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The Rosh Ha Yeshivah [rosh ha yeshivah: "head of the yeshivah", thus the principal. Yeshivah; a school of higher Jewish religious education – Editor's note] was Rabbi Weissmandel [8], that means that he was in charge of everything, acceptance for studies, food, everything.
As far as teaching goes, that was taken care of by the main rabbi, Shmuel David Ungar. He lectured almost every day from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The lectures were on individual sections of the Talmud. We took mainly the practical part, like the observance of various laws and regulations.
As a matter of fact, we acquired good basic knowledge of some important parts of the Talmud at the Jesodeh Hatorah school in Bratislava, but here at the yeshivah the studies comprised of, among others, very important commentaries made over the centuries by some Talmudic scholars,and alse extended to the deeper study of some parts of the Talmud that had not been included in the studies at the Jesode Hatorah.
There were also those among us that had rich parents who were particular about their son studying at such and such a school and with such and such a rabbi. In yeshivah they only went into special things. Mainly legal matters and historical background from the Talmud were interesting.
Rabbi Shmuel David Ungar was from Piestany. He had three sons. The oldest one was a rabbi in the town of Hlohovec. Our entire yeshivah attended his inauguration. His younger son was named Shalom Moshe Ungar, in Jewish jargon Sholem Moishe. We were studying at yeshivah together.
I was his older classmate. He married my cousin, the daughter of the Kezmarok rabbi Nathan Grünberg. During the war Rabbi Shmuel Ungar and his son Moshe became partisans. Rabbi Shmuel Ungar perished in 1944. He was buried in the forest.
After the war they exhumed him and transferred him to a cemetery in Piestany, where he was from. Moishe moved to the USA, where he became a rabbi. In the USA, he and Rabbi Weissmandel together restarted the functioning of the Nitra yeshivah. Sholem Moishe Ungar died a few years ago.
As far as teaching goes, that was taken care of by the main rabbi, Shmuel David Ungar. He lectured almost every day from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The lectures were on individual sections of the Talmud. We took mainly the practical part, like the observance of various laws and regulations.
As a matter of fact, we acquired good basic knowledge of some important parts of the Talmud at the Jesodeh Hatorah school in Bratislava, but here at the yeshivah the studies comprised of, among others, very important commentaries made over the centuries by some Talmudic scholars,and alse extended to the deeper study of some parts of the Talmud that had not been included in the studies at the Jesode Hatorah.
There were also those among us that had rich parents who were particular about their son studying at such and such a school and with such and such a rabbi. In yeshivah they only went into special things. Mainly legal matters and historical background from the Talmud were interesting.
Rabbi Shmuel David Ungar was from Piestany. He had three sons. The oldest one was a rabbi in the town of Hlohovec. Our entire yeshivah attended his inauguration. His younger son was named Shalom Moshe Ungar, in Jewish jargon Sholem Moishe. We were studying at yeshivah together.
I was his older classmate. He married my cousin, the daughter of the Kezmarok rabbi Nathan Grünberg. During the war Rabbi Shmuel Ungar and his son Moshe became partisans. Rabbi Shmuel Ungar perished in 1944. He was buried in the forest.
After the war they exhumed him and transferred him to a cemetery in Piestany, where he was from. Moishe moved to the USA, where he became a rabbi. In the USA, he and Rabbi Weissmandel together restarted the functioning of the Nitra yeshivah. Sholem Moishe Ungar died a few years ago.
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Singer Alexander