IN REMEMBRANCE: NEHAMA LEIBOWITZ 1902-1997

Nechama Leibowitz z"tl (1902-1997)

Appeared in Summer 1997 Issue of Jewish Action

Nechama Leibowitz, master Torah teacher more than 60 years, died on Shabbat, 5 Nisan, Jerusalem.

Born in Riga and educated in Berlin, Necharna went on aliyah in 1931 and began a life long career of educational service to the Jewish people Israel and the Diaspora.

Enriching Countless Students....

While on Sabbatical in Jerusalem, I asked Nechama, z''l, for permission to attend one of her classes. She asked my background and I told her about my years of study in yeshivah and,, graduate school. She then replied dramatically, "Professor Kagan! Such a scholar! What could I possibly teach you. Since that was the easiest question I was ever asked, I looked at her in disbelief. She then said, "Well, all right, but you're going to have to work as hard as all the other pupils. I'm not an entertainer."

From that time to this, many years later, Nechama's Torah has enriched me and countless others with a deep trove of enlightenment and inspiration. Noble and holy Torah thoughts came forth from the modest apartment behind the central bus station in Jerusalem and their essence will remain with us, as indestructible as the Torah itself.

-Dr, Yaakov Kagan

Unassuming and unpretentious (she answered her phone with a s i m p I e "Nechama"), she was awarded the Israel Prize in 1957 for her "gilyonot" (pamphlets) which revolutionized Torah study.

Week by week for 30 years (1942-1971), Nechama mailed out lessons on the Torah portion, raising stimulating questions about the text and its commentaries. For more than 30 years, tens of thousands of Jews throughout the world, from all walks of life, and representing all varieties of belief and observance, replied to ceaselessly and indefatigably their replies andreturn them. The pamphlets were edited and published as "Studies in the Weekly Sidrah."

Her lectures and workshops were no less alluring and amazing. Utilizing an array of didactic tactics, including dividing chapters into their component parts and comparing versions of the same event as related in different books in Tanach, Nechama prompted her students to appreciate the difficulties inherent in understanding the Torah and to anticipate the resolutions which various commentators would provide. If Torah students today automatically ask themselves, "Mah kasheh leRashi" (What difficulty does Rashi address?), it is probably due to Nechama's prolonged and profound influence.

To see Nechama in action was to watch a master at work. She would gauge the intellectual mettle of her audience, assign them appropriate textual and analytical tasks, and promenade around the room as they worked - offering words of encouragement and approbation as she measured each one's progress. A "nachon me'od' (very good) from Nechama was a veritable accolade, and veteran educators strove for them no less than neophytes.

On a visit to Nechama some years ago, I introduced her to my then-three-year-old son, Shalom. While plying him with chocolates, she said: "When you are older, you will come to learn Torah with me." As long as Nechama's "gilyonot" and "Studies" remain accessible; as long as her myriad students follow her pedagogical advice; Shalom will still have that opportunity.

Dr Moshe Sokolow has translated many of Professor Leibowitz pedagogic essays into English.