Where What When

Rabbi Herman Neuberger, zt”l

The range, diversity, and volume of Rabbi Herman Neuberger’s good works defy description. Indeed, as Rabbi Yissocher Frand pointed out, no one knows it all. We each have a piece of the picture. Collectively, it is truly impressive.

I had the privilege of interacting with Rabbi Neuberger for over 40 years. And I was one of those who sought and received advice from him at crucial points in my life.

On the international stage, Rabbi Neuberger’s role in rescuing the Iranians is well known. When they arrived in America, he also arranged for Ner Israel to enroll them as students, even though they had little money and less educational background. He raised the money and established special classes. In his usual quiet way, he made many trips to the Middle East and Vienna to assist the rescue process. It is less well known that he was instrumental in assisting Syrian and Russian Jews as well.

At the other end of the spectrum, countless individuals would seek his advice for their personal problems and challenges. I remember one evening a number of years ago at Rabbi Neuberger’s apartment, when he received a telephone call from a woman at the Baltimore-Washington airport on a pay phone. She knew Rabbi Neuberger, and he knew her. She was homeless (and troubled) and the authorities would not let her sleep on one of the chairs at the airport. Rabbi Neuberger took out his personal credit card and instructed me to make arrangements for her to stay at a hotel.

Individuals would seek his advice on issues ranging from family disputes to decisions on education and careers to business matters, to name just a few. He arbitrated business disputes and helped people make business decisions. He had the knack of analyzing problems clearly and seeing viable solutions.

Politicians sought his support before elections and his advice after election on diverse issues. He was extremely well read. (For many years he kept up with a number of leading national newspapers, opinion journals, and even the Congressional Record.) Rabbi Neuberger is probably the only person in America to get calls regularly from both Phyllis Schlafly, a strongly conservative Republican, and Senator Barbara Mikulski, a liberal Democrat.

One day, while sitting in his office, I heard him take a call from an individual. The conversation went on for 10 minutes or so, and as it was winding down, Rabbi Neuberger reminded the caller that Rosh Hashana was coming the next week and Yom Kippur shortly after that. He then exchanged pleasantries and the call ended. Somewhat in amazement, I asked Rabbi Neuberger if he really had the time to take calls from Jews who don’t even know that Rosh Hashana was coming the next week? His answer was yes. Although the caller did not know the date of Rosh Hashana, said Rabbi Neuberger, “he gives a generous contribution to the Yeshiva annually.” Rabbi Neuberger was a practical man.

He took an interest in countless community issues. The various yeshivas counseled with him regularly. As I look back on my years as president of the Talmudical Academy, I don’t know how I could have managed without Rabbi Neuberger’s advice. The same can be said by many lay and professional leaders of local yeshivas and day schools.

He was a major force in the creation of the Association of Advanced Rabbinic and Talmudic Schools (AARTS), a federally approved accreditation association. Today AARTS-accredited schools receive significant federal financial aid each year.

Rabbi Neuberger did not believe in “term limits.” Even after I had served on the accreditation committee of AARTS for over 30 years, he never let me even consider resigning. From the beginning, in 1973, until his petira, he was intimately involved in the work of AARTS, always stressing the need for yeshivas to be straightforward and transparent when dealing with the federal government.

He took an active role in the broader Jewish community. For over 40 years, he was a regular participant in the Baltimore Jewish Council, in particular, and the Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, in general. His advice was so valued by the Council that it made him a Life Member. In the Associated, he took an interest in the work of a number of agencies, particularly JFS, and he encouraged others to do the same. He understood that to have an influence, it was important to participate.

He could be tough minded. He took calculated risks at times. When the BJC was on the brink of supporting proposed legislation which he considered contrary to Torah and dangerous, he not only was against it, but also made it clear he could not continue to participate on the Council if it acted in support. The membership concluded that Rabbi Neuberger’s continued involvement was more important than the legislation.

He had strength of character. Twice he led the fight to assure that the community not publicly violate the Shabbos by opening the Jewish Community Center on Shabbos. Against what many thought impossible odds, he was successful, and to this day our JCC respects the Shabbos.

He was a principled pragmatist. He stayed out of communal disputes which he judged could not be won, when the consequence was not life threatening to the Torah community. When he deemed it necessary, he had “selective hearing.” In connection with one communal issue, he seemed not to hear the reasons why he should try to exert his influence. I prepared a paper arguing why he should get involved and gave it to him to review. A few days later, I asked him whether he was convinced or not. He told me the paper was “lost on my desk.” Of course, I understood what he meant, but I couldn’t resist saying to him, “Rabbi Neuberger, I know you are very neat. After all you come from a German background.” With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “Don’t bring up my ethnic history.” Of course, we dropped the topic.

I am not the first to mention that his “job” was to look after Ner Israel. As we all know, he did this with great devotion and success. How could he perform all of the other activities at the same time? He was tireless and devoted. Ner Israel is the beneficiary of his full-time effort. So, too, is the community in general. He had at least two full-time jobs.

One could continue reporting events in Rabbi Neuberger’s remarkable life. In these recent weeks, many people have come forward to tell their experiences. Here, I too have tried to recount some of my experiences with him. The total picture will continue to grow, yet, it will never be complete.

In addition to all the rest, over the years, two aspects of Rabbi Neuberger’s personality and middos have struck me as remarkable. First, he had a unique ability to concentrate his thinking and focus on the issue at hand. When he was dealing with individuals or an organization on a particular issue, they received his undivided attention, as if that issue were the only issue on his mind. The people with whom he dealt received 100 percent of his attention. And then he would turn to the next problem with equal focus.

Secondly, if he was busy with another issue when a telephone call came in, he would tell the caller when to call back or say that he would call back. He always did, and did so promptly – perhaps a small but distinguishing characteristic of this great man.

For many of us, when a personal or communal issue arose, we would call Rabbi Neuberger for advice, and he was always there for us. We can’t do that now. He is no longer with us. As individuals, as a community, our loss is immeasurable.

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Article List - December 2005