In 1956, the board of directors of Bais Yaakov voted to add additional grades to the school, thereby establishing a fully accredited high school. After completing ninth grade, my class of eight girls became the pioneers of the first tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades.
Rabbi Diskind was our principal, rebbi, and mentor. He taught us parshas hashavua every Friday throughout high school. Many times he filled in for the teachers, when necessary.
In those days, there were no special GO counselors. When we went on Lag b’Omer outings (such as visiting Washington, D.C.), Rabbi Diskind accompanied us. When we went on class trips, Rabbi Diskind accompanied us as well.
As our high school was quite small, Rabbi Diskind wished to expose us to other Bais Yaakov girls in the greater New York area. He took us on a trip to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. We visited the Bais Yaakov High School and Seminary there. I remember how mind-boggling it was to see hundreds and hundreds of Bais Yaakov girls, ka”h. I remember being addressed by Rebbetzin Kaplan, a”h, in Yiddish at an assembly. (Perhaps it was Rosh Chodesh; I’m not sure). We spent a weekend there, sleeping over in homes that had girls our age. We became pen-pals with some of those girls, thereby forming a relationship. On Sunday, he took us on a boat trip around Manhattan and then on to Brighton Beach, where we had supper, hosted by the Bais Yaakov of Brighton Beach. (This school is no longer in operation.) Then we slept over in the girls’ homes until Monday morning. I had a cousin there, whom I had heard about but did not know. She was a seventh and eighth grade limudei kodesh teacher, and when she heard that Baltimore Bais Yaakov girls were coming, she sent her daughters to see if I was among them. She then invited me to stay at her home and meet the family, thus forming a relationship with some of her children that I have to this day. And where was Mrs. Diskind during this time? At home, of course, alone with her little children.
Years ago, during the Yom Tov of Shavuos, the Bais Yaakov schools convened for a national Bais Yaakov convention, which took place in Camp Bais Yaakov in Ferndale, New York. This included all the Bais Yaakovs in all sections of New York and the Baltimore Bais Yaakov (we were the only one from outside of New York). There were speakers, workshops, and planned programs. This convention was enjoyed by all – students, teachers, and principals – in a beautiful Yom Tov atmosphere. Rabbi Diskind wanted us to attend and join other Bais Yaakov girls. I attended for three years. (That’s where I met Helene Scheiner – Mrs. Helene Mintz today – among others who later married and settled in Baltimore.)
The first year I attended, the plan was that Rabbi Diskind would drive us in the school’s “carry all” (like a Suburban) to the Catskills, no small feat. As we approached Newark, New Jersey, our vehicle started to smoke. So he drove off the turnpike to a place called Dewey’s Garage in downtown Newark. (You wouldn’t want to be there without a hard hat and bulletproof vest.) Mr. Dewey repaired the van (it needed a fan belt), but it set us back several hours and it was too late to head for the Catskills. So, Rabbi Diskind drove us to his brother and sister-in-law’s apartment in Brownsville, New York to spend the night. (I think they sent out some of their children to make room for us. And we also spent the night at some kind neighbors.) The Els (elevated trains) were nearby, and not being used to the sound of trains at night, our group could not sleep. So we talked and laughed and made a little disturbance (although we didn’t think so), and Rabbi Diskind let us know in no uncertain terms the following morning that we had disturbed the neighbors.
The Diskind family ran out to buy milk for us. And I will never forget that Rabbi Diskind’s sister-in-law had several large loaves of homemade mandelbrot that she sliced up for us for breakfast. That must have been her Yom Tov cake for her family! What tzadikim! Then we left and drove onward to our destination. The following year, we traveled by bus.
And where was Mrs. Diskind during that Yom Tov? I don’t know, but her husband wasn’t with her. He was moser nefesh (and she was moser nefesh) accompanying teenage girls in order to allow them to enjoy a beautiful Yom Tov in a truly Torah atmosphere. Rabbi Diskind also arranged for us to work in Camp Bnos. We were waitresses and assistants.
Rabbi Diskind was a mashpia. He established the high school, set high standards, and brought it to an unprecedented level. He was uncompromising in Torah principles, and emphasized ahavas Torah, yiras Shamayim, and being machshiv talmidei chacham.
After high school graduation, Rabbi Diskind kept in touch with all of us. When he came to New York before Sukkos, when we were in Bais Yaakov seminary, he contacted us to meet him at his father-in-law, Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky’s, zt”l, home. He inquired of each of us as to how we were faring. He listened to our concerns and advised us always with encouragement. One weekend, when I was home from seminary, I asked Rabbi Diskind a shaila. I was teaching at the time in a Talmud Torah in New Jersey in the afternoons and the principal wanted me to lead the class in a way that I was not sure was 100 percent correct halachically. Rabbi Diskind told me to ask R’ Yaakov Kaminetsky, zt”l. He taught us to seek daas Torah, thereby teaching us that a Yid lives his entire life, come what may, according to daas Torah. Rabbi Diskind’s life was one of great accomplishment. He was an educator par excellence in chinuch habanos, inculcating into thousands of bnos Yisrael the inspiration and knowledge to establish Yiddishe homes al pi haTorah beru’ach Yisrael sava, in the spirit of our ancient holy tradition.
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