Dear Mum - 10

Photo by Y. Horowitz - via A Simple Jew

This is the tenth batch of my 1954 letters, published on Dec 24 2009 in the Jewish Tribune of London. (Elozor Reich, Manchester)

12th September '54

From a letter to my brother Yidel and my sister-in-law Leah

....Re Judy's [Sternbuch's] engagement [The soon to be Rebbetzen of R' Dovid Soloveiczik, a sister-in-law of my brother, Yidel, had just become his Kalloh]... The match had been rumoured for weeks. Eli [her brother] seemed particularly preoccupied, but understandably stonewalled my persistent queries. You ask, Leah [the Kalloh's oldest sister] for all details. Well, the Choson has two older brothers, one married called Yoshe Ber and one called Chaim; an older sister married to a big Talmid Chochom, two younger brothers named Refoel and Meir and a younger unmarried sister. I know the Choson by sight from my being many times at the Rov. [You ask about his character] To understand this one must have an insight into the whole Brisker Royal Family; a difficult set-up to describe in a few words. The Rov Shlita, who most certainly is one of, and most probably is the Godol Hador in Torah......... He is most exacting in everything and so always has complicated cheshbonos in all his actions. His family have inherited this tendency to a certain extent. They are all extremely sharp and keen witted. I imagine that [R'] Dovid will generally be the complete Moishel in the marriage, but on the other hand not interest himself in domestic matters, leaving these entirely to his wife. The Brisker shtempel will predominate. This is not as harsh as it sounds, but I am incapable of giving a condensed comprehensive picture. Generally, the Shidduch is about the most choshuv in the whole country, an exceptional yichus and also a big catch himself, as they say that he is the biggest Baal Kishron of the family.........

Says HT: I find this "meddling" in yenem's gesheften pretty juvenile and petty. Vos geit em ohn who will be the moyshel in the family? and why is a "ben torah" even thinking about these things? I also don't understand the love affair that so many seem to have with the whole Soloweyczyk clan, as if this was some kind of British Royal Family that needs to be followed in the tabloids. I'm also quite surprised at the chit-chat going on with the SIL, that definitely would not happen today... There's also very little talk about what's happening in his OWN life, I guess that's not very important when there are "celebrity" weddings to talk about... And what's up with the jabs at every other chassidic group? First it's Chabad that have "queer shitos," and now he's going after Breslov, calling them Toiter Chassidim in letters home, telling Leah back home that she too should poke fun at Tzaddikim like Reb Shmuel Shapira pictured above? Is that what the jokers back in Manchester taught him to do? No wonder he's so in love in with Brisker kinder, he has yet to recognize greatness!

Rabbosai! I just realized that I left the part with the jabs at Breslov in part 2 of this letter home, so when you thought to yourselves "what is he talking about?" you were right! The letter was just too long for one part.