With the growth of the observant Jewish community have come
intensified challenges and increased opportunities. While
there is certainly an important role for the community, the
"bottom line" responsibility lies with each of us as an
individual. How every observant Jew can meet that
responsibility -- whether through participation in broader
efforts or through individual growth and initiative -- will
be the focus of the upcoming 78th National Convention of
Agudath Israel of America.
The 4-day convention, set to open on 25 Cheshvan, 5761
(November 23) and being held, as last year, at the Garden
State Convention Center in Somerset, New Jersey, will have as
its official theme ""Making a Difference: The Role of Reb
Yisroel in Klal Yisroel."
Explains Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, Agudath Israel's executive vice
president: "It is true, of course, that the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts, that the collective koach
horabim of Klal Yisroel transcends the power of its
individual members. At the same time, the strength of our
tzibbur ultimately depends on each of us as a
yochid -- the way each of us promotes kvod
Shomayim in daily life, the personal example each of us
provides to our families, neighbors and friends, the extent
to which each of us is involved with the needs of the
community around us. This year's convention will speak to us
as individuals, and help us achieve personal growth as well
as communal strength."
One aspect of individual involvement that is sure to be
stressed at the upcoming convention, according to an Agudath
Israel spokesman, will be volunteerism. It is likely, he
said, that a number of new initiatives calling for the
individual participation of community members will be
launched at this year's gathering.
Thursday evening's plenary session will of course address the
convention theme, and will feature an address from HaRav
Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe and Rosh Agudath Israel
of America, who will expand on the ethical imperative
underlying the individual's responsibility to work on behalf
of the klal.
Following Rabbi Perlow's address, the convention will hear
from two well-known Torah personalities widely regarded for
their ability to bring important lessons home to their
audiences: Rabbi Yissocher Frand, a rosh yeshiva at
Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore; and Rabbi Asher Sinclair,
a senior lecturer for Ohr Somayach.
A Sunday morning session at the Convention will be dedicated
to an analysis, from a Klal Yisroel perspective, of
the Democratic Party's nomination of an observant Jew for
vice president.
Both excitement and discomfort have been evident in the
Orthodox community's reaction to Senator Joseph I.
Lieberman's nomination. It has become increasingly evident,
on the one hand, that the prominence on the national and
world scenes of a Jew who has shown great respect for laws of
the Torah like Shabbos and kashrus carries great
potential for bringing estranged Jews closer to their
spiritual heritage. At the same time, though, concerns have
been raised about whether misinformation concerning Jewish
laws and practices, not to mention antisemitism, might emerge
from that very prominence.
These and other profound issues raised by the Lieberman
nomination will be the focus of "Politics Aside: The
Lieberman Phenomenon and the State of American Jewry."
Participating will be noted author and lecturer Rabbi Yisroel
Miller, rav, Congregation Poale Tzedek (Pittsburgh), and
Professor Aaron Twerski, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law
School, and chairman of Agudath Israel's Commission on
Legislation and Civic Action.
"Whether Senator Lieberman on that date will be the Vice
President-elect or simply a fascinating footnote to American
history," said Agudath Israel's executive vice president for
government and public affairs, Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, "there
can be little doubt of the lasting impact his candidacy will
have on the larger Jewish community. It is therefore
important that we assess its import and try to understand
both what it means to us and what it demands of us."
Mr. Eddie Betesh of Flatbush and Mr. Sidney Glenner of
Chicago will serve as convention chairman and co-chairman,
respectively. Mr. Betesh, whose father emigrated from Allepo,
Syria, is a close talmid of Rabbi Mordechai Masalton.
Mr. Glenner, an alumnus of Telshe Yeshiva (Cleveland) and
musmach of Rav Aharon Soloveichik, is renowned for his
own support of Torah in Chicago, where he and his wife
live.
The convention center's 4000 seats and large exhibit area
will once again make the Agudah convention not only an
inspiring gathering but a comfortable one. This year a third
hotel has also been reserved for Agudath Israel delegates.
