“We see the power of a united kehillah kedoshah,” said Rav Knopfler, “when even a tzaddik who is greater than a malach must give way.”
The Machzikei Hadass kehillah was established in Manchester, UK more than 100 years ago. By now, the flourishing community boasts over 4,000 families and 50 shuls. A recently launched initiative aims to strengthen the kehillah’s structure and reunite it into an old-style European kehillah with one rav and a centralized infrastructure and services. On Rosh Chodesh Sivan, close to 50 rabbanim from the city joined together to hear more about these plans. The mara d’asra of Antwerp, Rabbi Aharon Schiff, gave a derashah, and Rabbi Gavriel Knopfler, rosh yeshivah of Manchester’s Shaarei Torah, expounded on the importance of being a member of a kehillah kedoshah, sharing a powerful story.
When he was still a young man, Rav Shimon Sofer, son of the Chasam Sofer, wrote in his memoirs that his father’s rebbi, Rav Nosson Adler, was a “malach Hashem Tzevakos.” His father saw this line and protested that no malach had reached the standing of Rav Nosson Adler. Yet, said Rav Knopfler, when Rav Nosson Adler’s personal minhagim conflicted with the conduct of the kehillah of Frankfurt, he was asked by the Baal Hafla’ah, Rav Pinchos Horowitz, who was the av beis din of Frankfurt, to leave the city.
“We see the power of a united kehillah kedoshah,” said Rav Knopfler, “when even a tzaddik who is greater than a malach must give way.”
Overnight awakening
After President Donald Trump’s call for Americans to mark the country’s upcoming 250th anniversary with renewed faith and religious commitment, Rabbi Dovid Glick, who heads Lakewood’s Bais Horaah, felt that the moment presented a unique spiritual opportunity for American Jews searching for something deeper. On a Tuesday afternoon, he decided to organize a full hotel shabbaton that very same weekend for Jews unfamiliar with traditional Shabbos observance. He contacted Project Inspire, who mobilized its team of kiruv experts to assist in any way possible, and he also reached out to Rabbi Mordechai “Yari” Yaroslovitz of St. Louis and a number of other volunteers across the country. What normally would have taken months to arrange was accomplished in under 48 hours.
Nearly 300 participants attended, including young professionals, families, and people beginning to explore Judaism. The atmosphere of warmth, learning, music, and acceptance left a strong impression on many attendees, several of whom committed to greater Jewish observance and ongoing learning by the end of the weekend.
Beyond The bottom line
Last week, the greater Lakewood community suffered the tragic passing of a beloved young man, who was an engineer by profession. The community quickly rallied around the bereaved family, and one of the fundraisers was hosted by a group called “Lakewood Architects and Engineers,” a name that, at first glance, sounded like a local firm. Yet the professionals listed at the bottom of the flyer weren’t partners or employees of the same company. In fact, they were respected architects, engineers, and business owners, each running his own local practice — and ostensibly competing with one another. Yet, within hours of the tragedy, they were all banding together under “Lakewood Architects and Engineers,” an ad hoc entity that had none of the rivalry of professional competitors — gathered instead to support and sustain fellow Yidden in their time of need.
