The Kosher Bookworm: Shaaray Tefilla celebrates a century

The Kosher Bookworm

By Alan Jay Gerber

Now located in the village of Lawrence, Shaaray, as it is popularly known, has enjoyed a leading legacy of communal service and leadership that set the tone for the spiritual growth of this distinguished New York City suburb.

Among the rabbinic leaders who came to serve and lead this congregation were two of the most distinguished rabbis of the previous generation, both of blessed memory, whose literary mark upon American Jewry will serve as a lasting testimony to Shaaray Tefilla’s intellectual and spiritual heritage.

Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Rackman, in addition to his communal service as rabbi at Shaaray in its formative years, and as president for close to three decades at Bar Ilan University, was author of one of the first works of theology to effectively define the perimeters of Modern Orthodox Judaism.

Titled, “One Man’s Judaism” [Gefen 1970, revised 2000], Rabbi Rackman’s book goes into great detail in explaining and defining the relationships that Judaism, in both faith, belief and in its day-to-day practice, relates to the outside world.

Such topics as individual belief, halachah and its modern applicability, the holiness of the land of Israel, as well as the relationships Judaism has with the sciences and with other faith communities are each given full definition within the context of Modern Orthodox Jewish ideology.

Upon Rabbi Rackman’s departure, Rabbi Dr. Walter Wurzburger succeeded him as rabbi at Shaaray. He too, was to leave a rich literary legacy that was to transcend beyond his many years of spiritual leadership in our community. As with Rabbi Rackman, Rabbi Wurzburger’s work was to seek to reconcile modern Orthodox Judaism with the ideological issues of the day.

One important work he published (it was also his last) was, “God Is Proof Enough” [Devora Publishing, 2000]. Within this deceptively slim volume were a series of profound essays that in sharp and succinct terms define the rabbi’s beliefs and opinions. Topics he discussed in the volume touch on faith and its relationship to history, the existence of G-d, the spiritual quest for G-d and the emulation of his ethical attributes, the Jewish responsibility to the world, and the problem of evil and the legacy of the Holocaust.

The very core of belief is at the heart of Rabbi Wurzburger’s spiritual quest, a quest that was to be shared with many at Shaaray during his long distinguished tenure as rabbi and rabbi emeritus of the shul.

After Rabbi Wurzburger’s retirement he was succeeded by Rabbi David Weinberger.

Rabbi Weinberger has set his marker in the rabbinate at Shaaray in establishing the shul as a major center of Jewish learning and as a true bais medrash for all the community to use and benefit from.

Rabbi Weinberger’s literary legacy will, in the years to come, rest with his dedication to the spiritual legacy of his dear father-in-law, Rav Nison Alpert, of blessed memory.

Rav Alpert was one of Rav Moshe Feinstein’s most distinguished talmidim. He taught at the Mesivta Tiferet Jerusalem and, in his later years, served as a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University. During his tenure at YU he was to also serve as the Rav at the Agudat Israel of Long Island in Far Rockaway.

Fortunately, to all our benefit, Rabbi Weinberger has set out to preserve Rav Alpert’s legacy, by helping to publish his father-in-law’s commentaries.

Among the first, and to date most distinguished work in English is a volume titled, “Rabbi Nison Alpert On The Sidrah: Teachings of a Great Rav and Rosh Yeshivah” [Artscroll 2006]. This work deals with divrei Torah on every parsha and features a cross index of the entire book by topic and parsha, thus enabling the reader to reference those topics of prime interest.

Rabbi Weinberger, in his eloquent and heartfelt introduction notes that the “sharp, brilliant and analytical Rav Nison filled many notebooks with his original Torah thoughts. Numerous sefarim of his chidushim have thus been published, making a mark in the olam HaTorah.”

Hopefully, with this volume as prologue, future translations by Rabbi Weinberger of Rav Alpert’s works in English will find their way to the shelves of Shuls, schools and Jewish homes worldwide, for our further spiritual enrichment.

As a personal aside, I would hope that someday a full, objective and truthful biography will be written of the spiritual and communal legacy of Rav Alpert. We were neighbors in my youth on the Lower East Side. We all knew that we lived among spiritual giants in those days. Rav Alpert was among the greatest among the greatest. He was a true “Ish Shalom.”

Based upon the legacies of Rabbi Rackman and Rabbi Wurzburger, I am certain that Rabbi Weinberger’s literary output in tribute to Rav Alpert will bear much fruit in the very near future and I hope for a complete English translation of Rav Alpert’s scholarship.