SPOTLIGHT ON COMMUNITIES Richmond, Virginia An Old Community Revitalized by Torah BY DEVORAH KLEIN Richmond, Virginia, is home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in this country. For the past four hundred years, Jews have lived in the area. Today, the city boasts a warm, close-knit community that is growing in Torah and in numbers. Join Hamodia on a visit to this thriving kehillah. 26 Hamodia June 13, 2012
Students of Rudlin Torah Academy in Richmond. Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 27
Rich History The city of Richmond, Virginia, played a very important role in American history. The site of Patrick Henry s famed Give me liberty or give me death speech in 1775 and the capital of the Confederate States during the Civil War, the city is rich with historical significance and culture. The history of Jews in Virginia is as old as the history of Virginia itself. Joachim Gaunse (Jacob Gans), from Prague, was part of Sir Walter Raleigh s ill-fated Roanoke expedition in 1585, the first English effort to colonize the New World. When the English tried again to settle the New World in the early seventeenth century, Jews were among those who arrived in Jamestown in 1621. 1 While references to individual Jews have been found in Virginia s archives ever since that time, it was not until 1789 that the first shul was established Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome, an Orthodox Sephardic congregation that was the sixth and westernmost congregation to be established on American shores. In 1841, the growing number of Ashkenazic settlers in Richmond sought a more familiar style of davening, and they formed Congregation Beth Ahabah. Fifteen years later, in 1856, a group of thirty Polish immigrants founded Keneseth Israel. While Congregation Beth Ahabah began gravitating toward separate seating and electing a shomer Shabbos president. Meanwhile, Richmond s Jews embraced the southern lifestyle and patriotism. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 and the city became the capital of the Confederate States of America, 102 Jewish Richmonders declared their allegiance and enlisted in the Confederate Army. Throughout the war, the rabbi of Beth Ahabah, Rabbi Maximilian J. Michelbacher, headed a campaign for religious Reform customs, observance on behalf of Rabbi Maximilian J. Michelbacher officially joining the Jewish Confederates. He Reform movement in 1875, Keneseth wrote to General Robert E. Lee several Israel remained strongly committed to times, requesting furloughs for the Orthodoxy, insisting on maintaining soldiers so they could observe the Yamim Tovim. 2 Lee respectfully declined each time. It [would] give me pleasure to Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome, the first Jewish synagogue in Richmond, built in 1822. 28 Hamodia June 13, 2012
The Soldiers Section of the Hebrew Cemetery, established in 1791. comply but the army will be engaged in active operations, when, of course, no one would wish to be absent nor could they in that event be spared, Lee wrote on April 2, 1863. Similarly, requests for Shabbos observance were not honored. 3 Many battles of the Civil War were fought in the Richmond region, and the bodies of Jewish soldiers were brought to Richmond for burial. Those who had relatives in Richmond were buried in family plots in the Hebrew Cemetery, established in 1791, but those from other states, such as Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, were buried in a special area known as the Soldiers Section. By the end of the war, thirty fallen Jewish soldiers had been buried in the Soldiers Section. In 1866, the Hebrew Ladies Memorial Association was formed to care for this plot. The organization paid for individual grave markers for the soldiers, commissioned an elaborate ornamental iron fence to surround the plot, and sponsored commemorative services for the soldiers. This section is believed to be the world s only Jewish military cemetery outside of Eretz Yisrael. Time Marches On The Richmond Jewish community continued to develop over the next hundred years, and various shuls formed to meet its needs. In 1908, Keneseth Israel constructed a new building on 19th Street in downtown Richmond. This building continued to serve the congregation until 1952, and there are those who still have fond memories of the 19th Street shul. On Sukkos, young girls from the kehillah carried food down the many steps of the shul to the sukkah, while their fathers watched to make sure nothing fell. On Simchas Torah, the congregants continuously marched up and down the large stone steps in front of the shul, dancing in and out of the building, holding flags with apples on top. The adjacent Neighborhood House served as a gathering place for the children of the congregation, and in the Hebrew School, boys learned Torah while girls sat on the other side of the mechitzah, their parents hoping they would absorb some of the information they were taught. 4 In 1952, after a series of mergers between congregations, Keneseth Israel became Keneseth Beth Israel, which continues to serve as the main Orthodox congregation in Richmond. New Institutions Thrive In March 1965, Mr. Milton Marder, Mr. Abraham Dere, and his brother, Mr. Emil Dere, invited the well-known Rabbi Nachman Bulman, zt l, to address the community of Richmond. Rabbi Bulman, then a rabbi in nearby Newport News, Virginia, was an inspirational visionary and a leader of Jewry beyond the United States. He challenged the kehillah and inspired them to establish a school that would offer their children knowledge of limudei kodesh that was at least equivalent to their knowledge of secular studies. Rabbi Bulman was invited to spend a Shabbos in Richmond, but he refused since there was no shul with a kosher mechitzah. The Dere brothers were determined to change the situation. Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 29
With great mesirus nefesh, they personally borrowed money to build a new shul, the Jewish Academy of Richmond. As the shul was being constructed, people would pass by and remark, The women in Richmond won t sit there. However, they were proven wrong; the shul opened and thrived for many years. In September 1966, in response to Rabbi Bulman s challenge, the Richmond Hebrew Day School opened its doors with seven students, with the help of the Jewish Academy and its Rav, Rabbi Abraham Isaacs. Rabbi Isaacs and his wife, Mrs. Masha Isaacs, a h, worked very hard to establish the school, convincing many parents to send their children there. Since then, the school has blossomed and educated more than twelve hundred Jewish children. In November 1992, Rabbi Berel Wein, the noted historian, visited Richmond and inspired the community to provide education to high-school students. In 1994, Shaarei Torah, a girls high school, opened its doors as a division of the Richmond Hebrew Academy, now known as the Rudlin Torah Academy. Shaarei Torah successfully provides rigorous limudei kodesh and limudei chol curricula, recognizing each student s individual learning style and carefully nurturing her natural talents and desire to learn. In 2002, with the help of Rabbi Chaim Nosson Segal of Torah Umesorah, the day school expanded once again, opening the Yeshiva of Virginia, now called the Benjamin and Lilian Rochkind Yeshiva of Virginia the first boys yeshivah high school in Virginia. A beis medrash program opened a few years later. Richmond Today: Torah The Rudlin Torah Academy continues to thrive. The school has set a standard for excellence in both limudei kodesh and secular studies in a uniquely southern environment. Rabbi Hal Klestzick, the menahel, explains the school s mission. There are about ten thousand Jews in Richmond, but only about fifty shomer Shabbos families, he says. We view our elementary school as a kiruv school and try to be mekarev the students and their families. The Jewish people in North America are losing more [members] every day to assimilation than we are gaining through kiruv; it is a terrible matzav. However, our success is not a balance sheet for each child that we influence, we are being mekarev a whole world. If (Top row, L-R:) Rabbi Baruch Sherman, rebbi at Rudlin Torah Academy; Rabbi Dovid Asher, rabbi of Keneseth Beth Israel; Rabbi Yosef Bart, assistant principal of Rudlin Torah Academy; and Rabbi Chaim Moskowitz, Mashgiach of Yeshiva of Virginia. (Bottom row, L-R:) Rabbi Hal Klestzick, menahel; Rabbi Chaim Ozer Chait, Rosh Yeshivah; and Rabbi Yosef Skaist, rebbi at Yeshiva of Virginia. 30 Hamodia June 13, 2012
The Benjamin and Lilian Rochkind Yeshiva of Virginia. one family is changed for dorei doros, that is immeasurable success. Baruch Hashem, we have seen many children influenced to become shomrei Torah u mitzvos and move on to raise their own Torahdik families. The yeshivah in Richmond caters to the many parents who want a small, solid, out-of-town yeshivah high school for their sons, with a focus on yiras Shamayim and middos. The yeshivah attracts many bachurim from across the country and around the world, who are drawn to the individualized attention it offers, its devoted rebbeim, and quality chinuch. The rebbeim are extremely dedicated to their talmidim and display great mesirus nefesh for them. Rabbi Chaim Ozer Chait, a talmid of Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt l, is the Rosh Yeshivah. The other rebbeim are alumni of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim, Beth Medrash Govoha, Meet the Neighbors A Snapshot of Richmond s Jewish Community RABBI DOVID ASHER grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His parents had attended Brandeis University in Boston, where they developed a close relationship with the Bostoner Rebbe, Harav Levi Yitzchok Horowitz, zt l. When Rabbi Asher's father found a position in Allentown at AT&T Bell Laboratories, the family moved there, gaining a reputation for having an open house, a place where everyone was welcome. Continued on page 33 Rabbi Asher in his home, running a session of Leadership Initiative For Teens (LIFT), a Monday-night program for public-high-school students. Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 31
the Mir, Ner Yisrael, and Yeshiva University. The beis medrash program, the Yeshiva Gedola of Virginia, not only serves as a place where yeshivah highschool graduates and others from around the country learn three full sedarim a day, but it has become the center of Torah learning for the entire community. The yeshivah offers many classes and programs that are attended by dozens of men, some of whom are accomplished talmidei chachamim and others who are learning Torah for the first time. Throughout the week, chavrusas fill the beis medrash and create a vibrant kol Torah. Baalei batim are welcome to come into the beis medrash at any time, listen to a shiur, and connect to their heritage. The programs include a very popular Motzoei Shabbos Avos U banim program and a variety of shiurim, including classes on Tanach, Pirkei Avos, and mussar, and Shabbos shiurim for women. Keneseth Beth Israel. Bachurim of Yeshiva of Virginia on a school trip. Avodah There are three Orthodox shuls in Richmond Congregation Kol Emes, Chabad of Virginia, and Keneseth Beth Israel. Congregation Kol Emes plays the critical role of housing the community s mikveh and still has a minyan on Shabbos. Chabad of Virginia, which is under the leadership of Rabbi Yossel Kranz, is home to one of the largest branches of the Jewish Learning 32 Hamodia June 13, 2012
Institute, a nationwide adult education program. It also hosts TAG (Torah, Avodah and Gemilus Chassadim), an after-school Hebrew school program. Keneseth Beth Israel continues to serve as the main Orthodox shul in the kehillah, with daily minyanim for Shacharis, Minchah, and Maariv and various weekly shiurim. It is a bastion of Torah Judaism in central Virginia. Rabbi Dovid Asher is the current Rav of Keneseth Beth Israel, which has a growing membership of approximately one hundred and forty membership units over three hundred and fifty people. The membership is diverse, ranging from mechanchim to people who do not yet read Hebrew. However, everyone Continued from page 31 They came to experience Shabbos and for my mother s chocolate-chip cookies, he recalls. Rabbi Asher attended the yeshivah high school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, as his mother was and still is a French teacher in the girls school. Throughout my life I had excellent Rabbanim, and they left a good taste in my mouth for what Rabbanim could accomplish. I loved small-town life and knew that I wanted to become a Rav in a small town a place where I could really accomplish and make a difference. Rav Noach Weinberg, zt l, who was close to the Asher family for many years, had a profound influence on Rabbi Asher s desire to reach out to his fellow Yidden. He was my rebbi in terms of harbatzas Torah. Last summer, after learning in Yeshiva University for a decade, Rabbi Asher moved to Richmond with his wife, and he became the rabbi of Keneseth Beth Israel. The day that I arrived, we went to the house that the shul had prepared for us and were shocked to find the refrigerator and all the cabinets packed with food. That is the kind of place this community is; it was just incredible. I feel more part of Klal Yisrael here in Richmond. I see many of our brothers and sisters who are struggling with their Jewish identity, but yet are thirsty to know Hakadosh Baruch Hu and become more acquainted with the Torah. Working with them and helping them find answers allows my family to feel more a part of the greater klal. RABBI CHAIM MOSKOWITZ grew up in a culturally Jewish home in Richmond. While attending public high school, he came to the realization that if Judaism is the relationship G-d has with the Jewish people and the Torah provides the details of that relationship, then in order to become close to the Alm-ghty, he would have to go to yeshivah to learn Torah. After coming to this realization, Chaim actively sought out the Orthodox community in Richmond, began learning, and discovered the truth of Yiddishkeit. After finishing high school, he wanted to go to yeshivah but could not find one in America that was appropriate for a good, solid, committed young man who could not yet read a word of Hebrew. He traveled to Eretz Yisrael, where he first attended Yeshivas Derech and then Mir Yerushalayim, and later returned to America to learn in Beis Medrash Govoha in Lakewood. Ten years later, Rabbi Chaim Moskowitz was ready to give back to the community that had given him so much. Today, as the Mashgiach of the Yeshiva of Virginia, he encourages the bachurim to fulfill their potential. In addition, he spends hours each day learning with baalei batim from every segment of the community more than thirty each week. The uniqueness of this community is the diversity of the people, who are coming from different backgrounds but are all unified, with a goal of personal, albeit individualized, spiritual growth. Regardless of their level of religiosity, they are all committed to fighting assimilation. I get chizuk from people who have very limited backgrounds yet strive to reconnect to Yiddishkeit through limud hatorah. Rabbi Moskowitz continues, I love this community. The people here want to live deliberately. Each person feels that he or she is contributing to the greater good. Continued on page 35 Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 33
connects to the authenticity of Torah Judaism and recognizes that genuine Torah is being taught and everyone gets along. As one member commented, If you start fighting with everyone you disagree with, you will be a very lonely person! An adult education program provides learning opportunities for everyone in the community, no matter what their background. One class introduced by Rabbi Asher is called Torah News. It shows participants how to view the world through the prism of the Torah. Rabbi Asher focuses on one news story often a controversial one each week and provides the Torah perspective on it. A dynamic youth program engages the young people of the community. Rabbi Asher actively involves himself with the youth, inviting college students for Shabbos and hosting a Monday-night class for public-highschool students complete with Rebbetzin Asher s home-baked cakes. Rabbi Chaim Moskowitz, Mashgiach of the Yeshiva of Virginia, comments on Rabbi Asher s contribution to the Richmond community: Rabbi Asher greets everyone with a cheerful face. His warmth and enthusiasm comfort and encourage all of those around him to come closer to Hashem. And Community Rabbi Stephen Savitsky, president of the Orthodox Union, has visited Richmond several times as part of his search for AOLs affordable Orthodox living. Richmond is a nice community with good potential, he notes. It is a community with a core structure, affordable housing, and good education, including boys and girls high schools. Rabbi Asher is a fine young rabbi who is committed to making the community grow. In addition, Richmond is only a six-hour drive from New York and offers a strong job market. We would be happy to see them grow to the next level; it would be good for them and good for Klal Yisrael. For the past several years, Virginia has been rated Best Place to Do Business by CNBC. Plenty of jobs are available, and many people have joined the community after finding jobs in nearby companies. As an added incentive, Keneseth Beth Israel maintains a job-search committee that helps those moving to the community find positions. Kosher food is available in Richmond through several sources. Some local stores carry a full supply of kosher foods, including chalav Yisrael milk and pas Yisrael bread. Bakeries carry doughnuts and other baked goods. A dairy cafe in the Jewish Community Center offers a sit-down option for those who would like to dine in a warm, relaxed environment, and there are also ice cream parlors. Everything is under the supervision of Students at Rudlin Torah Academy. 34 Hamodia June 13, 2012
Continued from page 33 MR. JOSH GOLDBERG grew up in Richmond and attended the Rudlin Torah Academy. Because the high school had not yet been established, he went to Silver Spring for secondary education. When the yeshivah high school opened, he was invited to serve as the dorm counselor. In that capacity, he developed a close relationship with the Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Chait. After marrying a few years ago, Mr. Goldberg moved back to Richmond. I really like the small-town atmosphere in Richmond. And once they get over the fact that there are no pizza shops, most others do as well. At an NCSY event. the local Vaad Hakashrus. With quality houses available for under $200,000, low real-estate taxes, a very low crime rate, and little traffic, Richmond is a great place to raise a family. The city is full of good ol Southern hospitality and American history, which adds a unique flavor and pride to life. People take the culture seriously, notes Rabbi Asher. They want to make sure the community is clean and refined. This spills over into many areas. For instance, it is a very safe city. One can go out at night without thinking twice, leave the front door open and the car windows rolled down. If you are not well-mannered, this is not a place for you. People are nice to each other; they smile and say hello. One can t help but develop good middos. Many of Richmond s fifty shomer Shabbos families live within a radius of a few blocks, creating a close-knit community. Most people do not have extended family here, so they become each other s family. Recently, the community has seen the return of grown children. These young adults are choosing Richmond as the place to raise their own families because they appreciate the value of bringing up children in a small community that cultivates MRS. RIVKA BART is administrator at Keneseth Beth Israel and the wife of Rabbi Yosef Bart, the assistant menahel of the Yeshiva of Virginia. The Barts have been living in Richmond for thirteen years and have raised a beautiful family. Growing up in a small town, children and their parents develop a feeling that they are an integral part of the community, that they are needed. When living in such a community, one learns that if there is a need, he or she must step up and do it himself; he cannot assume that someone else will do it. This encourages children to become an active part of the community and develop a true sense of achrayus to Klal Yisrael. Mrs. Bart comments on the education her children are receiving in the school. The chinuch is something special and beautiful to behold. Our children learn every day that Torah is not just about memorizing Mishnayos or the number of pesukim you cover, it s about internalizing the lessons of Torah loving it and living it, and being a mentch, in and out of shiur. We are more involved with every aspect of our children s lives what they are learning, who they are playing with. They learn to sacrifice for Yiddishkeit, and in the end come out stronger and more wholesome. Mrs. Bart finds it very meaningful to be able to make a difference in the lives of so many other community members and to see the peiros of children developing into shomrei Torah u mitzvos. We know that everything we do and everywhere we go, we have the opportunity to make a kiddush Hashem. We are constantly on guard, hoping that we will leave a positive impression of frum Jews. And that awareness heightens our appreciation for our place in this world as ambassadors of the Ribbono shel Olam. mentchlachkeit and avoids much of the pettiness that often plagues larger communities. Mrs. Klestzick comments on life as a frum Yid in Richmond. It is a very meaningful existence. Whether you like it or not, you are a representative of Torah, and that creates a lot of meaning in your life. Nothing is done by rote; you don t take your Yiddishkeit for granted. Some might find this to be a pressure, but in truth, it adds meaning because you are not being swept by a tide. I find that it improves one s personal avodas Hashem. I 1. See Melvin I. Urofsky s Commonwealth and Community: The Jewish Experience in Virginia, Virginia Historical Society and Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, 1977. 2. Copies of this correspondence are located in Beth Ahabah s archives. 3. See Richmond Jews: A Curious Confederate History, B nai B rith Magazine, Summer 2007. 4. Formal classes for the girls began in 1939. Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 35