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

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we fafe lf. Efflflfbil ! by Dr. Benjamin D. Shapiro The ElchaniTe oT I94l is dedicaTed To The memory oT Dr. Bernard Revel, The IaTe leader and presidenT OT The Yeshiva. IT is indeed noT very diTTiculT To panegyrize a man who has made Tor himselT a deTiniTe niche in The hisTory oT Jewry oT The world aT and parTicuIarly in The hisTory oT American Jewry. BuT This is noT my Task. OThers already ex- pressed Their deep senTimenTs abouT Dr. Revel, The greaT TalmudisT, The greaT secular scholar, The leader oT Israel, The greaT propheT oT TradiT- ional learning who was among The TirsT To discern ThaT Jewry could noT sTrike rooTs in The inimical soil oT America unless The Yeshiva could be merged wiTh The I-IascoIa , The basic principle ThaT underlies The Yesh- iva College. I have been asked To depicT This sainTed man as I know him during The pasT I8 years I have been associaTed wiTh him in This insTiTuTion, as The sTudenTs knew him wiThin his oTTice sancTuary, aT Their Siums , and Their Chagigas . I meT Dr. Revel TwenTy years ago, while The Yeshiva was occupying iTs humble birThplace on Gouverneur STreeT. I came To see him because my TaTher had inTormed me ThaT I could be enrolled in The Yeshiva as a sTudenT oT Talmud, while, aT The same Time, I TaughT in The Talmudical Academy I-Iigh School. When I explained To Dr. Revel The purpose oT my visiT, he genTly informed me ThaT my TaTher musT have been misin- Tormed because The I-ligh School required College graduaTes as insTruc- Tors. Seeing chagrin and disappoinTmenT wriTTen on my Tace, he genTIy paTTed me on my back and said, Come back when you are ready To Teach. Perhaps, Then, There will be a place Tor you. NeiTher he nor I had any ThoughT Then ThaT This poliTe rebuTT was really a prophecy, Tor several years laTer, I became one oT The Teachers in The High School. For a long Time ThereaTTer, The person oT Dr. Revel was iusT a myTh To me. I knew him as The presidenT oT The Yeshiva. I heard him deliver many inspiring oraTions on diTTerenT occasions, buT I had no personal conTacT wiTh him. ATTer The Yeshiva moved To iTs new quarTers upTown, The boys would now and Then plead wiTh me, Dr. Shapiro, please posT- pone The TesT in Economics To anoTher day. We are having a Bchina wiTh Dr. Revel in Talmud. We musT have Time To prepare Tor iT. There Page Six ELCI-IANITE

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was The dreaded expecTancy oT The ordeal oT The approaching Tesf ThaT seemed To haunT The boys. They knew ThaT by The Time Dr. Revel con- cluded wiTh The examinaTion he would have a compleTe picTure oT Their knowledge OT The Talmud - - - or The lack oT iT. The boys knew ThaT There was no hiding one's ignorance or lack oT preparaTion in any subTerTuges or excuses. And yeT, while The boys Teared him, They neverTheless had a deep respecT Tor him. In his presence They seemed To be inspired wiTh a 'iYiras l'lakovod , ThaT was a combinaTion oT love, aTTecTion, admiraTion and awe. When They passed Through The ordeal oT such a Bchina , There was rekindled in The boys The desire To sTudy, To overcome whaT- ever diTTicuITies ThaT may have arisen in Their Talmudic sTudies. My room was nexT To Dr. Revel's oTTice. I meT him almosT daily as I was enTering my room and he was leaving Tor The day. lnvariably, he would grasp my hands and, wiTh his halTing speech, ask me, T-low are The boys, Dr. Shapiro? I-low are They? And when I gave him a cheerful reply, I could see ThaT iT acTed like a Tonic upon him. I aTTended a Chagiga some Time ago. QuiTe a large congrega- Tion of sTudenTs, visiTors, and guesTs were presenT. One would Think ThaT, on such an occasion, he would remain digniTied and alooT. NOT Dr. Revel. When The boys bursT TorTh inTo Tamiliar Yeshiva songs, Dr. Revel ioined Them. BuT more Than ThaT. I-le leTT his exaITed dais and marched Through The aisles swinging his hands in his characTerisTic Tashion, and leading his boys in singing. I was deeply moved by This specTacIe. Once more Dr. Revel proved To The assembled audience ThaT To The boys he was noT The ausTere Dr. Revel, The presidenT oT The Yeshiva. To Them he was more Than Rosh I-laishiva . I-le was also Their spiriTual TaTher, Their broTher, a Tellow reveler, a Tellow singer. I-le was permeaTed wiTh The spiriT OT The occasion and wished To in- culcaTe The boys wiTh The same spiriT. And The boys seemed To respond. Their hearTs and souls, and The hearT and soul oT Their leader and Rabbi, were merged in a real Oineg-Ruachu. ln The deaTh oT Dr. Revel, World Jewry IosT a greaT man, a greaT scholar, and The Yeshiva IosT iTs leader. ln due Time, some oTher greaT rabbi will Take his place as The head oT This insTiTuTion. BuT iT will be a long Time, indeed, before The new propheT of Israel will be able To replace The laTe Dr. Bernard Revel in The hearTs and souls oT The sTudenTs who knew him so well and loved him so dearly. ELcHANlrE page Seven