Rabbi Shmuel Lew tells us about his life - from Torah Vodaas to London

  Derher - Cheshvan 5776 S Lew Only

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יארצייט - ר' אליעזר אדלער ז"ל - גייטסהעד

(Photo courtesy of a family member)


 ט"ו טבת  was the 63rd Yohrtzeit of Reb Eliezer Adler, z"l, founder of the Gateshead Kehillah, and grandfather of R' Elozor Reich. (Reich was the one who wrote the memoirs that were gathered in The book we featured here. Reb Lazer was a Chassidishe Yid from Stanislav who made his way to England sometime in the 1880s and eventually ended up in Newcastle. He was a young יתום who left Galicia so that he could support his widow mother. After a while he decided that NC was not serious enough about their Yiddishkeit, and he crossed the bridge over the River Tyne into Gateshead. The year was 1887. There he founded the Kehillah that is now home to many, many Mosdos HaTorah. He wasn't the first Yid there, but he founded a new kehillah that would be just like in der alter heim, and even better, because he was the one dictating policy there. Mr. Adler was adamant about maintaining his standards of Yiddishkeit and was steadfast in the kehillah remaining independent - even from the British Chief Rabbinate, refusing money and offers of help from the office in London. Only Shomrei Shabbos were allowed to be members there, and he would only take money from such people. The best available Rabbonim and melamdim were hired, and a very strict oversight of all kehillah functions ensued. We look at Gatheshead as some kind of Litvishe city, because of the Kolel, Yeshivos and Seminary there, but it never would've become what it did without the efforts of the Chossid Reb Lazer, z"l. There are even several Lubavitcher families that are his descendants!





( a פנימי book published by his descendants recently)

(Recommended further reading about the Gateshead Community)