Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 7, 2020

Famed worldwide as a giant of Torah learningwhose prowess as a Talmudist was matched by the depth with which he studied andapplied the teachings of Chabad, Rabbi Yisroel Friedman was not only filledwith Torah knowledge, but also with love for the Torah and with unboundeddedication to Gd, the giver of the Torah. Serving as the senior rosh yeshivah (head of the academy) atTalmudic Seminary Oholei Torah in Brooklyn, N.Y., for more than 50 years, hebecame known as the very personification of a Chassidisher rosh yeshivah. He was also a member of the CentralCommittee of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbis (Vaad Rabonei Lubavitch Haklali).

He passed away April 1 at the age of 84 aftercontracting the coronavirus.

His penetrating insights were sought after byscholars from around the world, who knew that he could be relied upon toprovide well-reasoned explanations, culled from across the breadth of Torahwisdom. For many decades, he was a sought-after and honored presence at theinternational summit of Torah scholars that convenes each summer in Parksville,N.Y., to honor the memory of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of theRebbeRabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. It is a point ofpride to visit with people who were once students, he told Chabad.org in 2016,and have now become teachers and leaders in their own right.

A wiry man with a broad grin, he would appearto dance lithely from his seat as he lectured before the senior Talmud class atOholei Torah, to which students were only admitted in their final year at theseminary. Brimming with excitement and evident pleasure, his delivery was sharpand measured, accentuated by his peppery Yiddish and energetic gesticulation.Despite the intellectual rigor that he both displayed and demanded, many of hisstudents noted that his attitude in Talmud class was always lighthearted,jovial and warm. His sharpnessand the seriousness of the subject matterwasboth tempered and complemented by sparkling humor. While he approached thestudy of Gds Torah with awe, he regarded his own intellect with a strongmeasure of self-deprecation.

His attentiveness to the Talmudic commentaryRashi was legendary. While many treat Rashi as an aid to understanding thebasic meaning of the Talmudic discussion, he treated Rashi as a profound workof masterly concision. Each word was a gold mine to be quarried for luminousinsight. At the same time, he could not tolerate attempts to shoehorn novelexplanations into Rashis words. Dont tell me what Rashi means to say, he would exclaim, tell me what Rashi says! Seeing a young student studyingone of the more complex works of later commentary, he was liable to gentlyremind them not to get too ahead of themselves; You need to study Shaarei Yehudah? Im still trying tounderstand Rashi!

Rabbi Yisroel Friedman (Photo: Mendel Meyers)

This self-deprecation would completelydisappear when, in the more informal setting of a Chassidic gathering (farbrengen), he would speak with utmostseriousness of the personal obligation of the individual before Gd. On theseoccasions, his fiery Chassidic persona would come to the fore. Citing passagesfrom classical Chabad workssuch as Tanyaor Likutei Torahfrom memory andanalyzing them word by word, he placed great emphasis on the need for constantspiritual renewal and self-transformation to ensure that each, thought, wordand action be dedicated to the service of Gd. In this context, too, his goodhumor and sharp wit were always on display, and he would pepper his discussionwith a rich reservoir of lively Chassidic anecdotes, vividly conjuring up thegreat personalities of bygone generations.

In between these searching and lively talks,he would pause to sing a resonant Chassidic melody, closing his eyes andimmersing himself with rigor and resolution in the vocalization of pure spirit.

On special occasions, such as Yud Tes Kislevor Yud Shevat, he would hold forth from late evening through the night,surrounded on all sides by young students and senior rabbis who sat and stoodcrowded together, leaning over each other to hear each gleaming word. Depictingone such farbrengen, his studentRabbi Mendel Rubin wrote, Never at a loss for words, he flowsseamlessly between the revealed and the concealed parts of Torah, weaving inand out, with poignant anecdotes and swift flashes of humor thrown in at everyturn.

Friedman with Rabbi Yitzchok Raitport, a longtime friend and supporter of Oholei Torah, and students at the yeshivah.

Descendantof Chassidic Luminaries

He was born in the Belarusian city ofBeshenkovitz, then part of the Soviet Union, in 1936, to R. Yaakov and GittelFriedman, prominent members of the Boyan Chassidic dynasty. His father was adirect descendant of Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, whosucceeded Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov as leader of the early Chassidicmovement, and their home was steeped in Torah learning and Chassidic fervor,which even the Soviet claws could not touch.

During the mid to late 1930s the Friedmanfamily lived in Kiev, where Gittel eked out a living by producing knitwear in ahome workshop. This was an option favored by many Chassidic families at thetime, as self-employment was one of the only ways to avoid working on Shabbos.Yisroels father, Reb Yaakov served as an unofficial rabbi, studying andanswering halachic questions for local Jews who remained committed to the Torahas the ultimate measure of their lives.

Their home was open to all, whether they werein need of material or spiritual assistance. After the arrest of his brothers,who were committed to the same sort of nefarious activity in Oddessa, RebYaakov found an official job laboring in a graveyard as cover for his realvocation.

Inevitably, Soviet officials soon beganinvestigating him anyway, and he soon found himself under pressure to inform onhis fellow Jews in exchange for his continued freedom. Reb Yaakov realized thatit was no longer safe for him to remain in the city and fled to Georgia, in thefar south of the Soviet Union. After about a year of wandering, he returned toUkraine, exhausted and in poor health. Rather than returning home to Kiev,where he would face immediate arrest, he went to his mothers home in Odessa.

It seems unlikely that his wife and childrenever saw Reb Yaakov again.

Shortly thereafter, Russia was invaded byGermany, and he was conscripted into the Soviet Army. His brother-in-law, AaronChazan, was conscripted along with him, and recalled how the two of themprayed, adorned in tallit and tefillin, while standing on the deck ona troop transport on the Black Sea; they were sent to defend Mariupol from theadvancing Germans.

Reb Aaron Chazan was furloughed due to illhealth shortly thereafter. Reb Yaakov was apparently killed on the front lines,battling the Nazis in defense of the motherland.

Together with other members of her extended family, GittelFriedman and her three sons fled to Samarkand, far from the advancing warfront. There, they encountered Chabad Chassidim, who had built an elaborateunderground network of Torah institutions. Eager to help, the Friedmans hostedan underground Torah class for youngsters in their home, thus becoming foreverpart and parcel of Chabad.

After the Iron Curtain parted brieflyfollowing the war, the Friedmans joined the thousands of Chabad Chassidim whosnuck out to the West using forged documents.

All throughout the tumultuous period, youngYisroel assiduously studied Torah.

After escaping Russia, Yisroel and his familyspent time in Poking, Germany, and in Brunoy, France, where he celebrated hisbar mitzvah. The noted Chassidic mentor, Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman (who wasalso in Brunoy at the time) took it upon himself to help the young man study,understand and memorize a Chassidic discourse to mark the occasion. He taughtme a discourse from Sefer MaamarimYiddish [which had only recently been published], Reb Yisroel remembered,over the course of two weeks he invested much time, training me to enunciatethe difficult and long Yiddish words and in the end, with Reb Shlomo Chaimshelp, I was able to repeat the discourse fluently.

From this experience, Reb Yisroel also learnedsomething about education: Of Reb Shlomo Chaim, he would later say, for himthere was absolutely no concept of investing more in the students who arealready excelling over and above providing younger studentswho are only justbeginning to climb the ladder of inner workwith foundational instruction.

He, his mother and his brothers eventuallymade their way to Israel, where the boys enrolled in the Chabad yeshivah in Lod.

In 1954, the youthful scholar published a pioneeringjournal titled Pardas Hatamim-Chabad,together with two other studentsYehudah Leib Landa (later to become the ChiefRabbi of Bnei Brak, Israel) and Meir Tzvi Gruzman (later to become rosh yeshivah in the central ChabadYeshivah in Kfar Chabad). The editor-in-chief was their rosh yeshivah, Rabbi Boruch Shimon Schneersohn, who had been one ofthe prize students of Rabbi Meir Shapiro in Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin and wouldlater head the famed Yeshiva of Tchebin in Jerusalem. The agenda set by theeditors was ambitious. They wanted to introduce the unique qualities of theChabad yeshivah and its curriculum to the wider community of Torah scholars.Alongside involved discussions of complex Talmudic and halachic questions, they also published recent letters anddiscourses by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, who at that time was the newLubavitcher Rebbe. In the foreword, they gave a full account of Chabad historyin the first part of the 20th century, presenting the clear message that Chabadwas on the threshold of a new era of growth both quantitatively andqualitatively, which would be catalyzed by animated Torah study and aneducational revolution.

Not long after this, another episode occuredthat served to highlight the brilliance of the young orphan. A certain rabbi,of non-Chassidic stock, sought to take up a position teaching Talmud in theyeshivah. The ire of Yisroel was quickly raised when the would-be-teacher beganhis lecture by rejecting the explanations provided by the classicalcommentaries. Rather than attempting to plumb the depth of their intention, heproposed a clever new interpretation of his own. Even at that age, Yisroelhad absorbed a deep sense of love and reverence for each word of Torah that isreceived from the great authorities of previous generations, and he knew thatsuch cleverness was anathema to the proper approach to Talmud study.Although still a teen and generally of a modest disposition, he deployed hisbroad knowledge and keen wit to expose the ignorance, arrogance and sophistryof the auditionee.

Rabbi Friedman's good humor and sharp wit were always on display.

In 1956, Reb Yisroel came to New York to studyin close proximity to the Rebbe, who recognized the young prodigys abilities.He first entered the Rebbes room on the 12th of Kislev, which is known as auniquely Chassidic month, and the Rebbe greeted him with the exclamation thathe was a kislevdiker, which roughlymeans that he was of a disposition well-suited to the month of Kislev. Foranyone who knew Reb Yisroel, that remark rings very true.

In that first meeting with the Rebbe, herecalled being astonished by a firsthand revelation of the Rebbes abilities.In the note that he gave to the Rebbe he had requested a blessing for hismothers health, using the rabbinic phrase in her 248 organs and 365 sinews.Moments before entering the Rebbes room, the thought occurred to him thatsince a woman is anatomically different to a man, he should have written inall her limbs and sinews. By then, he was already at the door, and so heentered and handed the note to the Rebbe without making the change. But evenbefore looking at the note, the Rebbe began a discussion about various sourcesin the Talmud according to which a woman has 252 organs. He spoke with me atsome length about the differences in opinion about this. I was completelyamazed that the Rebbe began to talk to me about this even before he beganlooking at my note.

In that meeting, he also confided in the Rebberegarding a number of issues that were bothering him. The Rebbe replied: Sitand learn and forget about everything else. At the conclusion of the meeting,the Rebbe chided him gently for not arranging a place to sleep in New York.Yisroel, he said. Take care that wherever you sleep there should be a pillowupon which to place your head. As a point of fact, however, Yisroel did notsleep that night: We sat and farbrengedall that night, until the Rebbe had finished receiving people in his room, andreturned home.

This marked the beginning of a new era for RebYisroel. In those days, he would later recall, the Rebbe had a very specialrelationship with the yeshivah students. By the nature of things, being thatthere were so few of us, the Rebbe drew us very close.

Reb Yisroel came to recognize, to an evergreater degree, the central role of a Rebbe in the spiritual life of a Jew. Anordinary person, he would later explain, sees the existence of the world asaxiomatic and obvious. The existence of Gd, on the other hand, is somethingthat needs to be recognized; Jews may be believers, but from a purely naturalperspective, this is not a forgone conclusion. Jews need to constantly remindourselves of the truth at every moment. But there are souls that descend intothis world from on high, and the world does not conceal the truth from them.For them Gd is obvious and proof is required that the world too exists.Having a connection with Rebbe, accordingly, connects an individual to thetruth of Divine being as it remains untainted by the prism of earthly existence.Thereby, all Torah study and mitzvah observance can be permeated by theradiance of that truth. Over the course of many decades, the centrality of thisconnection was often the topic of Reb Yisroels farbrengens.

In 1959, even before his marriage to ChanaLuba Gurkow, the Rebbe instructed him to begin teaching Talmud in the Chabad yeshivah in Newark, N.J. (whichsubsequently relocated to Morristown). He immediately grabbed his coat and rodethere without even taking the time to collect his belongings.

During that period, Reb Yisroel laterrecalled, he would send detailed reports about the progress of individualstudents to the Rebbe. On one occasion, he received a message from the Rebbethat he relies on these reports when making decisions about sending students asemissaries (shluchim). He alsorecalled that in general, his meetings with the Rebbe were very brief. He wouldhand the Rebbe his note and leave; if there were questions, the Rebbe wouldreply in writing. But it once happened that the Rebbe took a note from aprevious visit out of his desk and began to discuss a particular problem he hadmentioned concerning two students who were having difficulty studying together.The Rebbe answered me at length, directing me as to how to deal with the issuein all its details, saying that they should continue to study together, andinstructing me as to how to resolve the problem. This not only helped thestudents, but it affirmed for Reb Yisroel the importance of such attentivenessto the individual needs and challenges of each one of his young charges.

When his uncle, Rabbi Michoel Teitelbaum,started an advanced class in Oholei Torah, it was only natural for Reb Yisroelto come teach there. Rabbi Yosef Itkin, now a mentor (mashpia) at Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh, was in the first classtaught by Reb Yisroel in Oholei Torah. Itkin recalls that the two most salientfeatures of his teaching style were 1) the uncontainable energy and excitementhe had for Talmud study, 2) his unwavering commitment to train his students totoil assiduously for nothing less than the raw truth in its purest form. Thereis another style of teaching and learning, which in many ways is easier andmore enjoyable, and that is the way of a good question and a good answer,something clever, something elegant; a proof from here, a counter proof fromthere. But that wasnt Reb Yisroels way. He wanted us to understand Rashi and the other early authoritiesproperly, clearly, using straight thinking. The main thing for him was that weshouldnt fool ourselves. The students did not simply respect their teacher.We trusted him. We knew he was true to himself, true to the Rebbe, and that hewould be true to us.

At the end of that first year, a summeryeshivah was held, and Itkin recalls that on Shabbos Reb Yisroel would pray atgreat length, in the classic Chassidic style, but with a special intensity thatdidnt abate once he had finished praying. After making kiddush, he would begina farbrengen with his students; itoften went deep into the night, many hours after the official conclusion ofShabbos.

Indeed, he would continue to teach and farbreng for successive generations ofstudents for another five decades. Even into his 70s and 80s, when his fieryred beard had turned white, his youthful alacrity did not diminish. He was theliving heart of the yeshivah, and hispresence in Crown Heights had a daily impact on the entire community.

His presence was felt well beyond theyeshivah, recalls Rabbi Joseph Rosenfeld, longtime executive director ofOholei Torah. He taught an advanced class in Menachot in the synagogue nearhis home, and people would come night after night to delight in the way heexplained things. Likewise, on Shabbat afternoon, between the Mincha andMaariv prayers, he would often repeat a Chassidic discourse that he hadcommitted to memory. Here, too, his delivery was a delight; in his usualclear-cut Yiddish the words gushed forth with fluency and animation, andwherever necessary, he added words of explanation and clarification.

His attentiveness to the Talmudic commentary of Rashi was legendary.

One former student recalled that when he wasfirst enrolled in Oholei Torah, one of his uncles commented that it would beworth studying at the institution if only to watch Reb Yisroel daven Mincha. Even as he prayed theshortest prayer of the day in the midst of all the hubbub of the great studyhall of the yeshivah, the quiet seriousness with which the rosh yeshivah stood before Gd spoke volumes.

He was a giant among giants with his incomparable knowledge in allaspects of Torah, chassidus and halachah, attested Rabbi YehudaCeitlin, who organizes the annual summer summits, where he was a revered andbeloved participant. He was also clear-minded and sharp-tongued, which wouldbe expressed during the intense learning sessions, but even while he wascritiquing an opinion of a fellow roshyeshivah, he would do so with a chuckle.

Friedman was renowned as a master teacher whobuilt close personal relationships with his students, though most would onlyattend his class for one year. All who studied with him or saw him teach wereimpressed by the clarity with which he parsed a difficulty or distinction inTalmudic reasoning, and by the spirit and wit with which he engaged andanimated his listeners. He was not only attentive to the progress his studentsmade in learning and in spiritual affairs, but also to their material needs. Hekept a fund that he would use to help students in need, always exhibitingexemplary discretion, care and sensitivity, say his colleagues and students.

Reb Yisroel was unique in that he was veryclose to his students, recalls Oholei Torah director of development RabbiNosson Blumes. He was a Talmudist of the highest order, the likes of which onerarely sees, yet he was intimately involved in their lives. He would go out ofhis way to purchase coats, shoes and jackets for students in need, even payingtuition from his own modest funds.

Though he never took himself seriously enoughto commit his scholarly novella to writing, it is well known that the Rebbestrongly encouraged that people should publish new Torah insights anddiscussions. As a faithful Chassid, Reb Yisroel not only acquiesced, but took aleading role in facilitating and editing the work of Oholei Torah students. Hispenetrating articles on Talmudic topics can be found in Oholei Torah, an annual collection of novella published by theyeshivah, as well as in Kinus Torah,a periodical published by the Rebbes secretariat whose articles originated ascontributions to Torah conferences held in the Rebbes synagogue at 770.

In his later years, he battled mightilyagainst cancer, but never missed a beat. He pushed himself with near-superhumanstrength to teach his students and speak publically whenever asked. Even oncehe was no longer giving all his daily classes, he would regularly be seen inthe study hall, sitting with a chavruta(pair of students) to ensure that they were progressing in their studies,offering them his characteristic mix of attentive patience and witty humor.

The funeral took place on Wednesday, as thecommunity, in addition to the entire City of New York, is sheltering in placedue to the ongoing pandemic. The funeral procession weaved through much of theCrown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn to allow residents to pay their lastrespectsfrom outside their homes, without congregatingto the beloved andrevered Torah scholar who humbly walked in their midst for decades.

Predeceased by his wife in 2014, he is survived by his daughter, RochelFriedman, and thousands of students worldwide.

In his later years, Friedman battled mightily against cancer, but never missed a beat. He pushed himself with superhuman strength to teach his students and speak publically whenever asked.

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Rabbi Yisroel Friedman, 84, Talmudic Genius and Fiery Chassid - Tens of thousands of students mourn a master teacher of extraordinary scholarship and...

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