Herman N. Neuberger
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Hermann Naftali Neuberger (b. 1918, Hassfurt, Germany - d. 2005, United States) was an Orthodox rabbi and leader in the United States.
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[edit] Younger years
He was the son of Meir and Bertha Neuberger. As a young child his parents insisted on the best Orthodox Jewish upbringing and hired a teacher, or melamed, to teach him about his heritage and the Torah.
When Hermann was still young, the Neubergers moved to Würzburg with its sizeable Jewish community so that the three children could prosper and learn. When Hermann was only 13, a few weeks after his bar mitzvah, his father died. While in Würzburg the young teenager met Rabbi Samson Rafael Weiss, an affluent Torah scholar who became his mentor. Rabbi Weiss convinced him that the best place for him to be was one of the larger yeshivas, so he traveled to Poland to learn in the Mir Yeshiva.
In 1938 tensions were starting to brew in Eastern Europe and Anti-Semitism was beginning to rear its ugly head. Rabbi Neuberger had a relative in New York that was able to send him immigration papers to come to America. Not wanting to leave others behind, he arranged for papers for some of his close relatives too. As good fate would have it, Mrs. Bertha Neuberger and her two other children had already escaped. He also helped Rabbi Dovid Kronglass, who would later become the Mashgiach of Ner Israel, escape.
[edit] In America
On a visit to Baltimore, the young yeshiva student met Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, who had just started a small yeshiva in a local synagogue, named Ner Israel. Inspired by the great man, Rabbi Neuberger decided to stay in Baltimore and learn in the yeshiva full time. By 1941 the young scholar was already running the place. He helped with virtually every administrative function and single-handedly arranged for the construction of a new school building on Garrison Blvd. All this from a man who could barely read English.
[edit] Starting a yeshiva
In 1942, Rabbi Neuberger married Judy Kramer, Rabbi Ruderman's sister in-law. They remained happily married until her passing. During these early years, Rabbi Neuberger helped develop the yeshiva become a true center for Torah.
[edit] Saving a nation
When asked to describe him, many people refer to Rabbi Neuberger as a baal achrayus, or man of responsibility. This in a sense was exactly what he was. He took resposiblity for everything, whether it affected him directly or not. One of the most profound examples of this was the wholesale rescue of Persian Jewry. In 1975 the Shah was still in power in Iran and although the country was secular, Jews had very few rights and were not allowed to study Torah. Rabbi Neuberger took it upon himself to bring a small group of Iranian youngsters to the Yeshiva with the intent that they would go back to Iran after receiving their Rabbinnical degrees to become educators. Before the great plan began to bear fruit, it was 1979 and the Ayatollas took command stripping Persian Jews of any rights and dignity that remained. Through a sophisticated series of connections, Rabbi Neuberger worked to help over 60,000 Jews escape from Iran in an operation still in effect today.
[edit] Recognition as a college
At this point in Jewish Americam history, yeshivas were not considered colleges and the degrees were not recognized. Rabbi Neuberger, along with his lifelong friend, Rabbi Moshe Sherer started the Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools to help yeshivas gain recognition amongst American Colleges.
[edit] A Legacy
Rabbi Hermann Naftali Neuberger died on October 21, 2005, during the holiday of Succot, Friday afternoon just after lighting Shabbat candles. He had lived a life of simplicity, never asking for more than he needed and always available at anytime during the day for any problem, from mundane simple matters to life-and-death issues. He is survived by his five children, Rabbi Sheftel, who succeeds his father as President of Ner Israel, Isaac, a Baltimore attorney, Rabbi Shraga, a senior Professor in the Yeshiva, Yaakov, an attorney, and Rabbi Ezra, Rosh Kollel of Ner Israel.
At Rabbi Neuberger's funeral, his son, Rabbi Sheftel, spoke about his father's humility. He said, "He never wanted any of us to talk about the things he did, and because he died during the holiday of Sukkot, his wish is being carried out even in death, as we cannot eulogize him." (In Jewish law, Jews do not eulogize others on specific days, including holidays).
