During one bein hazmanim intersession, Rav Aharon had the opportunity to speak in learning with Rav Meir Simchah of Dvinsk (the Ohr Sameach), who was taken with Rav Aharon and implored his teachers, Take care of young Aharon, he has potential to emerge as a Rabbi Akiva Eiger of the generation.. For more than 20 years prior to his arrival in America, Rav Aharon Kotler was one of the leaders of Torah Jewry in Europe, standing alongside fellow gedolim a generation older than he. Once again, the timeless words of Shlomo Hamelech, The sun rises and the sun sets, played out. He saw in the case of the Gaon a genuine Divine revelation. Rav Aharon Kotler is the Rosh Hayeshivah there. Kotler was born Aharon Pines in visa, Russian Empire (historically Lithuania, now Belarus) in 1892.He was orphaned at the age of 10 and adopted by his uncle, Yitzchak Pines, a rabbinic judge in Minsk. Rav Mendel Krawiec, later rosh yeshivah of RJJ, recalled arriving for his entrance exam in Rav Aharons home in Kletzk: The three-room apartment was sparsely furnished and was packed with yeshivah students who had come for their daily meal. The first months of Rav Aharons stay in Slabodka featured successive visits from great rabbinical leaders. Look no further than the recent display of kavod haTorah that took place at the Adirei HaTorah event at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, where a phalanx of modern-day Zevuluns packed the rafters for a chance to pay tribute to the thousands of Yissachars on tiers below them who were the evenings guests of honor. Rav Aharon successfully crossed the border into Poland and attempted to reestablish the yeshivah less than 40 miles away in Kletzk. Rav Aharon Kotler was one of the very few Torah giants who contributed mightily to the transformation of the face of American Jewry in the middle of the twentieth century from one of Torah ignorance and mourning over the Holocaust to significant progress in Torah knowledge and partial recovery from the tragedy of the Holocaust. At first, he was reluctant, claiming that it was a resort where people came for pleasure and vanity, and not fit for a spiritual center. They came with a value of avodahtefillah. Thousands of yungeleit sit and learn all day with hasmadah and zeal championed by supporters, fellow bnei Torah who vie for the opportunity to contribute eye-popping sums to their heroes. All water, he said with excitement. Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l came to America from Europe in 1942, bringing with him an unprecedented level of Torah learning, a pure and uncompromising dedication to Torah, and a Torah that was. His heart pulsed with joy as 25,000 strong rejoiced in lockstep. Mrs. Golding also founded the yeshivahs sisterhood, galvanizing local women to support young men dedicated to Torah learning. As is traditional in chassidic circles, the Gerrer Rebbe offered the little boy an apple, which he declined saying he wasnt hungry. Kotler was born Aharon Pines[1][2] in visa, Russian Empire (historically Lithuania, now Belarus) in 1892. Without hesitating, Rav Aharon announced, Why dont we go study at the other yeshivah in town, (Knesses Beis Yitzchak)?. Her condition had her spending a considerable amount of time in Atlantic City, but when in 1906 one of the hotels she frequented refused to accommodate her niece, telling her that Jews were not desired as guests, she decided to make Lakewood her preferred destination. Zeh hakatan gadol yihyeh, the mohelannounced. Something like I would imagine the Chasam Sofer and Rav Akiva Eiger spoke. Did you ever see the Rosh Yeshivahs photograph? He encouraged quick action, as he was concerned that the universal impression left by the Chofetz Chaims passing would quickly dissipate. The Rosh Yeshivah responded, ich kler, efsher iz dos atzlus Im thinking, maybe its just laziness!, At the wedding of Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski. Rabbi Shaul Robinson shared a powerful story that he heard from a congregant describing Rav Aharons deep appreciation for Torah supporters. Nothing could stand in the way of Rav Aharons lifelong pursuit of truth. The Jewish community of Lakewood invited the Rebbe to explore the possibilities of establishing his court there and hosted him for three months in the spring of 1940. He had just a handful of students at first, but he knew the yeshivah would grow. Shortly thereafter, he introduced himself to Rav Aharon. November 29, 1962 - Kislev 2 5723 Anyone with biographical information is asked to please send it in. Rav Aharon and Rav Shlomo Heiman in Camp Mesivta.Following Rav Shlomos sudden passing in 1944, Rav Aharon volunteered to fill in and say his shiur during the week. (Rav Shneurs full name was actually Yosef Chaim Shneur. The activities of the Vaad did not cease with the end of the war, because there were still Jews in Europe who desperately needed help. Still short of $10,000, he personally borrowed the funds. Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l (1892-1962) was one of the predominant Torah leaders of his time, in pre-war Europe as the rosh yeshiva of Kletsk, Poland, as the leader of the Vaad Hatzolah during the Second World War, and as the founder and rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash Govoah in Lakewood, New Jersey. All these Yidden wanted to save the yeshivah money, or to expedite the construction so that the building would be completed even faster but most of all, everyone wanted some portion in this effort. Rabbi Alter Pekier continues: Many rabbis and Jewish leaders from various Lithuanian towns came to Vilna to take leave of Rav Aharon. Uplifting and filled with achrayus. So why does the rosh yeshivah attend these meetings? the driver asked. He probably couldnt. In the highly politicized atmosphere of interwar Polish Jewry, education like every other facet of communal life generally operated within a political affiliation with a specific party and political platform. Almost as quickly as hed been interrupted, Rav Leizer shot back, Du ploiderst vi a shaigetz! Daughter of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rosh Yeshivas Kletzk & Lakewood and Rebbetzin Chana Perl Kotler Ex-wife of Rabbi Dov Ber Schwartzman Mother of Private; . It is being maintained largely through the efforts of a limited number of people. Well, I dont sell cigarettes after chatzos on Erev Shabbos, the man said. This group, known as the Yad Hachazakah, included future Torah leaders such as his son Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, his son-in-law Rav Yehuda Leib Plachinsky, Rav Reuven Katz, Rav Alter Shmuelevitz, Rav Pesach Pruskin, Rav Moshe Yom Tov Wachtfogel, and Rav Yosef Konvitz. Rav Aharon contacted Irving Bunim and made plans to petition government officials in Washington to prevent this. Legend has it, as believed by many in the "yeshivishe" world, that the curse began with Joe Kennedy. Hashem gave him certain strengths and abilities and when one sees results, one cannot let anything stand in the way, and must do whatever is possible to uphold the generation and fight for Yiddishkeit. He named it Anaf (branch of) Etz Chaim after his alma mater of Volozhin. This former Union army veteran whose obituary claims that he had done more to benefit Lakewood than any other man was not, in fact, interested in nurturing religious life. When the Frank family heard that Rav Archik was the leading candidate for rosh yeshivah, they vehemently protested. Around the same time, Rav Hillel Bishko came to Lakewood on a fundraising trip for the kollel and delivered a rousing speech, alluding to what the Nazis were currently doing in Europe, dramatically saying, Dear Friends, I am here to invite you to the funeral and burial of Torah.. Subsequently, he joined his father-in-law, Isser Zalman Meltzer, to run the yeshiva of Slutsk. There is something within him which compels me to say, as Yosef said about Yehudah, Hes mibeis abba. Something in Rav Aharon speaks as I would imagine my great-grandfather Rav Yoshe Ber Brisker once spoke. She was the tzaddeikes hador. In addition to his spiritual prowess and unusually sharp mind, Rav Zalman Sender was musically talented and composed several niggunim that became mainstays in Lithuanian yeshivos. The emergence of an experienced administrator for the kollel, helped it gain both legitimacy and financial backing for its initial months. Reb Shraga Feivels youngest daughter Devorah Kramer recalled the eulogy delivered by Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spektor, the Kovno Rav, at her fathers levayah. During the course of his 11 months in the United States, Rav Aharon visited locations from Boston to Atlanta, New York to Nebraska. There will never be another like her.. I cant refuse a bona fide talmid chacham!. Slutzk was one of the few yeshivos that didnt endure exile during World War I, and continued to function in its original location under trying conditions of war and the subsequent Bolshevik Revolution and Civil War. Kotler died at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City on November 29, 1962. Along with the influx of revelers came the need for local services and businesses. A handful of these improvised yeshivos became formal institutions and gained some renown, such as the famous Blumkas Kloiz and a yeshivah run by Rav Shlomo Goloventzitz, which served as a feeder for Slabodka. Prior to World War I the student body of the yeshivah had grown to more than 200, and Rav Isser Zalman embarked on a building campaign among Russias Jewish financial elite, culminating in the dedication of a building in 1912. This further deepened the yeshivahs deficit. To those faithful balabatim who answered his call of Torah, Rav Aharon showed deep appreciation. Rav Aharon shared his worldview with Irving Bunim, pointing to American history as proof. John Pehle, Hon. ln keeping with the author's style, it was decided to main tain the usage "the Rosh Ha Yeshiva" throughout the arti c]p when referring to Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Zt''L 22 Yechiel Yitzchok Perr Saam Chayim Memories of the Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Aharon Kotler Among his students were his brilliant son Rav Avrohom Dov Ber Kahana- Shapiro (the Dvar Avraham), Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rav Yecheskel Sarna, Rav Avrohom Yaffen, Rav Isser Yehudah Unterman, and Rav Yehuda Levenberg (later rosh yeshivah of New Haven). Death of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rosh Yeshivas Kletzk & Burial of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rosh Yeshivas Kletzk "Svislovitzer Ilui", "Lakewood Rosh yeshiva", "Reb Aron". Following the shiur, a review was conducted by a gifted student named Pesach Horowitz and later by Shmuel Maslow, the latter of whom it was said would repeat the entire shiur without adding a single explanatory word or comment. Rav Simcha Wasserman, a student of Rav Aharon in Kletzk, had arrived in the US and during this period assisted his rosh yeshivah with rescue activities. In March, 1944 the Nazis invaded Hungary, and the last bastion of Jewish life in Europe came to a tragic end. Rav Leib Rotkin, one of the Kletzkers who survived the war in Siberia and came to Lakewood, recalled that in Europe, Rav Aharon had delivered mussar shmueussen only once a year, on Yom Kippur night. I dont have a proper answer. Local rabbanim occasionally delivered shiurim to the students, but otherwise these improvised yeshivos generally lacked formal structure and authority. A rapid Sovietization of Lithuania ensued. We talk to a rabbi about why, and what it means. Rebbetzin Baila Hindas father was Reb Shraga Feivel Frank, a student and devoted supporter of Rav Yisroel Salanter. Rav Shneur Zalman, the third son of Rav Moshe Pines, was born during the reign of Czar Nicholas I, when the dreaded Cantonist laws were in effect. Without total submission to Torah learning, he said, without fundamental lomdus, toil and perseverance, Torah cannot takeroot in the individuals soul, cannot change hisbeing or essence. One of the Torah giants of his time, Rav Zalman Sender was a great-grandson of Rav Chaim Volozhiner through his daughter Relkehs second marriage. I was four or five or six years old. The main attraction in Lakewood remained its hotels, which by then numbered more than 100, many of which catered primarily to Jewish patrons. These factors made him more amenable to the idea of traveling to the United States on his own, sensing that he could perhaps facilitate the exit of the yeshivah from there, and expedite the process by breathing new life into rescue work. Another geopolitical development presented a surprising ray of hope. In this regard, Rav Aharon even disputed the position maintained by his own father-in-law. Come Shabbos, Rav Aharon would move into the yeshivah, sleeping in the dorm and eating all the Shabbos meals with his beloved talmidim, then personally thanking the cook for the delicious meals. In the 1890s, the Hafetz Hayim had published an entire book to deter Jews from jour The outbreak of World War II in Europe sent dozens of North American yeshivah students fleeing back home. Take the Friday night train. The stunned students reluctantly obliged, and following a hasty kiddush in the train station, boarded the Vilna-bound train and arrived there Shabbos morning. Rav Aharon treated Rebbitzen Rischel with the greatest love and sensitivity. I could not break out of what sounded to me like a harangue against secular study. Rav Aharon told him, Your children will not have to worry. Today his children and grandchildren are major supporters of Torah. One student of Rav Aharon related how he was berated by a venerated chassidic leader over his choice to study in Lakewood.
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