Rabbi Yom Tov Schwarcz is a Holocaust survivor, a communal rabbi, and a Talmudic scholar who began his life in the infamous Polish town of Oswencim (later renamed by the Nazis as Auschwitz). But even more important than all of those credentials, Rabbi Schwarcz is a living witness to the traditions and glory of prewar Eastern European Jewry.
It is in that spirit that Rabbi Schwarcz wrote this volume, as a record of the values of that lost era. Originally appearing in Hebrew, this newly translated edition is divided into 11 parts and 40 chapters, written in the style of rabbinic ethical works. The 11 parts of this book include: “The Unique Importance and Benefits of Unity in Our Generation,” “Recapturing the Unique and Extraordinary Aspects of Jewish Charity,” “Relations with Non-Observant Jews,” “Rabbinical Leadership: Its Qualifications and Responsibilities,” “Truth in Torah: Promoting Genuine Sages and Rejecting Substandard Torah Scholarship,” and “What Halacha Says About Torah Study and Parnasah.”
Reading this work, it is clear how much of the memetic tradition of pre-war Jewish values has been lost. Whether it is Rabbi Schwarcz’s readiness to learn from non-Jews, his rejection of the current widespread popularity of long-term Kollel study, or even his emphasis on Jewish unity, this volume challenges its readers to reconsider what traditional Judaism has to say about itself and the world around it.