The Rov of Shanghai

Rav Meir Ashkenazi zt'l

The Rav of Shanghai yarzheit 26th Av 1954

(This article appears in "Library in a Book", published by Targum Press, Jerusalem 2004. And is reproduced here with sincere thanks to Reb Yisroel Shaw - married to a great grandaughter of the Shanghai Rov, Reb Yisroel Shaw has an amazing website www.dafyomi.co.il )

( please also see article on Reb Chaim Leib Shmulevitz Rosh Yeshivah in Mir-Poland, Mir-Shanghai - as the whole yeshiva found safety in Shanghai during the war )

While G-d is the ultimate Judge of the degree to which an individual fulfills the unique purpose for which he was created, He seems, on occasion, to allow us a glimpse of one who discerned his life's purpose and made every effort to fulfill it. Knowing such a person, or at least knowing about such a person, can provide us with profound lessons for fulfilling our unique mission in life.

Rav Meir Ashkenazi, the "Shanghai'er Rav," was such a person. He was the leader of the community that served as a haven for thousands of Jews during a time of unprecedented tragedy. When the doors of almost all civilized (and uncivilized) countries were shut and locked in the face of European Jewry, Divine Providence arranged that a far-flung city should leave its doors open. When almost every country refused admittance to those without a life-saving visa, Shanghai's International Settlement permitted entry without one.

Deteriorating conditions in Europe in the 1930's led to a slow stream of German, Austrian, and Russian Jews into the Far East, which increased considerably at the outbreak of the Second World War. By the end of 1941, there were 18,000 Jewish refugees in Shanghai, ten times the number of Jews in Shanghai just ten years earlier. The story of the miraculous escape of 2,000 Polish refugees through Siberia to Kobe, Japan, and then the relocation of 1,000 of them -- including the entire Mirrer Yeshiva -- to Shanghai is well known. Less well known is who laid the foundations in Shanghai to provide them with the spiritual and material support that literally enabled them to survive, and who was at the forefront of every humanitarian activity on behalf of all of the Jewish refugees.

From Tcherikov to Manchuria to Vladivostok

Rav Meir Ashkenazi was born in 1891 in Tcherikov, in Russia's Pale of Settlement. His parents, Reb Shneur Zalman and Kayla Ashkenazi, were devout and learned Lubavitcher Chassidim, who recognized and nurtured their son's intellectual aptitude, his caring heart, and his motivation to dedicate himself to the service of G-d. He studied at Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim, where he became one of the most distinguished students. One venerable scholar from that era, Rav Avrohom Ma'yor (Draizin), zt'l, commented (to Rav C. Cohen) that Rav Ashkenazi had a sterling reputation in Tomchei Temimim and was among the elite students there.

At the outbreak of the First World War, his family -- together with many others, Jews and gentiles alike -- fled Russia to the neighboring region of Manchuria (under Chinese rule at the time). It was there, in the city of Harbin, that Rav Meir and Toiba Liba were married. Rebbetzin Toiba Liba's father, a member of the esteemed Soloveitchik family, had been the chief Rav of the town of Tcherikov and, in fact, was Rav Meir's first teacher and mentor.

For unknown reasons, Rav Ashkenazi, his parents and family returned to Russia, to the port-city of Vladivostok on the Far-Eastern coast of Russia. Not long afterwards, in 1918, the community there appointed Rav Ashkenazi as their rabbi. He served them with dedication and love, as is reflected in the community's letter to him upon his departure in 1926: "For seven consecutive years... he guided our community upon the proper path with his wisdom and his Torah..., he drew after him the hearts of all of his community, who... accepted upon themselves willingly all of the enactments that were necessary for a Jewish community. Besides all of this, with his good nature he shared in the pain of every person.... His home was always open to every needy and downtrodden person."

From Vladivostok to Shanghai

After serving as the spiritual leader of Vladivostok's Jews for seven years, Rav Ashkenazi received clear signs that it was time to leave. The Communist fever that raged throughout Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution sought to strangle any expression of Jewishness, especially a flourishing synagogue with a scholarly, dynamic, and beloved rabbi. By the time the Communist regime had caused the dissolution of his synagogue, the Rav had received an offer to lead an established community in New York. The Rav and his wife were already preparing for the journey when a registered letter from the small Russian Jewish community in Shanghai arrived, beseeching him to become their rabbi. He was now faced with a monumental decision, one which would have implications far greater than he ever could have imagined.

America had everything that his family could dream of -- a growing Jewish community with synagogues, study halls, and Torah scholars, an educational infrastructure for his children, kosher food and religious items, a good income, and liberty and justice for all. There was one thing, however, that America did not have -- Jews who needed him more than they needed him in Shanghai.

With a small community maintaining tenuous ties to their Yiddishkeit at best, virtually no Torah educational infrastructure, and only a few old Jews still observing Shabbos and Kashrus while the young were assimilating rapidly, Shanghai's Jews were starving for guidance, and Rav Ashkenazi could not refuse their plea. The only factor that he would consider was where he was needed most. Thus, in 1926, he and his wife were Shanghai-bound, to lead the small community of Russian Jews.

It seems to be have been the Divine plan, perhaps in laying the foundations for the role that the community would serve in the coming years, that Shanghai receive as their rabbi such an eminent Talmid Chacham whose immense Torah scholarship was complemented by a profound concern for others. This legendary compassion for his fellow Jews was demonstrated by an incident that occurred just before the Bolshevik Revolution.

Czar Nicholas II, heavily involved in a World War, was also struggling against internal insurgent movements. Among his staunchest opponents was the Bolshevik Party, which would eventually take over the country. Many assimilated, "enlightened" Jewish youths were caught up in the fervor of the movement. Some of these Jewish revolutionaries came to Vladivostok to garner support for their cause. Many of the residents resented and opposed them and informed the authorities of their presence. Aware that they were being pursued -- and if caught, would likely be punished with death -- they sought refuge at the home of the only man who might let them in, who, they had heard, never closed his door to any Jew.

They begged Rav Ashkenazi to let them in, to hide them, to save their lives. Rav Ashkenazi paid no heed to the immense chasm which separated these wayward Jews from himself; he saw beyond their bare heads and shaven faces. In front of him he saw only Jews in dire need. When his wife -- gripped by the fear of the mortal reprisal that such a crime, harboring traitors to the Czar, would earn them -- voiced her concerns, Rav Ashkenazi calmed her fears and said, "The Halachah obligates us to save Jews who are being pursued. It is our obligation to do this according to the law of the Torah, and all other concerns are null and void to the law of the Torah." The young Jews hid in his home until they were able to flee from Vladivostok.

This act of kindness, or, as Rav Ashkenazi put it, simply following Halachah, would suffice in itself as an example of the selfless dedication that he had for his fellow Jews. There is, however, the rest of the story.

Not long afterwards, the Bolsheviks took control of Russia, and they began to fashion the Communist "paradise." The creation of this "paradise" included the repression of counter-revolutionary movements and anything perceived as such. Hence, throughout the Soviet Union, Jews -- and especially Jewish leaders -- were persecuted. One Pesach night, in the middle of the Seder, Russian police officers stormed into Rav Ashkenazi's home and took him away for an "interrogation." Although he was allowed to return home after the interrogation, the incident proved that their future in Russia was bleak.

Leaving the Soviet paradise, however, was easier dreamed of than said or done, for the two latter actions carried severe punishment. Applying for permission to leave meant labeling oneself as a traitor to the country. While mulling over their predicament, the Rebbetzin recalled that one of the Jewish revolutionaries whom they had harbored in their home now held an important government position. She urged her husband to appeal to that Jew for help in procuring permission to leave.

Rav Ashkenazi listened to his wife's idea, the plan that might save their lives. He considered the plan in the only light that he considered anything -- the light of the Torah. He chose not to ask the Jew to intervene. "We did what we did," he said, "because that is what the Halachah required of us, and not in order to reap any personal benefit. When a Jew does what Heaven wants him to do, it is not proper to seek personal benefit from the Mitzvah that he fulfilled."

The Rebbetzin, however, frightened by the danger facing them, decided to travel to the former revolutionary and request his assistance in obtaining permission to leave, but he refused. This iron-willed woman confronted the representative of the Iron Curtain with her pleas and then with her tears, and a spark of gratitude flickered in the Jew's heart. However, since it was impossible to legally permit a rabbi to leave, the former revolutionaries "smuggled" Rav Ashkenazi out of Russia, alone. The Rebbetzin stayed behind with two young children, and joined her husband a few weeks later when the young communists were able to procure some sort of "legal" documentation for her and her children (-heard from T. Cohen, as told to her by the Rebbetzin).

Rav of Shanghai

The Rav and his wife arrived in Shanghai in 1926. His parents and siblings (two sisters and two brothers) also settled there. Immediately upon arriving, Rav Ashkenazi set to work at building a viable Jewish community. At the time, the Jewish community in Shanghai consisted of two distinct groups, the Sephardim, who had come to Shanghai from Iraq and India as early as the 1850's, and the Russians, who came at first to escape the pogroms, and then to escape the Bolsheviks. (Only after 1933 did the influx of German Jews begin, when Hitler came to power.) He forged strong ties with the established Sephardic community, and he served, throughout his years in Shanghai, as the unifying bridge between the Ashkenazim and Sephardim. (One member of a prominent Sephardic family told this writer, "Everybody respected the Rav. He was a true Tzaddik and a tremendous Talmid Chacham. All of our big She'eilot went to him, even though he was the Rav of the Ashkenazim.")

One of Rav Ashkenazi's first activities in Shanghai was the building of a synagogue for his community. The Kehillah was originally established in 1902 by the twenty-five Russian families who lived in the city at that time. For the Russians' small congregation, the Sephardic Jews rented rooms to them in the Sephardic synagogue, She'erith Israel. By the mid-1920's, when their numbers grew to about 250 families (or 1,000 people), the rented quarters had become inadequate. Thus, in 1927, Rav Ashkenazi established the Ohel Moshe Synagogue (spelled "Oihel Moishe") in the Hongkew section of the city. It was the center of religious and communal activities for the Kehillah until the start of the Sino-Japanese War of 1937, when the Japanese devastated Hongkew with their bombardment, and the Chinese with their "scorched earth policy." At that time, most of the members of the Kehillah who had lived and worked in Hongkew moved to the French Concession (or "Frenchtown"), a residential area. There Rav Ashkenazi coordinated the building of the large "New Synagogue" in 1941. A number of Jews remained at the original synagogue in Hongkew, and later it served the large number of Polish Jews who arrived. Rav Ashkenazi continued to oversee activities at both branches of Ohel Moshe (Kranzler, p. 440).

When the numbers of German Jewish refugees increased, they sought permission to form their own congregation. Permission was granted by the leaders of the Sephardic and Ashkenazic communities, under the general leadership of Rav Ashkenazi, who stipulated only that the services be conducted according to Torah law and tradition (Kranzler, p. 410).

In 1931, a new surge of Jews began to pour into Shanghai. This time, they were from Harbin, Manchuria. In that year, Japan occupied Manchuria and unofficially sanctioned a reign of terror, encouraging the White Russians living there to fulfill their antisemitic desires. Three quarters of the Jewish population of Harbin fled, many to Shanghai. By the late 1930's, Shanghai's Russian Jewish population had increased to over 4,000 people. Rav Ashkenazi and his wife continued to serve them with devotion. One woman, born in Shanghai, told this writer that "the rabbi and rebbetzin were like our parents' counselors, and their home was always open."

After the Nazis ascended to power in Germany in 1933, a new wave of Jews made their way to Shanghai. As the Nazi plans for the Jews became manifest, German Jews began to emigrate. By 1939, the number of German and Austrian Jews to emigrate to Shanghai approached 14,000. Despite the fact that many of these were assimilated Jews, the Ashkenazi family made every effort to welcome them to the city and to help them adjust to the strange, new culture. Without hesitation, Rav Ashkenazi appealed to the wealthy members of the Russian and Sephardic communities to assist the refugees. Giving away sizable amounts of his own limited income, he served as an example of generosity. His heart was greatly pained by suffering of his brethren, and he made every effort to alleviate their distress.

Under the general auspices of the American Joint Distribution Committee, relief agencies were formed to raise money for housing and food. Eventually, communal refugee shelters, or "Heime," were formed. In cooperation with the relief organizations, Rav Ashkenazi was able to establish religious services and kosher kitchen facilities in these shelters. Rav Ashkenazi frequently visited the shelters, speaking with the refugees and taking an interest in their lives, despite their apathy towards religion. Many of them began, for the first time in their lives, to attend prayer services and Torah lectures that Rav Ashkenazi organized, and some of the assimilated Jews eventually experienced a religious revival. In the involuntary ghetto that the Japanese formed for the refugees after Japan entered the war and occupied Shanghai, half of the shops were closed on Shabbos (despite the great economic privation that already existed), even though only a small percentage of the refugee population was Torah-observant.

This rekindled spirit for Shabbos observance was spawned by a special campaign launched by Rav Ashkenazi together with the Amshenover Rebbe, Rav Shimon Kalish, in 1941. Together, these two great Torah personalities visited stores, families, and individuals, persuading them in loving tones about the importance of Shabbos. In addition, they gave lectures, distributed leaflets, and wrote newspaper articles on the subject, and their efforts were very successful. Rav Ashkenazi also helped to arrange special Shabbos meals every Friday night and Shabbos day, in a unique Shabbos setting, at one of the refugee "Heime" (Kranzler, p. 430).

Rav Ashkenazi established a Beis Din which issued rulings in monetary disputes and handled rabbinical functions, such as marriage and divorce. His Beis Din was also responsible for making kosher provisions available, and it even set up stands in the Chinese and Japanese food markets which the refugees frequented, where kosher meat and poultry could be purchased (Kranzler, p. 411). Rav Ashkenazi's Beis Din maintained total jurisdiction for as long as it existed. Rav Ashkenazi saw to it that the Beis Din had representatives from every group -- the Sephardim, German refugees, and Eastern European (Polish and Lithuanian) refugees (eventually, Rav Ashkenazi's son-in-law, Rav Hershel Milner of the Kaminetz Yeshiva, would serve as a co-representative of the latter).

Establishing Schools

In response to the growing need for a more solid Jewish education, Rav Ashkenazi, together with a committee of his Russian and Sephardic supporters, founded a Talmud Torah, which opened its doors in December, 1939, with 35 students. By 1941, it had an enrollment of 120 students. It eventually grew to nearly 300 students, with two branches, one in Hongkew (the ghetto) and one in Frenchtown. The Talmud Torah also arranged special classes and activities for the children on Shabbos and Sundays, and it provided food and periodic distributions of clothing for the many poor refugee children (Kranzler, p. 427).

The Talmud Torah was so successful (especially after the arrival of the Eastern European refugees in the end of 1941) that a more advanced school was needed to provide for its graduates. Rav Ashkenazi was again instrumental in helping found a full-day Yeshiva Ketanah, headed by an outstanding young Talmid Chacham, his son-in-law, Rav Hershel Milner. Rav Milner headed a staff of four, who were students of the Mirrer Yeshiva. This Yeshiva Ketanah grew to about 40 students, and its graduates in turn joined the higher Yeshivas in Shanghai, such as the Mirrer Yeshiva.

These schools were established only after the Jewish population of Shanghai surged due to the influx of refugees. There was no Yeshiva, though, for Rav Ashkenazi's own son, Moshe, when he turned thirteen. In 1934, in a great act of sacrifice for Torah, the rabbi and rebbetzin sent their only son (one of three children) to Eretz Yisrael with Rav Ashkenazi's parents, to be raised in the holy atmosphere of Jerusalem. They did not see their son for fourteen years.

While Rav Ashkenazi had to deal with the initial opposition to the opening of a Talmud Torah and Yeshiva Ketanah in Shanghai, Rebbetzin Ashkenazi's task was even more daunting -- to deal with the even greater opposition to the opening of a Beis Ya'akov school for girls. Through their dedicated and unwavering efforts, a few strong-willed women (such as Rebbetzins Ashkenazi, Mannes, and Shafran) succeeded in bringing about a favorable attitude towards the establishment of such a school. Eventually, the Beis Ya'akov served over 100 girls in two branches, one in Hongkew and one in Frenchtown.

Unfounded Criticism

Some of the liberal elements among the refugees accused Rav Ashkenazi of having a negative attitude toward the German refugees in general. For example, in July of 1945, when United States bombers attacked Hongkew, thirty-one Jews were tragically killed. Rav Ashkenazi ruled -- in accordance with Jewish law -- that the ritual of Taharah was not to be performed on the mutilated bodies of the victims. The German refugees regarded this as a personal insult. They were, of course, wrong. Rav Ashkenazi's attitude and decisions were forged by a love for G-d, His Torah, and His people. Unfortunately, the liberal Jews' own prejudices blinded them to the true caring that Rav Ashkenazi had for them. His caring was evidenced by his "open-door policy." Anyone who came at any time received the most cordial hospitality in the Ashkenazis' humble apartment of four small rooms. Indeed, into this small apartment he and his wife took a total stranger, a poor refugee girl from an assimilated German family, to live with his two daughters of the same age. She attests that she was always treated as one of the family, and she personally emphasizes the fact that Rav Ashkenazi, known for his strict adherence to Torah law, nevertheless took into his own household a girl from a totally assimilated German Jewish family (Kranzler, p. 440).

The Arrival of the Mirrer Yeshiva in Shanghai

As noted above, the arrival of thousands of refugees opened an entirely new chapter in the Shanghai'er Rav's life. The arrival of the Mirrer Yeshiva -- the only Yeshiva to survive the war completely intact -- had a similar effect. While the great Torah centers of Europe were being decimated, the spiritually-starved metropolis of Shanghai, China, was suddenly transformed into one of the most important Torah centers in the world. Nearly 1,000 refugees from Poland and Eastern Europe arrived, via Kobe, Japan, in August of 1941, including over 400 Yeshiva students (250 in the Mirrer Yeshiva alone), and some of the greatest Torah personalities of Europe. Before their arrival, this group of Torah scholars contacted Rav Ashkenazi and asked him to form a separate relief organization for them, so that they would not be subject to the degrading and -- for Torah-observant Jews -- unsuitable conditions in which the other refugees had to live. Rav Ashkenazi spent day and night making arrangements for them (such as where to sleep, what to eat, and where to set up their study halls), and he endured much personal abuse in his efforts to secure assistance for them.

It is well-known that the Mirrer Yeshiva occupied the Beit Aharon synagogue -- which had the exact seating capacity as the number of Yeshiva students -- when they arrived in Shanghai, and there they continued their holy studies uninterrupted. It is not widely known that it was Rav Ashkenazi -- with his influence in the Sephardic community -- who had contacted various figures of authority and successfully persuaded them to let the Mirrer Yeshiva have use of the facility as their Beis Midrash (Kranzler, p. 431, Bernstein, p. 574, and as related to Rav C. Cohen by Rav Hershel Milner, zt'l). With the dedicated assistance of D. J. Abraham, the leader of the Sephardic community, Rav Ashkenazi enabled the Mirrer Yeshiva to use the large and comfortable building for over three years (from their arrival in August, 1941, to September, 1944), until the Japanese forced them to stay in the Hongkew ghetto.

It was also Rav Ashkenazi who was responsible for obtaining permission from the Japanese authorities for Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz and the Amshenover Rebbe to live outside of the ghetto for the entire duration of the war (-heard from Prof. David Kranzler).

Even before the arrival of the Yeshiva students, Rav Ashkenazi concerned himself with the needs of each and every student. He worked tirelessly, like a father for his own son, in order to ensure that the students, and their Roshei Yeshiva, including Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, would be able to dedicate their time and energy to uninterrupted Torah study.

His help went beyond providing them with the basic necessities. Rav Ashkenazi headed a committee of Russian Jews who financed the first part of the reprinting of books for the Yeshiva students. The first offset volume was tractate Gittin, of which 250 copies were printed in May, 1942. The printing became a cause of public celebration in Shanghai. As one Polish non-observant journalist wrote upon witnessing the scene, "One who did not witness the Amshenover Rebbe and Yeshiva students dance at receiving this marvelous gift has never seen true Jewish joy and felt the secret of the Jew's eternity" (Kranzler, p. 434). The project eventually reached close to 100 titles, including all the tractates of Gemara, the Chumash and commentaries, Rambam, and other Halachic and ethical works, and even original Torah journals written by the Yeshiva students themselves.

When the Japanese forced all of the refugees into the Hongkew ghetto, Rav Ashkenazi saved the lives of a number of students who had refused the orders of the Japanese gestapo orders to relocate to a certain building in Hongkew. The building was occupied by gentile drunkards, ex-convicts, and other derelicts, and the Yeshiva students adamantly refused to reside with the dregs of Shanghai society. After a violent demonstration at the offices of the committee in charge of relocating the refugees, 33 students were arrested and jailed. It was only through the intervention of Rav Ashkenazi that they were set free and saved from severe punishment. (The students' revolt ultimately saved their lives in another way. The building to which they were to be located was later hit by a bomb in an air-raid and completely demolished.) (Kranzler, p. 530)

The Rebbetzin, too, toiled to help the Yeshiva students to such an extent that they called her "the mother of all the refugees." Like a devoted mother, she perceived and tended to the students' needs. For the students of marriageable age, she endeavored to find matches among the worthy daughters of the refugees. She was in charge of a charitable fund designated for young brides and grooms, and she personally cooked the meals for the weddings of the Yeshiva students, with the assistance of her sister-in-law (Rav Ashkenazi's sister).

When the Rav and Rebbetzin learned that the Kallah of an eminent Rosh Yeshiva's son (who himself would later become one of the most prominent Roshei Yeshiva in America) had arrived, they brought her into their home and cared for her like their own daughter for the duration of her stay in Shanghai. (This woman's son, and Rebbetzin Ashkenazi's great-granddaughter, married each other nearly 50 years later.)

In addition to the students of the Mirrer Yeshiva, there were individuals and small groups of students from other Polish and Lithuanian Yeshivas, including Kaminetz, Baranovich, Pinsk, Lublin, Kletsk, and Lubavitch. Upon their arrival, Rav Ashkenazi established a Yeshiva for them so that they could continue their studies, and he served as their Rosh Yeshiva, despite his many other responsibilities. The Yeshiva was named "Yeshivas Mizrach ha'Rachok," and it published a number of original Torah journals which included some of Rav Ashkenazi's own Talmudic lectures and ethical discourses. (Bernstein, p. 1273-1274)

Whence Will Come My Help

Basic sustenance in Shanghai was the primary challenge for the refugees during the war years, and Rav Ashkenazi rose to this challenge with all of his might. In reference to this, one eminent Rosh Yeshiva, who had been a refugee in Shanghai, told a grandchild of Rav Ashkenazi, "Your grandfather, that Tzaddik, saved an entire world of Torah when it stood at the verge of destruction."

As mentioned earlier, he did not hesitate to call upon the established Sephardic and Russian Jews to contribute their resources to help their brethren. However, much of the internal support ceased when Japan entered the War and occupied Shanghai in December, 1941, just after Pearl Harbor. At that time, all enemy nationals -- including the wealthiest Sephardic Jews of Shanghai who held British citizenship -- were interred in detainment camps, their bank accounts frozen, and their businesses taken over by the Japanese. The 4,000 Russian Jews of Shanghai were left alone by the Japanese, because they held citizenship in a nation recognized by Japan, and because of a mutual neutrality pact signed with Russia in mid-1941. However, the War took a heavy toll on their income, and virtually all businesses suffered.

The primary source of support for most of the refugees, especially when internal support was curtailed after Pearl Harbor, was the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). However, in May of 1942, in a move that dumbfounded even the Japanese, the JDC in New York declared that it would no longer send any money to, or even communicate with, its representative in Shanghai, in compliance with America's "Trading With the Enemy Act." The main source of relief for the refugees was cut off.

Through the ceaseless efforts of a number of individuals around the globe, the refugees in Shanghai were spared starvation. Rav Avraham Kalmanowitz, zt'l, and other leaders of Va'ad Hatzalah in America managed to circumvent the law, for the sake of saving Jewish lives, and sent money to Shanghai via neutral countries, with the help of such selfless individuals as the Sternbuch family in Switzerland, and Rav Wolbe and Rav Jacobson in Sweden. Illicit means were used to transfer money to Shanghai.

Eventually, largely due to the efforts of Rav Kalmanowitz, the United States redefined its Trading With the Enemy Act, and in March of 1944 the JDC resumed its major role in providing financial support to the refugees in Shanghai. During this entire period, throughout the war years, it was Rav Ashkenazi -- who held an officially-recognized position in Shanghai and was not a citizen of an enemy nation -- to whom the transferred funds were sent, and who assumed responsibility for distributing them. He did this at great personal risk, for if the source of the money (i.e. an enemy nation, the United States) was discovered, the repercussions would be catastrophic. Rav Ashkenazi was indeed brought to jail for interrogation by the Japanese gestapo on a number of occasions; knowing well that he might not return, he always brought his Tallis and Tefillin with him. He ignored pleas that he stop endangering his life, for he knew that the money he was receiving was saving the lives of hundreds of Torah scholars and he was prepared to risk imprisonment, torture, and death in order to fulfill his role as G-d's emissary to save his fellow Jews. He conducted himself in this way from mid-1942 until the war ended in August, 1945.

Opening their Home, Caring for the Ill

To open one's home to a single family in need for a week, a month, or six months would certainly be considered a great act of Hachnasas Orchim. It is beyond our scope of experience to imagine the extent to which the Ashkenazis fulfilled this Mitzvah. For many years, from the beginning of the influx of refugees into Shanghai until the end of the war in 1945, the Ashkenazis' home was host to hundreds of families and individuals. (-As described by Rav Yaakov Nayman, shlit'a, a confidante of Rav Ashkenazi in Shanghai who witnessed the Ashkenazis' acts of Hachnasas Orchim daily.)

Another significant challenge in Shanghai, especially during the war years, was the sanitary conditions. Amoebic dysentery, typhoid fever, beri-beri, cholera, and other tropical diseases plagued the refugee community. In this area, it was Rebbetzin Ashkenazi who rose to the challenge. Every day she visited the sick and helped provide them with their needs. Often, her home became a clinic for deathly ill residents, where she waited on them without rest. She trusted in her Creator to protect her from the highly contagious diseases as she involved herself in this important Mitzvah. The lives of many ill refugees were saved due to her care. One of the many Yeshiva students helped by the Rebbetzin when deathly ill is today a renowned Rosh Yeshiva in New York. At the Rebbetzin's funeral, he expressed to her family his profound appreciation for the Rebbetzin.

A Pure Soul Returns to its Maker

In 1949, after the thousands of refugees had left and most of the original Jewish residents of Shanghai dispersed to other places around the globe, Rav Meir Ashkenazi and his wife left Shanghai, shortly before the Communists came to power there. They came to New York, where their two daughters (who had left Shanghai earlier) and their families lived, and they settled in Crown Heights, where he was accorded much homage and esteem. Rav Ashkenazi spent his final years learning Torah and serving G-d in holiness and purity. On the 26th of Av (August 25), 1954, the life that had been totally dedicated to G-d's service came to an end.

 

References

Bernstein, A., Porges, Y., and Naveh, Y. (2001). HaZerichah B'Pa'atei Kedem (Hebrew). Bnei Brak: Merkaz Prager - Machon l'Moreshet Yisrael, ch. 46.
Kirzner-Weiss, F. For My Fathers, For My Children. Jerusalem. 2000.
Kranzler, D. (1976). Japanese, Nazis, and Jews: The Refugee Community of Shanghai, 1938-1945. New York: Yeshiva University Press; personal conversation with author.
Tokayer, M. and Swartz, M. (1979). Desperate Voyagers. New York: Dell Publishing Co.
Cohen, Pogrow, et al interviews

Yisroel Shaw studies in and writes for Kollel Iyun Hadaf (email yshaw@dafyomi.co.il) in Jerusalem. His wife is a great-granddaughter of Rav Meir and Toiba Ashkenazi.

His website is www.dafyomi.co.il an amazing website of numerous sources, free downloads and an amazing amount of TORAH , mostly connected with DAF HAYOMI , the daily learning of a DAF of GEMORRA a day .

( please also see article on Reb Chaim Leib Shmulevitz Rosh Yeshivah in Mir-Poland, Mir-Shanghai - as the whole yeshiva found safety in Shanghai during the war )

 

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Chassidish Rebbes are mainly Polish Rabbis whom focused on serving God through love, happiness and kindness.

Famous Rabbis

please select The Aderes: Rav Eliyahu Dovid Rabinowitz - Te'imim (YN) Yarzheit 3rd Adar The Baba Sali, Rav Yisroel Abuchatzeira ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 4th Shevat Alter of Slobodke by his talmid HaRav Meir Chodosh (DD) Yarzheit 29th Shevat Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 20th Adar Rav Meir Ashkenazi zt'l - The Rav of Shanghai - Yarzheit 26th Av 1954 Rav Zelig Reuven Bengis ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 7th Sivan Rabbeinu Yosef Chaim ben Eliyahu , The Ben Ish Chai . Yarzheit 13th Elul Rabbi Aharon Yoseif Baksht (JO) Yarzheit 16th Tammuz HaRav Simcha Ziskind Broide zt"l (DD) Yarzheit 19th Nissan The Chasam Sofer (YN) Yarzheit 25th Tishrei The Chofetz Chaim , Reb Yisroel Meir Kagan Yarzheit 24th Elul The "Chofetz Chaim" (JO) Yarzheit 24th Elul The Chofetz Chaim Comes to Vienna (JO) Yarzheit 24th Elul Memories of the Chofetz Chaim (DD) Yarzheit 24th Elul The Chazon Ish (JO) Yarzheit 15th Cheshvan The Chida, Rav Chaim Yosef David Azulai ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 11th Adar The Chida (DD) Yarzheit 11th Adar A Mashgiach Par Excellence Rav Meir Halevi Chodosh, ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 28th Teves Dr. Leo Deutschlander (JO) Yarzheit 9th Av HaRav Yehoshua Leib Diskin (DD) Yarzheit 29th Teves Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler (JMR) Yarzheit 24th Teves HaRav Yehoshua Leib Diskin (DD) Yarzheit 29th Teves The Rebbe Reb Yehonossan Eibeshitz, Author of Yaaros Devash . Yarzheit 21st Elul Rav Meir Zvi Ehrentreu Z"TL (YN) Yarzheit 6th Elul Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein (YN) Yarzheit 10th Kislev Rabbi Avraham Abba Freedman (YN) Shraga and Golda Frank (JO Rav Binyomin Beinush Finkel of Mir ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 18th Shevat Rav Yisroel Yaakov Fisher (YN Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, The Telzer Rosh Yeshiva . Yarzheit 4th Adar Rabbi Moshe Yitzchok Gerwirczman (JO) Yarzheit 10th Tishrei Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzensky (JO) Yarzheit 5th Av HaRav Gifter ZT"L - Rosh Yeshiva Telz USA Yarzheit 16th Sivan Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner yarzheit 23rd Tishrei Rav Tzvi Grossbard (YN) Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch (YN) Yarzheit 27th Teves Rav Yosef Yoizel Horowitz ZT"L The Alter of Novardok (YN) Yarzheit 17th Kislev Rav Yitzchak Hutner (Jewish Action) with photos Yarzheit 20th Kislev Rabbi Avraham Kalmanowitz zt"l (JO) HaRav Avrohom Tzvi Hirsch Kamai zt'l, Hy'd, (DD) Yarzheit 18th Cheshvan Rabbi Avrohom Karp , yarzheit 19th of Elul The Kaf HaChaim (YN) Reb Yaakov Chaim Sofer, Yarzheit 9th Sivan Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky (DD) Yarzheit 29th Adar Kelme - An Uprooted Tree Reb Dovid Kronglas (JO) Rabbi Yoseif Kahaneman The Ponevezer Rov (JO) Yarzheit 20th Elul HaRav Chaim Kreiswirth, zt"l, on his first Yahrtzeit (DD) Yarzheit Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook (WMM) with photos from the world Mizrachi Website Yarzheit 3rd Elul A Letter by Rav Kook Yarzheit 3rd Elul Rav Kook's Mission to America Rav Moshe Landynski zt"l (YN) Yarzheit 18th Adar Reb Baruch Ber Lebowitz (JO) Yarzheit 5th Kislev Rav Alexander Moshe Lapidus ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 10th Adar HaRav Yechezkel Levenstein Zt'l, (DD) Yarzheit 18th Adar Rav Yerucham Levovitz, zt"l (YN) Yarzheit 18th Sivan Reb Yisrael Yaakov Lubchansky (JO The Maharam (YN) Yarzheit 4th Adar The Maharsha (YN) Yarzheit 5th Kislev The Marharshal (YN) Yarzheit 12th Kislev Remembrances of Mir Yeshiva The MeAm Loez (JO) Rabbi Yaakov Culi , Yarzheit 19th Av Rav Chaim Chizkiya Medini (The Sdei Chemed) Yarzheit 24th Kislev Rav Avigdor Miller ZT"L (YN). Yarzheit 17th Nissan Rabbi Avigdor Miller (JO) with photos . Yarzheit 17th Nissan Rabbi Avigdor Miller ZT"L Yarzheit 17th Nissan The Shoel Umeishiv -R' Yosef Shaul Natansohn (DD) Yarzheit 26th Adar The Netziv Reb Natoli Yehuda Zvi Berlin ( Bar - Ilan ) Yarzheit 28th Av The Noda B'Yehuda (YN) Reb Yechezkel Halevi Landau, Yarzheit 17th Iyar The World of Novaradok (JO) HaRav Yehuda Leib Nekritz (DD) Yazrheit 27th Sivan The Or Sameach (YN) Reb Meir Simcha Hakohen of Dvinsk , Yarzheit 4th Elul The Ponevezher Rabbonim: HaRav Itzele Ponevezher , Yarzheit 21st Adar 1 Reb Pesach Puskin (JO) Yarzheit 11th Cheshvan The Rambam (YN) Reb Moshe ben Maimon , Yarzheit 20th Teves The Rif: (YN) Reb Yitzchak AlFasi , Yarzheit 10th Iyar HaRav Yitzchok Isaac Halevi Rabinowitz, zt'l Author Of Doros Horishonim The Rogatchover (JO) Yarzheit 11th Adar 1 Reb Meshulam Roth yarzheit 16th Kislev Rabbi Yehoshua Zelig Ruch (JG), the Lomza Rosh Hayeshiva Rav Yechezkel of Sarna (YN) Yarzheit 6th Elul Reb Meir Shapiro yarzheit 7th Cheshvan The Maharam Schick - Reb Moshe Schick , Yarzheit 1st Shevat Reb Yehuda Zev Segal ZT"L,The Manchester Rosh Yeshiva Yarzheit 22nd Shevat The Brisker Legacy The Soleveitchik Family (JO) Remembering Reb Chaim Brisker - Reb Chaim Soleveitchik (JO) Yarzheit 21st Av Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik [Beis Haleivi] (YN) Yarzheit 4th Iyar Rav Aharon Soleveitchik yarzheit 18th tishrei Rav Zalman Sorotzkin ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 9th Tammuz Rav Yitzchok Elchonon Spector ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 21st Adar HaRav Yechezkel Sarna Part I (DD) Yarzheit 29th Shevat Reb Moshe Schwab (JO) HaRav Shmuel Hillel Shenker zt'l (DD) Yarzheit 27th Teves Rav Yitzchok Eizek Sher (YN) Yarzheit 10th Shevat The Shloh Hakodosh (DD) Yarzheit 11th Nissan Rabbi Chaim Leib Shmulevitz (JO) Yarzheit 3rd Teves Rabbi Michel Dovid Slapobersky (JG) Yarzheit 10th Tishrei Rav Elozar Schach (YN) Yarzheit 16th Cheshvan Rav Elozar Schach (YN) by Rav Mordechai Kamenetsky Rav Elazar Menachem Man Schach ZT"L (JOL) yarzheit 16th Cheshvan Rav Avraham Shaag ZT"L (YN) The Steipler Gaon, Zt'l (DD) Yarzheit 25th Av Rav Teitz , Yarzheit 4th Teves Reb Elchonon Wasserman (JO) Yarzheit 13th Tammuz HaRav Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss, the Minchas Yitzchok zt'l (DD) Yarzheit 11th Sivan Rabbi Michael Ber Weissmandl (JO) Yarzheit 6th Kislev

Famous Sefardic Rabbis

Rabbis who originally came from Mediterranean countries like Spain , North Africa, Italy and the Middle East like Israel, Syria, Yemen and Iraq . The Name "Sefard" is the hebrew word for Spain - hence Sefardic jews originated from Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, who fled to North Africa and even as far as South America with Columbus .

please select The Baba Sali, Rav Yisroel Abuchatzeira ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 4th Shevat The Ben Ish Chai Yarzheit 13th Elul The Chida, Rav Chaim Yosef David Azulai ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 11th Adar The Chida (DD) Yarzheit 11th Adar The Kaf HaChaim (YN) Reb Yaakov Chaim Sofer, Yarzheit 9th Sivan The MeAm Loez (JO) Rabbi Yaakov Culi , Yarzheit 19th Av Rav Chaim Chizkiya Medini (The Sdei Chemed) Yarzheit 24th Kislev The Rambam (YN) Reb Moshe ben Maimon , Yarzheit 20th Teves The Rif: (YN) Reb Yitzchak AlFasi , Yarzheit 10th Iyar

Famous Rabbis - Baalei Mussar

Baalei Mussar Rabbis who believed in strict self control and discipline in the service to GOD

please select Rabbi Segal Manchester Rosh Yeshiva 22nd Shevat Rabbi Gordon Telzer Rosh Yeshiva 5th Adar 1 The Alter of Slobodke by his talmid HaRav Meir Chodosh (DD) Yarzheit 29th Shevat Rabbi Aharon Yoseif Baksht (JO) Yarzheit 16th Tammuz HaRav Simcha Ziskind Broide zt"l (DD) Yarzheit 19th Nissan Rav Meir Halevi Chodosh, ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 28th Teves Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler (JMR) Yarzheit 24th Teves Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein (YN) Yarzheit 10th Kislev Shraga and Golda Frank (JO) HaRav Gifter ZT"L - Rosh Yeshiva Telz USA Yarzheit 16th Sivan Rav Yosef Yoizel Horowitz ZT"L The Alter of Novardok (YN) Yarzheit 17th Kislev Rav Yitzchak Hutner (Jewish Action) with photos Yarzheit 20th Kislev Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky (DD) Yarzheit 29th Adar Reb Dovid Kronglas (JO) Kelme - An Uprooted Tree Rav Alexander Moshe Lapidus ZT"L (YN) Yarzheit 10th Adar HaRav Yechezkel Levenstein Zt'l, (DD) Yarzheit 18th Adar Rav Yerucham Levovitz, zt"l (YN) Yarzheit 18th Sivan Reb Yisrael Yaakov Lubchansky (JO) Rav Avigdor Miller ZT"L (YN). Yarzheit 17th Nissan Rabbi Avigdor Miller (JO) with photos . Yarzheit 17th Nissan In the Words of Rabbi Avigdor Miller ZT"L Yarzheit 17th Nissan The World of Novaradok (JO) HaRav Yehuda Leib Nekritz (DD) Yazrheit 27th Sivan Rabbi Yehoshua Zelig Ruch (JG), the Lomza Rosh Hayeshiva HaRav Yechezkel Sarna Part I (DD) Yarzheit 29th Shevat Reb Moshe Schwab (JO) HaRav Shmuel Hillel Shenker zt'l (DD) Yarzheit 27th Teves Rav Yitzchok Eizek Sher (YN) Yarzheit 10th Shevat The Shloh Hakodosh (DD) Yarzheit 11th Nissan Rabbi Chaim Leib Shmulevitz (JO) Yarzheit 3rd Teves Rabbi Michel Dovid Slapobersky (JG) Yarzheit 10th Tishrei

Famous Rabbis Yarzheit's

A complete list of famous Rabbis and Rebbes Yarzheit's - Anniversary of passing from this world .

Please click on any of the Jewish months below to see the "yarzheit's" of famous rabbis .

Nissan   Iyar   Sivan   Tammuz   Av   Elul   Tishrei   Cheshvan   Kislev   Teves   Shevat   Adar