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R' Avrohom Kalmanowitz, zt'l: Fifty Years of Dedication to Am Yisroel
by N. Safran
HaRav Avrohom Kalmanowitz, zt'l was active for over fifty years engaging in rescue activity on behalf of Klal Yisroel and especially the Torah world. His career spanned two world wars, and he was deeply involved in rescue operations conducted behind the scenes in Communist Russia and in Nazi Germany. Fascinating correspondence between R' Avrohom and R' Nochum Partzovitch, regarding the battle against the Sherut Leumi decree, is included. His career sheds much light on the important issues of those days.
The book Kolmus HaLev spans fifty years of chizuk HaTorah and rescue activity conducted on behalf of individual Jews and the klal, in various countries and periods. It shows the unique character of the gaon and tzaddik who, even as a young man, was considered a "giant of the spirit" by the gedolim of the past generation who recognized that he was sent by Hashem to rescue the Torah world in an era between two world wars — an era marred by the spiritual upheavals caused by the Haskalah and the Zionist movements.
The book opens with an interesting kuntres written by Rav Kalmanowitz over 100 years ago, when the vicious Communistic regime cast its fear on all the regions of Russia, maltreating its Jewish residents in a particularly cruel manner. The kuntres, "El Ha'amim ve'el Ami," describes the atrocities of the Soviet regime. It was composed with the blessings and encouragement of the gedolei hador: the Chofetz Chaim and R' Chaim Ozer Grodzensky, who recognized the importance of its publication.
In his approbation to the kuntres, R' Chaim Ozer writes: "In his closeness to the border, [HaRav Kalmanowitz] saw misery in the Valley of Tears and saw the tears of the disconsolate, the oppressed. He is familiar with the terrible persecutions perpetrated by the secret police, especially with the decrees against Torah and its learners. They closed the talmudei Torah, the chadorim and the yeshivas. They imprisoned melamdim and roshei yeshiva, exiling some to Siberia.
"HaRav Kalmanowitz was very active on behalf of the itinerant refugees who passed through his city, especially the religiously persecuted Torah scholars who sacrificed themselves and fled a deathly flight. Writing from his warm and feeling heart, he depicted the suffering of our people, shocking the hearts of all who sense and share the travails of the Jewish Nation. Everyone who hears of these woes will be horrified. Woe to us that this has occurred in our time."
Especially interesting are the words of the Chofetz Chaim in his approbation to the pamphlet: "I also approve the publication of this pamphlet in order that Klal Yisroel and all the nations of the world be informed of the truth..."
In this pamphlet, written a number of years after the signing of the peace treaties at the end of World War One, HaRav Kalmanowitz writes: "The Jews suffered far more during the five years of peace than during the four years of war." He notes that the great war resulted in ethical erosion and the destruction of man's humane sensitivities, causing feelings of revenge and cruelty to poison the world's atmosphere.
One of the results of the upheavals in the First World War was the formation of "The Red government, the evil government," which reigned in Russia, and "which for three years has declared war against the Creator of the universe and the loyal adherents of his faith. A small group is torturing and persecuting millions of people. The members of this group, which is comprised of unruly, cruel and character-less people of immature intelligence, are known as Communists and Young Communists.
"Especially persecuted by them are the Jews. Supported and urged on by the government, which authorizes these terrorists to wage war against the Creator of the universe and His loyal followers — against Him and His Torah — the Russian Ivsektzia and Comsomol desecrates all that is dear and sacred to the Jews, using shady means, unheard of since the Middle Ages, to achieve their aims.
"They rob Jewish parents of their small children, forcibly severing the young ones from their families. They forbid parents to teach their offspring or to hire teachers to educate them. They prohibit them to teach their children anything even slightly related to religion, and especially to the belief in their parents.
"In many places, they force the unfortunate children to study in Communist shmad schools which teach them to disobey their parents, and not to believe in their teachings or in the proofs of their faith. They train them not to respect their parents and not to esteem them or show them gratitude. They teach small children to inform on their parents to the authorities, in the event that the parents have offered them religious instruction or have demanded that they observe religious customs, such as reciting brochos, davening or keeping the Shabbos. To our great disgrace and sorrow, many youngsters had their parents arrested for demanding obedience to the Jewish faith. In that manner, the Communists have corrupted the entire younger generation."
Yiddish Election Poster
Later on, he presents detailed descriptions of the religious persecution and the cruel acts of the Communists, who in his opinion were worse than the Inquisition of yore : "The Inquisition of yore knew only this: The stronger tell the weaker, `Convert of your own volition, if not we'll burn you.'
"This meant: `You must, on your own accord, exchange your soul; if not, we'll burn your body.' They did this, supposedly in the name of their religion, which they supposedly believed to be the ruler over man's life.
"However, today's "Inquisition" comes [in the name of] of freedom and self determination in order to gain control over the wills and minds of others, who like them, are also human beings who have volitions, feelings and intelligence. This is far worse and frightening. In addition, they let one's body remain alive, while creeping into his soul, burning both the soul and the body, torturing and scratching their victim's heart with their nails, where they then dig and burn. `You are obligated to disbelieve that which you recognize as true,' they tell them.
"The world has never known such an Inquisition. And all this is being perpetrated by a government which rules over one hundred and thirty million people."
He decries the silence of the world. "If America severed economic ties with Russia before the war because the Russians did not let the Jews live in Petersburg, what measures must be taken against the Soviets for having expelled all one hundred and thirty million of its citizens — with sword and bow — from their children and their homes, forbidding them to raise them in accordance with their religions and consciences, not permitting them to exert any authority within their homes?
"In short: Every man is being expelled from his own heart, his own soul, forced to become a lowly slave to the wanton and cruel youths who control his heart, his mind and feelings, causing him to become a degenerate, corrupt sinner."
HaRav Kalmanowitz, cites the dictum: "One who causes [his fellow to sin] is worse than one who kills him," explaining that according to this Torah-concept, the Communist regime is one which has murdered all one hundred and thirty million of its residents... and really worse than that.
In another letter on this matter (from a later date) he writes: "It is for more than forty years that a group of murderers, who have been destroying the world and its contents, have waged a battle against Hashem and His world — a war against truth, against honesty, and the concept of justice customarily accepted by man since Creation. They call themselves Red Communists-Soviet Reds. But this name too, is false, and there is no validity to the terms "commune" or "Soviet." Everything is only a function of a dictatorship of one murderer surrounded by ten more who lie in wait for blood. They have one purpose: to overturn the entire world and place it under their feet.
"Nothing in the world, no borders or limits, restrict them. They have made human lives valueless, like dung on the face of the earth, to have killed and destroyed an entire nation of men, women and children, in one day. They perpetrate these murders, even on the vaguest suspicion that this nation is, ever so slightly, delaying the fulfillment of their ultimate aim. They haven't the faintest understanding of the concepts of mercy, truth or honesty.
"They assume that if it is impossible to achieve their purpose [by regular means], then terror is to be used to subdue the entire world, to force the whole world to believe that day is night and night is day. In their eyes, altering the results of two plus two to five or three may also be achieved by terror. It is possible to "explain" this to the populace and to "tell" them to agree to this new type of logic, and to accept it permanently.
"Their regard for the entire world is less than our regard for mere flies. If an individual, or thousands or tens of thousands of people are even vaguely suspected of doubting the validity of [Communist ideology], the Communists consider it a sacred duty to eradicate them immediately, before they manage to utter a word.
"In that manner, they have already destroyed many nations and states, wiping them off the face of the earth with savage cruelty, slaying friends, teachers, and even their saviors who sacrificed their lives for them. They don't know the meaning of gratitude. And if one of their own group is suspected of harboring feelings of gratitude or pity, his behavior is considered a terrible sin which must be exorcised, and he himself immediately removed from the group. They do that to the best and the wisest among them.
"And those whom they call "superior people" are the cruelest murderers of all, who are willing to massacre thousands and tens of thousands without batting an eyelash, if this is deemed necessary for the furtherance of the dictatorship. This was Stalin's — and now Krushchev's — only claim to fame."
These excerpts demonstrate the turbulent soul and raging spirit of R' Avrohom, in the face of the travails suffered by Am Yisroel under the wicked Communist regime and in the face of the distortion of justice and uprightness. The sense of responsibility and the desire to share the suffering of every Jew burned within him his entire life. At every opportunity, he aroused his fellows to fulfill their duty to grant physical and moral succor to Jew in distress — and especially to the Torah world and the yeshivas.
Actualize Your Potential
R' Avrohom Kalmanowitz was particularly known for his activities during the Holocaust which included intensive efforts on behalf of the oppressed in Europe and rescue operations on behalf of the refugees of the yeshivas. However, from the letters and the articles in which he arouses his fellows to hearken to the call of the time, it is possible to learn about various other spheres in which his accomplishments were also immense.
A case in point is a particularly interesting article published in 5683 regarding the need to provide for the chinuch of children who survived World War One, and to save them from atheistic influences. He warns against the "lack of order" which prevailed in the Jewish world in those days.
He cites Chazal's dictum: "Kabeid es Hashem meihonecha: bemah shechanancha: Honor Hashem with your wealth — i.e. with the endowments He has given you," using that dictum to stress that every Jew is obligated to devote his unique, G-d-given talents for Heaven's sake: "If you are blessed with a good memory, study bekius; if you are wealthy, donate charity for the purpose of strengthening religion and providing for your People's needs; if you are a godol beTorah, and a gaon hador with da'as Torah, you must express your views clearly. Failure to do so likens you to an officer who has abandoned the battleground and has left his army alone, amidst vicious enemies."
He noted that maintaining correct order and fulfilling one's true mission and destiny are the foundations for success in all of one's endeavors. Regarding this point, he brings the saying of the Beis HaLevi that a soldier who is manning an artillery post and flees in order become a guard is considered a deserter no less than one who totally flees the battle.
"To our dismay," he writes, "we do not abide by proper order in our avodas Hashem and Torah observance. Those who should have been revealed, remain hidden. Those who should be leaders are led by others. Those who should be roshei yeshiva are askonim who are occupied with [many affairs], while those who should be managing [mundane] affairs, are managing yeshivas. Those who should be grocers and laborers are teachers and melamdim. Wealthy Torah-observant Jews who should donate money in accordance with their means, exempt themselves from their obligations with eitzas and blessings.
"However our adversaries manage their affairs in an organized manner, employing officers from the sitra achra. They have philanthropists who are dedicated to their affairs, and who donate legendary amounts to the endeavor for the sole purpose of destroying and desecrating all of Israel's sacred values and trampling our sacred faith, chas vesholom. The one who must give, donates more than is necessary, and he who must take, takes more than he needs. One helps the other, each with the endowments he possesses: power, mind, money loifen, redden, shrei'en, shreiben, meken. In brief: All of their 248 limbs and 365 sinews are mobilized to destroy Yiddishkeit. These forces are recruited in an orderly, well-planned manner."
March of the Rabbis in Washington, DC, 1943
Crying During the Holocaust
As we have already said, R' Avrohom Kalmanowitz is especially known for his remarkable activities during the Holocaust. The book contains letters and speeches in which he cries out and chastises American Jewry and the American government for its terrible indifference in the face of the terrifying destruction machine.
"I feel how much energy kevod Toraso haramah sacrifices — on the sacred altar, the altar of Torah," HaRav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zt'l, wrote him from Shanghai, in a letter which appears in the book. "Is there anyone in our generation who has done more on behalf of hachzokas Torah than kevod Toraso haramah? He has achieved all this single-handedly, without help... He shouldered the burden alone — alone on the front, alone with only his deep mesirus nefesh for our sacred yeshiva. Yes, kevod Toraso haramah appreciates the yeshiva's great value... But if he saw it here [in Shanghai] with his very eyes, he would derive even greater satisfaction from his monumental effort."
From Kobe, Japan, R' Leib Malin wrote:
"During recent months, all of us have learned to appreciate the sacred efforts of [R' Avrohom Kalmanowitz] — the man on whose shoulders the burden was placed, the man designated by Heaven to bear the burden of the sacred yeshivas, the places of Torah. And Hashem wanted him to succeed. Hashem wanted him to [be the agent who would rescue] our sacred yeshiva... and hundreds of gedolei Torah. Who can measure the immensity of the act of saving the yeshiva, an act equivalent to the kiyum of the sacred Torah. There is no limit to his reward in this world and in the World to Come.
"Even though one who initiates a mitzvah is told to complete it, we did not flee Mir for Japan to be like all the other refugees. That is not why we sacrificed ourselves. Our current obligation is to mobilize all our energies toward completing the sacred mitzvah of bringing the yeshiva to a place of safety until the wrath has passed. Since, there is no such place besides America, transferring the yeshiva to Eretz Yisroel at this time being impossible, we have no other thoughts on the matter. All of our endeavors should be directed toward this aim. Perhaps min haShomayim, we are being brought to America in iron chains in order to spread Torah where millions of our fellow Jews are concentrated. The thoughts of Hashem are deep."
HaRav Kalmanovitz with Moroccan talmidim
Sephardic Jewry
A fascinating chapter in the new book is dedicated to his intensive efforts to rescue Sephardic Jewry from spiritual decimation. During a period in which secular agents tried to gain control over the souls of Sephardic Jews, R' Avrohom counteracted them by founding the Otzar HaTorah institutions.
"Know, my beloved ones that you must be on the spot in order to rescue the children of Sephardic origin from the teachers of the Alliance [Alliance Israelite Universale], employed in the talmudei Torah and the Otzar HaTorah, and who are on the lookout for the souls of our children," he writes in one of his letters on this issue.
In this letter, he also warns against the attempt to shorten the time for limudei kodesh in these schools: "I was terrified to learn that in Morocco, they [cited you as] agreeing to shorten the four-hour limudei kodesh program in the Talmud Torah, as requested by the secularists. But you made an agreement with me, stipulating that under no condition would we agree to lessen the four-hour limudei kodesh program by even a minute. You agreed that this condition be declared in your name too.
"Shortening the limudei kodesh program is an unforgivable act, because it concerns future generations. By such an act, the entire format of the Talmud Torah will be totally changed — chol becoming the main feature, and kodesh a secondary one, chas vesholom. This is akin to "robbing the Torah" and is an act of chilul Hashem, chas vesholom.
"Is it for this that I have toiled and sacrificed myself for many years, jeopardizing my very safety to print 165,000 seforim, among them Chumashim, books of nevi'im and siddurim, for Otzar HaTorah. After all that, shall thieves come and desecrate and destroy everything?"
In another letter on this matter, he says: "I wanted to write to the Sultan himself on this issue, [but] first approached the community. If they don't comply, I will ask the Sultan to side with the Torah and demand that the secularists not shorten the Torah-study time slot."
Guarding Against Alien Ideas
In his letters on this issue, he warns against any sort of cooperation with the Jewish Agency. On many occasions, he decried the alien ideas which penetrated kerem Beis Yisroel by means of the Zionist movement. In one of his letters, he cites the remarks of the Chofetz Chaim on the extent of our obligation to anticipate and await the coming of the Moshiach and the Redemption.
Explaining why this faith has grown weaker in current generations, R' Avrohom writes: "The desecraters of the kodesh are to blame for this situation: the nationalists and the so-called religious nationalists who use all the leshonos shel geula in relation to every secular movement, even those of transgressors, whose efforts will surely not be crowned with success in Eretz Yisroel hakedosha.
"To our great dismay, if we were banished from our land due to our many sins [in the past], when we resided in Eretz Yisroel, then surely we cannot return to it by means of our sins. Indeed, due to our many sins, there are enough false prophets among us — enough people who misinterpret the Torah, taking verses out of context and distorting them, confusing Yiddishe minds to the point that every vochedig Chasruk'l is considered a prophet and every wanton revolutionary is equated to R' Akiva and his colleagues who sacrificed their lives to sanctify Heaven's name in public and gathered many communities in order to teach Torah to the multitudes. Woe to us for what has occurred in our time! Woe to the eyes which see such calamities and the ears which hear of them!"
On another occasion (in his hesped for R' Aharon Kotler zt'l) he blamed the national-secular leadership for all the troubles of the past generation. "Due to our great sins, in this orphaned generation, from the time that the secularists, who are distant from Torah and reduce the esteem gedolei Yisroel to dust, crowned themselves teachers, seers and shepherds, calling themselves fuhrer (leader), deceiving, and inciting the people, we have been assailed by many woes. Things have deteriorated to the point that they caused the most recent destruction — perpetrated by the Nazis, the destruction of most of the sacred edifices of our pure and holy people: the Torah institutions and those who study Torah."
In an article which he published ninety years ago, he warns against the "national-hooliganism" developing under the aegis of the Zionist movement.
"During the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash — in contradiction to the true prophecy of Yirmiyahu — false prophets deceived the people and King Tzidkiyahu into believing that Nevuchadnezar would fall, and persuaded them not surrender [to the attackers].
"During the era of the second Beis Hamikdash, hooligans acted in opposition to the views of Israel's Sages. The calamities the false prophets and hooligans brought on the Jewish Nation were greater than those wreaked by the nations of the world.
"Hooligans burned all of the country's food warehouses. They set out to battle, even though the Sages, led by R' Yochonon ben Zakai, advised otherwise. In the end, we felt the result of their mistakes for 1,800 years. According to the Torah, even a chosson leaves his bridal room in order to join the war effort, in the event of a milchemes mitzvah.. But this halacha is applicable only when we have a king and a Sanhedrin, and when the war is conducted according to the Torah.
"The false prophets of yore deceived the people by pretending to speak in Hashem's name when Hashem hadn't really spoken to them. The hooligans of that time had respect for the sages of Israel and were wary of committing acts of chilul Hashem and acts which would desecrate Torah's honor, even when their entire political status was in jeopardy. When the leader of the hooligans, Abba Sikra told them: "They will say: they stabbed their rav; they shoved their rav," they refrained from their carrying out their designs. They endangered themselves so as not to dishonor the Torah. These were the hooligans of ancient times, who hastened the calamity which befell our nation. If such was the case then, where do we stand today!
"Zionist politics are in the hands of the secularists who desecrate all that is sacred, desecrate the Shabbos, eat treifos and neveilos, desecrate Hashem's name, and disgrace the Torah and the mitzvos. Now a group of hooligans, who are proud of their namesake, have joined them. They want to rebel against the nations. They want to imitate the other seditious nations of the world, and to incite our youth to murders — to commit acts which contradict the Torah's teachings."
The book presents many of his letters against the founding of the Beis Midrash leRabbonim in Yerushalaim. In these letters, he urges all of the gedolei Torah to oppose its establishment. "This institution is far worse than those of the Reform and Conservative movements, because there is more room to err in its case. The [founders of this institution] are paving the way for Reform ideology.
How can we remain quiet? We must openly decry its establishment by expressing daas Torah which maintains that it is forbidden to found such a Beis Midrash. There is no such thing as a "modern rabbi," because if one is "modern," he isn't a rabbi. The only rabbonim we have are those who were educated in yeshivos kedoshos, yeshivas which have from generation to generation continued along the same format, without change and without allowing alien spirits to penetrate their inner sanctums — yeshivas devoted solely to Torah study and the inculcating of yiras Hashem...
"I recall that the gaon, R' Chaim Ozer warned R' Hildesheimer not to establish a branch of his seminary in Eretz Yisroel for students of Ashkenazic ancestry. If such warnings were directed to a man as righteous as R' Hildesheimer, they surely apply to those whose obvious purpose is evident and explicitly state that they want to train "modern" Zionists who love the homeland. That is their main principle."
Among the pages of the book are many firsthand descriptions of the activities of our gedolim of the past generation, whose closeness Rav Kalmanowitz enjoyed. He relates how once, when attending a rabbinical convention in Vilna, he shared a room with the Chofetz Chaim. In the middle of the night, the Chofetz Chaim awoke and excitedly said: "The Rav of Rakov, are you sleeping? Can you sleep at this hour? The desecration of kevod Shomayim is terrible — if after Shabbos has begun shops are still open in the courtyard of Vilna's shul, the very place where the Gra learned Torah lishmoh."
Growing even more excited, the Chofetz Chaim continued: "This can't be! It is clear that one day blood will be spilled on this place. It can't be otherwise."
Astounding stories about the Grach of Brisk appear in the protest speech which R' Avrohom delivered after one of the members of the Mizrachi movement tried to defame Maran the Griz Soloveitchik. At that event, R' Avrohom related how, during the First World War, he visited R' Chaim Brisker, who had moved to Minsk.
To his surprise, he found that R' Chaim had locked himself inside his home in broad daylight, "behind iron bolts." When R' Avrohom asked him to explain his behavior, he approached his bookshelf and removed the Rambam, Hilchos Dei'os 86, and pointed to the words: "Man's tendency to be influenced by the deeds and opinions of his peers and companions is an inherent part of his nature, as is his predilection to follow the customs of his fellow countrymen. As a result, he should associate with righteous people and maintain constant contact with Sages, in order to learn from their deeds."
Then he quoted the Rambam's closing words: "If the decadent of his land do not permit him to reside there, unless he mingles with them and adopts their corrupt lifestyle, he should retreat to a cave or a desert, and not sin, as is written: `Who will make me in the desert an inn for wayfarers' (<88>Yirmiyahu<11> 9:1)."
These words are not parables or figurative, but pure halacha. They mean that if the entire world is evil one must flee to the desert. And if he cannot go to a desert, he must make his house like a desert and isolate himself from his environment, closing himself behind iron bars. That is what I have done, because here in Minsk people are cruel to the refugees and have gained control over them, placing the [children] in [secular schools]."
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HaRav Nochum Partzovitch zt"l
We close with an interesting point: The book also contains letters sent to R' Kalmanowitz concerning the decrees against religion in Eretz Yisroel. Following is a letter, from 5711 (apparently written during the period of the shmad campaign against immigrant children in Eretz Yisroel):
"The chareidi camp in Eretz Yisroel is divided and split, each person espousing his own views on how to fight [the secularists] and how to strengthen the spiritual situation here, so that a consolidated view on the matter cannot be formed. The atheists, though are of one accord where ruchniyus is concerned.
"Surely you are aware of the arrests of those they call "kano'im" — fanatics. These kano'im are the activists who entered the immigrant camps and strengthened the weaker among them. The secularists [who surely do not desire such activity], try to disrupt it. Apparently they have succeeded and perhaps some of them have actually helped perpetrate the well-known provocations, and thus have an reason for disrupting the rescue operations of the activists, whose efforts can save many immigrants from atheism and oblivion.
"In the end, the words of the gemora in Sotah were totally fulfilled: "We have no one on whom to lean, except on our Father in Heaven." The financial situation here is very difficult, and poor people seek charity. But this situation stems from Hashem Yisborach's mercies, because their poverty prevents the poor from [associating with the morally decadent and from adopting their degenerate lifestyles]. Perhaps in time, they will wake up and discover the truth.
"Incidentally, I [add] that in my opinion, it is wrong of C.G. not to approach B.G., since [the Zionists] have never heard even one stern statement from our representatives. When dealing with the Zionists, rational arguments are of no avail, because they are not rational people. The only thing they understand is stern resolve. We will achieve our purpose only if C.G. expresses all of the wrath of chareidi Jewry, coupled with a firm decision to fight against [B.G.] until his downfall quickly in our times.
"The protests of chareidi Jewry in America are a great kiddush Hashem. Without them, we would all be seized for the sin of hearing the "pronouncement of the Ineffable Name" and remaining silent, Rachmono litzlan. Only if there is a Torah- observant public which protests and cries out, can we hope that Hashem will have pity on us and take us out of darkness and into light."
Who wrote this letter?
It was written by the gaon, R' Nochum Partzovitch, the late rosh yeshiva of Mir, who was yet a young man at the time, and had acted behind the scenes in the above mentioned matter, corresponding with HaRav Kalmanowitz and fighting Hashem's battle against Torah's uprooters.
The book includes other letters written by the gaon, R' Nochum Partzovitch, during the period in which the issue of Sherut Leumi for women was a burning issue in Eretz Yisroel. At that time, he was sent to clarify the view of Maran, the Brisker Rav on the issue.
In a letter to R' Avrohom Kalmanowitz, R' Nochum writes: "Regarding the decree, to our great sorrow, the army has already begun to recruit young women into the Sherut Leumi, and all the valiant among us are at a loss as how to proceed. Since the death of the Chazon Ish, there is no one to stem the tide or to specify how to behave in such situations. Everything is abandoned, and only Maran the Gavad of Brisk has remained at his post. But what can a single person do when the danger that the decree will be executed in all of its ramifications is so overwhelming?
"I spoke with the R"M shlita (apparently he is referring to the gaon, R' Eliezer Yehuda Finkel) and he said that in his opinion — which is apparently that of all the gedolim — we must do all in our power cancel this decree, without considering the state's political situation abroad. Worlds must be overturned and a mighty uproar must be sounded, one which [will] deter them from executing their designs. At least this will prevent those who refuse to obey the orders from being arrested and imprisoned.
"The government is using the most effective methods employed by Hitler in the ghettos to execute its plans, stipulating that [religious] young woman who don't join Sherut Leumi will be drafted into the army. They do this in order to frighten the young women into joining the Sherut Leumi of their own accord.
"In my opinion, a man of action from abroad must visit Eretz Yisroel and bolster the hands of the elderly and physically weak gedolim in their stance against to the decrees, because since the death of the Chazon Ish, the generation has grown weaker, and there is no leader whom all of the chareidim, of one accord, obey.
"The members of the Mizrachi continue to delude the public, promising certain individuals various types of benefits. They hope, in this manner, to weaken the stance the public has taken against the breach. Woe to us that when have reached a situation in which the heads of the state publicly rebel against daas Torah and add strange, heretofore unheard of decrees... The leader of the rebels... is about to resign from his post, and apparently wants to add one more sin to his record before leaving the government..."
"I fulfilled your request that I ask Maran, the Gavad of Brisk, for his opinion regarding the actions which must be taken against the decree, and regarding the question of whether we should heed the opinions of those who say that actions which are liable to harm the political status of the State in America should be avoided, or the view of C.G. who believes that this point should not be taken into account.
"I asked, and he replied: `I don't suspect C.G. of doubting my view. However, under no circumstances do I want my opinion cited, in my name, to the rabbis of America. Let them act as they please.'
"Yet he has asked me to convey that `the situation is very critical and that everything possible must be done... Perhaps your efforts will result in the postponement of the decree for a while, and when such postponement is achieved, there is hope, that the decree will be totally annulled.'
"From what I understood, Maran the Rav of Brisk agrees with C.G. that we must do our utmost to annul the decree, without considering any other factors. However, he doesn't want this opinion relayed to the rabbis of America in his name. But he can express this view to those close to him.
"The leaders of the Mizrachi have no interest in cancelling the decree, because they feel that as a result of service in Sherut Leumi, Torah-observant young women will join the ranks of the Mizrachi and leave Agudas Yisroel. `Greater is the animosity of the am ho'oretz for the talmid chochom...' Apparently, their rabbis do not oppose this attitude, and perhaps even secretly encourage it, in opposition to the daas of the authorized gedolei HaTorah of our time.
"As long as the Chazon Ish was alive, the secularists were afraid to carry out their designs. But today, since the Chazon Ish has taken his strength with him [to another World] they fear no one. By the same token, those who are alive and well today are afraid to openly oppose them."
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