Vayeilech: Hakehel - Should it Be Commemorated? The Machlokes Rav Herzog & the Chazon Ish

 

כיצד מכניסים אוירה של ימים נוראים? השו"ת המרתק עם מרן הרב זילברשטיין שהוקרן לנשות רמת אלחנן

 

מה לקבל לקראת השנה החדשה? כיצד מכניסים לבית אוירה של ימים נוראים? ומי ישמור על הילדים בזמני התפילות? – שו"ת מרתק עם מרן רבינו שליט"א

הקב"ה רועה אותנו בשושנים' | 'התפקיד של הבעל לחזק את אשתו' | 'האמא תתחלק עם בתה בשמירה על הילדים' | צפו בשו"ת המרתק: בימים האחרונים נערך בשכונת 'רמת אלחנן' כינוס חיזוק עוצמתי למאות נשות אברכי השכונה, שזכו לשמוע שיחות ודברי חיזוק מרוממים לקראת הימים

מרן פוסק הדור הגר"י זילברשטיין שליט"א בדברי חיזוק לנשות רמת-אלחנן: 'להתחזק בשמירת השבת, שלא לדבר דברים בטלים בשבת!' | 'להסביר לילדים
ש הנוראים הבעל"ט. כאשר במרכז המעמד הוקרן שו"ת מיוחד עם מרן רבינו שליט"א, כאשר את השאלות מציג נכדו של רבינו, הרה"ג רבי חיים מלין שליט"א, להלן תמלול השו"ת המלא (הדברים והתיעוד באדיבות דברי חמד): שאלה. הגבאים של רמת אלחנן ביקשו ממני בקשה כזאת, הם אמרו שבכל שנה לפני ימים נוראים, נשות האברכים מתכנסות להתחזק, ובשנים עברו סבא הרב היה מגיע ודורש דרשות של חיזוק, אז עכשיו הם אמרו אם אפשר שאני אשאל שלושה שאלות קצרות וסבא יענה ונעביר להם את הדברים. מדובר פה על עשרות נשות אברכים מרמת אלחנן שעכשיו יש להם קצת זמן שהם מתכנסות באיזה אולם, הביאו להם רבנים, והם רוצים גם לשמוע מסבא דברי חיזוק. איזה קבלה לקבל לקראת ראש השנה? אז השאלה הראשונה שהם שואלים איזה קבלה לקבל על עצמם? יש המון תחומים, שבת, צניעות, לשון הרע, לימוד תורה לעזור לבעל, מה הדבר שהכי, אי אפשר הכל ביחד בבת אחת, משהו אחד שהם יכולים לתפוס, ושזה יעמוד להם לזכות ליום הדין. מרן שליט"א החל לנגן: 'כי אשמרה שבת קל ישמרני, אות היא לעולם בינו וביני'. מי חיבר את השיר? האבן עזרא. ומה כותב עליו הרמב"ם באגרות שלו? 'החכם רבי אברהם אבן עזרא זצ"ל גילה סודות עמוקות ועצומות, לא יבינם אלא מי שהוא במדרגתו כו', כי הוא כמו אברהם אבינו עליו השלום ברוח'. עומד הרמב"ם ומודיע שהאבן עזרא היה כמו הנשמה והרוח של אברהם אבינו, והאבן עזרא הענק הזה מעיד פה: 'כי אשמרה שבת קל ישמרני', מי ששומר שבת יש לו שמירה מיוחדת מהקדוש ברוך הוא. אז הדבר הכי טוב שיש, מה שיש לי בידיעה מוחלטת זה שמירת שבת. לא לדבר בשבת דברים בטלים! שאלה. אז מה סבא מציע הלכה למעשה לנשים האלה להתחזק, איזה נקודה לתפוס בפועל? מרן שליט"א: להתחזק בשבת לא לדבר שום מילה בטלה, רק לספר את הסיפורים היפים, וסיפורי התנ"ך, רק יראת שמיים. כיצד מכניסים בבית אוירה של ימים נוראים? שאלה. עוד שאלו, איך מכניסים בבית אווירה של אלול וימים נוראים? היום הרחוב מושך וקשה לפעמים להתרכז ולחשוב שיש דין עוד מעט, אז איך אמא יהודייה יכולה להכניס בבית את המושג הפשוט הזה שיש דין ואנחנו עומדים למשפט? מרן שליט"א: האישה תגיד לילדים שלה: 'היום, היום הרת עולם, א-ל-ו-ל, אוי, אני לדודי ודודי לי הרועה בשושנים. כזה מין שם בומבסטי, אני לדודי, ומי זה דודי? הקדוש ברוך הוא, ודודי לי, הרועה בשושנים, להכניס את זה בלבבות של כל הילדים שבשכונה, אני לדודי ודודי לי, אני לאלוקים ואלוקים לי, הרועה בשושנים. מה זה הרועה בשושנים? בשושנים הוא רועה אותם וככה הצאן לא בורח ממנו. יש רועי צאן שנותנים מכות כדי שהצאן לא יברח, ואז הם לא בורחים מפחד. אבל הקב"ה רועה אותנו בשושנים, הוא שם לנו ריח טוב של התורה והמצוות, ולכן אנחנו לא עוזבים אותו מרוב אהבה ומשיכה, צריכים להסביר את זה לילדים בבית. אשה העובדת לפרנסתה, כיצד תתחזק? שאלה. יש נשים שעובדות קשה מאוד (כגון בתכנות), אין להם זמן לנשום בקושי בין כל המטלות בבית, אז איך הם יתחזקו? בתור בחורה היה להם שיחות חיזוק בסמינר, ולמדו קצת מוסר, היום אין לה זמן לנשום, היא עוסקת בבית וזו מצווה גדולה, שהרי כל הבית עומד עליה, אבל איך נשים כאלה שאין להם כמעט זמן יתחזקו לקראת ראש השנה? מרן שליט"א: הבעל צריך לבוא לכולל ולמצוא כל יום סיפור חדש של חיזוק ואת זה לספר לאשתו, זה התפקיד של הבעל לחזק את אשתו. וכי היא הפקר פה?! הוא התחתן עם אשה והוא צריך לדאוג לה. איך לדאוג לה? כל יום שהוא בא לבית, שיביא איזה סיפור מהתנ"ך או ממה ששמע בכולל, ולחזק אותה. מי ישמור על הילדים בזמני התפילות – האמא או הבת? שאלה. יש משפחות שיש להם הרבה ילדים, והם שואלים מי ישמור על הילדים בראש השנה, אז הבעל בתפילה, אבל יש בת גדולה בגיל 15-16, ומסתפקים מי ילך לתפילה? האם הבת או האמא, האמא אומרת: 'אני יכולה לבקש מהבת והיא תשמע לי, היא נערה מחונכת, השאלה האם אני אשאר בבית עם הילדים והבת תלך לתפילה, או שאני אבקש מהבת שתשמור ואני אלך להתפלל'? מרן שליט"א: יעשו חלוקה, יחלוקו..., כלומר חצי מהתפילות האמא תשמור, וחצי מהתפילות הבת תשמור על הילדים. כוחן ומעלתן של נשות ישראל שאלה. לסיום רוצים לשמוע דברי ברכה וחיזוק לנשים. מרן שליט"א: להגיד לנשים ככה, הרי אם הבעל יהודי והאישה לא יהודייה - הילדים גויים, אבל אם האישה יהודייה והבעל ערבי, יא אחמד מג'נין, הילדים יהודים. זאת אומרת שהכוח שלנו היא האישה, ולא הגבר. אם האישה מחליטה דבר זה קודש קודשים, היא בעלת הבית, היא קובעת דבר. אף אחד לא יודע מזה, עמי הארצות חושבים שהדתיים האלה מקפחים את הנשים, איזה שטויות. האישה היא הקובעת, אם היא יהודייה - הילדים יהודים, ורק האישה ולא מישהו אחר, וזה רק הם, ולא מישהו אחר, וזה החיזוק הכי גדול שנשות ישראל ידעו את מעמדן הנשגב.

Heard me while in coma - R' Ilan Halberstadt

 

🔥מוישלה, הבית בוער: המשא המסורתי מהמשגיח הגרח"י מישקובסקי שליט"א בממלכת התורה ארחות תורה קודם סליחות

 

🍯מתוק מדבש🍯: כשמרן הרב זילברשטיין נכנס לת"ת בית דוד והדריך את ילדי החמד על מהות חודש אלול וימי הדיןAh! The Kinderlach!

 

 

Rav Gershon Shaul Yomtov Lipman Heller zt"l

הרב גרשון שאול יום טוב ליפמן בן נתן הלר זצ"ל

Elul 6 , 5414 / Elul 26 , 5414

Known As: Tosfos Yom Tov

Father's Name: Noson Heller

Born in Wallerstein, Bavaria in the year 5339 (1579), Rav Yom Tov was orphaned from his father before he was born and raised by his grandfather, Rav Moshe Wallerstein, who served as Chief Rabbi of all German Jewry. He was a descendant of Rav Nosson, author of the Aruch.

His two chief mentors and rebbis were the Maharal of Prague, Rav Yaakov Ginzberg, Av Beis Din of Friedburg and Prague, and Rav Shlomo Ephraim Luntshitz, author of Kli Yakar and Olelos Ephraim.

At age eighteen, in 5357, he was appointed as a dayan and rosh yeshiva in Prague, in the beis din of the Maharal. His fame spread throughout the entire world as a gaon. At age thirty, he authored his magnum opus, the Tosafos Yom Tov on Shas Mishnayos.

In 5378, he authored two selichos describing the worries and fears of the Jewish community over the Prague rebellion. These were published as Selichos on the 14th of Cheshvan in Prague, 5381.

In MarCheshvan of 5385, he was appointed Av Beis Din of Nikolsberg, Moravia, and on Rosh Chodesh Adar of 5385 to Av Beis Din Vienna.

Vienna was a newly established kehillah, and some of the new takanos and reforms he established included the daily study of Orchos Chaim of the Rosh before Shacharis, which he personally translated into Yiddish (published in Prague in 5386) so that everyone could understand them.

In Teves of 5387 (1627), Rav Heller was appointed Av Beis Din of Prague. He began his tenure there in Nissan, and about half a year later he was appointed as Rosh Yeshiva as well, succeeding his mentor, the Maharal. He completed Ma’adanei Melech and Lechem Chamudos on the Rosh and began work on his sefer, Malbushei Yom Tov, a super-commentary on the commentary of the Levush on the Arba Turim.

The backdrop to his tenure was the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), a time of chaos and uncertainty for the populace of Bohemia and Prague, and especially for its Jews. The war emptied the government coffers, leading them to impose heavy taxes, a great financial burden upon the Jewish community. While it was the government officials that levied the taxes, the government left the collection up to the Jews themselves. This led to bitter disputes, as many of the wealthier and more powerful figures in the community tried their best to shirk responsibility, while the poorer and weaker Jews were unfairly burdened with taxes they had difficulty in paying.

The Tosafos Yom Tov was very upset by such underhanded measures that went against the derech haTorah, so he had himself appointed to the committee overseeing the tax collection. He saw to it that the taxes were collected evenly and fairly so that wealthier Jews shouldered the burden according to their means.

This act, alongside his other reforms as rabbi, earned him some bitter opponents, who initiated a slanderous libel against him and falsely accused him before the king. The slander claimed that he had disparaged and insulted the Christian faith in his sefarim Ma’adanei Melech and Lechem Chamudos. King Ferdinand II accepted the false rumors and ordered the Tosafos Yom Tov brought in chains and iron

A Fast For All Generations

On the 4th of Tammuz, the Imperial Judge arrived to reveal the terrible decree. On the 5th of Tammuz, 5389 (1629), a date that he would later establish as a fast day for his family and all of his descendants, the Tosafos Yom Tov left Prague. He writes about this in Megillas Eivah:

“And now my children, listen to me and may your souls be revived. As I was looking through my manuscripts with the commentaries and chiddushim I composed that Hashem merited me to author, I came across something I had written down that I had heard from Rav Pinchas of Cracow, a great man, head of the leaders of Vaad Arba Aratzos – the Council of the Four Lands, the son of Rav Zalman Yeshaya Segal Horowitz of Prague. . .when I was in Prague I heard him say: ‘I have a tradition that during the time of the harsh decrees, when the government decreed that on the 5th of Tammuz all the holy Jewish books should be burned, the wise sages of that generation, by means of a she’alas chalom – a dream quest – made an inquiry and asked why this evil had befallen them. They were answered: “Zos Chukas HaTorah K’Targumo.” They interpreted it to be referring to the Aramaic translation of the pasuk in that week’s parsha reading, which was Chukas. The Aramaic translation of the pasuk is “Da Gezeiras Oraisa,” where the word “da” is equal in gematria to 5 (Dalet plus Alef = 4 plus 1).’ I believe this refers to my sefarim, which were originally ordered to be burned and destroyed, and because of them I was forced to leave my home in Prague on the 5th of Tammuz to the Kaiser’s court. The dream spoke of a gezeira – a decree; it was regarding the ancient decree, but I believe it refers to my decree as well, as I was arrested over matters of chukas haTorah. I was arrested on the 17th of Tammuz after chatzos (midday), and I was released 28 days later after chatzos in Menachem Av, equaling a period of forty days, the same as the forty days of disgrace and wandering of Am Yisrael in the desert. I therefore decided to instruct you all, and all your descendants, my sons and my daughters and my sons-in-law and daughters-in-law until the coming of Mashiach, to fast on the 5th of Tammuz until after Maariv. Since it falls out in the summer, when the days are longer, I do not decree until the time of nightfall after the stars come out. If the date falls out on Shabbos, it should be pushed off until Sunday. They can fast until after they daven Minchah Gedolah, and they need not complete the fast longer than this time. Whoever has a weak constitution or is pregnant or nursing can redeem themselves with no less than the value of three large Viennese coins. I was in doubt whether or not to establish the 28th of Menachem Av, the day of my freedom, as a festival and yom tov, as do many of our people to commemorate the day they went free or were saved from a judgment of death. However, I was left bereft and penniless with nothing but the shirt on my back; all my honor and glory were taken from me as well as the rabbinate, and my debts were so heavy I saw no way to repay them since I was left with no means or property. I debated the matter back and forth, and in the midst of my indeterminacy and deliberations, the sefer Yosef Lekack, a commentary on Megillas Esther by Rav Eliezer Ashkenazi (1513-1586, Yahrzeit 22 Kislev) author of Maasei Hashem, came to hand. In the Introduction, he asks, the following question: ‘Why is it that the Kohanim Bnei Chashmonai decided not to establish any festival days to commemorate and celebrate the miraculous salvation and redemption of Am Yisrael? It was an event that demonstrated the supernatural, a victory of the few over the many, their redemption was even greater than the one in the times of Mordechai and Esther. The events of that time, which became Purim, were not overtly supernatural or miraculous; they were instead covert and hidden in nature where the king’s heart was overturned in an instant from evil to good. The answer he gives is that in the days of the Chashmonaim, the joy was incomplete since so many had died and the Beis Hamikdash was ransacked.’ I am in a similar situation, for my joy remains incomplete and I am still filled with sorrow and grief. I remain anguished and pained until Hashem favors me and restores my past crown of glory and improves my future,” (Megillas Eivah).

On the 8th of Tammuz, the Tosafos Yom Tov set out for Vienna, where he was accused, interrogated and jailed. Imprisoned while awaiting final judgment, his life was in great danger. The leaders and heads of the community rose up and took action to defend him and secure his release; even gentile officials and ministers who had met him defended his innocence and protested his imprisonment on an offense that was nothing more than a false libel.

He languished in prison for forty days. On the 28th of Menachem Av, 5389, the community’s efforts bore fruit and while he was released and exonerated from the capital offense, the magistrate ordered him to pay a bond of 12,000 gulden to King Ferdinand II which was in those days a princely sum that all the Jews of Vienna and Prague together could not raise. Furthermore, the magistrate ordered that his sefarim be burned and that henceforth he was forbidden from serving as an Av Beis Din in all the kingdom and its provinces. This final judgment was a terrible blow to the Tosafos Yom Tov, for now he had lost his entire livelihood and source of income. Eventually the sentence was commuted, his sefarim were censored rather than burned and he was allowed to serve as Rav but not in Prague itself. The troubles, tragedy and suffering were recorded in his autobiography Megillas Eivah. Eivah, he writes, “stands for the acronym Eicha Yashva Badad HaIr – The city of Jerusalem sits solitary,” an echo of Megillas Eicha, which we read on Tisha B'Av. He concludes his preface with the remark, “Whoever reads this and suffers along with me in my sorrow shall be absolved in this merit to be saved from all trouble and suffering.” (www.HebrewBooks.org/9529; translated into English as “The Feast and the Fast” published 1984 by Rabbi CU Lipshitz and Dr Neil Rosenstein, Moznayim).

Finally, in Iyar 5392 (1631), the Tosafos Yom Tov was appointed Av Beis Din in Nemirov, Poland, and from there, a few years later in Iyar, 5395 (1634), he moved to serve as Av Beis Din in Ludmir, Volhynia.

While in Ludmir, his enemies again reared their heads, as he describes in Megillas Eiva: “I awoke as a man from slumber and resolved to renew the laws from the earlier gaonim forbidding the practice of selling and purchasing the position of Rav from the local government ministers. A historic precedent that existed from the times that the position of Kohen Gadol was sold and purchased during Bayis Sheini – the Second Temple period. Previously, the Sages had enacted bans of excommunication, curses, oaths, fences and fines for transgressing these laws and decrees, but despite their efforts, breach after breach occurred, and the law became so full of holes that it became a matter of jest and seemed to people as if it was permitted.

“In Ludmir we instituted new safeguards. While previously they had forbidden the sale and purchase of the position of Rav, I added to this and forbade the hiring and employment of such people as well. This earned me new enemies, accusations, false and baseless hatred, but I was undeterred.

“On the 18th of Iyar, in Vizhnitz, together with the communal leaders of Volhynia, Ludmir, Ostrog, Kremenetz, and Lutzk, we gathered to renew these enactments and ordinances in all four provinces. Afterwards, I agreed to travel to Lublin and Yaroslavl on market days of public gathering where this proclamation was signed and ratified by the Vaad Arba Aratzos – (Committee of the Four Lands) together with thirty of the greatest leaders. It was read and proclaimed throughout all the shuls of Yaroslavl and the fair in Kremenet. Two of the rabbanim from the Vaad Arba Aratzos who agreed with me issued a proclamation on Shabbos Vayikra to prohibit the illegal sale and purchase of rabbinic positions. . .the more I acted and expounded the more my enemies did all they could to oppose me. . . they did all they could to expel me from the rabbinate” (Megillas Eivah).

The Tosafos Yom Tov finally overcame his enemies when their plots failed and he was exonerated. His former honor and glory were restored on the first day of Chol HaMoed Sukkos 5404, when the good news arrived that he was to be appointed as the Rosh Yeshiva together with Rav Yehoshua in Cracow. He arrived in Cracow on the 27th (some versions of the text say 28th) of MarCheshvan and was received with honor and dignity.

A Feast For All Generations

On Sunday, the first of Adar Rishon 5404 (1644), he was officially appointed Av Beis Din, and he wrote in his Megillas Eiva a new directive that his family observe the 1st of Adar as a personal family celebration of thanksgiving, to thank and praise Hashem on the day he was officially installed as Av Beis Din Cracow:

“Up until now, I hesitated to establish a day of feast and festival; however, I now resolve to establish this day as a Yom Tov festival. Mi’shenichnas Adar Marbin B’Simcha! The first of Adar, the second day of Rosh Chodesh, is established for all generations for my children and descendants, sons, daughters, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, because on that day my crown and honor were restored and I was appointed Av Beis Din and Rosh Yeshiva of the great and holy congregation of Cracow and all its neighboring provinces. May Hashem merit us all to serve Him and fulfill His laws, and [may I] live out my days not for the pursuit of wealth, but for an exalted yearning as demonstrated by my conduct until the coming of Mashiach, amen. The symbolism of the year when the attribute of harsh judgment was leveled against me is Shaphat (judgment = the year שפ''ט(1629). The symbolism of the year of my redemption, when my crown of glory was regained and restored, is ת''ד (1644) = Das – the law, ve’ha’das nitna beShushan haBira – and the law was enacted in Shushan,” to sing and rejoice with a happy heart. So saith Yom Tov Lipman ben Nosson HaLevi Heller,” (Megillas Eivah).

Sefarim

Besides his magnum opus, Tosafos YomTov on Mishnayos, he also authored Darkei Hora’ah, Malbushei Yom Tov, Ma’adanei Melech, Pilpula Charifta and Lechem Chamudos on the Rosh, Toras Ha’asham a commentary on the Rema’s Toras HaChatas, Tzuras HaBayis on Yechezkel’s prophecy of the Third Binyan Beis HaMikdash, and a commentary on Bechinas Olam, Parshas HaChodesh on Kiddush HaChodesh of the Rambam. He also wrote Tuv Taam on Rabbeinu Bachaya, and Megillas Eiva, the autobiography of his troubles and calamities as well as his salvation from his enemies by Hashem. Some of his Shu”t and responsa are cited in many collections.

Geneology

His wife was the daughter of Rav Aharon Moshe Teumim, the father of Rav Yeshaya Teumim, who was the father of the Kikayon D’Yonah, a descendant of Rashi and Dovid HaMelech.

His descendants include many famous rabbinic figures and Chassidic rebbes. Below is a list of his children, sons-in-law and some of his more prominent descendants:

Sons

Rav Moshe of Prague – printed Megillas Eivah.

Rav Shmuel of Nemirov – see the story about him below in the story section.

Rav Avraham of Prague – Rosh Yeshiva Skola, ancestor of Rav Moshe Aharon Heller, Av Beis Din of Sniatyn, Rav Meshulem Feivish of Zbaraz, author of Yosher Divrei Emes and of Rav Shmuel Heller of Tzfas.

Rav Liva of Brisk, Rav Alexander of Prague (these two names appear in certain editions of Megillas Eivah and not in others) Rav Yehuda Leib Heller HY”D (Yahrzeit 15th Tishrei)

Sons in Law

Rav Yosef Yaakov Kahana – Kat”z Rosh Yeshiva Turinsk, married to Raizel, ancestor of the famed rabbis Rav Yehuda Kahana, Av Beis Din Sighet and author of Kuntres HaSfeikos, as well as Rav Aryeh Leib, author of Ketzos HaChoshen.

Rav Shmuel Bash of Prague – married to Dobrish. Their shidduch and her untimely death is described in Megillas Eivah.

Rav Yoel of Brisk – descendant Rav Yoel Sirkis (known as the Ba”ch), who married an unknown daughter. He was an ancestor of Mordechai Yosef Leiner, founder of Izhbitza – Radzyner Chassidic dynasty.

Rav Tzvi Hirsch –married to Rivka, ancestor of the Eichensteins and Safrins of the Zidatchov/Kamarna Chassidic dynasties.

Rav Ze’ev Wolf Slovis Segal -- married to Nissel, ancestor of the Maharam Schick. The marriage of their son, Nosson (named after Tosafos Yom Tov’s father) to the daughter of the gaon Rav Moshe Av Beis Din Chelm, the son of Rav Moshe Av Beis Din Brisk and grandson of the communal leader Rav Shaul Wohl is described in Megillas Eivah.

Rav Aharon Frankel Mirels -- married to Rechel Nachele, were cousins. Rav Aharon’s father, Rav Koppel, was the son of Avraham Heller, the Tosafos Yom Tov’s uncle (his father’s brother).

At age 77, as he lay in his sickbed, two additional names were added (as is customary by some to change a sick person’s name by adding names), so the names “Gershon Shaul” do appear on his matzeiva. The Tosafos Yom Tov passed away on the 6th of Elul (Some say the 26th Elul as it appears on his matzeiva; others claim the matzeiva reads “On Yom Dalet, Vav Elul, meaning Wednesday, the 6th of Elul) 5414 (1654).

Illustration 2: Refurbished matzeiva in old Jewish Cemetery, courtyard of Rema Shul, Kazimeriz, Crakow.

Here lies the great gaon of his generation Our master, the Rav Gershon Shaul Yom Tov Lipman Heller Son of Rav Nosson HaLevi.

He dove into deep waters [of Torah] and authored several sefarim, whose names are Tzuras HaBayis, Tosafos YomTov on Shas Mishnayos, Ma’adanei Melech and Lechem Chamudos on the Ashri (Rosh), and Toras Ha’asham on the (Rema’s) Toras Chatas

He taught Torah in Klal Yisrael and served in several renowned holy kehillos and congregations [in] Vienna and Prague, and at the end of his days he established the Yeshiva in Poland. And here in Cracow, he was asked to attend the Yeshiva shel Maalah – the Heavenly Academy -- on Wednesday the 6th of Elul, 5414. The Illustration : Man at Window, 1653, by Samuel van Hoogstraten, attributed to Rav Heller, the Tosafos Yom Tov, in Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.

Now a New Agudas Yisrael…..Who is next?

 

DRAMA IN AGUDAS YISRAEL: Belzer Representative Yisrael Eichler To Be Replaced

https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2594921/drama-in-agudas-yisrael-belzer-representative-yisrael-eichler-to-be-replaced.html

Chofetz Chaim greeted R' Shimon Schwab - R' Beryl Gershenfeld הרב ישראל מאיר בן אריה לייב קאגאן זצ"ל Elul 24 , 5693

 

How did I miss this and the Yahrzeit is erev the beginning (Elul 25) of the creation of the first week of the world, and the first Shabbat:

Rav Yisroel Meir HaKohen Kagan of Radin zt"l

הרב ישראל מאיר בן אריה לייב קאגאן זצ"ל

Elul 24 , 5693

Known As: Chofetz Chaim, Mishna Berura

Father's Name: Aryeh Leib Kagan

Rabbi  Yisroel Meir HaCohen Kagan is commonly known as the “Chofetz Chaim,” the name of his famous work on guarding one’s tongue. Born in Zhetel, Poland on February 6, 1838, he was taught untill age 10 by his parents and then moved to Vilna to further his Jewish studies. Refusing the pulpit rabbinate, the Chofetz Chaim settled in Radin (Poland) and subsisted on a small grocery store which his wife managed and he did the “bookkeeping”-watching every penny to make sure that no one was cheated. He spent his days learning Torah and disseminating his knowledge to the common people.

As his reputation grew, students from all over Europe flocked to him and by 1869 his house became known as the Radin Yeshiva. In addition to his Yeshiva, the Chofetz Chaim was very active in Jewish causes. He traveled extensively (even in his 90s!) to encourage the observance of Mitzvos amongst Jews. One of the founders of Agudas Yisrael, the religious Jewish organizaion of Europe and later the world, the Chofetz Chaim was very involved in Jewish affairs and helped many yeshivos survive the financial problems of the interwar period. Exemplifying the verses in Psalms 34:13-14, “Who is the man who desires life…? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit,” the Chafetz Chaim passed away in 1933 at the ripe age of 95.

The Chofetz Chaim’s greatest legacy is the 21 sefarim (holy books) which he published. His first work, Sefer Chofetz Chaim (1873), is the first attempt to to organize and clarify the laws regrding evil talk and gossip. He later wrote other works, including Shmiras HaLashon, which emphasized the importance of guarding one’s tongue by quoting our Sages. The Mishnah Brurah (1894-1907), his commentary on the Daily Laws of a Jew (his first series in the Shulchan Aruch), is found in many Jewish homes and is accepted universally to decide Halacha.

Firmly believing that he was living right before the time of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, the Chofetz Chaim wrote a work that stressed the learning of laws concerning sacrifices, the Holy Temple, and related topics. He also published seforim to strengthen certain aspects of Jewish life including kashrus, family purity, and Torah study.

https://torah.org/learning/halashon-ccbio/

By Rabbi Nosson Scherman

A little more than one hundred years ago, an unknown author was arranging for the publication of an anonymous work on a much-ignored topic. Reb Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, Lithuania, had spent two winters, 5630 and 5631 (1870 and 1871), writing Chofetz Chaim, a compilation of the laws regarding slander and defamation. During 5632, he was engaged in getting pre-publication orders from the general public and securing testimonials from outstanding rabbinic authorities. In those days, when he was a young man in his thirties, Reb Yisrael Meir still thought he could retain his anonymity. He introduced himself as the publisher, rather than the author, of the novel Shulchan Aruch. In this guise he succeeded in evading recognition by the masses, but the spiritual giants of the age – men like Rabbi Yisrael Lipkin (Salanter) – saw that they were dealing with one of those rare figures who would leave his imprint on a nation. More than sixty tireless years, twenty-four additional volumes, and countless public letters and appeals lay ahead of the young “publisher,” but the pattern of his long and busy life was already apparent when he was still unknown by circumstance as much as by choice.

A major reason for the enormous influence and acceptance won by the Chofetz Chaim was his utter and complete integrity. Statements and actions that would have seemed unctuously pretentious in ordinary humans were natural and unaffected coming from him. A case in point is the very topic of his “Chofetz Chaim” – gossip and witty character assassination are not twentieth century phenomena; human tongues have always been loose and hard to control. The Talmud says, “Most people are guilty of dishonesty, few of vice, but all of lashon hara”(Baba Basra 165). Anyone presenting a book codifying the sins of slander could expect to be greeted with much scorn – private if not public. Yet, when Reb Yisrael Meir mounted pulpits in town after town to discuss the forthcoming Chofetz Chaim, he was listened to with respect. The people sensed that he was no salesman hawking a product, but one of those rare finds – an honest man whose love for his fellow Jews was expressed by trying to bring them closer to Torah, and who truly believed in the ability and obligation of people to pursue perfection. They were convinced that he wrote Chofetz Chaim not for recognition and for library shelves, but – as advertised – because he expected working men as well as scholars to form study groups to learn and put into practice what he had gleaned and compiled, and what was forged into his personality.

Many of the rabbis whom he approached for endorsements were skeptical of the first person to so systematically attack a sin that the Talmud considers universal. To avoid bringing ridicule not only upon himself but upon his stated purpose – and thus, paradoxically, provide yet another topic for gossip mongering – the personal credentials of the author as one who “withholds his tongue from evil” had to be unimpeachable. Some went so far as to assign students or colleagues to engage Reb Yisrael Meir in conversation to try to trap him into lashon hara, thus revealing him as no less mortal than the next man. The ruses invariably revealed the greatness of the author, and the endorsements were forthcoming.

No one knows for sure what prompted Reb Yisrael Meir to write Chofetz Chaim, but it was certainly not his finding an unexplored, fertile field for research, for the Chofetz Chaim never took pen in hand, except in response to a concrete need. To reveal his reason for compiling his Shulchan Aruch on lashon hara would have involved dredging up sordid stories of the very type he was trying to still. His son, Reb Aryeh Leib, conjectured that his father’s first masterpiece grew out of a bitter controversy in the town of Radin during his youth. Acrimony had swirled about the town and all efforts to bring peace had failed. The town became divided into factions and its rabbi was forced to leave. He died after a few years in a new position and many blamed his early death on the anguish he suffered during Radin’s little war. Reb Yisrael Meir, then a young man, had seen his fellow townspeople turn their tongues into ugly lethal weapons. As long as he lived, he never discussed the dispute, saying simply, “I have a self-imposed restriction against speaking of it,” but it may very well be that the Chofetz Chaim was his response in the form of an appeal that there be no more such incidents in Radin – or elsewhere.

A New Need / A New Book

Whenever he wrote, it was to answer a need. Russia’s conscription policies forced many Jewish boys into the army for periods of at least six years, cutting them off from religious teaching and influence. They needed encouragement and answers to basic questions of halachah in layman’s language. The result was Machneh Yisrael, a book that became the link to Judaism for many a Jewish soldier.

o Heartbreaking tales of the breakdown of religion among Jewish immigrants to America led to his Nidchei Yisrael. In providing practical answers to the halachic problems peculiar to the immigrant, Reb Yisrael Meir often rendered lenient decisions that took into account the emergency conditions of the immigrants, but which were inappropriate to the thriving religious life of Eastern Europe. Because of this, he had hoped that Nidchei Yisrael would not be distributed in Eastern Europe, but inevitably some copies were seen. This led to criticism of the Chofetz Chaim – something he regretted, but considered unimportant in view of his primary goal of aiding the uprooted Jews in America.

o Reb Yisrael Meir felt that the practical laws of kindness and charity were too often ignored. His reaction was to do for gemilas chessed what he had done for shmiras halashon (guarding one’s tongue) – codify its laws, and actively campaign for Jews to join study groups to learn and to act upon them. As a result of his slim classic Ahavas Chessed, literally hundreds of free loan societies, shelters for the homeless, and bikur cholim societies sprang into being. Many of them sent requests to the Chofetz Chaim for letters of greeting and blessing that would be bound as the first page of a new organization’s ledger book.

o Weakening of adherence to the laws of family purity and of personal modesty led to pamphlets in both Hebrew and Yiddish addressed to Jewish women.

o There were booklets in both languages urging men to pursue Torah study in their homes . . . and the list goes on and on.

The personal attention Reb Yisrael Meir devoted to the publication of his ethical works did not end when the volumes were printed and distributed. He did not write his books to be purchased; he wrote them to be used. His frequent lecture tours in behalf of one or another of his sefarim were devoted primarily to encouraging people to set up groups for the study of the sefer. In later years, when he was too old or too busy to go on personal tours, he hired “field representatives” to carry on his work. But they were firmly instructed that they must sell the message of the books by personal example and persuasive lectures.

Fire-and-brimstone preaching was not his approach; he was a firm believer in the superior efficacy of a spoonful of honey to a gallon of vinegar. Once a traveling preacher complained to him that no matter how much he thundered and reprimanded his audiences, they seemed to ignore his calls to repent. The Chofetz Chaim replied, “Who told you that the way to perform the mitzvah of correcting sinners is by shouting and storming? Putting on tefillin is also a mitzvah – do you holler and shout when you perform that mitzvah?”

An Imminent Need / A New Syllabus

In addition to salvaging neglected mitzvos, the Chofetz Chaim assumed responsibility for reviving interest in a long neglected area of the Torah. For centuries, Kadoshim, the section of the Talmud dealing with the laws of the Sanctuary and sacrificial offerings, had been virtually excluded from the curricula of major Torah centers. Rare were the scholars who had more than a passing familiarity with its intricacies. Reb Yisrael Meir saw this as a far more serious matter than a lack of knowledge among Torah intelligentsia. With the deceptive simplicity that masked his penetrating insight, he would ask, “We believe that Mashiach can arrive today. If he does, are we ready to bring our offerings to the Bais Hamikdosh? Do the Kohanim know the laws of sacrifices? Do the scholars know enough to train the Kohanim?”

Obviously, the answer to all these questions was a shameful “No.”

“Then are we not somewhat lacking in our prayers, hopes, and beliefs in the imminent coming of Mashiach?” The solution was simple: organize groups to study Kadashim. Thus was born a trend that continues to this day. Far from being neglected, the study of Kadashim is now a mark of prestige; the endeavor of the most advanced group in nearly all yeshivos.

Typically, the Chofetz Chaim showed the way by practical example as well as by exhortation. He published Toras Kohanim, a compilation of the Tannaitic interpretations of Chumash Vayikra, with an amended, completely accurate text; and an original commentary that ranks as a model of conciseness and clarity. He also composed Likutei Halachos modeled after the Alfasi, which is a compilation of halachic sections of the Talmud dealing with Kadashim topics; and included an elucidating original commentary.

Magnum Opus: “Mishnah Berurah”

Of all his literary efforts, his acknowledged masterpiece and the one which continues to have the greatest influence is Mishnah Berurah, a work that was twenty-five years in the making.

The Chofetz Chaim was concerned by a serious gap in halachic literature. There was no modern commentary on Orach Chaim (the section of the Shulchan Aruch dealing with daily and festival rituals) that summed up the centuries of comment and responsa, and rendered authoritative decisions in areas of dispute. Clearly such a work was much needed, but it could be undertaken only by a giant in Torah scholarship. The mantle was not sought by the Chofetz Chaim. He urged it upon others, but finding no one willing to assume the responsibility, he finally accepted it upon himself. The breadth, conciseness, clarity, and genius of Mishnah Berurah speak for themselves, as does the almost universal acceptance it has attained. This is the supreme testimonial to its author’s stature as a sage.

He did not write the Mishnah Berurah simply because he wanted to, but because he saw it as a task that had to be done by someone, and his inability to find that someone left the responsibility at his doorstep. This is testimonial to his greatness as a person.

II. The Man of the Legends

The Chofetz Chaim was surely a scholar’s scholar. More than this, however, he was also a genuine folk-hero. Scholars respected him, but the common people loved him with a rare passion. The reasons are many and no doubt complex. But the most compelling one is simply that he considered himself as one with them and their problems. Even his books, despite the great scholarship they represent, were written to be used by ordinary men – and in many instances, by ordinary women, too. Sensing that he identified with them, people did not hesitate to seek his advice and assistance.

Although he never accepted the position of rabbi in Radin, he was in fact its spiritual and temporal leader. When some townspeople unfairly criticized and embarrassed their rabbi for the deficiencies of the town’s mikvah, it was the Chofetz Chaim who guaranteed the funding and supervised the building of a new one. When Radin was devastated by fires that, in successive years, destroyed first one half and then the other half of the Jewish section, it was he who organized emergency relief, fund-raising, and the rebuilding of the town.

A poor workingman was not ashamed to ask him, as author of Ahavas Chessed, how a laborer living hand-to-mouth could be expected to perform the mitzvah of lending money to others. And he did not feel patronized when he was told to save a few pennies a week, eventually building it up to a fund of several rubles, for loaning to fellow workers short of pocket money. That was down-to-earth advice that was followed by thousands, and it was typical of the pragmatic idealism of a man who never took a penny offered to him by people who had the notion that his greatness entitled him to gifts.

The Chofetz Chaim’s awesome care in maintaining the strictest possible standards in his financial dealings has become legendary. No doubt many of the stories attributed to him are apocryphal – but, for most of them, there is more than ample first-hand testimony … He insisted that his son reprint hundreds of sections of Mishnah Berurah to replace originals where pages had inadvertently been put in the wrong order. … The Chofetz Chaim himself once went dashing through the Jewish quarter of Warsaw shortly before Shabbos seeking to pay printers who had left work early without getting their pay for the week … When a non-Jewish railroad employee put parcels of his books on board a train for free delivery, the Chofetz Chaim tore up an amount of postage stamps sufficient to defray the loss of revenue to the government … In his first speaking tour on behalf of the book Chofetz Chaim, he accepted orders, but not deposits, because of the possibility that he might not be able to make delivery to some pre-paying customers, thus becoming guilty of improperly taking their money … The stories are legion.

Saint and Pragmatist

It is commonplace for people to believe that the Chofetz Chaim, as a saintly personality, could not have been terribly practical and certainly could not have coped with the rough and tumble of the world – especially today when so many accept as axiomatic that “you cannot make an omelette without breaking a few eggs,” and that “nice guys finish last.” Nothing could be further from the truth. It was this same saint who once remarked that one fool can do more damage than ten villains. Men like Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzensky of Vilna greatly valued his wise counsel when searching for practical solutions to the knottiest of problems. Indeed, in the crisis-laden years following World War I, when Reb Chaim Ozer was the undisputed leader of Lithuanian Jewry, he and the Chofetz Chaim were in constant consultation on all major issues. Their names appeared side-by-side on scores of proclamations and appeals in behalf of all the major causes in Jewish life.

The Chofetz Chaim was one of the first to realize that Torah Jewry must up-date its tactics to counter the onslaught of its enemies. Organized activities for the Torah community and its educational needs could succeed where efforts on the individual scale could scarcely cope with the juggernauts of Haskalah and secularism. Thus he took the lead in organizing and supporting Agudath Israel as the international organizational arm of traditional Jewry. As usual, he saw this as more than a matter of strategy, but as a religious obligation: “In a time when our values are under attack as never before, even small acts in defense of Torah are multiplied many times over in the Divine scales for ultimate reward.”

Though he was the senior of the two by nearly thirty years, the Chofetz Chaim considered Reb Chaim Ozer to be the gadol hador and deferred to his authority as a matter of course, despite the fact that Reb Chaim Ozer held him in awe. During the 1920’s, pressure was brought to bear on Reb Chaim Ozer to travel to America to raise money for the European yeshivos, which were on the brink of financial ruin. He was told that only his own presence in America could assure contributions in the millions. Reb Chaim Ozer answered that his health was too precarious to permit such a trip. Though the other Torah luminaries at the meeting continued to exert pressure upon him, the Chofetz Chaim ended the debate by saying very simply, “The well-being of Reb Chaim Ozer is synonymous with that of Klal Yisrael. We dare not jeopardize it.”

Storm Over Vilna

The prestige of Reb Chaim Ozer was responsible for an unheard-of departure by the Chofetz Chaim – an open attack upon adversaries of Torah Judaism. His general policy had been always to avoid engaging Torah’s enemies in debate. To reply to the virulent attacks made by maskillim, yevsekes (Jewish Communists) and others, he felt, would be self-defeating because it would grant them unearned recognition, and merely provide them with fuel for vituperation and ridicule. Better to isolate them from the mainstream of religious life, while devoting the available talent and resources to the more productive course of strengthening Judaism by upgrading education and observance within yeshivos and communities. Then came the storm over the Vilna rabbinate.

The government required that Vilna have a Chief Rabbi. Although Reb Chaim Ozer was a recognized leader of religious European Jewry, Vilna’s official Chief Rabbi was to be elected by the entire Jewish population, which included a large secular contingent. Agudath Israel doubted that Reb Chaim Ozer would be able to command a majority of the total votes, so they joined a coalition of the Mizrachi, Socialists, and Reformers to “elect” a Rabbi Rubinstein as a pro-forma head of the Jewish Community, with the understanding that he would not assert any authority without Reb Chaim Ozer’s approval. After his election, Rabbi Rubinstein’s secularist supporters used this consensus as a pretext for treating him as the actual Chief Rabbi of Vilna, and Reb Chaim Ozer, the man who was revered the world over, found the ground cut out from under him in his own city. Strangely enough, the only important Torah figure whose serenity was not shattered was Reb Chaim Ozer himself. That did not prevent his adherents, led by the Chazon Ish and guided by the Chofetz Chaim, from doing battle to defend the honor of Torah. The Chofetz Chaim published a blistering letter attacking the perpetrators of the coup as enemies of Torah. Though disciples of Reb Chaim Ozer attempted to negotiate a face-saving compromise, the Chofetz Chaim torpedoed these efforts as going against the inviolable principle of Torah supremacy.

The secularists’ reaction to his bold position was one of those human spectacles that must be greeted with laughter or rage. The non-religious Jewish press in Vilna vilified the Chofetz Chaim for stooping to lashon hara against the liberal Jews! His reply was simple and to the point: “When Torah values are being destroyed, Torah Law permits their defense.”

His deference to Reb Chaim Ozer, however, did not prevent the Chofetz Chaim from arguing his own causes in the humorous, self-deprecating manner that he used so effectively. In 1923, the Chofetz Chaim felt that the community must be organized to provide kosher meals for Jewish soldiers. He called his new project Kessel Kosher (Kosher Kettle) and, naturally, his first move was to travel to Vilna to secure the endorsement and support of Reb Chaim Ozer. The endorsement was not forthcoming. Reb Chaim Ozer replied that there were many overriding considerations making such a campaign inopportune at that time.

The Chofetz Chaim shrugged and replied, “What can I do? People consider me to be a God-fearing Jew. When I am called to the world-to-come, they will ask me why I did nothing to provide kosher food for Jewish conscripts. What will I say? Perhaps I’ll tell them that I was not lazy or indifferent; I made the hard trip to Vilna even though I was weak and past eighty. But the Rabbi of Vilna was the gadol hador and he said I was wrong. Who knows better than the gadol hador what is right or wrong?”

Reb Chaim Ozer knew he had been bested. He called a public meeting in the central synagogue to be addressed by the Chofetz Chaim. At that meeting Kessel Kosher was born.

III. As the Chofetz Chaim Would Say . . .

Precisely because he had such a keen feel for the pulse of the people and the needs of the time, it is fascinating – and useful – to wonder what the Chofetz Chaim would have said to today’s problems. Indeed, we should go a step further and wonder how he would have defined the real problems of today. After all, Chofetz Chaim and Ahavas Chessed were effective replies to problems not even recognized by most. It would be a mistake to take the sizeable collection of his major and minor writings, apply them to each era, and assume that the Chofetz Chaim would have had nothing more to say.

How would he have diagnosed today’s ills? This question should be answered by the few survivors of his era who knew him well, but perhaps we can hazard some guesses.

o There is little doubt that he would be appalled at the sharp and shady business practices that are so much a part of modern life, Orthodoxy not excluded. We live in an age when ethics have not kept pace with sophistication, and Jews have not escaped contamination. How would he have prodded our con- science?

o Picture the Chofetz Chaim entering a typical middle-class home today with its emphasis on “creature comforts,” and recreational pursuits rather than a Torah atmosphere . . . Would he have smiled tolerantly? Or would he have considered his surroundings more appropriate to the House of Romanoff than to the House of Israel, and told us so?

o What would he say to the growing gap that divides yeshiva, rabbinate, and laity from one another?

o And what about the organizational weakness of Orthodoxy? He was one of the founders of Agudath Israel, long aware that modern times required modern tactics – and organizational unity was one of them. Surely he would work to end today’s factionalism.

o In this time of turbulence when the values of centuries are being discarded, we may be certain that the Chofetz Chaim would have found our attitude wanting and far too complacent. We are content to condemn the drug culture, but are ill prepared for our own acid test. Indicative of this is a memoir of one his students, Rabbi Avrohom Hillel Goldberg, later rabbi of Kfar Pinnes in Israel:

It was near the end of his life and the Chofetz Chaim was in a summer cottage near Radin. He was heart-broken over the persecutions of Jews in Russia. He saw their situation as the severing of an entire limb of the Jewish body from its life-sources of Torah and mitzvos. “There is only one real hope,” he said – “Mashiach must come soon. The Final Redemption must come sooner or later, but it is up to us to hasten its arrival. We must demonstrate our overpowering desire for Mashiach. How many of us religious Jews who say ‘Ani Maamin’ every day truly long for his coming? Why don’t we cry out to Hashem to help us? This is no time for silence!

“Even in the Egyptian exile the Torah says that only when B’nei Yisrael cried out for help – then did their outcry go up to Hashem. We must do the same now! I must go to Vilna to Reb Chaim Ozer – without him nothing can be done!”

His family and students were aghast. He was over ninety years old and he could scarcely leave his armchair for the length of a day. He might not survive the difficult trip to Vilna. They pleaded with him to abandon his plan, but he would not be dissuaded. The goal was worthy of even mesiras nefesh. They told him that Reb Chaim Ozer was a man of halachah and action; such ideas as the Chofetz Chaim’s were out of his domain. He smiled as if to say, What do you know of Reb Chaim Ozer?

To his deep regret, the journey to Reb Chaim Ozer never took place. Had they met, who knows?

This article originally appeared in the Jewish Observer and is also available in book form in the ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications Judaiscope Series.

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