Nosson Meir Wachtfogel
Encyclopedia
Nosson Meir Wachtfogel (18 February 1910, Kuhl, Lithuania
–21 November 1998, Lakewood
, New Jersey
), known as the Lakewood Mashgiach, was an Orthodox
rabbi and long-time mashgiach ruchani
(spiritual supervisor) of Beth Medrash Govoha
(the Lakewood Yeshiva) in Lakewood, New Jersey. He was one of the primary builders of that yeshiva into a world-class institution, enacting the goals and direction set forth by its founding rosh yeshiva
, Rabbi Aharon Kotler
. He also helped establish "branches" of the Lakewood Yeshiva in dozens of cities, and pioneered the community kollel concept with the opening of combination Torah learning
/outreach centers in the United States and other countries. A revered mentor and guide to thousands of students over a career that spanned more than 50 years, he was a strong advocate and prime example of musar study and working on one's spiritual self-development.
, 1910, in the small Lithuania
n town of Kuhl, where his father, Rabbi Moshe Yom Tov Wachtfogel, was Rav
. His father was a student of the Alter of Slabodka and one of the original 14 students of the Eitz Chaim Yeshiva in Slutsk
headed by Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
.
Nosson Meir studied in the Kelm Talmud Torah
as a youth. In the early 1920s, his father and mother moved to Montreal
, Canada
, to assume a rabbinical post, leaving their son in Lithuania. When Nosson Meir was 15, he rejoined his parents in Canada and then went to learn at Yeshiva Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan
in New York. Among his study partners were future American rabbinical leaders Rabbi Avigdor Miller
, Rabbi Moshe Bick, and Rabbi Yehuda Davis.
A few years later, when the yeshiva joined forces with Yeshiva University
and added secular studies to its curriculum, Nosson Meir staged a protest, urging his friends to quit the yeshiva and go to study in the great yeshivas of Europe. At age 17, he himself enrolled at the Mir yeshiva in the town of Mir, Belarus
, where he remained for seven years. The musar emphasis and personal example of the Mir mashgiach, Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz, and his successor, Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein
, had a profound influence on Wachtfogel, who devoted the rest of his life to studying and disseminating musar and working on personal character development. He also studied under Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz, rosh yeshiva of the Kaminetz yeshiva in Poland
.
When Wachtfogel's mentor, Rabbi Levovitz, died in the summer of 1936, he decided to return to Canada. At that point he received semicha (rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Leibowitz and Rabbi Shimon Shkop
, rosh yeshiva of the Grodno yeshiva. He also received semicha from Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, rosh yeshiva of the Mir.
When his ship reached New York, he heard that Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman
, rosh yeshiva of the Baranowitz Yeshiva, was fund-raising in that city, and went to talk with him about his concerns about living in materialistic America. Rabbi Wasserman advised him to return immediately to Europe and study in the Kelm Talmud Torah, which was known for its strong emphasis on musar and character-building. Although he had not seen or spoken to his parents for seven years, Wachtfogel took the next ship back to Europe.
He remained in Kelm for over three years, studying mostly under Rabbi Daniel Movshovitz. Even after World War II broke out, he continued to learn in the yeshiva, astounding those who found out he could leave any time with his Canadian passport. Near the end of this period, he became engaged to Chava Slomowitz, daughter of Rabbi Yisrael Zalman Slomowitz, Rav of Geniendz and a graduate of Sarah Schenirer
's teacher's seminary in Kraków
.
In June 1940 the Russians entered Kelm as part of the Russian occupation of the Baltic states and proceeded to confiscate businesses, enforce rationing
, and put their sympathizers in control. British citizens in Kelm were advised by the British Consulate in Kovno
to travel to Kovno and from there to be evacuated to Australia
. Rabbi Wachtfogel and another Canadian learning in Kelm, Rabbi Shmuel Schecter, together with Wachtfogel's bride Chava Slomowitz, joined a group of British citizens stranded in Kelm—including the wife and daughter of Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler
—and a group from the Telshe Yeshiva
on their flight to Australia. In order to procure a visa for his bride, Wachtfogel had to prove that they were married. They did this by conducting the first half of their Jewish marriage ceremony
, erusin
, in Kovno; their chuppah
took place after they reached New York.
The group departed on a Shabbat
, 26 October 1940, taking a train to Moscow
via Riga
. The next day they boarded the Trans-Siberian Express
to Vladivostok
, a journey of nine days, during which the religious Jews had nothing to eat but fruit and tea. From Vladivostok, they traveled by steamship
to Brisbane
, a voyage of nearly four and a half weeks (here their rations were limited to sardines, eggs, and tomatoes). While the British citizens in the group spent over six years in Australia waiting to be repatriated
, Wachtfogel, Schechter and Wachtfogel's bride were given first-class airline tickets by the Board of Governors of the Australian Jewish
community, which feared that these Torah scholars would foment a religious revival in their community.
in America in White Plains, New York
. Seeking a great Torah scholar to head their learning program, they offered the position to Rabbi Aharon Kotler. Rabbi Kotler agreed, but asked that they move the kollel to Lakewood, New Jersey, and admit bachurim (unmarried young men) in order to turn it into a full-scale, European-style yeshiva. The avreichim agreed and became Rabbi Kotler's first students when he founded Beth Medrash Govoha. In 1943 Rabbi Kotler asked Rabbi Wachtfogel to become the yeshiva's mashgiach ruchani, a position he held under three successive generations of roshei yeshiva
: Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbi Shneur Kotler
, and Rabbi Malkiel Kotler.
Even as mashgiach, he acted more like a student of Rabbi Kotler, attending the rosh yeshiva's shiurim (Torah lectures) and shmuessim (musar talks) with the rest of the students. Out of respect for his Rav, he never gave a shmuess of his own in the main study hall
as long as Rabbi Kotler was alive.
In addition to caring for the students' welfare, Rabbi Wachtfogel was the guardian and implementer of the spirit and goals which Rabbi Kotler intended for his yeshiva, including the emphasis on Torah and musar study. He also worked to fulfill Rabbi Kotler's dream of establishing "branches" of the Lakewood Yeshiva in other cities, convincing the communities and the potential teachers and students of the viability of this novel undertaking. In this fashion, he helped to establish kollel
s in 30 cities, including Montreal
, Boston
, Long Beach, New York
, Scranton, Pennsylvania
, Miami Beach, Denver, Pittsburgh, Deal, New Jersey
, Mexico
, and Melbourne
. The Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia
, founded in 1953 with Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky and Rabbi Dov Schwartzman as roshei yeshiva, was a direct result of Rabbi Wachtfogel's efforts.
High School and Seminary in Williamsburg
led by Rebbetzin Vichna Kaplan.) Even after his family joined him, he never owned his own house, and would refer to his house as a stantzia (inn) and his furniture as heltzer (lumber). He was also known for his firm conviction in the coming of Mashiach, ending his shmuessen with the words "This is the last shmuess in galus
(exile)". He kept a pressed suit hanging in his closet so that he would have something to wear to greet the Mashiach as soon as he arrived.
His spirit was felt throughout the Lakewood community. For example, he and Rabbi Shneur Kotler established the annual "Shabbos
Hatzolah
" campaign which provides most of the operating budget for the local Hatzolah ambulance service.
Under the leadership of Rabbi Shneur Kotler, when yeshiva enrollment expanded from 200 to 800 students, and under the leadership of Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, Rabbi Yerucham Olshin
, Rabbi Dovid Schustal
, and Rabbi Yisroel Neuman
, when the student body mushroomed to over 2,300, Rabbi Wachtfogel was aided by assistant mashgiachs Rabbi Yehuda Jacobs, Rabbi Eliezer Stefansky, and Rabbi Yaakov Pollack. At the end of the 1980s, Rabbi Wachtfogel brought in Rabbi Matisyohu Salomon, mashgiach of the Gateshead Yeshiva
, to serve alongside him and eventually be his successor.
(this kollel developed into the Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic), Chicago
, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Los Angeles
, Toronto
, and Melbourne, Australia. As he recruited students from the Lakewood Yeshiva to staff these new locations, he gave his blessing to many who were reluctant to move to small communities that lacked the Jewish infrastructure (Jewish schooling, kosher
food, employment opportunities) available in larger cities, and even engaged in "arm-twisting" to convince the students that they would be successful.
In his final years, he founded and directed a new organization called Kollel International to fund-raise and establish kollels in small communities. Two such kollels were founded near Lakewood, in Manalapan Township
and Howell Township, New Jersey
, before his death. Less than a week before his death, he was still involved in establishing another kollel on Long Island.
led a delegation of senior rabbis, roshei yeshiva and mashgiachs to try to save a Jewish cemetery
from destruction in the city of Kaliningrad
. The mayor said that the sight of these venerable old men who undertook the journey to Russia to protest the grave desecration prompted him to sign the permit for its protection.
Rabbi Wachtfogel died on 21 November 1998. On the Hebrew calendar
, his yahrtzeit, 2 Kislev
, is the same as that of Rabbi Aharon Kotler. He was buried in the newly-opened Chelkas HaRabbonim (rabbinical section) of the Har HaMenuchot
cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel
.
His son, Rabbi Elya Ber Wachtfogel, is rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of South Fallsburg
, New York. After his father's death, Rabbi Elya Ber assumed the leadership of Kollel International together with Rabbi Malkiel Kotler.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
–21 November 1998, Lakewood
Lakewood Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 60,352 people, 19,876 households, and 13,356 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,431.8 people per square mile . There were 21,214 housing units at an average density of 854.8 per square mile...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
), known as the Lakewood Mashgiach, was an Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi and long-time mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani or mashgiach for short, means a spiritual supervisor or guide. It is a title which usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.The position of mashgiach ruchani arose with the...
(spiritual supervisor) of Beth Medrash Govoha
Beth Medrash Govoha
Beth Medrash Govoha is a Haredi yeshiva located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. It is commonly known as BMG, or Lakewood Yeshiva....
(the Lakewood Yeshiva) in Lakewood, New Jersey. He was one of the primary builders of that yeshiva into a world-class institution, enacting the goals and direction set forth by its founding rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
, Rabbi Aharon Kotler
Aharon Kotler
Aharon Kotler was an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania, and later the United States, where he built Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood Township, New Jersey.- Early life :...
. He also helped establish "branches" of the Lakewood Yeshiva in dozens of cities, and pioneered the community kollel concept with the opening of combination Torah learning
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
/outreach centers in the United States and other countries. A revered mentor and guide to thousands of students over a career that spanned more than 50 years, he was a strong advocate and prime example of musar study and working on one's spiritual self-development.
Early life
Rabbi Wachtfogel was born on 9 Adar IAdar
Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days...
, 1910, in the small Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n town of Kuhl, where his father, Rabbi Moshe Yom Tov Wachtfogel, was Rav
Rav
Rav is the Hebrew word for rabbi. For a more nuanced discussion see semicha. The term is also frequently used by Orthodox Jews to refer to one's own rabbi....
. His father was a student of the Alter of Slabodka and one of the original 14 students of the Eitz Chaim Yeshiva in Slutsk
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400).-Geography:The town is situated in the south-west of its Voblast, not too far from from the city of Soligorsk.-History:...
headed by Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer, , was a famous Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also known as the "Even HaEzel" - the title of his commentary on Rambam's Mishne Torah....
.
Nosson Meir studied in the Kelm Talmud Torah
Kelm Talmud Torah
The Kelm Talmud Torah was a famous yeshiva in pre-holocaust Kelmė, Lithuania. Unlike other yeshivas, the Talmud Torah focused primarily on the study of Musar and self-improvement.-Under the Leadership of Simcha Zissel Ziv:...
as a youth. In the early 1920s, his father and mother moved to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, to assume a rabbinical post, leaving their son in Lithuania. When Nosson Meir was 15, he rejoined his parents in Canada and then went to learn at Yeshiva Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , or Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University, located in Washington Heights, New York. It is named after Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, who died the year it was founded, 1896...
in New York. Among his study partners were future American rabbinical leaders Rabbi Avigdor Miller
Avigdor Miller
Rabbi Avigdor Miller was a Haredi rabbi, author and lecturer in the United States. He served simultaneously as a communal rabbi and as the mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and as a teacher in Beis Yaakov for many years.-Biography:Rabbi Miller was born in 1908 in Baltimore...
, Rabbi Moshe Bick, and Rabbi Yehuda Davis.
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
and added secular studies to its curriculum, Nosson Meir staged a protest, urging his friends to quit the yeshiva and go to study in the great yeshivas of Europe. At age 17, he himself enrolled at the Mir yeshiva in the town of Mir, Belarus
Mir, Belarus
Mir is an urban settlement in Kareličy raion, Hrodna Voblast, Belarus on the banks of Miranka River, about 85 kilometers southwest of the national capital, Minsk....
, where he remained for seven years. The musar emphasis and personal example of the Mir mashgiach, Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz, and his successor, Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein
Yechezkel Levenstein
Yechezkel Levenstein, known as Reb Chatzkel, , was the mashgiach ruchani of the Mir yeshiva, in Mir, Belarus and during the yeshiva's flight to Lithuania and on to Shanghai due to the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in World War II...
, had a profound influence on Wachtfogel, who devoted the rest of his life to studying and disseminating musar and working on personal character development. He also studied under Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz, rosh yeshiva of the Kaminetz yeshiva in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
When Wachtfogel's mentor, Rabbi Levovitz, died in the summer of 1936, he decided to return to Canada. At that point he received semicha (rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Leibowitz and Rabbi Shimon Shkop
Shimon Shkop
Shimon Yehuda Hakohen Shkop was a rosh yeshiva in the Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah and in the Telshe yeshiva and a renowned Talmudic scholar. He was born in Torez in 1860. At the age of twelve he went to study in the Mir yeshiva, and at fifteen he went to Volozhin yeshiva where he studied six years...
, rosh yeshiva of the Grodno yeshiva. He also received semicha from Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, rosh yeshiva of the Mir.
When his ship reached New York, he heard that Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman
Elchonon Wasserman
Elchonon Wasserman was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva in pre-World War II Europe. He was one of the Chofetz Chaim's closest disciples and a noted Torah scholar.-Biography:...
, rosh yeshiva of the Baranowitz Yeshiva, was fund-raising in that city, and went to talk with him about his concerns about living in materialistic America. Rabbi Wasserman advised him to return immediately to Europe and study in the Kelm Talmud Torah, which was known for its strong emphasis on musar and character-building. Although he had not seen or spoken to his parents for seven years, Wachtfogel took the next ship back to Europe.
He remained in Kelm for over three years, studying mostly under Rabbi Daniel Movshovitz. Even after World War II broke out, he continued to learn in the yeshiva, astounding those who found out he could leave any time with his Canadian passport. Near the end of this period, he became engaged to Chava Slomowitz, daughter of Rabbi Yisrael Zalman Slomowitz, Rav of Geniendz and a graduate of Sarah Schenirer
Sarah Schenirer
Sarah Schenirer was a pioneer of Jewish education for girls. In 1917, she established the Beis Yaakov school network in Poland.-Biography:...
's teacher's seminary in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
.
In June 1940 the Russians entered Kelm as part of the Russian occupation of the Baltic states and proceeded to confiscate businesses, enforce rationing
Rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time.- In economics :...
, and put their sympathizers in control. British citizens in Kelm were advised by the British Consulate in Kovno
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
to travel to Kovno and from there to be evacuated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Rabbi Wachtfogel and another Canadian learning in Kelm, Rabbi Shmuel Schecter, together with Wachtfogel's bride Chava Slomowitz, joined a group of British citizens stranded in Kelm—including the wife and daughter of Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler
Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler
Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and Jewish philosopher of the 20th century. He is known as mashgiach ruchani of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Israel and through collections of his writings published posthumously by his pupils.-Lithuania:Eliyahu Dessler Eliyahu Eliezer...
—and a group from the Telshe Yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva
Telshe yeshiva was a famous Eastern European yeshiva founded in the Lithuanian town of Telšiai. After World War II the yeshiva relocated to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is currently known as the Rabbinical College of Telshe, It is one of the most prominent Haredi institutions of Torah...
on their flight to Australia. In order to procure a visa for his bride, Wachtfogel had to prove that they were married. They did this by conducting the first half of their Jewish marriage ceremony
Jewish wedding
A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish law and traditions.While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketuba signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy , a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a...
, erusin
Erusin
Erusin is the Hebrew term for betrothal. In modern Hebrew, "erusin" means engagement, but this is not the historical meaning of the term, which is the first part of marriage ....
, in Kovno; their chuppah
Chuppah
A chuppah , also huppah, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the...
took place after they reached New York.
The group departed on a Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, 26 October 1940, taking a train to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
via Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. The next day they boarded the Trans-Siberian Express
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
to Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
, a journey of nine days, during which the religious Jews had nothing to eat but fruit and tea. From Vladivostok, they traveled by steamship
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, a voyage of nearly four and a half weeks (here their rations were limited to sardines, eggs, and tomatoes). While the British citizens in the group spent over six years in Australia waiting to be repatriated
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
, Wachtfogel, Schechter and Wachtfogel's bride were given first-class airline tickets by the Board of Governors of the Australian Jewish
Australian Jews
Australian Jews, or Jewish Australians, are Jews who are Australian citizens or resident aliens. The Jewish community in Australia is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their Australia-born descendants. There is, however, a minority from all...
community, which feared that these Torah scholars would foment a religious revival in their community.
Mashgiach
In spring 1942 Wachtfogel and 19 other avreichim (young married men) started the first kollelKollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
in America in White Plains, New York
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
. Seeking a great Torah scholar to head their learning program, they offered the position to Rabbi Aharon Kotler. Rabbi Kotler agreed, but asked that they move the kollel to Lakewood, New Jersey, and admit bachurim (unmarried young men) in order to turn it into a full-scale, European-style yeshiva. The avreichim agreed and became Rabbi Kotler's first students when he founded Beth Medrash Govoha. In 1943 Rabbi Kotler asked Rabbi Wachtfogel to become the yeshiva's mashgiach ruchani, a position he held under three successive generations of roshei yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
: Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbi Shneur Kotler
Shneur Kotler
Yosef Chaim Shneur Kotler was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey from 1962 to 1982. During his tenure, he developed the Lithuanian-style, Haredi but non-Hasidic yeshiva into the largest post-graduate Torah institution in the world...
, and Rabbi Malkiel Kotler.
Even as mashgiach, he acted more like a student of Rabbi Kotler, attending the rosh yeshiva's shiurim (Torah lectures) and shmuessim (musar talks) with the rest of the students. Out of respect for his Rav, he never gave a shmuess of his own in the main study hall
Beth midrash
Beth Midrash refers to a study hall, whether in a synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or other building. It is distinct from a synagogue, although many synagogues are also used as batei midrash and vice versa....
as long as Rabbi Kotler was alive.
In addition to caring for the students' welfare, Rabbi Wachtfogel was the guardian and implementer of the spirit and goals which Rabbi Kotler intended for his yeshiva, including the emphasis on Torah and musar study. He also worked to fulfill Rabbi Kotler's dream of establishing "branches" of the Lakewood Yeshiva in other cities, convincing the communities and the potential teachers and students of the viability of this novel undertaking. In this fashion, he helped to establish kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
s in 30 cities, including Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Long Beach, New York
Long Beach, New York
Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...
, Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, Miami Beach, Denver, Pittsburgh, Deal, New Jersey
Deal, New Jersey
Deal is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the borough population was 750.Deal was incorporated as a borough on March 7, 1898, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature, from portions of Ocean Township....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia
Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia
The Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, known as "Philly", is a Haredi Litvish yeshiva. Its roshei yeshiva are Rabbi Elya Svei, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rabbi Yehudah Svei and Rabbi Sholom Kaminetsky...
, founded in 1953 with Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky and Rabbi Dov Schwartzman as roshei yeshiva, was a direct result of Rabbi Wachtfogel's efforts.
Ba'al Musar
Rabbi Wachtfogel was a living example of a baal musar, one who strives through spiritual self-development and prayer to perfect himself and his service of God. A paragon of humility and self-effacement, he avoided anger and honor at all costs, and made do with the barest of necessities, even declining to ask for a raise in salary. For many years he lived in a room in the yeshiva dormitory, coming home only for Shabbat. (His wife was one of the main teachers at the Bais YaakovBais Yaakov
Bais Yaakov is a common name for Orthodox full-time Jewish elementary and secondary schools throughout the world for Jewish girls from religious families...
High School and Seminary in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
led by Rebbetzin Vichna Kaplan.) Even after his family joined him, he never owned his own house, and would refer to his house as a stantzia (inn) and his furniture as heltzer (lumber). He was also known for his firm conviction in the coming of Mashiach, ending his shmuessen with the words "This is the last shmuess in galus
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
(exile)". He kept a pressed suit hanging in his closet so that he would have something to wear to greet the Mashiach as soon as he arrived.
His spirit was felt throughout the Lakewood community. For example, he and Rabbi Shneur Kotler established the annual "Shabbos
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
Hatzolah
Hatzolah
Hatzolah/Hatzalah is a volunteer Emergency Medical Service organization serving mostly Jewish communities around the world. Most local branches operate independently of each other, but use the common name...
" campaign which provides most of the operating budget for the local Hatzolah ambulance service.
Under the leadership of Rabbi Shneur Kotler, when yeshiva enrollment expanded from 200 to 800 students, and under the leadership of Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, Rabbi Yerucham Olshin
Yerucham Olshin
Yerucham Olshin is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and one of the rosh yeshivas of Beth Medrash Govoha, an Orthodox yeshiva located in Lakewood, New Jersey...
, Rabbi Dovid Schustal
Dovid Schustal
Dovid Tzvi Schustal is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the four roshei yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey...
, and Rabbi Yisroel Neuman
Yisroel Neuman
Yisroel Tzvi Neuman is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the four roshei yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, New Jersey. He shares this post with Rabbi Malkiel Kotler, Rabbi Yerucham Olshin, and Rabbi Dovid Schustal...
, when the student body mushroomed to over 2,300, Rabbi Wachtfogel was aided by assistant mashgiachs Rabbi Yehuda Jacobs, Rabbi Eliezer Stefansky, and Rabbi Yaakov Pollack. At the end of the 1980s, Rabbi Wachtfogel brought in Rabbi Matisyohu Salomon, mashgiach of the Gateshead Yeshiva
Gateshead Talmudical College
Gateshead Talmudical College , popularly known as Gateshead Yeshiva, is located in the town of Gateshead in England. It is the largest yeshiva in Europe and considered to be one of the most prestigious advanced yeshivas in the Orthodox world. The student body currently numbers 350...
, to serve alongside him and eventually be his successor.
Community kollel pioneer
In the 1960s and onwards, Rabbi Wachtfogel was a key force in the establishment of community kollels in the United States and other countries. Unlike a kollel, which is a full-time learning program, a community kollel is a part-time learning program, part-time outreach program. Its Torah scholars learn together in the morning and afternoon and then interact with lay members of the community by offering evening lectures and one-on-one learning. Serving as a hub of Torah activity, community kollels make a significant impact on the growth of Torah awareness in remote Jewish areas. Working under the guidance of Rabbi Shneur Kotler, Rabbi Wachtfogel oversaw the opening of community kollels in many cities, including Passaic, New JerseyPassaic, New Jersey
Passaic is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 69,781, maintaining its status as the 15th largest municipality in New Jersey with an increase of 1,920 residents from the 2000 Census population of 67,861...
(this kollel developed into the Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic), Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, and Melbourne, Australia. As he recruited students from the Lakewood Yeshiva to staff these new locations, he gave his blessing to many who were reluctant to move to small communities that lacked the Jewish infrastructure (Jewish schooling, kosher
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
food, employment opportunities) available in larger cities, and even engaged in "arm-twisting" to convince the students that they would be successful.
In his final years, he founded and directed a new organization called Kollel International to fund-raise and establish kollels in small communities. Two such kollels were founded near Lakewood, in Manalapan Township
Manalapan Township, New Jersey
Manalapan Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 38,872. The name "Manalapan" comes from the Lenape word for "land of good bread or good land to settle upon."...
and Howell Township, New Jersey
Howell Township, New Jersey
Howell is a Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 51,075.Howell Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1801, from portions of Shrewsbury Township...
, before his death. Less than a week before his death, he was still involved in establishing another kollel on Long Island.
Final years
In 1997 Rabbi Wachtfogel and Rabbi Shlomo WolbeShlomo Wolbe
Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe was a Haredi rabbi born in Berlin and died in Jerusalem. He is best known as the author of Alei Shur , a work of musar literature discussing personal growth as it pertains to students of the Talmud.-Life and teaching positions:Shlomo Wolbe was raised in an irreligious Jewish...
led a delegation of senior rabbis, roshei yeshiva and mashgiachs to try to save a Jewish cemetery
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....
from destruction in the city of Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
. The mayor said that the sight of these venerable old men who undertook the journey to Russia to protest the grave desecration prompted him to sign the permit for its protection.
Rabbi Wachtfogel died on 21 November 1998. On the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
, his yahrtzeit, 2 Kislev
Kislev
Kislev Kislev Tiberian ; also Chislev is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar....
, is the same as that of Rabbi Aharon Kotler. He was buried in the newly-opened Chelkas HaRabbonim (rabbinical section) of the Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot is the largest cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel. It is located at the western edge of the city adjacent to the neighborhood of Givat Shaul, with commanding views of Mevaseret Zion to the north, Motza to the west, and Har Nof to the south.-History:...
cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
His son, Rabbi Elya Ber Wachtfogel, is rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of South Fallsburg
Yeshiva Gedolah Zichron Moshe
The Yeshiva Gedolah Zichron Moshe, also known as Yeshiva of South Fallsburg, is a private Rabbinical college, or Yeshiva, located in a rural setting, in South Fallsburg, Sullivan County, New York....
, New York. After his father's death, Rabbi Elya Ber assumed the leadership of Kollel International together with Rabbi Malkiel Kotler.