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
September 2009 • Elul 5769 (:‫אין התורה נקנית אלא בחבורה )ברכות סג‬ Volume 44 • Number 1

In This Issue
Divrei Torah from:
Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz
Rabbi Kenneth Auman
Rabbi Hershel Reichman
Rabbi Chaim Jachter

‫אבינו מלכנו‬
‫פתח שערי‬
‫שמים לתפלתנו‬
President Joel Musmakhim
Meets with in the Limelight:
Rabbinic Alumni The Humble Healers
 In This Issue
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
Theological Seminary Page 3 News from RIETS
President Joel meets with Rabbinic Alumni,
and new RIETS staff additions.
Richard M. Joel
P resident, Y eshi va U ni v ersity

Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm

C hancell o r , Y eshi va U ni v ersity
R o sh H aY eshi va , R I E T S

Rabbi Julius Berman

C hairman o f the B o ard o f T rustees , R I E T S Page 10 Musmakhim in the Limelight
An interview with three RIETS musmakhim who discuss
balancing a rabbinic background with medical school
training, and what they have achieved with both.
Rabbi Yona Reiss
M a x and M ari o n G rill D ean , R I E T S

Rabbi Kenneth Brander

D av id M it z ner D ean , C enter f o r the J ewish F uture

Rabbi Zevulun Charlop

D ean E meritus , R I E T S

Page 17 Practical Halacha

Rabbi Robert Hirt
Vice P resident E meritus , R I E T S The Mesirah Dilemma, by Rabbi Chaim Jachter.

Rabbi Dr. Solomon F. Rybak

P resident, R abbinic A lumni

Rabbi Chaim Bronstein

A dministrat o r , R I E T S

Page 5 Divrei Chizuk Page 14 Interview

CHAVRUSA Elul Thoughts
Rabbi Gedalia Dov
Rabbi Yona Reiss
Max and Marrion Grill Dean, RIETS
A P ublicati o n o f R I E T S R abbinic A lumni
Schwartz
Rabbi Ronald L. Schwarzberg
D irect o r , T he M o rris and G ertrude B ienenfeld
Page 6 Back to the Page 21 Divrei Hesped
D epartment o f J ewish C areer D e v el o pment
Beit Midrash Rabbi Charles Rosensveig z”l
and P lacement
Mikvah and the by Rabbi Elly Rosensveig
Rabbi Elly Krimsky Attonement of Yom Kippur
E dito r , C H AV R U S A Rabbi Hershel Reichman

Rabbi Levi Mostofsky Page 9 Chomer L’Drush Page 22 Lifecycles

A ss o ciate E dit o r , C H AV R U S A Finding Meaning in the
Tefillot of the Yamim
Ms. Keren Simon Noraim
A ssistant E dit o r , C H AV R U S A Rabbi Kenneth Auman

Rabbi Robert Shur

G raphics and L ayo ut, C H AV R U S A
CHAVRUSA is published three times a year by the Rabbinic Alumni of
the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, through the office
of the Morris and Gertrude Bienenfeld Department of Jewish Career
Development and Placement.
Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future serves as the community
service arm of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS).
It continues the work of the Max Stern Division of Communal Services
which, for over 60 years, has served as one of the premier service
organizations for the Jewish community.
5 0 0 W e s t 1 8 5 t h S t . S u i t e 41 3
N e w Yo r k , N Y 10 0 3 3
21 2 - 9 6 0 - 5 4 0 0 x 6 3 6 0
rabbinicalumni@yu.edu
chavrusamagazine@yu.edu
w w w. y u . e d u / c j f
Editorial contributions and submissions to CHAVRUSA are welcome.
This publication accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts
or photographs. All submissions are subject to editing and are used at
the editor’s discretion. Opinions expressed in this publication do not
necesarily reflect official Seminary and/or University policy.
Editorial Policies
• CHAVRUSA will consider articles and letters for publication.
• Books authored by musmakhim that are reviewed by musmakhim will be
considered for publication as well.
• Obituaries about and authored by musmakhim will be considered for publication.
• CHAVRUSA aims to maintain the Hebrew pronunciation style of the author
of the article. Transliterations follow the author’s preference i.e. academic,
Ashkenazic, modern Hebrew or the like. While we will remain consistent within
articles, each author will be afforded to transliterate within his comfort level.
• CHAVRUSA reserves the right to edit articles received for publication, and will
make every effort to show a draft form to the author prior to publication.
• Contributions may be sent to chavrusamagazine@yu.edu.
• In addition to CHAVRUSA magazine, articles and divrei Torah may also be
submitted for publication in the weekly Rabbinic Alumni e-newsletter. Please
e-mail them to rabbinicalumni@yu.edu.
2
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
In the News
President Joel Hosts Rabbinic Alumni
Yeshiva University and RIETS President Richard
M. Joel convened three meetings at his home with
over 50 members of RIETS Rabbinic Alumni for
the purpose of reestablishing and reimagining
their connection with the Yeshiva. Approximately
15 musmakhim representing RIETS classes from
the mid-70’s to late 80’s attended the first meeting
and around 20 Rabbinic Alumni who received
smikhah in the 90’s attended the second meeting.
15 more recent graduates were present at the third
meeting. Each grouping featured rabbis from vari-
ous parts of the country who function vocation-
ally in different areas of avodat hakodesh including
the pulpit, Jewish education, kiruv, chaplaincy
and musmakhim who have professions outside
the rabbinate. The Max and Marion Grill Dean
of RIETS Rabbi Yona Reiss ’91R and Rabbi Ken-
neth Brander ’86R, the David Mitzner Dean of
the Center for the Jewish Future also participated
in all three meetings.
“I invited diverse groups of musmakhim into my
home so we could have meaningful conversa-
tions about the partnership between RIETS
and our Rabbinic Alumni,” said President Joel.
“Our alumni passionately teach the Torah of our
Yeshiva and serve as sophisticated ambassadors
of our ideals. We must ensure that the connec-
tion between our alumni and the Yeshiva remains
strong and growing.”
The meetings impacted the participants as well.
Rabbi Daniel Loew ‘01R, head of school at the
(L-R) Rabbi Yehudah Halpert, Rabbi Jonathan Schachter, Rabbi Kenneth Brander, President
Richard M. Joel, Rabbi Jeff Beer, Rabbi Uri Goldstein, Rabbi Yehuda Sarna.
(L-R) Rabbi Yaacov Lerner, President Richard M. Joel, Rabbi Howard Zack, Rabbi Marc Volk, Rabbi
Kenneth Brander, Rabbi Elihu Turkel, Rabbi Gary Menchel, Rabbi Kenneth Auman, Rabbi Barry
Freundel, Rabbi Joel Finkelstein.
Hebrew High School of New England, traveled
from West Hartford for the event. “The discussion
at President Joel’s home showed his commitment
to a dialogue, a give and take, with Rabbinic
Alumni,” said Rabbi Loew. “It is heartening that
YU is building these bridges, which will enable
the University to become even more integrated
with the broader Jewish community. All of our
institutions will be enriched by these efforts.”
“As a rabbi in Memphis,” said Rabbi Joel Finkelstein
’89R of Anshei Sphard-Beth El Emeth Congrega-
3
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
tion, “one can often feel outside of the loop at the
New York-based organizations. Being invited in on
a discussion between the relationship of the various
YU affiliated organizations made me feel all the
more connected to YU and its affiliates. I com-
mend President Joel for his engagement with the
rabbinate in this regard.”
Rabbi Howard Zack ’85R, who traveled from
Columbus, Ohio for the meeting left on a high
note. “Once again, President Joel has shown his
great respect and support for YU rabbis who are
practicing in the field. The meeting at his home
in Riverdale with representatives of the Rabbinic
Alumni was open, honest, and productive. Much
of the time together was spent discussing how the
resources of Yeshiva can best serve and assist its
rabbis in their synagogues, schools and agencies.
I especially appreciated President Joel’s interest
and concern for out-of-town communities and
their struggle to champion YU’s philosophy of
Torah Umadda.”
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna ‘05R, chaplain at New York
University and the educator at the Jewish Learn-
ing Initiative on Campus, at the Bronfman Center
for Jewish Life at NYU, was struck by the connec-
tions he made. “I was taken by the strong sense
of camaraderie and shared mission, even though
many of us hadn’t known each other in RIETS,”
said Rabbi Sarna. “I was deeply impressed by the
In the News

RIETS Welcomes New Staff

Rabbi Yona Reiss, the Max and Marion Grill
Dean of RIETS, has announced some new
exciting appointments of staff to benefit RIETS
and the undergraduate Judaic studies program,
which he oversees.
Rabbi Daniel Stein ’05R will be offering a new shiur
in the Mazer Yeshiva Program devoted to skills and
methods. The class will focus on enabling talmi-
dim to conduct independent learning with greater
proficiency. The shiur will systematically examine
the structure and methodology of Talmudic and
medieval sources. Great emphasis will be placed
on seder preparation time, when talmidim will be
guided in the task of constructing their own initial
reading of the sources based on the principles
discussed in shiur. At the same time, Talmudic topics
will be thoroughly explained and analyzed in the
intensive fashion which has become the hallmark
of the Yeshiva program. Rabbi Stein also functions
as the director of the Fourth Year Halacha L’ma’aseh
Program within RIETS. Rabbi Stein earned his
bachelor’s degree in Judaic studies from Yeshiva
College, where he graduated as the valedictorian of
the Mazer Yeshiva Program. He received semikhah
from RIETS while he was a distinguished fellow of
its Wexner Semikhah Honors Program as well as its
post-semikhah institute, the Wexner Kollel Elyon.
Prior to teaching in the Yeshiva Program, Rabbi Stein
was a shoel u’mashiv in the Yeshiva Program and the
director of its Presidential Bekius Program.
Rabbi Daniel Feldman ’98R will be overseeing
the revitalized RIETS press. “My responsibility is
(L-R) Rabbi Daniel Stein, Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, Rabbi Moshe Tuchman
to cultivate, nurture, edit, direct, and/or coordi-
nate publication projects that bring the Torah of
our Roshei Yeshiva to the reading public,” Rabbi
Feldman told CHAVRUSA. “We are striving to
balance the goal of depth and quality, with broad
accessibility, in order to give the Torah of Yeshiva
the widest and most appropriate audience as
possible. I feel excited and privileged to have this
challenge and responsibility.” Rabbi Feldman was
a fellow of the Bella and Harry Wexner Kollel Ely-
on and received Yadin Yadin semikah from RIETS.
He teaches at the Stone Beit Midrash Program, is
the rabbi of a shul in Teaneck, has authored many
volumes in both English and Hebrew, has headed
summer kollel programs in Philadelphia, Atlanta
and Beverly Hills and is a frequent lecturer in
the United States and across the world. He also
coordinates the CJF’s Rabbinic Responsa service
for rabbis.
Rabbi Moshe Tuchman ’03R was appointed the
new beis medrash coordinator. He oversees the
maintenance and protocols for the batei midrashos,
which will include the new Glueck Center. Ac-
cording to Rabbi Tuchman, “The goal of the beis
medrash coordinator is to cultivate a feeling of
kavod and dignity for the beis medrash as befits a
makom kodosh; as well as foster an atmosphere of
intense Torah learning for the talmidim. This is
done by keeping the beis medrash clean and orga-
nized with the seforim up-kept and in their proper
places; implementing rules and standards; and
being available for students who have concerns
and suggestions.” Since graduating the Beren
Kollel two years ago, Rabbi Tuchman has been
the shoel umeishiv for Rabbi Baruch Simon’s ‘89R
semikhah shiur. n

President Hosts Rabbinic Alumni

continued from page 3

insights other rabbis expressed about the needs
of the Orthodox community and the people
who lead it.”
Rabbi Eli Weinstock ‘02R, associate rabbi and
director of education and outreach at Congrega-
tion Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan, remarked
that the meetings shifted his perspective on the
role of Rabbinic Alumni. “Rabbinic Alumni has
the potential to be a more effective force for all
musmakhim. It was refreshing to sit around the
table and hear the views expressed. President Joel
really set the tone in encouraging us rabbis to
determine the course the Rabbinic Alumni can
take. Personally, I left feeling more engaged with
Yeshiva than in the past. I hope the discus-
sions and initiatives continue.”
Indeed, President Joel and the leadership
of RIETS, CJF and Rabbinic Alumni plan
to translate the suggestions offered at the
meetings into an action plan for ongo-
ing rabbinic education, programming, a
renewed camaraderie among musmakhim
and greater opportunities to reconnect
to the Yeshiva and its Roshei Yeshiva. As
Present Joel announced, “I look forward
to working with Rabbi Reiss and Rabbi
Brander to enhance the already high qual-
ity of our alumni programming.” n (L-R) Rabbi Joel Finkelstein, President Joel

4
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Divrei Chizuk
Elul Thoughts
Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz ’49R
Av Beth Din, Rabbinical Council of America
Av Beth Din, Chicago Rabbinical Council
O n the matter of tshuvah, Reb Yisroel Sal-
anter, O.B.M. is quoted as saying, “That
the entire year, every day, is appropriate
to engage in the mitzvah of tshuvah; however, Elul
is still Elul — it’s special.” For rabbonim there is
a unique obligation contained in the overall mitz-
vah of tshuvah. For us, how do we generate a chesh-
bon hanefesh, a moral stock-taking of ourselves in a
most true and sincere fashion? How do we assess
our accomplishments and failures? Do we see
our role as a rav to be an uplifting positive experi-
ence both internally and outwardly in relationship
with our community? For those of us who have
been in the rabbinate for any number of years,
perhaps the signs of “burnout” are rising to the
surface of our respective personalities. The ex-
pression “burnout” became well known with the
publication in 1981 of a book by that name with
a subtitle “How to Beat the High Cost of Success,”
by Dr. Herbert Freudenberger. Without going
into the probing contents of the book concerning
high achievers who somehow have become bored
by the burden of their tasks and responsibilities,
maybe some of these elements have intruded into
the goals and activities of the rabbinate. Even
those of our rabbinic fraternity who have just
begun their careers may sometimes experience
such emotional conflict when confronted with
the reality of congregational life in stark contrast
with the academic world of the yeshiva.
In our examination of cheshbon hanefesh,
it is important to underscore the role and
mission of the rabbinate. The Gaon R. Yechiel
Yaakov Weinberg, O.B.M. wrote an in-depth
comprehensive essay entitled, “Harabanut
B’Yisrael: tafkidehah usamchuyotehah” (published
in Sridei Eish chelek 4 pg. 341) In reviewing
the history of rabbanus as emerging from the
function of the shofet, the judge, who not only
adjudicates and gives rulings of Torah law, he is
also the guardian and transmitter of Torah to the
community.
He outlines four functions of the rav. First of all,
as a rav he has the obligation of being a marbitz
Torah, of disseminating Torah learning to the
extent that he is able to establish disciples, talmidim.
He must never abdicate his role as a teacher of
Torah, giving concrete examples of many historic
Torah personalities who served not only as the
community rav but who were also deeply involved
to the degree that they were “roshei yeshiva.” He
cites the custom of many Sefardic communities
particularly in Turkey and the Balkans to bestow
the title of marbitz Torah on their appointed
spiritual leader. It was quite evident that in order to
reach that level of Torah transmission, the rav had
to reflect mastery of Torah and continual learning.
The second function as the rav is as a posek, a
decisor of the halacha as it encompasses all areas of
Jewish life both private and public.
The third component of his duties is to present
drashos, direct communication to the people,
sermons that contain substantial substance of
Torah teachings as reflected in the vast midrashic
literature of Chazal, which were often the results of
drashos and interpretations presented to gatherings
on Sabbaths and Yomim Tovim. Mastery of the
Agadah in emphasizing inspirational Torah values
and upgrading the skills of language and delivery are
basically important in connecting with all members
of the community regardless of gender or age.
The fourth category is that of the rav who is involved
in chessed, which includes all aspects of concern for
care of the poor, the sick and elderly and all other
elements seeking material and spiritual support. The
phrase v’ahavta l’reyacha kamocha is not some lofty
ideal, but is rather carried out in visible and practical
terms in assisting those in need. It refers to the real
tangible pastoral duties of the rav.
5
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
The above is just a very brief summary of Rav
Weinberg’s essay, and although in comparing our
role in the 21st century here in North America, there
are definitely many differences as to the variety of
the congregations that we serve, nevertheless, the
vital points delineated above deserve careful scrutiny
in regard to our cheshbon hanefesh. In contrast to
the above from the standpoint of time and place
in which Jewish communities had some core
Torah elements of some learned Jews, many of our
musmachim have been sent to areas where there
doesn’t seem to be any significant vestige of active
observant Torah life. How can the mission of the
rav as a marbitz Torah be fulfilled with such a dim
outlook for future Torah learning and observance?
Yet the greatest example perhaps of building a level
that the rav is marbitz Torah is that which is cited
in the Gemara (Baba Metzia 85B). Reb Chiya, the
great rabbinic master of Torah and organizer of the
Tosefta, in his controversy with Reb Chanina states
that he will not allow the Torah to be forgotten in
Israel. He describes his efforts for this purpose:
He begins with planting flax and weaving traps
for deer; then giving the meat to the orphans and
making parchment from the deerskin and writing
Chamishah Chumshei Torah separately on each skin,
teaching five orphans individually from these skins
the Chamishah Chumshei Torah. In turn each child
taught his section of Chumash to another, etc. and
Reb Chiya orally taught six orders of the Mishnah
to six other children in the same manner, and he
directed them all to teach one another whatever
portion they had learned. Thus, Torah was not
forgotten. R’ Yehuda Hanasi, or Rebbe, exclaimed,
“mah g’dolim maasei Chiya!” “How great are the
deeds of Reb Chiya!” This extraordinary incident
was preceded by the celestial message received by
Resh Lakish that although he was as great in actual
learning as R. Chiya, he was far surpassed by Reb
Chiya in disseminating Torah: Torah, kamoso lo
ravatzta. Rashi explains the word ravatzta as an
expression meaning the watering of a field.
Thus, rabbis sent out to seemingly far-flung
towns find themselves in a situation described
by the navi who said: “haloch v’karasa b’oznei
Yerushalayim leimor. Ko amar Hashem zacharti
lach chesed n’urayich ahavas k’lulosayich. Lechtech
acharai bamidbar b’eretz lo zru’ah” (Yirmiyahu 1).
The phrase b’eretz lo zru’ah implies that if seeds
are sown and then properly watered there will be
growth. This is, and can be, the accomplishment
of dedicated young rabbonim who, with
Herculean efforts, are marbitz Torah, watering
the untilled ground, planting the seeds, creating
day schools and a variety of exciting Jewish
educational opportunities.
Back to the Beit Midrash
O n Yom Kippur, many of us experience
déjà vu when we confront the liturgy.
Much of the text is familiar to us from
the previous week on Rosh Hashanah. A superficial
comparison of the machzor for Rosh Hashanah and
that of Yom Kippur would yield many similarities.
The nuschaot of pesukei d’zimra — which reach
its climax when the ba’al shacharis proclaims
“HaMelech!” with awe and majesty — are identical.
Both days are events that the machzor describes as
“Yom Hadin” — the Day of Judgment. Hashem is
described for us as “The King who holds the Trait of
Justice in His hand.” Indeed, Rosh HaShanah and
Yom Kippur are judgment days, when the Heavenly
Tribunal convenes to issue a verdict on the outgoing
year and determine the fortune of the new.
However, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are
different, both in quality and character. This
Divrei Chizuk
Elul Thoughts
continued from page 5
In trying to cope with the stress and strain of the
contemporary rabbinate, our cheshbon hanefesh
must infuse us with a surge of energy by looking
upon our recognizable skills in the varied functions
of our positions. Some of us may excel in certain
areas described previously and those positive
manifestations should be accepted and projected as
safeguards against so-called “burnout.” Skepticism
and cynicism must not be part of our thinking and
vocabulary in our cheshbon hanefesh.
Mikvah And
The Atonement
Of Yom Kippur
Rabbi Hershel Reichman
distinction is articulated differently by both
the Ramban and the Rambam. The Ramban,
commenting on Vayikra 23:24, explains that Rosh
HaShanah is a time of “merciful judgment” – yom
din b’rachamim. He describes Yom Kippur’s subtle
distinction as the day of “justified mercy” – yom
rachamim badin. We must carefully parse this fine
contrast. Rosh Hashanah is a time of absolute
justice and judgment, when a person’s past is
objectively reviewed. The scales that weigh
the evidence are balanced before deliberation.
Thereafter, a person faces three outcomes based on
the majority of his behavior: mainly meritorious,
mainly guilty, or an indeterminate verdict because
merits and misdeeds are equal. Yet, regardless of
His findings, The Judge is innately merciful. This is
the “merciful judgment” of Rosh Hashanah.
In making my own cheshbon hanefesh as a veteran of
almost six decades in the American rabbinate and
as a member of our Rabbinic Alumni, I am excited
and inspired by the great vision of the Center for
the Jewish Future which supports and sustains the
actualization of Torah goals of the rabbinate. The
fact that our distinguished and esteemed President
Richard M. Joel has given special emphasis on
endowing kollelim outside of New York is a major
initiative in the realm of harbatzas Torah. The young
b’nai Torah and their families, literally the best
6
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
The Ramban characterizes Yom Kippur, however,
as essentially a day of mercy. The Tribunal is
less concerned with evaluating a person’s past
behavior. Rather, Yom Kippur focuses on what
the individual Jew could be in the future. Kol Nidre
begins when the sky is still light; many stay late at
night for additional prayers; morning prayers begin
promptly and the day quickly turns into afternoon
and evening; for 25 hours we are consumed with
prayer. The machzor guides us through the pathos
of regret, aspiration, and d’veykus – yearning for
connection with Hashem and His Torah. We
wear white, as to appear angelic on a day when we
also forgo food and other pleasures to concentrate
entirely on prayerful introspection. We are the Jews
we want to be.
On Yom Kippur, a healthy Jew showcases
his spiritual potential. The Ramban explains
that Hashem evaluates this desire for a closer
relationship, even if the behavior is not yet
manifest! Furthermore, a Jew also desires the
revelation of his ideal self in those fleeting moments
of Yom Kippur because Hashem’s judgment on this
Yom Hadin is limited to the way a person behaves
during those 25 hours alone. Hashem issues His
summary judgment consistent with the manner in
which the Jew comports himself on Yom Kippur
exclusively. The Torah (Vayikra 16:30), describing
Yom Kippur, says: “Ki bayom hazeh y’chaper
aleichem…because on this day He will atone for
you…” We can understand this verse as telling us
that Hashem will atone for our sins simply because
of our angelic behavior on this day. This is why
continued on page 9
and the brightest, have already made a significant
impact on the Chicago Jewish community where
I reside.
There is no doubt that there is much to be done
in the many other communities by our rabbinic
fraternity in the months and years ahead. May the
Almighty strengthen our resolve to gain greater
strides in raising the levels of Torah and Mitzvos
and recognize our hakaras hatov to our Yeshiva. n
Chomer l’Drush
Finding Meaning in
the Tefillot of the
Yamim Noraim
Rabbi Kenneth Auman ’78R
Rabbi, Young Israel of Flatbush
Faculty, Stern College for Women
O ne of the great challenges faced by rab-
banim during the Yamim Noraim period
is finding the proper words to motivate
our congregants to engage in meaningful prayer
rather than mere recitations of the words of the
machzor. This is especially true on Yom Kippur,
when we spend the entire day engaged in tefillah.
In this piece I will attempt to draw on some of the
various facets of Yom Kippur to create inspiration
for investing the effort to make the Yom Kippur
experience truly meaningful.
Yom Hakippurim conjures up many different
images in our minds: images of fasting, of prayer, of
shul, of the avodah in days of yore, of verdicts being
sealed, of forgiveness, of purity, of closeness to Gd.
But for one of our greats, Yom Kippur conjured
up an entirely different image, the image of a fierce
raging battle. Netziv viewed Yom Kippur as a
day of war between the pro-Israel and anti-Israel
forces in the heavenly spheres. Whereas on Rosh
Hashanah the entire human race occupies center
stage (kol ba’ei olam ovrin l’fanav kivnei maron), on
Yom Kippur, the spotlight shines exclusively upon
the Jewish Nation. The forces of evil in the world
unleash all their venom against Klal Yisrael, and
Klal Yisrael must defend itself. The outcome of the
battle that rages during Yom Kippur will affect the
fate of the Jewish people for the coming year.
For Netziv, the avodat Yom Hakippurim was the
method that was given to us by Gd to defend
ourselves from the onslaught. And this defense
consisted of two parts – the first part of which is
purification. The rituals of viduy, the slaughtering
of the par and sa’ir and sprinkling their blood, and
the se’ir la’azazel, cleansed the nation of their sins.
A Jewish nation blackened and weakened by its
sins cannot effectively defend itself. However, a
pure and clean nation, a spiritually strong people,
can effectively resist the forces of evil that wish to
destroy it.
But there’s a second part to our arsenal as well,
claims Netziv. We have to aim for more than
merely a good defense. We need an offense as
well – to banish the evil forces and send them into
retreat. And this offense is the kohen gadol’s entry
to Kodesh Hakodoshim – with the ktoret and with
the blood to activate as it were, the most powerful
weapon in the arsenal of the Jewish People – the
Torah. The aron was the repository of the Torah,
and the ktoret created a cloud that filled the Kodesh
Kodashim– the power of the Torah leaving the
aron and being unleashed at the enemy and forc-
ing it into silent retreat, handing victory to the
Jewish Nation.
Sounds like a story straight out of science fiction,
doesn’t it? But it isn’t. It means that the Jewish
people possess the keys to its own survival. Its
survival depends upon its purity and commitment
to Torah, both of which are there within us. Yom
Kippur can bring them out. Each and every one of
us can find purity and strengthen our commitment
to Torah as we involve ourselves in the davening.
The big question is not can we do it, but will we do
it? Each and every one of us has something to add
to the collective strength of Klal Yisrael.
We know that when it comes to the chiyuv for
eating on Yom Kippur, the shiur is kotevet hagassa,
whereas for drinking, it is melo lugmav. Thus, for
eating there is an absolute shiur, while for drinking
it is relative to the size of the individual’s mouth.
Similarly, with regard to the avodat Yom Hakip-
purim, everything was exact, with no room for
latitude on the part of the kohen gadol, except for
the ketoret. There the shiur was melo chofnav, which
varies from person to person.
7
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Both of these halachot are metaphors for Yom
Kippur itself. The laws of the day are absolute and
the same for everyone. Yet the day is called Yom
Kippurim, the day of many kippurim because, ac-
cording to the Rav zt’’l each one of us experiences
it differently. We all put in different amounts of
effort, and therefore reap different benefits. De-
pending upon how “big our mouth” is, how much
we put into our tefillot, that is how much we get
out of it. And as large a hand as we extend to Gd,
we receive commensurately in return.
In our efforts to increase the level of our kavanah
during davening, it is important to pay attention
not only to the meanings of the words, but to our
demeanor as well. A major difference between the
written and the spoken word is that with regard
to the latter, one has the ability of enhancing one’s
words with tone and inflection. This explains
why throughout the Asseret yemei tshuvah we recite
“Shma Kolenu,” as well as “kabel berachim u’vratzon et
tefilatenu.” It is not just the words of our tefillot that
are important, but the tone and feeling with which
they are uttered as well.
I would go one step further and suggest that dur-
ing the Yamim Noraim, and particularly on Yom
Kippur, the tone assumes even greater importance
than during the rest of the year. We have special
nusach and nigunim for the Yamim Noraim. And
there is a very important reason why this is so.
Just as human beings consist of both body and soul,
so too do our tefillot! The words are the tangible
part, the body; and the tone, the kol, is the soul.
And just as with regard to the human being both
are essential, so too with prayer. The words alone,
uttered devoid of any feeling, are like a guf b’li nesh-
amah, and the tone alone, just like a soul without a
body, has nothing to connect it to this world.
During the year, our emphasis is on our bodies
more than on our souls. We worry about our
parnasah, our health, our comfort. We often
neglect our spiritual pursuits. On Yom Kippur,
however, we concentrate on our souls. We ignore
our bodies as much as possible. And we try very
hard to cleanse our souls. So particularly on this
day, the kol counts. Our tefillot themselves must
be full of soul.
The Yom Kippur Kriat Hatorah of the exalted Yom
Kippur avodah begins with a reference to the deaths
of Aharon’s sons. Why is a reference to their deaths
needed as the Torah begins its description of the
avodah? Furthermore, why may the kohen gadol
only enter lifai velifnim once a year?
Chomer l’Drush

There is a Chassidic answer to the first ques-
tion that can help us answer the second one as
well. We are all aware of the view in the Gemara
that the sin of the sons of Aharon was that they
entered the Mishkan in a state of intoxication.
This was done leshem shamayim, according to
this Chassidic interpretation. Nadav and Avihu
wished to enter the Mishkan in a state of exalted
simcha or euphoria. That’s why they drank.
Their error was that they should have been able
to attain that state of simcha by merely con-
templating the act that they were about to do.
Merely by meditating on the fact that they were
to enter the mishkan, they should have been
able to create for themselves a state of euphoria.
Aharon and the future kohanim gedolim are being
told that they should need nothing artificial to
induce the exalted state required to enter the
Kodesh Kodashim.
This interpretation answers the second question
as well. The intense spiritual energy needed to
“get in the mood” to enter could not possibly be
generated on a regular basis. Only once a year
could one expect a kohen gadol to summon up the
excitement and euphoria necessary to enter the
Kodesh Kodashim.
And for us, on our level, this is an important
lesson as well. It is not only the kohen gadol who
ought to feel exalted on Yom Kippur. Each and
every one of us is lifne Hashem on this day, and
each and every one of us must summon up from
within the feelings of awe and joy that reflect
this fact. It does indeed require intense spiritual
energy for us to bring these feelings to the fore,
and thus it is only required of us once yearly. We
must try with all our might to instill these feelings
in ourselves and in others in order to properly
experience this unique day. n

The Gertrude & Morris Bienenfeld Department Of Jewish Career Development and Placement,
a division of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future,
congratulates the following leaders on their newly obtained positions in avodat hakodesh.

Rabbi Dovid Abramchik
ZDR Academy, Brooklyn, NY
Rabbi Chaim Yosef Ackerman
Congregation Ahavas Sholom, Columbus, OH
Rabbi Elli Ausubel
Lincoln Square Synagogue, New York, NY
Rabbi David Berger
Riverdale Jewish Center, Riverdale, NY
Rabbi Azarya Berzon
YU-Torah miTzion Beit Midrash of Toronto
Rabbi Meier Brueckheimer
Orthodox Union, New York, NY
Rabbi Lee Buckman
Greenfield Hebrew Academy, Atlanta, GA
Rabbi Aaron Feigenbaum
Young Israel of Memphis, TN
Rabbi Yair Hinden Rabbi David Mahler Rabbi Nosson Schuman
Rimon Center, East Windsor, NJ Maimonides Academy, West Hollywood, CA Temple Beth El of Rutherford, Randolph, NJ
Rabbi Leib Irons Rabbi Akiva Males Rabbi Noam Shapiro
NCSY of Canada, Toronto, Ontario Knesseth Israel, Harrisburg , PA Beachwood Kehilla, Beachwood, OH
Rabbi Gedalia Jaffe Rabbi Elie Mischel Rabbi Simmy Sherman
Ahavas Yisrael, Edison, NJ Young Israel of Staten Island, NY S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program/YU, Israel
Rabbi Netanel Javasky Rabbi Alex Mondrow Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky
YU-Torah miTzion Beit Midrash of Toronto Yeshivat Noam, Paramus, NJ Congregation Birkat Shmuel
Rabbi Aaron Kaplan Rabbi Fred Nebel Albert Einstein Synagogue, YU, Bronx, NY
Bet Shraga Hebrew Academy, Albany, NY Midwest Torah Center, South Bend, IN Rabbi Moshe Stavsky
Rabbi Joseph Kanofsky Yitz Novak (RIETS) Young Israel of Fort Lee, Fort Lee, NJ (Visiting)
Kehillat Shaarei Torah, Toronto, Ontario Mechina Program, Yeshiva University Rabbi Noam Stein
Rabbi Stephen Knapp Rabbi Yoel Oz Cooper Yeshiva High School, Memphis, TN
Westchester Day School, Mamaroneck, NY Beth Joshua Congregation, Aspen Hill, MD Rabbi Michael Teicher
Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, Aspen Hill, MD Yeshiva University-Torah Mitzion
Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin
North Shore Hebrew Academy, Great Neck, NY Rabbi Joseph Ozarowski Chicago Community Kollel, Chicago, IL

Rabbi David Fine Rabbi Isaiah Koenigsberg Darchei Noam, St. Louis Park, MN (visiting) Rabbi Kalman Topp
Eretz Hemdah, Jerusalem Young Israel of Jackson Heights, Queens Rabbi David Perkel Beth Jacob Congregation, Beverly Hills, CA

Rabbi Rodney Finerman Ms. Chaya Kohl Ezras Israel, West Rogers Park, IL Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner
Shalhevet, Los Angeles, CA Akiva Hebrew Day School, Southfield, MI Rabbi Adir Posy YU-Torah miTzion Beit Midrash of Toronto

Rabbi Dovi Fischer
Yeshivat Hakotel, Israel
Rabbi Baruch Freedman
The Hamptons Synagogue, West Hampton Beach, NY
Rabbi Cary Friedman
Orthodox Union, New York, NY
Rabbi Ephraim Greene
Yeshivat Torat Shraga
Midreshet AMIT, Jerusalem
Rabbi Ben Hassan
Yavneh College, Melbourne, Australia
Rabbi Avi Heller
Manhattan Jewish Experience, New York, NY
Rabbi Joshua Hess
Anshe Chesed, Linden, NJ
Rabbi Elly Krimsky Beth Jacob Congregation, Beverly Hills, CA Rabbi Mordechai Turoff
Young Israel of Stamford, CT Rabbi Yehudah Potok Yeshiva University-Torah Mitzion
Oakland Hebrew Academy, Oakland, CA Chicago Community Kollel, Chicago, IL
Daniel Kronengold
Traditional Synagogue of Co-Op City, Bronx, NY Rabbi Michael Rootman Rabbi Brahm Weinberg
Hebrew Society for the Aged Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, Toronto,
Young Israel of West Hartford, CT
Ontario
Rabbi Aaron Leibtag Rabbi Matan Wexler
Kehilath Jacob Beth Samuel, Chicago, IL Rabbi Mel Sachs The Moriah School, Englewood, NJ
Jewish Home for Assisted Living , River Dale, NJ
Rabbi Menachem Linzer Rabbi David Wilensky
Hillel Torah, Skokie, IL Rabbi Avrumi Sacks Congregation Brothers of Israel
Hillel Academy, Pittsburgh, PA
Rabbi Meir Lipschitz Allentown, PA
YU-Torah miTzion Beit Midrash of Toronto Rabbi Ezra Schwartz Rabbi Eliyahu Wolf
Mt. Sinai Jewish Center, NY, NY
Rabbi Yosef Lowey DRS Yeshiva High School for Boys, Woodmere, NY
ZDR Academy, Brooklyn, NY Rabbi Zvi Schindel Young Israel of Woodmere, Woodmere, NY
Maimonides Academy, West Hollywood, CA
Rabbi Uriel Lubetski
Cooper Yeshiva High School, Memphis, TN

The placement committee serves RIETS and Azrieli alumni, the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) and the Orthodox Union (OU).

8
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Back to the Beit Midrash
Mikvah and the Atonement of Yom Kippur
continued from page 6
Chazal’s name for the Talmudic tractate dedicated
to Yom Kippur is simply “Yoma” – “The Day” of
“justified mercy” – the isolated 1,500 minutes that
Hashem uses to discern our true desires.
The Rambam’s understanding of how Rosh
HaShanah and Yom Kippur differ expresses itself in
Hilchos Teshuvah 3:3:
…every year, the offenses of every person are
weighed in judgment against his merits on the yom
tov of Rosh HaShanah. He who is found to be
righteous is inscribed for life; he who is found to be
wicked is inscribed for death. One whose merits and
sins are equal has judgment suspended until Yom
Hakippurim. If he repents, he is inscribed for life; if
not, he is inscribed for death.
The Rambam tells us that judgment of Rosh
Hashanah depends on the majority of a person’s
actions. The Highest Court’s verdict is a general
evaluation that determines whether a person was
“basically” good or bad. Yom Kippur emerges
as a vague last resort for those for whom Rosh
Hashanah was indeterminate. The Rambam
clarifies the role of Yom Kippur in Hilchos Teshuvah
2:7:
Yom Hakippurim is a time of repentance for every
individual and for the community in general. It is
the final opportunity for forgiveness and pardon for
the Jewish People. Therefore, everyone is obligated to
repent and confess on Yom Hakippurim …
The Rambam sees Rosh Hashanah as a trial, Yom
Kippur as a time of purification. The verse (Vayikra
16:30) quoted earlier, presents the purification of
Yom Kippur as synonymous with forgiveness of
sins: “Because on this day He will atone for you, to
purify you of your offenses; before Hashem you
will be purified.”
The path to this purification is melancholy, fraught
with regret. For the Rambam, Yom Kippur serves
two roles, as a teshuvah deadline for those whose
sins balance their merits, and as a common time
established for mass repentance and confession of
misdeeds. The general focus on past flaws could
be a prescription for a morose spiritual experience.
Specifically, during confession, when a Jew says
“aval anachnu v’avoseinu chat’anu…rather, we and
our ancestors have sinned,” he sees the awesome
challenge that teshuvah poses to the individual, who
must now account for the misdeeds of the entire
Jewish People for generations. The demands of
The Day, summarized in this simple declaration, are
potentially a source of overwhelming malaise.
Yom Kippur, as summarized by other parts of
the liturgy, highlights this grim tension between
the Jew’s potential and his reality. In the piyut
“Ki Anu Amecha” we declare the ideal form of our
relationship with Hashem: “For we are Your nation,
and You are our God; we Your children and You
our Father; we Your community and You our
Portion; we Your inheritance and You our Fate;
Ritual purity is all or
nothing; one cannot
immerse only his
arm in a mikvah.
we Your flock and You our Shepherd; we Your
companions and You our Beloved; we Your Nation
and You our King.” The joy of that declaration
dissipates when we witness our sordid reality, and
when we must sing that piyut out loud, its tune
is more dirge than triumph. Hence, the poem is
followed in the machzor by a reality check: “We are
brazen and You are merciful and graceful, we stiff-
necked and You patient…” We sing of our ideal
but must contend with our unfortunate situation.
The machzor then presents the confessional:
“Rather, we and our ancestors have sinned.” The
world “aval” – “rather” – weighs heavily on a Jew’s
lips as he discovers the disparity between potential
and reality. The Jew recognizes that Hashem
constantly presents the Jewish People with
Torah and mitzvos as a mechanism for building
a superlative relationship described in prayer as
that of His community, flock and vineyard. Aval –
“Rather,” we confess, the Jewish People has misused
and abused its potential for spiritual greatness.
Having established that we have betrayed ourselves,
we are in a mindset to say “Ashamnu” and the long
list of “Al Cheit” confessions.
Ultimately, the optimism of the Ramban smiles
from the pages of the machzor. The day is one
that Hashem promises will bring some degree
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C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
of forgiveness. We are informed that Hashem
has always sought to repair His relationship with
us by forgiving misdeeds. The Merciful One
hears our confession and is also pained by the
incongruence of perfection and present reality.
We ask Hashem to erase our sins from before His
eyes. We plead: “And purify our hearts to serve you
in truth, because you are the Pardoner of Yisroel
and the Forgiver of the Tribes of Yeshurun in every
generation…” We conclude the “Kedushas Hayom”
section of the amidah with a brachah that praises
Hashem for his pardon and forgiveness that He
effects every year on this enduring date.
By Neilah time, there is an optimism that emerges
from the machzor that tells us that there is more
to Yom Kippur than simply the repentance and
confession of the Rambam. When a Jew says “aval”
and senses the gulf between his potential to use
Hashem’s copious gifts and the stark circumstances
on the ground, he is ready for the Yom Kippur of
the Ramban. He knows how far he has fallen and
he sees no way to climb back without Hashem’s
assistance. Only with the program of the Rambam
can we appreciate the perspective of the Ramban.
The Ramban’s day of justified mercy is an interactive
experience that provides hope of purification only
for those who understand where they stand and
what needs to be corrected. The staid confession of
the Rambam provides the context for the confident
Yom Kippur of the Ramban.
A Torah principle in the study of Taharos is that
there is no partial purification of a person or object.
Ritual purity is all or nothing; one cannot immerse
only his arm in a mikvah. Similarly, a person cannot
dip a majority of his body since neither those parts
that immerse nor those still dry will be pure. This
illustrates the essential distinction between Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah works
like a scale, with an evaluation of majority and
minority as sins are weighed in strict judgment. Yom
Kippur, in contradistinction, is like a mikvah whose
purification is emphasized in Vayikra. Yom Kippur
is not a day for the purification of some or most;
Yom Kippur is a mikvah for the entire Jew and the
entire Jewish People. On Yom Kippur, we confess to
understand that even if our fate hangs in the balance
of sins and merits, we have time to demonstrate our
potential to be closer to Hashem next year. n
Many thanks to Yosef Rosen for transcribing this shiur.
Musmakhim in
the Limelight:

he Humble
Healers
T
he Torah records, “Make for yourself a serpent
and place it on a pole; all who were afflicted
who will look upon it, will live” (Bamidbar 21:8).
The image of a snake on a pole, the caduceus, is a
North American symbol for doctors and the medical
profession. The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 3:8) men-
tions this image in the context of prayer. “Do Moshe’s
outstretched hands during the original battle against
Amalek create success or failure in war? Similarly,
does the serpent on the pole heal or kill? When the
Jews saw Moshe’s outstretched arms or the copper
serpent he formed, they looked up high and subju-
gated their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they
were healed.”
Yet in the context of an analysis of the detriments of
different professions, the Gemara famously declares,
“tov sheb’rofim l’Gehenom” – the best of the doctors
are destined to Gehenna (Kiddushin 82a). Rashi
interprets this aphorism as referring to a physician’s
lack of awe, due to his arrogance, “v’eino m’shaber
libo lamakom” – and do not exhibit heartbreak be-
fore the Almighty.
Musmakhim in the Limelight
Building on this concept of lack of humility, M’harsha interprets that he holds himself as an expert doctor second to none and he arrogantly
relies too heavily on his own expertise. This trait causes the physician to err in treating patients, who die as a result. Meiri opines that doc-
tors can give up and not try hard enough. Many commentaries understand the epigram as one praising the practitioners of medicine. (For an
exhaustive list of interpretations, see chapter 7 of Dr. Fred Rosner’s “Biomedical Ethics and Jewish Law”). Rabbi Meir of Przemysian offers a
novel interpretation. The gematria of tov is 17. If a physician has kavanah during 17 of the (original) 18 blessings of the Amidah, but believes
he is the healer, and thereby denies the blessing of refa’einu (heal us O Lord), he is destined for Gehenna.
This same lesson can be learned by staring at Moshe’s serpent. When the Jews, like the physician, look up to God for salvation and realize that
our sustenance ultimately lies in His hands, they will be saved and successful.
During the week of Parshat Chukat, when we read of the original caduceus, CHAVRUSA had the opportunity to interview three musmakhim who
are physicians. Each fully acknowledges “ki ani Hashem rof’echa” and asserts that the Ribbono Shel Olam is “rofei cholei amo Yisrael.” Rabbi
Dr. Aton Holzer ’05R (RDAH) is completing his residency in dermatology at the University of Alabama School of Medicine; Rabbi Dr. Zalman
Levine ’94R (RDZL) is a reproductive endocrinologist currently working at the Fertility Institute of New Jersey and New York; and Rabbi Dr.
Richard Weiss ’96R (RDRW) currently serves as rabbi of the Young Israel of Hillcrest, Queens.

CHAVRUSA: Completing the semikhah
program and medical school is quite an
academic accomplishment. What were
your goals going into both programs,
coming out of both programs and what
are you doing now?
RDZL: From a young age, I was focused on a
career in clinical medicine. My father, a respected
physician, always emphasized the nature of
medicine as art in addition to science. To prop-
erly practice the art of medicine requires a broad
worldview and a firm grounding in humanism and
ethics, which for a frum Jew means, in the ideal, a
firm grounding in the principle of Torah Umadda.
While in Yeshiva College as an undergraduate, I
tried to avail myself of YU’s high-level limud Torah
and high-quality liberal arts offerings, and I learned
in RIETS thereafter to further the same goal of de-
veloping a solid base in learning and a solid Torah
worldview, which I believe are necessary to be a
frum doctor. My fourth year in RIETS, my shimush
year, was particularly formative for me; I was a
rebbe at the Frisch High School, teaching Gemara
and Chumash under the guidance and mentorship
of my YU rebbeim. Doctors are constant educators
— educating patients about their health, educating
the public about wellness and disease, educating
younger doctors in the practice of medicine — and
the guidance and experience I gained during my
RIETS shimush continues to impact on my career
as a doctor-educator. After RIETS, I attended YU’s
Albert Einstein College of Medicine for medical
school, followed by a residency also at Einstein
— in total, I spent seventeen years as a talmid and
student at Yeshiva University, trying my best to
learn and live the Torah Umadda principle.
While in medical school, I chose a career in repro-
ductive endocrinology, which is the specialized
branch of medicine, known colloquially as “fertility
medicine,” dealing with the evaluation and treat-
ment of reproductive disorders and infertility. After
my Einstein residency, I left the YU cocoon to do a
three-year fellowship in reproductive endocrinol-
ogy at Harvard University, and since then I have
been in practice at an IVF center in New Jersey,
the Fertility Institute of New Jersey and New York.
Although I left the halls of YU in 1999 – though
I have recently returned vicariously through my
son who is now a sophomore at YUHSB and my
daughter who is a sophomore at Stern – I continue
to feel like a YU talmid as I strive every day to help
patients clinically. My specialty inheres significant
interplay among a patient’s physiological dysfunc-
tion, psychosocial stress, and halachic concerns,
and it was all my years at YU, stretching through
YUHSB, YC, RIETS, and AECOM, that have Rabbi Dr. Zalman Levine
prepared me to try to help in all these realms. Those
medicine in the state of New York. Since that time
many years at YU meshed to foster an organic
I have primarily served in the rabbinate. I served as
whole of Torah values, learning, and experience
the associate rabbi of the West Side Jewish Center
that helped me become who I am and continues to
under Rabbi Shlomo Kahane z’l; for two years
help me do what I do every day.
I served as an assistant rabbi at the Fifth Avenue
RDRW: I attended Yeshiva College and subse- Synagogue under Rabbi Sol Roth. I then returned
quently completed medical school at the Wayne to the West Side Jewish Center, where I served as
State University School of Medicine, back in my rabbi for seven years until I arrived at my present
hometown of Detroit. Prior to entering medi- position as rabbi of the Young Israel of Hillcrest. I
cal school, I studied for one year in the Chaver utilize my medical training by serving as an adjunct
Program of RIETS . My original intention was to assistant professor of Biology at Stern College For
pursue clinical medicine. During my final years Women, as well applying my medical training in
of medical school, however, my interest in the the field of bioethics.
rabbinate developed and evolved as my interest in
I remember hearing Rabbi Dr. Israel Miller z’l
clinical medicine regressed. I always enjoyed the
’41R use the term “‘clinical rabbinics,” a term
basic sciences, but, overall, I did not experience
that continues to stick out in my mind. I believe
clinical medicine as satisfying. After graduating
that clinical medicine and “clinical rabbinics”
medical school I returned to RIETS and enrolled
are very similar. Both focus fundamentally on
in the semikhah program. Upon receiving ordina-
relationships, be they doctor-patient or clergy-
tion I returned to medicine and spent a year at
congregant. Both professions can be very
Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn where
influential over people’s lives. Each has its own
I completed an internship in internal medicine,
base of knowledge, clinical skills and field of
which enabled me to receive a license to practice

11
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Musmakhim in the Limelight
expertise. My interest in both stems from my
attraction to working and interacting with people.
That which drew me to medicine also drew me
to the rabbinate. I struggled to determine with
which one I would find greater satisfaction and
accomplishment. Over time, my exposure to the
rabbinate has been more satisfying, though there
are times when I do miss clinical medicine. For
one year while on the West Side, I worked part
time as a physician in the home hospice division
of the Metropolitan/Jewish Hospice of Greater
New York. That experience was very fulfilling and
meaningful, and has helped me in some of my
rabbinic work as well.
RDAH: I took the opposite route from Rabbi Weiss.
I graduated Yeshiva College, completed a masters
degree in modern Jewish history at the Bernard
Revel Graduate School, and deferred my acceptance
into medical school to finish semikhah. I had just got-
ten married and we went to Gruss. After completing
RIETS I attended medical school at Cornell. Profes-
sionally, there was never a doubt that I would enter
the field of medicine. For me, studying for semikhah
was crucial for my development as an oved Hashem.
Currently, I am completing a residency in dermatol-
ogy in a “research track” program in Birmingham,
Ala. My program combines two years of clinical
work with two years of research. Because Birming-
ham has a small Jewish community, I have had
ample opportunity to fill in for the rav in a number
of capacities, to serve on batei din and, together with
my Rebbitzen, deliver shiurim to audiences hungry
for Jewish learning. The internet enables us to stay in
close touch with people around the world. As such,
I’ve had the privilege of working on a project for the
RCA alongside chaveirim from Israel, Switzerland,
California and New York.
Rabbi Dr. Richard Weiss
For me personally, RIETS has deep familial sig-
nificance. My grandfather, Rabbi Emanuel Holzer
’50R has semikhah from RIETS and has been very
active in the RCA and Rabbinic Alumni. My two
uncles – Rabbi Barry Holzer and Rabbi David
Holzer ’80R – also attended RIETS. My uncle
Barry ’86R was a Chaver. He then attended Albert
Einstein College of Medicine and became one of
the early home-grown rabbi-doctors. My uncle
David, an enthusiast of bringing forgotten Rishonic
manuscripts to publication, inspired my studies
at Revel. I come from a family that encourages
combining serious Torah learning with academic
pursuits, to pursue both sorts of degrees.
CHAVRUSA: How do you see the
two disciplines as complementing
one another? Do your non-Jewish
colleagues know of your semikhah and
what do they think of it?
RDRW: First, halachic and bio-ethical issues rou-
tinely overlap. Secondly, I believe that the overall
perspective of a rabbi is enhanced by having a
medical background. Based on my own experi-
ences, I feel that my medical training has helped
me become a better rabbi. Both rabbis and physi-
cians deal with individuals with a variety of issues,
and the experience of both disciplines and training
offers a broader and wider focus.
RDZL: In my field, the “two disciplines” of physi-
cian and rav are not two disciplines at all, but a
single combined discipline that allows me to help
couples navigate their way through the world of
fertility medicine. While every couple suffering
from infertility confronts issues beyond the purely
physiologic, frum couples struggle with added
layers of concerns specific to halacha, hashkafa, and
the frum community. The social pressure to have
children in the frum world, and the social stigma
attached to childlessness, are real and painful, as are
the potential halachic minefields of the diagnostic
and therapeutic options in the world of repro-
ductive medicine. Can, for example, a husband
undergo a fertility evaluation without encountering
any serious issurim? Can a woman undergo an arti-
ficial insemination prior to her t’vila? Can a couple
undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF)? What about
IVF if the couple already has several children?
What about IVF with donated eggs or with the
use of a pregnancy carrier, and in those cases, who
is the halachic mother? Can fertilized embryos be
biopsied for genetic testing, such as if both husband
and wife are carriers for a lethal disease that we
want to make sure their children do not inherit?
Can genetic testing be done on embryos to select
a gender – for example if the couple has only boys,
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C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
and the husband wants to be mekayem his mitzva of
p’ru urvu and have a girl? These are some examples
of the many halachic questions and issues that arise
every day in the practice of reproductive medicine.
Since many of my patients are frum couples, I try to
use my experience in both medicine and halacha to
help couples conceive. Since many of the halachic
questions are weighty and can have long-term
ramifications, for example in the realm of yuchsin,
and since I have been immersed in the world of
medicine for many years now and not in rabbanus,
I am not qualified to pasken for couples on these
issues, and I do not feel it is my role to do so. On
the other hand, my background from RIETS and
ongoing learning do allow me to help couples
sort out the halachic and hashkafic questions they
need to discuss with their rabbanim, and do help
me communicate effectively with couples’ poskim
about the issues involved. And once the issues
are sorted out to everyone’s medical and halachic
satisfaction, I can treat couples with a sensitivity
to their halachic, emotional, and social needs, and
hopefully, with siyata dishmaya, help them achieve a
pregnancy with as little stress and pain as possible.
I would echo what Rabbi Weiss says: Just as Rabbi
Weiss believes he is a better rabbi because he went
to medical school, so do I believe that I am a better
and more complete reproductive endocrinologist
because I went to RIETS.
I find that my non-Jewish colleagues have great
respect for a musmach, and most interestingly,
many of my non-Jewish patients know about my
being a rabbi and derive a certain comfort from
knowing that fact. Non-Jewish patients seem to
have great respect for religion, whether their own
or any other, and great respect for spiritual leaders,
and particularly in the realm of reproduction which
is often a spiritual roller-coaster of crisis and faith,
take solace in having a rabbi-doctor help them. I am
frequently asked by non-Jewish patients to “bless”
their fertility endeavors, and “bless” their embryos
in the laboratory when we do IVF. From at least
a “placebo effect” point of view, the comfort and
confidence that non-Jewish patients have in me as a
rabbi-doctor might very well increase their chances
of achieving medical success.
RDAH: For me there are two aspects. First, the
functional component, alongside what Rabbi
Weiss mentioned about interpersonal sensitiv-
ity. My clinical reasoning is sharper because of
my rabbinic training in Talmudic logic. I would
recommend to all my medical colleagues to go
get semikhah! On another level, there is the matter
of the intellectual satisfaction. I see both pursuits
as complementing one another. Having a solid
Musmakhim in the Limelight

understanding of the contours of the human body,
of anatomy and physiology, and at the same time
to delve into the emes of Torah and being able to ac-
cess the “why” has been an incredible privilege; to
me, this is the essence of Torah Umadda, to explore
both the physical and spiritual worlds to try to get
to know God – b’chol drachecha da’eihu.
Although I don’t advertise my ordination in front
of my colleagues, it has come up one way or
another. To my surprise, they respect me for it,
although my experience may not be normative,
as Alabama is right in the middle of the Bible Belt.
I tend to field a lot of Tanach questions from my
non-Jewish colleagues, which was not the case at
Cornell on the Upper East Side. I am sensitive to
acting as a role model and heightening the poten-
tial for kiddush Hashem.
CHAVRUSA: How do you keep up with
the growing body of literature on medi-
cal halacha and medical ethics? What
should non-MDs do to keep up?
RDAH: Rabbi Weiss may be better able to answer
this question since I don’t spend more time on
medical ethics and halacha than other areas of my
learning. When I was in medical school I had Rabbi
J. David Bleich as a fantastic resource a few blocks
away. I went to him with any questions that came
up; I continue to ask him my shaylos. I also try
to keep up with his column in Tradition. Before I
began my internship, I sat down with Rabbi Yaacov
Neuburger ‘79R and reviewed potential situations.
That experience was invaluable. One of the advan-
tages of finishing RIETS before attending medical
school was availing myself of the YU and RIETS
resources, which have been absolutely vital to me.
RDZL: Because of the nature of my medi-
cal specialty, I am privileged to be in constant
contact with rabbanim, poskim and dayanim in
the YU community as well as in the yeshivish
and chasidish communities. I keep up with the
growing halachic and bioethical literature by
virtue of living these matters every day and by
hearing rabbanim discuss the issues with me and
talk them out with me when paskening for patients.
I am also privileged to daven in the shul of Rabbi
Daniel Feldman, rav of Etz Chaim of Teaneck.
Rabbi Feldman is a YU rebbe and the director of
rabbinic research at the CJF. He is an enormous
resource, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the
vast shaylos utshuvos literature from past to present.
Being close with him, and hearing his weekly
shiurim in shul, helps me keep up with recent
literature about these matters.
RDRW: The personal relationships with mentors
that RDAH and RDZL described are invanu-
able to our fields. For me, the primary way to stay
fresh on ‘both’ sides of the literature is through
the shaylos my congregants and others ask me
regarding clinical, ethical or practical medicine.
Fielding their questions regarding ‘end of life issues,’
questions about abortion, or fertility requires that
I review such topics to the point of being able to
provide a practical answer.. I have found that two of
the best reference works (which can be obtained
both in Hebrew and English) are Dr. Abraham S.
Abraham’s ‘Nishmat Avraham’ and Dr. Avraham
Steinberg’s ‘Encyclopedia Halachatit Refuit.’ Both are
very extensive, but are different from one another
in terms of approach and style of presentation.
RDAH: Dr. Abraham S. Abraham also has a work
called “The Comprehensive Guide to Medical Halacha”,
which presents much of the medical halacha in
digest form akin to Shmiras Shabbos K’hilchesa. I
would also recommend his small pocket guide to
doctors for Shabbos and yom tov called “Halachot
for the Physician on the Sabbath and Festivals”.
CHAVRUSA: What can the semikhah
program do to prepare musmakhim
better for medical matters?
RDRW: RIETS students are receiving quite a bit
of education and training regarding medical issues
and halakha. The sessions are usually topical and
utilize a ‘macro’ point of view by studying major
issues. While that approach is effective, I think that
‘real case studies’ could be even more helpful. Pre-
senting a case, for example, of a pregnant woman
whose unborn child is diagnosed with some type
of chromosomal abnormality, would require the
rabbi to address the issue of hapalas ubar with a
focus on specific clinical and emotional situations.
This approach might make the education more
relevant and meaningful.
RDAH: I agree. Case studies are very helpful. I felt
that I anticipated many of the questions in medi-
cal school from my training at RIETS. Another
great resource is the Schlessinger Institute, which
publishes a lot. Twice a year, the Institute offers
courses in medical halacha and Jewish medical
ethics, presented by experts in the field. They also
have a great library. I availed myself of this when I
was at Gruss and I would love to see them partner
with YU. I would suggest the same thing regarding
Tzomet. They have come up with technology to
aid doctors such as the pen whose ink disappears
after several hours. I feel that there is an underrec-
ognized need for this literature and these devices
Rabbi Dr. Aton Holzer
here in the United States, and we rabbanim would
do well to be familiar with them and create aware-
ness among our medical Balebatim.
RDZL: I echo Rabbi Weiss’s comment that RIETS
talmidim are already receiving a rich education
in medical-halachic topics, both through formal
shiurim and classes, as well as through informal
exposure to so many of the YU rebbeim and roshei
yeshiva who are renowned experts in these matters.
Because of the value of experiential learning, I
believe that RIETS talmidim who are interested in
developing their knowledge about medical issues
should be encouraged to spend time with doctors
who are engaged in areas of clinical medicine that
have particular halachic and hashkafic import.
To fully appreciate the halachic and hashkafic
issues with medicine, one must first understand
the metzius, and the best way to understand is to
observe and experience. Interested RIETS talmidim
should be encouraged to spend a day or two, or
even longer if appropriate, shadowing physicians,
such as oncologists, to appreciate end-of-life issues;
obstetricians to appreciate beginning-of-life issues;
and reproductive endocrinologists to appreciate re-
productive issues. RIETS has already set up on-site
visits to an IVF laboratory for interested talmidim,
and I would encourage it to expand that type of
firsthand medical experience. To train someone to
be a posek means to acquaint him as fully as pos-
sible with the situations he’ll be called on to pasken
for. In the medical realm, full acquaintance can only
be established by witnessing, in person, the process
of diagnosis, treatment, and physician-patient
interaction, and by experiencing the human factor
as well – the raw emotions, the heartache and hope,
that are attached to these issues. n

13
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Interview
Sichas Chullin Shel
Talmidei Chachamim
Tzricha Talmud
—Avoda Zara 19b
An Interview with
Rabbi Yona Reiss
Max and Marion Grill Dean, RIETS
CHAVRUSA: Prior to coming to RIETS
you had successful careers as a law-
yer and the menahel of the Beth Din.
Describe what prompted you to make
these career decisions, of the three
which was the most challenging, and
if you feel that each position naturally
led to the next?
Like many students, I was not really sure what I
wanted to do when I grew up. I attended MTA for
high school and Yeshiva College, with summers
in the Morasha Kollel. Like many ambivalent
individuals, I enrolled in law school. I loved learn-
ing so I pursued both a rabbinical degree and a
law degree. I wanted to be a Torah scholar and
teach, but also believed in the value of a profes-
sional degree and I enjoyed the practice of law.
Along the way, I picked up an interest in dayanus
because I felt frustrated that in law school, I was
researching the minutiae of legal texts from a
secular context when there was such a wealth of
material on Jewish law. I wanted to delve at least
as diligently into the tomes of Choshen Mishpat as
I did with respect to the law books lining the legal
libraries. My roommate went on to a dayanus post
studying at Eretz Chemda in Israel. After practic-
ing law for a few years, I enrolled in the Yadin Yadin
program while keeping my job at my law firm. The
law practice became increasingly demanding and
it was hard to keep up with my dayanus studies. I
took a leave of absence from the firm to study full
time. During that year I learned with Rabbi Mi-
chael Broyde ’93R, who had been recruited from
his position as a law professor at Emory to be the
director of the Beth Din of America. He asked me
to assist him and I readily did; at the end of the
year when he returned to Atlanta, I was asked to
assume the position of director of the Beth Din.
For a few years I remained part time with my firm,
but when the Beth Din work became too busy, I
focused exclusively upon the Beth Din. My work
at the Beth Din was a fulfillment of all of my inter-
ests, kept me in avodas hakodesh and allowed me
to use my legal abilities for arbitration and media-
tion. After engaging in that position, it occurred to
me that in order to strengthen the influence and
vigor of the Beth Din, it was important to develop
a stronger affiliation with the Yadin Yadin Kollel,
where Rabbi Willig ’71R, who serves as the segan
av beth din for the Beth Din, is the segan rosh kollel,
and where Rabbi Broyde and I had studied. I initi-
ated conversations with President Joel regarding
formalizing a relationship between the Beth Din
and the Yadin Yadin Kollel. The development of
that proposal led to my having regular conversa-
tions with the president; during those conversa-
tions President Joel informed me that Rabbi
Charlop ’54R would be assuming a new role and
he asked me to consider the position of dean of
RIETS. I came to the realization that this position
would be a wonderful opportunity to continue
to use my abilities to contribute meaningfully to
Klal Yisrael, including the ability to train future
rabbonim, poskim and dayanim. During the years
at the Beth Din I also served for five years as the
rosh kollel for a summer YU kollel in Atlanta which
gave me the opportunity to teach YU students
and hone my pedagogical skills.
14
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
CHAVRUSA: As a talmid of the Yeshiva,
who were your rebbeim? How will your
experience as a talmid here affect
your vision for the Yeshiva?
In high school my rebbeim were Rabbi Cohen
’65R, Rabbi Yaged ’61R and Rabbi Hecht ’64R.
I went early admissions to Yeshiva College and
enrolled in the shiur of Rabbi Willig, who was
familiar to me from my summers at Morasha.
After a year in Shaalvim, I wanted to learn on my
own; I happened to sit in on Rav Schachter’s ‘67R
shiur. I fell in love with his shiur and ended up
transfixed in his shiur until I finished semikhah.
I actually would attend shiur during my days off
from law school and always sought to obtain tapes
of his shiurim whenever I could. I grew up in
Monsey with Rav Tendler ’48R as my mara d’asra,
and count him as well as a rebbe of mine.
Every now and then as a student I would look
around and say, “I would love to do things this
way or that way.” It’s especially exciting for me now
to be able to actualize those dreams. Of course,
this has always been a wonderful and excellent
yeshiva. The proof is how well the yeshiva has
blossomed in terms of students, batei midrashim,
kollelim, shiurim, and programs over the last
number of decades. I am privileged to have been
mentored by my incredible predecessor, Rabbi
Zevulun Charlop. Part of my job is to make sure
that we continue to thrive. We have succeeded in
adjusting to changing needs and changing times
for the student body and the Jewish commu-
nity in general. It’s important for me to have an
open, warm and transparent office environment
Interview
where the processes are clear and honored. As
we expand there are more issues with which to
grapple, including being technologically savvy,
and comporting with the professional standards
required in contemporary times. The fact that we
unveiled a new and revised RIETS web site has
been applauded by our students. I try to maintain
an open-door policy in my office, so the talmidim
can feel comfortable coming to the office any
time, to share their reflections, thoughts and con-
cerns. I’ve also emphasized the need to generate
a positive environment. I recollect, unfortunately,
from my student days a certain environment of
cynicism and defensiveness; there was an insuf-
ficient feeling of appreciation and awareness of
being in what I consider the best yeshiva on earth.
There was really no reason not to have that energy,
spirit, enthusiasm and optimism. I’ve seen much
of that improve under the leadership of President
Joel. I feel it’s vital to inject positive feelings and
self-esteem and an appreciation of how fantastic
an institution we are in terms of combining Torah
erudition and sophistication with an awareness
and appreciation of the world around us.
CHAVRUSA: In your new position, you
will be coordinating the religious life
and culture on campus. What steps
are you taking to enhance the rebbe-
talmid relationship and the warmth of
the environment?
There were a number of programs I discovered
when I came to Yeshiva which were all excellent
and promising, but which were spread out in
different places and needed to be coordinated.
We had a sgan mashgichim program, to enable
students to have more of a bond with individuals
looking after their spiritual welfare – in addition
to their rebbeim; we had shoelim umaishivim all
around the beis medrash to answer questions.
We had shiur assistants who helped facilitate
connections between rebbe and talmid in shiur;
we had a hadracha — big brother program for
each shiur where the older students mentored
the younger students. None of these initiatives
truly connected with one another. One of my
first tasks was to identify all of these pieces that
were related to the aim of my office and properly
coordinate them. Rabbi Elisha Bacon ’01R was
coordinating the sgan mashgiach positions and
I expanded his portfolio to also oversee the
administration of these other programs. This
way there is a multi-layered mentoring process
coordinated through the RIETS office. We’ve
also established a more regular series of rebbe-
talmid lunch meetings. In connection with the
new Glueck Center, every single shiur will be al- It’s vital to inject
located a space in the beis medrash and each rosh
yeshiva will be seated near his shiur, so he can be
more accessible to his talmidim during seder. We
an appreciation of
instituted a program this past semester where ev-
ery Rosh Yeshiva attended night seder for an en-
how fantastic an
tire week, a practice that will continue this next
year. Basically we are establishing mechanisms
institution we are in
and infrastructure to enable stronger bonds
between rebbe and talmid and better resource terms of combining
systems for talmidim in general to communicate
with their rebbeim and other mentors and coun-
selors so no one is left without assistance. This
Torah erudition and
is tricky in an institution as big as ours. But our
burgeoning size is a welcome challenge.
sophistication with
CHAVRUSA: As head of all Judaic
an awareness and
studies, how will you manage RIETS
as a makom Torah for those seeking
appreciation of the
a yeshiva atmosphere and simultane-
ously, cater to our talmidim who see world around us.
Judaic studies as more of an academ-
ic requirement? office. The presence of college programs, gradu-
A variety of undergraduate Judaic studies pro- ates programs, teams, clubs and other cultural
realities does not diminish our presence of being
grams have always been offered to our diverse
a yeshiva; it enhances the yeshiva environment
student body. Each program plays a vital and
by accentuating the ideology that one’s entire life
important role, be it the Mazer Yeshiva Pro-
experience can and should remain centered in
gram, the traditional yeshiva program; BMP, the
the olam hayeshiva. Even one’s pursuit of secular
Stone Beis Medrash Program, also a traditional
studies and professional education is ultimately
yeshiva program for students with greater time
constraints; the Isaac Breuer College, intended to grounded in a Torah environment suffused with
be an academic Jewish studies college program; yirat shamayim. This is what is what makes our ye-
and finally the Mechina program, intended to shiva unique and the experience here instructive
address the needs of our students with less strong for preparing our students to build professional
backgrounds in Jewish studies prior to matricula- careers, families and communities grounded in
tion. We made one important change which is Torah values.
historic in the history of Yeshiva. We now have all
four programs coordinated under one centralized CHAVRUSA: How will you divide the
office to create a more cohesive environment responsibilities and talmidim between
for the Yeshiva, so all students will feel that they the various batei midrash?
are part of one unified yeshiva. During orienta-
The introduction of the Glueck beis medrash is
tion, we now run “Open House” as one yeshiva,
one of the most exciting challenges of my job. I’m
rather than as separate units. This past year, we
looking forward to it and I hope that we anticipate
had “In-Shabbos” programs where 500 – 600
all of the challenges. We will have a new two-level
students remained on campus, some of the largest
beis medrash of over 500 seats and new faculty of-
numbers in history to participate in the Shab-
fices to enable our roshei yeshiva to meet and coun-
bos program. My wife and I were on campus for
sel our talmidim. We have B’H enough shiurim and
such a Shabbos and looked around the cafeteria
talmidim to warrant this new beis medrash facility,
at the multitude of talmidim, from different
in addition to the existing four batei medrash (Zys-
backgrounds representing different programs and
man Hall, Klein Hall, Furst Hall and Morgen-
different hashkafos, all singing zemiros together.
stern). We have assembled a few committees to
My wife turned to me and said, “Wow, this really
focus on all aspects of integration into the Glueck
is a yeshiva!” I thought this was a very telling com-
Center. Naturally, the integration is a work in
ment that captured the perspective of the RIETS
progress. We have ordered seforim for the new beis
15
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Interview
medrash and are in the process of cataloging them.
The new RIETS administrative offices will be on
the sixth (top) floor of the building; we will have
satellite beth din space where talmidim training in
the kollel l’horaah will have hands on training for
dayanut. Determining the appropriate use of all
of the different batei midrash and related facilities
will obviously be a major and exciting focus of our
planning for this upcoming semester.
CHAVRUSA: This coming academic
year is a big one for RIETS: opening a
new beis medrash, a RIETS dinner and
a Chag Hasemikhah. Obviously, RIETS
will be on a platform this year. How do
you see the semikhah program chang-
ing in the next five years? What are
your goals for Rabbinic Alumni?
We successfully set up two committees of roshei
yeshiva this past year. First, the machzor committee,
which devised the seder halimud for the coming
years, including some exciting innovations such as
a yeshiva-wide study of Maseches Yevamos, which
is slated for two years from now. The second
committee is the Semikhah Curriculum Review
committee, which has performed a wholesale re-
view of the semikhah curriculum, canvassing ideas
from both talmidim and roshei yeshiva. Our goal
is to create responsive approaches to the various
challenges that have confronted us over the years
including making the program a more cohesive
experience, with the articulation of yearly expecta-
tions during the program. We also resurrected
the RIETS component of the YU press. We
appointed R. Daniel Feldman to coordinate the
Yeshiva press to take advantage of all the talent
that we have here – roshei yeshiva and other Torah
personalities – so it will have a more lasting im-
pact on the community, who thirst for the Torah
of our faculty. We are in the process of finalizing a
revised YU Hagaddah, a Tanach project, and other
seforim of halakha, hashkafa and chidushei Torah of
our roshei yeshiva.
There is such an important role for our alumni
to play, be they in the pulpit, chinuch, chaplaincy,
outreach, communal positions, and even our well-
trained and learned lay people. Our semikhah pro-
gram represents the gold standard of excellence.
I am not only referring to erudition and scholar-
ship, which remain the most important emphasis
of our semikha program. We are also producing
professionally qualified, sensitive and decent
individuals who have received, through our pro-
fessional rabbinic training program, the requisite CHAVRUSA: How do you regard the
professional skills to serve as community leaders. competition to RIETS from both the
Our emphasis has to be outward and community- right and the left?
oriented because the world is dependant upon
No competition. There is a general aphorism that
us. We also have to pay more attention to our
kinas sofrim tarbeh chochmah. We welcome Torah
leadership role and responsibility in Eretz Yisrael
learning from all quarters and all sections.
which is becoming the demographic center for
world Jewry; there is a tremendous need for the
Yeshiva University ideology and vision there. We CHAVRUSA: What are your feelings
need to continue to discharge our role in terms of when you sign a klaff? Only a small
community development and reinforcement in elite group of rabbonim with last
all the Jewish communities in North America and names such as Revel, Belkin, Soloveit-
elsewhere in the Diaspora. In that sense, maintain- chik, Lamm and Charlop have had the
ing the connection with our rabbinic graduates, privilege to do so.
giving them continued programming, and making This is part of the task of being the Dean of the
them a part of the conversation with our current Yeshiva, it is part of the mesorah of the position. It
students is a vital part of our mission moving is my job to discharge the responsibilities of the
forward. One of the first mandates I discussed position to the best of my ability, including the
with the Glueck planning committee heads was to signing of the klaff and everything that entails. I
set aside at least one table for the members of the take these responsibilities seriously and I’m cer-
Rabbinic Alumni to be able to learn in the Glueck tainly awed by the significance of the task. n
beis medrash, to feel welcome at all times and to be
able to interact with our talmidim.
CHAVRUSA: What are your thoughts
on encouraging more talmidim to go
into vocations of avodat hakodesh and
the YU kollelim?
We have so many kollelim, that for the uninitiated
it can be difficult to keep track. Think about it.
We have the Katz Kollel for RIETS students, the
Wexner and Beren Kollelei Elyon, the Gruss Kollel
in Yerushalayim, the Rabbi Norman Lamm Kollel
L’horaah, kollelim off-campus at schools and shuls
on Long Island and the Upper West Side. We have
community kollelim in Chicago and Toronto in
conjunction with the CJF, and a host of summer
kollelim. It’s a way to maintain a presence and a
vibrancy, and to contribute to the communities we
serve. It’s a way for our talmidim to be able to flour-
ish in different learning and teaching environments
even after they leave the confines of our yeshiva.
We are becoming a yeshiva without borders. Just as
YUTorah.org is heard by countless listeners around
the world, so too, our physical presence does not
need to be confined to Washington Heights. There
is a desire for our musmakhim, talmidim and roshei
yeshiva to have a presence in different communities
on a regular basis. Baruch Hashem, we are now big
enough to send out older talmidim and graduates
to different communities. I see the community
kollel trend as one that will probably be met with
continued success and will be desired by more and
more communities.
16
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Practical Halachah
The Mesirah Dilemma
Rabbi Chaim Jachter ’92R
Rabbi Jachter is a rebbe, Torah Academy of Bergen
County, a dayan in the Beth Din of Elizabeth,
Co-Rabbi, Congregation Shaarei Ora and the author
of “Gray Matter” volumes one, two and three.
O ne who is faced with the possibility of
having to report a fellow Jew to the civil
government authorities is faced with
a difficult dilemma. On the one hand, such an
action might very well constitute mesirah, a very
severe violation of halacha. On the other hand,
violators of just laws must be punished appropri-
ately and the community must be protected from
their dangerous deeds.
The Severe Sin of Mesirah
The Shulchan Aruch (C.M. 388:9) states quite
emphatically, “One is forbidden to hand a Jew to a
non-Jew, be it his person or his money, even if the
Jew is a rasha and ba’al aveirot and even if the Jew
is harassing him.” The consequences for mesirah
are unusually severe. The Shulchan Aruch (ibid.)
notes that the moser has no share in Olam Haba;
the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 17a) states that the
punishment that will last forever. A moser is even
classified as an akum in regards to shechitah (Rama
Y.D. 2:9) and writing a Sefer Torah (Shulchan Aruch
Y.D. 281:3).
The Shulchan Aruch (ad loc. number 10) states,
“it is permitted to kill a moser even nowadays,”
meaning even in the absence of a Sanhedrin.
This is not meant to apply only in theory. The
Margali’ot HaYam (Sanhedrin 46a) relates a bone-
chilling episode that his father related to him as a
child (recall that the Margali’ot HaYam was written
in the mid-20th century). In his hometown of
Greiding, Poland there was a violent and brazen
moser who one year entered the shul on the night
of Yom Kippur immediately before Yom Kippur.
The moser stood wrapped in his tallis near the
Rav by the eastern wall when he was approached
by a few men who grabbed him and used the tallis
to close the moser’s mouth. They brought him to
the river located near the shul and deposited him
in the river. The Margaliot HaYam notes that not
one of those present at the shul revealed what had
happened when the local authorities investigated
the cause of death.
This harsh approach to mesirah is quite under-
standable when one considers the history of
mesirah. Classic examples include the Jews who
informed Pharoah of Moshe Rabbenu’s killing the
Mitzri (see Rashi to Shemot 2:14) and the Jew
who informed the Roman government of Rabi
Shimon Bar Yochai’s mild criticism of the Roman
government. Both Moshe Rabbeinu and Rabi
Shimon bar Yochai were forced into hiding for
very long periods of time to save their lives. The
long and damaging history of Jewish informers
through the 20th century is chronicled in the En-
cyclopedia Judaica’s entry “Informers”. Informers
have done incalculable damage to individual Jews
as well as Jewish communities during the past two
thousand years. They have cost lives and caused
irreparable harm to countless individuals and com-
munities. The moser is treated so harshly, explains
the Gra (Biur HaGra, C.M. 388:59) and the Sema
(388:29), since he is classified as a rodef.
The Aruch Hashulchan
This harsh approach is most understandable
when reporting a Jew’s entirely defensible action
to an evil oppressive government. Does the same
apply to governments that treats Jews relatively
fairly and have relatively fair systems of justice?
The Aruch Hashulchan (C.M. 388:7) writes that
the rules of moser apply only to an unjust govern-
ment. Rav Eliezer Waldenburg (Teshuvot Tzitz
Eliezer 19:52) deduces from the fact that the Aruch
Hashulchan praises not only the Russian Czar but
also the British government and even the British
empire for spreading fair governance throughout
the world, and that the Aruch Hashulchan made
this point not only due to his concern for govern-
ment censors.
17
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Rav Hershel Schachter adopts a similar approach
A “moser” is one who aides a pirate, a crooked govern-
ment official, or a tyrant-king to obtain money illegally
from his fellow Jew. Even if the Jew has actually done
something wrong, but if the secular government or
the ruler would exact a punishment far beyond that
which the crime should require, then it is likewise
forbidden to report him. If, however, the government is
entitled to its taxes, or is permitted to punish criminals
as offenders, there is no problem of mesirah in telling
the government information needed for them to collect
their taxes or to apprehend their man.
“The Journal of Halacha and
Contemporary Society” 1:118
Nonetheless, no contemporary halachic authority
regards the rules of moser as entirely null and void
in Western democracies, even in those countries
that have often shown incredible kindness to Jews
such as the United States. Even Rav Schachter
(in a brief essay available at www.torahweb.org)
voices concern that a Jew would unduly suffer from
other inmates in certain prisons (Rav Schachter
distinguishes between federal and state prisons) or
that lingering anti-Semitic attitudes would cause
an offender to receive a punishment beyond what
he deserves. Rav Schachter writes that if such
concerns are indeed relevant, then turning in such
an offender would be considered mesirah.
Rav Schachter notes:
One critical point should however be added: There
is no problem of mesirah in informing the govern-
ment of a Jewish criminal, even if it penalizes the
criminal with a punishment more severe than the
Torah requires, because even a non-Jewish govern-
ment is authorized to punish and penalize above
and beyond the law, shelo min hadin, for the pur-
pose of maintaining law and order. However, this
only applies in the situation when the Jewish offender
or criminal has at least violated some Torah law.
But if he did absolutely nothing wrong in the eyes of
the Torah, then giving him over to the government
would constitute a violation of mesirah.
Similarly, Rav Waldenberg does not simply cite
the Aruch Hashulchan in his responsum regarding a
physician informing the police about child abuse.
The Aruch Hashulchan is but one consideration in
his discussion of mesirah. A review of the rulings of
other contemporary poskim clearly indicates that
the prohibition of mesirah does indeed apply in
certain situations even in regard to contemporary
Western democracies. For example, see Teshuvot
Igrot Moshe C.M. 1:8, Teshuvot Chelkat Yaakov 3:96,
Teshuvot Minchat Yitzchak 8:148 and 9:20, Teshuvot
VeHanhagot 1:807 and Pitchei Choshen volume five
chapter four.
Practical Halacha
Accordingly, while the severity of the prohibition
of mesirah has been considerably reduced in our
times (see Teshuvot Beit Yitzchak Y.D. 2:49:12 and
Pitchei Choshen ad loc. footnote number one), the
prohibition nonetheless remains in effect. Thus,
there is a need to consult a rav before informing
government authorities of suspected of criminal
acts committed by a fellow Jew.
Solving the Dilemma
Unlike previous generations and communities, our
current Jewish communities do not have the means
to properly investigate and enforce criminal law, as
noted by Rav Waldenberg in his aforementioned
responsum. Indeed, the Beth Din of America does
not adjudicate any matters of a criminal nature.
Rav Schachter (in a lecture delivered in Teaneck,
accessible at www.torahweb.org) bemoans the
fact that criminals are pressured to leave their own
communities but subsequently perpetrate their
nefarious deeds in the communities to which they
move. Thus, there is a need at least in some cases
to inform the government of the criminal activi-
ties of fellow Jews. While it is difficult to set clear
guidelines as to the application of the mesirah rules
in Western democracies, an overall picture and im-
pression can be gleaned from a review of a number
of rulings of the great poskim of the past 50 years
regarding the application of the prohibition of
mesirah in contemporary circumstances.
Kashrut Fraud
Rav Moshe Feinstein (ad. loc.) was consulted by
the Vaad Harabanim of Baltimore regarding a case
in which an individual forged kashrut seals and af-
fixed them to non-kosher meat. Rav Moshe writes
that there is concern for mesirah if the offender
is reported to the government since he would
be potentially fined and incarcerated, which are
inappropriate punishments, and that the proper
consequence is to simply disqualify this individual
from selling kosher products. He does, however,
permit informing government officials if the rabbis
determine that they are incapable of stopping the
offender, but they must first warn the wrongdoer
that they will press charges against him with the
civil authorities if he does not abide by the rabbis’
ruling. This ruling is an excellent example of how
to balance being fair to the offender and honoring
the prohibition of mesirah on the one hand, yet
protecting the community on the other hand.
Serving as an IRS Auditor
In another teshuvah, Rav Moshe (ad loc. number
92) permits serving as a tax auditor for the United
States Internal Revenue Service. He reasons that if
one did not accept this job, someone else will and
thus violators would be discovered in any event. He
adds that one may assume that most of the job does
not involve discovering tax fraud since most returns
are filed in an honest manner.
This ruling again serves as an example of the applica-
tion of the mesirah rules in the current environment.
It is hard to imagine that Rav Moshe would permit
a Jew to serve as a tax auditor for a corrupt govern-
ment such as the Roman government in the time of
the Gemara or the Egyptian government we hear
about in Sefer Shemot. Service for the IRS is highly
distinguishable from the “mocheis,” unjust tax collec-
tors so strongly condemned by Chazal (for example,
Bava Kama 113a). Nonetheless, Rav Moshe pres-
ents two reasons to justify such employment and
did not simply respond that the mesirah prohibition
does not apply in the current environment.
An Epileptic Driver
Rav Ovadia Yosef (Teshuvot Yechave Da’at 4:60)
was asked if it is permissible for a physician to reveal
to government officials in charge of issuing drivers
licenses that a particular candidate for a license is
hiding the fact that he suffers from uncontrolled
and unpredictable episodes of epilepsy. Rav Yosef
responded that it is not only permissible to reveal this
information but one must reveal such information.
He even rules that a doctor should violate his Hip-
pocratic Oath not to reveal confidential information
in this instance, since such a person driving a vehicle
constitutes a danger to life and property. Rav Yosef
stresses in this teshuvah that just as it is most often
forbidden to speak lashon hara so too it is occasion-
ally a mitzvah to tell lashon hara if it is done with the
intention to save others from serious harm.
Rav Yosef in this teshuvah does not even raise the
issue of mesirah. This might be for a number of
reasons including the fact that he is not causing the
potential driver to be imprisoned and that he is not
causing any direct loss, financial or otherwise. He is
merely insuring that the individual not receive that
to which he is not entitled.
Theft
Rav Sinai Adler, the rav of Ashdod, posed the follow-
ing question to Rav Eliashiv (Kovetz Teshuvot 1:198).
There was an incident in which cash was stolen
from a tzedakah box and all indications pointed
to one individual. The situation was quite serious,
since the suspected offender had a large family and
was a Torah professional. In response, Rav Eliashiv
cited Teshuvot Panim Me’irot (2:155) who ruled that
in a case where there was raglayim ladavar, ample
evidence, that a certain individual stole money, he
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C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
should be seriously punished. However, he refrained
from permitting the handing over of the suspect
to the local authorities due to concern that they
would kill the offender (see Bava Kama 117a citing
Yeshayahu 51:20). Rav Eliashiv adds that since
currently this concern is not relevant it is essentially
permitted to report the offender to the police. (Simi-
larly, in Teshuvot Yabia Omer C.M. 10:7 Rav Ovadia
Yosef permits handing over a Jewish murderer to a
non-Jewish government that will incarcerate him for
life, but not to a government that will execute him.)
Nonetheless, Rav Eliashiv expressed concern for
chillul Hashem due to the suspect’s employment in
a Torah field, and left the decision to the discretion
of Rav Adler to assess whether the damage caused
by the report to the police would be worse than the
theft. Rav Eliashiv assigned the decision to the local
rav who was intimately familiar with all the details
of the situation and was therefore the one who was
qualified to make the final decision in this case.
Service as an Assistant DA
An Orthodox woman, who was serving as an as-
sistant district attorney (ADA) in an American city,
was assigned the task of prosecuting an Orthodox
man accused of severe child abuse. She asked me
if halachah permitted her to do so, and I consulted
Rav Hershel Schachter. Rav Schachter responded
that she may prosecute him, as batei din today lack
any jurisdiction in criminal matters, so otherwise
the accused would go unpunished and repeat his
heinous crime.
Rav Schachter explained that this ruling was based
on Rashi (Gittin 9b s.v. K’sheirin and s.v. Chutz) and
Teshuvot Maraham Schick (C.M. 50). Rashi presents
the universal obligation of dinim, to insure a just
society, as the source for the rule of dina d’malchuta
dina, our obligation to honor civil laws. According
to Rashi’s approach, the non-Jews’ obligation of
dinim impacts on Jews as well; we must follow the
laws they have promulgated to insure a proper soci-
ety. Thus, a non-Jewish government is halachically
empowered to punish Jewish criminals when Jews
are unable to do so. Moreover, Jews are permit-
ted to assist a fair non-Jewish government in just
prosecution of a Jewish criminal.
The Maharam Schick cites the following Gemara
(Bava Metzia 83b and 84a) to further this point:
Rabbi Elazar son of Rabi Shimon met a police officer.
Rabi Elazar said to him, “How can you detect the
thieves . . . ? Perhaps you take the innocent and leave
behind the guilty.” The officer replied “And what shall
I do? It is the king’s command.” [Rabbi Eleazar then
advised this policeman how to determine who was
a thief and who was not]… A report was heard in
Practical Halacha
the royal court. They said, “Let the reader of the letter
become the messenger.” Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi
Shimon was brought to the court and he proceeded to
apprehend thieves. Rabbi Yehoshua son of Karchah,
sent word to him, “Vinegar, son of wine! (i.e., inferior
son of a superior father) How long will you deliver the
people of our God for slaughter?” Rabbi Eleazar sent
the reply, “I eradicate thorns from the vineyard.” Rabbi
Yehoshua responded: “Let the owner of the vineyard
come and eradicate his thorns” … A similar incident
befell Rabbi Yishmael the son of Rabbi Yosi. The
prophet Elijah appeared to him and rebuked him…
“What can I do — it is the royal decree,” responded
Rabi Yishmael. Elijah retorted, “Your father fled to
Assia, you flee to Laodica” (i.e., you should flee and
not obey).
The Maharam Schick applied this to a dreadful
question that was posed to him. An individual’s
brother suddenly died unexpectedly and the widow
was suspected of having poisoned him. There were
numerous indications and somewhat of an admis-
sion that she had committed the crime. At first, the
Maharam Schick thought that the crime should
not be reported to the civil authorities (of late 19th
century Hungary) since they judge and execute
based on self-incrimination. However, he concluded
that it is permissible to report the crime based on
the Gemara’s story regarding Rabi Elazar son of
Rabbi Shimon. He also notes that the Rashba (in
a teshuvah presented by the Beit Yosef to C.M. 388)
cites this passage in the Gemara and applies it in
practice. The Maharam Schick, however (following
Rashba) notes that we deduce from Eliyahu Ha-
Navi’s reprimands that it is not midat chassidut (pious
behavior) to report such behavior to the authorities.
Thus, Maharam Schick concludes that gedolei Yisrael
should refrain from such reporting but it is entirely
permissible for other Jews to report the crime to the
authorities. Similarly, Rav Schachter permitted the
young woman to prosecute the Jewish man accused
of severe child abuse. Rav Schachter added that the
Jewish community is unable to solve the problem
by itself, as the offender will simply move to another
community and create the same problem elsewhere.
Thus, we are reliant on the local authorities for our
protection and thus the civil prosecution may be
pursued by a Jew.
Moreover, the Ritva (Bava Metzia 83b s.v. Amar
Lahem) asks how Rabi Elazar convicted offenders
without hearing testimony from valid witnesses who
issued a hatra’ah (warning) and when the Sanhedrin
is no longer functioning. He responds that this is
the responsibility of the government to execute even
without witnesses and hatra’ah in order to instill
discipline, as King David did when he executed the
young Amalekite when he reported that he killed
King Sha’ul (Shmuel II 1:13-16). In fact, Rav Eliashiv
(ad. loc. 3:231) applies this to the United States
government in a teshuvah written in 2004.
It seems that on the basis of this ruling (as well as
Rav Moshe’s ruling regarding service as a tax audi-
tor for the Internal Revenue Service), it is permitted
to serve as a Hebrew translator for the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigations. Even though in
doing so one may help the government discover
and prosecute Jewish criminals, we see that the
Halacha permits a Jew to help just government
prosecution of the criminals in its midst.
Child Abuse
Rav Waldenberg (ad. loc.) was asked whether
Halacha permits a physician to report situations
of child abuse to government authorities. Rav
Waldenberg permits reporting such cases if there is
legitimate and very serious concern for the welfare
of the child. Rav Waldenberg makes a critically
important interpretation of Shulchan Aruch C.M.
388:9, which states that mesirah is forbidden even
regarding someone who is “an evildoer and sinner.”
Rav Waldenberg explains that the Shulchan Aruch
is not speaking of a case in which the mesirah is to
prevent him from the sin he violates. Rather, the
Shulchan Aruch states that the fact that someone is
a sinner does not justify a mesirah for another un-
related cause. However, Rav Waldenberg explains
that the Shulchan Aruch does not forbid informing
the government authorities in a case in which the
government will prevent the evildoer from com-
mitting the evil he perpetrates.
Even though the Shulchan Aruch (ibid.) forbids
mesirah if only an individual is being victimized,
this applies only if the wrongdoer engages in verbal
abuse (see Rama ad. loc. Shach ad. loc. number 45
and Biur HaGra ad. loc. number 59). If, however,
there is substantial abuse, the victim is permitted
to save himself and, as Rav Waldenberg notes, the
community is obligated to protect the welfare of
its children and report suspected abuse to the civil
authorities. He does express concern, though, for
a child being placed in a home of a non-Jew or a
non-observant Jew. Indeed, Rav Shlomo Zalman
Auerbach (cited in Nishmat Avraham 4:208) ruled
that all efforts must be exerted in such cases to
insure that if the child is removed from his family,
that he be placed in an observant Jewish home.
We should clarify that the verbal abuse that does
not justify mesirah (see Biur HaGra ad. loc. number
57) is a situation such as the one described in Gittin
7a in which local ruffians were taunting Mar Ukvah.
These individuals constituted a nuisance to the
rabbi but did not cause substantial harm. However,
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C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
an individual in a position of power, such as a par-
ent or teacher, who verbally abuses those in his care,
does indeed cause substantial harm.
An additional factor is that civil law in many
locales mandates clergy and educators to report
child abusers to the local police. Thus the “royal
decree” principle, articulated in the aforementioned
Gemara in Bava Metzia 83b-84a, might be relevant
and serve as another justification for reporting
suspected child abusers to the civil authorities.
Rav Schachter (in his aforementioned Teaneck
address) stressed that parents and educators should
teach children to report to them cases of abuse. He
noted that most cases of abuse go unreported, in part
because the victims were not trained and prepared to
report such behavior. Once parents and educators in-
form youngsters of their being open to such reports,
the incidence of unreported abuse should subside.
Rav Schachter cautions, though, that sometimes
these reports are of highly questionable veracity.
Therefore, Rav Schachter advises rabbanim to con-
sult competent professionals who can determine
the legitimacy of the claims of abuse. This concern
also stresses the need for each case being presented
to a competent halachic authority for adjudication
before reporting such cases to government author-
ity. Rav Eliashiv (Kovetz Teshuvot 3:231) expresses
similar concern. An example of a rav who makes
such determinations is Rav David Cohen, who
serves as the posek for Ohel, a New York social ser-
vice organization, who regularly is posed with such
situations for adjudication. Indeed, the example of
Potiphar’s wife’s unfounded slander against Yosef
HaTzaddik compels us to exercise caution and to
do our best to insure that innocent individuals
are not maligned either by malicious or disturbed
individuals.
Testifying in Civil Court
Ordinarily, the Shulchan Aruch (C.M. 28:3) and
Rama (Teshuvot 52) prohibit testifying in secular
courts when all litigants are Jewish or in a case
where the court will take money away from a Jew
in violation of halachah (such as being the lone wit-
ness to testify that a Jew owes money to a non-Jew,
in which the court might force the Jew to pay based
on one witness’s testimony, whereas a beit din
requires two witnesses.) However, Rav Schachter
notes (in the aforementioned Torah Web article):
If the non-Jewish governmental authorities know
that one Jew is concealing information about
another Jew in order to save him from punishment,
the Shulchan Aruch (C.M. 28:3) considers this
a situation of chilul Hashem. Similarly, for many
generations it was the practice that if a gneiva had
Practical Halacha
occurred, and suspicion had fallen on the Jewish
community, rather than allow that suspicion to
hover over the entire community, the roshei hakehol,
with the permission of the rabbonim, would inform
the non-Jewish authorities who might possibly be the
real ganav (Be’er Hagola, C.M. 388:12).
Jury Duty
Rav Menashe Klein (Teshuvot Mishneh Halachot
4:213) prohibits serving on a jury, especially when
the case includes a Jewish litigant, because perform-
ing jury duty glorifies a non-Torah legal system. Rav
Hershel Schachter told Rav Ezra Frazer (recorded in
my “Gray Matter” 2:173) that he strongly disagrees
with this ruling. He explained that the halachah
requires non-Jews to establish a legal system, so a
Jew does nothing wrong by participating as a juror in
civil courts, unless both litigants are Jewish (in which
case facilitating their trial supports a sin). Regarding
capital trials, Rav Schachter argues that a just and
legitimate government has the right to punish crimi-
nals within reason. For example, if a Jew murdered,
a non-Jewish government may legitimately execute
him. Accordingly, Jewish jurors may vote to convict
a Jewish defendant if solid evidence convinces them
that he committed murder. Rav Yitzchak Isaac
Liebes (Teshuvot Beit Avi 2:144) also permits Jews to
perform jury duty in both civil and capital cases.
Broken Sidewalks
Rav Schachter was asked (at the aforementioned
Teaneck lecture) whether it is permissible to report
a Jewish neighbor to the local municipality about
his failure to maintain his sidewalk. Rav Schachter
replied that the neighbor’s actions constitute a failure
in executing his halachic obligations to his com-
munity. The halacha (Bava Batra 7b and Shulchan
Aruch C.M. 163:1) states that all residents of a town
are required to contribute to the construction of a
protective wall around the town. The Rama rules
that even a minority of the residents may insist that
a levy be imposed upon all townspeople in order to
raise funds for such purposes. The Rama adds that
this rule applies to any communal need. In addition,
he rules that townspeople may compel one another
to contribute to a fund to provide for the needs of
strangers in their midst and to provide charity for
the poor. Accordingly, everyone is required to take
the necessary steps, even if it involves financial expen-
diture, to insure the safety of the members of his
community. Thus, if one does not properly maintain
his property and his negligence presents a danger to
his neighbors, there is cause for a din torah.
Rav Schachter stated that the course of action is for
one to summon his Jewish neighbor to the local
beit din to seek the beit din’s help in insuring the
neighbor’s compliance with both his halachic and
civic duties in repairing the sidewalk. Rav Schachter
explained that it is forbidden to present this issue to
the civil authorities, for this matter is like any other
financial dispute with another Jew which halacha
requires that we present to beit din to adjudication
and not the civil authorities (see Shulchan Aruch
26:1 and note the especially harsh language used
regarding those who choose to present their claims
to civil court instead of beit din). Rav Schachter
concluded that if the neighbor either refuses to
attend the beit din hearing or refuses to follow the
beit din’s order, the beit din will grant him permis-
sion to seek relief from the civil authorities (heteir
arka’ot), in accordance with the halacha set forth in
Shulchan Aruch (ad. loc. number two).
The State of Israel
Rav Yitzchak Herzog (Techukah Leyisrael Al Pi
Hatorah 1:173) notes that rabbis in Israel acknowl-
edged their inability to punish criminals, and they
consequently chose to abdicate responsibility for
criminal matters:
In a rabbinic convention held in Tel Aviv [immedi-
ately before the establishment of the State of Israel]
the rabbis unanimously voiced their opinion that
they wish to give up control of any jurisdiction over
criminal matters. They noted that even in Eastern
Europe, the rabbinate ceded jurisdiction on the mat-
ters to the non-rabbinic authorities, such as the fa-
mous Vaad Arba Aratzot [Council of Four Lands],
which acted as the equivalent of the Talmudic shivah
tovei ha’ir — seven recognized community leaders
— and had exclusive control of imposition of taxes
and punishing rebels.
Rav Itamar Warhaftig (Techumin 10:190) argues:
The rabbis themselves did not wish to deal with [crimi-
nal law], but rather were prepared for civil courts to
adjudicate this area. Hence, it is unthinkable that
rabbis should not recognize an arrangement that they
[or their predecessors] themselves desired!
Rabbeinu Nissim (Derashot Haran, Derosh 11)
explains how the Torah’s ideal system for enforcing
criminal law requires the king and the Sanhedrin
to work in tandem. In the modern State of Israel,
the batei din and the government do not enjoy a
close enough relationship to facilitate this type of
collaboration. Thus, the batei din could not uphold
the Torah’s criminal legal system, so they relin-
quished their jurisdiction over criminal law (see
Techumin 24:313 note 1).
Accordingly, Rav Naftali Bar-Ilan (Techumin
10:190) permits testifying in civil court if one
witnessed a fatal automobile accident. He notes,
however, that if monetary disputes arise from the
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C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
accident, these should be submitted to a beit din.
Rav Waldenburg (ad. loc.) similarly distinguishes
between mesirah to a Jewish government and a
non-Jewish government. Nonetheless, Rav Eliashiv
(ad. loc. 1:198) does not appear to make such a dis-
tinction and thus even in Israel one should consult
a competent halachic authority before reporting a
suspected criminal to the civil authorities.
Lobbying Against the
Israeli Government
Those who are members of and support organiza-
tions which lobby the American government to
pressure the Israeli government to act against what
it perceives as its own security interests, should con-
sider the historical and halachic implications of such
actions. Although such support is motivated by what
is perceived as acting in the best interests of the State
of Israel, one should consider that the democratically
elected government of Israel is authorized by the
people of Israel to determine their security needs.
A review of the damage done by Jews throughout
history against other Jews should motivate one to
seek the guidance of his rav regarding the halachic
propriety of his actions. Similarly, to say the least, a
rav should consult leading halachic authorities before
he criticizes the State of Israel in the general media.
Even sincere motivations do not justify harming the
security of the nearly six million Jews who reside in
Medinat Yisrael. The unusual severity of the punish-
ments for mesirah behooves one to exercise great
caution and engage in proper halachic consultation
before speaking out against the Jewish State in the
general media.
Conclusion
It is difficult to achieve a balance between the
prohibition of mesirah and the need to protect
ourselves and our communities. One cannot out-
line all-encompassing and clear-cut rules that will
apply to every situation. Nonetheless, the cases we
have discussed illuminate how halachic authorities
strive to achieve such a balance, and emphasize the
need to consult a competent halachic authority for
both his halachic insight and overall wisdom as to
how to treat any situation which may arise which
potentially requires reporting an individual to
the civil authorities. We should caution, however,
that one who reasonably perceives that he is in
imminent danger that does not allow for rabbinic
consultation should call the police and insure
that he receives the protection he needs. May we
merit to serve both as devoted servants of Hashem
as well as law abiding citizens of the countries in
which we reside and relegate the halacha of mesirah
as a matter of purely theoretical interest. n
Divrei Hesped

Rabbi Charles H.(Yechiel) Rosenzveig, z”l

by Rabbi Ely Rosenzveig ’84R

My late father, Rabbi Charles
H.(Yechiel) Rosenzveig, ’51R,
was born in Ostroviez, Poland
83 years ago. He was niftar
on the 14th of Kislev, 5769 in
Southfield, Mich., where he and
his family lived since 1951. He was blessed with
four children and ten grandchildren.
Rabbi Rosenzveig was an extraordinary talmid
chacham, reckoned as an iluy at a tender age. He
was admitted to the famed Yeshiva Gedolah Beis
Yoseph in Bialystock at the age of nine, whereupon
he delivered his first chaburah, answering a perplex-
ing Maharam Shif in Kiddushin. He ultimately
became a talmid muvhak of the Rosh Hayeshiva,
Rabbi Avraham Yaffe, z”l.
During World War II, Rabbi Rosenzveig fled with
Rav Yaffe and the Yeshiva from Poland to Khazakh-
stan. After the war, he went to France, then Germany
and, in 1947, emigrated to the United States. There,
he enrolled at YU and became a student of the Rav,
where he excelled. He became the chozer of the Rav,
and a shoel u’meishiv in the YU beis medrash. While
at YU, he was invited by Rabbi Belkin, z”l, to teach a
semihhah-level shiur as a rosh yeshiva in place of Rabbi
Yerucham Gorelick, z”l, who was on a year’s leave of
absence. To the best of my knowledge, my father was
the only person in YU history to teach a semihhah-
level shiur while yet a semihhah student.
When I came to YU in 1976, I met with Dr. Lamm,
then the newly-installed YU president, and a con-
temporary of my father’s. Dr. Lamm told me then
that if I were half as bright as my father, I would be
the best student in the Yeshiva.
After completing his semihhah studies at YU, Rabbi
Rosenzveig married Helen Damen and settled
in Detroit. They were blessed with four children
and ten grandchildren. For more than 40 years,
he served Congregation Mt. Sinai in Port Huron,
Mich. From the very outset of his professional
career, he set out to blaze new trails in Holocaust
remembrance. He formed and led a burgeoning
Shaarit Haplaytah organization, and, ultimately,
26 years ago, he led the construction of the first
free-standing independently-sponsored Holocaust
memorial center in the United States. Today, the
Holocaust Memorial Center, a 23-million-dollar
edifice, is one of the most remarkable facilities of its
kind in the world, and draws nearly a half-million
visitors annually, among them, YU’s president,
Richard M. Joel.
Rabbi Rosenzveig was a pioneering force in the
Holocaust remembrance movement, and he left a
profound legacy of visionary leadership. Whatever
his professional attainments, though, he never lost
sight of what moved him most, a “blatt gemara.”
Throughout, he studied and taught Torah to groups
of all sorts, from learned rabbis to new initiates. He
left behind a princely good name and an inspiring
example worthy of our emulation. May his memory
be ever a blessing. n

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Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
An affiliate of Yeshiva University

Annual Dinner ofTribute

T U E S dAY, O cTO b E R 27, 2 0 0 9 – 9 c h E S h vAn 5770
The Grand hyaTT • new york CiTy

5 p.m. Shiur t 6 p.m. reCepTion t 7 p.m. dinner

For more information, contact rietsdinner@yu.edu

Lifecycles
Publications
Rabbi Kenneth Chelst, Ph.D. ’74R
on the publication of his book
“Exodus and Emancipation: Biblical
and African American Slavery”
(URIM publications, February
2009). More info available at www.
exodusandemancipation.com.
Rabbi Michael Chernick, Ph.D. ’70R
recently published a book, “A Great
Voice That Did Not Cease” (HUC
Press, 2009).
Rabbi David Holzer ’80R on the
publication of his book, “The Rav:
Thinking Aloud”.
Rabbi Aryeh Leibowitz ’06R on the
publication of his sefer, “Hashgachah
Pratis: An Exploration of Divine
Providence and Free Will” (Targum
Press, 2009).
The family of Rav Moshe Ahron
Poleyeff zt’l is revising and reprinting
his seforim, “Orach Meyshorim”.
Volumes on Pesachim, Bava Metzia
and Bava Kama of “Orach Meyshorim
Hechodosh” have already been
released. They are available through
Eichler’s in Flatbush, Biegeleisen in
Boro Park or through the family in
Teaneck: (201) 836-5452. Contact
his granddaughter Anne Rosenbaum
Senter at honey@kof-k.org.
Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg ’74R on
the publication of his articles, “They
Went Like Sheep to the Slaughter
and Other Myths” in the May-June
2009 edition of “Martyrdom and
Resistance;” and “The Holocaust was
the Number of Six Million Jewish”
which appeared in the Home News
and Tribune, Courier News and the
Jewish State of New Jersey, and
for his delivering the benediction
for the ROTC graduation at Rutgers
University New Brunswick, NJ for the
United States Army and the United
States Air Force.
Rabbi Jeffrey I. Roth ’71R on the
publication of his book, “Inheriting
the Crown in Jewish Law: The
Struggle for Rabbinic Compensation,
Tenure and Inheritance Rights,” new
from the University of South Carolina
Press.
Rabbi Dr. Stanley Wagner ’56R
on the release of the fourth
volume of “Onkelos on the Torah:
Understanding the Bible Text” written
together with Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin
on the Book of Numbers.
RIETS student Yosef Chaim Yanetz
on the publication of his book,
“VeZoht HaBracha,” interpretation of
the sheva brachot for the Erusin and
the Nesunim.
Mazal Tov
Rabbi Moshe ’70R and Cheryl
Abramowitz on the birth of a
granddaughter, Shira.
Rabbi Shimon ’76 and Sharon
Altshul on the bar mitzvah of their
grandson, Moshe Schorr.
RIETS student Malkiel and Yelena
Babayeva on the birth of a son,
Moshe Chaim.
Rabbi Hanan ’84R and Barbara
Balk on the birth of a granddaughter,
Ariana Shira, to their children Aviva
and Aryeh Needle in St Louis, MO.
Rabbi Ari ’95R and Anita Berman on
the bar mitzvah of their son, Yehuda.
RIETS student Gideon Black on
his marriage to Aliza Berkowitz, of
Englewood, NJ.
Rabbi Robert ’76R and Beile Block
on the marriage of their son, RIETS
Student Avi Block, to Dena Katz
from Teaneck, NJ.
Rabbi Moshe ’75R and Rochel
Bomzer on the birth of two
grandchildren: Yanky Kaufman and
Herschel Tzvi Hellman and to the
great-grandparents, Rabbi Chaim
Zev ’51R and Leona Bomzer.
Rabbi Reuven ’05R and Nechama
Brand on the birth of a son, Aryeh
Mordechai.
Rabbi Ephraim ’76R and Eidel
Buchwald on the birth of a
grandson, Yehoshua, born to Shira
and Naftali Buchwald. Mazal tov to
great-grandparents, Rabbi Fabian
’52R and Ruth Schonfeld.
Rabbi Asher ’81R and Laya Bush
on the marriage of their son, Doniel
“Donny” Ezra, to Yehudis Ribner of
Brooklyn, NY.
Rabbi Yoni ’08R and Shonnie
Chambre on the birth of a daughter,
Tamar Leah, and to grandparents,
Rabbi Allen ’86R and Alisa
Schwartz.
Rabbi Azriel ’06 and Dassie Chelst
on the birth of a son, Gavriel Baruch,
and to grandparents, Rabbi Kenneth
’74R and Tammy Chelst.
Rabbi Matthew ’55R and Judy Clark
on the birth of a great-granddaughter,
Reut Ora, born to their grandchildren,
Sheera and Eli Blitz.
Rabbi Michael ’09R and Ora Davies
on the birth of a son, Yehoshua.
Rabbi Eddie ’70R and Meira Davis
on the marriage of their daughter,
Shira, to Jesse Mandell, of Halifax,
Nova Scotia/South Bend, IN.
22
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Rabbi Kenneth ’76R and
Anita Davis on the birth of a
granddaughter, Faigy, born to
their children Aviva and Chaim
Fishof. And also on the marriage
of their daughter, Elisheva, to Elan
Segelman, son of Rabbi Jeffrey and
Marla Segelman of Mamaroneck, NY.
Rabbi Michoel ’99R and Amy
Dubitsky on the birth of a son,
David Aryeh.
Rabbi Zvi ’02R and Laurie
Engel on the birth of a daughter,
Maayan Bracha.
Rabbi Jeffrey ’76R and Shoshana
Feinstein on the bar mitzvah of their
grandson, Avi David.
Rabbi Zvi ’81R and Tobi Friedman
on the marriage of their daughter,
Daniella, to Raphael Tatelbaum
of Bayit V’gan, and on the birth
of a grandson, Avrohom Dovid
Mordechai, born to their children
Eliav and Aviva Friedman of Ramat
Beit Shemesh.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi
Menachem ’73R and Sarah Genack
on the birth of a grandson, Yonson
Binyamin, to their children, RIETS
student Yitzi and Shoshana Genack.
Rabbi Jonathan and Minky Glass
on the birth of a granddaughter,
Aviva Malka.
Rabbi David ’68R and Leah
Glicksman on the birth of a
grandson, Azriel Gilon, born to their
children, Feigy and Josh Cantor.
Rabbi Shmuel ’76R and Barbara
Goldin on the marriage of their son,
Yehuda, to Noa Leibowitz of Los
Angeles, CA.
Rabbi Alan ’61R and Gala
Greenspan on their granddaughter,
Temima Lehrman, once again
winning third place in the National
Kol Noar Chevrati Film Festival. This
year she entered the 60-second
short film category and her film
“Pa’arim Bechevra Hayisraeli”
came in third. Temima is an 11th
grader at Ulpana Neve Chana in
Gush Etzion.
Rabbi Jonathan Gross ’04R on his
marriage to Miriam Shamberg of
Silver Spring, MD/Phoenix, AZ.
Rabbi Pinchas ’79R and Shoshana
Hayman on the birth of a grandson,
Tal-Eliya, to Alex and Chaya Hayman
of Mevaseret Zion.
Rabbi Joshua ’55R and Claire
Hertzberg on the birth of a great-
granddaughter, Malka Tziporah, to
Tali and Jonathan Friedman.
RIETS student Joe and Abby Hirsch
on birth of son, Yakir.
Rabbi Aton ’06R and Rachel
Holzer on the birth of their son,
Alter Chaim David, and to great-
grandparents Rabbi Emanuel ’50R
and Norma Holzer.
Rabbi Henry ’69R and Frieda
Horwitz, on the birth of a grandson,
Yisrael Chaim, to Shlomo and
Sarra Horwitz, and on the birth of
a granddaughter, Ilana Tzipora, to
Yossie and Ayala Horwitz.
Rabbi Gili and Chaya Houpt on the
birth of a son, Boaz Avraham.
Rabbi Yaakov ’06R and Yael
Jaffe on the birth of a daughter,
Nechamah Blumah.
RIETS Student Tanel and Rachel
Javasky on the birth of twins: and
Shira Sarah and Azriel Zev.
Rabbi Yosef ’90R and Sari (Adams)
Kanefsky on the marriage of
their son, Ori, to Rena Yocheved
Greenfield of North Hollywood,
CA, daughter of Anne and Bruce
Greenfield and niece of Rabbi Dr.
David ’71R and Vivian Luchins.
Rabbi Joseph Kelman z’l ’52R on
receiving the Yakir ha- Kahal Award
for 50 years of service to Beth
Emeth Bais Yehuda synagogue
and the Toronto Jewish community
(unfortunately R. Kelman passed
away shortly after the honor).
Rabbi Akiva ’09R and Chaya Sima
Koenigsberg on the birth of a son,
Dovid Chaim.
Rabbi Eli ’08R and Naomi Kohl on
the birth of a daughter, Shira.
Rabbi Elly and Yocheved Krimsky
on the birth of a son. Rabbi Krimsky
is the Director of Rabbinic Alumni
and the Assistant Director of Jewish
Career Development and Placement
at the CJF.
Rabbi Stuart ’80R and Karen
Lavenda on the marriage of their
daughter, Tova, to Avi Rosenbloom of
St. Louis, MO, son of Rabbi Amiel and
Dr. Izzie Rosenbloom.
Rabbi Yosie ’06R and Rachel Levine
on the birth of a son, Yehoshua Levi.
RIETS student Meir Lipschitz on
his marriage to Jordy Bregman of
Ottawa/Toronto, Canada.
Rabbi Chaim ’02R and Pesha Loike
on the birth of a son, Yehoshua Ilan.
Dr. David ’71R and Vivian Luchins
upon the birth of a granddaughter,
Layla Kochava, born to their children,
Menachem and Sarah Luchins.
Lifecycles
Rabbi Bini ’01R and Naomi
Maryles on the birth of a son, Azriel
“Azi” Nisan.
Rabbi Shalom Morris ’06R upon
receiving the Rabbinic Alumni Award
at the annual dinner for Yeshivas
Kerem b’Yavneh.
RIETS student Jeff and Aviva Ney on
the birth of a son, Chaim Aryeh.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yaakov
’79R and Peshi Neuburger on the
marriage of their son, Moti, to Avigail
Schwerd and to proud grandfather,
RIETS Dean Emeritus Rabbi Zevulun
Charlop ’54R.
Rabbi Dr. Yossi ’01R and Yona
Nissenfeld on the birth of a son,
Azariah Yisrael.
Rabbi Dale ’82R and Ellen Polakoff
on the marriage of their son,
Shlomo, to Ilana Barry, daughter of
Rabbi Ronald and Miriam Barry of
Brooklyn, NY.
Rabbi Adir ‘06R and Hindy Posy on
the birth of a son.
Rabbi Avraham ’70R and Rivka
(Singer) Powers on the birth of a
grandson to their children Sender
and Chava Powers.
Rabbi Dr. Aaron ’61R and Malkah
Rakeffet on the birth of a great-
grandson, Neriah Yishai.
Rabbi Dani ’03R and Dr. Chaya Rapp
on the birth of a daughter, Rachel.
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard ’74R and
Charlene Rosenberg on the
marriage of their son, Yaakov, to
Avital Kelin of Edison, NJ.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael
’80R and Smadar Rosensweig on
the marriage of their son, Ariel, to
Jackie Fast from Seattle, and to Ariel’s
grandparents, Rabbi Bernard ’50R
and Miriam Rosensweig.
Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter,
University Professor and CJF
Senior Scholar, and Dr. Yocheved
Schacter on the birth of a grandson,
Mordechai Yeshaya, to their children
Sarah & Corey Tarzik
Rabbi Shimon ’03R and Melissa
Schenker on the birth of a son,
Akiva Yitzchak.
RIETS student Benny Seleski on
his marriage to Audrey Mannis from
Scarsdale, NY.
Rabbi Yehuda ’04R and Lisa
Septimus on the birth of a
daughter, Dalya.
Rabbi Charles ’67R and Judith
Sheer on the birth of a grandson,
Nadav Yosef, to their children
Rachel and Avi Abelow of Efrat,
Israel; and on the the bat mitzvah of
their granddaughter, Ayelet Sheer,
daughter of Daniel and Nava Fried
Sheer in Modiin, Israel.
Rabbi David ’93R and Bonnie
Soskin Sheer on the bar mitzvah
of their son, Yonatan, and to
grandparents Rabbi Charles ’67R
and Judy Sheer and to Philip and
Joan Soskin.
Rabbi Nisson ’55R and Rywka
Shulman on the marriage of their
granddaughter Zippi, daughter of
Rabbi and Mrs. Moshe Shulman, to
Motti Klein of Los Angeles, CA.
Rabbi Yitzchak ’56R and Fay
Sladowsky on the birth of twin girls,
Rivka & Aliza, to their grandchildren,
Dovie and Michal Friedman. And on
the birth of a grandson, Yeshaya Aviel
Sladowsky, born in Sha’alvim to Yair
and Tamary. And on the bar mitzvah
of their grandson, Meir Antosofsky.
Rabbi Sidney ’79R and Michele
Slivko on the marriage of their son,
Avinoam, to Leslie Rawlins.
Rabbi Moshe ’07R and Mirel
Stavsky on the birth of a daughter,
Shira Leba.
Rabbi Avraham Tanev ’09R on his
marriage to Shira Chava Bolensky
from Yonkers, NY, the daughter of the
late Rabbi Harry Bolensky z”l, ’46R.
RIETS student David and Shira
Teller on the birth of a son, Akiva
Chananya.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Mayer
’85R and Feigi Twersky on the
marriage of their son, Meshulam, to
Tova Esrig of St. Louis, MO.
RIETS student Ya’akov and Malka
Trump on the birth of a son, Moshe
Azriel.
RIETS student Mark Vegh on
his marriage to Shani Fried of
Brooklyn, NY.
Rabbi Binyamin ’49R and Hindy
Walfish in celebration of their 60th
wedding anniversary, celebrated at a
kiddush at the Bet Keneset HaNasi/
Young Israel of Rechavia on Shabbat
Parashat Korach (in Israel).
Rabbi Dr. Chaim ’66R and
Chaya Waxman on the birth of a
granddaughter, Maayan Hodaya,
born to Noam and Shani Green of
Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion.
Rabbi Brahm Weinberg ’09R on his
marriage to Elana Rosenblum of East
Brunswick, NJ.
Rabbi Rodney ’98R and Elisheva
Weiss on the birth of a daughter,
Avigail Shira.
23
C h av r u s a • E l u l 576 9
Rabbi Tuly ’06R and Abby Weisz of
Columbus, OH, on the birth of a son.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Mordechai
’71R and Faygie Willig on the
marriage of their daughter Shira to
David Claman of Ottawa, Canada.
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi
Mordechai ’71R and Faygie Willig
on the birth of a grandson, Yaakov
Aaron, born to their children, Rabbi
Eliyahu and Adina Wolf.
RIETS student Yisroel and Hindy
Yeres on the birth of a boy, Pinchus
Elimelech.
Rabbi Michael ’09R and Rivka
Zauderer on the birth of a son,
Yehuda Leib.
Condolences
Mrs. Sheila Ackerman on the
loss of her husband, Rabbi Fred
Ackerman ’54R.
Rabbi Irwin Borvick ’60R on the loss
of his brother, Jack Borvick.
Rabbi Daniel Bouskila ’94R on the
loss of his father, Nessim Bouskila.
Aliza, Zephyr, Eliahu (and Iris), and
Herschel Chomsky on the loss of
their father, Rabbi Aaron Chomsky
’51R, husband of the late Rebbetzin
Lillian Chomsky z”l and grandfather
of Benjamin, son of Eli and Iris.
Rabbi Simcha Fishbane ’70R, on the
loss of his father, Max Fishbane.
Eleanor Friedman on the loss of
her husband, Harry Friedman, who
with his wife was a YU Guardian
who has supported the Samuel
H. Wang Yeshiva High School for
Girls in Queens on whose board he
served and who, together, recently
dedicated the Eleanor and Harry
Friedman Seminar Room in the
newly constructed Jacob and Dreizel
Glueck Center for Jewish Study on
the Wilf Campus.
Rabbi Nehemia Gellman ’50R on
the loss of his brother, Rabbi Ezra
Gellman ’43R, husband of Masha.
Rabbi Nehemia ’50R and Hannah
Gellman on the loss of their
daughter, Miriam Schiff.
Rabbi Barry Hartman ’75R on
the loss of his mother, Mrs. Sarah
Hartman.
Rabbi Peretz Hochbaum ’94R on the
loss of his mother, Ms. Ruth Tager.
Rabbi Jay Kelman ’85R and Rabbi
Maury Kelman ’93R on the loss of
their father, Rabbi Joseph Kelman
’52R, husband of Sara Kelman.
Rabbi David Levy on the loss of his
son, St-Sgt. Noam Adin Richter Levy,
20, killed during a skirmish in Bir
Zeit. He was a medic in the Duchifat
Battalion.
Rabbi Dr. Moshe Meiselman ’70R
on the loss of his mother, Shulamit
Meiselman, the sister of Moreinu
Harav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik
zt”l, Dr. Shmuel Soloveitchik zt”l,
Rav Aron Soloveichik zt”l, and
tibadel l’chayim tovim Mrs. Anne
Gerber, and the mother of Ilona
Lazeroff and Judy Pluznik. She was
the author of “The Soloveitchik
Heritage; a Daughter’s Memoirs.”
Dr. Viviane Ryan on the loss of her
husband, Tomás L. Ryan, Esq, a true
friend of YU and RIETS.
Rav Gedalia Dov Schwartz ’49R,
Av Bet Din of the RCA and the CRC
on the loss of his wife, Rebbetzin
Rosalie Schwartz, and on the loss of
his grandson, Eliezer Goldman.
Rabbi M. Mitchell Serels, on the
recent petira of his mother, Dorothy
Soloff, wife of Israel Soloff and
mother of Bess Gutwein. Rabbi M.
Mitchell Serels served as director
of Sephardic community programs
at YU and RIETS for about 16 years.
Rabbi Serels was an associate
professor of Sephardic studies and
his mother was a widely admired
professional in the Jewish communal
world.
Rabbi Dan Segal ’02R on the loss of
his mother, Mrs. Esther Segal.
Deborah (and Ehud) Reches, Avi
Toporovsky, and Mindy (and Steven)
Fink on the loss of their father, Rabbi
Norman Toporovsky ’56R.
Rabbi Moshe Tessone ’05R on the
loss of his father, Jacob Tessone.
Rabbi Mark Urkowitz ’78R on the
loss of his wife, Devora Urkowitz,
mother of RIETS student, Tzvi
Urkowitz.
Rabbi Michael Wolff ’81R on the
loss of his brother, David Wolff.
Rabbi Abraham Weintraub ’86R and
Dr. Shoshana Rybak, wife of Rabbi
Dr. Shlomo Rybak ’66R, president of
Rabbinic Alumni, on the loss of their
mother, Mrs. Sara Weintraub, wife of
Rabbi Jacob Weintraub.
Rabbi Stuart Zweiter ’78R on the
loss of his mother-in-law, Mrs. Esther
Reifman, mother of Chana Zweiter.
Rabbi Dr. Joel Zdanowitz ’76R on the
loss of his mother, and Rabbi Max
N. Schreier ’52R on the loss of his
sister, Eda Zdanowitz.