Dear Shaare Family,
Over Sukkot, I read a fascinating profile in Mishpacha Magazine of a pathbreaking, dizzyingly brilliant and completely Rabbinic personality- Rav Shlomo Polachek, known as “The Meitchiter Iluy.” He was one of the first Roshei Yeshiva at RIETS, brought there to raise the prestige and profile of the Yeshiva in its nascency. Credit goes to the author, Dovi Safier, for not shying away from The Meitcheter’s involvement with the controversial Yeshiva in Lida, which taught secular subjects (in which he took a great interest), and whose founder, Rav Yitzchak Yaakov Reines, was a leading Rabbinic light in the Religious Zionist movement. On a personal level, I connected with this story as my grandfather, Rabbi Dr. Isaiah Rackovsky z"l, was a student of the Meitcheter, and received semichah from him at RIETS in 1929. Read the article here.
Hakarat HaTov Corner
I am grateful to all those who helped make Sukkot and Simchat Torah a memorable and lively experience, that ran smoothly, to boot. Last time, I listed people by name and forgot to mention two people- I won’t be making the same mistake again! There is one person, though, who deserves yet another round of applause: Gavi Wolk. The gabbai doesn’t get enough credit for the hard work he does, especially during the Chaggim. Keeping track of all the aliyot, all those leading davening and all the pledges (kein yirbu!) is a really difficult task and Gavi does it, as always, with professionalism and good humor.
Mystery Shul Of The Week
I guess I must have totally stumped everyone with this shul, or it completely slipped past everyone in the midst of the Chaggim. The clue was:
This shul/community center/minyan factory/popular wedding venue has a seasonally appropriate name. Name the shul, and the city in which it is located.
The shul/community center/minyan factory/wedding venue in question is Succat David (hence the seasonality), one of the largest of many Syrian Sephardic congregations in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
This week’s Mystery Shul Of The Week:
This shul was designed by architect David Casuto, and features an Aron Kodesh brought from the Jewish community in Soragna, Italy. Initially, there was some opposition to the construction of this shul, but now, it is a part of daily life even for people who are regularly in opposition (hint). Name the shul, where it is located and why some were opposed to its construction.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
