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...
28 comments:
I have to tell you that Rav Pam Z'tl posed for me a few times, and Rav Moshe did so numerouse times.
Those 2 are also relics of a bygone era.
btw, I did listen to the Novardhoker CD. It was OK.
Hirshel,
This picture does not prove or disprove R'Shimons love for his talmidim.It is totally irrelevant to that.
Btw, maybe others have heard what R'Chaim Ozer had to comment of the fundraising attempts of two choshuve roshei yeshiva of the time:R'Shimon and R'Boruch Ber.Apparently R'Shimon was not matzliach at all despite being much more a man of the world than R'Boruch Ber who kimefursam was totally mufshat from this world and R'Boruch Ber was very matzliach,R'Chaim Ozer had a hesber for it.
It was common for the bachurim to go with their Rebbe on the datzcheh. Yankel Bender's father, btw, was the American who had a camera and took a lot of the famous pictures.
People who were on vacation with R' Shimon (R' Leib incidently went at the same time as R' Zelig) relate: how the Rebbetzin insisted that he rests and they shouldn't speak to him in learning. When he would go on a walk, he would look over his shoulder to see that he was out of seeing distance of the Rebetzin and then the rischah dioraysa got under way.
BTW, Hamodia actually wrote about his time in RIETS and Rav Dov Revel.
Didn't the Rashag also wear a Zylinder in the first years in America?
ברוך דיין האמת
א שרעקליכע טראגעדיע
דר. ווייס ע"ה
(איך קען נישט זיין ערשטע נאמען)
א באקאנטע גרויסע סאקייעטריסט אין קרית יואל סקול דיסטריקט
א איד א שומר תורה ומצות, א ווארעם הארץ, געווען שטענדיג גרייט צו העלפן א צווייטן איד (דאכט זיך ער האט געוואינט אין מאנסי)
ער איז נעכטן געפארן מיט א פריוואטע פליגער, און דער פליגער האט געקראכט
יהא זכרו ברוך
(קרעדיט: אידישע וועלט)
Yankel Bender, who most of the readers here have not heard of (being that they are presumably of Lubavitch extraction) is founder and head of Darchei Tora in Far Rockaway an institution that encompasses early childhood through kolel.It may be the biggest non chasidic black hat mosad in New York.
Lubavitch connection?The shliach in the Five Towns, Rabbi Wolowik(s-i-l of Rabbi Kotlarsky vp of Merkos leinyonei chinuch)tragically lost his young son Levy Yitzchok z''l last year ,he was a student in Darchei
I vaguely remember seeing a picture of R' Shimon with a "tzilinder" on All for the Boss. I could be wrong. Anyone else recall seeing such a picture?
Eli,
I would like to know if Reb Chaim Ozer hesbar,will explain Reb Meir Shapiro fund raising in the US that was successful but far from covering his debts.
yoshe kalb said...
Didn't the Rashag also wear a Zylinder in the first years in America?
kimdumah li that the Rashag wore it when he was in the USA in 1930 with the FR, not when they moved here in 1940. the pics of him wearing it are definitely from that trip. I've seen pics of him from TTL dinners in the early 40's and he's not wearing a zylinder.
Five towner said...
Yankel Bender, who most of the readers here have not heard of (being that they are presumably of Lubavitch extraction)
I'm of Lubavitch extraction and please call him at minimum R' Yaakov - not yankel. He's a choshive mechanech who trailblazed special ed chinuch for frum kids. He's running a yeshiva with over 2000 kids, so please show more respect. And being a cynical lubab, that's alot coming from me.
BTW, if u called him yankel to his face, he wouldn't even be offended. That's the type of person he is, and after meeting him for 5 minutes I told him I wished he was one of ours.
Having worked for years with Rabbi Bender.I can say in addition to being the great trailblazer in chinuch he is also one of the great tzaddikim of our dor.
ive seen the pic with the top hot somewhere.
when did dr. revel become Rav?! bifrat here with all the anti kitzonim...
i have posed seperatly with each of the lakewood roshei yeshiva and mashgiach who all were more than happy to pose bsever ponim yafos...
just to make a yid happy
seen it all,
the Rashag can be seen with the Zylinder on the pictures and the clip of the FR's arrival in N.Y.
"and after meeting him for 5 minutes I told him I wished he was one of ours."
Rabbi Bender is a Yid,right? Doesn't that make him "one of ours"? I mean, does every Jew,have to be Lubavitch?
Yoshe is right. We showed it here.
bender did not found darchei torah, at least not the elementary school. he arrived there c. 1981 as a seventh grade rebbi. he came at a time when ydt was going thru a number of principals in the years after r frankel [founding principal] left. bender filled a void. by years end he was english principal, and next year he was principal.
The Lakewood Rosh Yeshivas have posed with various of my children more than once, as as Rabbi Forchimer.
Of course, the picture is Photoshopped... Just kidding! And again, the last generation put more stock in people than in hats. Great post and photo!
Hamodia wrote "Harav" Dov Revel
Yechi Hamelech!
Thank you for your awesome blog!
Reuven,
Get lost, this is not a yellow blog
Tzig,
ווייסטס ניט וואס דו רעדסט,
The cylinder was a dress hat, even in Lita. There's a picture of the Brisker Rov wearing a cylinder in Brisk on an official occasion.
where's the picture?
Didn't the father of the heilige R' Berke know about the "right over left" nonsense?
The pic of the Brisker Rov in a cylinder I believe is in one of his bios. It was a gathering for a Polish legal holiday, if I remember correctly.
Tzig - how do you know rabbonim in LIta did not wear Top hats ? Punkt fakert most rabbonim in the big cities wore such hats. My rebbe rav Romm told me that his shver the rav of a small town near Vilna wore such a hat on official occassions and in the warm months on Shabbes.
My friend just published a book of pictures of a pre war trip to Lita and lo and behold the rav even in this small town is dressed in a high hat.
By the way I think R. Rivkin in Manchester also wore a high hat.(He also woe an ear ring as segula as prescribed by the Rashab ZTL.
Rav Simon Schwab ZTL rav of KAJ wrote that in Germany the high hat was their shtreimel with which they celebrated and honored the Shabbath.
Perhaps our kanaaim in Lakewood and outh Fallsberg also need to know that rav Shimen was an oficial rosh yeshiva at RIETS (Yeshiva University)for a period of a year and desired to stay longer. Apparently he liked it here.
Apparently the secular studies and even Maskilic leanings of the Teachers Institute and Dr. Pinchos Churgin did not bother him, and yes even in those days YU had a secular studies dept. granting degrees.
People like Reb Aren , Reb Elchnon and later rav Breuer were bothered.
While the Rayatz did not support YU , he worked ahrd to get the Rav appointed as rosh yeshiva through Anash on the board like Kramer family members. So even the Rayatz saw value in what YU was up to.
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