Rabbi Menachem ben Elazar Ziemba

Rabbi Menachem ben Elazar Ziemba (1883–1943) was an outstanding rabbi before World War II, renowned as a Talmudic genius and prodigy. Yahrzeit - 19 Nissan Burial place - died in the Warsaw Ghetto (Kiddush Hashem), buried on Har HaMenuchot   He is known to have had a masterful command of the Talmud, as well as many works of later rabbis, such as Rabbi Yosef Rosen and Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk. He was shot by the Germans in the Warsaw Ghetto. Rabbi Ziemba was born in Praga in 1883. His father, Elazar, died when Menachem was still a young boy, and the orphan was raised by his grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Ziemba. Rabbi Avraham was a chassid of the Kotzker Rebbe and a disciple of the Chiddushei HaRim, and was now a follower of the Sfas Emes of Ger. Rabbi Ziemba was raised in Ger chassidus by his grandfather and remained a devoted chassid his entire life. Even years later, when he was world-renowned as a master of Torah, a posek, and an expert in chassidic thought, he still considered himself a simple chassid of the Rebbe of Ger. When he visited Ger, he was called up by name, and he declined to sit at the Rebbe's main table - an honor reserved for distinguished visitors. As Rabbi Ziemba grew up in Warsaw, he earned a reputation as a formidable talmid chacham (scholar) and a dazzling genius. He maintained a unique correspondence with the Gaon of Rogatchov, a fiery man known for his intolerance of mediocrity and impatience with younger scholars. At the age of 18, Rabbi Ziemba married the daughter of a wealthy local merchant. This enabled him to study Torah undisturbed for the next twenty years, a period he remembered as the happiest years of his life. His fame spread further, drawing the attention of Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk and others. He once admitted that he had written more than 10,000 pages of Torah novellae during this golden period. When Rabbi Ziemba's father-in-law died, he had to take over the family store's affairs in order to continue supporting his family. He turned down numerous offers to serve as rabbi in various cities, including as Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and as Rabbi of Lublin, stating that he had more time to study while working than he would as a community rabbi. However, at the request of his beloved Rebbe of Ger, Rabbi Ziemba became involved in communal affairs. In 1935, he was appointed as the representative of Praga on the Kehilla Council in Warsaw. Between 1930 and 1935, the worldwide economic depression affected Rabbi Ziemba. His store was forced to close. He was offered the prestigious position of Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, but he declined. After the untimely passing of Rabbi Meir Shapiro, Rabbi Ziemba was offered the position of his successor as Rabbi of Lublin and Rosh Yeshiva of "Chachmei Lublin." For unknown reasons, this never came to pass. In 1935, together with Rabbi Yaakov Meir Biderman, son-in-law of the Rebbe of Ger, and Rabbi Avraham Weinberg, he was appointed to the Warsaw Rabbinate, becoming one of the leading representatives of Orthodox Jewry in Poland. In addition to his political prominence, Rabbi Ziemba became a very important halachic authority, answering questions from around the world as well as from Poland. Rabbi Ziemba also took an active part in Agudath Israel early on. At his first Knessia Gedola (great assembly), he was not yet forty when he was chosen as honorary secretary of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. At the second Knessia Gedola, Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzenski agreed to become chairman of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah only on condition that Rabbi Ziemba remain in his position, even though the 45-year-old Rabbi Ziemba felt himself too young and preferred to remain in the background.   World War II In January 1943, at a meeting of the Warsaw Jewish leadership, Rabbi Ziemba declared that traditional martyrdom (Kiddush Hashem - sanctification of the Divine Name) was no longer a valid response to persecution by Germany. He stated that "sanctification of the Divine Name" must now be carried out through resistance to the enemy. He said to the group of ghetto leaders: "We are now facing an implacable enemy whose unprecedented brutality and goal of total annihilation know no bounds. Halacha [Jewish law] demands that we fight and resist to the very end with unsurpassed resolve and valor, for the sake of sanctifying the Divine Name." With the outbreak of World War II and Germany's invasion of Poland, Rabbi Ziemba became the most important force in the Warsaw Ghetto. In the darkest days of despair, he was a source of hope, optimism, and inspiration. He established secret places for Torah study and, at great personal risk, constantly visited these hidden places to strengthen those learning there. His wife died in the ghetto. Rabbi Ziemba was one of the few rabbinic leaders who called for armed resistance. He redefined the traditional martyrdom of "Kiddush Hashem" as "Kiddush HaChaim," the sanctification of life. According to scholar Pesach Schindler, Rabbi Ziemba summarized his concept of Kiddush HaChaim when he pleaded with Jews to resist just before the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943: "Thus, by the authority of the Torah of Israel, I insist that there is absolutely no purpose or value of Kiddush Hashem in the death of a Jew. Kiddush Hashem in our present situation is embodied in a Jew's will to live. This struggle to aspire and strive for life is a mitzvah that must be fulfilled through nekama, revenge, mesirat nefesh, and the sanctification of mind and will." Rabbi Ziemba had two opportunities to escape the ghetto. Through the efforts of Chaim Yisroel and the Sternbuch family of Switzerland, a Costa Rican passport was sent to him. His surname, however, was misspelled - Zimber instead of Ziemba. This was enough for his documents to be declared invalid. On another occasion, Rabbi Ziemba, along with two other surviving members of the Warsaw Rabbinate, Rabbi Shimshon Stockhammer and Rabbi David Shapiro, were suddenly summoned to the Judenrat. They were told that the Catholic Church was prepared to save them. All three refused to go, stating that the existence of the rabbinate gave the Jews strength to carry on, even though such a formality was no longer needed. Rabbi Ziemba established a committee to supply ghetto residents with Passover provisions. He was under constant surveillance by the authorities and therefore could not personally take part in the ghetto underground. However, when money was needed to acquire ammunition, he was the first to donate and added his personal blessing to the resistance movement. He was one of the last three remaining rabbis in the Warsaw Ghetto, together with Rabbi Shimshon Stockhammer and Rabbi David Shapiro. Shortly before the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Archbishop of Warsaw offered the three rabbis refuge in his palace. After brief deliberation, all three declined the offer, unwilling to abandon the Jews of the ghetto.   Death Shortly before Pesach, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began. While battle raged around him, Rabbi Ziemba, as though nothing were happening, prepared for the approaching holiday. In the evening, the fighting stopped, and Ziemba conducted the Seder as if it were an ordinary time. The following days were spent in hiding places, watching the ghetto burn. The Germans methodically destroyed the ghetto house by house in order to break the resistance. Among the buildings burning were those on Kupiecka Street 7, including the house where Ziemba was hiding. When the air grew thick with smoke and it became almost impossible to breathe, Ziemba and several Jews hiding with him decided to try to dash across the street, past SS men with machine guns, to the building where the "Wola Rav," Rabbi Ber, was hiding. During a brief lull in the shooting, when it seemed safe, Ziemba's daughter Roza managed to run across first, then waved to the others. Her signal was misunderstood. Believing it was safe, Ziemba, holding the hand of his five-year-old grandson Yankele Ber, tried to make his escape. Wild shouts and gunfire followed. Ziemba fell to the ground; the others retreated under the fierce onslaught. News of the rabbi's death quickly spread through all the surrounding hiding places. Despite the great danger, several minyanim gathered. A Beit Din was formed, which decided to temporarily bury the rabbi in a grave in the courtyard of Kupiecka 4. When the ghetto was finally liquidated, all his immediate relatives were deported to Treblinka, where they all perished. In 1958, upon learning that the Polish government was planning to redevelop the territory of the ghetto, which included Rabbi Ziemba's grave, his nephews Rabbi Avraham and Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Ziemba (who had been with him until the very end) and others made great efforts to exhume his body and transfer it to Israel. After several weeks of surveying work, his grave was finally located - all the landmarks that survivors remembered had since been destroyed. His body was brought to Israel, and after a funeral attended by the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and tens of thousands of people, he was finally buried on Har HaMenuchot. Works Totzos Chaim, a work on the laws of Shabbat observance, written in honor of Rabbi Ziemba's father-in-law, who died in 1920. Zera Avraham (Seed of Avraham), correspondence between Rabbi Ziemba and Rabbi Avraham Luftbier of Warsaw, son-in-law of Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, who died at a very young age. Gur Aryeh Yehuda, a book of novellae by Moshe Yehuda Aryeh, Rabbi Ziemba's outstanding son, who died at the age of 19 in 1924. It also contains some correspondence between father and son. He wrote works on the Sifra and Sifrei, titled Otzar HaSifra and Otzar HaSifrei. Tens of thousands of pages of Rabbi Ziemba's writings were destroyed in the fire of the Warsaw Ghetto. Among them was a treatise on the entire Rambam titled Machazeh HaMelech, another treatise on the Jerusalem Talmud titled Menachem Yerushalayim, as well as hundreds of responsa and novellae on the Bavli, Shulchan Aruch, Midrash, and many other parts of the Torah.   May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Ziemba)