Thursday, November 17, 2005

From Bais HoRav to Chaim Berlin



Rabbi Shimon Groner passed away last week. He was Leibel's first cousin, his father was Schneur Zalman. RSZG passed away when young Shimon was 14 years old, which was in 5706. My only question is why did he not join his cousins in Tomchei Tmimim? For that we'll need to learn more about his father which we do not know at this time.

I saw his picture on the front cover of the Yated and decided to buy it. It was tough going through the pages, I tell ya.

Was he related to Dov Groner who was killed al Kiddush Hashem by the British in 1947?

Anyway, Shimon stayed in YRCB on Stone Ave. where he was "One of two Bochurim in the Bais Medrash on long summer friday afternoons, him and his young Chavrusah" (aren't they all?) and "never left". Even when he was away from the Yeshivah he took it with him. In 5738 he became Mashgiach, (after Rav Avigdor Miller left?), a position he filled until his untimely death.

They did (the Yated) conveniently omit the fact that he was a descendant of Bais HoRav, altough they mention his father's name, but there they mention only that he learned in Eitz Chaim in Yerushalayim and that he was a "scion of the well-known Grossman family". He was also the only Bochur permitted by the Roash Yeshivah RIH to grow a beard.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

him and Reb Chaim Segal, 2 lost souls....

bpunbound said...

Actually, he replaced R' Shlomo Carlbach (R' Shlomo's Cousin) who left, so it was said, after "philisophical differences" with the R.H.

I would add that as a young bochur I had one or 2 conversations with him and he seemed (as much as you can rely on my immature impressions) a decent fellow who wanted to do the right things for his young charges. Although, his look could sometimes burn right through ya'.

Er zol hobon a lichte'ga Gan Eden!

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

BP

but wasn't RIH for the most part in Israel by that time?

where did RSC go at the time?

are you an alumnus?

bpunbound said...

Hirshel,

1) He was splitting time. If you mean to ask why would there be "differences" if he wasn't there, even there only 50% of the time, he was still "DA' MAN".

Also, der reid was that R.S.C. was was more popular amongst the Ha'Moin then R.A.S. (true), and as R.A.S. was groomed as successor.....a familiar story. So the story went.

But he was a good guy and the fellows liked him. Must be the Carlbach genes, the're Zisse Yidden (how do they wind up with the Litvaks)

2) No idea

3) I been there

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

why was it inherent on them to take RAS as successor? He's not somebody's son-in-law, right?

Anonymous said...

R'A Shechter was a talmid , no relative.
Tzig:Groners were descendants of the Alter Rebbe but not Chabadskers.
R'Leibels father already had some connection before he came to America Some 85 years ago.In fact Leibels older brother who lives in Yerusholayim today was interviewed in Kfar Chabad some time ago and does not have a beard

bpunbound said...

Er iz dach geven der talmid muvhak.

R.S.C. was an employee

Anonymous said...

The hesped was written by Nosson Scherman.

I can't wait till he (and Artscroll) get around to publishing the "approved" biography of Haskel Besser

Anonymous said...

R. Laybel Groner's father was a Stoliner Chasid, it was the mother who was apparently a desc. of the Mittler rebbe. He was a Shadar for Teyras Emes in the US. In the US he became close to Lubavitch. Laybel also ahd a brother who was a USAF flight engineer and was killed fighting for the US in the Pacific.HAYAD.
Jerusalme in the Old days had difft definitions of what a chassid was. And as Rav Halperin oncwe wrote in KCH magazine most Jslm Lubavitchers were actually chaside hageza and Chaside hanusach few were mekushorim and few knew Toras hachassiduth. The definioton of a chasid was not so concrete. This changed after the foundation of Teyras mes.
As far as I know the senior rabbi Groner was not an outstanding scholar or soiritual leader.in the pre 1950 Chabad community in the US.

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

Kurenitzer
this is true regarding the Groners, but why were they both here, what did his brother Shnayer Zalmen do here?

bpunbound said...

Avremel,

Sorry for the late post but it finally dawned on me who you were reffering to. Why do you call R' Chaim z"l a lost soul?

Anonymous said...

BP

a Peylisher Yiddel, fun Ger, ends up in YRCB, that's called lost!

Anonymous said...

Ober der RY, RIH, iz aych geven a (Litvishe) Peylisher ! Farshtayst ?

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

Ober der Rosh Yeshivah hut gelerent in Slabodke/Chevron, un er nisht, farshteyst?

Lakewood Yungerman said...

Guess what? I think the Avremal is a lost soul.

He sits amd learns yomam v'layla. How does that make him a lost soul?

By you spitting complete Motzei Shem Ra, Rechilis, and Loshon Hora that makes YOU the lost soul.

Do Teshuva.

bpunbound said...

Avremel,

Ober vas iz mit der kavannah ha'elyoinah.

Az der kvayochol hut geshicht der "ym"sh'nik vas hat ibergedreit der velt, un a ud mutzel me'eish, takeh a poilesher bocher'l, hut zich gevalget tzu a litvishe kloiz in frankreich, un noch dem hut der mentsch marbitz torah geven tzu TOIZENTA bochurim, un mit a shmaichel un a ruach chaim, dos heist "lost"?

Anonymous said...

א נשמה וואס שטאמט פון חסידים וואס וואלט געקענט טאן די זעלבע זאך אין א חסידישע ישיבה, און זיצט אפ אין א פלאץ וואו מ'לאכט פון חסידים, קען ער מרביץ תורה פאר מיליאנען, אבער ער איז א פארלארענער

bpunbound said...

וואלט געקענט טאן די זעלבע זאך אין א חסידישע ישיבה


who said?

Anonymous said...

who said? are you nitpicking? why shouldn't he be able to?

Besides, the point is that in my opinion someone who chooses to forego Chassidus by choice, not because he was not introduced to it, especially when he was raised with it, is LOST.

bpunbound said...

I don't think I'm nitpicking. I dispute you description of "chooses to forgo chassidus".

You judge the intentions of a far'yosim'nta bochuri'l who survived the war and tried to peice together his life together as best he could as choosing to forgo chassidus?

And I'm saying that the Kavanah Ha'elyoina iz geven that his life should twist and turn in such a manner to produce just such a personality that could accomplish what he did. Would he have accomplished the same or more, had the world he was born in to not have been rent assunder, I don't know and you don't know. But to reckon that as being "lost", I don't come to the same conclusion.

Anonymous said...

i fyo usee this i am not sure but Dov Groner that was killed al kidush hashem was a brother of teh groner's i heard this from Rabbi yitzchak Groner's (Austrailia) grandson

Avremele said...

It's interesting to note that R' Avrohom Barnetsky was a brother-in-law to RSG