Sunday, January 6, 2008

The great Masmid


HaGaon Reb Shmuel Berenbaum z"l

28 comments:

  1. Boruch Dayan Emes. Chaval al d'ovdin.

    HaGaon HaRav Berenbaum was one of the last of a famed and illustrious chain of Geonim Adirim who learned in the pre-war Mir yeshiva. He also learned in Baranovitch under HaGaon HaRav Elchononen Vasserman H'yd.

    One can see a picture of Rav Shmuel in his Mir days here - the r.h. picture in the second row - Rav S.B. is 2nd right - http://www.uoregon.edu/~rkimble/Mirweb/YeshivaStudents.html

    I believe Rabbis Yosef (Joseph Weiss) and Gershon Yankelowitz - both current Roshei yeshiva in YU - are ex-Mirrers. Rav Scheinberg is too.

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  2. I published that picture here 2 years ago, but somebody commented that it wasn't RSB. What do I know?

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  3. did he have a shaychos with lubavitch?

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  4. are ex-Mirrers. Rav Scheinberg is too.
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    Ezriel:

    Baruch Dayan Emes. Please don't mention "No Penetration Scheinberg," a heartless and unethical man, in the same post as Reb Shmuel Berenbaum, an ish emes.

    Thanks

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  5. takkeh one of the greatest masmidim of our time

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  6. This was a really big loss. I don't think we can really recover. We have no one who can take their place.

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  7. The description said about R. Birenbaum is that he always learned like a Yeshiva Bachur, in the beis hamedresh. Didn't do anything else.

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  8. What do you think happens to a snag who possibly never learned tanya nor believed in the Rebbe liachar meah viesrim ? Is he sentenced to come back down as a Lubavitcher living in Crown Heights ??

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  9. shah. shtil.

    אחרי מות קדושים אמור

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  10. I totally missed the Snag's comment, Bray's comment made me look at what he was referring to.

    What do I think will happen? What do I look like, an astrologist?!

    Mistama hut er yeh gelerent Tanya.

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  11. We still have Rav Zelig Epstein, Rav Dovid Feinstien, Rav Henoch Leibowitz and the recently much maligned on this blog RAS.

    There are some younger up-and comers. Everyone should resist the temptation to say "those were the good old days". Each generation gets the Torah leadership that a Merciful Providence custom designed to meet it's own "freeze-frame" needs within the grand scheme of נצח ישראל.

    Respect and hakoras HaTov for departed Tzadikim is a good thing but overindulgence in same can lead us down the slippery slope of disrespect for contemporary, living breathing g'dolim.

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  12. Altz gut un fein, ober tzu Reb Shmuel'en kumt es nit!!!

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  13. It's a kloliyosdike sheila, not only binogeya the great niftar זצ"ל.

    "Mistama hut er yeh gelerent Tanya."

    Yeah ? And maybe he accepted the Rebbe as Moshiach and nosi hadayr in secret too ???

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  14. Why? is Tanya such a terrible sefer?

    as far as "accepting the Rebbe as Moshiach" goes; I'll just take your word for it....

    ;-)

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  15. I doubt he did, he was not a shoyteh.

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  16. Alte Mirrer's ainikel-

    This is just my point. This is perhaps a true but useless sentiment.

    It's good for mikveh raid and "my godol is/was better than your godol" spitting contests but how does such an observation positively impact the Avodas HaShem of those that the departed godol was שבק חיים לכל חי to?

    To me קדוש מרחם historical revisionism, over-emphasis on the doctrine of התקטנו הדורות and overindulgence in venerating davka those gedolim that are no longer with us forms an unholy trinity that is robbing us of many future TKs and gedolim.

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  17. Re the great Rosh Yeshiva and Chassidim; He was definitely not a chossid, or sympathizer, he viewed it, along with many other things (think Agudah) as being not nogeh to a blatt gemorah. Having said that, in the great Agudah Degel split in E’Y’, a letter was posted from Rav Sach in which he stated that he was not anti Chassidim. When The Rosh Yeshiva asked one of the bochurim what it said, his response was ‘of course, what else’. He had many talmidim who were chassidish, and although he sometimes made a crack or two about it, was very close to them and some of the Flatbush Rebbes. The Munkatchers son in law was in Mirrer Kollel, along with the Spinka Rebbe of Queens, and many other Chassidim. Although he HATED the chassidish do nothings who sometimes were in the yeshiva..

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  18. What is the realtionship between the American Mir and the Israeli Mir (Mekori) I heard they were all once involved ina law suit over fund raising and one is allowed to be called Mirer Yeshiva and the other MIR.
    Anyone know if this stuff is authentic ?

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  19. schneur

    what I do know is some reporter may lose his job over announcing in the Times yesterday that Reb Shmuel's Nephew Osher Kalmanowitz will succeed him. I think we can expect another "Ponovezh" happening on Ocean Pkwy.

    Sadly.

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  20. Schneur-

    yodei khain will tell you that the TRUE Mir , the one faithful to the Ultra-Lomdish European roots, does not bear/share the name at all. It is the Bais haTalmud in Bensonhurst.

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  21. Beis HaTalmud was founded by Rav Aryeh Leib Malin IIRC, a Gaon Otzum said to have been the best in Mir in his day - and they say second was Rav Leib Gurvitch (Gurwicz), Rosh yeshivas Gateshead.

    Zechusom Yogen Oleinu.

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  22. why wasn't Reb Leib made part of the Mirrer Yeshivah run by Reb Avrohom Kalmanovich?

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  23. Is he popular for is Hasmada Or Shiurim or for both?

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  24. 1) Beis Hatalmud, in the old days, was in East New York, while Mirrer Yeshiva Central Institute was on Ocean P. Only years later did they move to Bensonhurst. So they were in different areas.

    2) Ken zein that it started before Mirrer Y.

    3) I think it was like a kayllel at first, not a regular Yeshiva, a place for the newly-arrived refugees to learn. At that time, after years of war and golus Shanghai, they weren't young bochurim anymore.

    4) How do you know that R. Leib wanted to be part of Mirrer Y. ?

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  25. >>yodei khain will tell you that the TRUE Mir , the one faithful to the Ultra-Lomdish European roots, does not bear/share the name at all. It is the Bais haTalmud in Bensonhurst.

    This is true.

    >>Beis HaTalmud was founded by Rav Aryeh Leib Malin IIRC, a Gaon Otzum said to have been the best in Mir in his day - and they say second was Rav Leib Gurvitch (Gurwicz), Rosh yeshivas Gateshead.

    R' Yonah Minkser (Karpolov), R' Leib Malin and R' Shmuel Charkover were the best, others, however, were regarded as the best, as well, including R' Elya Chazan.

    R' Yonah Minsker was killed by evil Ukranians during the way. R' Leib and R' Shmuel, I believe, were in charge of Beis Hatalmud, though R' Leib's personality and gadlus in Torah are more known. R' Shmuel, however, was one of the greatest gaonim and tzadikim of his time, too.

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  26. In Gateshead, it is/was a Dovor Yodua that the Rosh yeshiva of 35 years, Rav Leib Gurvitch, was 2nd only to Rav Leib Malin in Mir.

    Don't forget, Rav Leib Gurvitch was basically out of Mir by the 1930's so other names that are oft-quoted probably rose to prominence only after he left or near the end of his stay (he learned in Mir for 8 years).

    If Rav Leib Gurvitch had spent his years in America or Eretz Yisroel, I have no doubt he would be a far more known and quoted name, although on second thought he was a very gentle and quiet person so he would never thrust himself in the limelight.

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