The Rabbi and The Rebbetzin (9 page)

There
were a number of questions about the State of Israel. Here, Aaron explained
that the Orthodox community was historically the most ardent advocates of
Israel, but unfortunately there was a vociferous minority that was opposed to
Israel being a political entity. They felt strongly that the cause of statehood
should be advanced only by the Messiah rather than by ordinary political persons.
Adler made a very careful effort not to antagonize any of the listeners and not
to reveal his lukewarm attitude towards Israel.

Minchah
was followed by
Ma’ariv
and dinner at the Levines. Aaron spent the
remainder of the evening preparing for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. He
concentrated on the shofar-blowing service, because that ritual was scheduled
to take place Sunday morning.

Abe
Levine kept his agreement with Aaron to limit the regular
aliyos
to
five. That, together with a lesser amount of poetry in the prayers on the
second day, explained why services did not last as long on the second morning
as they did on the first. Although Levine was a Levite, he did not take any
aliyos
for himself during the Torah readings. He reasoned that he could find another
Levite who would make a contribution to the synagogue. He already gave enough
money to the shul and would not lessen his contributions. The amount of the
Torah pledge by any member was not publicly announced. Each person who received
an
aliya
was handed a pledge card with fold-down tabs containing amounts
ranging from $25 and up. One of the tabs specified ‘Other.’

Much
to Aaron’s relief, the shofar was sounded by Reverend Martin. Aaron announced
the notes to be sounded and determined whether the sound met the requirements.
He had been forewarned by Shalom Pinkes that the notes sounded at the synagogue
were far shorter than the lengthy sounds heard at the yeshiva. Thus prepared,
Aaron did not compel Reverend Martin to repeat shofar notes that were of
marginal length. He relied on the views of liberal authorities to permit
borderline cases.

Rabbi
Adler dedicated his second day sermon to the ritual of shofar. He pointed out
that the shofar was an instrument of prayer throughout Jewish history. Abraham,
the founder of the Hebrew religion, offered up a ram when he was relieved of
sacrificing his only son, Isaac. The shofar, made of a ram’s horn was a
reminder of the extent of Abraham’s willingness to obey the word of God. Sounding
the shofar at the synagogue is an appeal to the Almighty to be responsive to
our prayers in light of the faith and merit of Abraham the Patriarch.

Aaron
said, “It was the sound of the shofar that accompanied the greatest event in
the history of the Jewish people, the revelation of the Ten Commandments together
with the Torah on Mount Sinai. It was also sounded in times of war and distress
when experienced by the Jewish people. Finally, it is the shofar that will be
sounded to herald the Messianic redemption of the Jewish people and their restoration
to the land of Israel.

The
rabbi skillfully wove all of these historical events into a unified picture
portraying the religious drives and aspirations of the children of Israel.

After
the afternoon meal and a period of rest, Rabbi Adler prepared for the
Tashlich
service. The city of Dunberg was built along the shores of the Allegheny River,
which was a superb place for
Tashlich
. It was one of the three rivers
that converged at Pittsburgh and had been sufficiently cleaned up to maintain aquatic
life. Levine’s home was within walking distance of the river and the members
gathered there. Before
Tashlich
, the worshippers davened
Minchah
at the river; Rabbi Adler explained the significance of
Tashlich
and
read one of the psalms in English. After
Tashlich
, the congregation
davened
Ma’ariv
, and when the services were over, the worshippers left
for their homes.

On
the way home, Shulamit made sure that she walked with Aaron. She told him that
this year she enjoyed the services more than ever in the past and that she was
moved by his sermons. She then added that if she had offended him at dinner on
the first night she was truly sorry. She promised that it wouldn’t happen
again. Aaron assured her that he wasn’t angry with her, and in any event, her
father had already offered an apology to Aaron in her behalf.

Once
they arrived home, Abe Levine summoned Aaron to his study for some additional
discussion. Most of it concerned special arrangements for the Yom Kippur
services focusing on the Yom
Kippur appeals that were scheduled for
Kol
Nidrei
night and prior to the Yizkor
memorial services.

Levine
then surprised Aaron with important news. He told him that Ilan Solomon had
called him from Israel explaining that his mother’s condition had taken a turn
for the worse and the doctors had little hope for her recovery. The time remaining
for his stay in Israel was now indefinite and would certainly exceed a number
of months. “In effect, this means,” Levine said to Aaron, “I have to request
you to conduct Succos services at Beth Israel. We will need you here for the
first two and the last two days of the holiday.” Since these days fall on the
weekend, we may have as many as fifty worshippers among the men. On Simchas
Torah, we have special celebrations and a congregational dinner. On that day
the synagogue should be full. If you can undertake this challenge and, I hope
you will, we will be able to pay you an additional $1,500. Please let me know
as soon as possible about your decision.”

Aaron
answered cautiously, “The compensation is quite adequate, but there are certain
details that I must attend to before I can accept. However, I am personally
inclined to do so. I take it that I can charge my Lulav and Esrog to the shul
account.

“Certainly,”
Levine said. “Can you tell me when you would be ready to be picked up
Erev
Yom Kippur on Monday?”

“Two
o’clock” replied Aaron. “Incidentally, if you send Shulamit to pick me up, ask
her to park her car at least a block away from the yeshiva. The students at the
yeshiva teased me about my Rosh Hashanah date, and I was slightly embarrassed.”

Aaron is asked to
conduct Sukkot Services at Beth Israel.

He overcomes the
Mashgiach’s objection

Aaron
returned to the yeshiva that night and went quietly to his room. After the
morning prayers, he was informed by Rabbi Bernstein that he was expected to
attend a faculty meeting at 10:00 AM. He realized that there would be no
lectures that morning because the faculty and students were observing the Fast
of Gedaliah which follows Rosh Hashanah. When he entered the dean’s office,
Rabbis Weiss and Bernstein were already seated on either side of the dean’s
table. Conspicuous by his absence was Rabbi Kurland. This led Aaron to
understand that the faculty meeting was called in response to his work at Beth
Israel. Aaron understood that Rabbi Kurland stayed away from the meeting
because he was unhappy with the entire idea of sending him outside of the
yeshiva to serve a community synagogue.

Rabbi
Weiss turned to Aaron and said, “We have already heard from Abe Levine how well
you preformed at Beth Israel. We have had a few other calls praising you for
your work. The faculty wishes to have a full report of what took place on the
holidays.”

Aaron
was somewhat upset with what he just heard. “I distinctly remember hearing in
this office,” he said, “that the yeshiva was in no way responsible for my performance
at Beth Israel. I could understand such an inquiry if my work had reflected
poorly upon the yeshiva. The faculty would then be justified in examining me.
From what I know, the opposite is true. I heard members express their gratitude
that the yeshiva helped the congregation in its time of need and they were
proud of the quality of the students who study here.”

Rabbi
Weiss was taken aback with the sharp tone of Aaron’s words. He acted quickly to
correct the situation. “We are not asking you to report to us out of a sense of
responsibility and obligation. We called you in out of curiosity because this
is a situation that may impact the yeshiva in the future. If we find religious
faults with the congregation, we may have to forbid our students from
performing congregational duties in the future.”

Rabbi
Bernstein then added, “We must also be certain that our student was not
adversely affected by his exposure to untraditional congregational practices
and ideologies.”

 Aaron
was no idiot; he knew the importance of discretion, and decided not to mention
the fact that Abe Levine had a daughter who was his age and very attractive. He
thanked the dean for permitting him to work at Beth Israel and reported that
his income for the holidays would greatly assist him and his family in meeting
his financial obligations. He assured the rabbis that he saw no deviation in
the synagogue practices from established Orthodoxy, that the services were
complete and that the prayer book was fully traditional. He added that he was
pleasantly surprised by the decorum and by the degree of audience
participation. He mentioned that the Chazzan who shared his work with him was
also a Shochet and Mohel in the community, and an extremely learned
musmach
from Israeli yeshivos. He then reviewed the sermonic and cantorial performances.

It
was at that time, that he dropped his bombshell. He reported that Mr. Levine
had informed him that Rabbi Ilan Solomon would have to remain in Israel for
several months.

The
dean asked, “How does that affect you?”

Aaron
answered slowly. “Mr. Levine said that Rabbi Solomon also conducted services
for the congregation on Succos and Simchas Torah. He then asked me if I were in
a position to replace Solomon for the holiday. He reminded me of the expression,
‘He who commences the performance of a mitzvah is enjoined to complete it.’ I
tentatively agreed to do so.”

The
dean was somewhat shaken by Adler’s statement. “The approval you received from
the yeshiva to go to Beth Israel was in response to an emergency situation and
limited only to the High Holidays. I do not recall telling you anything about
Succos.”

Aaron
replied, “With all due respect to the Rosh Yeshiva, I must remind him that
Succos is a school holiday, and at Ohr Moshe the holiday extends until
Rosh
Chodesh Cheshvan.
Where does the Rosh Yeshiva think that I will be davening
during that time if not in an Orthodox community synagogue? I cannot see any
difference between my shul in New York and Beth Israel, except that the decorum
at the local synagogue is far superior. While the yeshiva may choose to worry
about what its students do during vacation periods, worshipping in an Orthodox
shul is not a questionable vacation activity.”

Rabbi
Rosenberg was not quite content with Aaron’s words. “Aaron you have not yet
received your
Semicha
. Even then you will never be completely on your
own. When studying at a yeshiva you develop a spiritual character and form bonds
with the yeshiva ideology which can never be severed. Those who succeed in the
congregational rabbinate have inevitably compromised their religious practices.
The yeshiva must not let this happen to a student who is still studying at the
yeshiva and is not yet ordained.”

Aaron
was not intimidated by the words of the dean, although they contained an
implied threat that his ordination might be jeopardized if he didn’t request
formal permission to conduct the Succos services. He was well-aware that he was
the number one scholar at the yeshiva and the school could not afford to lose
him. What is more, the dean was aware that Abe Levine was the main supporter of
the school and might withdraw his contributions if he heard that the dean was
barring Aaron from coming to Beth Israel. Aware of his strong position, Aaron
did not concede. Nevertheless, he saw no point in antagonizing the rabbi who had
supported his Torah studies for a number of years.

“If
the dean will allow me to conduct the Succos services, I do not foresee any
further religious obligations at Beth Israel until Pesach. To maintain a good
relationship with the yeshiva faculty, I respectfully suggest that we let this
matter drop until then.”

Not
wishing to rock the boat any further, the dean ended the discussion and closed
the meeting. He was vastly relieved that Rabbi Kurland had wisely absented
himself from the faculty conference. For his part, Aaron felt a measure of
guilt for speaking so defiantly to the faculty committee. He knew that doing so
meant weakening his status at the yeshiva, and he was certain that at some
point in time he would pay the price for his audacity.

Aaron
used the next few days preparing intensively for the Yom Kippur services. He
used the time of his usual afternoon learning session with Shalom Pinkes to review
the melodies that were unique to Yom Kippur, particularly
Kol Nidrei
and
the martyrology prayers. Rabbi Bernstein was drafted again to help Aaron with
the appeal sermons. These sessions went well because Aaron had gained much
confidence after his experiences on Rosh Hashanah.

Shulamit
arrived on
Erev
Yom Kippur at the prearranged time and place and picked
Aaron up. “I guess young women are unusual creatures in front of the yeshiva,
but I can live with it,” Shulamit teased him.

“C’mon,
Shulamit,” Aaron complained. “I had enough problems with your debut last week. Boys
will be boys.”

 Aaron
was in full control of himself and the congregation throughout Yom Kippur. In
addition to making the appeal sermon he also gave a lengthy introduction to the
book of Jonah. He kept his services to the specified times and resisted all
attempts to hasten the final sounding of the shofar.

After
the evening prayer at the end of Yom Kippur, the family and the clergy were
driven home in two cars to break the fast. When the dinner was completed, Aaron
was called in to confer with Abe Levine in the study.

Levine
was very happy with the way the services were conducted and he revealed to
Aaron that a large number of the members had paused to compliment him on their
way out of shul. He explained that the expense at the bookstore was already
paid for by the shul and was almost totally used up. There was some change left
and some money from member pledges to the rabbi that were already redeemed. Others,
made on Yom Kippur, would be forthcoming. The final payment was the check made
out from the shul to Rabbi Aaron Adler for $1,800.

Aaron
accepted the funds gratefully and thanked Abe Levine and the congregation for
the payment.

“Wait,”
Mr. Levine said. “There is something else, but I want to call the family in for
the presentation.” When the family gathered in the study, Abe Levine picked up
the two boxes resting near the desk. “Aaron,” he said, “you helped our
congregation in the time of need and on very short notice. You did very well
and saved me personally, as president of the congregation, from a lot of heartache
and shame. I will always be grateful to you for your kindness and
understanding.” So saying, he asked Shulamit to open the cartons. She did so
and pulled out a brand new Mac computer from the larger box. The Macs had just
come out, and Telacomp was a licensed Mac distributor for Apple computers. Such
computers were selling at over $2,000 retail, and even though Levine got them
for a $1,000 or so, it was an extremely generous gift on his part.

Aaron
almost had tears in his eyes as he profusely thanked the president. He promised
that he would write a letter of thanks to him on the new computer if he could
figure out how to run the Mac and if he could find the means of printing the
letter.

“Don’t
worry about printing. The second carton that you see here contains a new
printer with some paper ready to go.” The members of the family applauded the
presentation.

Aaron
was not finished with surprises for the evening. Shulamit invited him to remain
in the study for a few minutes before she drove him back to yeshiva. She told
him that she enjoyed the Yom Kippur services as never before and that she was
happy that he was able to perform them.

“By
the way,” she said, “this coming Wednesday I have to pick up my final grades
and my official diploma from the university in Buffalo. It’s a boring four-hour
drive each way, and I would enjoy your company for the trip. In fact,” she said,
“I will be glad to show you Niagara Falls before we return home. I take it that
you have never seen them before and they are truly one of the great wonders of
nature. By the way, do you have a driver’s license?”

Aaron
had his own surprise for Shulamit. “Not only do I have a license for regular
cars but I am also permitted to drive trucks and vans. I spend my summers
working for my father in the grocery store delivering orders and picking up
supplies.” After a little hesitation, Aaron asked bluntly, “Are you considering
this a date?”

 Shulamit
blushed, “Not really, we only know each other for ten days. Let’s merely call
it a guided tour of points of interest in this area to which visiting rabbis would
be customarily entitled.”

“Call
it what you wish,” Aaron responded. “The yeshiva is closed for vacation
immediately after Yom Kippur and I would not be losing time from my studies. I
would not bother to request permission from the faculty for such an activity because
they wouldn’t consent to it in a million years. Nothing would please me more
than touring western New York with a pretty young lady, and I would gladly
share the driving if you make all the other arrangements for the trip.”

Shulamit
drove Aaron to the yeshiva and took leave from him until their scheduled tour.
On Tuesday Aaron took care of a number of personal obligations. He deposited
all his funds in the Mellon Bank branch near the yeshiva, and he locked his new
computer in his dorm closet. He then went to see Shalom Pinkes and had a talk
with him.

“Shalom,”
he said, “without your help I would never have been able to conduct services at
Beth Israel. You spent a lot of time and worked very hard to teach me all the
holiday prayers. While I made a lot of money for my work, you got nothing in
return for your efforts and you certainly need the money as much as I do.” He
then withdrew $500, intending to present them to his
chaver
.

Shalom
had a good laugh at Aaron’s expense. “You don’t imagine that I would take any payment
from my best friend for teaching him how to daven? Keep the money for yourself
and I will even throw in some instruction as to how to use your computer
because at school I had a chance to work on some Macs.”

Aaron
thanked Shalom and expressed his gratitude. “I guess I won’t have to offer
anything to Rabbis Weiss and Bernstein because they too earn money on the
holidays. Maybe you can help me write my letters to them as well.”

On
Wednesday morning there was no regular student minyan as most of the students
had already left. The dean and some of the resident faculty together with some
remaining students and a few outsiders conducted a minyan at 7:30 AM. Aaron was
able to leave before a quarter to nine.

Shulamit
was ready and waiting at the meeting place in her sports car. She told Aaron
that all the provisions had been prepared by Grace and were now in the trunk.
She also told him that her father was aware of the trip and was enthusiastic
about her excursion with Aaron.