What Are You Going To Do For The Children? - Monthly Gedolim Story

 I write this on Thursday, 19th Taamuz 5784. Yesterday, on 18th Taamuz, was the Yarzheit of Rav Yitzchak Halevi Herzong zt'l, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1948 until his passing in 1959.

In honor of Rav Herzogs Yarzheit being this week, I wanted a anecdote involving him to be the Monthly Gadol Story for this month. Before I begin, I would like to tell you that, I was inspired to share this story with you thanks to the new book from Rabbi Paysach Krohn, From Sorrow To Celebration, which is about the three weeks, Tisha B'av, and Tu B'av. It also includes biographies of Gedolei Yisroel, whose Yarzheit falls out within the days from 17th Taamuz until Tisha B'av.

This story was originally told over at the 2013 Sinai Indaba convention in South Africa by Rabbi Berel Wein, during a live interview session between himself and the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Rabbi Warren Goldstein. This interview, conducted by Rabbi Paysach Krohn, was set up as part of the convention, to discuss the publication of Legacy, a book about the Lithuanian yeshivos and the many Tzadikim and Gedolim who taught there, which was co-written between Rabbis Wein and Goldstein. (To watch that interview click here).

When Rabbi Krohn met Rabbi Wein, a couple days before the Indaba conference, he asked him "Rabbi Wein, is there any special questions you would want me to ask you at the interview session?" to which Rabbi Wein responded with a confident smile, "Ask me anything you want".

Well, the interview session was scheduled to last forty minutes and for the first thirty-five of them, Rabbi Krohn asked both authors questions about the book. With five minutes left, Rabbi Krohn "took away the safety mat", if you will and posed, to Rabbi Wein, a special question he had been waiting to ask.

This is where the story featuring Rav Isaac Halevi Herzog, will begin.

I will share it with you now in story mode,

Enjoy,

Yitzy Schweitzer

What Are You Going To Do For The Children? - Monthly Gedolim Story

Rabbi Krohn looked at Rabbi Wein and said "Rabbi Wein, I want to ask you a personal question if you don't mind. Forty years ago, when you were the rabbi of a large congregation in Miami, Florida, a mohel was needed to perform a bris on the second days of Pesach. You called and asked me if I'd come to perform the bris and stay with you and your family to which agreed.

"Everything was wonderful and on the final Maariv in your large shul and was looking around and noticed something interesting. There was a large crowd there and you, Rabbi Wein, were the only man in Miami without a suntan!

"You are always indoors, always working. Whether you are writing books, recording shiurim or videos, teaching, learning - you never stop! To the extent that within the last forty years you have produced more than some large companies have. How do you do it? Don't you ever get tired? Don't you ever stop?"

Rabbi Wein become very serious and than told the following heartbreaking, inspiring, outstanding story.

I was born in Chicago. I am a ben yachid, an only child. One day in 1946, when I was eleven, my father said "Berel, we're going to the airport." When I asked why, he told me that the great tzaddik, Rav Isaac Halevi Herzog, was coming to town and all the rabanim were going to greet him at the airport, from where he will be escorted with them to the shul where he would speak to everyone.

In the shul, not only were the rabanim present, but all the yeshiva bucharim of Chicago and Skokie where there as well. At that time there were about 200 yeshiva boys from the elementary school and from the mesivta in Skokie. Many Balei Batim were there too.

Rav Herzog gave a shiur and when it was over he said, "Now, I want to talk to all of you, especially to the bucharim. I just returned from Rome, where I went to visit the Pope. I had with me the names of 10,00, many of whose parents had placed them with Catholic families and institutions to save them from the Nazis, yemach shemom. I said to the Pope, 'Give me back those children! These are our children and you know it! I have the names of 10,000 jewish boys and girls. Many of them where kidnapped by your people and in truth many of our people gave you their children because they did not think they would survive the war otherwise. But you have them now and we want them back. They are our Jewish children!'

"The Pope said 'I can't give you back even one child' I pleaded with him, but he said 'We have a rule that if a child is baptized, we can never return him to another religion - and all those children were baptized' I pleaded with him to return them but he refused"

And then suddenly, Rabbi Herzog started to cry. He put his face down on the podium and wept! I was never so frightened in my life. Everyone in the room was silent, listening to him cry.

When he raised his head again, his face was red and he looked like a lion. He called out to all of us "I CANNOT DO ANYTHING FOR THOSE 10,00 CHILDREN, BUT WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO FOR THE CHILDREN OF KLAL YISRAEL? YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP RAISE THE FUTURE GENERATION OF KLAL YISRAEL - WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? ARE YOU GOING TO REMEMBER THAT? ARE YOU GOING TO FORGET WHAT I SAID?!"

He repeated himself with emphasis "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO FOR THE CHILDREN OF KLAL YISRAEL? ARE YOU GOING TO REMEMBER THAT? DON'T EVER FORGET WHAT I SAID!!"

Rabbi Herzog stopped. Than all the boys got up and marched forward to shake his hand. When he took my hand, he looked at me straight in the eye and asked, "Are you going to forget what I said? Will you remember what I said? What are you going to do for the children of Klal Yisrael?"

Rabbi Wein paused for a moment than he said "Every time, I get tired, every time I want to put my pen down, I am haunted by these words 'What are you going to do for the children of Klal Yisrael?"'