Dershowitz Family Saga: A Century and a Half of Jewish Life in Poland,Through America, and Into Israel

by Zecharia Dor-Shav (Dershowitz)

Overview

The Dershowitz Family Saga traces the significant modern events for world Jewry from the perspective of one immigrant family: their Galician origins in the 19th century; their Americanization and tribulations in the Goldene Medina; the tragedy of World War II and the Holocaust; the establishment of the State of Israel; the fall of communism; and the mass immigrations to Israel from Russia and Ethiopia. It takes the reader from Pilzno to the Lower East Side, from Brooklyn to Jerusalem. The aliyah of many family members before, during, and after the Six-Day War led to their involvement in the absorption of Ethiopian, Soviet, and former Crypto-Jews into the nascent state. The intellectual and spiritual heritage of the Dershowitz family is an American-Israeli success story. 

The author's grandfather established the first Hassidic congregation in Brooklyn; his father conceived Yeshiva Torah Vodaath; a brother served on the European front but his gun ended up with the Haganah; his nephew is the outspoken civil libertarian and advocate of Israel, Alan Dershowitz. 

A fascinating journey around the world through Zecharia Dor-Shav’s unique lens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510770232
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Pages:	504
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 2.40(d)

About the Author

Rabbi Professor Zecharia Dor-Shav (Dershowitz) was educated in the nascent New York City Jewish day schools. Ordained an Orthodox rabbi in 1950, he served as a congregation rabbi, public school teacher, and Hebrew school principal for a number of years. After completing his Ph.D. at New York University in 1966, he took an appointment as Professor of Education at Long Island University. He was Director of the Eliezer Stern Institute for Research and Advancement in Religious Education for several years and served as chairman of the School of Education. A registered psychologist and member of the Israel Psychological Association as well as the Israel Education Association, he resides in Jerusalem, Israel.

Table of Contents

Foreword Alan Dershowitz xi

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 Family Origins 1

The Jews of Pilzno, My Father's Birthplace 5

Arrival in the USA 9

Williamsburg and the Family Synagogue 14

The Family Connection with Yeshiva (and Mesivta) Torah Vodaath 23

The Rescue of the Deresiewicz Cousins 31

Dershowitz Family Reunions 42

Family Goals 51

Our World War II War Effort 55

Museums, Outings, College, University 57

Mother's Miracles 59

Chapter 2 Highlights in the Lives of My Siblings 63

Jack's Struggle with Piety 64

Harry's Concern for the Family 66

Menashe's Love of Torah and Israel 77

Sylvia's (Sheindy) Love of Hebrew Studies 93

Her Encounter with Communism 95

Herbert's (Heshy) Struggles with the Brooklyn Navy Yard 96

Jay's Sabbath Success with Metropolitan Insurance and Bell Telephone 99

Moish's Efforts for the Underground in Palestine 105

Yitzchak's Love of Torah and His Coming to Israel 111

Chapter 3 My Personal History 127

Childhood 131

The Anthropologist, Professor Margaret Mead 135

Transferring to Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin 143

Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Shurkin 143

Eight Years with the Baal Pachad Yitzchak 146

Camp Morris 169

The Hijacking of the Rosh Yeshiva's Flight 171

The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) 175

Early Professional Career 181

The First Bais Yaakov School in America 186

Chapter 4 Coming to Israel 190

A Washington Demonstration 194

Meeting with the "Father of the Prisoners" 202

My Rebbi's Response to the Capture of Jerusalem 207

A Unique Experience in the Old City 209

Defying the British Ban on Shofar Blowing at the Kotel 211

Our Tishah B'Av Visit to the Kotel Ha'Ma'aravi 221

Negotiating with the Jewish Agency 226

The Effect of Visiting Israel 227

Chapter 5 Some Early Experiences in Israel 230

Volunteering in a Rehabilitation Ward 239

Torat Eretz Yisrael and Gush Emunim 247

Rabbi Shlomo Goren 260

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion 269

Buying into the "Jewish Head" 278

Absorption of the Beta Israel Ethiopian Aliyah 280

Personal Involvement in the Absorption of the Beta Yisrael 285

A Fortuitous Torah and Science Interface 295

A Terrorist Attack on Mercaz Harav Yeshiva 299

Chapter 6 Adventures on Sabbaticals 304

The Downfall of Communism in the Soviet Union 305

A Miraculous Recovery in Hong Kong 315

A Visit to Shanghai 317

A Side Trip After a Conference in Beijing 322

Meeting with the Anusim 326

The Story of the Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue in Recife, Brazil 330

Chapter 7 Members of the Greater Dershowitz Clan 338

Sol Dershowitz 339

Samuel Dershowitz 341

Sadie Hochhauser 346

Gussie Mines 350

Hymie Dershowitz 365

His Connection with the "Malachim" 365

The Story of the Malachim 367

Back to Hymie's Family 372

Rose Fendel 375

Chapter 8 Personal Experiences with Great Rabbis of My Generation 383

Rabbi Mosfae Feinstein 384

Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky 389

Interaction with Rabbi Meir Kuznetz regarding the Upper Pool of King Hezekiah 392

Rabbi Aharon Kotler 398

Rabbi Menachera Mendel Schneersohn 402

Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik 407

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik 414

Postscript 426

Appendix 1 Emperor Franz Joseph 429

Appendix 2 Pilzno after the German Occupation 433

Appendix 3 Mother's Family: Steinhardt/Maultasch 438

Appendix 4 A Tribute to Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz 448

Appendix 5 Bipartisan Tribute to Professor Alan Dershowitz 453

Appendix 6 Obituary of Doctor Aryeh Zinkin 457

Appendix 7 Getting Kosher Food to Rav Hutner in Captivity 462

Appendix 8 The Feuerstein Family of Maiden 465

Appendix 9 The Ethiopian Aliyah and the Role of the AAEJ 472

Glossary 478