Jewish History Soundbites

The Chafetz Chaim influenced the Jewish People in many ways, among them through his Yeshiva in Radin and through the many popular books which he authored. Through his Yeshiva he influenced generations of students, while hiring a staff of Roshei Yeshiva par excellence. Rav Moshe Londinski, Rav Naftali Trop, Rav Yerucham Levovitz, the Chafetz Chaim's own sons in law Rav Hirsh Levinson and Rav Mendel Zaks, to mention a few. Though the Yeshiva experience a bit of downturn with passing of the old generation, the name lived on in other Yeshivas founded to carry his memory.

The Mishna Berura was the Chafetz Chaim's famous work, which had an impact on halacha across the Jewish world and increased in influence over time. The impetus of his writing was to fill a need and reflected on the great responsibility he felt towards his people. Such was his work Machaneh Yisrael geared towards Jewish soldiers in the Czar's army. Nidchei Yisroel was a companion for the Jewish immigrant, while other pamphlets were geared towards Jewish women.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Facing the various challenges presented by modern times, education for girls loomed as a viable solution. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch promulgated traditional education for Jewish women early on in his career, and later implemented it in his Realschule in Frankfurt in 1853. Formal Torah education for girls was thus a reality and could be copied by other communities facing similar challenges.

The Chafetz Chaim decried the state of traditional Jewish life in many of his writings, and declared that Torah education for girls is imperative at this juncture of history in light of the challenges of modernity. 

The context of the time saw much reformation of the Jewish educational system in general and in regards to girls in particular. With the rise of the Cheder Metukan in the Russian Empire, many of these new schools opened their doors to girls as well. This was followed a generation later by the Zionist Tarbut schools and the Yiddishist Tzisha schools, both of which included girls within their educational system. In addition to public schools, by this time girls education was happening everywhere. It was only a matter of time that it would spread further.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

With the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two, here is a return to the story that Jews played in winning the war. The Ritchie Boys were a group of German speaking Americans, of whom some were recent German Jewish refugees, recruited by the US military. They were needed for their language skills, translations, interrogations and some espionage too.

Following the D-Day invasion, the Ritchie Boys were attached to front line units where they interrogated recently captured German soldiers. The information obtained was used on the battlefield, defining strategy and saving lives.

With their return to their native Germany, they participated in the liberation of concentration camps while confronting the knowledge that their own close relatives had been among the victims. The feeling that their contribution to the war effort had made a significant difference to the outcome, was in a certain way a sense of closure and even triumph.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

The Mountains, the Catskills, the Borscht Belt, upstate, the country. Monticello, Liberty, Woodridge, Swan Lake, Woodbourne, Fallsburg. A place of many names with one thing in common: a place rich in Jewish history and lore.

As a summer destination, the Catskills would be home to countless bungalow colonies as city Jews organized their communities for a mountain air getaway. Generations of children attended the many summer camps that dotted Sullivan County. Camps included Mesivta, Agudah, Munk, HILI, Kol Rinah, Torah Vodaath, Ohr Shraga, Sternberg and many more including the Betar Jewish self defense camp where Vladimir Jabotinsky died in 1940.

It was also famously known as the Borscht Belt, and the legendary hotels/resorts/country clubs like Grossinger's, Kutscher's and the Concord made their mark as vacation sites. Most Jewish comedians of the time commenced their careers there.

In addition to the summer crowd, the Catskills were home to many year round Jewish communities over the years. These towns built shuls, mikvas, hired Rabbis and even Jewish owned farms burgeoned for a time. This included Yeshivas as well such as the Mountaindale Yeshiva of Rav Yehuda Davis and the famous Yeshiva of South Fallsburg.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Rav Yitzchak Yaakov Reines (1839-1915) was a leading rabbinical leader who attempted to confront the challenges of his day with innovative solutions. Seeking to refresh the rabbinate as well save the youth, he incorporated secular studies in the Yeshiva he founded in Shvintzian and later in Lida. Having studied in Volozhin and Aishishok, he embarked on a rabbinic career while promulgating his innovative ideas in learning style, education and even language.

The Yeshiva in Lida was ultimately successful, reaching and enrollment of over 300 under the able leadership of Rav Shlomo Poliachek, the Meitcheter Iluy. Rav Reiness also founded the Mizrachi, the religious Zionist faction of the Zionist movement.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Jewish History Soundbites celebrates our 200th episode with the launch of a new series, about the changes in the roles of traditional Jewish women and women's education in modern Jewish history.

 

The 19th century brought sweeping changes to the world in general and to the Jewish population in particular. By the end of the century, Jews in most countries had achieved emancipation. Even in places like the Russian Empire where they hadn't yet, the winds of change were still blowing.

Though this affected all facets of Jewish life and community, it is with regard to the status and the future of the Jewish woman that is the focus of our story. With new opportunities in education and society, many Jewish women began to struggle with the traditional gender roles within Jewish society. Many chose to leave traditional Jewish life altogether.

At the rabbinical conference in Krakow in 1903, the challenges facing Jewish women were hotly debated, as Jewish education for girls was proposed as a possible solution. In the meantime, Jewish feminism was on the rise as Bertha Pappenheim challenged norms and demanded change. It was a time of upheaval for all, and the Jewish woman was no exception.

 

Jewish History Soundbites would like to welcome a new sponsor:

  Gingerbread: Miniatures and Cakes personalized for all occasions. Located in the 5 Towns. Check them out at https://instagram.com/gb_gingerbread_?igshid=168n5nnv8yzv8
or call/txt: 917-596-3474  

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

With Sadigura in the news, here's an overview of the Ruzhin dynasty and which branches are still active today. Some like Shtefanesht, Husyatin and Chrotkov are pretty much gone. Boyan is here but without the Friedman name. Buhush and of course Sadigura are still around with the direct Friedman link.

Interestingly enough, there have been young successors to positions of power throughout history. Rav Chaim Brisker, Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Ovadiah Yosef, the Ben Ish Chai, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, the Yenuka of Stolin, the Belzer Rebbe, Rav Nachman of Breslov, the Ruzhiner himself, King Hussein of Jordan, Michael Dell and many, many others, have risen to leadership at a young age, with each once being another unique piece of history.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

The rich Jewish past of Tinseltown is worth at least a full length feature. The architects of Hollywood were Jewish immigrants, who were joined by many talented Jews heading west, who created an entire industry and cultural revolution.

Orthodox Judaism took a bit longer to strike roots, but Rabbi Simon Dolgin and other intrepid pioneers planted the first seeds which blossomed with the arrival of many survivors in the post war era. From Beth Jacob to YICC, from Toras Emes to YULA, from Venice Beach to Pico Robertson, LA has a Jewish story to tell.

Rav Simcha Wasserman built a Yeshiva named for his illustrious father, Rabbi Marvin Heir built the Wiesenthal Center, and philanthropists from Sam Menlo to Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz funded one initiative after another. One of the first community Kollels in the United States had a great impact on the community's growth as well.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Scion of the Sighet Chassidic dynasty, Rav Yoelish Teitelbaum continued the legacy of his illustrious forbears on all fronts. As a Rosh Yeshiva, communal Rabbi, Chassidic leader and fiery warrior against the various modernist trends of his time. With his escape from Hungary on the Kastner Train and subsequent settlement in Williamsburg following a brief stint in Israel, he focused his energies on rebuilding.

As a visionary and at the same time a very practical realist, he created the infrastructure of full "kehilla" - community, which went beyond the realm of a chassidic court. In that capacity, he served as the inspiration of numerous chessed organizations including the lifesaving Hatzalah emergency medical service. 

Known for his uncompromising stance on modernity in general and Zionism in particular, he refused to back down even when it seemed that he was the lone fighter in ideological stance.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com

Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Woodmere, Hewlett, Inwood. Somehow the individual names come together to form the larger Jewish community of the Five Towns. Historically an upscale suburban area that boasted country clubs and golf courses that didn't welcome Jews, the demographics began to change in the post war. 

Shuls like Beth Shalom, Young Israel of Woodmere, Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst were formed over time. They were led by pioneering Rabbis like Rabbis Gil Klaperman, Shya Lebor, Nochum Tzvi Kornmehl and many others. With the arrival of Rav Binyamin Kamenetsky in 1956 and the founding of the Yeshiva of South Shore, Jewish education was ensured a future in the Five Towns. 

Of course eating is an important component of Jewish life in the region, and Central Avenue would become the home of a variety of famous eateries. Colorful personalities, philanthropists, politicians and activists all called the Five Towns home, and we'll meet some of them on this Jewish history journey into Long Island.

 

Subscribe To Our Podcast on:

 

PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/

 

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites

You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com