Letter from Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Kaplan, Rosh Yeshiva of ‘Toras Chesed’ in Brisk – Controversy Regarding the Shadar (Emissary)
This letter was written by Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Kaplan, the revered Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Toras Chesed in Brisk, to Rabbi Meir Leib Gurwitz, the Rav of the Kollel in Australia, in Nisan 1937 (Teretz).
In this letter, Rabbi Yisrael Chaim requests that Rabbi Gurwitz supervise Mr. Moshe Froman, who had been acting as a Shadar (Emissary) for Yeshiva Toras Chesed. Rabbi Kaplan expresses his concerns after hearing that Froman might be working for another yeshiva. Furthermore, Froman still owes money to the Yeshiva from his fundraising trip to Africa and has not yet provided an account of his collected funds. Therefore, Rabbi Kaplan asks that Rabbi Gurwitz ensure Froman is not raising funds for any other yeshivas and even suggests publicizing the matter throughout the Jewish communities in Australia until a decision is made.
The letter is fully written in the hand of Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Kaplan and is signed by him.
Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Kaplan (1895-1970) was born in Raznik and studied in Yeshivas Radin under the guidance of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (the Chafetz Chaim). He was deeply influenced by the teachings of Rabbi Yerucham Leibowitz and later followed him to Yeshivas Mir, where he also served as a Rosh Yeshiva. After his marriage to Rabbi Yerucham’s daughter in 1924, he succeeded Rabbi Moshe Sakalausky, the author of ‘Imrei Moshe’, as the head of Yeshiva Toras Chesed in Brisk. He continued his role as a leader of Torah and Yeshiva until the outbreak of World War II. During the war, he fled with Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski to Vilna, where he re-established his yeshiva. He later traveled to Siberia and Japan with the Mir Yeshiva, eventually arriving in the United States in 1941, where he became a Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva Torah V’Daas and later at Yeshiva Beis Midrash Elyon in Monsey. He was known for his unwavering commitment to the values of his teachers, particularly the Chafetz Chaim, and it is said that he never spoke Lashon Hara throughout his life. His son-in-law was Rabbi Baruch Dov Povarsky, Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh Yeshiva.
