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HaRav Pinchas Mordechai Teitz was a visionary and a talmid chacham who
revolutionized the Jewish community in Elizabeth, New Jersey and had
tremendous impact on Jewish life around the world. The innovative,
optimistic approach he took to challenges inspires the reader of "Learn
Torah Love Torah Live Torah” (Ktav, 2001),* a biography by
his daughter Dr. Rivkah Blau, to be equally creative in solving our
nation’s problems today.
One of
the Rav’s greatest accomplishments was the Daf Hashavua, a
weekly radio program in which he taught a “daf,” a page of gemara,
enabling all Jews to learn and to bring Yiddishkeit into their homes. He
received many letters thanking him for making Torah accessible at a time
when there were few opportunities to study.
On
January 17, 1953 the announcer, Ben Basenko, opened the broadcast in
Yiddish
with words that soon became familiar to an audience across America and
wherever Kol Tzion laGolah, the Voice of Israel for the Diaspora,
reached. “Let us study a page of gemara—Daf Hashavua, the weekly
program founded and conducted by the Rav of Elizabeth, Rabbi Pinchas
Mordechai Teitz. This program is presented to spread the rich spiritual
treasures of our Torah among the broad Jewish population. Now I have the
great honor to present HaRav Teitz, who will study with us and explain
the Daf Hashavua. Harav Teitz!” Each week Rav Teitz responded, “Thank
you, Mr. Basenko, and a good week to you, distinguished radio audience.”
For 36 years a half hour of clear explanations and brilliant insights
followed this opening. Among the talmidei chachamim who gave guest
shiurum were HaRav Ovadiah Yosef, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, HaRav
Bezalel Zolty, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and HaRav Yehudah Leib Levin,
the Chief Rabbi of Moscow.
Today
especially we see the success of Rav Teitz’s efforts as we look at
the growth in the Elizabeth community on a near daily basis, the
tremendous reputation that the Yeshiva,
Mesivta and Bruriah have, and the many who came closer to Yiddishkeit
through his teachings. May we all learn from the lessons put forth by
HaRav Teitz to bring Torah to every Jew and every Jew to Torah.
*translated into Hebrew, "V'Samahta B'Hayekha" (Urim, 2006).
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