By Elchonon Ebert for COLlive.com
Last week, Hagaon Harav Chaim Dov Keller, Rosh Yeshivas Telshe in Chicago, passed away at the age of 90 after being infected with Covid-19.
Rav Keller was known for his forceful and eloquent defense of authentic Yiddishkeit through his powerful speeches and articulate writing. He was a prominent member of the Nesius of Agudas Yisrael of America, Hamodia wrote about him.
I would like to shed light on my own experience with him as he was viewed as having a reputation for not supporting Chabad.
In the 1980s, the central Mikva at 3110 W Touhy Ave. in Chicago (known today as the West Rogers Park Mikvah) was allowing for Reform and Conservative Rabbis to rent the Mikvah for their conversions.
Under the guidance of Rabbi Mordechai Aizik Hodakov, Chief of Staff of the Rebbe, I protested in front of the Mikvah to decry this endorsement of non-halachic practices.
At the time, the Rebbe was rallying against Mihu Yehudi, Israel’s Law of Return which recognizes those converted not according to halacha to be recognized as Jewish.
A large group of Rabbonim In Chicago supported the open door policy of renting the Orthodox-run Mikva to Reform and Conservative Rabbis.
The rationale was that they did not condone the conversions and that haredi Jews weren’t going to marry into non-Orthodox families anyways.
To protest this practice and the terrible ramifications of it, I stood at the Mikvah with a portable megaphone and called out that these conversions were fraudulent.
The Chicago Tribune reported at the time that I disrupted hundreds of conversions over 4 years.
“At first, Ebert would shout at converts as they emerged from the mikvah, telling them that their conversions were invalid. In the last two years, Ebert has stepped up his protest by crouching at the mikvah’s door and broadcasting his beliefs through a bullhorn,” they wrote.
At the behest of Reform and Conservative Rabbis, I was arrested by Chicago police. Orthodox Rabbonim remained silent because I was considered a nuisance to the large monetary windfall the rental of the mikvah generated.
There was a group of brave rabbonim who stood up for the truth. One of them was Rav Keller. Although he was not known as a Chabad supporter, the esteemed Rosh Yeshiva sympathized with my stand championed by the Rebbe. He overlooked the stance of his colleagues and wholeheartedly supported me.
He went as far as to take off time from delivering his shiur at the yeshiva and publically showed up at the proceedings where I was arraigned on charges of disorderly conduct. The photo of the Rosh Yeshiva leaving the Cook County Circuit Court remains a memorable one.
May the memory of the rav who stood up for the truth be a blessing.
maybe collive can write an article on this subject from the 1980’s
The article references by photo about Rav Shmuel it is Rav Shmuel Berenbaum zl Rosh Yeshiva Mir He encouraged my protest
The book is Chabad and Mir by Rabbi Dalfin
I was a talmid of Rav Shmuel and he visited Chicago Chol Hamoed Succos for over 20 years and was my guest. E. Ebert
Rav Keller zt”l stood for Emes and Halacha. Chabad or not probably didn’t factor into his decision to stand up for Torah. This is a story about a gadol standing up for Hkb”H.
He is also responsible for pioneering the Simchas Bais Hashoeva dancing in the streets of Chicago.
Otherwise a nice story
Rabbi Ebert ha-Kohen told me that while involved in these efforts, he spent yom tov in 770, and the Rebbe, via Rabbi Leibel Groner, notified Rabbi Ebert that Rabbi Ebert should stand directly in front of the Rebbe while duchening. Also, I seem to recall Rabbi Ebert saying that during this time, when the Rebbe wrote to him, the Rebbe gave him the title ‘rav pe’alim’.
Reb Elchonon is a true mentch and a fearless defender of yiddishkeit. He and his wife Racheli are a proud example of what chassidim ought to be.
Next thing you know he’ll be ghost writing a book about the Mir Yeshiva and his experiences there.
Rav Berenbaum zl was very respectful of Chabad and recognized the malos of chasidus
He himself was koolo Torah
His Friday shmusen were culled from Chazal and didn’t feel a need for Limud Chasidus
His chasidus was a blat gemora and that was
his language
Rav Elya Svei zl was contacted by the Rabonim
To persuade me to stop Before Mir I learned a year in philly Being an alumnus they asked Rav ElyaZl To call me He said he agrees with my hafgona They then said I became Lubavitch
He answered it makes no difference my cause is just . Similar to Rav Keller zl position
Jewish identity follows halacha. Rabbi Ebert did what needed to be done, regardless of how he would be viewed by the establishment. And other mikvaot were inspired to follow.
The Reform have now created their own ersatz mikvas in order to dupe their congregants into thinking they are having a true conversion.
And if they tell their congregants lies about why, we are here to correct the record.
It is only through our strengthening all mitzvot ourselves that ultimately we will influence Jews to value our core Jewish identity.