Philosopher of Agudah • Harav Shmuel Yosef Fridenson z"l

After a long period of suffering, one of the greatest thinkers of the movement of Agudath Yisroel in America - Rabbi Shmuel Yosef Fridenson z"l, editor of the Agudah newsletter 'Dos Yiddishe Vort', passed away in the U.S. over the weekend at the age of 90.

The deceased was born in Lodz, Poland, to his father, Harav Gershon Eliezer Fridenson z"l, a leading Gurer chossid, one of the community leaders and founder of the Beit Yaakov Journal, who worked to unite the masses of faithful Jews under the banner of the movement of Agudath Yisrael, and was also known as the right hand of the eminent educator Sarah Schenirer a"h.

In his youth R' Yosef studied at Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva and was one of the prominent students; while still in Poland he organized the youth activities of Agudath Yisrael, and gathered groups of young people to reinforce the ways of Torah and yirah.

R' Yosef was an enthusiastic Gurer chossid for the rest of his life, cleaving to the Rebbes with every fiber of his heart and soul.

During the holocaust he was in the Lodz ghetto, and suffered excruciating torture and unbearable suffering. When he escaped from the Nazis, he wandered from city to city and from village to village, and by great miracles he managed to evade them.

Horrors of the Holocaust: From 'Shema Yisrael' up to 'Hallel'
One of the most wonderful stories about the deceased, was previously published in the bulletin of 'Sichas Hashavua':

When the world war broke out – R' Meir Birnbaum was a young man of twenty, a resident of Brooklyn. He was drafted to the U.S. Army, and despite his fears and understandable desire not to enlist, he was eventually recruited to the army and was sent to the fields of battle.

As the war came to an end, his unit arrived in Germany, and he was one of the first soldiers who entered the camp chain carrying the general name of 'Buchenwald'. There he was destined to undergo a series of thrilling and chilling experiences.

One day a Christian priest who witnessed his conversation with two Jewish soldiers posing as Germans, approached him and asked him if he was Jewish. After answering in the affirmative, the priest asked him to go to the hospital tent and pray with a patient who is dying. He went to the tent and went to the patient's bed. There lay a young man, a real skeleton. He was left with only two bulging eyes, cheekbones and nose. "Are you a Jew?" He asked. "Yes," replied the youngster with a whisper, "My name is Yosef."

Yosef looked like his soul was suspended on the tip of his nose. "When is the last time you prayed to Hashem yisboroch?" Asked Meir. "I always pray to Hashem yisboroch," said Yosef. He did not know exactly what to do in this situation. After some reflection, he decided to say with him 'Shema Yisrael'.

In the middle of the parsha, Yosef stopped him. "Why did you choose especially now to say with me Shema Yisrael?" He asked with a slight smile. The question was very awkward for Meir, and he immediately changed the subject.

"What's your last name?" He inquired. "Fridenson," was the answer. Later he realized that he was the son of Harav Eliezer Gershon Fridenson. Surprisingly, Yosef Fridenson overcame the forecasts of the doctors in the camp. Slowly, slowly he began to grow stronger, until he got up and stood on his feet.

That conversation between them was therefore the first in a series of conversations. During one of them, Fridenson told him what happened on the day that the residents of Buchenwald were freed. It was a few days after Pesach. That day Fridenson met an acquaintance who told him that throughout the days of Pesach which had just passed he made the blessing of Hallel, but then immediately all the other words of the prayer flew from his head. But now, he said, he is sure he will remember the words.

Five minutes later he saw him, his face glued to the wall, trembling and saying the verses of Hallel. And when he got to the words "Lo amus ki echye", his whole body was shaking and screaming ...

Remember the Jews in Poland

After the war, the deceased arrived after many wanderings and hardships at the safe shores of the U.S., where he once again met the heads the Agudath Yisrael, and launched a vigorous campaign for Holocaust survivors, including the lonely and orphans who were left without a father and someone caring, while helping them to build their homes.

In Teves 5714 (1952) he started publishing the widespread bulletin 'Dos Yiddishe Vort' in Yiddish, continuing the issue of the bulletin during his stay in the concentration camp after the Holocaust. Alongside issues of hashkofa and the extended stage given the flag of Agudath Yisrael, the magazine also constituted a lodge for the history of Gedolei Yisroel and Tzadikim of the generations and which also sought to commemorate the work of Gedolei Yisroel, the holy institutions and educational establishments in Poland before the Holocaust.

For over fifty years he was the right hand of Chairman of Agudath Israel of America - Rabbi Moshe Scherer z"l, and was privileged to be the trustee of Gedolei Yisroel of the U.S., the Rebbes of Boyan and Kofitsnitz, and the Geonim R' Aharon Kotler and R' Moshe Feinstein zt"l who trusted him and had great faith in his abilities to spread the ideas of Agudath Yisrael and current affairs, in all matters of strengthening Judaism.

At the same time as writing the newspaper, Fridenson initiated projects to commemorate the Jews in Poland, and lectured in various settings about the messirus nefesh and Jewish heroism during the Holocaust. Especially in recent years, R' Yosef held lectures and performances in education institutions, in order to publicize the exploits of the young faithful Jews in their firm stance and courage against the Nazis ym"s in Torah observance with messirus nefesh.

In recent years, despite his illness and his great weakness, he continued the publication of 'Dos Yiddishe Vort', while writing its entire content on his own. At the Conference of the Agudath Yisrael of the US recently held, the last issue was published, after R' Yosef's eyesight completely weakened. That was the last journal which was published, and apparently will not appear any more.

During last Shabbos his condition deteriorated and within a short while he returned his soul to its Creator. After Shabbos his funeral took place, attended by a large audience of leaders and trustees of Agudath Yisrael who accompanied the coffin to Kennedy airport, where it continued its way to Israel. The funeral procession which left in Israel from Shamgar on the second night of Purim - a large crowd participated, including many Gur chassidim and ended on Har Hamenuchos.

Rabbi Yosef left behind a Dor Yeshorim, a large and respectable family which continues the way of its fathers.

May his soul be cherished in the bundle of life.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!