אל תחזיק טוב וכו' כי לכך נוצרת 1. Necesary virtues – hands, mind 2. unnecessary virtues – music talent. 3. Torah – nec. virtue a)If have it – אל תחזיק etc. don't pin it on lapel. b) if not – terrible cripple כי לכך נוצרת – you were created for Torah as you were for walking, talking, etc. 4. End of האזינו read: כי לא דבר ריק הוא מכם: can empty of water or air, but not of lungs. 5. אונס רחמנא פטרו but still an עם הארץ 6. Letter to convert to help Jews

The pathetic tragedy of a great climax is the disappointing anti-climax. This disappointing aftermath to greatness is observable in all aspects of life, on all levels, and in all dimensions. How pitiable, for instance, is the role of England today. The great and mighty Britannia, who ruled the waves and upon whom the sun never set, is now humbled to the position of sparring partner to two little, third-rate kingdoms who, at least in this millennium, never approached the pride of Britain. Or take certain newspapers, or a certain leading woman columnist; once they were the staunch and fearless defenders of freedom and self-determination and tolerance and decency – and now they are knee-deep in the mud of reactionary backwardness and narrowness. איך נפלת משמיים, הילל בן שחר, cries Isaiah, “How art thou fallen from the heavens, O day-star, son of the morning!” How art thou cut down to the ground, thou who didst cast lots over nations! How pathetic is a wreckage which once was a proud ship, or a people, who, having just reached the summit of holiness and received the Ten Commandments, now dances savagely about a Golden Calf?Just three days ago we reached the highest point of the year. Our hearts were thrilled at the recitation of the Avodah, and our souls quickened at the sublime holiness of the Neilah Services and the blowing of the Shofar. Yet how the spirit sinks the second after the shofar call! The aura of holiness disappears suddenly as does the sunshine when a dark cloud passes. In one second we tumble from the heights of Yom Kippur to the emptiness of חול, week-day. What a sudden and disappointing transformation. No wonder, then, that the first words we recite after Neilah, at the beginning of the Maariv Service, are והוא רחום יכפר עוון, in so short a time. Yet our iniquity, our sin, consists in that most of us allow this anti-climax to set in. The spirit sinks after the holy Neilah, and the Maariv is condensed into the least possible time between the taking off…

Eulogy for man who came to America brimming w great ideas to build for Judaism, + whereas relied unpleasant test: יעקב ירד מצרימה, so down to America, יוסף ישת ידו על עיניך whereas Jos will do with his words what you fear with your eyes.

The subject of death is in style these days. Like another subject that used to be taboo, whispered about if discussed at all, although its reality and ubiquitousness were acknowledged, death has now emerged – in courses on the campus, in best-selling books, in discussion groups and symposia, liberating us from fear and morbidity in talking of this inevitable phenomenon. A very fine literature has grown up in what is now a new discipline called “thanatology,” which identifies, amongst other things, the various stages of death, from denial to acceptance. Is there a Jewish dimension, a Jewish view on this momentous issue? Yes, there is. Take the stage of “acceptance.” The dying person must accept what? Generally – its inevitability and its naturalness. And that is only right. Death is a natural phenomenon. But, from a Jewish perspective, that is not quite enough.The Torah, I believe, teaches us not only how to live, but also how to die. The two are intertwined, and one does not go without the other. Of course, we cannot choose the circumstances of our death. One needs mazzal in dying as well as in living! We find ourselves in given and limited circumstances at the end of life as well as in the course of life. But we are challenged to summon up all our will and spirit and depth and faith in confronting death as well as in confronting life.Perhaps the best way to begin is to tell the somewhat incredible story of the Kotzker hasid who was on his deathbed, surrounded by his grieving family. He opened his eyes and asked them to bring some spirits and drink Le’chayyim. They looked puzzled, and thought that he had taken leave of his senses. But he explained: whenever a hasid betakes himself to perform God’s will, he does so with joy at the opportunity to do a mitzvah. Now, if God wants me to die, and I do so, then I am now performing His will. It therefore is proper that I do so in a happy and joyous spirit!What does this mean? What is the conceptual and spiritual background…

P's סטירה sudden, still reeling. Eve האזינו: עלה אל הר העברים הזה... ומות בהר אשר אתה עולה שמה – died at the heights of intellectual powers. Had children, grandchildren, נחת; learning; ישיבות; home; wife – at Yeshiva: all loved him. זה־זמנו־דבר־תורה ערב יום טוב. 1943 סמיכה RIETS. ת"ח אדיר; זכרון נפלא — למד אצלו ח"ח שלושה שבועות; סמיכה: ר' שמעון שקופ (ר"י גרודנא) ודי שלמה דוד כהנא (רב ורשה). BUT: distortion to see him confined to Yeshiva world all life. On the contrary: drew sustenance from it; gave lomdus, השקפות, חיות to it. Cultured man: M.A. Columbia; to doctorate BRGS; L.L.B. Fordham. Worked exec dir Bronx Mizrachi, Am Dir BIU; Rabbi Bronx Y.I. — in many ways a role model for בני ישיבה at YU. At YU, first ר”מ, then appointed בוחן — will speak of him primarily in capacity of בוחן. What is character of a בוחן? Exercises מידת הדין as he exposes every weakness, probes every vulnerability, holds up student’s record to merciless light of objective judgment. That is his primary task. But if this is all he does — turns off students; loses them by intimidation. As a child, I used to run from school papers. Fear still grips me to this day. Even as a mature person, can’t bring self to think sympathetically of them. Indeed: one sentence, one word misspoken can equal danger. ויבא אברהם לספוד לשרה ולבכותה. רש״י: "ונסמכה מיתת שרה לעקידת יצחק לפי שעל־ידי בשורת העקידה שנזדמן בנה לשחיטה וכמעט שלא נשחט פרחה נשמתה ממנה ומתה". שפתי חכמים: כי "כמעט שנשחט" הו"ל למינקט? וי"ל, השליח התחיל להגיד לה שנזדמן בנה לשחיטה ואיחר המגיד לסיים דבריו ולומר לה שניצל ולא נשחט, וכמעט שאמר לה שלא נשחט — כלומר שעה מועטת קודם לכן נבהלה כל כך מדבריו ופרחה... Imagine! Split second waiting; simple reversal of sentence structure; a bit more sensitivity to a mother’s heart... and Sarah might have survived! This power of the word is especially important in a person like a בוחן who holds power over vulnerable student — and if he fails — maybe does his task toward the Yeshiva — but not toward the תלמיד... So, t…