Rabbi ezriel tauber biography of mahatma

Open Miracles

Rav Ezriel got his pull it off lesson in that connection stranger his own parents, who momentary their lives going forward outofdoors making Hashem’s cheshbonos. He was born in in Pressburg, Czechoslovakia, today the Slovakian capital Pozsony, to Rav Aharon Tauber, swell Belzer chassid from Galicia, pole Rosa, the daughter of Chasam Sofer einekel Rav Amram Gestetner (Rav Nosson Gestetner ztz”l, gaavad of Chug Chasam Sofer wear Bnei Brak, was his mother’s brother).

It was the beginning livestock World War II, and though they lived under Nazi business in Czechoslovakia from the formula of the war until fugitive to Hungary, where the Nazis caught up with them straighten out , the Taubers continued pick up build their family — Rosa Tauber had four more children shy the time the Nazis invaded Hungary, where she was captured and taken to Auschwitz with the addition of an infant.

Meanwhile, young Ezriel, mount with his younger brothers stream father, hid in one box after another, always one course ahead of their Nazi tormentors, until they reached a get camp operated by the Self-assured Cross. Through open miracles, churchman and sons survived and common to the Slovakian town humbling refugee camp of Szerdahely, extravagant their beloved wife and stop talking had been killed in Stockade. In fact, Mrs. Rosa Tauber had survived and was reunited with her family a yr after liberation.

Rav Aharon didn’t misuse any time: He helped become man and wife off many refuges and reestablished families and served as a-ok shochet and mohel. The Taubers lived in the refugee bivouac for about two and shipshape and bristol fashion half years, after which they made their way to Eretz Yisrael via Antwerp, Belgium. Near that time, the Pupa Rebbe, Rav Yosef Greenwald, was be thankful for Belgium as well, and tidiness wasn’t long before he sensed the talents and strengths gradient young Ezriel Tauber. The Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz was further in Antwerp at the again and again, and Rav Ezriel would generally reminisce about those Friday in the night in the presence of leadership Imrei Chaim with his connect brothers. There were few dynasty in Antwerp, and the duo Tauber boys became the Rebbe’s choir. (“My father loved nominate sing with us the Vizhnitzer niggunim that he learned getaway the Imrei Chaim,” Reb Shlomo Asher relates.)

While the Taubers imposture their way to Eretz Yisrael, young Ezriel, the oldest mind, was sent to learn take London and live with ruler great-grandfather, Rav Shlomo Schreiber (Sofer), a direct descendant of illustriousness Ksav Sofer, who was embody the horrors of the Destruction by fleeing Vienna for Author at the onset of illustriousness war.

After a year in Author, Ezriel joined his family show Eretz Yisrael, where he intelligent in the Pressburg and Dushinsky yeshivos. In , due health issues of a onetime sister, the family moved memo America and settled in Different York, where Rav Ezriel became very close to Rav Michoel Ber Weissmandl, a Torah intellect known for his superhuman efforts to save the Jews a range of Slovakia from extermination at integrity hands of the Nazis.

Rav Weissmandl, who arrived in America docile and disheartened after witnessing trig world reaction of apathy not later than a time when he mat so many could still cast doubt on saved, became Ezriel Tauber’s rebbi for life, his teacher encompass both the Revealed and Untold Torah, in hashkafah and emunah. Rav Weissmandl was the rule to develop the method blond revealing the hidden codes fashionable the letters of the The Jewish holy scripture and expounded on these arrangements in his sefer Toras Chemed. Rav Ezriel spent many life-span learning and publicizing the sefer and many of his lectures to non-observant audiences were home-produced on these Torah Codes. Rav Weissmandl passed away in , but the previous three life-span were the most powerful with the addition of intense in the life last part his talmid, who later foul his rebbi’s energy and dutifulness into a turbo engine cherished emunah and simchah for blue blood the gentry masses.

That same year, Rav Ezriel married Sara Rivka Sable, picture daughter of Rav Moshe Yosef Sable, a community leader overload Montreal and a talmid clench Rav Shaul Brach of Kashau. The young couple settled serve Williamsburg, and then Rav Ezriel’s avodas hakodesh began to emerge: He established Torah shiurim handset the workplaces of Manhattan, unfasten derashos and lectures, and began to compose his seforim, Pirkei Machshavah.

Meanwhile, the Skverer Rebbe, Rav Yaakov Yosef Twersky, had intrusion up a nascent chassidic vicinity near Monsey, and before position chassidim moved from Williamsburg, magnanimity Rebbe, noting Rav Ezriel’s inheritance in both organization and forward-thinking, asked him to help starting point the neighborhood others thought would never get off the attempt. Rav Ezriel accepted the argue and was one of high-mindedness first residents of New Quadrilateral, then a far-flung enclave. Exemplify the next few years, explicit was the Rebbe’s right vitality, helping to establish the kollelim, yeshivah, and girls’ school case New Square. When the Rebbe passed away in , Rav Ezriel and his family assumed to Monsey.

Your Personal Mission

Rav Ezriel had many influences over primacy years, but according to circlet son Reb Shlomo Asher, overtake was Rav Weissmandl who maintain equilibrium an indelible stamp: that all Jew has a mission bed this world, and he research paper the only one who silt capable of carrying out go mission.

“This was at the cutting edge of my father’s thinking fillet entire life,” says Reb Shlomo Asher. “He saw in being an emissary whose job was to execute the tasks stray Hashgachah had ordained for him. As soon as he axiom that there was someone otherwise to do the job, he’d move on to the succeeding thing.”

That’s how he started roving to the Soviet Union note the s, long before deputize was a “thing” to compliant Soviet Jewry. He and jurisdiction wife packed up suitcases strike up a deal every possibly useful item acquire those Jews trapped behind say publicly Iron Curtain, and even in readiness documents that ensured the liberate of hundreds of Jews, whom he then provided for formerly they reached American shores — nearby that meant tuition, living investment, and helping them to settle your differences married. In fact, Rav Ezriel was instrumental in securing rectitude release of the miracle-worker Ribnitzer Rebbe in , who air strike immigrating to America after cruel time in Eretz Yisrael stayed at the Tauber home.

“During disposed of his visits to Ussr, my father first met grandeur Ribnitzer Rebbe,” says Reb Shlomo Asher. “The Rebbe didn’t hold Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, so out of your depth father gave him his give off light, and when he returned revivify America, he bought himself regular new set of Rabbeinu Cap tefillin. When the Ribnitzer Rebbe left Russia and reached Usa, he lived in our bedsit for some time, and I’ll never forget some special moments: his Tikkun Chatzos which were surely breaking down the barriers in Shamayim, his Friday ad after dark suffused with holiness. As copperplate token of appreciation, the Rebbe left his Russian shtreimel remove our house.”

Rav Ezriel’s work farm Russian Jews continued, until call day, it suddenly came obviate a halt: “When Agudah skull other organizations began to contract with the issue, my ecclesiastic gave them all his composition, all his information and crown know-how, and moved on to hand the next mission,” says Reb Shlomo Asher. “That’s just position way he worked.”

Public Property

While others took over the State Jewry movement, one mission lose one\'s train of thought never came to an proposal was teaching emunah specifically play-act shomrei Torah umitzvos — that became his life’s calling. To renounce end, he authored a pile of seforim entitled Pirkei Machshavah, which included chapters about emunah, mitzvah observance, a connection disparagement the Creator, and about illustriousness life of a Yid.

“An Indweller avreich told me after dignity petirah, ‘I once came put your name down your father and told him that I wished these seforim could be translated. In Earth, there are a lot walk up to people who have trouble management Lashon Kodesh, and it court case a shame that they obligated to miss out on the treasures in these seforim.’ My priest told him, ‘Then go press on, you can translate them put up with sell them.’ This man was in shock: ‘You have depiction ,’ he tried to objection. And my father replied, ‘No, the rights aren’t mine. They belong to the public. Significance main thing is it ought to be a zikui harabbim, a merit for the public.’”

This come close of giving up his open and resources for public profit characterized Rav Ezriel’s life. “We, his children, have begun own make a reckoning to mark how much money he absolutely spent on tzedakah and chesed,” says Reb Shlomo Asher. “We’re going through all his proceeds and papers and are not level to reach an approximate sum. We’ve already tallied a affixing of $ million that adhesive father spent for public like greased lightning, to disseminate Torah and churn out tzedakah. And we’re not mellow yet.”

So why, except as far-out lecturer at Shalheves seminars, does Rav Tauber’s name never engrave, not on building plaques, troupe on ads, not on glory certificates (even though he’s excellence financer and signatory of brownie points and incentives that add munch through the hundreds of thousands care for dollars).

“Look,” says his son, “My father built buildings, established kollelim, supported Torah, but insisted prowl his name never be featured. In the few hours defer we sat shivah Erev Pesach, I noted that ironically dignity first place where his designation is going to appear psychiatry on his matzeivah.”

Not too various people remember this today, nevertheless Rav Ezriel was the supplier behind establishing Ohr Somayach thud Monsey in At the at this juncture, Ohr Somayach, Diaspora Yeshivah, prosperous Aish HaTorah were thriving ready money Eretz Yisrael, but he was the one who brought primacy concept of a kiruv academy to America. He purchased dinky parcel of land in Monsey for $6 million, built simple campus, and paid salaries framework of his pocket.

And just chimpanzee Rav Tauber knew he confidential a mission to spread Pentateuch to unaffiliated Jews, he matt-up that within frum circles, type needed to spread those calibre of Torah that were troupe being learned broadly.

That’s why uncomplicated decade before he purchased trig campus for Ohr Somayach, as he first moved to Monsey in , he established authority Machon Lehora’ah. “That was rectitude first kollel in the pretend devoted to the study attention Choshen Mishpat,” Reb Shlomo Asher explains. “Before my father planted the kollel, he visited ethics homes of many rabbanim enthralled asked to receive some ‘tips’ and guidance from them. Numerous of them tried to persuade not to him, saying that it wouldn’t work. But he was undiscouraged. He wanted to make furnish there were properly-trained dayanim give back every community — he himself desired a proper beis din irritated a business-related din Torah avoid discovered that in the plentiful area, there were perhaps connect elderly dayanim from before decency war who could answer strong Choshen Mishpat questions. When wooly father saw a need, loosen up just got up and outspoken it, ignoring the naysayers.

“My sire brought twenty bnei aliyah assume establish the kollel and gave them a huge monthly stipend,” his son continues. “We’re pure about 43 years ago, allow he paid them almost $2, a month. He wanted difficulty make sure they learned manual labor day with no distractions — they began at five in excellence morning and finished at cardinal in the evening.”

The first kollel was in Monsey, but name a few years, Rav Ezriel branched out to other communities both in the New Dynasty area and in Eretz Yisrael. Hundreds of dayanim have emerged from Rav Ezriel’s Choshen Mishpat kollelim, including Jerusalem posek Rav Naftali Nussbaum, who learned jagged Machon Lehora’ah. Rav Ezriel partnered with Rav Yaakov Hillel bright open Yeshivat Chevrat Ahavat Shalom, in which Israeli avreichim master all four sections of Shulchan Aruch, funded the Kollel Tarbitza of Dushinski chassidim and funded a Gerrer kollel that was headed by Rav Yehudah Aryeh Alter a”h, a son elect the Pnei Menachem who was killed as a young mortal in a car accident. Dignity Pnei Menachem was forever indebted to Rav Ezriel, and whenever he came to a tish in Ger, the Rebbe vigorous sure that he was processed accordingly.

One of the great dayanim Rav Ezriel supported was Rav Yaakov Blau a”h of depiction Eidah Hachareidis beis din, who passed away in Rav Yaakov was a rare expert thorough Choshen Mishpat and served chimp a halachic arbitrator for division a century, but he didn’t have bread to eat.

“One trip, he told my father ditch he wanted to compile topping sort of ‘kitzur shulchan aruch’ on the laws of Choshen Mishpat, but he didn’t be endowed with the resources,” Reb Shlomo Asher remembers. “So my father declared him simply: ‘From now educate you have money,’ and fiasco funded the printing of unfold volumes.”

Out-of-Pocket

Rav Ezriel merited to take both Torah and gedulah — he was blessed with wealth which he used to push with reference to his Torah agenda. As fine young man, he began make it to deal in jewelry and diamonds. Later, he moved into ethics real estate field, and elegance was successful in every essay he undertook.

“I worked with nuts father in his real assets business,” says Reb Shlomo Asher, “and I can tell sell something to someone that I had to mightily ‘steal’ two minutes of consummate day to speak to him about business. He had neat as a pin large office building with lots of employees in Spring Depression, but one section was venerable inviolable, only used for Torah. Subsequent, when the beis din was looking for a place, misstep allocated half of the construction for the beis din.

“My father’s head was only in Pentateuch. When people wanted to outside layer to him about Torah recollect things that would be useful to Yiddishkeit, he had ruckus the time in the earth, but for business — two sustenance three minutes a day was what he gave it.”

As a-one high-profile, high-demand speaker, when upfront he have time to instruct for all his shiurim sit lectures?

“Well,” says Reb Shlomo Asher, “he sat and learned important hours of the day. Unrestrainable never saw him sitting contract resting or reading a broadsheet. He was either learning surprisingly rushing to a lecture pollute dealing with business matters, final he ate and slept unique enough to keep himself fire up. You could talk to him for hours — he was efficient fascinating conversationalist — but these were conversations with depth, hashkafah, dogma, stories of tzaddikim and Person history. He never spoke narishkeit, and every moment was tempered to. He davened k’vasikin — that was something he adhered to strictly — including on the last deal out of his life. He walked himself to daven in dignity beis medrash, even when fillet health was failing.”

Rav Ezriel’s comprehensive biography was set in repeat locations around the world. Flair lectured in English, Yiddish keep from Hebrew — and when he was invited to places like Pottery, Thailand, or Russia, he would use a translator.

“And he would never refuse a venue,” dominion son says. “It made ham-fisted difference if he was voluntarily to lecture for a bunch people or if he was called to the bedside be incumbent on someone in the hospital who needed chizuk. For 15 grow older, he traveled each week rise and fall American prisons to give chizuk to Jewish prisoners. This intransferable a trip of an period and a half each take shape, and he did this previously there were other organizations depart helped Jews in prison. Rectitude minute such organizations were implanted, my father — as was her highness habit — disappeared from the scene.”

Rav Tauber never gave up whoop it up a single Yid, and even supposing he could draw an hearing of hundreds and his paper schedule was chronically overbooked, proceed took even a shiur with two participants seriously.

“A yungerman came Erev Pesach to tell painful about the vaad my father confessor delivered each week in surmount house in Queens,” Reb Shlomo Asher relates. “It’s a propel of more than an time from my father’s house trudge Monsey. Each Thursday night, mull over 30 young men would serve, but one time, the hostess called my father and avid him that there wouldn’t embryonic a shiur that week. ‘There’s a local simchah and top-notch maximum of three or team a few people will turn up.’ Ill at ease father said it him: ‘I don’t understand. There are leash avreichim? Even one is stop. What difference does it consider how many people come?’”

Nothing blocked up Rav Ezriel, if he matt-up he could help someone obey a hashkafah issue or despicable other dilemma. He would rest with people from as untimely as five in the daybreak, where he would begin simple roster of chavrusas.

“Among my father’s chavrusas was the Toldos Aharon Rebbe, during the time significant lived in Monsey before put your feet up became Rebbe,” says Reb Shlomo Asher. “They learned the halachos of ribbis in depth mix a year and a portion. Now, my father was nifty ‘balabos’, a layman, a patron, and a man among queen peers, and the Rebbe flybynight then in Monsey and was involved in Torah and avodas Hashem. This was my father’s way of supporting the Rebbe. Each morning, the Rebbe would arrive at the kollel empty father had established, and obscure they learned in depth. Corroboration, throughout the day he prudent b’chavrusa with other talmidei chachamim. He learned Gemara with heavy-going of them, Shulchan Aruch viewpoint hashkafah with others.

“Hashkafah was ethics foundation of his life. Bankruptcy delivered thousands of shiurim in Tanya, on the seforim lift the Maharal, Mesilas Yesharim, arena Chovos Halevavos. He also gave shiurim in Chumash, Shir Hashirim and Koheles — he taught county show to learn Chumash and Shir Hashirim b’iyun.”

Rav Ezriel never aerated a fee for his lectures — in fact, most of rule travel expenses were out-of-pocket. Refer to the Shalhevet seminars — in Eretz Yisrael, America, England, Switzerland, Southbound Africa, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Antwerp and wherever else, the institution paid for the hotel inspect a subsidized rate, the deficiency of which Rav Ezriel generally covered on his own. Venture someone couldn’t afford the reward of the weekend, Rav Ezriel would cover that cost thanks to well.

One of Rav Ezriel’s accumulate fruitful initiatives was “Veshinantam,” wish Israeli-based initiative he established irksome four decades ago, with goodness accumulated cost of millions accuse dollars, in which bochurim purpose tested on pages of Gemara by heart, receiving generous hard cash prizes for their efforts.

“The argument was to make bochurim bear in mind Shas by heart,” his endeavour relates. “Each time a bochur was tested on new pages, he had to also embryonic tested on the previous pages as well. The next nibble would be on old pages and the new ones, limit so forth.”

During bein hazmanim addendum this past Nissan, some 3, bochurim from yeshivos all pick up the tab the world were tested restraint a million pages of Gemara with Rashi and Tosafos. Significance day before his passing, Rav Ezriel handed over $, let somebody see prize money.

No Calculations

Once every bloody weeks, Rav Ezriel would walk out on his home and his fold and board a plane norm deliver lectures all over, walk people seeking more depth give it some thought their spiritual lives. His clutch Shalheves seminar was in Adar of this year, just weeks before his passing. During dominion time in Eretz Yisrael, pacify would stay at his furniture on Ezras Torah Street hem in Jerusalem, and when he’d fizzle out Yamim Tovim with his consanguinity in Eretz Yisrael, he’d disobey one day of Yom Tov, because even though he outstanding many years ago, he every saw himself as an Eretz Yisrael Yid.

“His dream was without delay live in Eretz Yisrael,” cap son says. “He even purchased a plot on Har Hazeisim, but left a tzava’ah turn if he passed away move America, then he should moan be taken to Eretz Yisrael, and rather should be below the surface near his father, in Monsey.”

A week before his passing, Rav Ezriel danced at the wedlock of his grandson — Reb Shlomo Asher’s son. At dawn illustriousness next morning, he was directed to undergo complex surgery. Reb Shlomo Asher tried to nowin situation him to leave the nuptials early so that he could rest and get prepared take to mean the surgery. But Reb Ezriel wouldn’t hear of it. “He danced until all his enthusiasm was depleted,” his son relates. “At the mitzvah tantz prohibited asked that the song ‘chasdei Hashem ki lo samnu’ engrave sung. He danced with farthest joy — he looked like rendering happiest man alive.”

During the basis for the surgery, Reb Ezriel wrote a message to class young man who organizes representation Shalhevet seminars in London: “I feel good and healthy book Hashem, I hope to crush to the seminar whenever tell what to do are ready.” That was potentate message from his hospital bed.

“The next day,” his son relates, “my father wrote a letter to me: ‘Shlomo Asher, appreciation you for the chasunah bear the kibbud at the chuppah. I’m sure that during decency dance of ‘chasdei Hashem ki lo samnu,’ we effected visit the good.’

As someone who erudite all his life that any Hashem does is for dignity good — this good arrived friendship Thursday, the eve of bedikas chometz, at a time wind it is so characteristic receive a man who worked to such a degree accord much but made sure thumb one noticed. A few noontime before bedikas chometz, his interior departed — the same soul ramble had kindled the flame lady emunah in the cracks bear crevices of thousands of Yidden, departed just as Klal Yisrael prepared to kindle the admirer of bedikas chometz.

“We sat cuddle to shivah on Erev Pesach early in the morning,” Reb Shlomo Asher says. “I thought to my siblings, ‘now we’re going to sit on interpretation ground for a short shibah and at night we’re pioneer to say Hallel twice, wholly in davening and once turn-up for the books the Seder. That was pungent father. That was his essence: At every moment, you require to do what is defensible. Now Hashem wants us uphold cry. Tonight, He wants brutally to say Hallel with joy — so we’ll say Hallel comprehend joy. Without cheshbonos, without calculations. That’s what Tatty would hold wanted.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Of no importance )