Sometimes one spot can serve as symbol of a whole period of time, a torch of light.

The Yeshiva of Kletsk is such a torch.

The Yeshiva was a fortress of Torah first in Slutzk. We moved with it to Kletsk and I was privileged to erect a memorial here in our land: In Rekhovot the name of our Kletsk is printed on the sign of the big Yeshivat HaDarom.

It was founded in 1897 by my late father, the gaon R’ Issar Zalman Meltzer. In the beginning he was greatly helped by the Rabbi of Slutzk, gaon Yaakov David – a renowned interpreter of the Talmud Yerushalmi – known by the acronym RIDB”Z. Chosen students of Knesset Israel in Slovodka composed the first nucleus of the Yeshiva that quickly gained fame near and far.

The orientation of the Yeshiva was like that of other yehisvas – study of Shas [six volumes of the Mishna] and the poskim [ruling of the legal scholars]. At first they were strict about accepting only talented students. Indeed, the students of the Yeshiva were famous for their merits and virtues and some of them were keen and studious scholars.

The moralistic movement of Slovoka Yeshiva penetrated this yeshiva as well, founded by my late father. He was a man with a fervent soul and influential personality and excelled in the intensity of his morality.

Those who studied in the Yeshiva noted that whoever was around him enjoyed his nobleness. Together with other influential spiritual leaders, they saw to it that excellent students who were educated as great scholars and the Yeshiva earned fame. When WW1 broke out the Yeshiva received a new addition to the management – a prominent gaon – my brother in law, my sister’s husband – Rabbi Aharon Kotler. He was a renowned prodigy from the Slovodka Yeshiva, and headed the Yeshiva together with my father.

The heads of the Yeshiva wished to teach Torah and educate according to the ideals of tradition. They considered it as a strengthening of Torah against the spreading Enlightenment movement.

When WW1 ended, a war broke out between Poland and Russia, with the ensuing of change of borders. Slutzk was included within the borders of Soviet Russia. The religious Jewry was affected by the revolution. Yeshivas closed and we knew what to expect. Rabbi Kotler said that he was afraid that the new ruling power would prohibit not just having a yeshiva but also a kheder for small children. Therefore, it was decided to move the Yeshiva with its students to Kletsk that was near the border on the Polish territory.

It was a sight, when the group of about 50 students walked their way from Slutzk to Kletsk. They walked with confidence that they would succeed in Kletsk and sang all the way. They walked erect and the farmers along the way watched them with admiration.

When we reached Kletsk we were warmly greeted by the inhabitants. Very soon, the Yeshiva managed to enlarge its spiritual contents, as it accepted many students from all over Poland, Galicia and other countries.

The orientation of the yeshiva was to impart to the students together with study of Torah also immunity against the spirits of enlightenment – that is, study of morals. The Morals movement was full of vitality that can be found the likes in Hassidism and aimed to renewal of the inner self. The morals study nurtured in the hearts of the students untainted behavior between a person and God but also between one person to another. It preached ethical and moral traits and moral responsibilities.

Many secular movements were active in Kletsk that used gymnastics and pushed the youth farther from Torah and religion. We wanted to create in the Yeshiva a counter-balancing drawing power. Indeed, on Holidays such as Purim, Simkhat Toeah, etc., the Yeshiva drew many of the youth of all circles.

The “brain” of the Yeshiva was the head of the Yeshiva, R’ Aharon Kotler, who would from time to time come out of the Yeshiva to watch what was happening around.

Around the Yeshiva several characters stood out – each leaving a personal impression – a multi colored human mosaic. Here are some of them that fortified the spiritual values and the scholarly posessions.

R’ Kotler was the drawing power for the prodigies and the sharp-witted from near and far. One could not define his personality by one title – sharp-witted or avid or proficient. He was multi-talented, endowed with various merits. He was a first class educator and prepared his lessons meticulously. Every lesson was about 6 hours long, with recesses, because even the best of the students could not catch up with his pace.

He imparted from his talents and superior proficiency to his students and the course of life in the Yeshiva. He vigorously attended to all the needs of the students. With his genius memory he was a source of blessing to the Yeshiva of Kletck, a sailor navigating the boat of the Yeshiva. His was an unforgettable devotion to his many students, taking care of them all the years.

The students of the Kletsk Yeshiva remember until today Rabbi Aharon Kotler as the clear-eyed good-hearted person attentive and accepting each or them. [paraphrasing: His lessons in Morals were clear and full of warmth. He drew from the wells of all generations from the wealth of scholars in Halakha, Agada [legends], and moral. His life was dedicated mainly to study and to the Yeshiva. ]

Rabbi Kotler is now in the States and founded there a glorious Yeshiva in Lakewood New Jersey. He is one of the heads of the leaders of the Jewry in the U.S.A.

He was a beaming personality and whenever I recollect the Kletsk Yeshiva his image that glorified Kletsk is in front of my eyes. He was a merchant and his life was dedicated to the community and the Yeshiva. Even after he immigrated to the land of Israel we would recall him and the dear spirits of R’ Eliezer Cohen and R’ Zisl Miller who, with him, carried the yoke of the maintenance of the Yeshiva in Kletsk. The Yeshiva was for them everything in life. Each was like a father and patron to the students – they felt a fatherly bond to the students and their hearts and souls were subject to the study of Torah.

R’ Fimshtein was great in Torah and wisdom and his love for the students was endless and he was a lively person.

The dormitories that we have now in the Yeshivas which are a linear continuation of the Kletsk Yeshiva in Pardes Khana and in Rekhovot - did not exist in his time, and feeding the students was a worrying problem. R’ Hayim Fimshtein, R’ Eliezer Cohen and R’ Zisl Miller were a threesome in taking care of the feeding and hosting of the students. They did not spare their time and sometimes would stay with us even till the late hours of the night, when we were occupied with discussing issues of the Yeshiva. R’ Fimshtein was active in all the religious aspects of the community, such as establishing a religious school “Beir Yaakov” for the girls.

He was endowed with a special talent to draw people close and actuate them. It was his dedication that influenced people. He volunteered for action and actuated others.

In difficult times, such as when the students with no passports were imprisoned, we consulted him. He never hesitated to tell the truth. He would rather clarify everything especially in Public affairs, and we felt that he had a sense of reality.

He was a merchant and a pragmatist, but also a person of vision and feelings and very beloved.

The spirit of Torah was in him and he would study on his own and introduced novel understandings. He wrote a book Magadey Hayim about the Sha”s and in the land of Israel 3 of its big volumes came out in print. When I review his scholarly work in this book, I see that his innovations are the product of the brain and great perseverance. He was a man of action but also a man of study and he presented his innovations in a scholarly but popular way to be easily understood by the readers.

He was very precise in his language and style both in speech and in writing. He ascribed a great deal of wight to words. He always talked to the point.

Dear people, whose endlessly active – public activists faithfully adhering to “say little and do much”, dedicating their time and efforts for the public. They shared some traits with R’ Fimshtein who also was an activist not to be rewarded. Only at the end of his life Fimshtein got a religious position in Magdiel where he finished his book. I remember how he was immersed in his writing looking for a clarity in his innovations.

--- He was a very modest person and never tried to stand out.---

He was the head of the Yeshiva for the youngest of the students. He was very knowledgeable in agada.

The legends of the sages have a great appeal to the students in their contents and in style. The famous saying is: “A fable should not be dismissed lightly, because through a fable a person can understand the words of Torah. It is likened to the king who lost a coin or a precious pearl. Doesn’t he find it by lighting a candle? The same goes for the fable, through it a person understands the meaning of the sayings in the Torah”. Rabbi Kreizer added flavor to the lessons with legends and like R’ Aharon Kotler helped create the spiritual climate of the Yeshiva. The students absorbed in the Yeshiva an “inoculation” that affected they even when they dispersed all over the world. Many occupy a distinguished place where they are living.

{38} He was one of the first students of Slutzk. He lived under stressful conditions but did not lose happiness saying that even sufferings are accepted kindly because they “cleanse.” He was humble, very proficient in Talmud and commentators, first and last poskim [deciders] and sayings of the sages. He headed the Yeshiva of the youngest students in Kletsk and managed it together with R’ David Kreizer.

R’ Moshe Epshtein merits a special note. One of the students of Slutzk who married R’ Hayim Shimon Hernzon, the rabbi of Kletsk. Was a teacher in the city. He was a scholar with a charming personality. Was murdered in the Holocaust.

He was son-in-law of R’ Hayim Shimon Hernzon. Was a very popular interpreter in Torah study and had a beautiful lyrical voice. Had an excellent memory and depth of analysis of every difficult issue in the book. He was also an activist. Was murdered in the Holocaust.

These were the outstanding prodigies of the Yeshiva:

• Mordechai Iviyer (Ilyovitz) of superior memory and discussion with the added flavor of the sayings of the sages;

• Yeshaya Brishenski (Shtoiptzer) endowed with intelligence, feelings, clarity of thought, imagination and vision. He married R’ Yoel Bergchuk of Riga of the Morals adherers and head of the Yeshiva and religious institutions in Riga. Found his death in the Holocaust over there.

R’ Aharon Kotler managed with great talent this Yeshiva which was a source of life in Kletsk.

An old legend about the days of redemption says that synagogues and batei-midrash in the diaspora would then be transferred with their foundation to the land of Israel. I recall those clear summer days when the students of the Yeshiva wake up at dawn, finish praying and start studying. Indeed two sprouts grew from our Yeshiva in this land – in Pardes Khana and in Rekhovot. This latter Yeshiva, has the emblem of Kletsk on it and the name of our city is on its gate, in memory of our Kletsk Yeshiva.