Following the call of their leaders: When Vaad activist Herman Hollander (not pictured) and his wife Grace learned that there was a possibility that Jewish lives could be ransomed from the Nazis, with a sense of alacrity, they sold their hard-earned, newly acquired Brooklyn home, with the proceeds benefiting the life-saving work of the Vaad Hatzalah. All were driven to action by Rav Aharons charisma and his passion for his many causes. 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. To save a soul let alone to save Klal Yisrael it is truly a tremendous zechus! Many of the stories have become the stuff of legend. Thanking him profusely, he blessed him with nachas and greatness in Torah from his children. 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. You can tell Reb Aharon, I have fulfilled your bidding., At the 4th Knessia Gedolah of Agudath Israel in Yerushalayim in 1954 From left: The Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz, Rav Eliezer Silver, the Beis Yisroel of Ger, Rav Aharon, Mr. Harry Goodman, Moreinu Yaakov Rosenheim, Rav Yitzchok Meir Levin, Rav Elya Meir Bloch (speaking), Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank. Rav Aharon was once in the midst of delivering a shiur in Kletzk during the snowy winter when the chimney became clogged. 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.). But it was not to be. 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. An elderly rav exclaimed, Yungerman, sit down. Please send me the ten dollars this year by mail., This is a fairly accurate picture of Orthodox Jewish life in the 1950s. At a memorial gathering held for Rav Reuven Grozovsky many years later, Rav Aharon Kotler rose to speak. As the Jewish Socialist party, the Bund, began to make inroads in the region, workers began to organize and demand better salaries and working conditions. Luminaries who studied in Slutzk during its first two decades include Rav Elazar M. Shach, Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin, Rav Aryeh Levine, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rav Moshe Aharon Poleyoff, and Rav Moshe Feinstein. As Rav Soloveitchik extoled praise of Rav Aharon, Rav Aharon tugged on Rav Soloveitchiks jacket in protest, saying, nisht emes, nisht emes its not true, Rav Aharon once attended a rabbinic conference in Lakewood with the goal of promoting Chinuch Atzmai. And I want everybody here to know that here is a man who supported Torah when very few people were willing to support Torah, and therefore I consider him a chacham bfanav, and Im going to deliver a hesped.. vw golf door lock problems. There was no longer any doubt that one of the youngest students in Slabodka was also one of its greatest, for there was nothing more complimentary in yeshivah circles than being the recipient of a full-frontal attack by the great Rav Leizer Telzer who would regularly use barbs to buy time as his lightning-quick mind reworked his thought process. Then he rose from his armchair and, looking the Rosh Yeshivah straight in the eyes, said, Tell the rabbi, I am a Jew. On December 7, 1941, at the funeral of Rav Dovid Leibowitz, Rav Aharon spotted Mr. Cohen out of the corner of his eye and once again thanked him profusely for his selfless act. Those rabbis also encouraged advanced American yeshivah students to study in Mir and Slabodka, which generated publicity as well. From that point on, every day the principal would send the young genius fresh eggs, fruit and other vegetables. (This building still stands and is fully functional today known as the old shul. The congregation eventually built a newer location on the corner of 6th and Madison.). During this time, Rav Aharon refused to commit to Lakewood. With his trusted associates Irving & Amos Bunim at a Torah Umesorah dinner in 1956. Wait until all of the bochurim return, he told them, and perhaps there will be some space for you., Dejected, they exited the room. It didnt have the appearance of a private residence. The creation of a farm settlement project, where the time of these men could be divided between tilling the soil and the continuation of their studies, would be a step forward in giving them a certain degree of independence and security. To appreciate this saga, we fast-forward a half-century to Tel Aviv, Israel: In the mid-50s, Rav Mordechai Shapiro, a talmid of Rav Aharon Kotler ztzl, traveled to Israel. He had recently met withAgudath Harabonim emissary Dr. Samuel Schmidt in Yanova, Lithuania, wherehis yeshivah had relocated. Rav Aharon and Rav Boruch Ber: They were once walking together and came to a door. A day that lives in infamy in the annals of the yeshivah world. It dawned on thousands of refugees seeking to escape the war zone that anyone in the Vilna district on the date of transfer would cross an international border to a neutral country without any need for documentation or passport. It had the added bonus of a steady stream of Jewish vacationers who could potentially serve as a fundraising base. The departure of Rav Bishko soon after the yeshivah opened compounded the financial strain. Initially, the proud but small Kletzk community planned on supplementing the building fund through donations from the Kletzk Landsmanshaft communities in the United States. Rav Aharon suggested three candidates to lead the institution Rav Yitzchok Hutner, who was then employed in a non-leadership position in Chaim Berlin; Rav Yechezkel Burstyn, rosh yeshivah of Ohr Yisroel in Slabodka and author of Divrei Yechezkel; and his own brother-in-law Rav Yitzchak Meir Patchiner (Ben-Menachem), then a talmid in Slabodka-Chevron. Who was the brave one? Franks Family Reunion: Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein (second from left) on a visit to America. He could spend a whole day running around for Klal Yisrael, but his life was coming back to the Gemara., Rav Chaim Leib Epstein, Rosh Yeshivah of Zichron Meilech, remembers Rav Aharon preparing for the trip to Lakewood after a tiring week in New York. One Erev Shabbos he saw a small kiosk in Tel Aviv, and someone asked the proprietor for a pack of cigarettes. He was orphaned at the age of 10 and adopted by his uncle, Rabbi Yitzchak Pinnes, a Dayan in Minsk. He asked his close confidante, Mr. Stephen Klein, to oversee the organization, and he embarked on a relentless fundraising campaign. He had re-sanctified a city by a simple relocation of 15 men!. The Shechinah shines from him!. In a letter to the Brisker Rav, he describes Mr. Wolfson in glowing terms, and in one addressed to Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, he uses the biblical term Lemichyah shelacho Hashem sent him as the sustainer. He finishes by writing, His suggestions seemed farfetched in my eyes, but I did not ignore them because I know that the perpetuation of the Torah depends on miracles, and his plans came to complete fruition.. Even among those who appreciated Torah and supported local day schools, the idea of full-time post high school Torah study without the goal of semichah was simply preposterous. It was also a symbolic and no less daring personal crossing for Rav Aharon. But Rav Aharon trusted the young activist who regularly drove him around and helped obtain appointments with donors. Kotler was born Aharon Pines in visa, Russian Empire (historically Lithuania, now Belarus) in 1892.He was orphaned at the age of 10 and adopted by his uncle, Yitzchak Pines, a rabbinic judge in Minsk. The incredibly successful dinner was lionized in a documentary produced by the grandchildren of Irving Bunim entitled, An Unprecedented Gathering in Support of Torah, the highlight of which is the keynote address of Rav Soloveitchik: When I look at Rav Aharon or listen to his words as they flow forth impatiently, rapidly when I feel his presence, I feel bound by a sense of achrayus and am reminded of Gedolei Yisrael. 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. While the Kotler name carries with it a glorious history, Reb Aaron is a student of his mother, nee Rischel Friedman. When Rav Aharon insisted, Rav Katz immediately proposed a compromise. He earns a mere $12 a week as a peddler, and hes donating his entire weekly salary to the yeshivah.. When the Alter acceded to the Ridbazs request and established a yeshivah in Slutzk, it was at great personal cost to his own yeshivah. Yosef Chaim Shneur Kotler (1918 - 24 June 1982) was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha (also known as the Lakewood Yeshiva) in Lakewood, New Jersey from 1962 to 1982. The Torah will begin to rise in a new place before its current locus goes dark. During this time Rav Aharon also traveled often to Kovno, where the foreign embassies were located, to seek a way out for his yeshivah, suspecting that the Lithuanian haven wouldnt last for long. In order to evade conscription, Rav Moshe obtained papers that named Shneur Zalman the only son of the Kotler family, thus exempting him from the draconian Czarist decree. Well, vos is zein nomen whats his name? Rav Mordechai asked. Like most devout Jews in visa, Rav Shneur Zalman struggled to protect his children from the winds of change sweeping Eastern European Jewish youth. Two decades after Rav Isser Zalman spoke out on his behalf, Rav Moshe Mordechai finally had an opportunity to repay him by arranging the shidduch between Chana Perel and Rav Aharon. At the wedding of Rav Shmuel Yitzchak Herman: Lower row: Rav Aharon Kotler, Rav Yaakov Safsel (Vishker Illui), Rav Shmuel Yitzchak Herman, Rav Avraham Kalmanowitz. The energy he exuded, the pathos of his speech, and the glow of his face made it a surreal experience. He said how, after he asked Rav Moshe Mordechai to serve as shadchan, a fleeting look crossed Rav Moshe Mordechais face and he realized that Rav Moshe Mordechai, who also had a daughter of marriageable age, had likely set his eye on him as well. On September 10, 1935, Rav Aharon arrived in New York on the RMS Majestic. He acquiesced and blessed him to become a talmid chacham. Rav Nachum Baruch was the president of the Lithuanian rabbinate and at one point the chairman of the Vaad HaYeshivos. On March 8, 1940, he wrote: I have just returned from Yanova where the Kletzker Yeshivah is now located. Fifty years later, almost to the day, at Mr. Wolfsons levayah, the rosh yeshivah Rav Malkiel Kotler, declared, The relationship between my grandfather and Reb Zev was that of a father to his son. Right to Left: R. Shneur Kotler (unidentified), R. Aharon Cohen, R. Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, R. Aharon Kotler (holding the cup), and R. Yitzchok Chevroni, Reb Dov Wolowitz recalls driving Rav Aharon to a Moetzes meeting on the Lower East Side. Many young orphans found themselves in Aix-Les-Bains after the war, and Rav Leibel realized that if he didnt act quickly, he would lose these drifting young Jews to the various secular refugee aid groups. One day, a meshulach from Slabodka came to Slutsk and told Rav Isser Zalman about the young Aharon Kotler, describing him as the lion of the chaburah. At that point, Rav Isser Zalman realized that the secret was out, as the collector was likely singing Rav Aharons praises to anyone who would listen. I have increased Torah among the Jewish People. He supported thousands of Torah students; they study Torah due to his efforts. In 1903 he died suddenly, a death that many blamed on his pain over the upheaval. Following a quick stop in Cincinnati, he arrived at Penn Station on April 21, 1941. Reb Shraga Feivels youngest daughter Devorah Kramer recalled the eulogy delivered by Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spektor, the Kovno Rav, at her fathers levayah. Perhaps hed be willing to become my communitys shochet.. Seventeen months earlier, we had left our parents and families; now we were to lose our spiritual father as well. He became the son-in-law of Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, another great Talmid Chacham, and they had mutual respect to a high degree. Senior yeshivos like Mir and Slabodka had alumni networks that greatly assisted with this process. Early life. All water, he said with excitement. ISBN9781510770232. The titular head of the Vaad HaYeshivos during this fraught period was the aging Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, who carried the Jewish People as a whole and felt a special sense of responsibility towards yeshivah students in particular. Once the boy arrived, it was Rav Aharon who caused the transformation, | Torchbearer: Rav Aharon Kotler Supplement |, Rav Aharon Kotler inspired a Torah revolution on three continents but thats just part of the story. Rebbetzin Chana Perel made the balancing act possible. Some roshei yeshivah felt that the college challenge could be solved by creating an external college option for yeshivah students. [4], In 1943, Kotler founded Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, with 15 students. Thank you. Their operatives held show trials and published newspapers exposing yeshivah students and teachers as counterrevolutionaries who were systematically poisoning the masses. 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. 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. Partners in rescue: Rav Aharon with Rav Eliezer Silver and Rav Avraham Kalmanowitz, who tirelessly led the Vaad Hatzalah rescue attempts during the war years. Ultimately, Rav Aharon's students opened day schools, yeshivos and kollelim around the world. Rav Aharon believed that the appropriate form of activism was for the American Jewish community to aim its frustration directly at elected officials, and that success was more likely through quiet diplomacy conducted behind closed doors. If I say Im bigger, Ill be a baal gaavah and if I say Rav Chaim is bigger, Ill be a liar., Rav Chaim then riposted with glee, I say that Zalman Sender is both!. Supporters of the yeshivah accused the opponents of being biased against poor war refugees. The challenges quickly subsided. In the shiur it was just like Lakewood; there was basically nothing external. One talmid recalled how Shmuel would recall precisely at which point Rav Aharon had cleared his throat during the shiur. Rabbi Nathan Baruch contends that Rav Aharon felt that a public forum was not the proper venue to highlight the plight of the Jews, because he believed the nations of the world reveled in the tragedies befalling the Jewish People. Soon after arriving, the speaker began to berate him. He is indeed a most interesting person and considered the greatest Talmudic master of his own age. In Krinik, Rav Aharon joined a seasoned group of older students, but had no difficulty keeping up and even standing out with his quick mind and impressive diligence. Rabbi Aaron Twerski relates a story told to him by a fellow talmid, Rav Yekusiel Bittersfeld, who served as Rav Aharons attendent one year at the Agudah convention: We were sitting at the seudah with Rav Mendel Zaks, when Rav Aharon turned to me and said, Yekusiel, sing a zemer. Rav Mendel replied, Zemiros werent sung at the table of my father-in-law (the Chofetz Chaim). Without missing a beat, Rav Aharon said, Mistameh hut er nit gekent. Rav Aharon loved these children. Even then, he displayed a sense of concern and responsibility for the wider Torah world, taking initiative and accepting burdens far beyond his own yeshivah. Rav Aharon addressed the crowd and then Rav Dachowitz announced that for $12, one could cover the expenses of a student for a month. In marrying into the Meltzer/Frank family Rav Aharon merited a wife who had grown up in a home steeped in Torah, and solidified a connection with a family that was influential in the Torah landscape over the last century. The Yeshiva, which now boasts more than 5,000 talmidim is a testament to his devotion and passion for Torah learning.18"x24" BannerEasy to display with metal eyelets; easy to store, just roll it Little did anyone realize that the sun was beginning to rise onceagain, and few would play a larger role in lighting upthe dark sky than youngAharon. In summarizing the shmuessen, Rav Nosson Wachtfogel once remarked, The rosh yeshivah had just one shmuess the requirement to study Torah, the need to accept upon oneself the yoke of Torah., In eulogizing Rav Aharon, Rav Moshe Sherer utilized the Gemaras description of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel at the Simchas Beis Hashoeivah celebrations in the Bais Hamikdash. The majority of students, however, chose to remain with the Rav of Slabodka, Rav Moshe Danishevsky, until Rav Chaim Rabinowitz (known to posterity as Rav Chaim Telzer) was hired as rosh yeshivah. He sought out Arke out of concern for the potential adverse influence of the modern movements sweeping through Minsk. Rav Aharon was overcome with stage fright because of the presence of one one unfamiliar person, so acute was his shyness. The curse mandated that Kennedy should never see joy from his descendants. Apparently, he was studying two different masechtos in depth, simultaneously. Hashem grants a person the zechus to be able to accomplish, and he has special abilities; he witnessed a special Hashgachah Min Hashamayim to be successful, because now it is possible to achieve success. In Slutzk he was paired with the Beis HaLevis son Chaim, who would soon light up the world as a young rosh yeshivah in Volozhin. Rav Aharon later related how much he enjoyed talking in learning with Rav Katz. The yeshivah had been founded in 1897 by the Alter of Slabodka at the behest of the rav of Slutzk, Rav Yaakov David Wilowski (the Ridbaz). Rav Aharon contacted Irving Bunim and made plans to petition government officials in Washington to prevent this. His schedule included delivering a daily blatt shiur and the semichah shiur, where he readied scores of budding scholars for the rabbinate. Rav Noach Bornstein, later one of the great students of the Brisker Rav, studied in Kletsk before transferring to Mir. Rav Mordechai Elefant is to his left. When he arrived in the United States in April of 1941, while the fire of Nazism was raging in Europe, he addressed an audience, For myself, I wouldnt have come. He probably couldnt. But when you got to know him on a more private level, you could talk to him about. A report on that Knessiah in Hapardes states that, Rav [Elchonon] Wasserman, Rav [Aharon] Kotler, Rav [Mordechai] Rottenberg from Antwerp and rabbis from Czechoslovakia and Hungary were in agreement in rejecting any proposal for a Jewish State on either side of the Jordan River, even if it were established as a religious state, because such a regime would be a form of heresy in our faith in the belief in the coming of the Messiah, and especially since it would be built on heresy and desecration of the Name of G-d.. Leadership meant responsibility, responsibility always translated into activism, and activism invariably took the form of launching initiatives, motivating others, and getting the job done. All these Yidden wanted to save the yeshivah money, or to expedite the construction so that the building would be completed even faster but most of all, everyone wanted some portion in this effort. He would take eight lit torches, throwing one and catching another, without one touching the other (Succah 53a). Rav Aharon spent a Shabbos in East New York as the guest of Rav Tzvi Hirsch Dachowitz, an old friend and respected rav. Almost from its inception, Rav Aharon was supportive of and active within the Agudas Yisrael political party in Poland. The setting and language may have been different, but he would bring the same fire and uncompromising vision to the task. Rav Aharons focus on his studies was such that he regularly forgot to eat his meals. Such was an encounter withRav Aharon Kotler. 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. The aron was carrying its bearer, the student aptly observed. The match had been broken off, because the family mistakenly perceived that Rav Archik desired to engage in the family business rather than embarking on the expected rabbinical career. Rav Aharon treated Rebbitzen Rischel with the greatest love and sensitivity. 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. He also suggested that Rav Shlomo Heiman deliver an occasional shiur klali and be consulted for his opinion on matters related to the yeshivah. When Rav Aharon heard about it, he forbade the talmid from going along, saying, I forbid you from going! This made Beth Medrash Govoha a bridge of sorts, where the yeshivah tradition of Eastern Europe was handed over to a new generation of leaders and Torah scholars. In 1903 he was offered the rabbinate of the larger town of Krinik, which he accepted on condition that he could open a yeshivah there as well. Along with the influx of revelers came the need for local services and businesses. The challenges continued, however, and prior to Rosh Hashanah he wrote to Rav Yisrael Rosenberg, president of the American Agudath Harabonim and a founder of the rabbinic aid organization Ezras Torah: You must have heard about the great fire that destroyed a third of Kletzk. His letters back home from that trip are an important source towards understanding those tumultuous months. 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 Isser Zalman told me that hed long been aware of young Ahrele Sislovitzer, the prodigy of Slabodka, and had hopes of becoming his father-in-law one day. But it took years for much of American Jewry to truly value Rav Aharon. Another organizer of the New York event was a former Slutzk talmid named Zadok Kapner, a brilliant scholar who had become a successful physician but was still said to be one of the greatest Talmudic minds in America. Rav Aharon turned him down. Arke may have had a shining reputation, but his childhood was marred by tragedy and pain. The first months of Rav Aharons stay in Slabodka featured successive visits from great rabbinical leaders. Though we knew that once Rav Aharon was in America our own chances of being able to leave would improve, we felt lost and forsaken. The smaller Yeshivos followed the lead of the larger Yeshivos, and either escaped with them to Japan and China, or were arrested by the communists and sent to Siberia or Kazakhstan. Our talk was limited because of lack of time, two hours in all and half an hour of this we spent in the yeshivah observing the bochurim study. 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. Kennedy, a rabid anti-Semite, refused, and Rav Aharon cursed him. "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. The bulk of the yeshivos were in Polands Kresy region in the east, which fell under the jurisdiction of the Soviets. Rav Aharon Kotler would call him every Rosh Chodesh. It was Rav Aharon, who immediately initiated rapid-fire questioning regarding the situation on the ground there. They claimed it would cause collateral damage to an already frosty relationship between Chinuch Atzmai and the Israeli government, which was vying for the same funding for its own educational and cultural institutions. She was to remark to her friend that she had never seen her father-in-law raise his voice or get angry at anything. Rav Yaakov, who wasnt prone to hyperbole, later recalled his mothers reaction upon meeting his friend: Who is this boy? Following his daring escape from Nazi occupied Poland, he sought out a place to reestablish the Chassidic court of Lubavitch. Perhaps Rav Aharons boldest project was undertaken in the last decade of his life, when he initiated the founding of Chinuch Atzmai in 1953. To those faithful balabatim who answered his call of Torah, Rav Aharon showed deep appreciation. Rav Shneur Zalman refused to take part in the polemics some were hurling at his opponent, but those close to him saw that he was suffering greatly. With penetrating vision and powerful determination, he inspired a Torah revolution on three continents but thats just part of the story. Later it would be renamed the Vaad Hatzalah. I cant refuse a bona fide talmid chacham!. It eventually became the light that disseminated Torah across France under the leadership of Rav Chaim Chaikin, and yet another initiative of Rav Aharon that wielded a monumental impact. The story of Rav Aharons shidduch was shared by famed journalist Rabbi Aaron Ben-Zion Shurin, who heard it from Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer while studying in Eretz Yisrael in the 1940s. 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. Rav Aharon was so moved by this act of mesirus nefesh that he jumped up from behind the table to where Mr. Cohen stood. Decades later a similar issue arose in America, when Rav Aharon led a landmark 1956 ban against participation in mixed-denominational boards of rabbis. Rav Aharon told me of their experience and emotions in leaving Kletzk. Most of the students left until just a small group remained. 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. Dividing into three factions, the largest went to Salock in northern Lithuania, together with Rav Aharon himself. Perhaps there was something else at play here. there was suddenly a commotion at the head table. When he delivered his shiur in Kletzk or Lakewood, it was often a challenge to follow his line of reasoning.

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