Re:

Yes, I know Dayyan Pollak (technically, the Chief Rabbi of Belgium). His sons studied in the Mir Yeshiva with me, and Dayyan Pollak himself spoke at the 2020 Bonyhad Hazkarah which was done over Zoom because of Corona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiHFfxSb7DI

Do you know anybody who has gathered any accurate information about the family tree?

Shalom & Kol Tuv

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

On Sun, Aug 21, 2022 at 10:19 PM D B Kritzler <dbk@dov4partywalls.co.uk> wrote:

Dear Mr Klein,

 

I was interested to be copied the email below by my son.

 

Many of the names you mention are familiar.

 

My late grandfather was born in Bonyhard and I have been to the Beis Olam there.

 

One of  my grandfather's  sisters was married to a Galandauer and another to a  Weisz.

 

I have a book which lists the deportations during the last war.

 

The Pollacks are also related and there is a Dayan in Antwerp with that name who maintains a strong family interest.

 

Rivka/Regina  is a family name .

 

Regarfds,

 

Dov Kritzler - London

From: מיכאל קריצלר [mailto:mdkritzler@gmail.com]
Sent: 18 August 2022 20:49
To: D Kritzler <dbk@dov4partywalls.co.uk>
Subject:

 

 My grandmother was from Bonyhad, and I was involved in translating my uncle's book about the history of Bonyhad and the Holocaust from English into Hebrew. It is available online for free at on Google Books, and if you want, I can send you a hard copy.

Basically my question is about the genealogy of my great-grandmother, Devorah Weisz (who was married to Meir Kuttner, the principal of the Orthodox elementary school in Bonyhad). Her father's name was Mor/Moshe Weisz, and her mother's name was Regina/Rivka, but I'm trying to find out more about her mother and her family. According to one email I got from a now-deceased relative, Regina's mainden name was Galandaur and that's what I put into my records, but I later got word from that relative that the information was mistaken, but he never corrected it. Recently I got an email from another genealogical researcher named Lynn Pollak Golumbic, who wrote that actually Regina's maiden name was really STEINER, not Galandauer, and it was really Regina's MOTHER Marie, whose maiden name was Kritzler, which is how we connect to the GALANDAUER/KRITZLER/POLLAK/SPITZ family (although technically, not Galandauer). It all makes sense and she sent me some documentation about this (see here), but I was wondering if we can verify this independently. Do you have any more information? Do we know Marie's Hebrew name (probably Miriam?)? How are you connected to the Kritzler family? Are you a member of www.geni.com

 

Shalom & Kol Tuv

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

yeshivish@gmail.com

Re: Kritzler Family

Very interesting. My grandmother was from Bonyhad, and I was involved in translating my uncle's book about the history of Bonyhad and the Holocaust from English into Hebrew. It is available online for free at on Google Books, and if you want, I can send you a hard copy.

Basically my question is about the genealogy of my great-grandmother, Devorah Weisz (who was married to Meir Kuttner, the principal of the Orthodox elementary school in Bonyhad). Her father's name was Mor/Moshe Weisz, and her mother's name was Regina/Rivka, but I'm trying to find out more about her mother and her family. According to one email I got from a now-deceased relative, Regina's mainden name was Galandaur and that's what I put into my records, but I later got word from that relative that the information was mistaken, but he never corrected it. Recently I got an email from another genealogical researcher named Lynn Pollak Golumbic, who wrote that actually Regina's maiden name was really STEINER, not Galandauer, and it was really Regina's MOTHER Marie, whose maiden name was Kritzler, which is how we connect to the GALANDAUER/KRITZLER/POLLAK/SPITZ family (although technically, not Galandauer). It all makes sense and she sent me some documentation about this (see here), but I was wondering if we can verify this independently. Do you have any more information? Do we know Marie's Hebrew name (probably Miriam?)? How are you connected to the Kritzler family? Are you a member of www.geni.com

Shalom & Kol Tuv

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

‪On Thu, Aug 18, 2022 at 12:33 AM ‫מיכאל קריצלר‬‎ <mdkritzler@gmail.com> wrote:‬

I am a descendant.

My no. is a 0548432583

‫בתאריך יום ד׳, 17 באוג׳ 2022 ב-21:21 מאת ‪RC Klein‬‏ <‪yeshivish@gmail.com‬‏>:‬

I heard from Shloimy Klein (no relation) that you're starting a Yeshiva with him winter zman. I wanted to wish you much Hatzlocha.

When I heard your name, I was wondering if you're related to the famous Kritzler family from Bonyhad, who are descendants of Rav Yitzchok Zekel Spitz? If so, I have some inquires about the family tree that you might be able to help with.

Shalom & Kol Tuv

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

Re: Rabbi Gartenhaus

Thanks - wasn't expecting a response until after Shabbos due to your being 7 hours ahead.

In general I have tried to find descendants of rabbanim who knew my GGF where they might have exchanged written communication and as a very outside shot, the yorshin might have preserved those documents.

I tried exploring the route to R. Gartenhaus maybe in 2009 and things came to a dead end.  I seem to recall that by that time, R. Kulefsky's wife was still alive but not doing well.  Always a race against time.  20 years ago I was still able to contact people whose lives intersected in a meaningful way with my GGF and was able to ask exploratory questions.

To be continued......

On Friday, July 22, 2022, 11:20:30 AM EDT, Rabbi RC Klein <rabbircklein@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't have time to write at length now because it's Erev Shabbos. But basically, Rav Gartenhaus' zivvug sheini wife was my great-grandfather's niece. He was also misader kiddushin at my grandparents' wedding and he gifted my grandfather a silver kiddush cup with an inscription on it that I use every Shabbos.

Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein

 

→

 

Rabbi Elazar Lipa Gartenhaus

Rabbi Elazar Lipa Gartenhaus is Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein's first cousin twice removed's husband!

Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
You

 

→

 

Michael (Mordechai Meyer) Klein
your father

 

→

 

Randolph Klein
his father

 

→

 

Mordechai Klein
his father

 

→

 

Zissel Kallus
his sister

 

→

 

Hinda Spielman
her daughter

 

→

 

Rabbi Elazar Lipa Gartenhaus
her husband

 

Shalom & Kol Tuv,

Reuven Chaim Klein

On Fri, Jul 22, 2022 at 6:02 PM Michael Escott <msescott@yahoo.com> wrote:

Weird connection.

Though I recently started exchanging emails with you over the last couple of years, I just noticed some old notes in my genealogy realm re: an email thread that I noticed online over 10 years ago that involved you (but not me) and it was a discussion re: Rav Elazar Lipa Gartenhaus - father in law of Rav Kulefsky of Ner Yisroel.

What is your connection to this?

R. Gartenhaus was one of the maspidim at my GGF's levaya in 1931 (R. Yaakov Eskolsky) - he was a prominent member in my GGF's rabbinical organization - Degel HaRabbonim.

Thanks and a guten Shabbos,

Moshe Escott

Re: Rabbi Gartenhaus

I don't have time to write at length now because it's Erev Shabbos. But basically, Rav Gartenhaus' zivvug sheini wife was my great-grandfather's niece. He was also misader kiddushin at my grandparents' wedding and he gifted my grandfather a silver kiddush cup with an inscription on it that I use every Shabbos.

Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein

 

→

 

Rabbi Elazar Lipa Gartenhaus

Rabbi Elazar Lipa Gartenhaus is Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein's first cousin twice removed's husband!

Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
You

 

→

 

Michael (Mordechai Meyer) Klein
your father

 

→

 

Randolph Klein
his father

 

→

 

Mordechai Klein
his father

 

→

 

Zissel Kallus
his sister

 

→

 

Hinda Spielman
her daughter

 

→

 

Rabbi Elazar Lipa Gartenhaus
her husband

 

Shalom & Kol Tuv,

Reuven Chaim Klein

On Fri, Jul 22, 2022 at 6:02 PM Michael Escott <msescott@yahoo.com> wrote:

Weird connection.

Though I recently started exchanging emails with you over the last couple of years, I just noticed some old notes in my genealogy realm re: an email thread that I noticed online over 10 years ago that involved you (but not me) and it was a discussion re: Rav Elazar Lipa Gartenhaus - father in law of Rav Kulefsky of Ner Yisroel.

What is your connection to this?

R. Gartenhaus was one of the maspidim at my GGF's levaya in 1931 (R. Yaakov Eskolsky) - he was a prominent member in my GGF's rabbinical organization - Degel HaRabbonim.

Thanks and a guten Shabbos,

Moshe Escott

Correcting the Family Tree: STEINER or GALANDAUER

Along time ago (back in 2012), I got an email from Leslie after he spoke to his mother about the genealogy of Devorah Weisz (our common ancestor who was married to Meir Kuttner). Her father's name was Mor/Moshe Weisz, and according to the information Leslie said in his mother's name, Mor/Moshe's

wife was named Regina Galandauer. I also have an email from Shoshi Horowitz in Hebrew where she seems to confirm this connection. But in his last email in that discussion, Les wrote that his mother said there's a mistake in what he said but he never corrected it. 

So I'm not sure if there is where the mistake is, but I got an email yesterday from a genealogical researcher named Lynn Pollak Golumbic, who wrote that actually Mor/Moshe Weisz's wife was really named Regina STEINER, not Galandauer, and it was really Regina's MOTHER, whose maiden name was Kritzler, who descends from the GALANDAUER/KRITZLER/POLLAK/SPITZ family (although technically, not Galandauer). It all makes sense and she sent me some documentation about this (see here), but I was wondering if we can verify this indepently. 

Does it make sense that Gynogi Neni confused Galandauer with Steiner when talking about her grandmother's maiden name? Can somebody ask Szori Neni about this so we can get to the bottom of this?

Shalom & Kol Tuv

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

Re: Regina Galandauer

Enclosed please find the relevant Bonyhad records. 

1) Regine Steiner birth record: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSDB-N3PR-Y?i=76&cat=687397

b. Oct 21, 1860, Bonyhad, daughter of Adolf Steiner and Marie Kritzler 

2) Regine Galandauer death record https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSDB-N35R-7?i=168&cat=687397

d. April 11, 1873 age 4 d. of Jacob Galandauer and Rosalie Kritzler

3) Birth of Fulop Weisz, son of Regine Steiner and Mor Weisz  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSDB-J96?i=239&cat=687397

b. 13 May 1884

4) Marriage of Mor Weisz and Regine Steiner, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSDB-J96?i=239&cat=687397

Jun 19, 1883

( He was a divorced cantor)

5) Marriage of Mayer Kuttner and Devorah Weisz https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TCM-8MK?i=13&cc=1452460&cat=647842

Feb 23, 1921

The Pollaks, Kritzlers, and Galandauers married each other quite a bit, which is natural.

I have a family tree of over 7000 descendants, all of whom originate from 6 or the 8 children of Avraham Pollak and Reichel Spitz, which I have been working on for over 30 years.

I have now added you and your cousins (who are also mine)..

Best,

Lynn

On Mon, Jul 18, 2022 at 3:27 PM Rabbi RC Klein <rabbircklein@gmail.com> wrote:

Are you sure? Do you have any outside sources for this? You might be right. My source for understanding that Mor/Moshe Weisz's wife was named Regina Galandauer is this email from Les Barany after he spoke to his mother.  I also have an email from Shoshi Horowitz in Hebrew where she confirmed this connection. But in his last email, Les wrote that his mother said there's a mistake in what he said and he never corrected it.

So it could be that all that information I had until now was that aforementioned mistake. And perhaps then you are correct the Mor/Moshe Weisz's wife was really named Regina STEINER, not Galandauer, and it was really Regina's MOTHER who descends from the GALANDAUER/KRITZLER/POLLAK/SPITZ family (although technically, not Galandauer). 

Shalom & Kol Tuv,

Reuven Chaim Klein

On Mon, Jul 18, 2022 at 12:10 AM Lynn Pollak Golumbic <lynnpollak@gmail.com> wrote:

By chance I actually read Chana's book(!) - which I got from Shilo Gal's widow, Zippora, who had a copy from Shoshi. I had collaborated with him many years ago on the Kritzler/Galandauers.  I don't recall reading that this Regina Galandauer was married.

Please do send the word file so I can see what it says.

Since I wrote to you I did more research and realized that I actually had Deborah Weisz and her husband on my tree.

Your actual ancestor was Regine Steiner, who was also a Kritzler descendant.

I am enclosing three files so that you can see it better- your ancestors, the ancestors and descendants of Regine Steiner, and how you and I are related ( 4th cousin 2x removed).

Best,

Lynn Pollak Golumbic

Re: Regina Galandauer

Are you sure? Do you have any outside sources for this? You might be right. My source for understanding that Mor/Moshe Weisz's wife was named Regina Galandauer is this email from Les Barany after he spoke to his mother.  I also have an email from Shoshi Horowitz in Hebrew where she confirmed this connection. But in his last email, Les wrote that his mother said there's a mistake in what he said and he never corrected it.

So it could be that all that information I had until now was that aforementioned mistake. And perhaps then you are correct the Mor/Moshe Weisz's wife was really named Regina STEINER, not Galandauer, and it was really Regina's MOTHER who descends from the GALANDAUER/KRITZLER/POLLAK/SPITZ family (although technically, not Galandauer). 

Shalom & Kol Tuv,

Reuven Chaim Klein

On Mon, Jul 18, 2022 at 12:10 AM Lynn Pollak Golumbic <lynnpollak@gmail.com> wrote:

By chance I actually read Chana's book(!) - which I got from Shilo Gal's widow, Zippora, who had a copy from Shoshi. I had collaborated with him many years ago on the Kritzler/Galandauers.  I don't recall reading that this Regina Galandauer was married.

Please do send the word file so I can see what it says.

Since I wrote to you I did more research and realized that I actually had Deborah Weisz and her husband on my tree.

Your actual ancestor was Regine Steiner, who was also a Kritzler descendant.

I am enclosing three files so that you can see it better- your ancestors, the ancestors and descendants of Regine Steiner, and how you and I are related ( 4th cousin 2x removed).

Best,

Lynn Pollak Golumbic

Re: למעלה בקודש

תודה. איני יודע בדיוק מה אתה כותב שם משום שרק ראיתי את התוכן העניינים דרך גוגל, אבל יש לי כמה נקודות שאני רוצה לברר.

קודם כל, רציתי לדעת את המקורות ליחוס משפחת שפיץ. עד היום, אני יכול לעקוב את יחוס משפחתי עד לר' יצחק זעקל שפיץ, רבה הראשון של בונ'האד (בעל מחבר ברכת יצחק עה"ת, באור יצחק על הגדש"פ),  ופתאום מצאתי באתר GENI את שמות הדורות למעלה בקודש מר' יצחק זעקל שפיץ עד לר' ירמיה יצחק זעקל פרנקל. ורציתי לדעת מנא הני מילי (ובפרט שהרב יצחק זעקל פוללאק שליט"א מאנטוורפן לא הזכיר את כל זה במאמריו הרבים). 

עוד מעניין לי לדעת היאך קיבלו את השם משפחה שפיץ אם במקור היה שם המשפחה פרנקל (למרות שאני יודע שאין זה כ"כ קושיא).

עוד אני רוצה לדעת אם והיאך משפחה זו קשורה למשפת הרב יעקב פוללאק בעל החילוקים. יש שטענו שר' יצחק זעקל שפיץ הנ"ל הוא מבני בניו של בעל החילוקים, אבל לא מצאתי סמך שרב יעקב פוללאק בעל החילוקים בכלל היה לוי. יתכן שזה קשור לר' יעקב קפאל פרנקל שהוזכר בתוכן העניניים של ספרך שמצאתי בגוגל. וגם לכאורה יש סתירה בשמו של אביו.

כל טוב,

ראובן חיים קליין

ביתר עילית

Shalom & Kol Tuv

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

On Mon, Apr 25, 2022 at 8:24 AM Reuven Brim <b1413777@gmail.com> wrote:

בס"ד

 

שוי"ר, סליחה על העיכוב כי רק אתמול ראיתי הודעתכם, אינני יודע איזה פרט מע"כ מעוניין אודות מש' פרנקל כי יש על זה אריכות דברים בספר, נא לציין לי, כי אם הוא ענין קטן אפשר לשלוח בשמחה, אבל פרקים שלמים אינני יכול לשלוח בדיגיטל.

 

בברכה, ראובן ברים

 

From: RC Klein [mailto:yeshivish@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2022 10:56 PM
To: b1413777@gmail.com
Subject: למעלה בקודש

 

בבקשה מכם, האם אתם יכולים לשלוח לי את הדפים מן הספר "למעלה בקודש" הקשורות למשפחת הקצין ר' ירמיהו יצחק זעקל סג"ל פרנקל-שפיץ שאני נמנה מבין צאצאיו. תודה מראש!

הכו"ח בברכת א גוט מועד,

ראובן חיים קליין

ביתר עילית

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

Re: The JewishGen Family Finder:

I'm sorry I didn't get back to you; it's been a busy month. None of the names that you sent me match up with what I have in my notes, but the truth is that I don't know much about this Weisz side of the family, so it's hard to know if there's a connection or not.

Gut Moyed,

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

On Tue, Apr 19, 2022 at 5:10 AM ai <jkpi314@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Reuven,

I hope you were able to read my email,

I haven't heard back from you so I am not sure if you got it.

Best regards,

Juliana Klas.

On Thu, Mar 31, 2022 at 12:57 AM ai <jkpi314@gmail.com> wrote:

Also, do you have any dates for Moshe and for his family so I can get a better idea of when Moshe's lifetime was in relation? That could help figure out where links might be. Thank you.

On Thu, Mar 31, 2022, 12:45 AM ai <jkpi314@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Reuven, my name is Julie Klas.

I'm sorry, but the only information that I have was that my great-grandfather named Emanuel /Mano Mendel Weisz was born in Ujvidek, Hungary (now called Novi Sad and as you know in Serbia). Born around 1872- and he passed away in the US in 1939. I have the month and date also, but not handy at the moment and I want to make sure I write you back timely. If you need it I'm very happy to share. 

I found his name and where he's from on a copy of my Grandmother's Birth Certificate.

My Great-grandmother (Emanuel's wife), her maiden name was Klein. Sarolta Klein born in Baja Hungary, raised in Sukösd Hungary around 1874 -194? Her father possibly named Josef. Again I'm happy to share the dates if you would like,  but I don't have them handy at the moment. 

  Also I did submit a DNA sample with Ancestry.com. My profile name is Jupi314 and the initials on it are JK. There should be a tree linked called "Julie's Family Tree" that should be public, but my sister said she recently looked for it and couldn't find it,  so if that's something that might interest you, I would be happy to share that as well,  but it doesn't have much further information about Emanuel Weisz and Sarolta/Charlotte/Sara Klein. 

I don't know when Emanuel emigrated to the US but Sarolsa came to join him with their 5 children (including my grandmother) in 1914 and they settled in Philadelphia. Their children were named Alexander (Sandor), Wm/ Jerry (William), Szerina/Rose (grandma), Gyula/Helen, and Louis (Laos?). 

I don't know if any of this information is helpful to you but I hope you are able to find a connection.

Warm regards,

Juliana Klas 

Please let me know if you find something, and I will do likewise.

Thank you

    

On Fri, Mar 25, 2022, 7:28 AM Reuven Chaim Klein <JGJGFF@jewishgen.org> wrote:

From : Reuven Chaim Klein, (researcher code 106665) yeshivish@gmail.com

To : Juliana N Klas, (researcher code 143939)

Subject : The JewishGen Family Finder:

---

I'm looking for information the Weisz family of Novi Sad. In particular, there was a Moshe Weisz who was married to Rivka/Regina Galandaur, whose daughter Dóra/Dvora Weisz married Miksa/Mayer/Meir Kuttner who was a school principal in Bonyhad, Hungary. Does this match up with any of your information?

---

JewishGen | 36 Battery Place | New York, NY 10280 | www.JewishGen.org

---

על הרב זעקל שפיץ

רב תודות לכם שנתת לי פרטי הרב משה נצר מלייקוואוד, שממנו קיבלתי המהודרה חדשה מספר של אבינו זקננו זצ"ל באור יצחק על ההגדה של פסח, ואף נהנתי להגיד דברים בשמו בליל הסדר.

אודיע נא אתכם, שעכשיו אני באמצע מלאכת העריכה למהדורה עברית של ספרו של דודי על ההיסטוריה של עיירת בונ'האד, וקבילתי הרבה חומר בעניין מהגברת אילה מליק בירושלים. וגם שם בחומר הזה דנו על הקשר שבין אבינו זקננו הרב זעקל הלוי שפיץ זצ"ל לר' יעקב הלוי פוללאק בעל החילוקים. והיום הזה חיפשתי בגוגל ומצאתי משהו שלכאורה קשור לעניין: https://gw.geneanet.org/pfdm?lang=en&pz=israel&nz=fleischmann&ocz=1&p=seckel+spitz&n=fraenkel אולי יאות לכם להביע דעתך במציאה זו ואם היא מוספיה לנו שום מידע בעניין הנ"ל.

הכותב וחותם בברכת א גוט מועד,

ראובן חיים קליין

ביתר עילית

Chag Kosher V'Sameach,

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

ORCiD | LinkedIN | Google Scholar | Amazon

The RCK Letters (Episode 1)

The bulk of the package consists of RCK's stamp and postcard collection. It seems that most of the letters are written in Hungarian or Yiddish (some of the Yiddish is in Hebrew and some in Latin characters). Some letters are in English or Hebrew. Many of the rough letters are actually rough drafts that he wrote before writing the actual letter. Apparently, RCK lived in Eretz Yisroel as a bachelor from 1954-1958 in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Some of the "mysterious" letters actually involve Shidduchim, but they were written in a צנוע way so you have to really know what's going on to understand the letters.

In today's email, we will discuss some letters relating to a specific shidduch. On Dec. 18, 1955, RCK received a letter from somebody named Shmuel Lowinger from the Pagi/Sanhedria neighborhood in Jerusalem. He wrote to RCK that he has a shidduch to offer him. Two days later, on Dec. 20, 1955, RCK wrote a letter back to Mr. Lowinger asking for the name of the girl and more details about her. We have two drafts of this letter, as you can see in the attachment. 

I wanted to some more research into the episode, so I simply picked up a Jerusalem phone book that we had around the house and looked up the name Shmuel Lowinger in the Sanhedria neighborhood -- and lo and behold -- I found somebody listed with that name living in that neighborhood. But I figured that he's probably already dead, because this story happened almost 70 years ago. I called the number, and a Filipino lady answered the phone. Turns out that Shmuel Lowinger actually died 23 years ago, but his wife (who is 90-something years old) is still alive, but had a stroke earlier this year. She put me in touch with Shmuel Lowinger's son Yaakov who lives in Ramot. I spoke to Yaakov Lowinger late last night and tried to figure out how RCK knew his father. I emailed Yaakov Lowinger a copy of the letters and he confirmed that it is indeed his father's handwriting!

As his son tells it, Shmuel Lowinger (originally from the town of Gur? in Hungary) was involved in community activism, and he was in charge of Kever Shimon Hatzadik at some point and was also involved in helping people get reparations after the war. Before the war, Shmuel Lowinger worked for the Agudas Yisroel office in Vienna and was involved in helping people make Aliyah to then-Palestine. As we know from the famous newspaper article about RCK, he also lived in Vienna where he worked for the Jewish Agency for Palestine, so it would seem that the two were likely acquainted with each other from their related work in Vienna. 

Interestingly, now that we know that RCK lived in Israel for a few years in the 1950's, we can answer something that I had been wondering about for a while. My father has RCK's copy of Rabbi Eliyahu KiTov's ספר התודעה (by the way, two families who are descendants of his live on the same block as us) and it is a very early copy of the work, if not a first edition. I was wondering how/why somebody living in NY would have gotten hold of this random sefer from the Holy Land which had just come out and hadn't yet reached its popularity that it now enjoys. What seems most likely is that he got the sefer when he was living in Eretz Yisroel. It should also be noted that Rabbi Eliyahu KiTov and his brother-in-law Rabbi Alexander Zusia Friedman (author of the popular Maayana shel Torah) were both very involved in the Poelei Agudas Yisroel movement (whose roshei teivos is Pagi, and members of that movement were the ones who established the Pagi/Sanhedria neighborhood in Jerusalem).

Chag Kosher V'Sameach,

Reuven Chaim Klein

Beitar Illit, Israel

Author of: God versus Gods & Lashon HaKodesh

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