Yeshiva University High School For Boys - Elchanite Yearbook (New York, NY)

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RIGHT WING OF LIBRARY

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the elchariite thirty RABBI MOSES S. MARGCLIES: A BIOGRAPHY by CHARLES SQHLANG Towards the righteous and the pious, towarids the elders of Thy people, the house of Israel, io- w CLTCLS the 'l'6'Wl.'l'lCL'Il,t of their scribes, towards the proselytes of righteousness, wud towards us also, may Thy tender mercies be stirred, O Lord, our God. Graut a good reward unto all who faith- fully trust tn Thy Nameg set our portion with these forefuer, so that we may uot be put to shame, for we have trusted in Thee. Blessed art Thou, 0 Lord, the stay and trust of the righteous. PSALM. HE student of biography cannot help being impressed with the lowly and humble origins of the truly great. A log cabin in Kentucky or a frail basket on the Nile are the cradles of future heroes and geniuses. My hero is no exception to this almost unfail- ing rule. For it was in Meretz, a little town nestling peacefully in the folds of the Baltic Sea, so insignifi- cant, its name does not appear on any map of Russia, that the future spiritual leader and religious guide of Israel was born, on a day in March of the year 1848. That event, how- ever, gave that small and unimportant town a name significant in Jewish life. That event gave to the Jews their foremost leader, Rabbi Moses S. Margolies. It is needless for me to describe in detail the early years of the Rab- bi's life. During his first seventeen years, the Rabbi fought the many obstacles and hardships, such as the scarcity of food and money, that stood in his way. Misery and worry, how- ever, were not always prevalent. When he studied the Talmud and read Jew- ish history, he encountered joy and comfort, The following years rolled swiftly by. After obtaining his first position, as a rabbi, in his home town, he mar- ried a woman who stood for loyalty and righteousness. In his dark mo- ments, it was she who brought cheer and hope to him. After patiently serving and guiding the Jews in his home town for twenty years, he re- ceived a call to become the Chief Rabbi of the city of Boston and its environs. He asked the advice of the Chief Rabbi of Russia who emphatic- ally told him to accept the position, prophesying that America would be a land of opportunity. With the bless- ing of his parents and his rabbi, Rabbi Margolies left his home town to enter a new life, a life filled with struggles, not physical struggles but spiritual. When he reached Boston, he imme- diately began a long and courageous battle to organize and strengthen Judaism. He supervised the organ- ization of Jewish community life, and the building of Hebrew Schools. How- ever the Rabbi did not devote his life entirely to his community. Many happy hours were spent with his chil- dren, as he was blessed with four of them. His joy knew no bounds when his oldest son became a prominent rabbi in Cleveland. That the Rabbi was noted not only for his deep religious nature but also