rav aharon kotler's sister

Tell your rabbi that hed better appear at our headquarters by tonight!. An elderly rav exclaimed, Yungerman, sit down. Erupting in torrents of thought like a volcano, hed cite a tradition from Rav Yisrael Salanter that Torah is studied with venom, not with calm equanimity or coldness and apathy. He spoke quickly. Rav Beinush Finkel shared that on the day that Rav Noach left for Mir, Rav Aharon was absent from the yeshivah. Rav Isser Zalman conveyed the Frank familys position to the Alter of Slabodka, emphasizing the pain this was causing his mother-in-law, the elderly widow. The yeshivah was in the process of welcoming a new rosh yeshivah, Rav Baruch Ber Leibowitz, whose shiurim would dominate the Lithuanian Torah landscape for the next 35 years. Following a brief imprisonment by the Soviets, Rav Isser Zalman himself joined the yeshivah in Kletzk and resumed his former post as rosh yeshivah. The Vaad worked together with the JDC, in an often-rocky relationship, to provide the bedraggled survivors with kosher food, religious articles, and religious education until they could relocate to established Jewish communities. Rav Aharon delivering a shiur at the Bialystoker Synagogue on New Yorks Lower East Side. The setting and language may have been different, but he would bring the same fire and uncompromising vision to the task. Hashem gave him certain strengths and abilities and when one sees results, one cannot let anything stand in the way, and must do whatever is possible to uphold the generation and fight for Yiddishkeit. A neighborhood group organized a petition against the sale, citing potential noise issues in the quiet neighborhood. In these efforts he was quite successful, and his charisma, sense of urgency, and boundless energy motivated others as well. If you study Torah lishmah and inculcate that value in others, Rav Aharon told him, Hashem will care for your children. Rav Shmuel often repeats this promise to parents moving to distant locales to spread Torah. During the final decades of his life, Rav Aharon entered a phase of leadership that boggles the mind in terms of its scope and activism. They came with a value of avodahtefillah. At the time of his arrival, the United States was considered a Torah wilderness-meaning that there were few yeshivot (learning centers) and only a . Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l came to America from Europe in 1942, bringing with him an unprecedented level of Torah learning, a pure and uncompromising dedication to Torah, and a Torah that was. Just weeks after Rav Aharons arrival in Americaon Erev Pesach of 1941, the Nazis invaded Soviet-occupied Lithuania andbrought an end to the golden age of Torah study in Eastern Europe. During this time of uncertainty, Rav Aharon launched a new shiur for a select group of students on Seder Zeraim, an area he continued to lecture on upon arriving as a refugee to Manhattan. It was therefore decided to split the yeshivah. Rav Aharon even encouraged talented yeshivah students to participate as well, and many of them were sent along with rabbanim on the road for the Chofetz Chaim Torah campaign. Rav Aharon was also assisted by two young rabbis, Herbert Goldstein and Leo Jung, who made introductions to wealthy congregants and hosted a large tribute event. A story is told regarding the brothers-in-law. She could be regularly heard reminding Rav Aharon to take a break to eat, so hed have strength to learn and engage in his endless activities on behalf of the klal. It was not so easy to decide upon the move and the pleas of the local Jewish community in Kletzk for them to remain made the task more difficult. Supporters of the yeshivah accused the opponents of being biased against poor war refugees. The challenges quickly subsided. As he gazed out from his place of honor, he could not help but notice that the endless sea of roshei yeshivah, roshei chaburah and rabbanim sitting alongside him easily outnumbered the entire sum of the postwar Olam HaTorah. A savior arrived in the form of Rav Reuven Grozovsky, an older student of the Alter of Slabodka. Was it possible? With his arrival in Slabodka, he enjoyed a . That isnt where the story ends, however. Rav Aharon Kotler was leaving the world. He never ceased to praise the tireless efforts and the exceptional brilliance of Rav Aharon. In Minsk, Arke became acquainted with another budding Torah scholar just a few months his, senior named Yaakov Kamenetsky, with whom he developed a close relationship. In Slabodka there was something of a caste system, with older students rarely acknowledging their junior counterparts, let alone conversing with them. It had clearly made a deep impression on Rav Aharon. A rapid Sovietization of Lithuania ensued. He famously would administer semichah exams while traveling on a horse-drawn sled around the lake. His sefer Mekor Baruch garnered world-acclaim, specifically in the Torah community. Little is known about the time Rav Aharon spent at Knesses Beis Yitzchak, but the presence of the young student caused a stir in Slabodka, so much so that a plan was eventually put into motion to try and bring him to the Alters yeshivah, Knesses Yisrael. Rabbi Alter Pekier continues: Many rabbis and Jewish leaders from various Lithuanian towns came to Vilna to take leave of Rav Aharon. At a stop in Egypt, Rav Aharon encountered rampant assimilation there and attempted to open a yeshivah. The Mizrachi leader and Warsaw-based lawyer Zorach Warhaftig, who enjoyed a close relationship with many leading roshei yeshivah including Rav Aharon and would later play a vital role in the rescue of yeshivah students and roshei yeshivah during the war years, recounted in his memoirs his conversation with Rav Aharon regarding one facet among others of his general opposition to Zionism: In my many conversations with Rav Aharon Kotler, similar to my ones with Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, I got the impression that they view the study of Torah and the love of Torah as an all-encompassing outlook. Prior to Pesach of 1905, Rav Aharon journeyed to Minsk and joined a kibbutz of older talmidim at the Katzovisheh (Butchers) Shul. He and his family were martyred during the Holocaust. Rabbi Perr is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Derech Ayson, Far Rockaway, NY. Rav Aharon Kotlers sister Malka was relentless in trying to convince him to leave Slabodka, enroll in university, and join the modern world. Oftentimes it wasnt limited to mere abandonment of religion; it was openly hostile toward mitzvah observance. He bent forward and strained his neck to look backward. On September 10, 1935, Rav Aharon arrived in New York on the RMS Majestic. Sensing the danger which was to confront the yeshivos under a potential Soviet dominion, he called upon all of the yeshivos to flee posthaste to Vilna. Rav Aharons immediate placement in the yeshivah proper awarded him unique status. You will live for many years in Eretz Yisrael; HaKadosh Baruch Hu will yet help you, and in Eretz Yisrael you will come up with great chiddushei Torah., After hearing such things from the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Isser Zalman declared, I wouldnt stay here for all the money in the world! Rav Aharon immediately proved his leadership abilities. Supposedly Rav Aharon Kotler had asked Joe Kennedy for assistance in obtaining certificates for European Jews, and to help lobby the president to work on to save the Jews. Their immediate needs were assumed by Rav Aharon, who had obtained a large quantity of saccharin as well as locally baked black bread. Dividing into three factions, the largest went to Salock in northern Lithuania, together with Rav Aharon himself. Where are you from? Rav Mordechai went on. When the Frank family heard that Rav Archik was the leading candidate for rosh yeshivah, they vehemently protested. "It's a curse," Ted's wife Joan tells her sister-in-law Jackie Kennedy, the fresh widow of JFK, who was assassinated the year before. Community leaders in Maltch feared losing their rav, and offered to establish a yeshivah for him in town. The travails of the months Rav Aharon spent on the road are evident in letters he wrote during this time. The House. During the course of his 11 months in the United States, Rav Aharon visited locations from Boston to Atlanta, New York to Nebraska. The Torah world watched as its emerging leader proceeded to build one of the greatest yeshivos of the era. (The religious populace was predominantly non-chassidic, so much so that tradition had it included among what were said to be four exclusively misnagdic towns in the region, nicknamed Karpas: Kossovo, Ruzhinai, Pruzhan and Slutzk. There is a need for roshei yeshivos in this country and elsewhere and Lakewood will produce them. Disappointed, the new Mafia chiefs bid farewell to Rav Shneur and left. Rav Aharon took cover under a table, and someone nearby vividly recalled Rav Aharon praying, Ribbono Shel Olam, ich vill noch leben I want to live more! Daughter of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rosh Yeshivas Kletzk & Lakewood and Rebbetzin Chana Perl Kotler Ex-wife of Rabbi Dov Ber Schwartzman Mother of Private; . In an article about the early history of Lakewood, BMG archivist Rabbi Moshe Rockove pointed out the irony that one who fought to end slavery in the South would seemingly pursue segregation in his own backyard by drawing a Jewish Mason-Dixon line in his own town.. Even with assistance from the Vaad HaYeshivos and Joint Distribution Committee, meeting the yeshivahs budget remained a constant challenge. He related the story about a poshute Yid who set aside a kopek from his earnings for hachzakas Torah. Ill test you and if you pass, you are invited to join us for Shabbos. Still, Rav Isser Zalman told me, He didnt say a word, or ever let on anything to that effect, and set out to make sure things went smoothly. Thus was the greatness of Rav Moshe Mordechai.. Rav Shneur Zalman was described as short, thin, and weak, traits that young Arke inherited. While Lakewood would ultimately become a distinguished seat of Torah in America, its initial growth came courtesy of a well-marketed myth. It is well-known for quite a while that yeshivos are engaging in decentralized fundraising based on their individual needs. The history of Chinuch Atzmai and Rav Aharons leadership thereof is beyond the scope of this article. Upper row behind the Vishker Illui is: Rav Avraham Trop. Rabbi Henoch Cohen, who served as Chinuch Atzmais North American director for nearly a half century, related a shocking episode. Rav Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the Freidiker Rebbe of Chabad. A floundering Polish economy, devaluation of the Polish zloty and the yeshivahs growing debt meant that Rav Aharon would need to follow the path of other roshei yeshivah and travel abroad to raise funds. We went to see Secretary Morgenthau in order to get permission to transfer these funds. At the wedding of Rav Shmuel Kamentsky: (left to right): Rabbis Shaul Goldman, Nachum Goldberg, Berel Peker, Rav Aharon, Chatzkel Horowitz, Paul Z. Levovitz, Shmuel Kamenetsky , Elya Svei, and Rav Dovid Bender. Fourteen-year-old Rav Aharon, however, noticed something amiss. In 1904 Rav Chaim Rabinowitz departed for Telz and was replaced by the rav of Halusk and a prime student of Rav Chaim Brisker, Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz. In the interim he also hired a mashgiach, first Rav Shmuel Fundiler, then Rav Pesach Pruskin, and when the latter departed to establish his own yeshivah in Shklov, Rav Isser Zalman hired his brother-in-law Rav Sheftel Kramer for the position. Such was the incredible balancing act of Rav Aharons leadership of his people in so many ways., Rav Michel Shurkin describes with amazement how the gaon of the generation would fundraise nonstop, and work around the clock, all so that a Sephardic child in Dimona should learn some Torah. As a newly bereft orphan, young Aharon Kotler was sent to study in the yeshivah in Krinik, under the tutelage of Rav Zalman Sender Kahana- Shapiro. On August 3, Lithuania was formally incorporated into the Soviet Union. Slutzks 10,000 Jews comprised more than 75 percent of the population. One of the rebbeim alongside Rav Aharon was his close friend Rav Elazar Shach, who had married a niece of Rav Isser Zalman. Arke (as he was known) was born into a family that traced its lineage back to the Megaleh Amukos and Rashi. By the time Rav Aharon passed away, there were hundreds of talmidim, and they were beginning to have a major impact on Torah education in America. Tears would well up in his eyes. By the end of the month Warsaw capitulated, and Poland was divided between the two aggressors. Rav Aharon loved these children. He found an unlikely partner in a former Lakewood postmaster turned real estate and hotel owner, Captain Albert M. Bradshaw. The principal of the Kovno Gymnasium found out that among the bochurim there was an illui a wunderkind. Had all his communal responsibilities been merely ceremonial roles, that would have been impressive enough. The Vaad HaYeshivos decided to honor its founder with the writing of a sefer Torah in his memory, with the proceeds going toward the support of its affiliate institutions. Herbert Tenzer at the December 1945 Vaad Hatzalah Dinner. That was Rav Aharon, says Rav Kalman. Rabbi Aharon Kotler, whose 50th yahrtzeit is today, arrived in the United States in 1941. Irving Bunim funded the initial purchase with donations from his brother-in-law Isidor Farber as well as his friends Samuel Kaufman and David Shapiro. Believing that unity was crucial to rescue, Rav Aharon advised putting aside political and ideological differences and closing ranks among all Orthodox factions to further rescue activities. And act he did, with a fiery resolve that ignited a growing cadre of talmidim, activists, and supporters to act as well. He dedicated his life, night and day, to the building of Torah in America and by leadership of an organization called Chinuch Atzmai, Independent Torah Education, in Israel as well. ITwas the spring of 1941, and a small crowd gathered at a little shul on Clinton Street on the Lower East Side of New York. One of Rav Aharons maxims was One should imagine that his entire spiritual standing is literally dependent on how he utilizes the present moment, for the time that comes afterwards is a completely different entity., He wrote, The great benefit that a Yeshiva brings to Klal Yisrael, accrues to the entire nation, even to those who have distanced themselves from the Torahs ways. When this failed to produce the needed funds, Rav Aharon was forced to procure loans in order to complete the costs of the building. That piqued Rav Mordechai Shapiros interest. Kennedy, a rabid anti-Semite, refused, and Rav Aharon cursed him. Kotler was buried in Israel[14][15] on Har HaMenuchot. He encouraged him to forge ahead with the plan. The Va'ad Hatzalah brought Rabbi Kotler out of Nazi controlled Europe, where he had been a highly regarded scholar and the head of the Yeshiva in Kletsk. His schedule included delivering a daily blatt shiur and the semichah shiur, where he readied scores of budding scholars for the rabbinate. He was excitable. The Alter, in his genius, was likely testing their resolve. And he (Zev) has a tremendous part in this accomplishment (to strengthen Chinuch Atzmai), through lobbying efforts and other means. How can you lose your chance to hear him speak?. The nucleus of the venture included Rav Mordechai Yoffe, Rav Hershel Genauer, Rav Shmuel Shechter, Rav Nosson Wachtfogel, Rav Yitzchok Hoffman, Rav Zeidel Leshinsky, Rav Osher Katz, Rav Simcha Zissel Levovitz, Rav Shachne Zohn, Rav Pesach Cohen, Rav Yisroel Bergstein, Rav Menachem Moore, Rav Hirsch Kaplan, Rav Dovid Hershowitz and others. But I persuaded him and persevered, visiting him five times until he was convinced.. At this point, it was anathema to him to abandon his talmidim and he politely turned down the offer, still seeking a collective solution to the growing predicament. Not only would I give up my position, I would sacrifice my life to save my fellow Jews.. In hindsight, this relatively overlooked aspect of Rav Aharons early leadership served as a prologue to his later efforts to build Torah across the ocean. vw golf door lock problems. Just weeks after Rav Aharon was born, a small township in central New Jersey received its charter. He managed to view even his beloved yeshivah, which carried his hope and vision for the future of American Jewry, through the pure prism of his priorities in building Torah worldwide at any given moment. He has pored over historical accounts of life in Shanghai during the war to appreciate the deprivation and mesirus nefesh his mother experienced and which is so much a part of her persona. On June 15, 1940 only eight months after the Kletzk Yeshivah escaped to Vilna the Lithuanian government caved to a Soviet ultimatum and the Red Army entered the country. Rabbi Hayim of Volozhin, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, and the Remaking of an American Jewish Prophecy 88 ve American Jewish Archives Journal But Yoshor's decision to live in the United States, given his devo tion to the late sage of Radun, is somewhat curious. For the decade between 1925-35, Rav Yechezkel Levenstein served as mashgiach, and he was succeeded by Rav Yosef Leib Nenedik, who like his predecessor was a mussar product of the great Kelm Talmud Torah. To save a soul let alone to save Klal Yisrael it is truly a tremendous zechus! The NKVD agent began to berate him. A few months later, he departed and was replaced by the Chofetz Chaims son-in-law Rav Mendel Zaks, who soon departed after a short time for Montreal, where he reunited with his mother-in-law, who arrived along with her son and a small nucleus of yeshivah students who fortuitously received Canadian visas. Rav Shimon Shkop replaced him in Maltch in both capacities. Fearful of these. When Rav Chaim Brisker passed through town, he commented that Rav Aharon closely resembled his father Rav Shneur Zalman Pines, who had been Rav Chaimsstudent in Volozhin two decades prior. Irving Bunim pointed to that influx of 390,000 pounds as a turning point for Chinuch Atzmai, which resulted in the establishment of 25 new schools. Yet Rav Aharon still felt that his innumerable accomplishments didnt suffice. Rav Yaakov Teitelbaum, leader of the Zeirei Agudah in prewar Vienna and later the rav of Adas Yereim in Kew Gardens, told of a rabbinic gathering in Europe attended by Rav Chaim Ozer. Rav Schorrs student, Rabbi Nosson Scherman, related that Rav Schorrs parents had provided the young couple with mattresses for their stay in Kletzk. As the community grew and more Jews began to spend their winters in Lakewood, Charles Goldstein began to envision a permanent home for the budding kehillah. The official questioned Rav Aharon, Whom did you save out of Theresienstadt? Rav Aharon shared his worldview with Irving Bunim, pointing to American history as proof. On Friday, April 11, 1941 (Erev Pesach), Rav Aharon arrived in San Francisco. He nurtured talmidim who themselves built numerous Torah institutions over the ensuing decades. I like the look of this Jew. He agreed to sell his property at a discounted price. After a certain point, the Alter no longer worried about Rav Aharon being influenced negatively and set out on another mission: to prepare Rav Aharon to be a Torah leader. Rav Aharon traveled by boat on his first trip there in 1945. For more than 20 years prior to his arrival in America, Rav Aharon Kotler was one of the leaders of Torah Jewry in Europe, standing alongside fellow gedolim a generation older than he. Other supporters of note were Mrs. Necha Golding and her husband Sam, who hosted Rav Aharon in their New York home. He considered the Vilna Gaon, an eighteenth century Torah genius of exceptional greatness, one of his spiritual mentors. When they felt themselves beginning to suffocate, one of them told Rav Aharon they couldnt remain any longer. After losing a child in infancy, Rebbetzin Chana Perel gave birth to their son Chaim Shneur in 1918, followed by a daughter Sarah in 1921. Of course, he did not attend. Rav Asher Bergman writes that when a young illui (later to become a renowned rosh yeshivah) arrived in Kletzk, Rav Shach encouraged him to stop smoking, not out of health concerns which they werent aware of at the time but rather to ensure that should he stray from the path, at least he wouldnt smoke on Shabbos.).

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