On Monday night, the 22nd of Sivan, Baltimore lost one of the pillars of the community with the petira of R’ Zelig Ellenbogen, z”l. He was a man who was short in stature but a “giant” in spirit. He was a quiet man who was content to do great things behind the scenes. The adjectives used to describe him were: “regal,” a “prince,” a “mentch,” “honest,” “aristocratic,” “genuine,” an “ish gadol,” “a tzadik,” an “anav,” and a “man of integrity.” But probably the best description was given by Tony Goldenberg, who described him as “tough and soft.” He set high standards and led by example.
R’ Zelig Ellenbogen was born in Nyirbator, Hungary on the 28th of Nissan, 1928. He was the fourth of six children born to Shmuel and Chaya (Steinberger) Ellenbogen. As a child he excelled in cheder. After his bar mitzva, he learned in Satmar for one zman and then for approximately one year in Hodosz. When the yeshiva in Hodosz was forced to disband due to the ongoing war, he returned to Nyirbator and was deported to Auschwitz, in May 1944, at the age of 16, with his father, mother, older sisters Frayda and Rivka, and younger siblings Avrohom (10) and Esther Toba (4).
He was tough. B”H, he survived Auschwitz, Monowitz, the “death march,” as well as frostbite and the amputation of his toes in Buchenwald before his liberation at the hands of the American Army on the day he turned 17, on the 28th of Nissan, 1945. He always said that he was “born twice” on his birthday.
He was one of 427 children who were liberated in Buchenwald and sent by the OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants – Society for Rescuing Children), a French organization, to Ecouis, France, after liberation. There, these children were placed in an orphanage set up to help care for them.
R’ Zelig was one of a hundred of these boys who went on “strike” and demanded that the OSE provide them with kosher food, sefarim, siddurim, and Jewish education. These one hundred boys were separated from the others, and a religious orphanage was set up for them in Taverny. There, aside from his Torah and secular studies, he also received training as an electrician.
At the age of 18, R’ Zelig and five other boys went to learn in Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin, in Aix L’Bain, under the guidance of Rav Avrohomche Shapiro, the brother of Rav Meir Shapiro, the founder of the Daf Yomi. When that yeshiva disbanded and moved to Eretz Yisrael, R’ Zelig went to learn in Yeshiva Chachmei Tzorfas, headed by Rabbi Chaykin.
In 1948, R’ Zelig received a visa to the United States. He eventually settled in Williamsburg, New York, where his older married brother lived, and earned his livelihood in the then-flourishing garment industry. R’ Zelig would awaken each morning before daybreak and learn with a chavursa in the bais medrash before davening and beginning the rest of his day. He later told his children that they learned with such a “bren” at that early hour that a neighbor of the bais medrash asked them to try to learn more quietly so that he could sleep. R’ Zelig kept up this schedule and mode of learning “bekol” (aloud) throughout his lifetime. His family awakened to the sound of his learning at home prior to his going to the bais medrash to learn.
In April 1951, R’ Zelig married Miriam Davidowitz, who resided on the Lower East Side of New York City. Her parents welcomed him into the family like a son, and he, in turn, treated them like the parents he had lost in the war. His wife would prove to be the ultimate aishes chayil, and was his helpmate throughout his life, providing for all his needs. (From his first heart attack as a yungerman, in 1969, until his petira 43 years later, she was at his side to ensure that he had the best care possible.)
Shortly after their marriage, the young couple moved to Baltimore, where R’ Zelig found a job working for Martin Bamberger, Inc., a company he stayed with for over 58 years as a bookkeeper, manager, and salesman. In Baltimore, he joined Harav Yitzchok Sternhell, zt”l, and other survivors in founding the kehilaMachzekei Torahand the associated cheder, Shearis Hapleita. Even though a boys day school already existed in Baltimore, these survivors wanted a cheder where the boys learned in Yiddish, in the fashion of the chedarim they had attended as children. The fact that he was one of the founders was a tribute to his vision for the future, because when the cheder was begun, he had no children. In fact, he would not have a son attending the cheder until 10 years later. Eventually, even with the changing of the cheder from a chassidish/Yiddishmosad to an American/English mosad, he continued to be a member of the board until he was niftar. The cheder was always very dear to him. He constantly expressed his pride in the school to his sons and would always boast about how many children were learning in the cheder and how successful the school was in being mechanech the children.
At home, he set an example to his family as a parent who excelled in Torah, avoda, and gemilus chasadim. Together with his wife, tbl”c, he brought up his children in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s with the mesorah (tradition) transmitted to him by his parents and grandparents.
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In Torah: There was never a day that R’ Zelig didn’t learn. He would awaken to say tehilim and learn at 4:30 a.m. He was consistently the first one in the bais hamedrash, usually arriving before 5:00 a.m. Harav Yaakov Hershkowitz, a longtime Daf Hayomi magid shiur, told the family that when he could not make it to the shiur, which started at 6:00 a.m., he knew he could call R’ Zelig, and ask him to say the shiur in his place. At the shiva, quite a few members of the shiur told the family that when R’ Zelig gave the shiur, he would tell all the attendees that “R’ Yaakov couldn’t make it. So let’s learn the blatt together.” He would then proceed to give the shiur from his seat and not turn around to face those who came to the shiur. He inevitably knew the gemara and didn’t miss a beat in the shiur. Prior to his petira, he had completed almost four cycles of Daf Yomi. This was in addition to the various other chavursas that he had during the course of his day.
As his children grew, he learned aleph bais, Chumash, Rashi, Mishnayos, and Gemara with them. He would constantly teach them to look in the sefer and understand what the text was saying. He would tell them not to imagine the pshat. He would typically learn with them on Shabbos morning before going to shul. During the 15-minute walk to shul, he would ask them to “say over” the give-and-take of the gemara to make sure that they really understood what the gemara was saying.
There were times that he would learn with his boys from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. in the morning, either at home or in Yeshivas Ner Israel (a 20-minute drive) to make sure that they were up to par in learning. In later years, when his children were bachurim learning in out-of-town yeshivos, he would make sure to visit customers in that area so that he could check up on them. He told his children that he learned this from his father, who would drop by the yeshiva in Hodosz when he was traveling for business to check up on him. Inevitably, R’ Zelig’s visits were accompanied by a large package of treats from Mrs. Ellenbogen.
On Shabbos and Yom Tov, meals were usually accompanied by learning. This, more often than not, would continue for more than an hour, as he got “arein getohn” in a mitzva from the Minchas Chinuch, a siman in Mo’adim Uzmanin, or Torah on the parsha from Divrei Yoel. The best present the children could buy him was a new sefer. When he retired from Bamberger’s, he appreciated the Nach they bought him, and he learned from that as well.
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Inavodah: R’ Zelig always remembered that day, Rosh Chodesh Sivan, when his father woke him up in the cattle car heading to Auschwitz and told him to daven and put on tefilin at daybreak, because “you don’t know what the day will bring.” He took that as a tzava’ah (legacy) from his father not to put off leigen tefilin, and not to put off davening until later in the morning.
Tefilin and davening became so special to him. For every bar mitzva, he was so proud to buy a pair of tefilin for his grandsons. He taught his nephews how to put on tefilin, and his grandsons who grew up in Baltimore never spoke during davening when wearing tefilin. Zayde taught them well by example.
The mispalelim (congregants) in Machzekei Torah remember how he davened Shachris on the Yamim Nora’im, prior to the onset of heart problems in 1969. Even after that, he led the tefilos on Hoshana Rabba and pled with the Ribono Shel Olam for a gut gebencht yur.” Many mispalelim also recounted how he would cry while saying the first kinah and the Bobover kina remembering the Holocaust every year on Tisha B’av. This past year, he got so emotional that he was not able to complete it himself.
He always said that fasting was easy for him. His motto was that he ate to live and did not live to eat. He realized that some people had difficulty fasting, and the only time he left his seat on Yom Kippur was at the break between Mussaf and learning the DafYomi before Mincha to check on how his wife was fasting. He used to laugh at the irony when the doctors kept him waiting for a procedure and did not allow him to eat until late in the afternoon but objected to him fasting on a fast day. He couldn’t understand the “big deal” they made over fasting.
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In Gemilus chasadim: R’ Zelig and, tbl”c, Mrs. Ellenbogen had an open house. In the early years of their marriage, meshulachim knew they had a place to stay while in Baltimore. They hosted some meshulachim year after year. Salesman passing through Baltimore somehow found their way to their door, and not only did they have a place to sleep but Mrs. Ellenbogen cooked meals for them as well. Their Shabbos table would very often be joined by guests. The elderly and young, the frum and not yet frum, Russian, Litvish, or Chasidish would grace the seuda. R’ Zelig had the ability to make everyone feel welcome, and the guests would leave feeling satiated with his warmth and with Mrs. Ellenbogen’s delicious food.
R’ Zelig had respect for everyone. He taught his children that whenever a new face showed up in shul, they should be makdim shalom, and make the person feel comfortable. Someone at the shiva described him as having springs on his feet whenever a guest showed up in shul. Additionally, if someone was collecting funds, he taught his children to go to the collector first and contribute before being asked to do so. After all, why should they have to beg for their money? The main way he taught was by example.
Many of the chasadim he did were not known beyond his family. He ran a gemach, served on various committees, collected tzedaka, and helped anyone who needed physical or monetary help. When someone was in pain, he physically felt their anguish.
He did all the above and more with anivus (humility). He always tried to avoid kavod (honor). He didn’t do anything in his life for show or honor but was always nosei be’ol im chaveiro, shared his friend’s burden. Part of his chiyus, his reason for living, was that he should always be able to help his fellow Yid.
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And finally, he was totally and devotedly a family-oriented individual. He tried to never miss a simcha; not only for his own children but even for his nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces, and even for close friends when the simcha was out of town. He would go to New York, Lakewood, Cleveland, Montreal, even Eretz Yisrael, for a bris, and there was a genuine smile on his face when he could share someone’s simcha with them.
He always spoke about his experiences in the war and gave thanks to Hakadosh Baruch Hu (G-d) for saving him and allowing him to live to see family simchos.
He lived with strong emuna (faith) and bitachon (trust), and tried to instill his ideals into his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He showed his family the chasdei Hashem in all the stories he told us about World War II and his tzaros. His emuna remained strong and intact throughout his life, and he wanted to instill this into his family.
Oy lanu ki nafal rosheinu! Oy lanu ki nafal avinu!
May the new great-grandchild whose bris took place on the last day of his shiva and who bears his name, grow up with the emuna and gevura (strength)of Shimshon Zelig ben Shmuel. Tatty, please go before the kisei hakavod and plead for your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, the community of Baltimore, and klal Yisrael that the geula shleima should come bimehira beyameinu.
