Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 04:25, 19 March 2010

Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach (Template:Lang-he) (or Rav Leizer Shach, at times his name is written as Eliezer Schach in English publications) (January 1, 1899 - November 2, 2001) was a leading Eastern European-born and educated Haredi rabbi who settled and lived in modern Israel.

He joined Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky as a rosh yeshiva ("dean") of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak, one of the pre-eminent yeshivos of Lithuanian Jewry. The two were later joined by a third Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Dovid Povarsky. Years later, Shach founded the Degel HaTorah political party representing Lithuanian Ashkenazi Jews in the Israeli Knesset, many of whom considered him to be the Gadol HaDor ("great one of the generation") and used the honorific Maran (" master") when referring to him.

He was recognized as a Talmudic scholar par excellence by both Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (the Brisker Rav) and Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer (his wife's uncle) in their approbations to his Avi Ezri, a commentary on the Mishneh Torah.

Life in Europe

Shach was born in Wabolnick (Vabalninkas, pronounced Vaboilnik in Yiddish), a rural village in northern Lithuania to Rabbi Ezriel and Batsheva Shach. The Shach family had been merchants for generations but Batsheva's family, the Levitans, were religious scholars who served various Lithuanian communities. Batsheva's brother, Rabbi Nisan Levitan, later became an important figure in the Union of Orthodox Rabbis. Elazar was a child prodigy, and was sent to study in the Ponevezh yeshiva at age seven. At thirteen he moved on to the Slabodka yeshiva, where he caught the attention of its dean, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, as well as Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, dean of the Slutsk yeshiva. He soon became one of Meltzer's favorite pupils, beginning a lifelong relationship of mutual friendship and respect.

When World War I began in 1914, many of the Slabodka yeshiva students were dispersed across Europe. Shach initially returned to his family but then began traveling across Lithuania from town to town, sleeping and eating wherever he could while studying with tremendous diligence in local synagogues, continuing to study Torah "as if there were no war" . After the war Shach rejoined Meltzer and his son-in-law, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, in Kletsk, Poland. When Meltzer returned to Slutsk, Shach followed him (the Slutsk yeshiva later gained fame as the Lakewood yeshiva in America).

Meltzer became both a father figure and patron to the young Shach, even arranging his marriage with his niece, Guttel, in 1923. Shach received rabbinical ordination from Meltzer, and from 1927 to 1932 taught in the Kletsk yeshiva. He served as rosh yeshiva in Lublin, then taught Talmud at the Novardok yeshiva as well. In 1936 he became rosh yeshiva at the Karlin yeshiva in Luninets.

Escaping to the British Mandate of Palestine

Shortly before the start of World War II and the Holocaust, several yeshivas began considering evacuating their rabbis, students and families. Kotler eventually left for America, travelling across Siberia and arriving in the United States during the war. In 1939 Shach first went to Vilna, where he stayed with Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Later that year both Shach's mother and his eldest daughter fell ill and died. In early 1940 the Shach family decided to leave Lithuania. Shach's maternal uncle, Rabbi Aron Levitan, had helped Kotler get emigration visas, but Shach decided instead to go to Palestine, where Meltzer was serving as Rosh Yeshiva at Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem, (Shach would later serve as the Rosh Yeshiva there as well). His uncle helped him and his family get immigration certificates and took them in after they arrived at his doorstep, destitute.

Several years after the re-establishment of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak, he was asked to be one of its deans. He served in that capacity until his passing. At this yeshiva, Shach taught thousands of students, some of whom eventually assumed prominent positions as roshei yeshiva and rabbis in both Israel and abroad.

Rabbinical career

Shach, was a revered spiritual mentor of more than 100,000 rigorously Orthodox Jews, and was credited by many for promoting the concept of the "society of learners" in the post-war Haredi world. With his strong encouragement, the phenomenon of Haredi men studying in yeshivas and kollels full-time gained popularity. Although this type of setup had been comparatively rare in Europe before World War II, it became the norm in some Haredi communities in Israel and the United States, with some financial backing from Haredi communities, as well as subsidies to young families with many children from the Israeli government.

Approximately 200,000 people attended Shach's funeral.

Political life

Shach was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah beginning the 1970s, having been appointed to that body by the Chazon Ish; during this time Shach is said to have noticed the second-class situation of Sephardim in Israel, including Haredi Sephardim, who at that time were without any real political representation and generally voted for the Likud or Agudat Israel. In an attempt to give the Sephardim more political influence, Shach had been instrumental in the formation of the Sephardi Shas party, which is now under the sole spiritual leadership of his one-time ally, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Shas ran for the 11th Knesset in 1984, and Shach called upon his "Lithuanian" followers to vote for it in the polls, a move that many saw as key political and religious move in Shach's split with Agudat Israel. While initially Shas was largely under the aegis of Shach, Yosef gradually exerted control over the party, culminating in Shas' decision to support the Labor party in the 13th Knesset in 1992, something both Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel opposed.

On the eve of the November 1988 election, Shach officially broke away from Agudat Israel in protest at Hamodia publishing, as paid advertisements, a series of articles based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Shach criticized Schneerson for his presumed messianic aspirations. Shach wanted the Aguda party to oppose Lubavitch, however all but one of the Hasidic sects within the party refused to back him. Shach and his followers then formed the Degel HaTorah ("Flag of Torah") party to represent the non-Hasidic Ashkenazi Haredim. Schneerson mobilized his followers to support the Agudat Israel party, and his efforts were largely responsible for Aguda's success at the polls. Aguda secured nearly three times the amount of votes it had in 1984, and increased its Knesset representation from two seats to five. Degel HaTorah won two seats. After the bitter contest in the 1988 elections, Degel HaTorah agreed in the 1992 elections to work together with Agudat Israel under the name of United Torah Judaism, an agreement which has continued until the present.

Around 1995 Shach's political involvement diminished, following deterioration in his health, before later ceasing altogether. Since then, the two main leaders of the party have been Rabbis Elyashiv and Aryeh Leib Shteinman, of whom Elyashiv is more prominent.

Shach was deeply opposed to Zionism, both religious and secular. He was fiercely dismissive of secular Israelis and their culture. For example, during a 1990 speech he lambasted kibbutzniks as "breeders of rabbits and pigs" who did not "know what Yom Kippur is". In the same speech he said that the Labor Party had cut themselves off from their Jewish past and wished to "seek a new Torah". Shach never seemed concerned over the discord his harsh statements might cause, saying that "There is no need to worry about machlokes...one is obligated to be a baal-machlokes. It is no feat to be in agreement with everybody!" Shach was also critical of democracy, once referring to it as a "cancer", adding that "only the sacred Torah is the true democracy." Shach supported the withdrawal from land, under the Halakhic principle of Pikuach Nefesh ("the saving of a life"), in which the preservation of lives takes precedence over nearly all other obligations in the Torah, including those pertaining to the sanctity of land. He also criticized Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (at that time mainly settled by secular and Religious Zionist Jews) as "a blatant attempt to provoke the international community", and called on Haredim to avoid moving to such communities.

After Shach's death, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon noted appreciation for his work. "There is no doubt that we have lost an important person who made his mark over many years. I express condolences on behalf of all of us; we share in the mourning and sorrow of his family and the haredi community."

When a delegation of rabbis, headed by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, begged him to travel to the United States to collect money for Chinuch Atzmai, he promised to think about it. They promised that he could return after three days at most, so as not to cause much bitul Torah. A short while later, Shach phoned Feinstein and told him that despite his desire to help the campaign, he would not be able to make the trip. “When I arrive in America, a large crowd will be waiting for me. I won’t be able to tolerate that honor,” he explained his refusal to go. “Every person has to make his utmost effort to help, but the honor that they accord me will be beyond what I can tolerate.”

Opposition to the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Shach launched a number of public attacks against the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, from the 1970s through Schneerson's death in 1994. He accused Schneerson's followers of false Messianism, and Schneerson of fomenting a cult of crypto-messianism around himself. He objected to Schneerson's call for "demanding" the Messiah's appearance, despite Schneerson having cited Rabbinical precedent for this, including that of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim), one of the most important figures of the 20th century Torah world. When some of Schneerson's followers identified him as possibly being the Messiah, Shach called for a complete boycott of Chabad, its institutions and projects by its constituents.In 1988 Shach explicitly denounced Schneerson as a meshiach sheker (false messiah). a call in which Shach, again, was not joined by any other Orthodox leaders. Shach also compared Chabad and Schneerson to the followers of the 17th century false messiah Sabbatai Zevi.

Pointing to a statement by Schneerson that a rebbe is "the Essence and Being placed into a body", Shach described this as nothing short of idolatry. His followers refused to eat meat slaughtered by Lubavitch shochetim or to recognize Chabad Hasidim as adherents of authentic Judaism.

Shach once described Schneerson as "the madman who sits in New York and drives the whole world crazy.".

In addition to Shach's objections to certain Chabad members proclaiming Schneerson to be the Messiah, he also argued against the Chabad position on many other issues. In the early 1980s, Shach, together with Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky (the "Steipler"),issued proclamations strongly condemning the Lag BaOmer parades that Chabad has been holding around the world since the 1940s. Chabad strongly opposed both peace talks with the Palestinians and relinquishing territory to them under any circumstances, while Shach supported the land-for-peace approach. During the 1988 elections, Schneerson endorsed Agudat Israel over Shach's newly-formed Degel HaTorah party, and instructed Israeli Chabad to campaign for it. In the resulting shake-up, Shachs Degel HaTorah posted very weak results, with both the Agudat Israel and Shas parties each garnering approximately three times as many votes as Degel HaTorah. This was the worst showing of any religious party in Israels 1988 election. Despite the refusal of other religious groups to join, Shach's war against Chabad/Lubavitch and its leader was unrelenting. He is quoted as saying: "I have heard claims made in my name that at a gathering connected with the upcoming elections, I said the people of Chabad are not Jews. I publicly announce that in malice do they distort my words! I spoke in Hebrew, and this is what I said: what they do is not the "Jewish" way. They distorted my words on purpose to damage and libel me for they think that from this they will derive some benefit and gather more votes in these elections. And when they claimed that I called them the children of an impure woman, I testify before heaven and earth that I never said words such as these but only criticized their effort to build a ritual bath that was not in line with the standards of the Chazon Ish, may the memory of this righteous man be a blessing... I do not forgive anyone who fabricates words on his own and then says that I said them. And with this I request that each and every one will pass these words to his fellow."

Opposition to other Orthodox Rabbis and Groups

In addition to his criticism of Schneerson, Shach was critical of the following Rabbis:

In a lengthy attack on Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Shach accused him of writing heresy and things "that are forbidden to hear", and "...endangering the survival of Torah-true Judaism by indoctrinating the masses with heresy".

Rav Adin Steinsaltz (Even-Yisrael), was likewise accused of heresy by Shach, who, in a letter written two days before Rosh HaShana 5749, wrote that "…and similarly all his other works contain heresy. It is forbidden to debate with Steinsaltz, because, as a heretic, all the debates will only cause him to degenerate more. He is not a genuine person (ein tocho ke-baro) and everyone is obliged to distance themselves from him. This is the duty of the hour (mitzvah be-sha’atah). It will generate merit for the forthcoming Day of Judgement."

He was also critical of Rabbi Yehuda (Leo) Levi and various others.

In a conversation that he had with an American rabbi in the 1980s, Shach stated, "The Americans think that I am too controversial and divisive. But in a time when no one else is willing to speak up on behalf of our true tradition, I feel myself impelled to do so."

Position regarding Hassidim and Hassidut in general

Shach wrote that he was not at all opposed to chassidim and chassidus (including Chassidus Chabad from the previous generations); he said he recognized them as "yera'im" and "shlaymim" (God-fearing and wholesome) and full of Torah and Mitzvos and fear of heaven.

Support from Litvishe Haredi leaders

In 1982 when the honor and standing of Rabbi Shach were challenged by various segments of the Orthodox press, Rabbi Elya Svei led the protest for his honor. In a rousing address to the thousands of bnei Torah attending a rally to this end, Svei explained that “the nikleh, the boor, fails to distinguish between weighty matters and insignificant ones; to him all is kal, of little importance. The nichbad, the honorable man, is one who finds gravity, kveidus, in everything because every gesture carries potential for kovod shamayim.”

Whenever it would come to signing a public proclamation or letter on behalf of Klal Yisrael, the Steipler insisted that Shach's signature appear before his. It was not uncommon for the Steipler to come to Shach unannounced in order to consult with him on a matter of vital concern for the Jewish people.

Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum had wanted so much l’achar mei’ah v’esrim shanah to speak in learning with Shach, and Rav Moshe Feinstein. But he was concerned that since they were tremendous tzadikim and had suffered greatly, he would not be put within their sphere in Shamayim. He felt he needed yesurim to reach their madreigah.

Rabbi Noach Weinberg had an extraordinarily close relationship with Rabbi Shach, which often brought him to Rabbi Shach's door.

Rabbi Yechezkel Levenstein once called Rabbi Shach the "greatest ba'al chessed of our generation"

• "Rav Shach shmekt ois. Rav Shach can sense a dangerous situation much quicker than I can."- Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld

• "If someone takes the burden of the klal upon himself, it stems from concern for each and every individual. We find this with the gedolim. . . This means that although the foundation of our life and vitality is certainly limud hatorah, where there is no one to make the dejected happy, the Torah itself obligates those who study it to go and cheer them up. The Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh, personified this. He was the father for individuals and therefore carried the burden of the klal." - Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Shapiro

• "The essence of this rally is not only in the words of chizuk we have heard this evening; it is truly an assembly of Torah, and how much more so, since we have merited hearing daas Torah and pure hashkafah from Maran, the rosh yeshiva, may Hashem lengthen his days and years until the coming of the Redeemer, and grant us the privelege of hearing the voice of Hashem on high for many more years." - Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach, the Belzer Rebbe, speaking at the Degel HaTorah convention at Yad Eliyahu Arena on March 26, 1990

Family

Shach had three children, all born in Kletsk in the 1920s: Miriam Raisel, Devorah, and Ephraim. Miriam Raisel died as a teenager in 1939 of pneumonia. Devorah married Rabbi Meir Tzvi Bergman, a Torah scholar in Israel, and had several children. Ephraim was unsatisfied with the Haredi lifestyle and eventually became a member of the Religious Zionist camp. He served in the Israel Defense Forces, received a doctorate in history and philosophy, and presently works as a supervisor for the Israel Ministry of Education.

Rebbetzin Guttel Schach died in 1969 from complications relating to diabetes.

Bibliography

• Avi Ezri - Commentary on Yad ha-Chazaka of Rambam
• Yigias Erev - Lectures (from later years) on various masechtos
• Bais Hamedrash - Lectures given in Yeshivas Rashbi in Bnei Brak
• Gilyonos Minchas Chinuch - Comments on Minchat Chinuch
• Mishnas Rabbeinu - Compilation of letters which include insights on various masechtos
• Kovetz Hadrachah L'ben Yeshiva - Guidance to yeshiva students
• Michavim U'maamarim - Six volumes of letters and articles
• Machsheves Zikainim - Talks said at various times
• Machsheves Mussar - Compilation of mussar talks
• Shimusha shel Torah - By Rabbi Asher Bergman. Two volumes. Volume 1 is Rabbi Shach's memories of various gedolim. Volume 2 is about Rabbi Shach.
• M'rosh Emanah - Thoughts on the weekly Torah portion
• Torascha Shashuai - Thoughts on the weekly Torah portion
• Hamelech Hamishpat - Talks for Elul and Yamim Noraim
• Orchos Hayeshiva - By Rabbi Asher Bergman - A collection of maamarim, sichot and stories from Rabbi shach. On limudei torah and yirat shumayim and hashkafah for bnei yeshivah
• Lulei Toratcha - Stories from the life of Rabbi Shach, as it is related to the weekly Torah portion - Published by Ohr HaSefer
• Haggadah - Rabbi Elazar Menachem Shach - A Pesach Haggadah interwoven with fascinating stories related to Rabbi Shach - Published by Hotzaat Tvunah
• Yeshurun - Volumes 11-12 (In memory of Rabbi Shach) - Contains many Torah discussions from Rabbi Shach

Biographies and stories:

• The Man of Vision: The Ultra-Orthodox Ideology of Rabbi Shach (Ish Ha-Hashkafah: Ha-Ideologia Ha-Haredit al pi HaRav Shach), by Avishay Ben Haim, Mosaica Publishers
• Manhig Shel Dor - Published by Ohr HaSefer
• Maran Rosh Hayeshiva Rav Shach - by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Stern. The first comprehensive biographical sketch to appear in Hebrew after the demise of Rabbi Shach - Published by Israel Book Shop
• Maran Horav Shach - by Rabbi Asher Bergman
• B'Mechitzasam Shel Gedolei HaTorah #1 - By Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz

English Books:

• Path to Greatness - The Life of Maran Harav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, Vol I: Vaboilnik to Bnei Brak (1899-1953) - By Rabbi Asher Bergman. Translated by Yocheved Lavon. Published by Feldheim Publishers, 2009. 634 pages. - ISBN 978-1-59826-440-1
• HaRav Schach: Conversations : Stories to Inspire the Yeshiva World - By Elazar Menachem Man Shakh, Asher Bergman, Yaakov Blinder - Published by Feldheim Publishers, 2004 - ISBN 9781583306710 ISBN 1583306714
• The Rav Shach Haggadah - adapted by Yaakov Blinder from the Hebrew Haggadah Kinyan Torah ; compiled by Asher Bergman in association with Shalom Meir Wallach- Published by ArtScroll / Mesorah, 2003 - ISBN 1578-19737-6 ISBN 978-1578-19737-8
• In Their Shadow: Wisdom and Guidance of the Gedolim Volume One: Chazon Ish, Brisker Rav, Rav Shach - By Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz - Published by Feldheim - ISBN 978-1-59826-207-0
• The Rosh Yeshiva Remembers - Stories that inspire the yeshiva world, as retold by Rabbi Eliezer Menachem Man Shach, shlita - By Rabbi Asher Bergman - translated from the Hebrew by Dovid Oratz - Published by Mesorah Publications 2004 - ISBN 1578194598 ISBN 9781578194599
• Rav Shach on Chumash - an anthology collected from his disciples and those close to him - By Rabbi Asher Bergman - Published by Mesorah Publications - ISBN 1578193613 ISBN 781578193615
• Rav Shach Speaks - Published by Israel Book Shop - A collection of the letters, speeches and writings of Maran HaRav Shach - By Rabbi Asher Bergman, Bnei Brak, Israel 1999. Translated by Gavriel Rubin ; edited for context by Dov B. Lederman ; final editing by M. Rosenzweig.

• Torah Leaders - By The Jewish Observer Mesorah Publications - ISBN 1-57819-773-2

References

1. Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach ZT'L (Jewish Observer) February, 2002.
2. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/27/world/orthodox-leader-in-israel-appears-to-spurn-peres.html?scp=3&sq=Eliezer%20Schach&st=cse
3. Wein, Berel (November 16, 2001). Final Journeys. The Jerusalem Post; Rosenblum, Jonathan (November 16, 2001). How to get 200,000 people to a funeral. The Jerusalem Post; Living Jewish: values, practices and traditions By Berel Wein, page 31;
4. Reich, Bernard (1993). Israel, Land of Tradition and Conflict. Westview Press. {{cite book}}: |first2= missing |last2= (help)
5. http://www.nrg.co.il/online/11/ART/936/156.html
6. How do you like your halakha? (Haaretz) September 28, 2006.
7. http://www.israelemb.org/press/2001/November/2001110500.htm http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Archive/Cabinet/2001/11/Spokesman4356.htm
8. The Scepter of Chesed by Nosson Weiss. Mishpacha Magazine, Issue 132, November 8, 2006, page 23
9. See Mechtavim v'Ma'amorim : Volume 1, Letter 6(page 15), Letter 8(page 19). Volume 3, Statements on pages 100-101, Letter on page 102. Volume 4, letter 349(page 69), letter 351(page 71). Volume 5, letter 533(page 137), letter 535(page 139), speech 569(page 173), statement 570(page 174). See also here: http://hamercaz.com/hamercaz/pics/database/aoi/223_myFile.pdf
10. Independent, The (London), Nov 10, 2001 by David Landau. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20011110/ai_n14431755
11. Chofetz Chaim, Likut al hasiddur-168,C'C al hatorah, par.behar, and similar statements in p.noach. See also the Kol Yaakov, on p' tavo 16
12. ^ Faith and Fate: The Story of the Jewish People in the 20th century, Berel Wein, 2001 by Shaar Press. pg. 340
13. ' A Historian's Polemic Against 'The Madness of False Messianism By Allan Nadler. http://www.rickross.com/reference/lubavitch/lubavitch9.html See also Toward the Millennium: Messianic Expectations from the Bible to Waco By Peter Schäfer, Mark R. Cohen. 1998. pg. 404, footnote 56. http://books.google.com/books?id=AT8GF9EciLEC. See also Michtavim U'maamarim ,
14. Summer of the Messiah (Jerusalem Report) February 14, 2001.
15. Likutei Sichos vol. 2, pp. 510-511. This concept (of Tzadikim being called 'God') is often refererred to in classic Kaballistic and Chassidic texts, such as Pardes Rimonim 16:6 and 22:3 by Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Zohar-2 38a, and Zohar-3 79b, and Sefer Tanya ch. 22 & 23. See also Rashi Bereshit 33:20. Note that the Divrei Shlomo (Venice 1596) writing on p.vaeira, explicitly states that"All the Names of God are actually 'atzmuso umehoso', and not merely descriptive like the other names people give to things..."
16. This, despite the sources cited above. See also Zohar-1 9a, Zohar-2 163b, Mechilta on Exodus 18, Bereishit Rabba 86, Tanchuma Tissa 27, and the well-known Chassidic principle ascribing fundamentally the same status to the soul of any Jew, as elaborated on by R. SZ of Liadi in Tanya ch.2
17. The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference by David Berger, 2001, published by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization of Portland. Page 7.
18. The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present, M. Avrum Ehrlich, Chapter 10, notes, KTAV Publishing, ISBN 0881258369
19. See Michtavim U'maamarim Volume 1 (Edition 2) page 49, Letter of Protest, signed by Rabbi Shach and Kanievsky
20. http://en.wikipedia.org/Israeli_legislative_election,_1988
21. Four of the most prominent halachic authorities of the century, Rav Meir Arik (Imrei Yosher 2:73), Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe Y.D. 3:65) the Satmar Rav (Divrei Yoel Y.D. 80), and Rav Weiss (Minchas Yitzchok 2:92) all agree that this mikveh design is unequivocally kosher, and that according to some poskim it is superior to that of the Chazon Ish.
22. Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry. Poster on pg. 304. By Samuel C. Heilman Published by University of California Press, 2000 ISBN 0520221125, 9780520221123
23. Michtavim U-Ma’amarim, 4:320 & 4:370
24. Michtavim U-Ma’amarim. vol. 4 pp. 67
25. Michtavim U-Ma’amarim vols.1-2, pp.75-6, and p.107-8
26. Michtavim U'Maamaromim 5:533 (pg. 137)
27. Michtavim U'Maamorim 2:23 (pg. 31) 1986 edition.
28. Michtavim U'Maamaromim 5:534 (pg. 138)
29. Guardian of a Sacred Trust - A Tribute to Rav Elya Svei ZTZ"L by Yisroel Besser. Mishpacha Magazine, Issue 253, April 1, 2009, page 41
30. Sunset: Stories of Our Contemporary Torah Luminaries, Zt"l, and Their Spiritual Heroism. Page 175. By Hanoch Teller, Marsi Tabak Published by Feldheim Publishers, 1987
31. http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=1972
32. http://www.aish.com/print/?contentID=48956676&section=/rebNoach/s
33. Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach ZT"L: Forever Available for Any and All by Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz. Prepared for publication by Yonoson Rosenblum. The Jewish Observer. October, 2007.
34. Reb Shlomo - The life and legacy of Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld by Rabbi Yisroel Besser . pg. 126. Judaica Press. Publish Date: 2008-06-12.
35. You Can Make the Difference pg. 378 By C R Wagschal Published by Feldheim Publishers, 2007.
36. The Rebbe and the Rosh Yeshiva by David Damen. Mishpacha Magazine Issue 132, page 30. November 8, 2006.
37. Book preview can be seen at Google Books here http://books.google.com/books?id=PLBoDfvBQ24C&printsec=frontcover

• Rabbi Shach and Lithuanian Anti-Zionism (E.Segal)
• From child genius to ultra-Orthodox leader, 1898-2001, by Shahar Ilan, Haaretz, 2001.

External links

Obituaries:

• Obituary, by Lawrence Joffe, The Guardian
• Obituary by Joel Greenberg, The New York Times
• Obituary in the Jewish Press

Eulogies and Articles about Rabbi Shach:

• from Rav Dayan Binyamin Beeri of Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh
• It Was Torah by Rabbi Avi Shafran
• (Hebrew) Interview with Dr. Ephraim Shach about his father, Rabbi Elazar Shach
• Tzava'a of Rabbi Shach (in Hebrew)

Audio:

• Several Eulogies and rememberances of Rabbi Shach
• Speeches of Rav Shach in Yiddish
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Pesachim
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Yevamos
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Kesubos
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Nedarim
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Gittin
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Kiddushin
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Bava Kamma
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Bava Metziah
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Bava Basra
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Yesh Nochalin
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Sanhedrin
• Shiurim of Rav Shach on Makkos
• Eulogy on Rabbi Shach by Rabbi Aharon Kahn of Yeshiva University
• Rav Shach Returned the Pride of the Sefardim from Aryeh Deri

Videos:

• Video of Rabbi Shach speaking at Degel Hatorah convention at Binyanei HaUma, and convention at Yad Eliyahu Arena (17 minutes into video) on March 26, 1990.

Misc.:

• Teachings of Rabbi Shach (in Hebrew)
• A Rosh Hashana Message from Rav Shach, the Steipler, and Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zt"l

Pictures

• Pictures of Rabbi Shach

• Jewish anti-Zionism
• Haredi rabbis in Israel
• Rosh yeshivas
• Ponevezh yeshiva
• Israeli centenarians
• Lithuanian Jews
• Israelis of Lithuanian descent
• 1898 births
• 2001 deaths