This is a panorama of a book, the story of worlds within
worlds. It combines many slices of fascinating human interest and the history of
Torah worlds. It invites us into the life of a family that will make us smile
with admiration, marvel at its courage and accomplishment, and recognize the
roots of our own lives.
Rabbi Dovid Bender was born in Slonim and came to America as a young
child, Rebbetzin Basya Bender was born in Poland. When he was 20, he went
overseas to learn in the Mirrer Yeshiva. She became one of the first students of
the legendary Sarah Schenirer in Cracow. He became a talmid chacham in a
greenhouse of Torah greatness. She became a teacher in sometimes hostile
environments. They married shortly before the War, and managed to escape the
carnage and settle in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Rabbi Bender became a master mechanech and a menahel in Yeshiva
Torah Vodaath, and a role model for multitudes. She became one of the pioneers
of the American Bais Yaakov movement and a surrogate mother to generations of
students.
But this is more than the story of a human bridge from Europe to America and
the history of institutions. Most of all it's the story of a couple that raised
a beautiful family, a couple that was indescribably rich in everything but
money, that was wealthy in everything that matters, that lived for everyone who
needed them, without neglecting their own children. No wonder so many of their
children and grandchildren are carrying on their legacy of creating people and
molding neighborhoods and Torah institutions.
In writing this masterpiece Mrs.Devora Gliksman conducted myriad
interviews, assembled never before published letters and documents, and obtained
pictures that have never appeared in print. This is a book to treasure, savor,
and pick up again and again. It's an unforgettable story with a soul, a history
that makes us understand and appreciate the post-War Torah world that preserves
the legacy of Mir and Cracow.
Hardcover 656 pp.
