Item Description:

They weren’t synagogue rabbis. They didn’t write seforim and aren’t known for their scholarship. But each of these men left a lasting mark on Jewish history - by their selfless devotion to the community. Whether it was establishing a school, taking a stand in politics, or helping Jews through the dark years of the Holocaust, these men and their deeds represent the ideal in Jewish leadership.

Individual lectures:

Dr. Moshe Alter - Dr. Moshe Alter lived for the school he headed, the only Mizrachi school in pre-war Poland. His stance for his ideals and against the haskala are remarkable in themselves, but the eerily gripping story that took him from the Warsaw Ghetto to Bergen-Belsen makes this lecture a microcosm of Jewish history.

Rabbi Alexander Zusia Friedman - Alexander Zusia Friedman was the leader of the Agudah between the two World Wars, but because the times were so precarious, his title does not do justice to his accomplishments. Rabbi Wein gives color to Friedman’s life and times, capturing the character of one of the Jewish people’s greatest lay leaders.

Rabbi Meshulum Kaminer - Meshulam Kaminer was the quintessential jack-of-all-trades: political leader, newspaper publisher, and community organizer. All his efforts shared one common thread – improving the lot of Polish Jewry. From the Agudah to the Warsaw Ghetto, Rabbi Wein traces the remarkable public life of a man dedicated to helping his fellow Jew, including the most left wing and secular.

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Orlean - Behind every great man stands a woman, but behind the great Sarah Schneirer stood a man - Rabbi Yehudah Laib Orlean. Rabbi Wein explores the rise of the Bais Yaakov movement, the greatest revolution in Jewish education in the 20th century, and shows how Rabbi Orlean’s assistance turned Sarah Schneirer’s vision into reality.