Who Built American Judaism? | A Fascinating Conversation at the Home of

About 45 years ago, the Torah world in America was in turmoil following the Brooklyn Eruv controversy, when Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote a halachic response prohibiting the creation of an eruv, and wrote a long response to the rabbis in Flatbush rejecting the ruling of the Mishneh Halachot, Rabbi Menashe Klein, who had written a response permitting it.

Today, the 13th of Adar, marks 39 years since the passing of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein of blessed memory, one of the greatest halachic authorities in the post-Holocaust generation and author of "Igrot Moshe."

On this memorial day, we sat down for a conversation with the Ungvar Rebbe of Modi'in Illit, Rabbi Moshe Klein, the son and successor of the Ungvar Gaon, author of "Mishneh Halachot," Rabbi Menashe Klein of blessed memory, for a fascinating discussion about the special relationship that existed between these two Torah giants.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, born in 1895 in Uzda, Russia, immigrated to the United States in 1937 and headed the "Tiferet Yerushalayim" yeshiva in New York for about fifty years. He was known as the leading halachic authority in the American Orthodox Jewish community, and his responsa, collected in the "Igrot Moshe" series, became a landmark in modern halachic ruling.

Rabbi Menashe Klein, born on the 5th of Nisan in 1925 in the Ungvar region of Czechoslovakia, survived the Holocaust and also arrived in the United States, where he established a Torah world, the Beit Shearim yeshiva, and became one of the prominent halachic authorities. His monumental work "Mishneh Halachot" contains thousands of halachic responsa reflecting his approach to Jewish law.

Who Built America?

At the beginning of our conversation, we mentioned to the Rebbe that people say Rabbi Moshe and the Mishneh Halachot built American Judaism...

The Rebbe smiled and said: "You asked if my father built American Judaism? I'll tell you, I studied in Lakewood and there I heard that Rabbi Aharon Kotler built it. In New York, they say the Satmar Rebbe built it, and in Sanz they say the Sanz Rabbi built it... Each community believes that their rabbi built American Judaism. And the truth is that they all together built it, wanting God's honor to increase in this world."

And he immediately added emphatically: "But Rabbi Moshe Feinstein definitively established the world of halacha in America! He was the greatest authority, and that's how we grew up at home. My father was always friends with him. This was despite the fact that they occasionally disagreed on halacha, in the sense of 'both these and those are the words of the living God,' but they were friends in heart and soul.

"Let me tell you, my mother of blessed memory, the wife of the Mishneh Halachot who passed away about two years ago, told me that Rabbi Moshe was unable to attend her wedding to my father of blessed memory, and Rabbi Moshe invited them to his home after the wedding. My mother sat with the Rebbetzin while my father discussed Torah intensely with Rabbi Moshe. In the middle, Rabbi Moshe stood up and took out a stemmed goblet and said to my mother, 'This is a wedding gift, and I have been friends with your husband for many years, and you are privileged to marry an exceptional Torah scholar, which is a great merit for you,' and he gave her abundant blessings from the depths of his heart.

"On the other hand, my father was an admirer of Rabbi Moshe and helped him with the printing of the first volume of Igrot Moshe. Our family has a letter from Rabbi Feinstein returning a loan to my father of 500 dollars that he contributed for printing the first 'Igrot Moshe' responsa."

The Rebbe continues to describe the special closeness: "My father was exceptionally close to Rabbi Moshe Feinstein when not everyone knew him yet. My older brother in Ramot - his sandak (godfather at circumcision) was Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. And Rabbi Moshe, for his part, would attend fundraisers for my father's Beit Shearim yeshiva."

Rabbi Feinstein Encouraged the 'Mishneh Halachot' to Disagree with Him

And in response to those who criticize the halachic disputes between these Torah giants, the Rebbe takes out from the cabinet the Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim Part 1, Section 109, where there is a response written in 1952 when his father was only about 27 years old and apologized to Rabbi Moshe for disagreeing with his opinion regarding whether it is permissible to walk on Shabbat in America with a plastic rain hat over the regular hat.

To this, Rabbi Moshe wrote: "Regarding what your honor writes that he apologizes for disagreeing with me on a matter of halacha, it is certainly permissible for him and it is forbidden to remain silent about this." The Rebbe adds: "Rabbi Moshe emphasized that if there was something my father disagreed with him about, he was obligated and forbidden to remain silent."

The Rebbe testifies to the deep friendship that never ceased: "My father sent him mishloach manot (Purim gifts) every Purim, despite not living close to each other."

For a long hour, the Rebbe elaborated and sailed through the teachings of his father and Rabbi Moshe and extensively described his connection with other great rabbis of the generation in America and in Israel.

At the end of our conversation, the Rebbe shares a personal story: "Someone once came to me and said, 'Your father is a millionaire!' I asked him: 'How many responsa did my father write?' He replied: 'Don't you know that?!' You only heard about the money..."

This conversation reveals a personal and moving aspect of the relationship between two spiritual giants, each of whom in his unique way contributed to building the world of Torah and halacha in post-Holocaust America, and whose influence is still evident today in all Jewish communities.