Rebbetzin Baila Hindas father was Reb Shraga Feivel Frank, a student and devoted supporter of Rav Yisroel Salanter. He answered, Thats because you dont understand the shiur. I cannot even describe the bitterness and pain we felt upon my departure. 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.. On October 8, Rav Aharon traveled to Vilna to consult with Rav Chaim Ozer and other roshei yeshivah. He was the charif and the baki, he had the sharp mind and the breadth but primarily the sharpness. Rav Aharon ruled against this leniency, even for those medically required to eat meat, concerned for the precedent such a dispensation would create. Rav Aharon Kotler was a man with a fiery passion for Torah and a deep love for his students. We can find another maggid shiur, but someone who can build a Bais Yaakov? A lot of them were meshumadim!, Rav Aharon did not back down. As is traditional in chassidic circles, the Gerrer Rebbe offered the little boy an apple, which he declined saying he wasnt hungry. Harav Aharon Kotler, zt"l, with the Kopyczynitzer Rebbe, Harav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, zy"a, at the famed Lederer Hotel in the Catskills. 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. The Lomza Rav, Rav Moshe Shatzkes, also delivered some shiurim to the group. The Russian principal was astonished. Upon their arrival at the train station in Baranovich, reports trickled in that a refugee crisis was brewing in Vilna, with overcrowding and food shortages. And with that hed proceed with the shiur. 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. 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. There he persuaded Rav Aharon to return to Slabodka, and thus the future Torah leader was preserved. Due to fundraising concerns, yeshivos generally refrained from overt association of this sort. I like the look of this Jew. Rav Aharons immediate placement in the yeshivah proper awarded him unique status. A few days later he cabled his family to leave Kletzk immediately together with the entire yeshivah body and administration and head toward Vilna. The rabbinate in Slutzk was one of the most prestigious in the region, having previously been held by Rav Yossel Peimer (Slutzker); the Beis Halevi, Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik; and later Rav Yechezkel Abramsky. Crossing the border wasnt just an escape from the anti-religious communists to the safety of Poland. But I persuaded him and persevered, visiting him five times until he was convinced.. When Mr. Rabinowitz approached a potential seller, Matthew J. Sullivan, with a lowball offer to buy 617 6th Street on the yeshivahs behalf, Sullivan recalled that his interlocutor had sung beautifully at the memorial event two decades earlier and was impressed that he was refraining from charging the accepted realtors fee. All were driven to action by Rav Aharons charisma and his passion for his many causes. Death of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rosh Yeshivas Kletzk & Burial of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rosh Yeshivas Kletzk "Svislovitzer Ilui", "Lakewood Rosh yeshiva", "Reb Aron". Initially named Emergency Committee for War-Torn Yeshivos, it was headed by Rav Chaim Ozers talmid in America, Rav Eliezer Silver. I know you do a lot, but Im begging you to do even more considering the circumstances. He encouraged him to forge ahead with the plan. There was, however, a problem. 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. America, Rav Mordechai Shapiro answered. Rav Shneur Zalman, the third son of Rav Moshe Pines, was born during the reign of Czar Nicholas I, when the dreaded Cantonist laws were in effect. Rav Chatzkels daughter, Rebbetzin Zlata Ginsburg, recalled the exuberance of the Kletzk townspeople when they learned of this exciting development. On that day in 1941, Rav Aharon described thechain of Torah that commenced at Har Sinai andwas composed of links of various quality someof precious metals and others of baser materials.He described the historical sequence of thetransmission of Torah from Rabban Yochanan benZakkai through the Rishonim and finished withrecent Torah leaders: Rav Chaim Brisker, Rav MeirSimchah of Dvinsk, and Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski.Reaching a fevered pitch, he began his plea, urgingthe assembled yeshivah students to forge anotherlink in the dynastic chain. Why do you write such nonsense? His father-in-law, Rav Isser Zalman, attended the first Knessiah Gedolah in Vienna in 1923, and Rav Aharon himself attended and served in an active role during the crucial third Knessiah Gedolah in Marienbad in 1937. Later it would be renamed the Vaad Hatzalah. Rabbi Alter Pekier continues: Many rabbis and Jewish leaders from various Lithuanian towns came to Vilna to take leave of Rav Aharon. Many books could be and in fact have been filled detailing Rav Aharons rescue activities during the war years. "The Rosh Yeshiva shared with me that a Rav called his Zeide, Reb Aharon Kotler, in 1945. Even with assistance from the Vaad HaYeshivos and Joint Distribution Committee, meeting the yeshivahs budget remained a constant challenge. Reb Zev, according to the laws governing shlichim, you were in fact the messenger of Rav Aharon. The kallahs brother, Rav Tzvi Yehuda Meltzer, recalled that Rav Aharon delivered a brilliant Torah discourse, followed by a breathtaking display by his close friend Rav Avraham Elya Kaplan, who repeated the pilpul flawlessly with brilliant rhymes and a melodious tune. So he came back the next day, well prepared. Thank you. [Likewise,] if a Jew puts in effort and is successful, he knows that he cannot take credit for himself, he cannot show off. He was brought to America on April 10, 1941 by the Vaad Hatzalah rescue organization, and guided it during The Holocaust. This former Union army veteran whose obituary claims that he had done more to benefit Lakewood than any other man was not, in fact, interested in nurturing religious life. But Rav Aharon trusted the young activist who regularly drove him around and helped obtain appointments with donors. He explained that he used to be a butcher in Minsk, and he took a kopek from every ruble he made and put it aside to support Torah learning. At her funeral many years later, Rav Aharon delivered the sole eulogy while crying copious tears. We must immediately send out letters requesting all rabbanim and local activists to assist with organizing the campaign. 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. He may have been young, but he was quickly emerging as a driving force of true leadership. 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. 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! Rav Aharon devoted the discussion exclusively to the great need to produce great talmidei chachamim: He hammered at the topic that studying Torah is more important than going to college, that the subjects taught in college are inferior in moral content, intellectual rigor, and elevation of spirit. The initial Sephardic immigrants to America in the 1700s built beautiful synagogues, he told Bunim. Not for money, but just to say hello. After studying for two zemanim in Krinik, Arke was ready to move on, and is said to have traveled to Slabodka where he joined Yeshivas Knesses Beis Yitzchak. One by one, both men and women came forward with donations: money, bracelets, rings, silver pieces, gold pieces just as during the building of the Mishkan, they offered whatever they had, and they didnt stop there. To rescue such a child and give him the chance to study Torah, there is no greater chesed in the world! In 1956, Rav Aharon enlisted Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik to serve as guest of honor at the Chinuch Atzmai dinner, (correctly) surmising that his presence and endorsement would draw a large, diverse audience of supporters. 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. It seems that Eisenhower arranged a broadcast warning the Germans of retribution should they go ahead with this plan. On October 28, 1939, the Red Army withdrew from Vilna, and the next day the Lithuanians staged a military parade through the city center. While he reverted back to the prestigious Pines name later on in life, his son Arke would maintain the Kotler surname, and ensure that it would become a name enshrined with gold letters in the history of the Jewish nation. Rabbi Waxman described his efforts to convince Rav Aharon to establish a yeshivah in the resort town. The Sislovitzer paced up and down the room, lhavdil like a Slabodka bochur with a difficult question in the Gemara, spun his thumb and readily solved the difficult mathematical problem. Many of them were seasoned scholars, having spent nearly a decade in Mir, Kaminetz, Slabodka or Kelm. A rapid Sovietization of Lithuania ensued. Rabbi Henoch Cohen, who served as Chinuch Atzmais North American director for nearly a half century, related a shocking episode. 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. He found an unlikely partner in a former Lakewood postmaster turned real estate and hotel owner, Captain Albert M. Bradshaw. Arke became the child prodigy of visa. No such thing. It laid the groundwork for the establishment of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, and for a seismic change in Americas attitude toward Torah learning and living. Henry Morgenthau Jr., Hon. 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. The Eibishter says, Smach Zevulun btzeisecha Zevulun, when you will leave the world, you will be given this simchah that you missed in This World because you supported Torah. They assumed diverse leadership roles in the wider Jewish community, and were inspired by his palpable sense of urgency to act for the benefit of their nation. He was followed there by the rosh yeshivah Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein and a few dozen loyal students. Though the Lithuanian government was well aware that the Red Army tended to stay and even expand in any territory under their control, they conceded to the demands of the Soviets. Rav Aharon Kotler, ZTL FIRST TRIP TO AMERICA Rav Aharon came to the United States in 1935 to raise funds for the Yeshiva. Rav Kalman recalls that Rav Aharon entered the apartment and immediately made a beeline for his bookshelf and pulled out a Gemara. After a short while, he informed them that the yeshivah was likely too crowded for the upcoming zeman. However, the raison dtre of Lakewood is limud haTorah lishmah the study of Torah for its own sake. Her descendants include the leadership of Chevron-Slabodka, Beth Medrash Govoha, Ner Israel, and other Torah institutions. 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. A handful of these improvised yeshivos became formal institutions and gained some renown, such as the famous Blumkas Kloiz and a yeshivah run by Rav Shlomo Goloventzitz, which served as a feeder for Slabodka. The donations are larger and the cause remains on their minds as a result as well.. These efforts of the Alter to protect the young prodigy would pay dividends for generations to come he would later say that it was worth maintaining the entire yeshivah with all of its hundreds of students if only to produce that one student, Arke Sislovitzer, who eventually became the great Rav Aharon Kotler. 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. During the first World War he fled eastward, eventually making his way toward the land of Israel where he settled in Yerushalayim until his passing in 1923. Rav Isser Zalman also exerted pressure on him to depart, writing to him urgently, Lama atem yoshvim al har goesh kazeh Why are you sitting on top of a volcano?. His flaming blue eyes bore into the souls of all present. When they felt themselves beginning to suffocate, one of them told Rav Aharon they couldnt remain any longer. Completely oblivious to the guests sitting on the other side of the room or the dinner awaiting him on the table, he sat down to learn with incredible passion and energy, as if it were the middle of the day. The special guest of honor was Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, the former rosh yeshivah, who came all the way from Eretz Yisrael to savor his son-in-laws accomplishments in his stewardship of the yeshivah. We cant even fix the building because the streets and markets are in the process of being rezoned. Letters to Mrs. Necha Golding in the years following the trip beg her to follow up on pledges from others that went unpaid. 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. Rav Aharon led the efforts of the Vaad Hatzalah to assist those who could manage to immigrate to the United States, and more often to send aid packages and financial assistance to the exiles in Siberia; Kazakhstan; Shanghai, China; and other remote places of dispersion.
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