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

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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

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tliirtyfonc literature for his humanitarian love and interest is illustrated by an experience that occurred in Boston during the de- pression of 1907. Jewish leaders of organizations asked the Rabbi to help them fight against a strong Christian missionary activity among the Jews. What the Rabbi said to the reporters of various newspapers who asked him for a statement, was characteristic of the man, for one must remember that this was during the serious economic depression of 1907. His statement reads as follows: According to sta- tistics that I have read, it is esti- mated that it costs the Christian mis- sions S2500 to make what after all is a poor Christian out of a poor Jew. In times such as this, I think that it would be more humane and more in the spirit of Christianity to spend that money to keep a poor Christian family from starvation. This state- ment in those days made a tremend- ous impression on all concerned and had the desired effect. The seventeen years in Boston were, of course, years of struggle, pioneer- ing years when institutions had to be built, enabling the younger generation to enjoy the fruits of Jewish knowl- edge, education had to be supervised, and antagonistic forces to be under- mined. It was these ideals that the Rabbi endeavored to accomplish, and it was these ideals that the Rabbi did accomplish. His efforts were recog- nized by the people of New England, as they presented him with a set of resolutions signed by the prominent Jews of Boston. The Rabbi has always cherished these resolutions which com- pensated his years of effort and struggle in New England. After having served seventeen years in Boston, he was offered a position ill the finest Jewish community of New York. However, his reward did not cease at this point, as he became the Dean of Orthodox Rabbis in America. Hoping that the Rabbi would remain with them, the Bos- tonian Jews offered him more money. Here, indeed, was a difficult problem. He found his answer in the words of his loyal, pious, and saintly wife. She said, 'There are a hundred and fifty thousand Jews in Boston, and a mil- lion and a half in New York. I would rather eat less working among a million and a half Jews than eat more among a hundred and fifty thousand. Here is an incident that is so char- acteristic of the nobility of that woman. Just as in Boston, the Rabbi pro- moted the building of Jewish schools and sought to spread education among his people. He soon realized the ne- cessity of combining science with re- ligion, and Judaism with general knowledge. After years of hard work, he was made president of the first Jewish College in the world, our own institute, the Yeshiva College. He, together with other pious Jews, strove erect a Yeshiva attend either the Department, are understand and appreciate the beauty of the build- ing and all that it stands for. Industrious and fruitful as his pub- lic life was, his private life was not without its touch of tragedy. Yet it is in the tragedies of life that he re- vealed a faith and philosophy that are most admirable. His eldest son died in an automobile accident in the prime of life. As the remains of his for many years to College. Those who Hebrew or English the ones who can