Last week, London's chareidi community was in deep mourning
over the petiroh of one of the city's most gifted and
best known marbitzei Torah, HaRav Alter Shlomo
Yitzchok Halevi Halpern zt'l. R' Alter was the
youngest son-in-law of HaRav Moshe Schneider zt'l,
founder and head of Yeshivas Toras Emes, and he took over
the yeshiva and later the kollel which replaced
it.
The levaya was attended by the cream of London's
chareidi community, including rabbonim and dayanim, and
followed by masses of bnei Torah from all over
England who had come to participate in the levaya of
one of the greatest talmidei chachomim of our times
who lit up the skies of European Jewry with his Torah for
nearly sixty years.
HaRav Eliyohu Halpern, the niftar's oldest son, said
how difficult it is to speak about a man who was so humble
and hidden in all his ways, and how much perception one
needs in order to study his ways. He noted that no one ever
heard his father speak negatively about his fellow, and that
even though many sought his counsel, he never revealed their
problems to anyone, not even to his immediate family. In a
choked voice, he described the manner in which the
niftar is surely being welcomed in Shomayim by the
Ritvo and the Baalei Tosafos, whose chidushim he
published, and as well has by his father-in-law, HaRav
Schneider and his mentor of Rav Eliyahu Dessler.
From his home the levaya continued to the beis
medrash of the Schneider's yeshiva where he studied and
taught for sixty years. In the cemetery, hespedim
were delivered by his sons, HaRav Binyomin Zeev, the head of
kollel Kehal Beis Halevi, Lakewood; HaRav Yisroel
Meir the rosh yeshiva of Mishkan HaTorah, Gateshead, and
HaRav Menachem, the founder of the mechina for the
Zichron Moshe yeshiva in London. They cited his outstanding
qualities, and brought examples of his behavior and
reticence. His subdued behavior, they said, was more
influential than speech, as Chazal say in Megilla, `Milah
beselah mashtika betrein (a word is worth a
selah; silence is worth two)."
He is survived by his wife, sons, daughters, sons-in-law,
grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many students who are
following in his footsteps.
At the end of the shiva week, a his'orerus
rally will be held in the study hall of Schneider's yeshiva
in London.
Biography
Reb Alter Halpern was born in Duisburg, Germany. When he was
about fifteen years old, he went to learn with HaRav Moshe
Schneider in Frankfort. He and several other bochurim
from his town arrived in the yeshiva because of a letter
which HaRav Schneider had sent to the town, warning that the
situation of the Jews was serious and that the only way "to
extinguish the fire that was burning in the town" was by
learning Torah. Reb Fishel Goldberg was the first
talmid from Duisburg to travel to the yeshiva, and he
was followed the next zeman by Alter Halpern, and
then by Naftoli Friedler, zt"l, who later went to
Gateshead and then to the U.S.A.
Prior to the beginning of the procession, hespedim
were delivered by HaRav Sholom Friedman, a member of the
beis din of the chareidi community of London and one
of the niftar's students. In his hesped, he
described the niftar's devotion to Torah and his
subjugation to the yoke of Torah, which he expressed by his
simple lifestyle. He described HaRav Halperin's conduct, by
citing the Rashi and Chazal: "Vayar menucho ki tov,
ve'ess ho'oretz ki no'ema, vayeit shichmo lisbol, vayehi
lemas oveid," on his devotion to Torah study.
The niftar played a prominent role in the illustrious
activities of his father-in-law, HaRav Moshe Yehuda
Schneider, zt"l, especially by continuing his
endeavors after him. The rosh yeshiva of Beis Yosef
Gateshead, HaRav Avrohom Gurewicz, mentioned the Chazal that
talmidei chachomim are the light of the world and the
eyes of the community, citing the words of the gemora
in Bava Basra (4a) which relates how Bava ben
Buta told King Hordos to concern himself with the light of
the world. Even after the light has been found, Har Gurewicz
explained, there is still need for eyes to see it, and when
there are eyes, but there is no light, and darkness
prevails, even the eyes don't help. The niftar, he
said had light and eyes, with his outlook on life and his
clear and lucid way in Torah study.
In the preface to the edition of Chiddushei HoRitvo
Hachadoshos, on Bovo Metzia, which he edited and
annotated, HaRav Halpern acknowledged the sacrifice made by
his parents so that he could continue learning. Although
they had an opportunity to leave Germany, they decided to
remain so that he would be able to remain in the yeshiva in
Frankfort.
He never received clear information about his parents' fate.
They were separated when his father was prevented from
returning home after a day trip for business by the changing
of the border which took place that day. Cut off from each
other, with no direct postal link, the parents corresponded
by sending letters to their son Alter in London via Red
Cross, which he then forwarded. The uncertainty about his
parents fate troubled him throughout his life.
His baggage was sent on ahead to England before he himself
left Germany. When it was time to leave, he couldn't find
his passport and he realized that it must be in his
suitcase, which was waiting already in London's Victoria
Station. Rav Moshe Schneider's son, Rav Gedaliah, was
already in England and he was contacted. Rav Gedaliah's wife
went to the station and they let her open the case, where
she found the passport and visas. They were then sent back
to Germany, enabling Reb Alter to leave.
In London he settled down to learning in Rav Moshe
Schneider's yeshiva. He used to talk in learning with Dayan
Abramsky zt'l, and he contributed several pieces to
the Sefer Zikoron for Dayan Abramsky which he
mentions having discussed with him.
He was also close to HaRav Eliyohu Dessler zt'l. When
Rav Dessler opened Gateshead kollel, he took Reb
Alter along with him for the second zeman; Reb Alter
was the only bochur learning there.
It was Rav Dessler who actually arranged his talmid's
shidduch with the daughter of Rav Moshe Schneider, the
only shidduch which the Rosh Yeshiva made with one of
the bochurim in his yeshiva. Rav Dessler wanted Reb
Alter to come to learn in Gateshead Kollel for five years
after his wedding, but Rav Moshe Schneider insisted that he
come straight back to the yeshiva to deliver shiurim.
He delivered the third shiur, which was the top level
in the yeshiva.
When asked by Rav Dessler what he wanted for a wedding gift,
Reb Alter replied that he would like a copy of Chiddushei
Rabbenu Chaim al HoRambam, which was then very hard to
obtain. Rav Dessler got him a copy at great cost and
inscribed it. Rav Halpern later said that had he known how
much it would cost Rav Dessler, he wouldn't have asked for
that sefer.
One time, he wanted to travel to Kamenitz in order to learn
from Reb Chaim's talmid, Rav Boruch Ber Leibowitz
zt'l, but the outbreak of war made that impossible.
However he was able to learn from talmidim of Reb
Boruch Ber, such as HaRav Moshe Schwab zt'l, and he
copied down those shiurim of Reb Boruch Ber which
they had heard. In fact, Reb Boruch Ber's approach was
noticeable in all of Rav Halpern's shiurim.
Rav Halpern was very close to Rav Dessler and was the
recipient of several letters from him. In one letter,
written while on the boat to Eretz Yisroel, Rav Dessler
mentions the doubts that he still experienced about going to
fill his new position (as mashgiach in Ponevezh
yeshiva).
Rav Halpern and ylct'a Rav Aryeh Carmell brought out
the first volume of Michtov Mei'Eliyohu together. Rav
Halpern was a daily visitor at Rav Carmell's home during the
period that they prepared the sefer, whose contents
are more difficult than those of the other volumes, as those
familiar with the work know. Rav Halpern's mussar
training came mostly from Rav Dessler, and also from his own
father in law, whom Rav Halpern referred to as "the
Rebbe."
Rav Halpern learned and taught in the yeshiva throughout his
life. Although the yeshiva closed about thirty years ago, a
kollel remained, where he continued learning up until
around two weeks before his petiroh.
Besides his teaching, he shouldered many other tasks to
benefit the community at large. As well as a brilliant mind,
he had a very good grasp of things in general and he was
approached for advice on a wide variety of areas of life,
particularly in guiding chasanim and in restoring
domestic harmony.
He was also very practical and resourceful. Once he was
walking in the street when he saw a gang of gentile hoodlums
approaching him. He picked up a stone and threw it at the
window of one of the nearby houses. The owner came out to
shout at the members of the gang, whom he assumed had broken
his window. In the ensuing commotion, Rav Halpern was able
to escape safely.
On Sundays, when he didn't deliver a shiur in the
yeshiva, he would travel to the famous university towns of
Oxford and Cambridge and give a shiur there. He
influenced many to draw closer to Yiddishkeit through
these visits and they became fully observant, heimishe
Yidden. Although there were those who felt that he
should not engage in such work, he paid no attention to
their opposition. It was characteristic of him that if he
held an endeavor to be important, he didn't let the any
opposition deflect him but he followed it through to the
end.
He wrote children's literature for years, regularly
contributing to the periodical Haderech. He saw that
(forty or fifty years ago) there was no suitable literature
available for English speaking youth and since he held that
it was important to provide it, he did so himself in his
"spare" time. For a while he even produced his own journal,
Yeshurun, for which he wrote almost all the
articles.
Besides the high quality of his English (which was not even
his mother tongue) his renditions for children of well known
aggodos and midroshim are suffused with
chiddush. Without sacrificing dignity or delicacy, he
made them as exciting as the best literature, while his
interpretation afforded a deeper appreciation of the
teachings contained in Chazal's terse comments. What was
probably only discerned by adult readers is his utter
familiarity with the broader context of the times he wrote
about and the nature of the ideological conflicts that our
nation faced at different periods of our history.
Another of his original projects was the publication of a
pamphlet which demonstrated some of the glaring mistakes in
understanding gemoras made by Dr. Marcus Jastrow,
author of the then widely used Talmudic dictionary. The
booklet's entries were arranged in exactly the same format
as the dictionary. In one of London's shops for sifrei
kodesh, it was sold together with the dictionary.
Rav and Rebbetzin Halpern's home was open to all. People
would come to visit -- and stay. Once, a girl from a broken
home came to them for Shabbos. She ended up staying for
eleven years, during which time she was looked after and
cared for. One family from Eretz Yisroel came for a Shabbos
and stayed for nine months. R' Aharon Kotler zt'l,
and R' Shneur Kotler zt'l, were both guests in Rav
Halpern's home, as were many other rabbonim, travellers from
all over the world.
