A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E R A B B I N I C A L U M N I O F T H E R A B B I I S A A C E L C H A N A N T H E O L O G I C A L S E M I N A RY • A N A F F I L I AT E O F Y E S H I VA U N I V E R S I T Y

CHAVRUSA
March 2010 • Adar 5770 (:‫אין התורה נקנית אלא בחבורה )ברכות סג‬ Volume 44 • Number 2

In This Issue
Divrei Torah from:
Rabbi Chaim Bronstein
Rabbi Asher Bush
Rabbi Duvie Nachbar
Rabbi Baruch Simon

‫בורא עולם בקנין‬

‫השלם זה הבנין‬
Jacob And Dreizel Chag HaSemikhah
Glueck Center 5770 Special Section
For Jewish Study Page 14
Dedication
Page 3
 In This Issue
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary Page 3 News from RIETS
Celebrating the opening of the new Jacob And Dreizel
Glueck Center For Jewish Study Dedication, RIETS
Richard M. Joel alumni reunion at YU, and the RIETS annual dinner of
P r e s i d e nt, Y e s h i va Un i v e rs i ty
tribute.
Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm
C h anc e l l o r , Y e s h i va Un i v e rs i ty
R o s h HaY e s h i va , R IE T S

Rabbi Julius Berman

C h a i rman o f t h e B o ard o f T r u st e e s , R IE T S Page 14 Chag HaSemikhah 5770 Section
A profile of the personalities that make up the partici-
pants of the Chag HaSemikhah, where they have come
from and where they are going, and charges from our
Rabbi Yona Reiss
M a x and M ar i o n G r i l l D e an , R IE T S leaders from past Chag HaSemikhah ceremonies.

Rabbi Kenneth Brander

D av i d M i t z n e r D e an , C e nt e r f o r t h e J e w i s h F u t u r e

Rabbi Zevulun Charlop

D e an Em e r i t u s , R IE T S

Page 31 Practical Halachah

Rabbi Robert Hirt
V i c e P r e s i d e nt Em e r i t u s , R IE T S Mesorah, Minhag and Changing Circumstances
By Rabbi Asher Bush.
Rabbi Dr. Solomon F. Rybak
P r e s i d e nt, R abb i n i c A l u mn i

Rabbi Chaim Bronstein

A dm i n i strat o r , R IE T S

Page 6 Chomer L’Drush Page 35 Divrei Hesped

The Transition from Purim Rabbi Dr. Gersion Appel z”l
CHAVRUSA to Pesach: Pesach Seder By Dr. Moshe Sokolow
A P u b l i cat i o n o f R IE T S R abb i n i c A l u mn i as an Atonment for the
Rabbi William Cohen z”l
Sin of Purim
By Rabbi Simcha Green
Rabbi Ronald L. Schwarzberg By Rabbi Baruch Simon
D i r e ct o r , T h e M o rr i s and G e rtr u d e B i e n e nf e l d
D e partm e nt o f J e w i s h C ar e e r D e v e l o pm e nt
Page 9 Divrei Chizuk Rabbi Pesach Oratz z”l
Seeing and Transmitting By Rabbi Mordechai Willig
and P l ac e m e nt
By Rabbi Chaim Bronstein
Rabbi Elly Krimsky Page 10 Back to the Page 37 Lifecycles
Ed i to r , C H AV R U S A
Beit Midrash
Rabbi Levi Mostofsky Timeless Teachings
A ss o c i at e Ed i t o r , C H AV R U S A Embedded in a
Timely Tale
Ms. Keren Simon By Rabbi Duvie Nachbar
A ss i stant Ed i t o r , C H AV R U S A

Rabbi Robert Shur

G rap h i cs and Layo u t, C H AV R U S A
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2
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
In the News

Celebrating the Opening of the Jacob and

Dreizel Glueck Center for Jewish Study
Since the Jacob and Dreizel Glueck Center for Jew-
ish Study has opened on the Wilf Campus, its walls
have vibrated with the hum of students learning in
its two-story beit midrash. That “harmonic sym-
phony of Torah study,” to use President Richard
M. Joel’s words, erupted into a rousing chorus of
celebration as students and their rebbes, alumni
and staff danced in the streets at the dedication of
the new building on Sunday, Sept. 13.

“Today we celebrate a new chapter in the history of

Yeshiva University and RIETS,” said President Joel.
“The Glueck Center has already revolutionized this
campus, adding a proud new space for scholarship
and learning that is both timeless and timely, and a
convening center for our thriving community.”

“RIETS was the first yeshiva to wave the flag of

Yavneh on American soil,” he said. “From an in-
augural class of only a dozen students meeting in
a small room on the Lower East Side, RIETS can
now proudly boast of this wonderful state-of-the-
art beit midrash, which serves as just one of many
under its auspices.”

Vivian Glueck Rosenberg, the daughter of donor

Jacob Glueck, said that her parents’ survival of the
Holocaust motivated them to devote themselves to
supporting Jewish community institutions. Rosen-
berg, together with her husband, Henry, was instru-
mental in realizing her father’s vision for a new beit
midrash at YU that began under the administration
of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm ’49R in 1997.

“My parents believed in the primacy of educa-

tion,” said Rosenberg, a member of the Boards of
YU and Stern College for Women. “Our dedica-
tion of this building to YU is a statement of our
belief in the importance of limud haTorah and
the need for the vast majority of our youth to have
the opportunity to earn a parnasa.”

Addressing the students in the crowd, she said, “We

pray you use to the fullest the opportunity put in
front of you and thus assure the continuity of our
people and our traditions.”
Special guests at the dedication included Sheldon
Silver, a 1965 alumnus of Yeshiva College, Speaker
continued on page 5
Top: President Richard M. Joel, Rosh HaYeshivah Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, RIETS Roshei Yeshiva
and administration escort the sifrei Torah from Zysman Hall.
Middle: Students and Roshei Yeshiva escort the sifrei Torah down Amsterdam Ave.
Bottom: President Richard M. Joel, Rabbi Zevulun Charlop and Rabbi Yona Reiss, flank
Mr. Jacob Glueck prior to entering the Glueck Torah Center.
3
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
In the News
RIETS Dinner Celebrates the Jewels in our
Torah Crown
Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary honored four dedicated
leaders and educators—Dr. William and Debbie
Schwartz, Dr. Alvin I. Schiff and Rabbi Yaakov
Neuburger ’79R—and marked the formal investi-
ture of Rabbi Kenneth Brander ’86R as The David
Mitzner Dean of YU’s Center for the Jewish Future
(CJF) at its Annual dinner of Tribute on October
27 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.
Utilizing the theme of “Celebrating the Jewels in
our Torah Crown”, President Richard M. Joel her-
alded the honorees, noting that “we have so much
to celebrate in terms of vitality and we celebrate
four individuals that we hope to be.”
President Joel lauded guests of honor Dr. William
and Debbie Schwartz for their “guidance and
example that have helped steer the yeshiva and
Yeshiva University to unprecedented heights with
a philanthropy and vision that have advanced the
mission of the yeshiva and produced young rabbis
of the highest quality.”
A YU graduate and member of the RIETS Board
of Trustees, Dr. William Schwartz is the found-
ing president of the Rockland County Jewish
Federation, a former vice president of the Adolph
Schreiber Hebrew Academy of Rockland, a former
member of the board of the Community Syna-
gogue of Monsey and a former campaign chairman
of the State of Israel Bonds Doctors Division for
Rockland County. His wife, Debbie, serves as a
vice president of the Yeshiva University Women’s
Organization and is a former member of the board
of directors of Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
Dr. Alvin I. Schiff, the founder of YU’s Azrieli
Graduate School of Jewish Education and
Administration, was recognized for his lifetime
achievement in Jewish education. “With a strong
commitment to the perpetuation of the Jewish
tradition, you infused your life with a passion for
pedagogy that permeates throughout your litany
of professional achievements,” cited President
Joel. “You have cultivated contemporary Jewish
life as so much of Jewish education has been
molded, touched or fashioned by you.”
An internationally recognized authority on edu- and Chancellor of YU; Rabbi Yona Reiss ’91R, The
cation, Schiff, distinguished professor emeritus of Max and Marion Grill Dean of RIETS; and Rabbi
education at Azrieli, has been a visiting professor Julius Berman ’59R, Chairman of the RIETS Board
at prestigious universities around the world. In of Trustees. n
2005, he was awarded the Israel President’s Prize
for his contribution to the enhancement of Jewish
life, inspirational educational leadership, influ-
ential Hebraic scholarship, prolific research and
writing, and the founding of important institu-
tions of Jewish life.
Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger received the Rabbinic
Leadership Award with President Joel noting that,
“For more than 20 years, your talmidim [students]
have had the privilege of learning from your
erudition and your example. You teach all of our
children that they can profoundly matter in the
world and by doing so enrich the Jewish people
and humanity.”
The spiritual leader of Congregation Beit Avraham
in Bergenfield, NJ, Rabbi Neuburger serves as
rosh yeshiva [professor of Talmud] at the Yeshiva
Program/Mazer School of Talmudic Studies, an
undergraduate school for Talmudic studies at
YU. A Toronto native, Rabbi Neuburger received
semikhah from RIETS in 1979.
The dinner included the formal investiture of Rabbi
Kenneth Brander as The David Mitzner Dean of
CJF. “Our family is honored that Rabbi Brander
is to become the inaugural David Mitzner Dean
of the Center of the Jewish Future,” noted Ira M.
Mitzner, the son of David Mitzner and a member
of the Yeshiva University Board of Trustees. “Rabbi
Brander’s energy and commitment to the ideals
and values that our family and Yeshiva University
hold so dear make him the ideal leader to continue
the strengthening and growth of both YU and our
North American kehilot.”
RIETS also recognized members of its 50th, 40th
and 25th anniversary classes (1959, 1969 and
1984) and its roshei yeshiva. At the Dinner of Trib-
ute, Lance L. Hirt and Joel M. Schreiber, members
of the RIETS Board of Trustees, served as dinner
chairmen. Also participating in the program were
Dr. Norman Lamm, Rosh HaYeshiva of RIETS
4
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
In the News

RIETS Alumni Reunion at YU

On Tuesday, October 27th, RIETS alumni
returned to the Wilf campus for a day of
reunion activities to mark their 25th, 40th and
50th anniversary since receiving semikhah.
The schedule included lunch with RIETS Rosh
HaYeshivah, Dr. Norman Lamm as well as a
“Pikuach Nefesh on Shabbat” shiur given by
Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky ’91R. The alumni, from
the classes of 1959, 1969 and 1984 were then
given a tour of the Wilf Campus, including
the new Glueck Center for Jewish Study, led
by current students. One of the student tour
guides, Avi Narrow-Tilonsky, shared that “it
was a lot of fun to show the rabbis YU. They the tour to be extremely rewarding. “It’s been and night! I’m very happy to have seen it, and
have many great stories [to share]”. a very long time since I was back on campus, I’m impressed with the standards of learning.”
I think the last time was in 1961,” said Rabbi The day provided the opportunity for alumni
It was equally fun for the alumni, some of whom Marshall Korn ’59R. “When I came back there to reconnect, especially those who had not seen
had not been back in many years, and found was a tremendous difference – it was like day each other for 50 years. n

Celebrating the Opening of the Jacob and Dreizel Glueck Center for Jewish Study
continued from page 3

of the NY State Assembly and recipient of an

honorary degree from YU, and NY State Represen-
tative Herman “Denny” Farrell, Jr.

Silver, who President Joel welcomed as “a ben

Torah,” wished his alma mater congratulations.
“I am proud to see YU expand in its size and
prestige,” said Silver, whose three children are also
alumni. “As it grows, YU invigorates the city and
the state and especially this Washington Heights
community.”

President Joel paid tribute to the many supporters

whose gifts made the building possible, including
the Nagel family, after whom the Jack and Gitta
Nagel Family Atrium and Student Commons in
the adjoining Mendel Gottesman Library is named.

The new stone and glass structure, he said, is a

“tangible symbol of our absolute optimism in the
future of our yeshiva and our University.”

“We must fill this space with the best of our com-
munity,” added President Joel. “A YU education
must be both aspirational and non-negotiable.
This is where our children will learn and grow into
proud leaders of a proud and purposeful people of
our nation.” n

5
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Chomer l’Drush
The Transition from
Purim to Pesach: Pesach
Seder as an Atonement
for the Sin of Purim
Rabbi Baruch Simon
T he Gemara (Taanis 29a-b) states that
when the month of Adar comes, we
increase our rejoicing. Rashi on that
Gemara1 comments that this time of celebration
represents a time when miracles were performed
for the Jewish people, referring to both Purim
and Pesach. Why does Rashi feel a need to inject
Pesach into a discussion about Purim?2 One
could suggest that there is a progression and link
between these two celebrations, that Purim is a
prelude to Pesach.
The Gemara (Megillah 12a) asks why the Jews
during the time of Achashveirosh were subject
to a decree of termination. What sin could
have caused such grievous consequences? The
Gemara answers that the Jews took part in
the seudah of Achashveirosh. The Sefer Avnei
Shoham3 answers that the Jews in Shushan
participated due to their despair since they were
unable to rebuild the Holy Temple. The Gemara
(Megillah 11b) explains that the prophets
proclaimed that the exile in Bavel would last
for 70 years, followed by redemption. Achash-
veirosh miscalculated the endpoint of these 70
years and was under the mistaken impression
that they had already concluded. He announced
that redemption would not come and the Jews
would remain under his subjugation. Achash-
veirosh’s banquet celebrated the continued exile
of the Jews. Chazal tell us4 that the vessels of the
Beis Hamikdash were displayed and used at this
affair. The participation of the Jewish commu-
nity acknowledged the tragic truth to Achash-
veirosh’s calculation; to complete yiush from
salvation. People who have despaired deserve a
decree of termination.
6
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Daled Kosos b’Pesach
One may suggest that the Pesach seder is
an atonement for the aforementioned sin of
Purim. The Pesach seder revolves around the
Hagaddah and its accompanying four cups of
wine. Although the most common explanation
of the four cups5 is to parallel the four verbs
of redemption — v’hotzaisi, v’hitzalti, v’ga’alti,
v’lakachti6 — Chazal suggest an additional
correspondence. The Talmud Yerushalmi7 states
that the four cups of wine match the four times
the word kos appears in the dream of the Sar
Hamashkim8. Rav Eliyahu Klatzkin of Lublin9
explains the connection between the four cups
and the dream of the wine Steward. He explains
that the Sar Hamashkim’s constant reference
to kos Paroh showed a yearning to serve the
king, not for the sake of his own honor but
out of a sincere desire to provide for the king
whom he respected. Yosef noticed this sincer-
ity and longing to serve his king and therefore
understood that the correct interpretation of the
dream would result with the Sar Hamashkim’s
reinstatement. The Baker’s dream referenced the
various delicacies of the king but no emphasis
on his yearning to serve the king. Hence Yosef
interpreted his fate in a negative way.
At the Pesach seder we remind ourselves of the
Sar Hamashkim and his desire to be reinstated
to his position, which ultimately was brought
to fruition. We raise our cups of wine and drink
them with the same sincerity and yearning to
be reinstated as servants of Hakadosh Baruch
Hu, to be able to witness the real service in the
Beis Hamikdash. We are hopeful that we will
have positive results as did the Sar Hamashkim.
This positive attitude which we portray on
Pesach comes also to rectify our participation
in seudas Achashveirosh which represented
ultimate despair. Rather, we raise our cups of
wine with the attitude of kos y’shuos esa uv’shem
Hashem ekra.10
Zman Mitzvas Leil Pesach
Based upon the above explanation, we can un-
derstand why the mitzvos of the seder, including
the drinking of the four cups, are to take place
at night, and they cannot be fulfilled during
daylight hours (i.e. if we accept yom tov early).11
The nighttime is dark, a time prone to despair. It
is specifically at this time that we celebrate our
seder, reaffirming our belief in God and His ability
Chomer l’Drush
to redeem us even in times of hopelessness12. This
is an implementation of the verse ‘ve’emunascha
baleilos’.13
According to the above-mentioned explanation
of the connection between the seder’s cups and
those of the Sar Hamashkim, we can understand
the significance of drinking these cups of wine
specifically at night to affirm our emunah and our
steadfast commitment not to despair even in the
most difficult of times.
Biur HaGRA l’Mah Nishtanah
In fact, the Vilna Gaon14 explains the question of
mah nishtanah halaylah hazeh mikol haleilos in a
similar fashion. He notes that the Hebrew word
yom, day, is masculine and the word laylah, night,
is feminine. Therefore, grammatically, notes the
Gaon, the language employed should be halaylah
hazos, not halaylah hazeh. The Gaon asks why is
the masculine form used for a female noun? He
answers that the masculine form indicates that
this night has many mitzvos to perform, similar to
a man obligated in many mitzvos. Contrast this
to most other nights which do not have the same
multitude of mitzvos associated with it, similar
to women who are exempt from certain mitzvos.
The aforementioned Sefer Avnei Shoham elabo-
rates that the question of mah nishtanah mikol
haleilos is asking why the mitzvos of Pesach are
fulfilled at night, not during the day. The answer is
to reassure our faith and belief specifically at night
when things don’t seem as clear.
Birkat Asher Ge’alanu
The Shibolei Haleket of Rabbeinu Zedkiah ben
Abraham15 explains that the brachah of Asher
Ge’alanu recited at the Pesach seder is in fact the
brachah on the recitation of the Hagaddah. The
reason it was recited at the end of Maggid rather
than at the beginning of Maggid — as would be
the normal procedure to recite birkas hamitz-
vos before the performance of a mitzvah — is
because this brachah itself discusses redemption.
If it would have been recited at the beginning
it would have been incongruous to proceed to
discuss enslavement as we do early in Magid
after we have already recited the brachah over
redemption.
The Mishnah in Psachim16 records a machlokes be-
tween Rebbe Tarfon and Rebbe Akiva. Rebbi Tarfon
opines that the brachah of Asher Ge’alanu discusses
the past redemption. Rebbi Akiva concurs but adds
that one must add a supplication for the future.
Indeed we read ‘ken Hashem Elokeinu v’Elokei avoseinu
y’gienu l’moadim ul’rgalim acheirim…’
The Rambam says17, ‘uvizman hazeh mosif ken
Hashem Elokeinu v’Elokei avoseinu y’gienu l’moadim
ul’rgalim acheirim…’
Rebbe Akiva’s addition is especially significant
being that Asher Ge’alanu is the central brachah
on the Hagaddah and serves as a positive
affirmation of v’emunascha baleilos, the tikun for
the participation of Klal Yisrael in the seudah of
Achashveirosh.
Rav Yitzchak Arieli in his work Einayim l’Mishpat18
explains that it was specifically Rebbe Akiva who
authored this addition for he had a special yearning
for the geulah and a special ability to see light in
the midst of darkness. His optimism is famously
portrayed in the Gemara at the end of Makkos19
where he and other tana’im were walking near the
Temple site and witnessed a fox emerging from the
Holy of Holies. The tana’im were crying yet Rebbe
Akiva’s countenance displayed joy. He explained to
his colleagues that his gladness stemmed from the
fact that since the prophecy of destruction, of tzion
sadeh teycharaish,20 was fulfilled, he was reassured
that the prophecy of redemption, of od yeshvu
z’keinim uzkeinos birchovos Yerushalayim,21 would
come to fruition as well.
Limud m’Yitzchak Avinu
Rebbe Akiva’s ability to see redemption through
the prism of darkness stems from Yitzchak
Avinu. The Torah tells us,22 “Vayeitzei Yitzchak
lasuach basadeh lifnos arev…” Chazal23 interpret
this verse as referring to Yitzchak’s institution of
tefillas Minchah and “ein simchah ela tefillah.” The
sefer Chakal Yitzchak24 explains that Yitzchak’s
prayer was regarding the rebuilding of the Beis
Hamikdash, hence the phrase “lasuach basadeh
lifnos arev.” The word sadeh refers to the Beis
Hamikdash as per the verse quoted above ‘Tzion
sadeh teycharaish25. His prayer occurred lifnos arev,
to remove the darkness of galus. However26 his
demeanor was Yitzchak — tzchok v’simchah; one
of joy for he was confident in redemption. This
was his trait: optimism in times of darkness.
Rav Tzadok HaCohen of Lublin27 explains that
the numerical value of siach is 318, which is one
7
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
more in value than yi’ush, 317. One can explain
that siach is the ability to daven28. The idea that
siach equals 318 — or one above yiush — ex-
plains that a key component of our ability never
to have yiush is that we were given the gift of
prayer. Hence, Yitzchak Avinu, who was born on
Pesach29, and is the first to partake of a korban Pe-
sach30 teaches us this lesson of never losing hope,
one of the themes of the leil haseder.
Pesach = Peh Sach
The Arizal31 explains that an additional interpreta-
tion to the word Pesach is peh sach, the mouth
speaks. This refers to an additional component of
our freedom, namely geulas hadibur, the redemp-
tion of our speech32. The Sefer Seder Haaruch33
explains that when Klal Yisrael were in Egypt,
they lacked the ability to speak to Hashem and
only received that ability upon their redemption.
Hence, the night of leil Pesach is a night of ribuy
sichah, an abundance of discussion, which, as we
explained, is ribuy emunah; we know that “kol
hamarbeh..harei zeh m’shubach.”34
Furthermore, we have an obligation of smichas
geulah l’tfillah35 which refers to the recitation
of ga’al Yisrael followed immediately by the
recitation of Hashem s’fasai tiftach. The Rav of
Butchach36 explained that after ga’al Yisrael, the
redemption from Egypt, came Hashem s’fasai
tiftach, the ability to express verbally.
Leil Pesach – Leil Shimurim
The night of the seder is referred to as leil shimu-
rim.37 The Sfas Emes38 explains that shmirah refers
to anticipation and yearning, as Rashi translated
the words, “v’aviv shamar es hadavar”.39 Rashi un-
derstood this to mean, “hayah mamtin um’tzapeh
masay tavo,” he waited and anticipated when
[Yosef ’s] dream will be realized. So too, taught the
Sfas Emes, that one should anticipate this night
of the year. We can add that this is the night that
we are m’tzapeh l’yeshuah, that we anticipate the
redemption and avoid despair.
At-Bash
The Shulchan Aruch40 relates that the first day
of Pesach coincides with the same day of the
week on which Tishah B’av falls that year. Hence
leil haseder is the same night of the week as leil
Tishah B’av. This fact allows us to grasp a more
resilient and deeper connection between Pesach
continued on page 8
Chomer l’Drush

The Transition from Purim to Pesach

continued from page 7

and Tishah B’av. Chazal teach us41, “kol hamisabel
al Yerushalayim zocheh v’roeh b’simchasah,” that
mourning over Yerushalayim shows Hakadosh
Baruch Hu our yearning for the rebuilding of Ye-
rushalayim, emotions which hasten the geulah42.
The same night that we yearn and mourn for the
building of the Beis Hamikdash is the night of the
seder, when we also yearn for geulah. The Chas-
sam Sofer43 argues that the fact that the Jewish
people continue to mourn for generations over
the Beis Hamikdash, shows that the Beis Hamik-
dash is still alive and can be rebuilt. If the Beis
Hamikdash were like a meis, we could despair for
Hakadosh Baruch Hu decreed that with the lapse
of time, the pain of a loss over a meis dissipates.
The fact that we still actively mourn over the Beis
Hamikdash and the pain is tangible shows that it
is very alive. The Pesach seder on the night of leil
Tishah B’av reaffirms our belief in the geulah.
bright sun, providing the light of salvation in the
darkness of night. n
Notes
1. Rashi to Taanis 29a mishenichnas.
2. I heard this from Mori v’Rabbi Harav Hagaon R.
Chaim Yaakov Goldwicht zt’l.
3. Avnei Shoham – Mo’adim, by R. Nachum Eisenstein.
Purim edition, essay 4, ve’emunascha baleilos.
4. Esther Rabbah 2:11 on the verse from Esther 1:7.
5. Psachim 99b see Rashbam ‘v’lo yifchasu.’
6. Shmos 6:6-7
7. Psachim chapter 10 halachah 1.
8. Bereshis 40:11-12.
9. Cited in K’motzei Shalal Rav l’Hagaddah shel Pesach,
pages 50-52 on the drush.
10. Tehillim 116:13.
11. Psachim 99b “ad shetechshach”; see also Magen
Avraham #472:1.
12. See Avnei Shoham pages 232-233.
13. Tehillim 92:2.
Yitzchak, Shmos s.v. Mafteyach.
27. Divrei Sofrim os 16. See also in Rabbi Pinchas
Freedman’s essay “Hamachaneh Hachareidi” Parshas
Lech Lecha 5770.
28. See Rabbi Hershel Schachter’s Nefesh Harav pp. 271-
272 who brings in the name of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi
Solveitchik that Rashi’s comment (Bereshis 2:5) – v’chol
siach hasadeh, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu did not
bring rain until the creation of Man, who recognizes
His goodness and explained that siach is the language
of prayer as we learn in the Gemara Brachos 26b, ein
sichah ela tfillah.
29. Rosh Hashanah 11a.
30. Bereshis 27:9 and Pirkei dRebbe Eliezer chapter 32.
Also in the targum Yonasan, Ibid.
31. Pri Etz Chaim shaar Chag Hamatzos. Chapter 1 in the
name of the Arizal.
32. See Haseder Ha’aruch vol. II pp. 26-27.
33. Ibid. see footnote 17.
34. Hagaddah shel Pesach
35. Brachos 4b.

The seder on the 14. Hagaddah shel Pesach l’haGRA.

15. Shibbolei Haleket – seder Pesach 218 s.v.knegged
36. See Haseder Haaruch volume II pp. 20.
37. Shmos 12:42.

night of Tishah
arbaah banim dibrah Torah. 38. See Haseder Haaruch volume II chapter 112 letter 15.
16. Psachim 116b. 39. Bereshis 37:11.
17. Rambam hilchos Chametz uMatzah 8:5. 40. Orach Chaim 428:3.
B’av reaffirms our 18. Einayim l’Mishpat end of Makkos. Cited in Hagaddah
shel Pesach k’motzei Shlal Rav pp. 280-281.
41. Taanis 30b.
42. See Tzemach David al HaTorah (Parshas Vayechi s.v.

belief in the geulah. 19. Makkos 24a.

Conclusion
Rashi related that the beginning of Adar ushers in
the Purim-Pesach observance. In light of the above
explanations, the evil decrees of Purim came about
due to a sense of yiush, by partaking of Achash-
veirosh’s seudah. The observance of Pesach is the
remedy for this; we yearn for the geulah.
20. Michah 3:12.
21. Zecharyah 8:4.
lishuascha) of Rabbi Yosef David zt’l that what we say
in Shmoneh Esreh – “lishuascha kivinu kol hayom”
means that if we are not worthy of redemption, we
22. Bereshis 24:63. request it in the merit of our longings for it.
23. Brachos 26b 43. Chassam Sofer in his drashos, Volume III, drash for the
24. Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik zt’l, of Spinka, Munkatch, Selish. 7th of Av, pp. 84.
Parshas Chayei Sarah s.v.’vayeitzei Yitzchak.’ 44. Tehillim 116:14.
25. See Psachim 88a. 45. Zohar Hakodesh Bo 38a.
26. Cited in Yeitiv Lach on Chayei Sarah s.v. vayeitzei

We conclude the seder with these timeless words:

“ka’asher zachinu l’sader oso ken nizkeh la’asoso.”
We mean to say that this year we outlined the
seder, but next year we should be zocheh to fulfill
Pesach in its entirety. We are required to believe
this message of salvation; that Hakadosh Baruch
Hu directs the fate of Klal Yisrael and our personal
lives. The night of the seder teaches us that when
we reach out to G-d then laylah kayom ya’ir44 as
explained by the Zohar,45 that Hakadosh Baruch
Hu illuminated the night of leil haseder like the

8
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Divrei Chizuk

prepared Moshe for nevuah progressively, by

taking into account that any mortal, even one
destined to become the adon haneviim (master of
the prophets), can only assimilate ideas in stages.
Seeing and Rabbeinu B’chaye provides an allegory of an
individual who has been in a darkened room for
Transmitting an extended period of time. If he suddenly leaves
the room and gazes towards the sun he will be
blinded. But if he gradually adjusts to the light he
Rabbi Chaim Bronstein will soon enjoy a radiant world. Rabbeinu B’chaye
notes that what is true in the physical world
holds true as well in the spiritual world. Hashem
introduced Bnei Yisrael to the Torah in stages. A
few mitzvoth were given at Marah followed by the
aseret hadibrot at Sinai, and the rest of the Torah

T he first encounter between Moshe Rab-

beinu and Hakadosh Baruch Hu is at the
Burning Bush. The pasuk states: “vayavo el
har heElokim choreva” (Shmot 3:1). It seems anoma-
lous that a place can be both har haElokim, the
in his commentary on Parshat Shmot notes that
Moshe’s observing the sneh is quickly followed
by seeing an angel. “Vayarah malach Hashem eilav
b’labat eis”’ (Ibid, verse 2). The fact that Moshe
had been stirred by the sneh led to a higher-level
as they traveled through the desert.

Although, understandably, one wants his

congregation and community to progress as
quickly as possible, no rabbi or leader, not even a
mountain of Elokim, and chorevah, desolate and Moshe Rabbeinu, can transmit the entire Torah
devoid of life. The challenge to Moshe Rabbeinu
and to anyone who would subsequently assume Spiritual growth at once. Spiritual growth requires confident,
trained rabbinic leadership, but equally, it requires
a position of rabbinic leadership is to recognize patience and tenacity. The successful rabbi is
that even those locations that are seemingly barren
spiritually, have the potential to become a Har
requires confident not a revivalist who provides a catharsis with a
few masterful presentations and then repeats
Elokim. That is the immense undertaking faced
by our musmakhim in communities across the rabbinic leadership, his performance in the next venue. Rather, he
is a builder — “Al tikra banayich ela bonayich”
country and throughout the world. “Vayinaheg et (Brachot 60a) — who works with his charges
hatzon achar hamidbar” (Ibid.). The ability to see
beyond the desert and to lead one’s flock to a better
but equally, it requires individually and collectively to bring them to
successive levels in their avodat Hashem. This
situation is the calling of our musmakhim.
patience and tenacity. is a long and challenging process, to maintain
a sense of hitlahavut (passion) and to ignite a
How does one attempt such a daunting task? What spiritual flame in others, while in the process
are the kochot hanefesh needed by one who would vision of the malach Hashem. Seeing the malach not consuming oneself or one’s congregation.
entertain such a role? Moshe Rabbeinu exclaims, led to the ultimate vision of “Vayikra elav Elokim” Hakadosh Baruch Hu, in giving us His Torah, and
“asurah na v’ereh” (Ibid, verse 3). This can mean (Ibid, verse 4) which is the initiation of Moshe Moshe Rabbeinu in transmitting it, have shown
either drawing near for a closer look or stepping Rabbeinu into nevuah(prophecy). Hashem us a clear approach to rabbinic success. n
back to gain perspective. One requires a realistic
sense of a community, an ability to analyze its
strengths, weaknesses and potential which goes
hand in hand with “vayetzei el echav”’ (Shmot 2:11),
the desire to make a difference in our brothers’ lives.
Some deserts can be made to bloom while others
will remain desolate for the foreseeable future.

Moshe Rabbeinu has three successive visions. He

is first drawn to the sneh, which though ablaze is
not consumed. This is a phenomenon that others
might have shrugged off but Moshe is challenged
by it. It is this very responsiveness which Hashem
notes that sets Moshe apart. “Vayar Hashem ki
sar lirot” (Shmot 3:4). A prospective leader must
be attuned to the eternality of Knesset Yisrael,
even in the bleakest setting. Rabbeinu B’chaye

9
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Back to the Beit Midrash
T he distinctive style of different modes
of writing is familiar to us from our
own composition of articles, divrei
Torah, formal letters, e-mails, and possibly even
text messages. These documents differ in their
content, manners of expression, precision, and
organization of thought. In this light, Megillat
Esther’s (Esther 9:29-32) characterization
of Esther’s written establishment of Purim’s
celebration as both an iggeret, a letter, and a
sefer, a book, is startling and intriguing. Letters
and books utilize radically different styles of
presentation, and they are distinguished from
one another in their permanence, overall import,
and depth of meaning. In most circumstances,
letters are written in a casual, informal manner
with the primary goal of conveying a specific,
timely message to a targeted audience. Books,
on the other hand, are polished works which
address multiple audiences, and focus on topics of
enduring and universal significance.
The Gemara (Megillah 19a) was attuned to
the tension generated by the megillah’s dual
characterization, and it supplies Rav’s resolution
to the matter. The characterization of Megil-
lat Esther as a sefer indicates that the panels of
parchment must be bound with strings that were
manufactured from a kosher animal, thereby
disqualifying the use of flax strings. At the same
time, the Megillah’s characterization as an ig-
geret lowers the necessary standard of stitches to
a minimum of three evenly distributed stitches.
The Gemara’s resolution, although mechanically
effective, casts a shadow of lingering uncertainty
regarding Megillat Esther’s true identity. This
article will attempt to clarify the halakhic iden-
tity of Megillat Esther based on a brief survey of
Timeless Teachings
Embedded in a
Timely Tale
Rabbi Duvie Nachbar
the relevant halakhot. In addition, it will explore
the distinctive qualities of a composition which
bears the identity of a sefer as opposed to that of
an iggeret.
A Formal, Structured Sefer halakhic debate concerning the appropriate divi-
On the surface, Rav’s compromise between the
sefer facet of Megillat Esther and its iggeret com-
ponent seems well balanced. Nonetheless, Rab-
beinu Tam adopted a predominantly monolithic
view of Megillat Esther’s halakhic status. The Tur
(Orakh Chaim, 691) cites the opinion of Rab-
beinu Tam that “since it is called a sefer, we apply
all of the laws of a sefer torah to it aside from that
which is explicit in the Gemara…but in all other
respects it is like a sefer Torah.” 1
Rabbeinu Tam enumerates several halakhot
which govern the composition of a megillah
by dint of its halakhic status as a sefer. These
halakhot reflect three qualities that are char-
acteristic of a halakhic sefer. A sefer demands
formality with respect to its lettering; as a result,
the megillah’s letters must be surrounded by
parchment, the halakha of mukaf gvil2; its let-
ters must be written with an exacting standard
of shape and form; and the letters of sha’atnez
geitz must be adorned with their appropriate
ornamental crowns. In addition, a sefer requires
precision in its transcription. For this reason,
the omission and inclusion of chaseirot and
yeteirot must be adhered to strictly3. Finally,
the format and layout of a document reflects its
halakhic identity as a sefer. The megillah must
include a single blank column of parchment at
its beginning and a swath of blank parchment
at its end, sufficiently large to wrap around the
entire written work.4
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C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
The Hagahot Maimoniyot (Hilkhot Megillah
2:50) expounds upon the quality of a sefer as it
relates to a document’s format and layout. He
records Rabbeinu Tam’s assertion that a megillah
“possesses all the laws of a sefer Torah” regarding
the requisite number of lines per column, column
width, spacing between lines, words and letters,
margin size for the top and bottom margins, and
space between columns. A megillah mirrors a
sefer Torah regarding all these aspects of format
and layout due to its identity as a sefer.
A document’s quality as a sefer or iggeret is
reflected not only in its standards for precision
and formal requirements in lettering, format,
and layout, but in its organization of ideas as
well. A sefer is marked by great organization and
structure, by measured sentences, and calculated
thoughts. In contrast, an iggeret expresses a free-
flowing presentation of ideas, seamless transitions,
and a stream of consciousness connected by
loose associations. In light of this distinction, a
sion between the parshiyot of the megillah might
be instrumental in determining Megillat Esther’s
true identity. The unremitting style of an iggeret
would be evident in the continuous procession of
text, unhindered by any separation of parshiyot.
The quality of a sefer, however, would require a
more structured presentation organized by divi-
sions between parshiyot.
The Or Zarua (2:373) initially presents the
division between parshiyot as bearing a similar
mark to that of a sefer Torah. In both contexts,
parshiyot are divided by two types of divisions,
parshiyot petuchot, open parsha breaks, and
parshiyot setumot, enclosed parsha breaks. He
subsequently cites the opinion of Rabbi Shimon
that all paragraph breaks should consist of parshi-
yot setumot. The rationale for this consistent,
enclosed style of division is not immediately clear;
however, the Hagahot Maimoniyot (Hilkhot
Megillah 2:50) associates the need for consistent
divisions of parshiyot setumot with Rabbeinu
Tam’s perspective that a megillah bears the
fundamental identity of a sefer. The underlying
assumption is that the identification of a megillah
as an iggeret might have eliminated the need for
parsha breaks entirely.
The unstated implication of the Hagahot Mai-
moniyot finds clear expression in the Terumat
HaDeshen’s analysis (Pesakim, no. 23). The
question was posed as to whether a megillah that
Back to the Beit Midrash
included parshiyot petuchot would be invalidated
due to the deviation. The questioner thought to
validate the megillah by attributing the need for
consistent parshiyot setumot to its identity as
an iggeret coupled with the assumption that the
halakhot reflecting the iggeret facet are only ide-
ally required. The Terumat HaDeshen’s response
correctly notes that the requirement for parshiyot
setumot, in fact, is due to the megillah’s identity as
a sefer. Had the halakhic detail been attributed to
the megillah’s iggeret dimension, the text would
have been written in a seamless fashion, uninter-
rupted by any parsha break.5
A Casual Letter
Despite Rabbeinu Tam’s sweeping assertion that
the halakhic identity of a megillah is fundamentally
that of a sefer, further investigation reveals the
novelty of his perspective. The Gemara (Megillah
18b) poses a contradiction between two beraitot
with respect to the impact an omission of pesukim
from the written text has on the megillah’s halakhic
standing. The Gemara resolves the apparent
contradiction by distinguishing between a
megillah which is missing the majority of its text
thereby invalidating the megillah, as opposed to a
megillah missing a minority of text which would
not undermine the megillah’s halakhic status.
The flexible allowance of lacunae within the text
which approach half of the entire megillah would,
at first glance, introduce a sharp divide between a
megillah’s identity as a written work and that of a
sefer torah.6
This surprising allowance demonstrates that the
essential function of an iggeret is the successful
conveyance of an idea or message. The written
text serves as a mere vehicle for the reliable
transmission of content. Hence, so long as
the written text capably functions as a basic
framework and foundation for the oral reading
of the remaining content, it successfully fulfills its
role. In contrast, the written text of a sefer obtains
halakhic significance independent of its additional
function as a vehicle for transmitting ideas. As
a result, the standards for the written text are
stricter, requiring greater precision and possibly
even perfection, irrespective of the successful
conveyance of content.7
This conception of an iggeret’s function
underlies Rabbi Shimon’s perspective that
careful consideration of chaseirot and yeteirot
is unnecessary in the context of megillah (Or
Zarua 2:373)8. Although an error with regard
to chaseirot and yeteirot alters the precision of
the written text, and consequently invalidates
a sefer torah, it does not modify the phonetic
pronunciation of the word. The text still capably
conveys the same idea or thought; as a result,
imprecision with regard to chaseirot and yeteirot
does not undermine the halakhic standing of an
iggeret.
The absence of several formalities, ordinarily
required by a sefer torah, underscores the
megillah’s fundamental identity as an iggeret.
The Ba’al HaIttur (2:112d), in direct opposition
to Rabbeinu Tam, espouses the viewpoint that
the letters sha’atnez geitz of a megillah do not
require the inclusion of taggin, the ornamental
crowns atop the letters. A megillah’s identity,
argues the Ba’al HaIttur, is that of a common letter
whereas the halakha of taggin is only found in
the context of a sefer torah. He cites the pasuk
from the megillah which states “divrei shalom” …
this means to say that the megillah itself is divrei
shalom like an iggeret ha’reshut.” Moreover, the
Ran (Megillah 6b, s.v. u’mistabra) claims that
any halakha which is only ideally required, but
not essential, in the context of a sefer torah is
inapplicable to the composition of a megillah.
He mentions the column width and the number
of columns as specific examples of halakhot
that do not apply to a megillah. An iggeret
is characterized by its informal writing style;
therefore, we abandon strict requirements with
regard to ornamental lettering and formatting.
The Maggid Mishneh explicitly formulates and
crystallizes the broad halakhic ramifications of
viewing a megillah’s fundamental identity as an
iggeret. The Rambam (Hilkhot Megillah 2:9) rules
that the parchment used for a megillah does not
need to be treated with specific intent to be used
for that purpose, the concept of ibbud lishmah.
The Rambam’s surprising ruling stands in direct
contradiction to the viewpoint of Rabbeinu Tam,
as cited in the Tur, who demands ibbud lishmah.
The Maggid Mishneh, in his attempt to explain
the underlying motive for the Rambam’s position,
comments that the halakha is self-evident since a
megillah “is dissimilar to a sefer torah but for the
things regarding which it was equated to it.” In
other words, a megillah’s true identity as an iggeret
determines the halakhic ruling of all grey areas left
unaddressed by the Gemara.
Sefer and Iggeret
An investigation of two additional halakhic
requirements of a megillah calls into question
both of the extreme viewpoints, developed
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C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
heretofore, which view the megillah in a
predominantly monolithic light. The Mishna
(Megillah 17a) rules that a megillah must be
written with black ink on parchment. The ruling
of the mishna is based on a gezeirah shava which
links Esther’s act of writing with Yirmiyahu’s
commission of Baruch to write his prophecy “on
a sefer with ink” (Megillah 19a). On the surface,
the application of these two halakhic details, black
ink and parchment, supports the viewpoint that
a megillah’s identity is that of a sefer; however,
the necessity for an additional derivation from
Yirmiyahu to teach this point given the megillah’s
character as a sefer is questionable. Furthermore,
the Gemara (Megillah 16b) cites the opinion of
Rabbi Tanchum that a megillah requires sirtut,
finely engraved lines etched into the parchment
above the lines of text. This halakhic requirement
is derived from a pasuk in the megillah which
states “divrei shalom ve’emet,” which, according
to Rashi (Megillah 16b, s.v. ke’amitah), serves as
a basis for comparison between Megillat Esther
and a sefer torah. Once again, the application of
the halakhic detail of sirtut bespeaks an identity of
sefer; at the same time, the additional derivation
seems superfluous given the megillah’s already
established character as a sefer.9
In light of the aforementioned difficulties, a
more nuanced approach to understanding the
megillah’s identity is in order. In truth, Megillat
Esther is not a sefer in all respects but for one
trivial detail of sufficing with three stitches,
nor is it primarily an iggeret aside for the lone
requirement of an animal-based stitching.
The Gemara’s (Megillah 19a) resolution of
the sefer component and iggeret dimension
regarding the megillah’s stitching establishes
a paradigm for all other halakhic details of a
megillah. Megillat Esther is a compromised sefer
with diluted standards due to the moderating
effect of its iggeret dimension. This model of
counterbalancing components applies more
broadly than the specific context in which the
Gemara utilized it.
Tosafot’s (Menachot 32b, s.v. ha) defense of
Rashi’s perspective regarding sirtut is highly
enlightening in this regard. Rashi interpreted the
Gemara’s derivation as comparing the halakhic
requirement of a megillah to that of a sefer torah.
Despite the megillah’s own characterization as a
sefer, an additional derivation was necessary. If
the requirement of sirtut was based solely on the
megillah’s identity as a sefer, it would have been
continued on page 12
Back to the Beit Midrash
Timeless Teachings Embedded in a Timely Tale
continued from page 11
counterbalanced by the opposing characterization
as an iggeret. As a result, the entire written work
would not have demanded sirtut; rather, engraved
lines would have been withheld from one section
of the megillah due to its compromised status as a
sefer. Rabbi Tanchum’s additional derivation was
vital in establishing the requirement of sirtut for
the entire megillah.
As was highlighted above, Megillat Esther’s
flexible standard for missing text represents
one of the primary discrepancies between
a megillah and a sefer Torah. The Rashba’s
interpretation (Megillah 18b, s.v. lo) of this
halakhic detail is consistent with the present
line of reasoning. The Rashba distinguishes
between two potential conceptual assessments
of a sefer with missing words or pesukim. On
the one hand, the omission might undermine
the quality of the entire work, rendering it a sefer
chaseir, an incomplete work. At the same time,
the written work might be viewed as preserving
its overall quality as a sefer shaleim, a complete
work, albeit a sefer shaleim im ta’uyot, one which
contains errors within it. A sefer torah’s standard
of perfection produces an exacting evaluation
which deems any omission as undermining the
basic quality of the sefer. Due to the moderating
effect of Megillat Esther’s dimensions of sefer
and iggeret, however, it successfully preserves its
quality as a sefer shaleim im ta’uyot, an overall
complete work which possesses some errors, until
half the text is missing.10
A Model of Bifurcation
Ramban (Megillah 17b, s.v. ha de’tenan) develops
an additional moderate understanding of the dual
characterization of Megillat Esther. In contrast
to the previous analysis which sought to integrate
the two dimensions in a counterbalancing
fashion, Ramban preserves the integrity of each
facet while relating them to different aspects
of the megillah. Megillat Esther possesses an
unadulterated character as a sefer with regard
to aspects of it being a written work. For
example, the megillah’s demand for black ink
and parchment stem from its comparison to a
sefer Torah, and its pristine quality as a sefer. In
addition, the requirement of sirtut also derives
from the megillah’s status as a sefer since it
prepares the parchment for writing. On the other
hand, with regard to aspects of keriah, the reading
of text and its study, the megillah purely adopts
the character of an iggeret. For this reason, the
megillah may be read while standing or sitting.
The analysis of the Gemara regarding the stitching
of the megillah, which introduces an element of
moderation and dilution, is due to the in-between
state of that halakhic detail. The stitching of
the parchment is a detail neither inherent to
the written text, nor totally extraneous to it like
reading. As a result, the stitching of the megillah is
mediated by both dimensions. Ramban’s analysis
neatly preserves each of the megillah’s two facets
by assigning them independent domains, the
written work itself as opposed to the reading and
study of it.
Ramban’s analysis of a megillah’s quality as an
iggeret with respect to its keriah manifests itself in
two prevalent practices. One universal practice,
as perceived by Ramban, required the reader to
pause in the middle of every pasuk as opposed
to the conventional stopping point at the end of
the pasuk. This unique style of reading is due to
the iggeret dimension of the megillah. A related,
although not identical, practice is communicated
by the Hagahot Maimoniyot (Hilkhot Megillah
2:1) in the name of Rav Yehudah ben Yitzchak.
According to him, the reader interweaves
successive pesukim by reading from one pasuk
into the next in a single breath. In this context
as well, the megillah’s status as an iggeret is the
driving force behind the custom. The Hagahot
Maimoniyot cites the dissenting view of Rav Meir
of Rothenberg who permitted the reader to pause
between pesukim. The debate seems to revolve
around the fundamental identity of Megillat
Esther as a sefer or an iggeret at least with respect
to its reading, and possibly in its entirety. The
application of the analysis relates to the highly
structured, measured, and calculated expression
of ideas in a sefer in contrast to the seamless, free
flowing manner of presentation of an iggeret.
On this basis, the reading of an iggeret would
dispense with the structured division of pesukim.
Pausing in the middle of a pasuk and interweaving
successive pesukim are both expressions of a
more flexible, seamless text.
The quality of organization as it pertains to a sefer
and iggeret might be reflected in an additional
debated practice regarding the reading of Megillat
Esther. The Tur (Orakh Chaim 690:17) presents
12
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
a Geonic debate regarding the appropriate
position of the parchment during the reading.
According to Rav Hai Gaon, the megillah should
be unrolled and spread out while being read in
a manner similar to the perusal of a letter. Rav
Natronai disagreed, arguing that the megillah
must remain scrolled similar to a sefer torah.
On the surface, the debate revolves around
identifying Megillat Esther’s true nature as an
iggeret or sefer. Ramban, in consistent fashion,
adopts the viewpoint of Rav Hai Gaon since
the position of the parchment during reading
represents an aspect of the megillah’s keriah.
The specific application of the general debate
concerning a megillah’s identity might reflect the
differentiation in organization between the two
types of documents. An iggeret might be unrolled
in its entirety in order to reflect the document’s
free flowing, uninterrupted style of presentation.
The content of the document must be read and
absorbed as a whole.11 A sefer, on the other
hand, remains scrolled thereby revealing a single
section of text at a time. A sefer’s strict division
into pesukim and parshiyot and organized
presentation are reflected in the narrowing of our
focus on a fragment of the total text.
Eternality of Megillat Esther
On a more philosophical note, Rav Soloveitchik
portrayed the difference between a sefer and
an iggeret with respect to their content, focus
and aims. On one level, an iggeret reports
factual observations, and a spirit of objectivity
and precision marks its written record. In
addition, the goal of an iggeret is to present
causal interpretation, namely, to highlight the
interconnection between different events and to
clarify their development and cause and effect. A
sefer, on the other hand, broadens its horizons,
and its significance transcends specific events and
frozen moments in time. Matters of universal and
eternal import and omnipresent truths about the
eternal destiny of man occupy its focus. The work
speaks with an almost predictive and clairvoyant
voice about the eternal nature of man and his
destiny. A sefer can only be written with the
clarity of divine inspiration.12
Megillat Esther’s dual characterization as
an iggeret and a sefer reflects the megillah’s
preoccupation with two different planes. On the
one hand, Megillat Esther as an iggeret records
Back to the Beit Midrash
and presents an intricate and ironic unfolding of
specific events that threaten utter annihilation, but
ultimately result in salvation. On a deeper level,
Megillat Esther as a sefer addresses the eternally
vexing challenge of man’s encounter with his
finite existence, and the characteristic responses of
various societies to this awareness. The aesthetic
society’s complete investment in the present
moment in their boundless pursuit of pleasure
and the arrogant society’s attempt to deify man
by demanding complete loyalty to mortal laws,
doctrines, and creed are both prominently
displayed in the Megillah. Megillat Esther also
presents the Jewish response of finding salvation
in one’s companionship with the infinite and
eternal God, and the aspiration of living a
consecrated life of service, courageous action, and
sacrificial humility in defeat. 13 On this plane,
Megillat Esther addresses the universal destiny of
man, not a particular incident, and it focuses on
that which is eternal, not on that which is timely.
Two additional features of Megillat Esther
provide support for Rav Soloveitchik’s analysis.
The Rambam concludes Hilkhot Megillah (2:18)
with the emphatic assertion that Megillat Esther
will be an enduring work, eternally relevant just
as the five books of the Torah and the corpus of
Torah She’be’al Peh. The parallelism between
Megillat Esther and Torah, particularly Torah
She’be’al Peh, finds remarkable expression in an
additional source as well. As was noted above, the
megillah’s requirement for sirtut derives from its
comparison to a sefer torah, according to Rashi.
The Yerushalmi (Megillah 1:1) intriguingly
juxtaposes this derivation to a second parallel
between the two, “just as it (Torah) is intended
to be expounded, so too is it (Megillat Esther)
intended to be expounded.” Megillat Esther’s
eternal message, depth of meaning, and layers
of interpretation are reflected in its identity as
a sefer, a quality that transcends its focus on a
particular incident as an iggeret. It is this quality
which is ultimately responsible for enshrining
Megillat Esther as an indispensable resource of
our mesorah. n
Notes
1. It is interesting to note that the citation of
Rabbeinu Tam’s position in the Or Zarua
(2:373) and Ra’avyah (2:548) contains the
important addition that a megillah has more
stringent requirements even than a sefer Torah.
According to Rabbeinu Tam, a sefer Torah does
not require sirtut whereas a megillah demands its
inclusion.
2. In truth, the Gemara never applies the halakha of
mukaf gvil to a sefer torah, reserving its mention
to the context of writing mezuzot and tefillin
alone (Menachot 29a and 34a). The Mordekhai
(Halakhot Ketanot, no. 852) cites Rabbeinu
Shimshon who challenged the concept’s application
to a sefer torah, and quotes some who restricted
the requirement to the writing of Hashem’s name
alone. Masechet Sofrim (2:2) seems to apply the
halakha of mukaf gvil to a sefer torah; however it
is not clearly rooted in the concept of sefer. See, for
example, the explanations of the Rashba (Shu”t
1:611) and the Meiri (Kiryat Sefer 2:2). A
different passage from the Mordekhai (Halakhot
Ketanot, no. 953), however, does associate the
halakha of mukaf gvil with a written work’s
identity as a sefer.
3. See Menachot 32b, Rashi (s.v. kasvah, kesivah),
and Tosafot (s.v. kasvah).
4. The Hagahot Maimoniyot (Hilkhot Megillah
2:50) reverses the requirement, demanding a
blank column at the megillah’s end, and a larger
swath of parchment at the beginning. The Beit
Yosef (Orakh Chaim 691, s.v. u’tzrikha amud
be’rosha) elaborates on the novelty of the Tur’s
position and its connection to the megillah’s
association with a sefer Torah.
5. Rema (Orakh Chaim 691:2) rules that all
divisions between parshiyot should appear as
parshiyot setumot. Surprisingly, the Mishnah
Berurah (691:12) attributes this ruling to the
megillah’s character as an iggeret, reflecting the
orientation of the questioner in the Terumat
HaDeshen. Regarding the potential invalidation
of the megillah due to the presence of parshiyot
petuchot, see the ruling of Rema and Mishnah
Berurah (691:13).
6. The Mordekhai (Megillah, no. 792-793) does, in
fact, draw conclusions concerning keriat ha’Torah
based on the Gemara’s resolution regarding
megillah. Since the megillah retains its status as
a sefer despite the absence of nearly half the text,
one is permitted, in some cases, to continue reading
the missing pesukim orally in the context of keriat
ha’Torah as well.
7. The Chasam Sofer (Yoreh De’ah, no. 278) draws
the distinction between megillah and sefer torah
along slightly different lines. The identity of a
sefer is unaffected by the omission of pesukim;
however, the status of a sefer torah is undermined
13
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
by the absence of a single letter due to the necessary
quality of “toras Hashem temimah,” of absolute
completion.
8. The Tur’s presentation of Rabbeinu Tam makes
explicit reference to the need for precision regarding
chaseirot and yeteirot.
9. Rabbeinu Tam utilizes this question as further
demonstration that the requirement of sirtut is
absent from a sefer torah (Gittin 6b, s.v. amar
Rabbi Yitzchak, Sotah 18b, s.v. kasvah, Menachot
32b, s.v. ha. The demonstration appears in slightly
different forms in each of the three contexts).
Instead, he reinterprets the Gemara’s derivation as
comparing a megillah to a mezuzah. The Ba’al
HaIttur, who upheld the megillah’s fundamental
identity as an iggeret, reinterprets the entire nature
of the derivation. The word ‘ve’emet’ functions as
a ribbuy that includes megillah in the halakha
of sirtut since people ordinarily engrave lines
even in their common letters. Rav Yitzchak
Ze’ev Soloveitchik (Chiddushei Maran Ri”z
haLevi, Hilkhot Megillah, s.v. be’megillah daf 16,
Chiddushei ha”Griz on Masekhet Menachot,
32b, s.v. be’gemara ha moridin) explains the need
for an additional derivation as being due to the
unique nature of sirtut. Basing himself on the
formulation of the Rambam (Hilkhot Megillah
2:9), the Brisker Rav explains that the demand
for sirtut derives not from the work’s identity as
a sefer, but from the content’s definition as divrei
Torah. Finally, Ramban (Gittin 6b, s.v. ve’katav)
offers two interpretations which respectively defuse
the present question according to either of the two
extreme viewpoints presented above.
10. In addition, missing pesukim from the beginning
or end of the megillah will also disqualify it as an
incomplete work.
11. See the Rambam’s (Hilkhot Megillah 2:12)
presentation of the practice, and the various
versions of the text.
12. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph B. Days of Deliverance.
Ed. Eli D. Clark, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven
Ziegler. Jersey City: KTAV Publishing House,
Inc., 2007.
13. See Rav Soloveitchik’s article, “The Megillah and
Human Destiny,” for the complete development of
his analysis.
Profiles from
Chag HaSemikhah
5770

“Don’t think you’re going to change all of Jewry. Your

job as a rav is to care about the individual, about the
orphan, the widow, to teach Torah one by one.”
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik
From Rabbi Menachem Genack, YU Review, Winter 2003
Chag HaSemikhah 5770

Divrei Brachah from

Rabbi Yona Reiss
Max and Marion Grill Dean, RIETS

I n parshat Ki Tisa, one of the recurring themes

is the concept of “chag” (holiday). At the
conclusion of the sedrah, the Torah records
the three “chagim” of Chag HaMatzot (Pesach),
Chag HaShavuot and Chag Ha’asif (Sukkot), to be
celebrated by the Jewish people each year.
These “chagim” are in contrast to a very different
reference to a chag earlier in the sedrah when
Aharon HaKohen, surrounded by a segment of
the population seeking to create a physical idol in
Moshe Rabeinu’s absence, declared “Chag L’Shem
Machar.” Rashi explains that Aharon’s inten-
tions were purely for the sake of Heaven, as he
was confident that Moshe would return the next
day and the people would in fact serve Hashem.
Tragically, this did not happen. Instead, the rebels
awoke early the next day “l’tzachek” – engaging in
immoral and decadent acts amidst an atmosphere
of unforgivable frivolity.
one of the Yeshiva’s defining events, we focus upon
the ingredients towards fulfilling this mandate.
We celebrate the continuing accomplishments of
our rebbeim, talmidim and families who have suc-
ceeded in imbibing, embodying, and imparting the
pristine purity of the Torah’s message. We celebrate
the new Glueck Beis Midrash which resonates not
only with the song of Torah but also with its soul.
We celebrate the efforts of our Roshei Yeshiva,
faculty and administrative team who devote them-
selves day and night throughout the year to provide
training and mentorship to our rabbinic students
in all aspects of their personal and professional
development. We celebrate most of all with the
knowledge that our graduating rabbinic students
make us proud through their personification and
promotion of the ideals of Torah.
At the same time, we are also reminded that the
concept of a Chag HaSemikhah underscores the
value of our Yeshiva’s mission in promoting Torah
values as an antidote to the “elohei masecha” that
often permeate modern society.
The success of our Yeshiva in maintaining the true
spirit of Torah, as is evident in the many biographi-
cal and inspirational articles in this journal, is a tes-
tament to the dedicated efforts of our perspicacious
President Richard M. Joel, our sagacious Rosh
HaYeshiva Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, my masterful
mentor and predecessor Rabbi Zevulun Charlop,
all of the Roshei Yeshiva, faculty and administration
of RIETS, and above all, the RIETS students, from
whom we have learned the most. May they con-
tinue to epitomize the highest ideals of Torah and
always be a source of celebration for klal yisroel.

The contrast between the two types of “chagim”

- one, ennobling and spiritually uplifting, and the
other, well-intentioned but ultimately calami-
tous, is perhaps symbolized by the juxtaposition
between the section in the parshah describing the
chagim and the previous pasuk, “Elohei Masechah
lo ta’aseh lach.” In preparing to celebrate a Chag,
it is necessary to ensure that the forces of Elohei
Masechah – the false and deceptive vanities of
general society – are excluded. In order to ac-
complish this objective, the Chag cannot depend
on “machar” – on an uncertain tomorrow, but
rather upon a proven commitment to the service of
Hashem that must be eternally evident.

As we devote this CHAVRUSA issue to the

celebration of our quadrennial Chag Hasemikhah,
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C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Chag HaSemikhah 5770

‫והשיב לב אבות על בנים‬

Fathers and Sons as Musmakhim
The Rav zt’l points out that when a child becomes a bar chiyuva and the father utters the words baruch shep’tarani, the father’s obligation in
hinuch technically ends, as it axiomatically applies to one’s status as a minor. Can it be that a parent is exempt from the spiritual development
of a teenager? The Rav answers that in addition to the mitzvah of hinuch which is midivrei Sofrim, there is a mitzvah d’orayta of Talmud Torah
based upon the verse, ‘v’limad’tem otam et bneichem’ (Dvarim 11:19). The Rav continues:
“The mitzvah of Talmud Torah for children is not tied to one’s status as a minor. A father is responsible to learn Torah with adult children in the
same manner in which he is obligated to teach young children. The age of the child plays no role in this mandate. The mitzvah commences
during childhood but the father’s obligation does not cease.” (Beit Yosef Sha’ul, p. 68)
Yet we are taught, at least according to one rishon, that father and son can become partners. The Navi Malachi (3:24) prophesizes an escha-
tological vision which includes the advent of Eliyahu prior to the ‘great and reverent day’ featuring an intertwining of fathers and sons. What
exactly does the phrase mean, ‘V’heishiv lev avot al banim v’lev banim al avotam?’ Rashi interprets it as ‘via the sons and the fathers.’ Radak,
however, sees it as a collaborative effort. “klomar ha’avot v’habanim yachdav.”
We are privileged to carry interviews not with individuals, as is our normal practice, but with father-son teams. Each son has just completed his
semikhah and will be participating in this year’s Chag HaSemikhah. Each of these young musmkahim is the son of a muskamh as well. While
the sons have a bright future to which we look forward, the fathers have already accomplished a great deal for Klal Yisrael. Featured below is
a conversation with Rabbi Joel Cohn (RJC) ’80R and his son Rabbi Eli Cohn (REC); Rabbi Shmuel Goldin (RSG) ’76R and his son Rabbi
Yossi Goldin (RYG) and Rabbi Stuart Zweiter (RSZ) ’78R and his son Rabbi Oran Zweiter (ROZ).

CHAVRUSA: (sons) Did you feel extra
privilege or responsibility being the son
of a RIETS musmakh when you began
your studies here?
ROZ: I would say that following in my father’s
footsteps at RIETS has been an extraordinary
privilege. It expresses a real sense of continu-
ity, a value that is so deeply fostered at RIETS. I
especially felt this sense of mesorah by having
the opportunity to learn from some of the same
rebbeim who taught my father, and even to sit in
the same beit midrash. Knowing that I was not
only learning the same Torah, but experiencing it
in a similar way as my father, certainly heightened
that sense of mesorah. It has also deepened our
family’s roots at RIETS, and our profound hakarat
hatov towards it.
RYG: I did not feel any special responsibility being
the son of a musmakh- my parents made sure not
to create that pressure. However, I certainly did
feel a certain privilege, not necessarily because
my father was a musmakh, but more because my
father is a respected and successful shul rabbi in the
Modern Orthodox community. Because of that,
my name was recognized, and people assumed that
I would naturally be successful as a rav, because of
my father- something which in turn increased my
confidence in my abilities.
REC: As both a son and grandson of a RIETS similarly serve our people in the years to come. It
musmakh, I felt a distinct privilege to learn in the is a particular pleasure to witness the day that my
beis medrash and grow in the same environment dear son takes his place amongst those who can be
as that of my father and grandfather. It helped to counted on and relied upon to provide guidance to
cultivate the sense that I was tapping into a unique our people.
mesorah – a mesorah that I hope to both embody
and pass on to my talmidim and family. RSZ: I find it very moving. What greater nahat
could a father wish for, than to see his son devoting
CHAVRUSA: (fathers) Can you put into his energies to growing in Torah and deciding to
words your feelings seeing your son serve the Jewish community? I have the unmerited
receive semikhah from RIETS? privilege of seeing all three of my children pursu-
ing this path. Oran is very reflective, thoughtful
RJC: The Chag HaSemikhah is a unique com- and an independent thinker, with a great talent to
memoration in the world of academics. If a reach and impact students of all ages. Therefore his
standard graduation is a celebration of academic decision to go into hinukh is a wonderful decision
achievement, the Chag HaSemikhah looks much for him and one that I personally feel is the right
more towards the future accomplishments of the
young rav. The term semikhah as well as the physi-
cal action of semikhah connotes the feeling that the
musmakh is a person who can be relied on, an indi-
vidual who can be counted on to lead, to console,
to educate, to inspire, and to invigorate the commu-
nities served by the rav. When I reflect on my Chag
HaSemikhah of 30 years ago I cannot help but be
amazed of the accomplishments of my colleagues
who I was surrounded by at that momentous occa-
sion. That group of twenty-somethings has become
congregational rabbanim, educators and roshei
Yeshiva, serving communities around the world
with distinction. There is no doubt in my mind that
the celebrants of this current Chag hasemikhah will (L-R) Rabbi Eli Cohn, Rabbi Joel Cohn

16
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Chag HaSemikhah 5770

choice. The intensive learning that he did in RIETS

and the training that he received there are certainly
important elements in shaping his “hashkafat olam”
and in adding to the extensive knowledge and tal-
ent he brings to the classroom and community.

RSG: No. I don’t think I can adequately express my

full feelings, but I’ll give it a try. I am tremendously
proud. I see in my son, Yossi, a sense of dedication,
mission, hitlahavut, and a thoughtful scholar-
ship that I believe will allow him to make a very
special contribution to klal Yisrael. He approaches
Judaism and Jewish leadership with an openness
towards others that is beautiful to behold and I
credit RIETS and YU for much of that. There’s a
real sense of continuity that he received semikhah
from RIETS. I have extremely positive memories
of my years as a talmid and I cherish my continued (L-R) Rabbi Yossi Goldin, Rabbi Shmuel Goldin
relationship with RIETS, both as a pulpit Rabbi
and a teacher on campus. All in all, I am extremely
proud and gratified. eral, the Beit Midrash in more serious and intense that my son has not been able to experience sitting
than it was in those days- though there certainly is a in the Rav’s Shiur. The years I spent learning from
CHAVRUSA: (both fathers and sons) lack of one, all powerful personality like The Rav. the Rav have shaped my life in a way that cannot
What are the starkest differences in be replicated. I’m gratified, however, in seeing that
the semikhah experience between RSG: I agree. I sincerely believe that the mus- Yossi has gone out of his way to read the Rav’s
today and when you (dad) received machim today are better prepared than we were in works and study his Torah.
semikhah? our day. The institution of various halacha l’maaseh
shiurim and other practical classes and programs RJC: The world has changed so very much over the
RYG: I think my father might be able to answer this helps prepare the rabbis graduating from RIETS in last 30 years but in so many ways the challenges are
question better- but my impression is that in gen- a much fuller fashion. At the same time, I’m sorry so strikingly similar. We both must engage a world

‫ואל תטוש תורת אמך‬

Mothers and Wives of the Musmakhim
CHAVRUSA: We all understand Rebbe Akiva’s declaration that all of his accomplishments were shared with his beloved
wife. Any thoughts from the n’shei chayil who married rabbis and watched their sons become leaders?

Oran’s choice to study for his semikhah and his
commitment and dedication to Jewish educa-
tion are reflective of his own inner strengths
and values. They are also reflective of the model
that Stuie is for him. It is the realization of the
brachah that Rav Yitzchak gave to Rav Nachman:
‘yehi ratzon shekol netiyot shenot’im mimcha ye’hiyu
kamocha… yehi ratzon, shey’hiyu hayeladim shelcha
kamotcha’ (Taanit 5b).
Chana Zweiter
Director, Kaleidoscope
Eli is the fourth generation Rabbi in the Predmesky-
Cohn family .It is most gratifying to see the chut
hameshuash carried on. Eli’s saba rabba received se-
micha fro Telz. His zaydie, my father Rabbi Dr. Akiba
Predmesky, was a musmach of RIETS and served as
a pulpit rabbi for over 50 years. My husband Rabbi
Joel Cohn is a musmach of RIETS and has served as
a Jewish educator for over 30 years. I guess you could
say he went into the family business! Mrs. Chana Zweiter Mrs. Shulamith Cohn
Shulamith Cohn
Director, Midreshet AMIT

12
17
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Chag HaSemikhah 5770
(L-R) Rabbi Oran Zweiter, Rabbi Stuart Zweiter
which in so many ways is detached from spiritual-
ity and Godliness, but yet seeks and yearns for
spirituality and godliness. Yes, the methodologies
have changed, but both generations are charged
with the mission of inculcating the eternal truths of
Torah to a very skeptical and distracted audience.
Those who take on this mission with a full heart
and are determined to persevere will undoubtedly
enjoy siyata dishmaya.
REC: I had the opportunity to learn in Eretz
Yisrael, at Yeshivat Har Etzion, for two years in the
midst of my RIETS experience. The time I spent
there was a formative part of my development, and
one which by definition cannot be replicated in
Washington Heights.
ROZ: The main difference I see is primarily in
the growth the yeshiva has gone through since
my father’s time. It expresses itself in the number
of students learning, the curriculum, and the
opportunities RIETS provides for development.
My feeling is that in my father’s day, the smaller
number of students made it easier to connect with
each other, and create a deeper sense of chevreh.
On the other hand, being part of a larger group of
lomdei Torah has been a major drive in my own
learning, as well as provided more opportunities
to learn from each other. The curriculum has
developed to the extent that today’s musmakhim
have been exposed to more varied parts of Torah.
In addition, over the years, RIETS has developed
a more extensive core of supplementary courses
which I greatly benefited from.
RSZ: When I look back on my semikhah experi-
ence, I remember distinctly that it was enhanced
significantly through exposure to exceptional
and very different personalities in RIETS, in the
supplementary Rabbinics program and in the
Bernard Revel Graduate School. I benefited from
the richness inherent in diversity; diversity of
style, personality and hashkafah. Each contrib-
uted in a significant way to my own growth and
my way of thinking and had a profound impact on
my decisions in life. I do not sense that the same
diversity exists today, but rather a more closely
knit uniformity.
CHAVRUSA: (sons) Many sons of rabbis
and klei kodesh shy away from avodat
hakodesh. You must have had very
positive experiences. Please elaborate.
REC: Growing up in a home where both your par-
ents are involved in chinuch can be very challeng-
ing – no matter what actually happened in school
the rebbe/teacher was always right. But it was also
The methodologies
have changed, but
both generations
are charged with
inculcating the eternal
truths of Torah to a
very skeptical and
distracted audience.
inspiring to be able to witness both first hand and
behind the scenes the tremendous impact one can
have by dedicating your life to servicing am Yisrael.
ROZ: Both my parents are also involved in
chinuch, and the importance of giving to oth-
ers was a major part of our upbringing. My
parents always emphasized to my siblings and
me, directly and indirectly, that giving to klal
Yisrael was not only our responsibility, but also
a privilege. It’s a value that has always been a
major topic of conversation in our home, and
one that we experienced first hand on a daily
basis. My parents were incredible role models in
this regard, and it resulted in my wanting to go
18
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
into avodas Hakodesh, with the same sense of
responsibility and privilege that my parents have.
RYG: My experience being the son of a Rabbi
certainly had its positives and negatives.
When I was younger, the negatives (all the
attention, communal expectations) certainly
were more dominant; as I got older, I began
to appreciate more the impact my father has
on the community. While I still recognize the
difficulties and challenges, I came to realize that
being a Rabbi has tremendous potential in its
ability to impact people’s personal and religious
lives. While I don’t necessarily plan to go into
the Rabbinate - rather I intend more to pursue a
career in education- the basic concept of living
a life trying to help others is something that
drives my father, and is clearly a goal that I have
absorbed as well. n
Rabbi Eli Cohn, now entering his second year of
teaching at Yeshiva University High School for Boys,
grew up in Hillcrest, New York and currently resides
in Washington Heights. A member of the YUHSB
class of 2000, he graduated Yeshiva College summa
cum laude and received the department award for
excellence in history. He was a member of the Katz
Kollel of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological
Seminary, where he was ordained in 2008. During
his final year at RIETS, Rabbi Cohn served as a
Teaching Fellow at YUHSB. He also earned his
Masters of Arts in Education from Michigan State
University. Previously, Rabbi Cohn was a Night
Seder Ram and Coordinator at Yeshivat Har Etzion
in Alon Shvut, Israel. Rabbi Cohn has also been a
member of both the Educational and Programming
staffs at Camp Morasha.
Rabbi Joel Cohn attended MTA from 1969–
1973. He then attended Yeshivat Sha’alvim in
1973–1974. He earned his bachelor’s degree in
political science from Yeshiva College in 1977
and received semikhah from RIETS in 1980. He
taught in the Yeshiva of Flatbush until becoming
assistant principal and later principal at SAR ,
holding that post until he made aliyah in 2005.
He taught in Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh in 2005–2006
and at Yeshivat Mevaseret in 2006-2008. He is
now on the faculty of Yerushalaim Torah Acad-
emy, a high school for Anglo Olim, and is the co
director of JETS ( Jerusalem Educators Technolog-
ical Solutions) which provides educational services
to North American schools.
Chag HaSemikhah 5770

Rabbi Shmuel Goldin has served as spiritual leader

of Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood,
New Jersey, since 1984. He is an instructor of Bible
and Philosophy at the Isaac Breuer College and the
James Striar School of Yeshiva University and has
An Inside
served on the faculty of numerous other institutes. Perspective
Rabbi Goldin is a past President of Rabbinic
Alumni of Yeshiva University, past President of the Rabbi Dr. Hillel Davis
Rabbinical Council of Bergen County and former
Chairman of its Kashruth Committee; he serves as
first Vice President Rabbinical Council of America;
is a member of the U.J.A. Rabbinic Cabinet and a
member of the Rabbinic Cabinet of Israel Bonds.
Rabbi Goldin recently published two books: “Un-
locking the Torah Text: Bereishit” and “Unlocking
the Torah Text: Shemot” a study of the weekly
Parsha based on his numerous years of lecturing in
school and synagogue settings.

Rabbi Yossi Goldin is the second child of Rabbi

Shmuel and Barbara Goldin. After graduating
from Yeshiva University’s Marsha Stern Talmudi-
cal Academy, he studied for 3 years in Yeshivat
Shaalvim before returning to Yeshiva College,
where he received a BA in Psychology. He made
aliyah to Israel with his wife Shifra two years ago,
and finished Semikhah at the Yeshiva University’s
Israel Campus in Yerushalayim. He also graduated
from Azrieli Graduate School for Education and
Administration last January. He and his wife Shifra
have one daughter, Temima.
Rabbi Oran Zweiter grew up in Riverdale, New
York and in Jerusalem. After finishing high school,
he spent three years studying at yeshivot in Israel.
He earned a B.A. in history at Yeshiva College,
and then proceeded onto his semikhah studies at
RIETS. While at RIETS he spent time in the Katz
Kollel, as well as taking classes at the Bernard Revel
Graduate School. He currently teaches Gemara and
Tanach at Yeshivat Noam in Paramus, New Jersey.
Rabbi Stuart Zweiter is currently the director of the
Lookstein Center for Jewish Education, at Bar Ilan
University, a leading resource center and think tank
for Jewish education. In Israel, he has also served
as an instructor in Talmud in Bar-Ilan University
and as a Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.
In the U.S., he served as a principal at the Hebrew
Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway High
School and at the Frisch School in Paramus, New
Jersey. He has served as an educational consultant
to communities throughout the world.
I was privileged to attend RIETS from 1972
through 1975. What stands out most for me is
the honor of sitting in the Rav’s shiur for two
years, trying my best to keep up with his bril-
liant mind; the unique opportunity of taking
homiletics with Rabbi Joseph Lookstein; and
the chance to develop a whole new set of skills
in informal learning by working for Dr. Abe
Stern on TLS, Yeshiva Seminars and the very
first Counterpoint in 1974. At the same time,
what I remember distinctly is that over those
three years, not one person in the Yeshiva ever
encouraged me (or discouraged me) from go-
ing into rabbanus or chinuch.
Our son, Ariel, is part of this year’s chag
hasemicha. He was a talmid of Rabbi Michael
Rosenzweig, learned yoreh deah with Rabbi
Ozer Glickman and spent two years in the kol-
lel in a local yeshiva day school. There, he got
a chance to give a shiur to 8th graders, and to
decide from first-hand experience that chinuch
was not his appropriate career choice. Instead,
he made the right choice for himself in that
he and his wife made aliya, and he is currently
finishing law school at Hebrew University.
They will participate in the chag hasemicha
from Yerushalayim.
Without a doubt, among the most remarkable
differences in Yeshiva that I have seen from my
days as a talmid to what I have experienced as
part of my return to work in Yeshiva, have oc-
curred in the semikhah program. In addition to
the halachah lemaaseh classes that continue to
improve, the shimush opportunities w learn-
ing experiences (neither of which were even
part of the requirements back in my day), the
time and energy invested in the preparation of
future rabbis in areas of pedagogy, psychology,
public speaking, interpersonal skills, and the
resources and support that are available for
new rabbis and teachers (as well as rebbitzins)
all speak to a much more sophisticated and
nuanced view of the professional. But above
all else to my mind, the fact that we value the
profession and the contribution of these klay
kodesh to the point that we actually encourage
capable young men to take on the challenges
of the rabbanus, the fact that we literally search
the undergraduate programs in an attempt to
recruit the most able and skilled to aspire to be
rabbis and communal leaders, is a statement
of the enhanced commitment that RIETS has
assumed to encourage our best and brightest
to take on the challenges of leadership roles in
Jewish communities around the world. n

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Chag HaSemikhah 5770

May I address to you my young friends, who are about to enter your sacred calling as
‘rabbanim’ in Israel, a word of advice. You have been ‘raised on the knees of the Torah’
and you are worthy sons of the yeshiva. You have studied our holy Torah day by day
and night by night for many a year and you know well your duties as spiritual leaders
in Israel. You know the fathomless depth of our holy Torah and its significance to
Israel. You are aware that you are appointed today servants of the Torah. You are
dedicating today your hearts and minds and wills to the cause of our holy faith. Yours
will be the labor with little of the recompense in worldly goods. Divine will be your
work, for you will need the divine aid – verily as we all need – in the decision of the
many complex religious problems that will come before you…
Our holy Torah has given light and warmth to mankind during untold generations.
And even this day, humanity, upon the threshold of a new life, draws its inspiration
and hope from our holy Torah, and the idealism of our prophets is the leaven that
is now working in the regeneration of humanity. Only in the knowledge of our holy
Torah and the observance of its precept, is Israel’s strength and hope.
Rabbi Dr. Bernard Revel — March 23, 1919
[Rabbi Dr. Aaron Rakkeffet, Bernard Revel: Builder of American Jewish Orthodoxy]

To us, the ceremony of ordination is not simply a graduation, and we

therefore do not make of it a yearly ritual. Rather, once every three
years we convoke all those who have been ordained in that period in an
extraordinary assembly, for we believe that from Torah and its study, no
one ever graduates. As one of our later Sages, of the greatest scholars of
the last generation, wrote in an introduction to one of his works, “It is the
way of the wise to call themselves students all the days of their life.” This
is the practice of all true Jewish scholars, scholars of the Torah, to regard
themselves as students all their lives, and it is for this reason that the title
‘talmid chacham’ a student of the wise – is such
an exalted one among us.
Rabbi Samuel Belkin — March 8, 1953
 Chag HaSemikhah 5770

The Yeshiva has accomplished something which has been unknown in Jewish annals since the
Golden Age of Spain. This accomplishment is the combination of talmid hakham with academi-
cian, a person trained scientifically in all the technological skills. … However, what the Yeshiva is
doing is something else. The Yeshiva has been more ambitious and more bold. It has proclaimed
a higher goal, the combination of academic modern training with lomdus, with rigorous rabbinic
scholarship at the highest level. The alumnus of the Yeshiva, whether he is a rabbi or a merchant, a
lawyer or a doctor, is also a talmid hakham… The criteria of a scholar are commitment, curiosity,
inquisitiveness, restlessness, exploration, and steady questing. This is exactly what all musmakhei
haYeshiva have. I can testify that the level of the shiurim delivered at the Yeshiva have reached great
heights. No other yeshiva here in America or in Eretz Yisrael has attained this level… There are
boys in our institution who are committed to Torah, bekol libam u-vekol nafsham; with a fire and
a passion unmatched in the history of yeshivot. When I see them, I am sometimes reminded of
Bialik’s ‘Ha-Matmid’. They are bright and sharp, and their precision and skill in text interpretation are
simply admirable. I can tell you that sometimes I sit up studying days and nights. Many a time my
son comes into my room and finds me asleep over the Gemara. It is late in the evening. Why? It is
not so much my diligence, but I am afraid of my pupils. If I come into the class unprepared, they will
tear me apart. This happens quite often. At the same time, as far as modern education is concerned,
they are academically well trained, on a par with any boys from Harvard, Yale, or Columbia. In ad-
dition to their scholarship and knowledge, they possess a sense of commitment to Klal Yisrael the
likes of which is hard to find… [The Yeshiva] is responsible for the renaissance of Orthodoxy, and I
am not exaggerating. For the Yeshiva is not just an institution or a school; it is a movement, an idea, a
challenge, it is a faith and an assurance that Torah can blossom and flourish in the Western Hemi-
sphere, close to the skycscrapers of New York. The Torah can be cultivated, taught, and propagated
in all societies and eras, no matter how powerful the opposition, and no matter how unfriendly the
circumstances.
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik — April 12, 1970
[Rabbi Dr. Aaron Rakkeffet The Rav: The World of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik]

You are a group of intelligent and bright young men who could have
become doctors and lawyers, businessmen and scientists, psychologists and
computer experts, as easily as your colleagues who graduated with you from
Yeshiva College. You do have the blessing of abundant ‘bina v’daat,’ intel-
ligence and knowledge. But you chose to use it for Torah, which is “in your
mouth and in your heart in order to do it.” … Your task is a psychologically
difficult one, but one that is a sacred and inescapable obligation: to choose
the right theme at the right time, to shun both arrogance and humil-
ity in their extremes, to know when to be more humble and when to
be more proud. Such moral moderation requires an abundant intel-
ligence and a high degree of wisdom. But without a sense of balance,
without that dynamic equilibrium, you will have failed in your mis-
sion… Never lose that healthy consciousness of shyness, diffidence,
and apprehension about taking on too much responsibility: it is an
excellent antidote for ga’avah. And never be without a sensitive and
historical awareness that, “for this you were chosen,” that you are
entering a “calling,” a great and noble and historic mission – that of
the rabbinate and the teaching of Torah.
Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm — March 29, 1981
‘The Self Image of the Rabbi’
Chag HaSemikhah 5770

We celebrate this Chag HaSemikhah as we begin Sefer Vayikra. Chumash

Vayikra as you know is Torat Kohanim and it may be the most appropriate
context in which to charge future rabbanim. You have chosen to be modern
day kohanim. You have chosen as shevet Levi of old, to dedicate your lives
to serving the Jewish people, and to spreading kedushah. Rashi comments
on the pasuk immediately preceding the Aseres Hadibros. ‘V’atem tihiyu
li mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh’, you shall be unto me a kingdom
of kohanim and a holy nation.’ All Jews are summoned to be kohanim.
Rashi renders kohanim as ‘sarim’ , nobles, rather than priests and cites a
pasuk in Shmuel: ‘uvnei David Kohanim hayu’, the sons of David were
kohanim. Obviously the children of David were from Shevet Yehudah
and were not actually kohanim who come from Shevet Levi. But Rashi tells us
that the true message of kehunah is to be noble, to stand for values and sacred principles. Nobility -
kedushah - is a core Jewish value - kedoshim tihiyu ki kadosh Ani HASHEM. We are challenged to
imitate HASHEM’s kedushah, to act in a purposive manner, as HASHEM acts.
So how do you become kohanim? In particular, how does a Rav, fresh out of semikhah become a
noble? He must be a kohen in the full sense of the word. The Gemara in Kiddushin (23b) questions
whether kohanim are shluchei d’rachmana or shluchei didan. Do they serve as emmisaries of G-d,
and are challenged to bring G-dliness into this world, or are they shluchei didan, do they serve
primarily as representatives of the Jewish people. The question is of limited applicability halachically,
but philosophically it carries tremendous weight. What is true nobility? What is the role of the ideal
Jewish leader? Is he one who brings God down to earth or brings earth up to God? I believe fully that
the true Jewish leader and the ideal kohen and the ideal rav is both shulchei d’rachmana and shluchei
didan. The challenge of Jewish nobility, the nobility which Yeshiva University rabbis so elegantly
display, is to serve by inspiring the people to greater spirituality. Absolutely. But a rabbi must also
remember that mitzvot bein adam l’chaveiro amount to kedushah as well. Rav Soloveitchik would
relate how once a Yiddish newspaper asked what the role of a rabbi is. Many great rabbis offered
suggestions. According to the Aruch Hashulchan, the role of a rabbi is to answer halachic queries and
ponder the depths of Torah. However, Rav Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk commented that the role of
a Rav is to look out for the poor and unfortunate. Clothe him; heal him; offer care and compassion.
Rav Chaim understood that the role of Rav was to spread kedushah and we spread kedushah also
with compassion and caring. He understood that a Rav must also be shluchei didan, a messenger
of the Jewish people. Almost goes without saying that of course you also have the role of shluchei
d’rachmana. You must bring Klal Yisrael closer to HASHEM, to Torah, to virtues and to values. The
Rav, whether he enters education, pulpit, chaplaincy, or any other position in life stands for the sacred
ideals of kedushah and nobility, living a meaningful and inspired and purposeful life. The Rav at the
same time must be part of the world and of the transcendant. He must understand the real needs of
the real world so he can elevate that world. Never lose sight
of that goal, of an educated and empowered Jewish
people who are connected to Torah and values.
President Richard M. Joel — March 26, 2006
Chag HaSemikhah 5770

Keeping New England Kosher

CHAVRUSA interviewed Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger (RAH) ’58R, the longtime Director of the Vaad Harabbonim of Massachusetts and his
deputy Rabbi Shaul Epstein (RSE), a native of Columbus, OH. While Rabbi Halbfinger will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of his 1959
Chag HaSemikhah, Rabbi Epstein represents one of the talented young men in this current class. Their work together provides an occasion to
see the breadth and continuity of a RIETS education and some of the changes during the past 50 years.

CHAVRUSA: Rabbi Halbfinger, what

thoughts would you like to impart to
your colleague at this momentous time
in his life?

RAH: Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the Rav, was

the one who encouraged me to become the
Director of the Kashruth Commission as well
as the Beit Din of Boston. It was his support
for me during the years which guided me in
advancing our reputation of kosher supervision
and the work of the Beit Din. At the present
time, we have many companies that we super-
vise as well as restaurants, hotels and caterers.
It was he who guided me and strengthened my
position in the community. He urged me to
build the Vaad Harabonim. It is my hope that
others, including Rabbi Shaul Epstein, will
continue in this realm. (L-R) Rabbi Halbfinger, Rabbi Epstein

CHAVRUSA: Rabbi Epstein, what do
you have to say to Rabbi Halbfinger,
on this occasion?
RSE: I really admire all the work Rabbi Halbfinger
has done over the past four decades to build and
maintain high kashrus standards in the Boston area
and throughout the region. Anywhere I go, talking
to people throughout the Boston Jewish commu-
nity, I find that people greatly respect Rabbi Halb-
finger for building up a community-centered Vaad.
It has made my work in dealing with people in the
community, coming from different perspectives
into the world of kashrus, much easier. I appreciate
his ability to stand up for principals that might not
be popular, making sure that the fundamentals of
kashrus and Shabbos are kept in the community.
He has also done a remarkable job turning the
KVH into an important regional hashgachah
through the development of good relationships
with companies and individuals. I’ve learned so
much from him by seeing how he interacts with the
companies and how he handles challenging situa-
tions that come up.
CHAVRUSA: Rabbi Halbfinger, how has
Kashrus changed in the years of your
involvement in the industry? How are
things different when Rabbi Epstein
began his career as opposed to when
you began your career?
RAH: During the years that I have been here the
whole gamut of kashruth has changed. While we
did have food technologists from Harvard and
M.I.T. years ago, today’s sophistication demands
that our staff be knowledgeable not only in
kashruth but also in food technology. When I
began my career at the Vaad Harabonim, we had
no computers. Today, we are completely comput-
erized not only in kashruth but also in the work of
the Beit Din. Our Beit Din is perhaps one of the
busiest in the entire country outside of the New
York and New Jersey area, with gittin, conversions,
identification, and arbitrations.
CHAVRUSA: How has RIETS been a
common ground for both of you, even
though your time studying here were
50 years apart?
RAH: Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Semi-
nary (the Yeshiva) has always been the mainstay
in my work. While it is 50 years since my Chag
Hasmikhah, never have I forgotten the early years at
the Yeshiva and the influence of the Roshei Yeshiva
who have left an indelible impression upon me.
RSE: Both of us learned in RIETS the need to
care about klal Yisrael while maintaining a com-
mitment to halachah. Rabbi Soloveitchik z’l and
his talmidim, my teachers, emphasized the need
to think deliberately about any issue, taking into
account different perspectives, but never backing
down from clear Torah principals. We learned
about being sensitive to the concerns of others
and trying to avoid machlokes when possible.
Both of us gained teachers and chaverim that we
can turn to for guidance and advice when dealing
with shailos that come up. n

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Chag HaSemikhah 5770

Returning Home
Two of the musmakhim being feted at the Chag HaSemikhah are returning to their roots. Each has penned a brief essay describing their special
connection to their current position and the advantages they have in being an alumnus and how their motivation is a bit different than others.

Rabbi Joshua Goller

The thought [of teaching at HANC] never crossed
my mind. The notion of standing on the other side
of the teacher’s desk in the very same building from
which I graduated wasn’t ever on the radar screen.
Yet, when I ran into my friend and colleague, Rabbi
Sam Rudansky, and he mentioned that HANC High
School had an open position, I didn’t think twice.
I called, applied and before I knew what had hap-
pened, there I was on the first day of school, feeling
14 years old again. And loving every minute of it!

My students are fascinated by the concept that

my picture is hanging on the wall in the hallway
with the other alumni and that we (I am still b’h
young enough to boast this) share some of the
same teachers. This no doubt gives me a unique
edge in my ability to relate to the students, as they
themselves often say: I am ‘one of them’. Know-
ing that I too once sat in the very same seat and
went through many similar experiences, gives the
students a sense of comfort and ease around me,
both in and out of the classroom.

While the role and motivation of every mechan-

ech is certainly to teach Torah as well as to mold
lives, I believe I have an added dimension of
responsibility. I am driven by an unbridled sense of
hakaras hatov to the institution which helped me
get to where I am today. By teaching these students
the very same Torah ideals which I was privy to
as a student myself, I hope to fulfill my mission of
inspiring another generation of fine b’nei and b’nos
Torah, proudly boasting the HANC label. n
Rabbi Goller is currently both a rebbe and an alumnus
at HANC High School and Assistant Rabbi at the
Young Israel of Jamaica Estates. He lives in Jamaica
Estates, NY, with his wife Dr. Rachelle Goller and their
two sons, Yehuda and Gavriel.
Rabbi Naphtali Weisz
I was nervous about returning to Columbus. I
became not only the rabbi of the shul I grew up in,
but where my grandfather, Rabbi David Stavsky
zt”l, served for nearly 50 years. For me, it wasn’t just
assuming a new pulpit, it was coming home to give
back to the community that had given me so much.
Growing up as the rabbi’s grandson, Beth Jacob has
always been a second home, and the members were
an extended family. Now as the rabbi, I have the
Top: Rabbi Joshua Goller, right, with Rabbi Yisroel Chesir, a former teacher turned colleague.
Bottom: Rabbi Naphtali Weisz, left, with Rabbi Tzvi Kahn, head of school, Columbus Torah Academy.
zechus to serve at the life cycle events for people I senior living facilities, we have found innovative
have known my whole life and to build upon those ways to reach out to our neighbors and connect the
relationships in a new way. generations. On the other end of the spectrum we
recently started a preschool in the shul, which as
In making our decision, my wife and I knew there the only Orthodox preschool in Columbus, has Ba-
would be certain drawbacks returning to where ruch Hashem, really taken off. For me, the greatest
most congregants remember me as a kid, but thing is when a shul that has been around for over
we felt the advantages of knowing the lay of the 100 years can reinvent itself and look for new ways
land would give us a head-start to hit the ground to make the community stronger. n
running. By immediately understanding our chal-
lenges and opportunities, we have made reaching Rabbi Weisz serves as the rabbi of the Beth Jacob
out to our youngest and oldest members the Congregation in Columbus, Ohio. He serves on the
priority. During our first year, we received a Legacy boards of OhIPL, a faith based environmental group,
Heritage Innovation grant to run creative intergen- Columbus Jewish Federation, Columbus Torah Academy,
erational programming that bridges the age gap Vaad Ha’ir, and the Columbus Community Kollel. Rabbi
within the shul. By taking advantage of our location Weisz and his wife Abby, have two daughters, Shaindee
on the Jewish community campus and the nearby and Bella, and a newborn baby, Dovid.

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Chag HaSemikhah 5770

Beit Yaakov Me’am Loez

Students from all over the world attend RIETS. This is both a testament to the worldwide impact and reach of our Yeshiva and the desire
on the part of so many foreign young men to learn in such an august makom Torah. Let us acknowledge that some of these men hail from
countries without the benefit of the Torah education we take for granted on these shores. Their Herculean and assiduous dedication to
their learning, which enables them to be admitted to our institution of serious limud haTorah, testifies to their hatmadah, devotion and
uniqueness. Throughout its storied history, RIETS has granted semikhah to students from 6 continents. We applaud all of them and feature
four special men hailing from Poland, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary. Here are there stories.

Rabbi Mati Pawlak
My name is Maciej Pawlak and I was born in
Szczecin, in western Poland. When I was a child,
Judaism, religion tradition and history was never
discussed at my home. When I was 15 my parents
told me the history of my family, how my grand-
parents survived the War. I had suspected that
there might be something. I was the only child in
the entire school that would not attend a religion
class and my parents were in touch with some
family friends in Israel.
I made my first steps in Jewish life at the Ronald
S. Lauder Foundation Summer Camp in the
beginning of 1990. That was the beginning of a
long journey. At the Summer Camp I made many
friends and started to attend some lectures. Back at
home I did my best to learn from books, prepar-
ing some questions for the next session at camp.
The Jewish community in my hometown was very
small. The more I learned the more I felt connected
to Judaism. When I finished high school I decided
that I want to learn more and went to Yeshivat
Hamivtar in Efrat, Israel. It was quite a new experi-
ence and something that had a big influence on
my life. I remember exactly when my Gemara was
opened for the very first time. It was a wonderful
time. I was starting a new chapter.
interviews and a bechinah I was told that I was
accepted to RIETS. That was a surprise to me but
also a big honor and distinction. One year later I
became a full time student at RIETS and complet-
ed the Semikhah program four years later. A week
after my last bechinah I was in Warsaw, Poland
where I started to work as a director of the only
Jewish school in Warsaw. The Lauder-Morasha
Schools consist of Kindergarten, Primary School
and Middle School.
I never even dreamed of becoming a rabbi but
I had always wanted to learn as much as pos-
sible. Living and learning in the Yeshiva Univer-
sity Community gave me koach for the future.
Everyday I’m grateful to Hashem, my rabbis, my
family and everyone who made it possible for me
to be part of this wonderful place. Now I feel that I
reached something that seemed to be impossible
in the past. Hashem gave me so many opportuni-
ties and chances to become a better person and to
reach higher levels.
Now in Poland, I meet many people who are like
I was many years ago, who are just starting their
journey. I know how they feel, coming for the very
first time to the shul or when there are considering
sending their children to the Jewish School. My
wife, children and myself have a big responsibility
to work for the community and to continue the
mission that was started about twenty years ago
who believed that we are responsible for other Jews.
Because of organizations like The Ronald S. Lauder
Foundation and others, many people including
myself reconnected with Torah and Mitzvot. n
Rabbi Avraham Tanev
In my home country of Bulgaria, I went to music
school since my mother was a musician. I’m
certified to play all percussion instruments (close
to 200 of them), but I majored in timpani and
xylophone. Throughout all of my schooling, I
attended an afternoon cheder and Sunday classes
with Rabbi Bechor Kachlon, the Chief Rabbi of
Bulgaria. I graduated the Bulgarian version of Ju-
liard in 1994 and then came to the United States
and enrolled in Yeshivat Chaim Berlin in Flatbush
where I attended the high school shiur of Rabbi
Shmuel Elchonon Brog, which was geared for
foreign students. I then received my high school

After spending a year in Israel I moved to Warsaw

and started College. During those years I had
a very unique chance to learn with the Chief
Rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich. I was
privileged to work for the Jewish Community
and be part of the local shul. I would also use
each summer and winter break to go and study in
yeshiva (Maayanot in Israel and Tiferes Bachurim
in Morisstown NJ). About a year before gradua-
tion, Rabbi Schudrich asked me about my plans
for the future and mentioned to me that maybe
Yeshiva University could be an option for me. It
all happened so fast although it lasted over a year.
One year before graduation, I spent a summer
in the US and I had a chance to visit YU. After Rabbi Mati Pawlak Rabbi Avraham Tanev

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Chag HaSemikhah 5770
diploma from Chaim Berlin. From Chaim Berlin,
I crossed the East River and enrolled at Yeshiva
College and majored in Judaic studies. I also at-
tended the James Striar School in the morning.
I chose to matriculate into RIETS upon receiving
my college degree, mostly due to the inspiration
of Rabbi Kachlon back in Sofia. I felt a calling to
become a rabbi and I love the Jewish community
and working on its behalf. The heartbeat of Jewish
life excites me. My appetite for learning cannot
be quenched and I always consider myself to be
a student.
My mother came to the United States a year after
my arrival. Since my father passed away when I
was three and I’m an only child, in a sense, my
family is now here. My uncle and cousins live in
South Florida so I feel somewhat of a native. I got
married this past April to an American woman
who is an English teacher. We live in Washington
Heights and have no plans right now to return to
Bulgaria. While we were dating, Rabbi Kachlon
offered me a rabbinic position in Bulgaria. While
I was flattered, I did not feel prepared to meet the
communal challenges, before receiving proper
training and mentoring at RIETS. Ultimately I
turned down the offer, but knowing I was dating
her daughter, my mother in law told us that if
I took the position and we married, she would
move to Sofia to be with us. Sofia is a bit different
than Westchester County!
Right now I would like a position where I can
serve the Jewish community, either as a pulpit
rabbi or as a m’chanech. I currently bounce
between the four part-time jobs I have to help
support us, not to mention still being a full time
student. I’m the weekday baal koreh at the Fifth
Avenue Sephardic Synagogue; minyan organizer
at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue; I am one of the
leaders of the children’s Shabbat program at Aish
HaTorah on the West Side and I work weekends
at Women’s League shadowing some of the resi-
dents. Although it sounds like I’m busy – which
I am – I love what I do. I hope soon I will find a
dream job where I can dedicate more time to the
family and inspire as many Jews as possible. n
Rabbi Umberto Avraham Piperno
I received my first Semicha from Elio Toaff, the
chief rabbi of Rome, at the Italian Rabbinical Col-
lege in 1983, when I was 22 years old. At the same
time I received a Ph.D in Political Sciences at the
Rabbi Umberto Avraham Piperno
University of Rome. I wrote about Abarbanel and
the roots of the democratic system in the Repub-
lic of Venice. For thirteen years I was the coordi-
nator of the yeshiva, and taught several rabbis in
Italy. For the next ten years (1996-2006) I served
as the chief rabbi in Triest, where I enhanced
the Jewish life of the community, and promoted
kashrut, and interfaith relationships. I also taught
Jewish Law and Jewish Political thought at the
University of Triest.
I began studying to become a lawyer as well, doc-
tor utriusque iuris, to fulfill my father z”l’s, dream
for me. I was inspired to come to YU, where
Torah and secular studies serve together as ‘Or
ha’amim, a light for the people. I found it intrigu-
ing to interact with students of different cultures;
I am awed to sit every day in the beit hamidrash
in front of the g’dolei hador. I am challenged to
try to understand the foreign Yiddish dialect, and
the Brisker interpretation of the Gemara, while
basking in the presence of the Sephardic horaah
of Rabbi Ben Haim.
During my years in RIETS, my family and I
integrated into the wonderful community of
Riverdale. We are affiliated with SAR Academy
and its high School, and the Sephardic Minyan at
the HIR. After becoming part of this community,
it is very hard to leave.
Right now, my primary goal is the fulfillment of
my children’s Jewish studies. It is also my aim to
inspire, model and teach the Italian tradition and
lifestyle to American Jewry. n
Rabbi Yosef Lowey
I received close to no Jewish education while
growing up in Budapest. I attended a Jewish day
26
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
school that taught less than anybody in New York
can imagine, so my family and I decided that I
would be better off in public school; even now
with perfect hindsight, it does not seem to have
been a wrong decision. I did learn a little bit on
the side with some chabad bachurim, but I would
say that I had seen less than 10 blatt gemara (not
learned or known, but merely seen) before com-
ing to YU. Although I was accepted to medical
school in Hungary, I chose to come to YU to learn
more about Yiddishkeit. I still vividly remember
my first day in YU. I was asking somebody if he
could tell me what the word eiz (goat) meant.
During college, whenever I went home to visit, I
found opportunities to teach in my community,
which I found to be an extremely fulfilling experi-
ence. I found it very comfortable in New York.
Some rebbeim did not take seriously Torah com-
ing from Hungarian sources, but I got over that.
Rabbi Yosef and Mrs. Miram Lowey
I did consider returning to Hungary. I enrolled
in the YU Or Chadash-Ner Le’Elef Fellowships
program to receive kiruv training. I was actually
in touch with a kiruv organization last year, but
they said they lacked the funds. So I am currently
teaching at ZDR in Brooklyn, and will probably
continue doing that. As my family grows, it is less
and less likely that I will be able to return- even if
funding became available.
On the day of the 2006 Chag Hasemikhah, I went
out on my first date with Miriam Klein. We are
now married and raising two very smiley and cute
girls, kein yirbu. n
Chag HaSemikhah 5770
From New Zealand
To The Kollel Elyon:
RIETS’s Zroah N’tuyah
Rabbi Jonathan Cohen
Looking back on five years here at RIETS, it
seems like an incredible journey. How does a kid
from New Zealand end up a musmach at Yeshiva
University much less a fellow in the prestigious
Wexner Kollel Elyon? The truth is, our Yeshiva is
the kind of place where the impossible is not only
a reality, but the natural course of events.
I was born in Israel in 1984, but at the age of three
my family moved to New Zealand. Growing up
as a Jewish kid in Wellington (the capital city)
wasn’t easy. All of the amenities of Jewish life that
we take for granted were practically non-existent.
Although there is a Jewish school in Wellington
until 7th grade, my family lived in the suburbs so
I went to public school. My parents were sup-
portive of the Sunday School I attended but there
was little prospect for further advancement of
my Jewish education. As a teenager searching for
meaning, I wanted to broaden my horizons – so
I decided to spend my last year of high school in
Finland as an exchange student. I came back from
Finland with a deeper awareness of myself and a
determination to get fully engaged with the Jew-
ish community in Auckland, where I was to spend
my three years of college.
As a biochemistry major, I probably spent more
time volunteering for the local shul and Bnei
Akiva than doing my work – but thank G-d I did
well anyway. I enjoyed my years in Auckland;
I learnt there to be a proactive builder in the
community. In Auckland, you were (and still
are) considered a pillar of the community if you
attended every minyan (Sundays and Thursdays).
Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence (a student of Chief Rabbi
Lord Jonathan Sacks and now Senior Rabbi of
the Great Synagogue in Sydney) was the Rabbi in
Auckland at the time, and he was a tremendous
inspiration to me, introducing me to what we call
‘Modern Orthodoxy’. So having graduated from
my readings of the works of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan,
I encountered the Rav. The majestic tones of Rav
Soloveitchik’s magnum opus ‘Halachic Man’ car-
ried me away and I remember feeling that the Rav
expressed everything I always wanted to say – but
never had the words for.
Rabbi Lawrence had always said to the young
men in the community, only half-jokingly, that ev-
ery Jewish man should attend yeshiva for at least
five years. I always thought that this was a little ex-
aggerated, but when the idea of attending yeshiva
for a year before graduate school surfaced I took it
up with gusto. But where to study? Up until then
I had begun to learn Gemara using Artscroll, then
Shteinsaltz and had just begun dabbling in learn-
ing alone or with a friend. Which yeshiva would
accept me? And then it dawned on me – what
about Yeshiva University? From my voracious
reading of online blogs and discussion groups, I
knew that YU was the home yeshiva of the Rav
– and that YU was the place where everything
was happening! It was at that time during 2004
that the debate about the visit of the cardinals to
Yeshiva was happening and I could see that YU
was a place of teeming intellectual life. But would
they take me?
If anyone remembers the old RIETS website,
they will probably recall that every section had
a terse description of the program ending with
Rabbi Chaim Bronstein’s ‘72R number for
further information. Seeing as the website would
provide no further details, I had to call Rabbi
Bronstein during NY office hours – no mean feat
when you’re 16 hours ahead of America on the
other side of the International Date Line! Rabbi
27
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Bronstein was very welcoming and helpful, and
he introduced me to the Chaver program – which
seemed custom-made for my plans. The Chaver
program is a one-year learning program designed
for those who want to study in yeshiva for a
year before continuing with graduate studies.
Chaverim attend regular shiur, supplemented by
weekly chaburot on Jewish ethics in medicine
and business given by Rabbi J. D. Bleich, a noted
author and Rosh Yeshiva. This was right up my
alley – and it was fully subsidized by the yeshiva!
As I was working on my application, my next YU
connection turned up – this time at my doorstep!
Counterpoint 2004 hit New Zealand like a storm;
a group of YU and Stern College students from
the other side of the world descended upon the
Jewish community and took our ruach to a whole
new level with a Shabbaton of epic proportions.
Counterpoint, an outgrowth of Torah Leader-
ship Seminars, was capably led that year by Toby
Goldfisher and masterminded by the Max Stern
Division of Communal Services, later to morph
into the Center for the Jewish Future. So my YU
connection continued to grow.
A letter of acceptance followed, and I gathered
my life savings together in traveler’s checks and
boarded the plane for the 12 hour flight to LA,
and from there to my new life in New York.
My arrival at YU in January was a stupendous
awakening. Not everybody there was the halachic
philosopher I had dreamed of but within the
warm and inviting walls of the Beit Midrash I
discovered Talmud Torah. I discovered what it
meant to be a Jew.
I began my studies as a Chaver in the shiur of Rav
Meir Goldwicht. Rav Goldwicht took me under
his wing, and he first introduced me to lomdut –
the analytical and conceptual study of Gemara.
His pedagogy, combined with his famous drashot
opened my heart and mind to a new way of look-
ing at Torah. I also began to develop my kesher
with Rav Bleich who gave the Chaver program
classes weekly. His willingness to probe the
thorniest issues with his mastery of texts and the
halachic process taught me of the confidence of
psak halacha that is born of humility and dedica-
tion to continuing the traditions of the great
ba’alei haMesorah. During my next semester
I joined the shiur of Rav Michael Rosensweig.
Rav Rosensweig’s genius in lomdut and mastery
of Shas filled me with ambition to continue my
Chag HaSemikhah 5770
learning. Because I had arrived in the middle of
the academic year I realized that I could learn for
another half year before starting graduate school
(I had hoped to do a PhD in Israel).
To support myself I needed a job, and this time
the CJF came to my aid. I got a job under Rabbi
Levi Mostofsky helping to run the fledgling
Kollel and Midreshet Yom Rishon programs…
and then, in my ‘last’ semester in Yeshiva I met
a young lady who was also working on the Yom
Rishon programs at the CJF – her name was
Ruthie Israeli. As they say, the rest is history and
we resolved to tie the knot that coming Septem-
ber. So as it transpired, I would have to be in
America for another year – and what better place
to be than at Yeshiva! By this time, my friends
in the Beit Midrash no longer believed me when
I said ‘Just one more year of learning.’ They had
heard that story before and assured me I would
be learning for years to come. How right they
were! I eventually realized that I could complete
semikhah if I just kept going and I would ‘work
things out’ when I was done.
As the summer of 2008 began approaching and
my semikhah requirements began to be fulfilled I
realized I needed to make some decisions. Should
I be a Rabbi? An accountant? I even thought for
one day that I would be a dentist! My chaverim
and Rabbeim at Yeshiva helped me tremendously
as I searched for my true calling. It was at this
time that my relations with the younger Rab-
banim from the Beit Midrash came to fruition.
One of the great things about our Yeshiva is the
range of people involved in learning on a daily
basis; for me they served, and continue to serve,
as role models and mentors. Eventually I decided
that I might just have something to contribute in a
career of pulpit and chinuch, and so I decided that
I would apply for the Kollel Elyon – a prestigious
post-semicha kollel under Rav Mordechai Willig
’71R and Rav Michael Rosensweig ’80R. What
could be better preparation, I reasoned, for a
career in the rabbinate than three to four years
of intense Torah learning and pastoral training?
After a series of daunting bechinot, I was (to
my surprise) accepted as a fellow in the Wexner
Kollel Elyon! After a year and a half in the Kollel
28
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
I feel grateful for the opportunity given me to be
involved in Torah study at the highest level and
grow as a person, along with my colleagues and
friends.
I feel that my journey is only just beginning. Five
years have gone by in the twinkling of an eye
and I still have so much to learn and so far to go.
Looking back I am grateful to all the people who
helped me along the way. In New Zealand I owe
a profound debt of gratitude to my parents for
giving me the tools to begin my journey, and to
Rabbi Lawrence for giving me the inspiration to
aim as high as I can go. In New York, Yeshiva and
the staff at CJF have helped me every step of the
way. I am grateful to Rabbi Chaim Bronstein for
bringing me to these shores, and to my Rab-
beim for revealing to me to the richness of a life
enlightened by the light of Talmud Torah, and
for guiding me every step of the way. With my
experiences, I can truly say that RIETS is a global
yeshiva. n
Chag HaSemikhah 5770
We would like to congratulate the participants of the Chag HaSemikhah 5770*
Rabbi Markel Akhbashev
Queens, NY
Rabbi Ranan Elliott Amster
Chicago, IL
Rabbi Dovid Solomon Asher
West Orange, NJ
Rabbi Elli Mark Ausubel
Riverdale, NY
Rabbi Yoni Ausubel
Riverdale, NY
Rabbi Zev Bannett
Highland Park, NJ
Rabbi Yaron Meir Saden Barach
Edison, NJ
Rabbi Noah Baron
Fair Lawn, NJ
Rabbi Simon Basalely
Great Neck, NY
Rabbi Uzi I. Beer
Cleveland, OH
Rabbi Noah Bender
Fair Lawn, NJ
Rabbi Elichai Bitter
Kew Gardens Hills, NY
Rabbi Akiva Block
Roslyn Heights, NY
Rabbi Joel Bloom
Edison, NJ
Rabbi Jesse G. Boiangiu
Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Yehuda T. Brand
Passaic, NJ
Rabbi Eric Braun
Hillcrest, NY
Rabbi David Buchbinder
Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Avi-Gil Chaitovsky
Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Yoni I. Chambre
Upper West Side, NY
Rabbi Judah Chanales
Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Jonathan Cohen
Wellington, New Zealand
Rabbi Eliezer Raphael Cohn
Hillcrest, NY
Rabbi Joshua Dachman-Soled
Mahwah, NJ
Rabbi Erez David
Toronto, Canada
Rabbi Michael Z. Davies
Fair Lawn, NJ
Rabbi Moshe A. Davis Rabbi Joshua Goller Rabbi Simon Kleinbart
Chicago, IL West Hempstead, NY Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Ariel Davis Rabbi Adi Gottleib Rabbi Nir Knoll
Oceanside Providence, RI Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Asher Gabriel Dordek Rabbi Yonah N. Gross Rabbi Akiva Koenigsberg
Chicago, IL Hillcrest, NY KGH, NY
Rabbi Ethan Mayer Eisen Rabbi Jonathan Grossman Rabbi Eli Kohl
Memphis, TN Merrick, NY Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Gershon Eisenberger Rabbi Avraham E. Grunberger Rabbi Jonathan Kohn
Israel/Monsey, NY Toronto, Canada Chicago, IL
Rabbi Michael Judah Elsant Rabbi Gary Guttenberg Rabbi Eric T. Kotkin
Woodmere, NY Baltimore, MD Dix Hills, NY
Rabbi Benjamin J. Epstein Rabbi Elliot Hecht Rabbi Aaron Kraft
Miami, FL Baltimore, MD
Rabbi David Hellman
Rabbi Saul Leib Epstein Rabbi Steven Krul
St. Louis, MO
Columbus, OH Elizabeth, NJ
Rabbi Seth Herman
Rabbi Elie Allan Farkas Rabbi Naphtali Lavenda
Kew Gardens Hills, NY
Montreal, Canada Cinncinati, OH
Rabbi Yair Hindin
Rabbi Aaron Feigenbaum Rabbi Aryeh Leibowitz
West Orange, NJ
Teaneck, NJ Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Joe Hirsch
Rabbi Jonathan R. Feintuch Rabbi Aaron David Leibtag
Philadelphia, PA
West Orange, NJ Baltimore, MD
Rabbi Avi Hochman
Rabbi Ari N. Feldman Rabbi Dovid Lessin
Fair Lawn, NJ
Brooklyn, NY Silver Spring, MD
Rabbi Evan I. Hoffman
Rabbi Jonah Feldman Rabbi Yoni Levin
Great Neck, NY
Plainview, NY Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Jesse Horn
Rabbi Adam Brian Felsenthal Rabbi Meir Lipschitz
Twin Rivers, NJ
Highland Park, Il Oceanside, NY
Rabbi Raphael David Hulkower
Rabbi Dovi Fischer Rabbi Michael Noam Lipshitz
Los Angeles, CA
Fair Lawn, NJ Chicago, IL
Rabbi Eric S. Ifrah
Rabbi Abraham I. Fried Rabbi Chanan Liss
Elkins Park, PA
Chicago, IL West Hemp, NY
Rabbi Leib Irons
Rabbi Daniel G. Gelernter Rabbi Andrew Malca
Oak Park, Mich
KGH, NY Los Angeles
Rabbi Shimshon Jacob
Rabbi Victor Gheriani Rabbi Sariel Malitzky
Riverdale, NY
Oakhurst, NJ Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Joshua Kanter
Rabbi Ephraim Yechiel Glatt Rabbi Andrew Markowitz
Skokie, IL
Woodmere, NY Woodmere, NY
Rabbi Aaron M. Kaplan
Rabbi Ariel Yaakov Goldberg Rabbi Eliezer Mischel
San Diego, CA
Chicago, IL Staten Island, NY
Rabbi Aaron Katz
Rabbi Rami Goldberg Rabbi Philip Moskowitz
Los Angeles, CA
West Orange, NJ Boston, MA
Rabbi Daniel Baruch Katz
Rabbi David Goldfischer Rabbi Asher A. Nemes
Teaneck, NJ
West Orange, NJ Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Benjamin Kelsen
Rabbi Yosef Goldin Rabbi Michael B. Neuman
Teaneck, NJ
Englewood, NJ Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Avi E. Kilimnick
Rabbi Eric J. Goldman Rabbi Ryan Newfield
Rochester, NY
E. Brunswick, NJ South Africa
Rabbi Bryan Denis Kinzbrunner
Rabbi Steven Goldsmith Rabbi Asher Charles Oser
Coral Springs, FL
Teaneck, NJ Australia
Rabbi Asher Klein
Rabbi Michael Aaron Goldstein Rabbi Maciej Pawlak
Brooklyn, NY
Ottawa, Canada Poland
*List in formation
29
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
 Chag HaSemikhah 5770

Rabbi Sacha Pecaric Rabbi Edward Rudolph Rabbi Tzvi M. Sinensky Rabbi Alan Jay Waintraub
Poland Teaneck, NJ Teaneck, NJ Teaneck, NJ
Rabbi Gil Perl Rabbi Howard Rudolph Rabbi Eric J. Siskind Rabbi Ira Wallach
Bergenfield, NJ Teaneck, NJ Woodmere, NY Woodmere, NY
Rabbi Umberto Piperno Rabbi Jacob Sasson Rabbi Yigal Sklarin Rabbi Brahm Michael Weinberg
Italy Fair Lawn, NJ Teaneck, NJ Montreal, Canada
Rabbi Yonatan M. Posnick Rabbi Simcha A. Schaum Rabbi Elon S. Soniker Rabbi Jay Michael Weinstein
Oceanside, NY Riverdale, NY New Rochelle, NY Miami, FL
Rabbi Adir Posy Rabbi Etan Schnall Rabbi Aryeh Spiegler Rabbi Naphtali Weisz
Silver Spring, MD West Hemp, NY Baltimore, MD Columbus, OH
Rabbi Michael Rapps Rabbi Ariel Zvi Schochet Rabbi Moshe M. Stavsky Rabbi Matan Wexler
Edison, NJ Fair Lawn, NJ Teaneck, NJ St. Louis Park, MN
Rabbi Abraham Samuel Robinson Rabbi Joshua Schreiber Rabbi Bezalel Stechler Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf
Newton, MA Brooklyn, NY Teaneck, NJ Kew Gardens, NY
Rabbi Mitchell Jay Rocklin Rabbi Ariel Schwarzberg Rabbi Rami Ephraim Strosberg Rabbi Naftali Michael Wolfe
Lawrence, NY Highland Park, NJ Schenectady, NY Chicago, IL
Rabbi Michael Rootman Rabbi Shmuel Steven Jay Segal Rabbi Dovid J. Sukenik Rabbi David C. Zahtz
Toronto, Canada Newton, MA Passaic, NJ Jamaica Estates, NY
Rabbi Menashe Rosen Rabbi Chaim Akiva Sendic Rabbi Yitzhak A.L. Szyf Rabbi Michael S. Zauderer
Toronto, Canada Forest Hills, NY Montreal, Canada Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Jordan Rosenberg Rabbi David Shabtai Rabbi Avraham Adrianov Tanev Rabbi Eitan S. Zerykier
Pittsburgh, PA Brooklyn, NY Sofia, Bulgaria Staten Island, NY
Rabbi Rafi Rosenblum Rabbi Simeon Reuven Sherman Rabbi Michael Teitcher Rabbi Aron Meir Zuckerman
Philadelphia, PA Silver Spring, MD Oceanside, NY Silver Spring, MD
Rabbi Daniel Z. Rosenfeld Rabbi Michael Shore Rabbi Yehuda Michael Turetsky Rabbi Oran Zweiter
West Hartford, CT HP/Edison, NJ New Rochelle, NY Riverdale, NY
Rabbi Elimelech Rosenthal Rabbi Matisyahu Shulman Rabbi Mordechai Turoff
Teaneck, NJ Miami, FL
Rabbi Mordechai Rothman
Rabbi Yosef (Jason) Siegel Rabbi Jeffrey Turtel
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Practical Halachah
Mesorah, Minhag and
Changing Circumstances
Rabbi Asher Bush ’81R
T he rabbi is correctly viewed in the com-
munity as the guardian of tradition. He
is the official public voice of the Torah,
it is he who rules on what is within halacha and
what is not, and in many cases it is he who leads
the community through challenging times and
events. In most cases the best and most effective
way to do this is by holding fast to tradition and
presenting it to the community in a clear and
articulate manner. There is hardly a rabbi who
has not had to take a strong stand to defend the
standards of halacha and tradition at some point.
This article will take a look at a number of cases,
a few from the past and the others of more
contemporary concern, where there might be
reason to consider changes in the practices of
a shul. As will be discussed, in some cases the
change itself is the issue at hand, while in other
cases the motivation and reasons for it are more
important in making any determination regarding
potential changes.
The Binding Authority of
Minhagim
The Gemara1 relates that the people of the city
of Bayshan had taken upon themselves not to
travel out of town to the markets on Fridays in
order to protect the kavod of Shabbos. Years later,
members of a succeeding generation from that
same city came to Rabbi Yochanan questioning
whether they might be permitted to take these
trips on Fridays since, as they explained, this strin-
gency was financially possible for the previous
generations, but not for them.2 Rabbi Yochanan
responded that your fathers have already accepted
this practice upon themselves (and the entire
community) and it therefore remains binding
upon you. This passage is generally viewed as the
source of the binding authority of community
minhagim.3 While that discussion focused on
the practices of a locality, it is accepted by poskim
that a Beis HaKnesses has the same status as a city.
Accordingly, its minhagim are also to be regarded
as binding within that shul even when other
congregations in the same city may have different
practices.4 It is for this reason that customs and
practices that have been properly established5 in
a shul cannot simply be changed or discarded.6
While this is the general principle, we will now
consider mitigating circumstances that could
perhaps affect the application of this rule.
Reasons to Consider
Changing a Minhag, and
Their Application
Despite the fact that it is correct to say that such
minhagim are binding, exceptions do exist. In
the determination of such exceptions perhaps
the single most important factor to be considered
is the reasons for that change. Determining the
reason will help decide whether such changes are
permissible; even if permitted it still needs to be
decided if such a change is to be recommended.
Using specific examples we will address the
various motivations for such change and the
various responses in halacha.
A) Migdar Milsa
While it is common to think of the idea of making
fences as adding extra regulations or chumras,
this is frequently not the case. Perhaps the most
famous historical event of this sort was when
the Rambam abolished the private recital of the
Shmone Esrei for those who were davening with a
minyan; instead insisting that they fulfill the mitz-
vah through listening to the shali’ach tzibbur.7 In
this case he temporarily8 suspended a full-fledged
31
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
rabbinic decree in order to address the problem
of talking in shul. While no rav would or should
consider such a drastic solution for this problem
today, there are a number of ways different con-
gregations have addressed this same problem that
do involve “changes” in the minhagim of the shul.
In larger congregations the mishebeirach for
cholim on Shabbos often takes many minutes,
contributing to a major breakdown of decorum.
The solution utilized by many shuls is to have the
gabbai say the mishebeirach and have each person
insert the name of the chole at their seat.9 Perhaps
a small example of a change, but it has rapidly be-
come accepted as a way to address the decorum
problem in shul.
A potentially more difficult case would be the
recital of yotzros for the arba parshios; some
shuls do recite them, while others do not, with
each practice having good sources.10 Were the
members of a congregation to approach the rabbi
asking to abolish their recital as they were “time
consuming” or the like, this would be an example
of a minhag that still needs to be followed.11 How-
ever, if the rabbi determined that the Yotzros were
not being said by a large number of the people
and this contributed to a further breakdown of
decorum, in the capacity of migdar milsa he could
decide to discontinue their recital. 12
Another common example is the institution of
new nigunim and new styles of singing which are
designed to enhance congregational involvement
in tefillah. In the early days of the Young Israel
movement the change was made to sing L’cha
Dodi, Kel Adon and other tefillos together rather
than have the Shaliach Tzibbur recite them alter-
natively with the congregation, all for the purpose
of increasing involvement in and commitment
to the tefillah. Similarly, the introduction of new
nigunim for Kabbalas Shabbos in recent years is
also aimed at enhancing the spiritual component
of tefillah. 13
In recent years, a completely different applica-
tion of changes for the sake of migdar milsa has
been used as well, namely to address certain
problems that have nothing per se to do with
the activities of a shul via the activities in the
shul. Hoping to help the plight of agunos, many
congregations have formally adopted policies to
not allow a man who has ignored the directives
of a beis din to give his wife a Get to receive
an aliyah or any other honors. While various
forms of communal punishments are not new
for disobeying the orders of a beis din,14 this
Practical Halacha
particular application has been employed as part
of a strategy to address this painful problem.
Similarly, in cases where individuals are involved
in public acts of immorality or are arrested, such
honors are often denied. In each of these cases
the rabbi and/or community are establishing
new rules for the workings of a shul in order to
limit or regulate inappropriate behaviors.
B) Responding/Addressing a
new situation
Throughout Jewish history rabbis have responded
to different and changing circumstances through the
halachic system. The various takanos of Rabbeinu
Gershom and the insertion of Av HaRachamim fol-
lowing the tragedies of the crusades are well known
examples of new decrees or institutions that were
created to meet the larger needs of the day.
Similarly with the establishment of the State of
Israel there was now a need for tefillos for the
medina and/or Tzahal that had not existed before.
So too, the reunification of Yerushalayim has
created a need to give thanks that had not existed
before. None of these cases are based on new
concepts, but on ones that did not have applica-
tion in prior years.15
However, when creating new Tefillos or even
using established ones for new situations it is
important that they be done with proper Halachic
sensitivity. As is well known, the Rov felt that
some of the practices employed by some to com-
memorate Yom Aztmaut, such as adding a Kri’as
HaTorah or Haftara were out of place.16
Another example of addressing a new situation
based on existing principles is Yom HaShoa.
Clearly many of the tragedies that have occurred
throughout the generations have been com-
memorated with new observances, such as the
composition of new Kinos for Tisha B’Av and the
addition of Av HaRachamim. The fact that many
talmidei chachamim, the Rov included,17 were
not comfortable with the establishment of Yom
HaShoa is not because these events should be
ignored, but it was felt that the proper commemo-
ration should take place on Tisha B’Av.18
C) Correcting Errors
This situation is likely the easiest in theory
and the hardest in practice. It is the easiest in
theory because if the current practice is in error
there would be not question in halachah that it
should be corrected, but telling a community
that they have been “wrong” for a long time is
most difficult.19 This can be particularly hard if
they were previously served by a respected rav
[it is also likely that the previous rabbi wanted to
correct these errors but for whatever reasons saw
fit not to do so or perhaps was not in a position
to institute change.] So while from the point of
view of halachah this should be an easy change to
institute, it would likely take significant amounts
of time and patience, including educating the
congregation as to the value of this change.
An example of this would be those shuls that omit
Tachanun at Mincha.20 In an even more common
case, Rav Soloveichik also pointed out that there
is no basis to omit Slichos on Yom Kippur during
Shacharis, Musaf and Mincha and they should be
added to the correct location in the machzor.21
D) Following a different Shita
It is very tempting for a rabbi, when coming into
a new shul, to wish to change various minhagim
from one valid practice to another, often based on
the minhagim that were followed by his yeshiva.
This practice is highly questionable and is strongly
discouraged for several reasons. The primary one
being that without valid reason for change (such
as migdar milsa) such changes may well not be
allowed. Second, even in cases where changes
are allowed,22 extreme caution need be exercised.
The rabbi may be making a change for meaning-
ful halachic reasons, but congregants may just see
change being made, and are unable to distinguish
between valid and invalid reasons for change.
The Rov was known to encourage his mus-
machim to institute the recital of Hallel in shul
on Pesach night; at first glance this might appear
to be an example of changing shitos. However,
such an understanding is misleading; the reason
he encouraged this change is because he believed
this to be the correct practice and not just an
32
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
alternative shitah.23 Even in this case he cautioned
that such a change should not be initiated if it will
cause machlokes in the shul.
In most contemporary shuls all of the mourners
recite Kadish together. This was a major change
from the old practice whereby only one person
would recite Kadish at a time to insure that each
word was clearly heard by the congregation. To
facilitate this practice there was a very specific
order for who would say each of the Kadishim.24
The minhag of the Sephardim had long been to
allow numerous mourners to recite it together.25
As is clear from both Rabbinic literature and life
experiences, the limiting of the recital of Kadish
led to much tension and even fights. To prevent
this highly undesirable situation many Ashkenazi
communities adopted the “Sephardic” practice.
In this case the change from one valid minhag to
another was in fact an example of migdar milsa, as
it was done to prevent fighting.
E) A Minhag that is no longer observed
Sometimes a minhag seems to go out of existence
through a “natural” process. Using a case from
above, if a congregation had the minhag to recite
yotzros but over the passage of time it came to
be that only a few members still recited them
(even in the unlikely scenario that the others were
all learning during this time and there was no
decorum problem), such a minhag has effectively
ceased to exist. Accordingly, Rav Schachter has
said that such a minhag need not be restored once
it has effectively ceased to exist in this manner. 26
A similar situation might exist where a shul has
been using one nusach of tefillah (Ashkenaz or
Sephard) and the shul will not remain viable
Practical Halacha
unless it will change to the other. While such a
change may be more drastic, it would not make
sense to wait until the Shul ceased to function
effectively before making the change.
F) Convenience/Popularity
Assumedly, if there is no issue or difficulty in
following the old minhag, there would not be
any question about whether it still needs to be
observed. The original case of the Gemara regard-
ing the city of Bayshan was just such a case , in
which the new generation found the old practice
financially difficult; even in this case they were
still instructed by Rabbi Yochanan that they must
continue the minhag.
In our society it is also likely that the “popular-
ity” of a practice could provoke questions about
the need to continue its observance, with the
question often focusing on the fact that “the other
shuls in town don’t do it, why must we?” Certain
practices (such as recital of Yotzros or V’yiten
L’cha) are an example of this and it would only be
expected that requests for their omission would
be made. It would seem that situations like that,
rather than becoming sources of tension could
become teachable moments about the strength
of minhagim and how they serve to enhance
communal life (not to mention the value of the
tefillah itself ).
With the increased connection of the American
Orthodox community to Israel, it is only natural
that some of the practices followed in Israel should
capture our attention and interest. While the
observance of one day of yom tov might be entic-
ing, clearly at this time it is a practice that is related
to residing in Israel and does not have a place here.
However, other practices, such as the omission of
the brachah of Baruch Hashem L’olam in Ma’ariv is
not related to living in Israel, merely a shitah that is
commonly followed there. This would seem to be
a good example of considering changing a minhag
merely out of convenience, as it is highly unlikely
that anyone other than a talmid chacham would
care or even be aware of the halachic issues in-
volved. This would be a good example of a ,minhag
that should be maintained. 27
As can be seen from much of what has been writ-
ten, for the unlearned it can be quite confusing as
to when a minhag must stand and when it can or
even should be changed. The decision is generally
is based on motive and intent, a most difficult and
often intangible factor. It is for this reason that
even appropriate changes should be few and far
between, and when they are made should include
a significant educational feature.
Following the Model of the
Sanhedrin:
While no one would suggest that contemporary
rabbis have the power or role of a Sanhedrin,
nevertheless much can be learned from rules and
procedures that governed the Sanhedrin when
they considered any changes in Rabbinic decrees.
The Mishna states that in order to change decrees
made by an earlier beis din, the later one must be
It is precisely at
times like these
that the rabbi’s role
as the guardian of
tradition becomes
even more vital.
greater than the earlier one in both wisdom and
number.28 Following this pattern it would certain-
ly seem that changes should not just be made by
any rabbi without consulting with those of greater
wisdom (his teachers and senior colleagues).29 In
terms of numbers, it would seem that with the ex-
ception of certain emergency measures, it would
be most important for a shul not to put itself out
of the mainstream all by itself in its practices, even
when they are within the bounds of halachah. 30
The Gemara 31 relates that Rabbi Simlai encour-
aged Rabbi Yehudah Nesiah to convene his
beis din to permit Pas Palter. He demurred, not
because he disagreed with the suggestion, but
because if he did so his beis din would be known
as a beis din sharya, one that had permitted “too
many things.” Clearly this was not because he was
worried about his reputation or place in history;
rather, it was a bone fide concern that such ac-
tions would lead to a hefkerus, even though it was
technically acceptable to do so. The Rambam32
codified this idea in a most instructive manner,
writing “any beis din that has already permitted
two matters should not rush to allow a third.”
Rabbi Yehudah Nesiah knew he was able to
permit it and there was good reason to do so, yet
he still refrained for this reason.
33
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
If these were concerns for a fully authorized
Sanhedrin, all the more so today when there is
little sense within the general public as to what is
a bone fide halachah and what is a minhag, which
minhagim are crucial and which may be expend-
able. It is precisely at times like these that the
rabbi’s role as the guardian of tradition becomes
even more vital. This is not to say that we need es-
pouse an ideology of chadash asur min HaTorah
in a blanket way, but we must also be very careful
not to hasten in the opposite direction allowing
convenience, ignorance or popular pressure to
replace hallowed traditions and well thought out
Rabbinic reasoning. n
Rabbi Bush is the rabbi of Congregation Ahavas
Yisrael of Wesley Hills, NY and the chairman of the
Vaad Halacha of the RCA
Notes
1. Pesachim 50a. Also see Yoreh Deah Siman #214
2. As explained by Rashi on Pesachim 50a
3. Chavas Yair #126
4. T’shuvos Marharshdam Y.D. #153 writes “the
halachah is clear that each and every congrega-
tion has the status of a separate city.” Also see Pri
Chadash, Orach Chaim 496:19
5. Rav Hershel Schachter mentioned that new
practices that have not been fully established even
though they have been started may not yet have the
status of a binding minhag [oral communication,
November 2009]. This may be particularly rel-
evant for a new congregation that has engaged its
first rabbi who may then want to formally establish
minhagim for the shul.
6. The possibility of communal Hataras Nedarim is
most complicated and while theoretically relevant
to this discussion, on a practical level has limited
application and will not be addressed here.
7. Radvaz vol. 4, #5
8. This “temporary” measure in fact lasted for many
years, still being in effect, at least to some extent in
the 16th century as seen in the abovementioned
T’shuva of the Radvaz.
9. The idea of having a tefillah recited in part by one
person and in part by another is included in a solu-
tion mentioned by Rabbi Akiva Eiger (T’shuvos
#7) for a case in which a boy whose status as a
gadol is questionable recites Kiddush on Friday
night for a woman who was not capable of reciting
it for herself. In this case he suggests she might
still fulfill the mitzvah when he says the Pesicha
and Chasima of the brachah, while she recites the
words in the middle. The Mishna Brurah (Biur
Practical Halacha
Halacha 271, sv “d’iskash”) is not comfortable
with this solution, one of his reasons being that it
is not realistic to expect this ignorant woman to
follow the details precisely. It would seem that his
objections do not apply in our case as instructions
are generally provided at that time in shul. The
Mishnah Brurah also writes that it is “dochak
gadol” to divide a brachah in such a way; clearly
Rabbi Akiva Eiger did not find this to be a signifi-
cant impediment to his solution. It should also be
pointed out that in the case of the Mishebeirach,
those adding the names of their sick loved ones and
friends are paying careful attention to the entire
tefillah, likely more than in cases when they give
the name to the gabbai.
An even more basic source for this idea (not in the
context of a bracha) might be seen in the words
of Rava (Sukkah 38b) who reports the contem-
porary minhag of how Hallel was recited in order
to demonstrate various halachic concepts. This
included the division of the phrase “Baruch HaBa”
to be partially recited by the Shaliach Tzibbur and
partially recited by the congregation in order to
demonstrate the concept of Shome’a K’oneh.
10. Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman 68 & 112
11. Mishna Brurah 112:3, Radvaz vol. 3 no. 532,
Chavas Yair #238. While opposing any changes
in this area, the Chavas Yair points out that those
piutim added in Chazares Hashetz would avoid
all of the objections of those poskim who find
problems with the recital of Yotzros in Birkos
Krias Shma.
12. Sadly, this problem was already mentioned by
the Tur (O.C. 68) who wrote that “it is good and
proper to abolish their recital if possible since it
leads to idle chatter.”
13. This is not to suggest that the mere choice of nigunim
is necessarily to be regarded as a formal minhag.
14. Yoreh Deah 334:43
15. Magen Avraham 686:5
16. Shiur, Yom Atzmaut 1978.
17. Nefesh HaRav 197-98. The Rov pointed out
that in commemoration of tragedies such as the
crusades new Kinos were added to Tisha B’Av, but
no new days of commemoration were added.
18. It should be noted that on numerous occasions the
Rov expressed his discomfort with the composition
of any new tefillos, even on days were the recital of
special tefillos is appropriate. He said this because
he believed that that we lack individuals of appro-
priate spiritual magnitude to compose such works.
This idea is written in “Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveichik
zt”l on the Tisha B’av Kinos,” Jewish Action 54:4,
Summer 5754/1994.
19. In Chavas Yair (#238) it states that not all old
practices in Ashkenazi Kehillos should auto-
matically be viewed as having been instituted
with Rabbinic sanction, as some were initiated in
the years following the great pogroms when there
was much upheaval. In these years practices were
not necessary based on knowledge or tradition.
Knowing the history of given countries, communi-
ties or congregations it is not hard to envision such
scenarios.
20. Mishnah Brurah 131:17explains that when the
Shulchan Aruch says Tachanun may not be said
at night this did not preclude Bein HaShmashos.
Piskei T’shuvos 131:13 points out that the
practice is not like the Mishnah Brurah and it is
only said until shkiah; more to our point, he writes
that there is no valid reason to omit Tachanun as a
standard practice when Mincha is said well before
shkiah.
21. Nefesh HaRav p. 211-212, Aruch HaShulchan
620:1
22. Such as a case where the two practices may in
fact really be the same, as in Igros Moshe (Orach
Chaim vol. 1 #159) regarding Minhagim of
Aveilus during the Omer.
23. See Nefesh HaRav pages 183-4.
24. For more details of this order see Mishnah Brurah
(Siman 132,Biur Halachah)
25. See Pischei T’shuva Yoreh Deah 376:6, Gesher
HaChaim 30:11:12
26. See footnote #5.
34
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
27. The issues involved in the reason for and the
propriety of this Bracha are addressed in Tosafos
to Brachos 4b s.v. d’amar, the Rosh #5 and the Ran
s.v. v’yesh; also see Tur Orach Chaim 236 and
Shulchan Aruch 236:2. It is possible that accord-
ing to some of these approaches that the continued
practice to recite this Bracha would be an example
of “Minhag mevatel Halacha” spoken of by Pos-
kim (T’shuvos HaRadvaz vol. 3 #532).
28. Eidios 1:5. The Rambam (Mamrim 2:2) writes
that since every Sanhedrin had the same 70 mem-
bers, this idea of having a greater number refers
to the other sages of the generation who are not
part of the Sanhedrin who accept this ruling. The
Raved (Eidios 1:5) explains that “number” refers
to the age (of the head of that Sanhedrin), while
the Bartenura (Eidios 1:5) writes that it refers to
the number of students who follow the head of that
Sanhedrin.
29. Chosen Mishpat 10:2 speaks of the obligation of
a dayan not to rule without consulting with senior
talmidei chachamim when they are available for
consultation.
30. It should be noted that the Bach (O.C. 68)
regarding the minhag of reciting Yotzros invoked
these rules of the Sanhedrin to object to those
who wished to abolish this practice even though
it is clearly a minhag and not a Rabbinic decree,
writing “and behold a beis din may not annul the
words of another unless it is greater in number
and in wisdom … and who is greater today than
the Raved, Rabbeinu Tam and Rabbi Eliezer
HaKalir.”
31. Avodah Zarah 37a
32. Hilchos Mamrim 2:8 and Radvaz there.
Divrei Hesped
Rabbi Dr. Gersion Appel, z”l
by Dr. Moshe Sokolow
“The deepest impressions on a man’s
soul are made not by his thoughts
alone but by overt acts.”
— Rabbi Dr. Gersion Appel
Rabbi Dr. Gersion Appel
(1916–2008), who wrote this
line in his magnum opus, A Philosophy of Mitzvot,
manifested this ideal in his life and career. Just as
punctilious observance of the mitzvot — in all their
details — must be complemented by penetrating
investigation of their sources and rationales, so did he
complement his decades of communal service as a
pulpit rabbi with a lifelong dedication to philosophi-
cal scholarship and teaching.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Rabbi Appel was 8 years
old when he immigrated to the United States, where
his father, Judah, held cantorial positions in Philadel-
phia, Trenton, N.J., Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Cleveland and
the South 5th Street Shul in Williamsburg. He began
his formal schooling at Yeshivah Torah VoDaas in
New York. In Cleveland, he learned privately with
Rav Sheftel Kramer (father-in-law of Rav Ruderman
of Ner Israel), completed his high school education,
and began his first year of college in Adelbert College
of Western Reserve University.
In 1935, Rabbi Appel entered Yeshiva College,
studying first with Rav Chaim Shufenthal and
later with Rabbi Dr. Samuel Belkin. He studied
Talmud in Dr. Belkin’s shiur in the morning and
attended his Greek class in the afternoon. While
at YC, he served as president of the student
council and was active in Zionist activities in the
college. He graduated in 1938 and remained at
Yeshiva to learn for semikhah, which he received
in 1941 from Dr. Bernard Revel, Rav Binyomin
Aranowitz and Rav Moshe Soloveitchik. In
September of that year, he took his first pulpit
in Worcester, Mass., where he remained for five
years. While there, he married Miriam Cohen and
his two oldest children were born.
While serving as the rabbi of the Vaad Ha-Ir of
Worcester, Dr. Appel completed his doctorate in
Hebrew literature at the Bernard Revel Graduate
School of Yeshiva University. Having an unrequited
passion for philosophy, however, he embarked on
a second doctoral degree at Harvard University.
There, he studied Jewish philosophy with Professor
Harry Wolfson, the first scholar to hold a chair in a
specifically Jewish discipline at any American uni-
versity and an internationally recognized figure in
the history of Jewish philosophy. He was awarded a
PhD from Harvard, writing his doctoral disserta-
tion on the Sefer ha-Hinukh.
This same period in his life also saw the coalescence
of his commitment to the Jewish people and the
Land of Israel, which came to active fruition in his
tireless efforts during the Shoah and his lifelong
devotion to Zionism.
By 1958, Rabbi Appel had completed subsequent
stints as a pulpit rabbi in New York (Congregation
Orach Chaim), and Seattle (Congregation Bikur
Cholim), and had returned to New York to serve
his final pulpit in Congregation Adath Yeshurun of
Kew Gardens, Queens. His family had grown to six
children, all of whom attended YU schools on the
high school, college and graduate level, with his two
sons receiving semikhah from RIETS.
In 1968, Rabbi Appel retired from the rabbinate and
assumed full-time teaching, as adjunct professor
of Jewish philosophy at New York University and
as professor of Jewish philosophy at Stern College
for Women. He was chairman of the philosophy
department at YU, a position he held until his
retirement, when he became emeritus professor. At
the 50th anniversary of his graduation from Yeshiva
University, he was awarded an honorary degree of
Doctor of Divinity with a citation that read: “As a
rabbi, educator and scholar you have exemplified the
highest ideals of Yeshiva University.”
A quick perusal of his principal publications, in the
chronological order of their appearance, will reveal
his singular authorial personality.
Sefer ha-Neyar: A Thirteenth Century Code of Jew-
ish Law (1960) was published by The Sura Institute
of Yeshiva University. Written in the Tosafist period
by an unknown authority, the Sefer-ha-Neyar covers
the full range of Jewish law, containing responsa,
oral teachings and extracts from the Gaonim, Alfasi,
Rambam, Rashi and the Tosafists. In his introduc-
tion, Rabbi Appel wrote: “An anonymous work
imposes upon the researcher a fear of the unknown.
And yet, he finds in such a work a certain magic that
steals his heart.” Punning on the title of the book, he
added: “May it be His will that across this bridge of
paper (neyar) of our eternal Torah, the redeemed
will pass to our Holy Land.” He dedicated this
book to his father, Judah, who had passed away just
months before its publication. This sefer was recently
republished by Makhon Yerushalayim.
A Philosophy of Mitzvot: The religious and Ethical
Principles of Judaism: The Roots in Biblical Law and
35
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
the Judaic Oral Tradition (1975) is an intellectual
biography of the anonymous author of the late 13th
century Sefer ha-Hinukh — one of the principal
works of Jewish ethical and halakhic literature and a
primary source for the rationale and purpose of the
mitzvot in the Torah. In the preface, Rabbi Appel
wrote words that could serve as his own epitaph:
“The Hinukh emerges in this study … as a great edu-
cator and moral and religious guide. His classic work
is revealed as a treasure trove of Jewish knowledge,
moral insights, religious inspiration and brilliant
perception in the molding of human character.” He
dedicated the book to his wife, Miriam, with the suc-
cinct inscription: “A woman of valor is her husband’s
crown.” In l990, it appeared in a Hebrew translation
published in Israel. A second, revised edition of the
English version was published a few months before
his passing by Yashar Books.
In 1977, Rabbi Appel published the first volume of
The Concise Code of Jewish Law, one of the earliest
English language compilations of halakhah, dealing
with the laws of tefillah, berakhot, kashrut and, true
to his philosophical preoccupation, a section entitled
“Acknowledging the Divine Order.” Based primarily
upon the Kitzur Shulhan Arukh and supplemented
by referrals to a score of modern responsa, it was the
forerunner of what would later become a genre of
contemporary Orthodox literature. In 1989, he pub-
lished the second volume, treating the laws of Shab-
bat with equal comprehensiveness and dexterity. The
accompanying bibliography lists 50 halakhic works,
20 collections of responsa, and 40 monographs, in
Hebrew and English, on various aspects of hilkhot
Shabbat. These seforim have impacted many lives
through their use by rabbis and teachers as a basis
for teaching halakhah. Day schools throughout the
country have adopted them as textbooks in dinim
classes. The family is currently working to republish
these works in his memory.
As the patriarch of a YU family stretching into the
fourth generation, Rabbi Appel was proud to see
children, grandchildren and great grandchildren
continuing in his footsteps as students of Yeshiva
University and embracing its (and his) philosophy
of Torah Umadda. It can truly be said of him, as
one young rav did during the shiva: “He embraced
modernity, but did not succumb to it.” n
Dr. Moshe Sokolow is the Fanya Gottesfeld Heller
Chair in Jewish Education and Associate Dean of the
Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and
Administration.
Divrei Hesped
Rabbi William Cohen, z”l
by Rabbi Simcha Green ’62R
With the recent death of Rabbi
William Cohen, who served
with distinction in West Hart-
ford, Conn. for many years, I
was reminded of the major role
he played in the development
of the programs initiated by Yeshiva University’s
Youth Bureau beginning in the early 1950s.
I was a freshman in 1955, newly arrived from my
hometown of Philadelphia. Having been active in
the youth programs of my congregation, I chanced
upon the office of Dr. Abraham Stern, the founder
and director of the Youth Bureau, and offered my
services as a student volunteer.
One of my first assignments was to help plan the
annual Thanksgiving weekend Shabbaton held in
New England. That program was the major yearly
activity of New England YUSCY (Yeshiva Univer-
sity Synagogue Council of Youth). Assisting Abe
Stern throughout several decades were assistant
Rabbi Pesach Oratz, z”l
by Rabbi Mordechai Willig ’71R
Harav Pesach Oratz zt’l passed
away on erev Rosh Hasha-
nah, after a storied career as
a Torah educator. Over the
past 60 years, he taught tens
of thousands of young men
and women at YU and elsewhere. At Yeshiva, he
served on the Jewish studies faculty for decades;
at Stern, and at Camp Morasha, he was active until
his passing.
I was privileged to know and observe him as a col-
league at Yeshiva in the early 70s, and for the past
35 summers at Camp Morasha. He was knowl-
edgeable and charming, yet forceful and outspoken
in the defense of Torah principles. We enjoyed a
special bond, perhaps because we shared familial
ties and roots in RJJ and the Lower East Side where
he studied prior to coming to Yeshiva and learning
with the Rav zt’l. He served as the conscience of
the faculties and institutions of which he was part.
He would unfailingly attend, with his beloved
directors Jason Jacobowitz, Zev Hymowitz, Cy
Shavrick, and Norman Tokayer.
Rabbi Cohen offered the services of his con-
gregation, Beth David, and the services of many
volunteers in that synagogue to provide housing
and meals for the hundred teenagers who came
from North and South New England for a weekend
of fun, good Shabbat spirit, and the opportunity to
learn about the beauty of Judaism.
Understand that these teens were public school
students whose parents happened to belong to
synagogues whose rabbis were recent musmachim
of Yeshiva University. Rabbis such as William Co-
hen wanted the teenagers of their communities to
be exposed to traditional ways of Jewish life. It was
not easy to convince the leaders of their congrega-
tions to expend the funds to develop such outreach
programs. There were surely many naysayers
among their ranks. I well remember the way Rabbi
Cohen assumed the responsibility of standing firm,
Rebbitzen Chani, the annual Morasha tisch on
Shabbos Chazon. He would always comment, usu-
ally chastising me gently for being too gentle in my
words of mussar.
A brief appreciation of Harav Pesach Oratz can be
found in his very name. He was Rav, a significant
Torah scholar with an unusual breadth of knowl-
edge. He was a master pedagogue, teaching classical
texts in his precious — almost outdated — pro-
nunciation and elucidation.
Pesach. He was a peh sach, a mouthpiece gushing
with Torah insights, halachic opinions and sharp,
often chassidic bon mots. More importantly, he
personified the critical mitzvah of Pesach, transmit-
ting tradition to all types of sons, and daughters.
He instructed the wise, the simple and the ignorant
with equal skill and verve.
Oratz. The Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 5:8) teach-
es that the earth is called eretz because it desired
(ratzesa) to fulfill the will (ratzon) of its Creator.
36
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
together with his colleagues in many other New
England synagogues, to assist the Youth Bureau
with its undertakings. Keep in mind that this was
pre NCSY days.
When I made note recently on the RCA forum
of Rabbi Cohen’s involvement in these pioneer
outreach activities, several members of the RCA
wrote to say that their initial thoughts of becoming
rabbis had been developed through their contacts
with him.
His legacy is surely well secured in the annals of
American Orthodoxy.
Yehi zichro baruch. n
Rabbi Simcha Green is the rabbi of Congregation
Ahabat Torah in San Jose, California.
It was undoubtedly this desire and commitment
to teach Torah that drove him to pursue every
opportunity to do so, even in an advanced age.
As much as his devoted students, who mourn his
passing as a personal loss, loved and looked forward
to his shiurim, his overwhelming, lifelong passion
to educate the next generation was even stronger.
More than the calf desires to suck; the cow desires
to suckle (Pesachim 112a).
The name Harav Pesach Oratz represents a Torah
teacher with a burning desire to transmit the meso-
rah to all who would listen. May we all be inspired
to learn from his example and may his name, and
what it represents, live on in the hearts and minds
of his family and his numerous disciples. n
Rabbi Mordechai Willig, a Rosh Yeshiva in RIETS, is
the Rabbi Dr. Sol Roth Professor of Talmud and Con-
temporary Halachah, and Rosh Kollel of the Wexner
Kollel Elyon.
Lifecycles
Publications
Rabbi Hayyim Angel ’95R on the
publication of Through an Opaque
Lens (Sephardic Publication Founda-
tion: 2006) and Revealed Texts,
Hidden Meanings (Ktav: 2009)
Rabbi Yitzchak Blau ’94R on the
publication of his new book, Fresh
Fruit & Vintage Wine: Ethics and Wis-
dom of the Aggada (Ou Press 2009).
Rabbi Michael Chernick PhD ’70R
recently published a book titled, A
Great Voice That Did Not Cease (HUC
Press, 2009).
Rabbi Gad Dishi ’95R on the publi-
cation of his new book: Jacob’s Fam-
ily Dynamics - Climbing the Rungs of
the Ladder by Devora Publishing.
Rabbi Dr. Yitzchak Meir Goodman
D.Ed ’54R has published his 5-vol-
ume commentary on Chumash Great
Torah Lights (Devorah Pub.).
Rabbi Francis Nataf ’88R on the
publication of his new book Redeem-
ing Relevance in the Book of Exodus.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg ’74R
has written a new book, Handbook
for the Jewish Mourner published by
BEHR Publishing House, Inc.
Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran ’78R on the
second edition release of his book,
Sometimes You ARE What You Wear!
An Argument for Tzniut - Modesty.
Rabbi Jonathan Schwartz PsyD ’99R
on the publication of his book, Teshuva
from Fear or Fear of Teshuva?? an
interesting book and approach to a
prevalent problem (OCD).
Rabbi Charles Sheer ’67R published
a monograph entitled Bikur Holim:
the Origin of Jewish Pastoral Care.
It can be downloaded from www.
healthcarechaplaincy.org by scrolling
to the bottom of the home page to
“New Scholarship Project.”
Rabbi Dr. Joseph Sungolowsky ’58R
on the publication of a chapter
entitled André Neher (1918-1988)
et Erets Israël in La Pensée juive
contemporaine (Editions Parole et Si-
lence), 2008, and an article entitled
Rabbi Joseph Sinzheim, President
of Napoleon’s Sanhedrin and First
Chief Rabbi of France in Midstream,
Winter 2009.
Mazal Tov
Rabbi Eddie ’73R and Miriam
(Krimsky) Abramson on the birth
of a grandson, born to Dr. Stephen
and Dorona Reingold; on the birth
of a granddaughter, born to Dov and
Sarit Abramson; and on the marriage
of their son Elie to Hila Shemesh of
Hadera.
Rabbi Hayyim Angel ’95R on his
marriage to Maxine Siegel.
Rabbi Shael Bellows ’64R on the
birth of a granddaughter, Elizabeth
Georgie (Batya Orly), born to Moshe
and Dahlia Bellows.
Rabbi Ezra ’02R and Arielle
Berenholz on the birth of a daughter,
Sora Nechama.
Rabbi Gur ’00R and Dr. Ira Berman
on the birth of a daughter, Liba
Tziporah.
Rabbi Avi ’08R and Anna Billet on
the birth of a son, Yonatan Michael,
and to grandparents, Rabbi Heshie
’74R and Rookie Billet.
Rabbi Akiva ’10R and Debbie Block
on the birth of a son, Micha Eliezer,
and to grandparents Rabbi Robert
’76R and Beile Block.
Rabbi Jesse ’08R and Chanie
Boiangiu on the birth of a daughter,
Tikva Ora.
RIETS Student Yitchak and Adina
Brand on the birth of a son,
Mordechai Pinchas.
Rabbi Baruch Dov ‘10R and
Nechama Braun on the birth of son,
Menachem.
RIETS Administrator Rabbi Chaim
’72R and Brenda Bronstein and
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel
and Chasidah Reichman on the
marriage of their children, Yosef
Bronstein to Batya Reichman.
Rabbi Meier ’70R and Helen
Brueckheimer on the birth of a
grandson, Yissachar Shalom, born
to Aryeh and Orit Brueckheimer of
Beitar.
RIETS Dean Emeritus Rabbi Zevulun
Charlop ’54R on being presented
with the Rav Moshe Tzvi Neriya
Lifetime Educational Achievement
Award at the American Friends
of Yeshivat Bnei Akiva’s 31st
Anniversary Dinner.
Rabbi Joshua ’58R and Adele
Cheifetz on the birth of their second
great grandchild, Zvi Mordecai son of
Ziporah and Chaim Y. Isaac.
37
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Rabbi Abraham ’74R and Rosalyn
Cooper on the birth of a grandson to
their children, Rabbi Binyomin and
Shlomit Wolff.
RIETS Student Adam Dubin on his
marriage to Shoshana Nusbacher
of West Hempstead, NY. Another
YUConnects shidduch!
Rabbi Joseph ’49R and Sandra
Ehrenkranz on marriage of their
granddaughter Leba Ehrenkranz, to
Nossi Friedman.
RIETS Student Yaakov and Meira
Ehrenkrantz on the birth of a son,
Shmuel Mordechai.
Rabbi Yaacov ’96R and Ariella
(Hain) Ellish on the birth of a son,
Zalman Yosef Shalom.
Rabbi Gedalyah ’44R and Marilyn
Engel ’44R on the recent celebration
of Rabbi Engel’s 90th birthday in
August 2009; and on being honored
this past Spring when the Greater
Lafayette Holocaust Remembrance
Committee named their opening
plenary lecture of its annual
Conference The Rabbi Gedalyah
Engel Lecture.
Rabbi David ’06R and Hadassah
Feinberg on the birth of a daughter,
Ahuvah Sarah.
Rabbi Josh (Eliezer) ’01R and
Lauren Aviva Friedman on the birth
of a son, Reuven.
Rabbi Lippy ’69R and Dr. Maureen
Friedman and Rabbi Yisrael ’73 and
Naomi Lifshitz on the birth of their
grandson Avraham Yitzchok, born to
Tirtza and Yaakov Lifshitz.
Rabbi Zvi ’81R and Tobi Friedman
of Ramat Beit Shemesh on the
birth of a grandson born to their
children Eliav and Aviva Friedman
of Ramat Beit Shemesh and on the
birth of a grandson to their children
Gavriel and Tamara Friedman of
Yerushalayim.
RIETS Student Reuven and Michal
Garrett on the birth of a son, Itamar
Klonymous.
RIETS Student Aryeh and Hadassah
Gielchinsky on the birth of a
daughter, Miriam Esther.
Rabbi Yaakov ’01R and Ruth
Glasser on the birth of a daughter,
Meira Shulamis.
Rabbi Ephraim ’09R and Chana
Glatt on the birth of a daughter,
Shoshana Reva.
RIETS Student Rabbi Moshe
Goldfeder on his marriage to Sigalit
Glaser of Staten Island, NY.
Rabbi Shmuel ’76R and Barbara
Goldin on the marriage of their son
Yehuda to Noa Leibowitz.
Rabbi Uri and Julie Goldstein ’05R
on the birth of a daughter, Lielle
Shachar.
Rabbi Eric Goldman ‘07 on his
marriage to Leora Schayer.
Rabbi Dovid ‘01R and Ilana Gottlieb
on their daughter Eliana becoming a
Bat Mitzvah.
Rabbi Jonathan ’04R and Miriam
Gross on being honored with the
Akko Young Leadership Award at the
American Friends of Yeshivat Bnei
Akiva’s 31st Anniversary Dinner.
Rabbi Chananel ‘94R and Sarah
Herbsman on their son Naphtali
becoming a Bar Mitzvah.
Rabbi Dr. Simcha ’06R and Karen
Herrmann on the birth of a son,
Yonah Shlomo.
Rabbi Isaiah ’55R and Irene Sara
Hertzberg upon the marriage of their
granddaughter, Ariella Shifra Bram to
Aryeh Rosenbaum.
Rabbi Yehuda ’72R and Chani
Hilewitz on the birth of a grandson,
Tzvi, to their children in Israel, Chaim
and Mindy Hilewitz. And also on the
birth of a grandson, Eliezer Alter,
to Drs. Mindy Levine and Yedidya
Hilewitz in Boston.
Rabbi Carmi ’71R and Sara
Horowitz on the birth of a grandson,
Ray’i Betzalel, to their children Rabbi
Yoel and Orli Manovitz of Hispin.
Rabbi Leib ’06R and Tzirel Irons on
the birth of a son, Mordechai.
Rabbi Ari ’97R and Suzy Israel on
the birth of a son, Shmuel Akiva; and
on their daughter Adina becoming a
Bat Mitzvah.
RIETS student Netanel and Rachel
Javasky on the birth of twins, Shira
Sarah and Azriel Zev.
Rabbi Joseph ’45R and Pepa
Karasick on their great-grandson,
Elly Lipner, becoming a Bar Mitzvah.
RIETS Student Ari and Bashie
Kellerman on the birth of a son,
Amitai Tzvi.
Rabbi Jay ’85R and Ilana Kelman
on their son Elisha becoming a Bar
Mitzvah.
Rabbi Avi Kilimnick ’08R on his
marriage to Esti Yekutiel, of Los
Angeles, CA.
Lifecycles
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Eliakim
‘92R and Dr. Tova Koenigsberg on
their daughter Sara becoming a Bat
Mitzvah.
Rabbi Meyer Kramer, on his
grandson Zecharya Danziger’s
marraige to Nechamah Pressman.
Rabbi Dovid ’93R and Bonnie
Kupchik on their son Alex becoming
a Bar Mitzvah.
RIETS Student Darren Levin on his
marriage to Avital Nyer of Monsey,
NY. A YUConnects Shidduch!
Rabbi Elchanan ’76R and Ruth
Lipshitz on the birth of their first
granddaughter, Tal Meitav, to their
children Batya and Yonatan Kolitz of
Yerushalayim.
Rabbi Marc ’88R and Jacqueline
(Klausner) Mandel who are the
honorees for their shul at the
Tiferet Award Banquet, Beth Jacob
Congregation in Beverly Hills.
Rabbi Saul (Shalom) ’73R and
Malka Mashbaum on the birth of
a grandson Itiel Yeshaya, born to
Yechezkel and Sara Levy.
Rabbi Philip ’10R and Arielle
Moskowitz on the birth of a
daughter, Shayna Rivka.
Rabbi David “Duvie” ’05R and
Jenny Nachbar on the birth of a son,
Yedidya Yisrael.
Rabbi Moshe ’75R and Vivian Neiss
on the birth of a grandson, Yehoshua
Yitzchok a.k.a. Joshua Ethan, to their
children, Jeremy and Alison Neiss.
And to great-grandfather, Rabbi
Edmund Neiss ’48R.
Rabbi Meir ’90R and Esther
(Koenigsberg) Orlian on their
daughter Shoshana becoming a
Bat Mitzvah.
Rabbi Ari ’00R and Meira Perl on
the birth of a son, Yekutiel Binyamin.
Rabbi Tzvi ’97R and Shifra Pittinsky
on the birth of a daughter, Meira
Tovah.
Rabbi Gary ’68R and Ann Pollack
on the birth of a grandson, Yisroel,
to their children Yekutiel and Dubby
Balter.
Rabbi Adir ’06R and Hindy Posy on
the birth of a son, Eitan Aryeh.
Rabbi Jonathan ’06R and Nechama
Price on the birth of a daughter,
Ariella Ahuva.
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky ‘06R on his
marriage to Jessica Abramowitz from
Chicago.
Rabbi Asher ’78R and Rashie
(Fishman) Reichert on the birth of a
grandson, Yisrael Moshe.
Rabbi Zevi ’02R and Chana
Reichman on the birth of a daughter,
Meira Liba, a granddaughter for
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Herschel
and Chasida Reichman.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Herschel
and Chasida Reichman on the birth
of a grandson, Alexander Yehuda, to
their children, Yehoshua and Tzippi
Klaver.
Rabbi Shaya and Susie Richmond
on the birth of a grandson to their
children Tziporah and Shalom.
Max and Marion Grill Dean of RIETS
Rabbi Yona ’91R and Mindy Reiss
on the birth of a daughter, Ayelet
Chana.
Rabbi Robert I. Rhodes ’88R on
his son, Baruch, passing a bechina
on bedika with Dayan Eisenberg
in Jerusalem. He is now a certified
bodek and will continue learning at
Yeshiva Shalom Rav in Tzsfat.
Rabbi Avi ’09R and Daniella
(Halstuch) Robinson on the birth of
a daughter, Chaya Shaindel.
Rabbi Jordan Rosenberg ‘10R
on his marriage to Lauren Rachel
Hedvat of Deal, NJ.
Rabbi Dr. Joel ’58R and Joan
Rosenshein on the birth of a great
granddaughter, Chana Brocha, born
to Mattis and Shana Gittel Cohen.
Rabbi Dr. Bernard ’50R and Miriam
Rosensweig on the marriage of their
grandson Yedidya, son of Dr. Joshua
and Aviva Rosensweig, to Ilanit
Levitan from Raanana. And also on
their grandson, Moshe Gavriel, son
of Judah and Debbie Rosensweig,
becoming a Bar Mitzvah,
Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael ’80R
and Smadar Rosensweig on the
marriage of their daughter, Moriah,
granddaughter of Rabbi Bernard
’50R and Miriam Rosesweig, to
David Weiss from Lawrence, NY.
Rabbi Joshua ’91R and Daniella
Rudoff on the birth of a son, Ariel
Tzefanya.
38
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Rabbi Akiva ’98R and Rachel
Sacknovitz on their son Ariel
becoming a Bar Mitzvah, and to
grandparents Rabbi Chaim ’68R and
Esther Sacknovitz.
Rabbi Chaim ’68R and Esther
Sacknovitz on the birth of a
granddaughter, Talya Nisa, to Ilana
and Ami Plaksin.
Rabbi Benjamin ’60R and Lisa
Samson on the birth of a grandson,
Yaakov Boruch, born to Gila and Zev
Gensler.
Rabbi Yehuda ’06R and Michelle
Sarna on the birth of a son, Avraham
David Levy.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel
’67R and Shoshanah Schachter on
the birth of a grandson to Eli and
Shevy Rosner.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel
’67R and Shoshana Schachter on
the marriage of their son Shay to
Rina Kanner from Lawrence, NY.
Rabbi Dr. Elihu ’57R and Freida
Schatz on the birth of their fourth
great-grandchild, Elichay, to Chaya
and Eliran Shilian of Chashmonaim;
and on the birth of their 46th
grandchild, Yael, to Devorah and Uri
Harel of Petah Tikvah.
Rabbi Ezra and Dr. Rivka (Press)
Schwartz on the birth of a daughter,
Rina.
RIETS Student Yosef and Becky
(Schechter) Schwartz on the birth of
a son, Yakir.
Rabbi Ronald ’83R and Judy
Schwarzberg on the marriage of
their daughter Aviva to Phillip Reich
of Edison, NJ.
Rabbi Label ’79R and Debbie
Sharfman on the birth of a grandson,
Avraham Shalom, to Avigayil and Yitzi
Ackerman.
Rabbi Charles ’67R and Judith
Sheer on the birth of a grandson,
Nadav Yosef to Rachel and Avi
Abelow, of Efrat, Israel.
Rabbi Gideon ’97R and Bonnie
Shloush on the birth of a daughter,
Talia Devora.
Rabbi Yitzchak ’56R and Fay
Sladowsky on the birth of a great
grandson to their grandchildren,
Deeny & Ephraim Stern in
Yerushalayim.
RIETS Student Aron Srolovitz on
his marriage to Shifra Hoffman of
Hillside, NJ.
Rabbi Yitzhak Szyf ’07R on his
marriage to Bonnie Gewanter of
Baltimore, MD.
Rabbi Etan ’95R and Esther Tokayer
on the birth of a son, Moshe Hillel.
Rabbi Kalman ’97R and Jordana
Topp on the birth of a son, Aryeh
Ephraim.
Rabbi Neal ’83R and Laura Turk
on the birth of a grandson, Shmuel
Yehuda, to Yitzy and Talia Turk.
Rabbi Dr. Eli ’69R and Geraldine
Turkel of Raanana on the Bar-
Mitzvah of their grandson Elichai
Yisroel, son of Chaim Turkel of
Revava.
RIETS Student Mordy and Atara
Turoff on the birth of a daughter.
Rabbi Martin and Anna van den
Bergh on the marriage of their son.
Rabbi Ira ’10R and Batsheva
Wallach on the birth of twins - a boy
and a girl.
Rabbi Josh ’06R and Racheli
Waxman on the birth of a son,
Eitan Shlomo, a grandson for Rabbi
Eduard “Eddie” ’73R and Sandy
Mittelman and Rabbi Zishe ’72R
and Lorri Waxman.
Rabbi Elie ’02R and Naama
Weinstock on receiving the Leslie
Nelkin Special Service Award at the
annual NJOP Dinner.
Rabbi Nathan and Leah Weiss on
the birth of a great grandson.
Rabbi Yaakov ’06R and Ilana Weiss
on the birth of a daughter, Naama
Chana.
Rabbi Naphtali “Tuly” ’06R and
Abigail Weisz on the birth of a son,
Dovid.
Rabbi Netanel ’06R and Sara
Wiederblank on the birth of a
daughter, Ahuva Rivkah.
Rabbi David ’06R and Rachel
Wilensky on the birth of a son,
Moshe Yosef.
Rabbi Mordechai ’71R and Faygie
Willig on the birth of a grandson,
Yaakov Aaron, to their children Rabbi
Moshe and Shevy Wililg.
Lifecycles
Rabbi Mordechai ’71R and Faygie
Willig on the birth of a grandson,
Yaakov Aaron, to their children Rabbi
Eliyahu and Adina Wolf.
Rabbi Howard ’77R and
Annette Wolk on the birth of a
granddaughter, Avigayil, to Michal
and Eric Olshan.
Rabbi Howard ’77R and Annette
Wolk on the marriage of their
daughter, Talia, to Gavi Volk, son of
Sharon & Jerry Volk.
Rabbi David ’08R and Sarah Zahtz
on birth of a son, Shmuel.
Rabbi Ephraim ’61R and Esther
(Cohen) Zimand of Jerusalem on
their 50th wedding anniversary.
Rabbi Benjamin ’05R and Alisa
Zimmerman on the birth of a
son, Aharon Aryeh, and to the
grandparents Rabbi Danny ’73R and
Tova Rhein of Efrat.
RIETS Student Dovid Zirkind on his
marriage to Ariella Herst.
Rabbi Michoel ’03R and Rachel
Zylberman on the birth of a son,
Shalom Meir.
Condolences
Rabbi Dr. Charles Bahn ’54R on the
loss of his brother, Dr. Arthur Bahn,
husband of Barbara and brother
of Dr. Saul Bahn, DDS and Celia
Goldman.
Rabbi David Blum ’01R on the loss
of his mother, Mrs. Sheila Blum, wife
of Zalman Blum.
Channah Broyde, wife of our chaver,
Rabbi Michael Broyde ’93R, on the
loss of her mother, Penina Sageev.
The Chait Family on the loss of
Rabbi Moshe (Morris) D. Chait, Rosh
Yeshivat Chofetz Chaim in Jerusalem
and former instructor in the James
Striar School.
Rabbi Joshua Cheifetz ’58R on the
loss of his mother, Esther Cheifetz,
mother also of Ralph Cheifetz.
Alizah, Zephyr, Eli, Iris, and Herschel
Chomsky on the passing of their
father, Rabbi Aaron Chomsky ’51R.
Rabbi Matthew Clark ’56R on the
loss of his sister, Esther Clark Susser.
Sylvia Harbater Cohen on the loss of
her husband, Rabbi William Cohen
’43R, father of David Cohen and
Devra Solonche; and step-father of
David Harbater.
Rabbi Joel ’55R and Jaelene
Danishefsky on the loss of their
daughter, Shele Covlin, mother of
Anna and Myles; sister of Frederic J.
Danishefsky, Eve Karstadt and Philip
Danishefsky.
Susan Dworken, wife of our late
chaver, Rabbi Steven Dworken
z”l ’70R, on the loss of her father,
Joseph Haberman.
Rabbi Neil Fleischmann ’92 on
the loss of his mother, Mrs. Phyllis
Fleischmann.
Rabbi Emanuel “Pinchas” Frankel
’71R and his wife, Miriam, on the
loss of their son, Baruch Frankel M.D,
brother of Shira and Shimon.
Raquel Goldstein of London and
Isaac (and Tova) Gaon of Toronto and
the entire Gaon family on the loss of
their mother, Regina Gaon, the wife
of the late revered Haham, Rabbi
Solomon Gaon zt”l.
Dr. Liela Goldman on the loss
of her husband, Rabbi Dr. Jack
Goldman ’58R, father of Aliza Ora
Goldman, Gershon (Sheila) Goldman,
Akiva (Amelia) Goldman, and Ezra
(Jennifer) Goldman. Rabbi Dr.
Goldman was niftar on October 25th.
Nava Greenfield on the loss of her
husband, Rabbi Moshe Greenfield
’56R on November 20, 2009.
Rabbi Rafael Grossman and Rabbi
Abraham Grossman on the loss
of their sister, Rebbetzin Bella
Greenberg, wife of the late Rabbi
Meyer Greenberg z”l, and mother
of Sterna Lerman, Rabbi Heschel
(Lea) Greenberg, Chasha (Rabbi
Yosef) Samuels, Rabbi Yosef (Dobra)
Greenberg and Rabbi Mendel (Suri)
Greenberg.
39
C h avr u sa • A dar 57 7 0
Mrs. Sharla Insel, on the loss of her
husband, Rabbi Abraham Insel
’45R, father of Chavie (and Rabbi
Shmuel) Bernson, Rabbi Reuven
(and Sima) Insel, Frada Mark, Sheva
and (Rabbi Moshe) Turk and Mati
(and Aaron) Friedman.
Rabbi Marc Jablon ’75R on the loss
of his father, Herbert Jablon.
The University of Washington Hillel
and Community on the loss of their
former Director of 30+ years, Rabbi
Arthur Anshel Jacobovitz ’55R.
Rabbi Isaiah “Shaya” Koenigsberg
’69R on the loss of his sister, Dr.
Natanli “Neshi” Sterman, wife of
Lavee Sterman and also sister of Dr.
Mordecai Koenigsberg, and mother
of Mr. Shuli Sterman and Rochel
Sterman.
Rabbi Lowell Kronick ’70R on the
loss of his wife, Faye Kronick, mother
of Ann Michelle Eisenstein.
RIETS Student David and Talya
(Ladell) Berger on the loss of Talya’s
brother, Donny Ladell, son of Dr.
Eliyahu Shalom and Miriam Kayla
Ladell.
Dr. David ’71R and Vivian Luchins,
on the loss of Vivian’s father,
Benjamin Osdoby, husband of Ida
and father of Janice.
Rabbi Fred Nebel ’87R on the loss
of his mother, Ida Nebel.
Vivian, wife of Rabbi Moshe Neiss
’75R, on the loss of her father, Henry
Wimpfheimer.
Carole Roth and Debora (and Dr.
Elliot) Grossman on the loss of their
father, Rabbi Israel Nobel ’42R,
grandfather of Rabbi Jonathan
Grossman ’09R.
Rabbi Sholom Weiss and Mrs. Chani
Plotkin on the loss of their father,
Rabbi Arthur Weiss ’43R, brother of
Mrs. Ruth Grossman.
Rabbi Baruch Price ’01R on the loss
of his mother, Mrs. Leona Price, in
South Africa.
The entire Propp family on the loss
of Eugenie Propp, wife of the late
Mortimer Propp z”l and sister-in-law
of his brothers Ephraim (and Gail)
and the late Seymour, and his wife
Gabrielle Propp.
Rabbi Hyam ’55R and Carol
Reichel, on the loss of their
daughter, Suri, wife of Heshy Granek,
the niece of our chaveirim, Rabbi
O. Asher Reichel ’44R and Rabbi
Solomon Reichel ’49R, and the
sister of our chaver, Rabbi Dr.
Mordechai Michael Reichel ’77R
and Ita Reichel Stahler, Benjamin
Reichel and Samuel Reichel.
Shirley Rosenblatt on the loss of her
husband, Rabbi Morris Rosenblatt
’47R on September 20, 2008.
Rabbi Michael Ross ’72R on the
loss of his father, Joseph Ross,
grandfather of Rabbi Aaron Ross
’06R.
Martha Saffra on the loss of her
husband, Rabbi Rafael Saffra ’62R,
father of David, Dr. Norman and
Naomi Saffra.
Laya Scholar on the loss of her
husband, Rabbi Aaron Scholar ’78R.
Rabbi Raphael Schwartz ’83R on
the loss of his mother, Beatrice
Schwartz.
Rabbi Fivel Smiles ’90R on the
loss of his father, Avraham Yeshaya
Smiles.
Rabbi Dr. Shimon Solnica ’97R on
the loss of his father Rabbi Hershel
Solnica.
Rabbi Matt Tropp ’84R on the loss
of his brother, James Tropp, husband
of Miriam, son of Dorothy, and father
of Riva, Chana and Joseph.
Francine Vogel on the loss of her
husband Rabbi Harold Vogel ’50R
on September 15, 2009.
Rabbi David Warshaw ’74R on the
loss of his mother, Hermia Warshaw.