Notwithstanding the incontrovertible proof that I set forth in
part 1 proving that Rav Henkin
zt”l supported a Manhattan
eruv, the text of the 1979
kol korei in opposition to the Flatbush
eruv alleges that Rav Henkin signed the 1962
kol korei against the Manhattan
eruv. In fact, as I demonstrate in the
The 1979 Flatbush Kol Korei Exposed, there is no signature of Rav Henkin to be found on the Manhattan
kol korei at all. There is no doubt that the claim that Rav Henkin signed the Manhattan
kol korei is an invention of the 1979
kol korei. It is probable that the anti-
eruv group resorted to this fiction since they wanted to present a united front against establishing an
eruv anywhere in New York which would have had to include Rav Henkin, one of the preeminent
poskim in America at the time. There really is no need to defend the position that Rav Henkin maintained his support for an
eruv until the very end since there has never been a letter proffered stating that he had a change of heart (see
Noda B’Yehudah,
Tinyana,
Y.D. 29-30). However, I will present both the arguments from the anti-
eruv camp that he changed his mind and my counter arguments illustrating the speciousness of their claims.
Some have cited Rav Shimon Schwab
zt”l’s writings as proof that Rav Henkin did sign the Manhattan
kol korei. The anti-
eruv camp alleges that when Rav Schwab mentioned the
issur on the Manhattan
eruv (
Maayan Beis HaSho’eivah, pp. 232-234) and quoted the text of the 1979
kol korei in opposition to the Flatbush
eruv, which included the allegation that Rav Henkin signed the Manhattan
kol korei, he must have been informed that Rav Henkin was opposed to a Manhattan
eruv. Additionally, some cite the fact that Rav Gedalya Schor
zt”l signed both the 1962 Manhattan and 1979 Flatbush
kol korei’s as evidence that Rav Henkin signed the 1962 Manhattan
kol korei. Rav Schor, they claim, would not have signed the 1979 Flatbush
kol korei if it is untrue that Rav Henkin signed the 1962 Manhattan
kol korei.
These claims are fictitious and are after the fact. The reality is the 1979 Flatbush
kol korei includes the claim that Rav Henkin actually signed the 1962 Manhattan
kol korei, yet the Manhattan
kol korei is extant and there is no signature of Rav Henkin to be found anywhere on it. Rav Schwab and Rav Schor apparently signed the Flatbush
kol korei before seeing the final text to which Rav Henkin’s name was added.
[4] Additionally, regarding Rav Schwab’s letter, anyone can peruse
Maayan Beis HaSho’eivah and see that Rav Schwab was just repeating the text of the 1979
kol korei and was not commenting whether Rav Henkin signed on the 1962 Manhattan
kol korei or not.
Some argue that Rav Moshe Bick
zt”l mentioned in two letters that Rav Henkin was opposed to the Manhattan
eruv (the first letter was written on the second day of
Rosh Chodesh Adar 5721 [1961] and the second letter on the 11 of
Av 5740 [1980];
Kerem Beyavnah, 3:25, 27). In fact, there is no proof from Rav Bick’s letters at all. Five months after Rav Bick wrote his first letter claming that Rav Henkin was opposed to an
eruv in Manhattan, Rav Henkin wrote his final letter (28 of
Tammuz 5721 [1961]; see
part 1) arguing that an
eruv in Manhattan would be better than in most cities, and that they should establish one before the
rabbanim convened. Evidently Rav Bick was not apprised of Rav Henkin’s final letter supporting the
eruv.
[5]Regarding Rav Bick’s second letter (1980) - which was written after Rav Henkin was
niftar (August of 1973) – there is no doubt that Rav Bick was referring to his first letter and not to some new information that he later received. In
Kerem Beyavnah (3:27), Rav Bick mentions that Rav Moshe Feinstein
zt”l and Rav Savitsky of Boston were against establishing an eruv in Flatbush. Rav Bick added that Rav Aharon Kotler
zt”l and Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin
zt”l were even against an
eruv in Manhattan. If Rav Bick had seen the last letter from Rav Henkin (28th of
Tammuz 5721 [1961]) where he encourages the
rabbanim of Brooklyn to erect an
eruv, he would have addressed this fact and not just stated that Rav Henkin was against an
eruv in Manhattan, since Brooklyn was the issue. Therefore, the conclusion must be that Rav Bick did not see the last letter of Rav Henkin where he clearly supports an
eruv in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. Additionally, both Rav Menachem Kasher’s
zt”l’s sefer
Divrei Menachem,
O.C. vol. 2 published in 1980 and
Kisvei Hagriah Henkin published in 1989; have Rav Henkin’s last letter dated 28th of
Tammuz 5721 (1961) where he maintains that an
eruv should be constructed in Manhattan. This supersedes Rav Bick’s claim in his second letter asserting that Rav Henkin was against an
eruv in Manhattan.
More so, according to the anti-eruv camp, when did Rav Henkin have a change of mind? The Agudas HaRabbonim’s original
kol korei in 1962 against the Manhattan
eruv, did not include Rav Henkin’s signature and neither did their reissuing of the
kol korei in 1966 (
HaPardes, 40th year, vol. 8; see
The 1979 Flatbush Kol Korei Exposed). The issue of
eruvin in Manhattan dragged on for thirteen years (1949-1962) and it’s clear from the Agudas HaRabbonim’s 1966
kol korei that Rav Henkin did not object even after 1962. It is not plausible that Rav Henkin would have rescinded his support for an
eruv after 1966.
In summation there is no doubt that Rav Henkin supported an
eruv in Manhattan and Brooklyn and did not sign the 1962 Manhattan
kol korei. The fact that the anti-
eruv camp showed no qualms about inserting such an untruth in the 1979 Flatbush
kol korei should cast aspersions on the veracity of all their positions.
_____________________________
[4] As a matter of fact, Rav Yaakov Yitzchok Neiman
shlita from Montreal wrote (see the pamphlet from the Williamsburg
Vaad Tikin Eirevin 7th of
Iyyar 5763 [2003]) that his rebbe, the Pupa Rav
zt”l, did not sign on the text of the 1979 Flatbush kol korei. There are other
rabbanim as well who didn’t sign this text, and I hope
IY”H to post a second part to the post
The 1979 Flatbush Kol Korei Exposed detailing this.
It is important to note as well that there was no meeting of
rabbanim in 1979 when they issued the
kol korei against the
eruv. Some individuals went to each
rav personally to collect signatures. This explains how these individuals produced this
kol korei by later adding all the signatures to one text.
[5] It is interesting to note that in
Divrei Menachem,
O.C. vol. 2 Rav Kasher purposefully omitted the name of the author of some letters that he published therein. It is clear to me that
simanim 3 and 17 were from the pen of Rav Bick. Additionally, in
Kovetz Bais Yitzchok, number 37 p. 345, there is a letter from the collection of the
Vaad L’Maan Tikun Eruvin B’Manhattan from a
rav who opposed the
eruv; however, they did not know the attribution of this letter. I believe the letter was written by Rav Bick as well.