In Lakewood, “Torah iz di beste sechoirah” is not a lullaby to put a child to sleep. Rather, it is the clarion call that brought a revolution to America’s yeshivah world.
Photos BMG archives and Hoberman Family
Lakewood, New Jersey — winter resort town surrounded by lakes and forests, favored vacation destination of many New York Jews — has had the fortune and privilege to become the successor to a major Torah enterprise that was consumed in the flames of war across the ocean.
The first Jews who settled in Lakewood never dreamed that a time would come when the word “Lakewood” would denote the address of one of the world’s major Torah centers. They could not fathom that besides beautiful hotels, a glimmering lake complete with honking geese, and a forest where deer roam fearlessly, Lakewood would also boast a Beth Medrash Govoha directed by a rosh yeshivah who occupies a front line position among the Torah giants of the generations.
Reb Nison Gordon, a faithful Lubavitcher chassid and close confidant of many gedolim, was one of the premier Yiddish journalists of his time. As skilled as he was with a pen, he was even more adept as a defender of Torah Judaism.
He utilized his columns in the Algemeiner Journal, Der Tog-Morgen Journal, and other publications to acquaint his readers with the beauty and majesty of the vital Torah institutions of his time, offering first-hand exposure to a world believed by many to be well on its way to extinction.
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