Feature 061312 p26-35 Richmond.FS.qxd - Keneseth Beth Israel

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SPOTLIGHT ON COMMUNITIES
Richmond,
Virginia
An Old Community
Revitalized by Torah
BY DEVORAH KLEIN
Richmond, Virginia, is home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in this
country. For the past four hundred years, Jews have lived in the area. Today,
the city boasts a warm, close-knit community that is growing in Torah and in
numbers. Join Hamodia on a visit to this thriving kehillah.”
Hamodia June 13, 2012

Students of Rudlin
Torah Academy in
Richmond.
Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 27

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Rich History
The city of Richmond, Virginia,
played a very important role in
American history. The site of Patrick
Henry’s famed “Give me liberty or give
me death” speech in 1775 and the
capital of the Confederate States during
the Civil War, the city is rich with
historical significance and culture.
The history of Jews in Virginia is as
old as the history of Virginia itself.
Joachim Gaunse (Jacob Gans), from
Prague, was part of Sir Walter Raleigh’s
ill-fated Roanoke expedition in 1585, the
first English effort to colonize the New
World. When the English tried again to
settle the New World in the early
seventeenth century, Jews were among
those who arrived in Jamestown in
1621. 1
While references to individual Jews
have been found in Virginia’s archives
ever since that time, it was not until
1789 that the first shul was established
— Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome, an
Hamodia June 13, 2012
Orthodox Sephardic congregation that
was the sixth and westernmost
congregation to be established on
American shores.
In 1841, the growing number of
Ashkenazic settlers in
Richmond sought a
more familiar style of
davening, and they
formed Congregation
Beth Ahabah. Fifteen
years later, in 1856, a
group of thirty Polish
immigrants founded
Keneseth Israel. While
Congregation Beth
Ahabah began
gravitating toward
separate seating and electing a shomer
Shabbos president.
Meanwhile, Richmond’s Jews
embraced the southern lifestyle and
patriotism. When the Civil War broke
out in 1861 and the city
became the capital of the
Confederate States of
America, 102 Jewish
Richmonders declared
their allegiance and
enlisted in the
Confederate Army.
Throughout the war,
the rabbi of Beth Ahabah,
Rabbi Maximilian J.
Michelbacher, headed a
campaign for religious
Reform
officially
customs,
joining the
observance on behalf of
Jewish Confederates. He
Reform movement in 1875, Keneseth wrote to General Robert E. Lee several
Israel remained strongly committed to times, requesting furloughs for the
Orthodoxy, insisting on maintaining soldiers so they could observe the Yamim
Tovim. 2 Rabbi Maximilian J. Michelbacher
Lee respectfully declined each
time. “It [would] give me pleasure to
Kahal Kadosh Beth
Shalome, the first
Jewish synagogue in
Richmond, built
in 1822.

comply … but … the army will be
engaged in active operations, when, of
course, no one would wish to be absent
… nor could they in that event be
spared,” Lee wrote on April 2, 1863.
Similarly, requests for Shabbos
observance were not honored. 3
Many battles of the Civil War were
fought in the Richmond region, and the
bodies of Jewish soldiers were brought to
Richmond for burial. Those who had
relatives in Richmond were buried in
family plots in the Hebrew Cemetery,
established in 1791, but those from other
states, such as Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Texas, were buried in a
special area known as the Soldiers’
Section.
By the end of the war, thirty fallen
Jewish soldiers had been buried in the
Soldiers’ Section. In 1866, the Hebrew
Ladies’ Memorial Association was
formed to care for this plot. The
organization paid for individual grave
markers for the soldiers, commissioned
an elaborate ornamental iron fence to
surround the plot, and sponsored
commemorative services for the soldiers.
This section is believed to be the world’s
only Jewish military cemetery outside of
Eretz Yisrael.
Time Marches On
The Richmond Jewish community
continued to develop over the next
hundred years, and various shuls
formed to meet its needs. In 1908,
Keneseth Israel constructed a new
building on 19th Street in downtown
Richmond. This building continued to
serve the congregation until 1952, and
there are those who still have fond
memories of the “19th Street shul.”
On Sukkos, young girls from the
kehillah carried food down the many
steps of the shul to the sukkah, while
their fathers watched to make sure
nothing fell. On Simchas Torah, the
congregants continuously marched up
and down the large stone steps in front
of the shul, dancing in and out of the
building, holding flags with apples on
top.
The adjacent “Neighborhood House”
served as a gathering place for the
children of the congregation, and in the
Hebrew School, boys learned Torah
while girls sat on the other side of the
The Soldiers’ Section of the Hebrew
Cemetery, established in 1791.
mechitzah, their parents hoping they
would absorb some of the information
they were taught. 4 In 1952, after a series
of mergers between congregations,
Keneseth Israel became Keneseth Beth
Israel, which continues to serve as the
main Orthodox congregation in
Richmond.
New Institutions Thrive
In March 1965, Mr. Milton Marder,
Mr. Abraham Dere, and his brother, Mr.
Emil Dere, invited the well-known Rabbi
Nachman Bulman, zt”l, to address the
community of Richmond. Rabbi
Bulman, then a rabbi in nearby
Newport News, Virginia, was an
inspirational visionary and a leader of
Jewry beyond the United States. He
challenged the kehillah and inspired
them to establish a school that would
offer their children knowledge of limudei
kodesh that was at least equivalent to
their knowledge of secular studies.
Rabbi Bulman was invited to spend a
Shabbos in Richmond, but he refused
since there was no shul with a kosher
mechitzah. The Dere brothers were
determined to change the situation.
Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 29

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With great mesirus nefesh, they
personally borrowed money to build a
new shul, the Jewish Academy of
Richmond. As the shul was being
constructed, people would pass by and
remark, “The women in Richmond won’t
sit there.” However, they were proven
wrong; the shul opened and thrived for
many years.
In September 1966, in response to
Rabbi Bulman’s challenge, the
Richmond Hebrew Day School opened
its doors with seven students, with the
help of the Jewish Academy and its Rav,
Rabbi Abraham Isaacs. Rabbi Isaacs
and his wife, Mrs. Masha Isaacs, a”h,
worked very hard to establish the school,
convincing many parents to send their
children there.
Since then, the school has blossomed
and educated more than twelve hundred
Jewish children. In November 1992,
Hamodia June 13, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein, the noted historian,
visited Richmond and inspired the
community to provide education to
high-school students. In 1994, Shaarei
Torah, a girls’ high school, opened its
doors as a division of the Richmond
Hebrew Academy, now known as the
Rudlin Torah Academy. Shaarei Torah
successfully provides rigorous limudei
kodesh and limudei chol curricula,
recognizing each student’s individual
learning style and carefully nurturing
her natural talents and desire to learn.
In 2002, with the help of Rabbi
Chaim Nosson Segal of Torah
Umesorah, the day school expanded
once again, opening the Yeshiva of
Virginia, now called the Benjamin and
Lilian Rochkind Yeshiva of Virginia —
the first boys’ yeshivah high school in
Virginia. A beis medrash program
opened a few years later.
Richmond Today:
Torah
The Rudlin Torah Academy continues
to thrive. The school has set a standard
for excellence in both limudei kodesh and
secular studies in a uniquely southern
environment.
Rabbi Hal Klestzick, the menahel,
explains the school’s mission. “There are
about ten thousand Jews in Richmond,
but only about fifty shomer Shabbos
families,” he says. “We view our
elementary school as a kiruv school and
try to be mekarev the students and their
families.
“The Jewish people in North America
are losing more [members] every day to
assimilation than we are gaining
through kiruv; it is a terrible matzav.
However, our success is not a balance
sheet — for each child that we influence,
we are being mekarev a whole world. If
(Top row, L-R:) Rabbi Baruch Sherman, rebbi at Rudlin Torah Academy; Rabbi Dovid Asher, rabbi of Keneseth Beth Israel; Rabbi Yosef Bart, assistant principal of
Rudlin Torah Academy; and Rabbi Chaim Moskowitz, Mashgiach of Yeshiva of Virginia. (Bottom row, L-R:) Rabbi Hal Klestzick, menahel; Rabbi Chaim Ozer
Chait, Rosh Yeshivah; and Rabbi Yosef Skaist, rebbi at Yeshiva of Virginia.

one family is changed for dorei doros, that
is immeasurable success. Baruch Hashem,
we have seen many children influenced
to become shomrei Torah u’mitzvos and
move on to raise their own Torahdik
families.”
The yeshivah in Richmond caters to the
many parents who want a small, solid,
out-of-town yeshivah high school for their
sons, with a focus on yiras Shamayim and
middos. The yeshivah attracts many
bachurim from across the country and
around the world, who are drawn to the
individualized attention it offers, its
devoted rebbeim, and quality chinuch.
The rebbeim are extremely dedicated
to their talmidim and display great
mesirus nefesh for them. Rabbi Chaim
Ozer Chait, a talmid of Harav Moshe
Feinstein, zt”l, is the Rosh Yeshivah. The
other rebbeim are alumni of Yeshivas
Chofetz Chaim, Beth Medrash Govoha,
The Benjamin and Lilian
Rochkind Yeshiva of Virginia.
Meet the Neighbors
A Snapshot of Richmond’s Jewish Community
RABBI DOVID ASHER grew
up in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
His parents had attended
Brandeis University in Boston,
where they developed a close
relationship with the Bostoner
Rebbe, Harav Levi Yitzchok
Horowitz, zt”l. When Rabbi
Asher's father found a position
in Allentown at AT&T Bell
Laboratories, the family
moved there, gaining a
reputation for having an open
house, a place where everyone
was welcome.
Continued on page 33
Rabbi Asher in his home, running a session of
Leadership Initiative For Teens (LIFT), a Monday-night
program for public-high-school students.
Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 31

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the Mir, Ner Yisrael, and Yeshiva
University.
The beis medrash program, the
Yeshiva Gedola of Virginia, not only
serves as a place where yeshivah highschool
graduates and others from
around the country learn three full
sedarim a day, but it has become the
center of Torah learning for the entire
community. The yeshivah offers many
classes and programs that are attended
by dozens of men, some of whom are
accomplished talmidei chachamim and
others who are learning Torah for the
first time.
Throughout the week, chavrusas fill
the beis medrash and create a vibrant kol
Torah. Baalei batim are welcome to come
into the beis medrash at any time, listen
to a shiur, and connect to their heritage.
The programs include a very popular
Motzoei Shabbos Avos U’banim program
and a variety of shiurim, including
classes on Tanach, Pirkei Avos, and
mussar, and Shabbos shiurim for women.
Hamodia June 13, 2012
Keneseth Beth Israel.
Bachurim of Yeshiva of Virginia on a school trip.
Avodah
There are three Orthodox shuls in
Richmond — Congregation Kol Emes,
Chabad of Virginia, and Keneseth Beth
Israel.
Congregation Kol Emes plays the
critical role of housing the community’s
mikveh and still has a minyan on
Shabbos. Chabad of Virginia, which is
under the leadership of Rabbi Yossel
Kranz, is home to one of the largest
branches of the Jewish Learning

Institute, a nationwide adult education
program. It also hosts TAG (Torah,
Avodah and Gemilus Chassadim), an
after-school Hebrew school program.
Keneseth Beth Israel continues to
serve as the main Orthodox shul in the
kehillah, with daily minyanim for
Shacharis, Minchah, and Maariv and
various weekly shiurim. It is a bastion of
Torah Judaism in central Virginia.
Rabbi Dovid Asher is the current Rav
of Keneseth Beth Israel, which has a
growing membership of approximately
one hundred and forty membership
units — over three hundred and fifty
people.
The membership is diverse, ranging
from mechanchim to people who do not
yet read Hebrew. However, everyone
Continued from page 31
“They came to experience Shabbos and for my mother’s chocolate-chip
cookies,” he recalls.
Rabbi Asher attended the yeshivah high school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, as his
mother was — and still is — a French teacher in the girls’ school. “Throughout
my life I had excellent Rabbanim, and they left a good taste in my mouth for what
Rabbanim could accomplish. I loved small-town life and knew that I wanted to
become a Rav in a small town — a place where I could really accomplish and make
a difference.”
Rav Noach Weinberg, zt”l, who was close to the Asher family for many years,
had a profound influence on Rabbi Asher’s desire to reach out to his fellow
Yidden. “He was my rebbi in terms of harbatzas Torah.”
Last summer, after learning in Yeshiva University for a decade, Rabbi Asher
moved to Richmond with his wife, and he became the rabbi of Keneseth Beth
Israel. “The day that I arrived, we went to the house that the shul had prepared
for us and were shocked to find the refrigerator and all the cabinets packed with
food. That is the kind of place this community is; it was just incredible.
“I feel more part of Klal Yisrael here in Richmond. I see many of our brothers
and sisters who are struggling with their Jewish identity, but yet … are thirsty to
know Hakadosh Baruch Hu and become more acquainted with the Torah. Working
with them and helping them find answers allows my family to feel more a part of
the greater klal.”
RABBI CHAIM MOSKOWITZ grew up in a culturally Jewish home in
Richmond. While attending public high school, he came to the realization that if
Judaism is the relationship G-d has with the Jewish people and the Torah
provides the details of that relationship, then in order to become close to the
Alm-ghty, he would have to go to yeshivah to learn Torah.
After coming to this realization, “Chaim” actively sought out the Orthodox
community in Richmond, began learning, and discovered the truth of Yiddishkeit.
After finishing high school, he wanted to go to yeshivah but could not find one
in America that was appropriate for a good, solid, committed young man who
could not yet read a word of Hebrew. He traveled to Eretz Yisrael, where he first
attended Yeshivas Derech and then Mir Yerushalayim, and later returned to
America to learn in Beis Medrash Govoha in Lakewood.
Ten years later, Rabbi Chaim Moskowitz was ready to give back to the
community that had given him so much. Today, as the Mashgiach of the Yeshiva
of Virginia, he encourages the bachurim to fulfill their potential. In addition, he
spends hours each day learning with baalei batim from every segment of the
community — more than thirty each week.
“The uniqueness of this community is the diversity of the people, who are
coming from different backgrounds but are all unified, with a goal of personal,
albeit individualized, spiritual growth. Regardless of their level of religiosity, they
are all committed to fighting assimilation. I get chizuk from people who have very
limited backgrounds yet strive to reconnect to Yiddishkeit through limud haTorah.”
Rabbi Moskowitz continues, “I love this community. The people here want to
live — deliberately. Each person feels that he or she is contributing to the greater
good.”
Continued on page 35
Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 33

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connects to the authenticity of Torah
Judaism and recognizes that genuine
Torah is being taught — and everyone
gets along. As one member
commented, “If you start fighting with
everyone you disagree with, you will be
a very lonely person!”
An adult education program
provides learning opportunities for
everyone in the community, no matter
what their background. One class
introduced by Rabbi Asher is called
“Torah News.” It shows participants
how to view the world through the
prism of the Torah. Rabbi Asher focuses
on one news story — often a
controversial one — each week and
provides the Torah perspective on it.
A dynamic youth program engages
the young people of the community.
Rabbi Asher actively involves himself
with the youth, inviting college
students for Shabbos and hosting a
Monday-night class for public-highschool
students — complete with
Hamodia June 13, 2012
Rebbetzin Asher’s home-baked cakes.
Rabbi Chaim Moskowitz, Mashgiach
of the Yeshiva of Virginia, comments on
Rabbi Asher’s contribution to the
Richmond community: “Rabbi Asher
greets everyone with a cheerful face.
His warmth and enthusiasm comfort
and encourage all of those around him
to come closer to Hashem.”
… And Community
Rabbi Stephen Savitsky, president of
the Orthodox Union, has visited
Richmond several times as part of his
search for AOLs — affordable Orthodox
living.
“Richmond is a nice community with
good potential,” he notes. “It is a
community with a core structure,
affordable housing, and good
education, including boys’ and girls’
high schools. Rabbi Asher is a fine
young rabbi who is committed to
making the community grow. In
addition, Richmond is only a six-hour
drive from New York and offers a strong
job market. We would be happy to see
them grow to the next level; it would be
good for them and good for Klal Yisrael.”
For the past several years, Virginia
has been rated “Best Place to Do
Business” by CNBC. Plenty of jobs are
available, and many people have joined
the community after finding jobs in
nearby companies. As an added
incentive, Keneseth Beth Israel
maintains a job-search committee that
helps those moving to the community
find positions.
Kosher food is available in Richmond
through several sources. Some local
stores carry a full supply of kosher foods,
including chalav Yisrael milk and pas
Yisrael bread. Bakeries carry doughnuts
and other baked goods. A dairy cafe in
the Jewish Community Center offers a
sit-down option for those who would like
to dine in a warm, relaxed environment,
and there are also ice cream parlors.
Everything is under the supervision of
Students at Rudlin Torah Academy.

At an NCSY event.
the local Vaad Hakashrus.
With quality houses available for
under $200,000, low real-estate taxes, a
very low crime rate, and little traffic,
Richmond is a great place to raise a
family.
The city is full of “good ol’ Southern
hospitality” and American history,
which adds a unique flavor and pride to
life.
“People take the culture seriously,”
notes Rabbi Asher. “They want to make
sure the community is clean and
refined. This spills over into many areas.
For instance, it is a very safe city. One
can go out at night without thinking
twice, leave the front door open and the
car windows rolled down. If you are not
well-mannered, this is not a place for
you. People are nice to each other; they
smile and say hello. One can’t help but
develop good middos.”
Many of Richmond’s fifty shomer
Shabbos families live within a radius of
a few blocks, creating a close-knit
community. Most people do not have
extended family here, so they become
each other’s family.
Recently, the community has seen
the return of grown children. These
young adults are choosing Richmond
as the place to raise their own families
because they appreciate the value of
bringing up children in a small
community that cultivates
Continued from page 33
MR. JOSH GOLDBERG grew up in Richmond and attended the Rudlin Torah
Academy. Because the high school had not yet been established, he went to Silver
Spring for secondary education. When the yeshivah high school opened, he was
invited to serve as the dorm counselor. In that capacity, he developed a close
relationship with the Rosh Yeshivah, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Chait.
After marrying a few years ago, Mr. Goldberg moved back to Richmond. “I
really like the small-town atmosphere in Richmond. And once they get over the
fact that there are no pizza shops, most others do as well.”
MRS. RIVKA BART is administrator at Keneseth Beth Israel and the wife of
Rabbi Yosef Bart, the assistant menahel of the Yeshiva of Virginia. The Barts have
been living in Richmond for thirteen years and have raised a beautiful family.
“Growing up in a small town, children — and their parents — develop a
feeling that they are an integral part of the community, that they are needed.
When living in such a community, one learns that if there is a need, he or she
must step up and do it himself; he cannot assume that someone else will do it.
This encourages children to become an active part of the community and develop
a true sense of achrayus to Klal Yisrael.”
Mrs. Bart comments on the education her children are receiving in the school.
“The chinuch is something special and beautiful to behold. Our children learn
every day that Torah is not just about memorizing Mishnayos or the number of
pesukim you cover, it’s about internalizing the lessons of Torah — loving it and
living it, and being a mentch, in and out of shiur.
“We are more involved with every aspect of our children’s lives — what they
are learning, who they are playing with. They learn to sacrifice for Yiddishkeit,
and in the end come out stronger and more wholesome.”
Mrs. Bart finds it very meaningful to be able to make a difference in the lives
of so many other community members and to see the peiros of children
developing into shomrei Torah u’mitzvos.
“We know that everything we do and everywhere we go, we have the opportunity
to make a kiddush Hashem. We are constantly on guard, hoping that we will leave a
positive impression of frum Jews. And that awareness heightens our appreciation
for our place in this world as ambassadors of the Ribbono shel Olam.”
mentchlachkeit and avoids much of the
pettiness that often plagues larger
communities.
Mrs. Klestzick comments on life as a
frum Yid in Richmond. “It is a very
meaningful existence. Whether you like
it or not, you are a representative of
Torah, and that creates a lot of
meaning in your life. Nothing is done
by rote; you don’t take your Yiddishkeit
for granted. Some might find this to be
a pressure, but in truth, it adds
meaning because you are not being
swept by a tide. I find that it improves
one’s personal avodas Hashem.” �I
1. See Melvin I. Urofsky’s Commonwealth and
Community: The Jewish Experience in Virginia,
Virginia Historical Society and Jewish
Community Federation of Richmond, 1977.
2. Copies of this correspondence are located
in Beth Ahabah’s archives.
3. See “Richmond Jews: A Curious
Confederate History,” B’nai B’rith Magazine,
Summer 2007.
4. Formal classes for the girls began in 1939.
Inyan Magazine 23 Sivan 5772 35