Books

“When I look at a person, I see a tzelem Elokim, a person made in the image of G-d.”

“When I hear a person knocking on the door, I run with the same enthusiasm as if it was Eliyahu Hanavi.”

These were axioms by which Rav Mordechai Schwab lived. Many would turn to him for his advice and prayers on their behalf and cannot forget the great respect and care with which he treated them.

Having learned under the great Torah teachers: Rav Yerucham in Mir, Rav Baruch Ber in Kaminetz and Rav Chatzkel in Shanghai, Rav Mordechai personified different aspects of their greatness and molded them into his unique and unassuming style.

In this volume you can journey alongside this humble tzaddik who saw the divine in every person and embraced the pursuit of perfection in all areas of service to Hashem to the extent where Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky said, “Rav Mordechai’s daled amos is kodesh kadoshim.”

Although he constantly tried to keep his service of Hashem private, in this volume you will be privileged to see glimpses of his greatness.

Reading about Rav Mordechai will awaken you from complacency and inspire you to grow. You cannot help but to aspire to be a better Jew after reading this book. Learn More

In this unusual collection of poignant biographical sketches, Eytan Kobre opens a window onto fresh vistas of Jewish greatness, introducing the reader to fascinating yet lesser-known Torah personalities, while shedding brilliant new light on some famous ones.

Eytan Kobre is my favorite writer. His writings are articulate, incisive, inspiring and, most important, they express Torah values in their fullest form. I am therefore gratified that a collection of his writings on Torah personalities of our times is about to be published.

Rabbi Aharon Feldman

Over the many years that I have been close with Rav Eytan Kobre, I have always admired his gifted flowing prose and his ear acutely attuned to nuances. These make the biographical sketches in this book a great learning tool for us all, affording us the opportunity to glimpse greatness.

Rabbi Yechiel Perr

Rabbi Eytan Kobre is a brilliant writer who grew up in the yeshiva world and has never strayed even one iota from the proper path he was taught by his great rebbeim. His writings are and will continue to be a super asset for bnei and bnos Torah, and I am excited for him and for Klal Yisrael.

Rabbi Yaakov Bender

Eytan Kobre, a talmid of the Yeshiva of Staten Island and Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah, is a writer and editor living in Bayswater, New York. Learn More

But that is a very small part of the story.

Because while it is true that the young immigrant’s pockets were empty, his heart and his neshamah were full: Full of a love for Torah learning, full of a chassidishe bren, full of devotion and empathy for his fellow Jews. Reb Getzel Berger did, indeed, create a business empire that made him one of the largest landlords in England -- but at the same time, even more importantly, he created an empire of tzedakah and chesed. And, as the follower of the Satmar Rebbe, Reb Yoel Teitelbaum, he was a shining example of the devotion a chassid has for his rebbe.

Bestselling author Rabbi Nachman Seltzer shares with us Reb Getzel’s dramatic life and extraordinary achievements. We meet the young man whose passionate love for a mitzvah sends him to the world of real estate, where he becomes more successful than anyone could have imagined. We see him become one of the major forces behind the construction of Reb Yoelish’s “shetl,” Kiryas Yoel. We see his endless generosity when it came to building Torah or saving Jewish lives -- and the marvelous simplicity of his own lifestyle.

As we look at Reb Getzel’s life, we are amazed at what one person -- with boundless love, endless energy, unbelievable Siyata D’Shmaya, and total devotion to Hashem and His people -- can accomplish. We are amazed -- and we are inspired. Learn More

The story of Torah growth in America is, on the whole, the story of a new generation that found a calling in Torah that was unknown to their parents. The idea of their children going back to Yiddishkeit, or to a stronger Yiddishkeit, is a miracle of hashgachah, a fulfillment of Hashem’s promise about the eternity of Torah.

In Blazing the Trail, you will meet a young energetic pioneer in chinuch, builder of a monumental yeshiva on the old streets of Brooklyn — who fought an uphill battle to create a generation of b’nai Torah from committed and non-committed Jews.

Follow Rabbi Meilech Silber from his youth in Nuremberg, Germany, to a new world in New York. Experience the challenges young immigrant families faced in trying to uphold the values of the old world in the new. Meet the brave heroes who forged the path for others to follow.

Most of all, behold the growth of a small neighborhood yeshiva, as its new menahel sets out to make it flourish with a new, untested model. Together with a staff of young yeshiva graduates, Reb Meilech embarked on a mission to build a yeshiva that would redefine Torah chinuch in America.

“Do you know where I can find a place to stay for Shabbos?”
“Sure. Go to the Grand Rabbi on Beacon Street. He always has room for one more.”

He came from a long line of chassidic leaders, reaching all the way back to the Baal Shem Tov. He was the son of the first Bostoner Rebbe, Rabbi Pinchos Dovid Horowitz. He was a brilliant Torah scholar, having learned at Mesivta Torah Vodaath under one of the greatest roshei yeshivah of that time. And yet in his profound modesty, Rav Levi Yitzchok Horowitz did not see himself as a rebbe.

Hashem, though, decreed otherwise. When a small group of his father’s followers pleaded with Rav Levi Yitzchok to come to Boston and lead their shul, he acquiesced. And in the next sixty years, he and his devoted rebbetzin would change the lives of thousands. As rav of his kehillah — which included influential professionals and intellectuals, a dynamic leader of the Boston Jewish community, and Shabbos host to scores of searching college students, the Bostoner Rebbe was a pivotal figure in the flourishing of Torah life in America in the decades after World War II.

In The Rebbe on Beacon Street you will read of the Rebbe’s wisdom and warmth, of his burning desire to help every Jew who came his way, both physically and spiritually. Like Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu, the Rebbe and Rebbetzin on Beacon Street opened their homes to all: everyone was welcomed and treated like family.

Among the Rebbe’s greatest achievements was his founding of ROFEH International, an organization dedicated to providing medical referrals and support services to sick people and their families.

When already in his mid-60s — when many are beginning to contemplate retirement — the Rebbe founded a new community with the opening of a shul in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood. For the next two decades, he would spend six months a year leading and developing a Bostoner kehillah in Eretz Yisrael, while continuing to be a father figure to his flock in Boston.

Come and meet The Rebbe on Beacon Street. As you bask in the glow of his overflowing ahavas Yisrael, you will feel inspired. Enlightened. Transformed. Learn More

The inspiring life of Rav Shlomo Rothenberg, Rosh Yeshivah of Mountaindale who changed countless lives with his passion, devotion and love

Rav Shlomo's eyes lit up as he turned to his talmid and proclaimed, "You've made my day!"

"Rebbi," the talmid replied, "you've made my life!"

He grew to be a star rosh yeshivah in the hallowed walls of the beis midrash.

Though his official position was that of a rebbi, and then rosh yeshivah, at Yeshivah Zichron Mayir of Mountaindale, Rav Shlomo was so much more than that. To his talmidim, he was an impactful rebbi, a caring father, and a best friend all at once. Indeed, his giant heart overflowing with love - both for his Creator and his fellow - moved him to devote his life to uplifting and helping every Jew he encountered.  

Come feel the warmth of Rav Shlomo's smile, the love in his trademark bear-hug, and the inspiration in the lessons he imparted. Learn More

State Archives of Nikolayev Region, Drs. Larysa Levechenko and Vladimir Shchukin

Co-written by the Director of the State Archives of the Nikolayev Region and the area’s senior researcher and historian, this book presents the history of the Schneerson family, builders of Nikolayev’s Jewish community.

From the founding of the community by the Rebbe’s great-great-grandfather in 1850, through the leadership of Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, the Rebbe’s maternal grandfather, through the Rebbe’s parents Rabbi Levi Yitzchak and Rebbetzin Chana and their child-prodigy sons, the authors tells the story of a family’s connection to a city and a region through the lens of plentiful government documents.

Shining new light on hitherto unknown details on the election of the Rebbe’s forebears to their respective posts, their connections to a shipbuilder of the imperial Russian navy, the leadership of the Rebbe’s father and his unbending stubbornness while imprisoned by the bolsheviks, and much more, the historians lay out the details as recorded by the state archives.

Learn the story of the pivotal life-cycle and community events of the Schneerson family and their inseparable connection to the Jewish community of Nikolayev. Read the heartbreaking and heroic records of fearlessness in the face of impossible odds.

Featuring data on the Rebbe and many of his closest relatives, including:

Rabbi Avrohom Dovid Lavut, the Rebbe’s great grandfather

Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, the Rebbe’s grandfather

Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Scneerson, the Rebbe’s father

Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, the Rebbe’s mother

The Rebbe’s uncle, Rabbi Shmuel Schneerson

The Rebbe’s siblings, and many other immediate relatives

English and Russian text Learn More