש איז א אונשעקעניש אוף כלל ישראל" = "האיש הזה הוא צרה על כלל ישראל".
את הסיפור הזה סיפר הגר"י גרוסמן זצ"ל ביום ז' במר-חשוון תשמ"ט, וסיים
"כעת כולם מבינים עד כמה היה רבי יחזקאל סרנא זצ"ל בגדר 'חכם עדיף מנביא".

Another story told by - I believe - Reb Chananya Yosef Halperin of Jerusalem

ביום שישי, ערב שבת ה' תמוז שנת התש"ב, התקיימה החתונה של בתי הבכורה (דודתכם) מרת אסתר (הרבנית מאלכסנדר ע"ה) עם חתני רבי אברהם מנחם (כ"ק האדמו"ר מאלכסנדר זצוק"ל). החופה התקיימה, כמנהג ירושלים באותם ימים, בערב שבת קודש אחרי חצות, וסעודת החתונה היתה בליל שבת בביתינו כאן (בשכונת בית ישראל). ביום שני בערב התקיים השבע ברכות אצלנו בבית והשתתפו בו קרובי המשפחה, האחים והגיסים והדודים שלי. לסעודה הוזמן גם ר' לייזר שך שהיה הר"מ של החתן בישיבת נוברדוק בבית ישראל. והנה אחרי שכיבדו לדבר את הר"מ ר' לייזר באמצע דבריו השמיע פתאום דברי זלזול נוראים שטרם שמעה אוזן כלפי הצדיקים הבעש"ט, אדמו"ר הזקן בעל התניא ור' לוי יצחק מברדיצ'וב זיע"א. בשבע ברכות היה גם דודי החסיד רבי זעליג סלונים ע"ה, שעוד למד בליובאוויטש והיה בן בית ומאוכלי שולחנו של האדמו"ר הרש"ב נ"ע, וכששמע את דברי הבלע יוצאים מפיו אחזה אותו התרגשות גדולה הוא קם וזעק בכל כוחו "שייגעץ, שוויג"! אנחנו כולנו היינו בזעזוע נורא מהדברים, כי לא שמענו ולא שיערנו שיש עוד בימינו אנשים ודיבורים כאלו. ואני אמרתי לר"מ הזה כי מי שחלק והתנגד לבעש"ט ולבעל התניא ולרבי לוי יצחק מברדיצ'וב בימים ההם של תחילת החסידות היה בגדר טועה ושוגג, אבל מי שמדבר כך היום הוא כופר ממש רח"ל

זכותו יגן עלינו ועל כל ישראל

!זינג, וועלוול זינג

Velvel sings it a bit different than the words that follow here, probably since he's doing it from memory. I guess when he says "how are you all going," he's using a Yiddishism, which would probably be "vi geit es eich" in Yiddish. Cute. The written version was sent to me by a reader and is printed in a Jewish rhyme collection published in pre-WW2 Warsaw. It seems like after the war - or maybe still during - that sentences about the Deitschen were added. Velvel sings them beautifully, with the necessary "Marik and Karig" for מארק און קארג. We have yet to figure out what "gilkes" are, maybe crutches. The rhymes are to be sung in the Polish/Galician accent, where "Ku" becomes "Kee" and so on.

אלה תולדות נח,
פֿון בראנפען קריגט מען כח,
אַ גלעזעלע ווייַן איז דער עיקר,
פֿון בראָנפען ווערט מען שכּור.

אבֿ איז א פֿאָטער,
קדר איז א טאָטער,
אַ טאָטער איז א קדר,
בגדים זענען קליידער,

קליידער זענען בגדים,
רויט איז אדום,
אדום איז רויט,
לחם איז ברויט,

ברויט איז לחם,
טראַכט הייסט רחם,
רחם איז טראכט,
שמונה איז אַכט,

אַכט איז שמונה,
אַ טויב הייסט יונה,
יונה איז אַ טויב,
מצנפת איז אַ הויב,

אַ הויב איז מצנפת,
אַ שטאַל הייסט רפת,
רפת איז א שטאַל,
מרה איז א גאַל,

אַ גאַל הייסט מרה,
אַ קו הייסט פרה,
פרה איז אַ קו,
בֹקר איז אין דער פֿרי,

אין דער פֿרי איז בֹקר,
טייַער הייסט יוקר,
יוקר איז טייַער,
אש איז פֿייַער,

פֿייער איז אש,
בשר איז פֿלייש,
פֿלייש איז בשר,
חזיר איז אָסור,

אָסור איז חזיר,
מים איז וואַסער,
וואַסער איז מים,
לאָמיר ביידע טרינקען לחיים

Velvel adds:

לחיים לאמיר טרינקן
אלע דייטשן זאלען ווערן פארזינקן
פארזינקן זאלען זיי ווערן
אויפ'ן מארק זאלען זיי קערן

קערן זאלען זיי אויפ'ן מארק
צוברעכן זאלען זיי דעם קארג
דעם קארג זאלען זיי צוברעכן
מיט שפילקעס וועלן מיר זיי שטעכן

שטעכן וועלן מיר זיי מיט שפילקעס
און גייען זאלען זיי מיט גילקעס
אויף גילקעס זאלען זיי גיין
ונאמר אמן

!הוליעט, הוליעט ברידער

click to play

I liked the way they play it and the words they use in all 3 languages. I minimized the "video" part of the clip simply because it's just art flashing, no real relevance to the group playing. As a kid, when I'd hear people sing variations of this song, I would think that they were poking fun at Lubavitch, since they were the ones who sang this song. Others, like Vizhnitz, may still sing it on Purim till today.

כאפט אריין א משקה
כל זמן איר זענט ביים לעבן
אם ירצה השם אף יענער וועלט
וועט מען אייך נישט געבן

Well, yesterday is buried
there is no tomorrow
here is but a feral bliss
ruin it not with sorrow

Grab yourself a bottle
while you still can swallow
you won't cop a single drop
in the world to follow

.....הוליעט, הוליעט ברידער

Swish, Swish...

The DR tasting some of the fine wine

ahhhh. A day in the life of the Rebbe of the Dushinski Chassidim. It's pictures like these that makes the commoner quite jealous of the elites. He's - the commoner, that is - never visited a vineyard/wine making place, and nor does he care for dry red wine, unless he's French or I-talian. Not since the days of Marienbad, Krenice et. al. when all the gutte yidden would walk around with glasses of mineral water with those big straw "thingies" protruding has there been such a heartwarming sight. This being shortly after the YomimTeyvim, it seems like the DR is up North in Israel, enjoying his much-needed time off, after a long and arduous month of Tishrei. I can see it now; lots of you jumping out of your seats, slamming your clenched fists on your computer desks, demanding to know why this two-bit Chabadskeh is making fun of other Rebbes when his Rebbe once visited an art exhibit next door to 770, and the Frierdike Rebbe would vacation all the time as well! Well, you could not be more hopelessly wrong! I have nothing but the greatest respect for him. I think any Rebbe or Rov or Rosh Yeshivah who has no problem with being photographed on such an excursion is a rare find and should be put on a pedestal for all to see and emulate.

We all see pictures of Rebbes and Rosh Yeshivos with piles of seforim on their respective tables. We know that it's expected of us to follow their examples, but we find it difficult, even when we're in Yeshivah. The Rebbe or RY may have better faculties than us, he may be a moroh levoynoh, or he may have no "choice." He's sort of like a prince who's unhappy with his status but is stuck there. He basically has no choice like the rest of the world does. So we try and stick to what the books tell us to do. Some of us may try to emulate the Rebbe's ways or the way he dressed or the way he pronounces certain words, or the way he shakes another person's hands. Now we can take it one step further; we can progress in the realm of BeChol Derochecho DoEyHu, we can serve the A-Mighty even on our excursions. It's OK to take a break and visit G-d's green earth and what comes of it, even if you're a public figure, עאכו"כ if you're an average Joe worrying about this week's grocery order, or how next month's utility bill will be paid if it gets too cold to have the heat shut off all night. At least that's the lesson I took...

Photos from Here

It's not sausages, but it sure don't look very appetizing...

Or HaGanuz LeTzaddikim...

... and R' Yisrolik too

No, my friends, we didn't forget Reb Yisrolik Shemtov, the pride and joy of Crown Heights. Yisroel has been making top quality kapotes for some years now, at the Crossroads of the world, Kingston Avenue and Empire Boulevard in beautiful Brooklyn, New York. And a visit to his shop is not just a SHOPPING experience, it's a good word, a helping hand, and maybe even a solution to one of life's difficulties. Even his ads in the Tzachlist, and his business card (!) list his other "professions." Which is why to box him in as just another option where to buy your long black coat is unfair to all of us. Yisroel ben Reb Bentzion is deserving of his own post, a thread that discusses his accomplishments over the years, despite the fact that I have yet to buy a kapote there. It's not for nothing that he's beloved by all, unless they happen to be power-hungry fools who want him and others like him out of the way.

'nuff said.

The Reb Shimon You Never Knew

Magazines these days like round numbers. 20.30.40.50.60.75.100. Even 70 years. This week it was Reb Shimon Shkop's turn. Soon it'll be Reb Baruch Ber, and then, in the summer it'll be Reb Chaim Ozer. All 70 years since their passing in 5700. The problem is that since there are books and books written about these people you need a twist, something new, some angle we never heard before. Or some new, never-before-seen pictures will do the trick as well. Mishpacha magazine (Hebrew) had some good ones this week, which we'll share with you today, as well as discuss them. If you'll allow me; I think the above picture gives us a short glimpse into the love that Reb Shimon had for his talmidim. I doubt if some big Rosh Yeshivah in his 70s today would pose like that with his bachurim'lach. Then again; this should come as no surprise to us, since RSS took the wandershtekken in hant and traveled to America for a long time, just so his bachurim'lach can sit and learn BeMenuchas HaNefesh and not starve, KiPshuto.

So what was the twist this year, you ask? Well; for one, this picture, the one with the Tzylinder. Yeah, they have a conversation with a talmid who's still alive and well, but the Tzylinder tells us a whole lot about the times and the person. It seems like some well-meaning yiddel told Reb Shimon "az in Amerikkkeh darf men geyn sheyn OhnGetohn, azey vi in Vilne. Mit aza shlappe vet men nit machen kayn gelt." Reb Shimon - who had the talmidim and the Yeshiva in mind - did what they told him to. You'd never see that today - and yes, times have changed, there's no need to dress up today when collecting money for Yeshivos, but the point stands. For some reason this picture is a "pirsum rishon;" others like it have been around for a very long time. The Kovner Rov and Reb Moshe Mordche Epstein both come to mind wearing the top hats in America, despite not wearing it in Di Lita. Yet Reb Shimon with the top hat never saw the light of day until this week. Which makes you wonder.... but it could just be that only this week did the owner of the picture decide to release it. Who knows? Trust nobody.




LeTovas HaInyan we bring the pic of RaSHaG with HIS Tzylinder, upon arriving at New York on 9 Adar II, 5700. Then again, he was no Rosh Yeshiveh...

Nagyan szep

לורנץ from bhol on Vimeo.

It's tough to get upset at

1) a שוכן עפר

2) a man who sounds like your grandmother, ע"ה

3) a man who's so, so proud of his book about the "Gedoylim"

But the whole concept of an Hungarian/Oberlandisher man being a zealot is an abomination, an anathema, if you will.These Yidden were known for their temimus, for their emunas tzaddikim, and for their bittul to the righteous ones. They didn't write books attacking Tzaddikim in their late 80s and 90s and then pack up and go. I guess he picked that up in Di Lita, and then later in the Holy City of Bene Beraq. I just wish he didn't sound like my deceased ancestors...

kapote konondrum (Part II)

See? They wore it long, even back then! ------------>

---------- Then there was Hans. The bessere mentshen really went all out and got their kapotes there. Why? because that's where the Rebbe got it. The Yid would come to 770 every once in a while and take the measurements in GEH. Most people only knew he existed because of his relationship to the Rebbe, not because they ever saw the inside of his LES tailor's shop. We won't spend lots of time discussing him, simply because it's almost a Milsa DeLo ShChiCha. I'm not even sure if he's still alive. The point is as follows; I wanted to give the readers a peek into the Lubavitcher Kapote culture, which is why I went into the whole arichus haDevorim and explained what, where and how much. Truthfully, there never was much culture to it; it was very simple no matter where you got it, just like the hat was simple. Most Lubavitchers got the same hat in the same store for the same price, maybe a bit too much. Then "culture" started to make headway even in the sacred minhag of wearing long on Shabbos, and we have yet to see the end of it.


Crown Heights has come a long way since the 70's. For a few decades the only thing you could buy there was groceries, and even that wasn't cheap. If you wanted cheap groceries you went to Boro Park. Even if there was a store that sold women's or baby clothes you didn't shop there because you didn't want the whole shchuneh to know how much you spent on your dress. That may sound like an exaggeration, but it really isn't - or wasn't. You may have bought children's shoes there, but only for a while, while the family was still small. After that you went to BP to wait in line at Schwartz's or Tescher's, just like the rest of klal yisroel... (who says Lubavitchers are different?)I'd say about 95% of men went to Bencraft in BP or Williamsburg to get their hats, either because they wanted their Borsaloinos, or because old man Gelerenter just didn't fulfill their hat needs. The same thing went for kapotes, surduten and sirtuken; someone discovered Hartstein in Boro Park making good kapotes and the word got out. And it was a good thing that Meester Hartshtayn had that niche, since most of the Chassidishe Oylem went to the newer guys on the block; G&G, Roth, Broadway, Royal, Reinhold and Kesser.


Reb Chatzkel Besser, zg"z, right next to Rabbi Chodakov, on the Rebb's left, looking at the camera...

דור הולך ודור בא- a new generation came along and decided that shlepping to BP and the city is no tachlis, so they decided to go at it by themselves. New stores started to sprout out all over the neighborhood, one more chic and hip than the other - which is not always a good thing for a Yiddishe schuneh.... These stores enabled a new generation - many of whom didn't have the hangups and inhibitions of their predecessors - to raise the standard of goods and services available, and shop locally. One of these new stores was a tailor - there's more than one by now - who makes kapotes for young men about to be married. As is often the case some of the entrepreneurs came with new ideas, and the ideas were not necessarily to increase the width of the aisles in the local groceries... Some of these entrepreneurs don't seem to get the idea that some thing just need to be left alone. To them everything is a joke, a challenge, or the basis for a new twist. Some of these people are so adverse to simple clothes that to them the idea of wearing a simple kapote is overwhelming, so they look for ways to get around it, like an adolescent girl who's forced to wear the school uniform, but makes up for it in areas not mandated by the school.

You might say that for me continuing to shop at Mr. Hartstein's store is carrying on the tradition. The new-age kapotes, even the ones that are silk, all have that wool look to them. I guess the idea is not to look too chenyokish, even if you are wearing long. Sort of like not wearing it too long, just around the knees, or maybe a bit above... Another way of showing the world you're no "square" is by getting an orange or red lining in yours. That way you show your friends that you're "cool" and "hip," even if you cannot make a simple Brochoh on the Torah without swallowing half of the words... This many sound like a stretch to some of you hipsters, but you have a big hand in destroying what the Rebbe built with your kapote shenanigans. This may sound like a HUNGARIAN bringing his naarishe shtik to your enlightened world, but then again, it's not like you have anything intelligent that would disprove my theory. The same goes for those new-fangled hats that the young whipper snappers wear; that too is a breakdown of pretty loose rules of dress that Lubavitch has instituted, and that too should not be accepted just because Bencraft and Primo decided it's time to shake things up a bit.


Rav Hertzog and Rav Uziel, z'l, CHIEF Rabbis of Israel

!איי, ווי זיס

I think it was blogger SDR that sent in this link, and what a sweet video it is. I had heard that RMSS was a gutte baal menagen oyfen Litvishe shteiger, but never did I hear him sing. (The caption is obviously a mistake, it's not Reb Avrohom Shapira of Mercaz HaRav.) This is a nigun composed by the great Rab Borich Ber, zatzal, prized and beloved talmid of Rab Chaim, zt"l, of Brisk. The niggun featured here is actually on an album made by the Gateshead Boys Choir, where they sing it with shinuyim kalim, as Mendy Lipskier of Heichel Neginah would so aptly put it. What can I say? Imagine if he volt zich genummen tzu chassidishe neginah, how sweet that would be! We could say the same thing about Limud HaChassidus as well. The niggun is only made more sweet by the "ay" in BeAyr Ponecho and Teyras Chayim, and the rolling rrrrrreishes accompanied by a French cuffed hand swinging to and fro. Ah! vi zis un vi gut iz tzu zein a Rosheshiveh!

R' Shlomo Lorencz, ע"ה

צילום: מיכאל יעקובוביץ , בחדרי חרדים


MK Lorencz was 92



More




With Reb Lazer...

kapote konondrum! (PART 1)

Chaim's Costume Crusade

Often times in Lubavitch the weirdest stares and looks are reserved for those who don't toe the line. Meaning these people look too frum. Guys that go far out the other way blend in OK, even if they disrespect Lubavitch protocol and guidelines. I never understood that. And nobody ever had a good explanation for it. Why is Moridin BaKodesh OK, but not Maalin?! The same goes if you leave the brim of your hat up, because you had put it down on a chair or had it up because of the rain, every person who sees you will tell to put your brim down. Walk in without a shirt or wearing shorts and no socks and nobody sees it. And if you do "notice" it, or Chas VeSholem tell the man about it, you're some species of evil-eyed bores. I guess it's some kind of Hiskashrus thing... But to their credit, where green and tan and sky blue suits were once the norm with some of the old timers or American-born, now Shabbos is Kulo Kodesh, all young men wear Kapotes, almost as religiously as the Hungarians wear shtreimlach, beard or no beard.

At least that's what thought.

Until recently you had very little choice. Most yungeleit went to Hartstein in Boro Park to purchase their shabbos'dige beged. You might have gotten the wool, a simple "Rosh Yeshiva" type frock, - with either covered or uncovered buttons - which may have come with a pair of pants; the $200 polyester that you told yourself was zeyden because maybe Mr. H told you or you convinced yourself, or maybe the real deal, if you had the dough. The "real deal" ( a real silk kapote) comes in two varieties and the prices vary as well. The 400 dollar variety was a very thin silk that looked like a wrung out shmatte after wearing it just once. I think it's the fact that it lacks a stiff lining that allows it to get so creased so quickly. You bought it only if you were limited by budget constraints, or if you knew not better than to buy the cheap one. Those that were always makpid to buy the pure silk often went with this one, for obvious reasons - money. The problem is you always were on the verge of the next one, and the savings you thought you had quickly didn't remain so, since you had to replace the beged more than twice as often as the more expensive alternative.

Then there's the more expensive kapote, the one that fetches $650.00, which often goes to Chassanim only. A chosson usually gets the advice from his friends and convinces his parents to break the banks and the GeMaCHim and buy it for him. (After all, he doesn't get a shtreimel, so let him enjoy one luxury on his wedding day, no? If taken care of the chosson special can last you 4-5 years, which means that you wear for the same time that you would wear 2-3 suits, definitely making it worth the added expense. And when you factor in the fact that you wear this baby all the time, no tish bekitshes in Chabad, remember? (at least not away from the tish) means you wear it Purim, Chol HaMoed, at Mincha Shabbos, and so on. The "Peylishe" get away with wearing tish bekitshes half the time, while wearing shiny polyester the rest of the time, while us, we need to wear that heavy beged all the time...) Which is why I'm on my third "expensive" Kapote as we speak. Mr. Hartstein - tzu lange, gezunte yohren - is a nachas to work with, especially since we speak the same language.

"Rememberings" - a book review (in parts)

On the advice of a good friend I broke the bank and paid the $5.51 including shipping to buy this book from Amazon. The friend had told that it was good but I NEVER expected it to be a can't-put-down book. And books like that can be difficult and complicating when the kids need to be put to bed, or the time for Maariv comes around... What can I say? there's something about reading first-hand experiences from years past that makes it irresistible, despite the fact that my ancestors may not have been from those parts. Reading about customs and laws that you recognize and practice, especially when there are these very boorish mistakes, makes it especially delightful. She knows about Tikkun Leil Shavuos but thinks there are only three Aroves in the Hoshaynes. She also thinks that on Hoshanoh Rabboh the men read Mishneh.... The editors/translators (from the original German) sometimes catch the mistakes (like the Hoshanoh Rabboh Mishneh mistake) and sometimes miss it (like the 3 Aroves in the Hoshanes mistake.) I haven't gotten very far in the book, but there's lots to talk about even a quarter of the way through.

Pessel (Pauline later) Epstein was born and raised in Brisk in the earlier half of the 19th Century. She was a close relation to the Torah Temimah, and the Chossid Reb Eizel (Epstein) Homlier was also in her family tree. Her father was a very wealthy man, I'd say even by today's standards, a man who's home was frequented by aristocracy constantly, yet who lead a very Torah'dige life despite that. He even was a mechaber seforim! According to Pessel he would rise at 4am, learn Gemoroh until 7, go to shul, come back after 10, conduct business for a few hours, and then was back to the Gemoro again. Her mother, despite living like a queen with the finest clothes, servants and maids galore was a frumme Yiddene to the extreme, no different than the simple folk of her day, even with all the contacts in the aristocracy they had, all the money and comforts not withstanding. She worked very hard, leading the kitchen staff, but doing her share, watching everything going on in the house like a hawk. Her (Pessel's) sisters married the best YESHIVEH bochurim and the young men continued to learn while getting kest from their shver. But when the mother suspected them of being influenced by HASKOLOH she took action and berated them, despite it not doing much good.



The memoirs were written when she was at the end of her life, having lead a very "enlightened life." Yet she writes so respectfully and so longingly, as if she was doing Tshuveh for not behaving like she was raised. And it's not for the riches that she longs, but rather for the practice, the laws, the preparation, the joy and the awe. She misses the cleaning and scrubbing for Pesach, the Brokhes Erev Yom Kippur and the Kalte Kapores she ate on YK as a child; the Tashlich and the sedorim, the drunk men on Simkhas TEYREH, and even her mother reading Kinnes for them on Tisha B'Av, when she cried over the Churban Beis Hamikdosh like it was just happening, and for the Tsores the Jews have endured over the centuries. What I found amusing/strange was the fact that she went to Kheyder, with her older sister, and had a melamed, Reb Layzer, teach her from morning till night. Only during Tishrei and Nissan did she have off. It seems like it was normal practice in those areas; she makes no mention of her and her sister being the only girls, which would leave me to believe that there were others too.

All in all she makes a very good case that Jews could be G-d fearing and be wealthy at the same time, despite the fact that she had three children convert r"l to Christianity just to be able to "fit in" to Russian society, where a Jew couldn't get a job. I realize that sounds weird, but hear me out. Pessel speaks at length about the LILIENTHAL reforms of the 1840s, when he traveled across the Russian Empire inspecting the learning conditions. She also speaks of the sweeping haskoloh winds that engulfed her family, despite the fact that they were wealthy and didn't "need" haskoloh and knowledge to get out of the scum and filth of the ghetto like most of the others. What I guess I'm saying is that people with money and connections could be tzu Gutt un tzu leit because they have the means to be with "LEIT." Often times it's the Orimman that has no choice - eyb m'ken azei zoggen - but to leave. Take that for what it's worth, it could my avocado lunch talking... You could do worse than buy this book, is what I'm saying. You'll laugh and you'll cry with real people who had real issues, many of which we can identify with, albeit more advanced ones.

Go get it. Tell them the Tzig sent you...

חאלימויד גערעדעכץ

AP Photo

Hello there. My name is Hirshel Tzig. I have a blog here in the 'sphere that I sometimes update. I hope y'all will stop by here every once in a while, and tell all your friends about the blog as well.

I haven't read the Mishpacha magazine article where R' Yehuda Krinsky tells all to Yitzchok Frankfurter, so I have no opinion as of now. What I did notice somewhere - I think it was on one of the Chabad websites - was the article somewhere about the Ribnitzer Rebbe, zt"l, where his Rebbetzin was asked all kinds of questions about her late, great husband. Somewhere in the article she says that her husband held the Satmarer Shittah. Closed quote. Then she says that he went to the Kosel or permitted others to go, I forget which it was. Even when she traveled to the Holy Land she asked him if she could go to the Wall, and he said it was OK, as long as she didn't go very close to the stones. And why? because of the Kedusha! Not because the Zionists defiled it, or something. So tell me; what kind of Satmarer shittah is that?! Just say it like it is; that he was shlepped to Satmar, because his handlers thought it better for business!

There was this one guy - a protege' of mine, he likes to call himself - where he blasts Mishpacha for doing the interview/article in the first place. A bad business decision he calls it, since the shtarke yeshivishe oylem is gonna cancel their subscriptions en masse. "They don't want their children to emulate that man," he tells me. There are many aspects to such an opinion. First, I find the attitude so high and mighty that yesterday's supper rises to your throat. Who do these nobodies of questionable yichus think they are?! Other than the Rosh Yeshive types most of these Yankee doodle dandies grew up here in America with little direction, and under the auspices of Horowitz MARGARETEN and the Morgen Journal. Where does this phony Kano'us come from?! We discussed this before, I don't want to repeat the same diatribe again. Nu, shoin, vos darf men redden.... VeDal. What gets me is him saying that they crossed the line not when writing about MO Rabbis, movies and when they write "heypech Daastoyreh," but when they write respectfully about the Rebbe.... It would be funny were it not so sad.

Which brings me to another such story; one that shook me to the core, despite the fact that these things shouldn't surprise me at this point anymore. In our Ir haTorah VeHaChesed (Greater) Monsey there lives a certain high profile doctor. It seems like over YomTov some Lubavitcher yungerman crossed his back yard in order to hurry to shul. We can argue the point of whether or not he was allowed to do what he did, but he definitely did no damage and doesn't do it very often. The doctor's wife - a fine Bas Yishmoelroel saw him and yelled something to the effect of "you Lubavitcher pigs are bringing down the property values in Concord..." (Concord area in Monsey) The man was not happy and came to shul that evening to insruct the ROV in our shul to make sure to lecture his kelblech congregants not to G-d forbid cross this man's backyard. This was not enough for the doctor and his friend who tagged along. He came back the next day again, before Maariv Motzoei Yom Tov, and waited for the Rov to finish the shiur before Maariv before confronting him again and making sure that he did his duty. Believe me, I had no idea this was happening until after the fact, because if I did there would be no return visit from this mechutzef/Anti-Semite.

A search of his name told me that he's the head of a department at a prestigious hospital in New York City. Which would make you think that he overcame his MESIVTA-level hate of LUBAVITCH, but I guess old habits die hard, even for doctors... I would imagine organizations honor this man, and meshulochim may even get a nice check from this man if his machshefah wife isn't home to shoo them away. But even all the years spent in college, Med School and at his current practice, where he must have come across situations that he had to control himself, and I'm sure he's had some Lubavitcher patients pass through his office, none of that ever made that deep-seated hatred go away. Which goes to show you that hatred of LUBAVITCH - and maybe it would happen to other groups as well if a beshtreimeled yid used his lawn to cut a path across his lawn - doesn't go away no matter how hard you may try. I would like to pick this guy's brain and get to the bottom of it. Maybe he had a Lubavitcher friend who took his lunch money, or a patient who never paid his bill, or a Lubavitcher once cut him off on the Palisades.

Tough to start over....

AP Photos/Bernat Armangue

So here I was, right before Kol Nidrei, saying Al Cheit, like a good Lubavitcher should, and a guy walks by and sends me a message. "Say Al Cheit for all the stuff you wrote on the blog, Hirshel," he says. That was enough for me. I had no need for any more introspection. The sins jumped out off the pages. Every Al Cheit became relevant and personal. The tears flowed all day. The guilty Hungarian feelings never stop as it is, עאכו"כ on Achas BaShonoh. [But the truth is that even on YK, even in shul during the break, and on the way from shul after Kol Nidrei etc., You never grow tired of good discussions with learned people, and very often you may cross the line into LH territory.] Nu, noch aza Yom Kippur ken men zich nisht nemmen tzum shrayben azoi shnell... The guilty feelings, the pre-Yom Tov rush, they all add up. Then there was the passing of the Lelover Rebbe, Reb Shimele, zt"l, a loss for all of Israel, despite the fact that he ran from Koved all his life, and was not part of the Daas Teyreh brigade. It was nice to see the respect shown to him at least after his passing.



So here I am trying to see only good things, be positive, you know? and G-d throws me a curve. I look out the window and I see a beautiful 2 Million + plus home rising high above the rest. The inhabitants are G-d fearing Jews, and are supporters of Torah institutions, at least his face is in the paper alot. On the porch of this magnificent home sits a Sukkah - with this being the season, and all. You would think these fine Jews would get a sturdy Sukkah, one that would maybe match the color of the brick facade, or maybe one of those fancy Fiberglass ones, the ones that snap together quickly. But no! Mr. Frugal here with the two million dollar home and the home in the country and the vacations etc. goes out and gets himself a canvas special, like a shnorrer who counts every penny would do if he finds himself without a Sukkah and can't borrow one. My goodness! How can a guy like that face himself in the mirror when shaving every morning and be happy with that kind of expenditure?! Or what does he think his guests and neighbors are thinking when they see/visit his Sukkah?

Then again; maybe it's only me...