He had a mind like the Rogatchover, Rav Shneur recalled his father saying. The Lomza Rav, Rav Moshe Shatzkes, also delivered some shiurim to the group. Some of Americas wealthiest businessmen such as the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Goulds, and other titans of industry built mansions on large estates. He wasnt able to make it and Menashe Rabinowitz (who would later lead the Yamim Noraim davening at Beth Medrash Govoha) filled in for him at the event. This man has a butler who works until then, but after eight hell open the door himself, and hopefully once he sees us, hell let us in!, Once Rav Aharon concluded a rather unsuccessful day of fundraising by telling his driver Velvel Pearl with a half-smile, Dont tell anyone how little money was raised; no one will want to become a rosh yeshivah.. 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. On June 22, 1941, the Nazis violated the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and invaded the Soviet Union. Kletzk Yeshiva in Yanova. Funding during this time was provided by both the Joint Distribution Committee, as well as a new organization established at Rav Chaim Ozers request to assist the refugee yeshivos continue to function. It wasnt just the working class who bought into the warm weather fallacy and filled the numerous resort hotels that lined the streets along the lake. A Yid fun Amerike, the man mumbled to himself. In an unusual arrangement, he held this position while continuing to live in America, and visiting Jerusalem occasionally. Hes building Torah in, When Rav Mordechai returned home, he had the opportunity to speak at a Torah Umesorah convention, and was still taken by this story. Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l (1892-1962) was one of the predominant Torah leaders of his time, in pre-war Europe as the rosh yeshiva of Kletsk, Poland, as the leader of the Vaad Hatzolah during the Second World War, and as the founder and rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash Govoah in Lakewood, New Jersey. 'Kennedy curse' strikes again? RFK's granddaughter dies at 22 IN THIS CHAPTER I analyse the way in which Rabbi Aharon Kotler (1891-1962) presented Maimonides' thought. There was also a family connection as Rav Isser Zalmans ancestors had previously been rabbanim of the town. Whether it was rescue work during the war, building Beth Medrash Govoha, the establishment of Chinuch Atzmai, Torah Umesorah, and almost every endeavor which Rav Aharon would participate and initiate towards the building of postwar Orthodoxy, hed do so with Irving Bunim at his side. R' Aharon Kotler very nearly got on a train to leave yeshiva and study mathematics in Moscow, and his sister spent the rest of her life regretting that he didn't do so; I thus find it unlikely that he would solve a Communist's challenge to solve a calculus problem. Still short of $10,000, he personally borrowed the funds. The Rav was a PhD from Berlin. Shneur Kotler - Wikipedia Despite his young age, there was great respect for him because of his brilliance and hasmadah, and thats why no one dared to go over to the illui to speak to him in learning. Because, first of all, it was too audacious to try to keep up with him in Torah. Perhaps there was something else at play here. A Plague on Their House? - Mishpacha Magazine We can find another maggid shiur, but someone who can build a Bais Yaakov? Worked for her in 1967 when she was doing her PhD in political science and worked for the Albany legislature. The Alter, in his genius, was likely testing their resolve. As of 2011, Beth Medrash Govoha is run by his grandson, Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, and three of his grandsons-in-law, Rabbis Yerucham Olshin, Yisroel Neuman, and Dovid Schustal. Several had even gotten married in Europe. Because of Mr. Herskowitzs position as the director of the IRS for the Southern District of Manhattan, Rav Aharon said, he invited many dignitaries from Washington and New York, some of whom werent Jewish, yet he wasnt ashamed to remind his fellow Jews of their obligation to support Torah. Incredibly, he halted the dancing until he had raised sufficient funds to keep Torah Vodaath open. This cousin joined a group that was leaving for Israel with the Jewish Agency, and was r"l lost to Yiddishkeit." He then related the following story. 'The Kennedy Curse' | Mort Laitner | The Blogs Their immediate needs were assumed by Rav Aharon, who had obtained a large quantity of saccharin as well as locally baked black bread. One of his childhood friends later reminisced in the towns Yizkor (memorial) book: I would visit the house of the rabbi as a friend of the delightful child Arke (today Rav Aharon Kotler). There will never be another like her.. He derided the value of secular knowledge by minimizing its achievement. During his years in Slabodka, Rav Aharon continued to grow in learning, while also integrating the mussar lessons of the Alter. Rav Shimon Shkop replaced him in Maltch in both capacities. 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. Henry Morgenthau Jr., Hon. The rosh yeshivah! With many rabbinic dignitaries in attendance, the festive Chanukas Habayis took place in the uncompleted building in November 1929. Rav Aharon loved these children. Eternal Child of the Yeshiva - Mishpacha Magazine And act he did, with a fiery resolve that ignited a growing cadre of talmidim, activists, and supporters to act as well. Who knows why they converted and at what risk they did it? he countered. In 1941 Rav Aharon Kotler arrived in America and expressed his desire to open a yeshivah based upon the structure and values of his yeshivah in Kletzk. His curiosity got the better of him, and he struck up a conversation. Yet, as is evident from a speech he delivered at a family simchah of Mr. Wolfsons just weeks before his passing, Rav Aharon, in his wisdom, saw his young charges potential to make a continuing and unprecedented impact and encouraged him to do even more: The plan was, G-d forbid, for a totally different type of education to take hold (in Israel), which would undermine the very existence of a life according to Torah values. Almost from its inception, Rav Aharon was supportive of and active within the Agudas Yisrael political party in Poland. With great trepidation, Rav Aharon walked to the local headquarters. Fearful of these. Named Chachmei Tzarfat after the great Rishonim who had once resided there, the yeshivah started with a group of DPs in Aix-Les-Baines. To remove a child from the clutches of heresy and depravity, G-d forbid, is indeed the greatest chesed in the world! But shortly thereafter, he immigrated to Eretz Yisrael where he assumed a position in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Yerushalayim. November 29, 1962 - Kislev 2 5723 Anyone with biographical information is asked to please send it in. In 1914, following a nearly two-year engagement, 22-year-old Rav Aharon married Chana Perel Meltzer, daughter of Rav Isser Zalman and Rebbetzin Baila Hinda Meltzer. An Italian Mob Boss at the Lakewood Yeshiva Senior yeshivos like Mir and Slabodka had alumni networks that greatly assisted with this process. Rav Aharons shiurim gained renown during the Kletzk era, and he came to be known as a great charif, a sharp and incisive thinker. The letter described how the yeshivah-farm could also open a cannery that would produce Kosher for Pesach products and serve as a summer camp as well, and ended on a note of optimism: The average worker on the Torah Farm Industrial Project would find more leisure time which may be devoted to the study of Torah, since he need not travel to or from work. Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz was present when Beth Medrash Govoahs financial director Rabbi Yaakov Weisberg informed Rav Aharon that the yeshivah hadnt paid salaries for five months and suppliers were threatening to stop deliveries. The granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, died on Thursday at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, according to a spokesperson for the Kennedy family. In Poland, when there were many yeshivos, people would say, if you would like an approach full of life (lebedeigkeit) then go to Kletzk. With penetrating vision and powerful determination, he inspired a Torah revolution on three continents but thats just part of the story. A controversy erupted over the return of a former rabbi to town. The Royalty of Torah - Hamodia.com Youre speaking like an inebriated Turk! i.e., youre incomprehensible. In the shiur it was just like Lakewood; there was basically nothing external. The interwar years saw steady growth of the Jewish population in Lakewood and its environs, including several Jewish chicken farmers in the 1920s. All water, he said with excitement. Please send me the ten dollars this year by mail., This is a fairly accurate picture of Orthodox Jewish life in the 1950s. Other versions attribute the curse to Rav Yosef . A sense of hopelessness permeated the atmosphere, and he felt that it needed an injection of new energy and motivation in order to galvanize the organization. Around the same time, Rav Hillel Bishko came to Lakewood on a fundraising trip for the kollel and delivered a rousing speech, alluding to what the Nazis were currently doing in Europe, dramatically saying, Dear Friends, I am here to invite you to the funeral and burial of Torah.. Kotler was born Aharon Pines[1][2] in visa, Russian Empire (historically Lithuania, now Belarus) in 1892. Im convinced that Chinuch Atzmai is more important than my own yeshivah.. The official questioned Rav Aharon, Whom did you save out of Theresienstadt? Despite the burgeoning vacation industry, it lacked the typical big-city distractions. This soon escalated into an organized resistance to the mussar movement known as the Pulmus Hamussar. Ultimately, the Alter departed from his yeshivah and established Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael. He became the son-in-law of Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, another great Talmid Chacham, and they had mutual respect to a high degree. He was only 14 years old, but that didnt stop him from being outspoken in shiur, challenging the rosh yeshivah, Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein. A rapid Sovietization of Lithuania ensued. He nurtured talmidim who themselves built numerous Torah institutions over the ensuing decades. Rav Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the Freidiker Rebbe of Chabad. Geni requires JavaScript! When they felt themselves beginning to suffocate, one of them told Rav Aharon they couldnt remain any longer. Clearly shaken by these words, Charles Goldstein again took the initiative together with Rabbi Nissan Waxman, an alumnus of European yeshivos and local rabbi. He was murdered in the Yanova Ghetto along with his community. The history of Chinuch Atzmai and Rav Aharons leadership thereof is beyond the scope of this article. Even as the yeshivahs deficit grew, the mashgiach, Rav Chatzkel Levenstein believed that the yeshivah needed its own building, and a building campaign was initiated. A third group of older bochurim went to Duksht. In addition to his spiritual prowess and unusually sharp mind, Rav Zalman Sender was musically talented and composed several niggunim that became mainstays in Lithuanian yeshivos. One day, David was asked to drive Rav Aharon from his home in Boro Park to a wedding in Manhattan. An issue was debated and Rav Aharon, not yet 40, stated his opinion. Initial quarters were located on top of a Chinese laundry on Fourth Street, and the annual rent was $105. The story is told that the Beis HaLevi asked the two youngsters which was a bigger lamdan. Remembering Rabbi Aaron Kotler and the Yeshiva of Kletzk 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! Unfortunately, the trend toward socialism wasnt limited to labor unions, and ambivalence toward religion soon turned into animosity. Some 45 of the good bochurim were left behind however to be on the watch as it were and it was only about three weeks ago when the Soviets requisitioned their building where they remained on the mishmar and studied until the last minute. Historian Dr. David Kranzler writes of the somber atmosphere that filled the Kotler home during the war years. At one meeting, Rav Ruderman introduced Rav Aharon as one of the geniuses of our times, a rosh yeshivah for outstanding pupils. The man leaned toward Rav Ruderman and requested to speak with him privately. The older student who was accompanying them quickly slipped away and reported what hed heard to the Alter, who beamed with pride. In interwar Poland, one would be hard pressed to find a rosh yeshivah younger than Rav Aharon Kotler; most of his fellow roshei yeshivah were twice his age. During the week, the longtime mashgiach Rav Nosson Wachtfogel ran the yeshivah. Rav Shaul Kagan, founder of the Pittsburgh Kollel, wrote that an older Kletzk student described how Rav Aharon once insisted on delivering the daily shiur despite a high fever. Tell him, perhaps he is afraid of losing his post; he should be mindful that the life of one single Jew is valued higher than his entire prominent position., Morgenthau indignantly replied, What did he say?, Afraid of embarrassing him, I generally conveyed there comes a time in a Jews life the Rebbi cut me off and said, Nein nein Bunim, zugt em vus ich hub gizugt tell him what I said!, When he heard the translation, Morgenthau put his head down for a long time.