"The burden of addressing the needs of Klal Yisroel
tends to fall on a few yechidei segula. However, if
everyone would lend a hand, begufom, bezmanom and
where possible bemamonom, things would look quite
different."
That was the essence of the stirring message delivered by
HaRav Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe, to a capacity
crowd in the grand ballroom of the New York Hilton at last
week's 78th annual dinner of Agudas Yisroel of America.
The Rebbe, a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and Rosh
Agudas Yisroel in America, issued his call to action after
surveying a litany of problems and challenges facing the
Torah community both in Eretz Yisroel and in the
United States.
The Torah sage focused the first segment of his address on
what he characterized as the dire situation facing "the am
hakodesh b'eretz hakodesh"
Rav Perlow drew attention to the sense of malaise and self-
doubt among many Israelis in this era of "post- Zionism."
There are growing numbers of people who advocate that Israel
shed its character as a specifically "Jewish state" and
instead become "a state of all its citizens." The current
state of national confusion, Rav Perlow explained, is a
direct outgrowth of the kefira b'Toras Moshe on the
part of a generation of secularists untethered from the
eternal Jewish religious heritage.
At the same time, the Rebbe pointed to the growth of Torah in
Eretz Yisroel, and the stunning success of the
kiruv movement, as sources of great strength and
z'chus for the Holy Land. American Torah Jewry, Rav
Perlow declared, has a special obligation to do its part to
strengthen these positive developments in Eretz Yisroel.
"Like Ezra and Hillel in their days," said the Rebbe, "Jews
in chutz la'aretz must make a meaningful contribution
to the spiritual welfare of Eretz Yisroel. That is our
achrayus at this critical moment."
Turning his attention to the American scene, Rav Perlow took
note of a number of urgent challenges facing the Torah
community in such areas as chinuch habonim, integrity
in the workplace, observance of dina d'malchusa,
reaching out to our estranged brethren, and chizuk
hadas in our own midst. Here too, the Rebbe said, we dare
not sit passively by and allow all these challenges to fall
upon the few individual askonim who are active in klal
matters.
The Maharsha's interpretation of the verse Eis la'asos
La'Shem heifeiru Torah'secha explains that when there is
a widespread undermining of Hashem's Torah, that is the time
when all must "do for Hashem." The Rebbe exhorted the huge
dinner audience to increase their involvement in the problems
of Klal Yisroel and the work of Agudas Yisroel.
He lauded the activists of Agudas Yisroel for being oseik
b'tzorchei tzibbur be'emunah, without any motivation of
personal gain, and pointed to the late Agudah leader Rabbi
Moshe Sherer, zt"l, as the exemplar par excellence of
this altruistic trait.
Rav Perlow's remarks set the stage for the presentation of
Agudas Yisroel's first-ever Rabbi Moshe Sherer Memorial Award
to the noted lay leader, Mr. Louis Glueck.
Making the presentation to Mr. Glueck was Rabbi Shimshon
Sherer, son of the late Agudah leader and a powerful rabbinic
voice in his own right.
Noting the special relationship that existed between Rabbi
Sherer and Mr. Glueck, and the many chessed projects
in which the two had collaborated over the years, Rabbi
Shimshon Sherer movingly declared: "I know how elated and
proud my father would be that his beloved `brother,' our
`Uncle Loitchy,' is the first recipient of an award bearing
his name."
The evening's other major awards were presented by Rabbi
Shmuel Bloom, Agudas Yisroel's executive vice president, to
Rabbi Aryeh Z. Ginzberg, who received the Rav Aharon Kotler
Memorial Award for distinguished service to Torah; Chaim
Dovid Zwiebel, who received the Reb Elimelech Tress Award for
preservation of the legacy of the Shearis HaPleitoh; and
Mordechai Eissenberg, who received the Moreinu Yaakov
Rosenheim Memorial Award for distinguished service to Agudath
Israel.
Rabbi Shlomo Gertzulin, Agudas Yisroel' Vice President for
Finance and Administration, presented the organization's
respected Avodas Hakodesh Awards to individuals from a
variety of communities, in recognition of their efforts and
accomplishments.
The honorees were Rabbi Maimon Elbaz, Mr. Shimon Lichtman,
Mr. Louis Krawiecz and Mr. Chaim Leib Rosenberg. Mr. Dovid
Chait received the Wolf Friedman Young Leadership Award.
Among the government officials who were present at the
gathering, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
addressed the assemblage; and three New York City Councilmen,
Speaker Peter Vallone, Herbert Berman and Noach Dear, were
recognized for their community service.
The dinner chairman, Mr. Frank Mandel, summed up the evening
as "a combination of celebration and inspiration that will
remain with all of us for a long time to come."
