Selig Starr
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Rabbi Selig Starr born Zelig Starobinski (b. 15 June 1893 Yanow or Yanaveh, Poland, d. 2 November 1989) was a 20th century talmudic scholar in Poland, Chicago and Jerusalem. As the instructor of the highest-level shiur at Skokie, Illinois's Hebrew Theological College, he was responsible for most of Orthodox rabbinical students in the Chicago area over several decades.
He has taught thousands of young Jewish men Torah, Jewish ethics and culture. Due to his influence and inspiration many of these students later became leaders and teachers in Israel. There are at least 25 rabbis in Chicago alone (as of 1956) who were his students.
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[edit] Education
In his early years, Selig studied at Navaradak, Telz, and Slabodka at Kovno, Lithuania. At 17, he came to Slobodka Yeshiva "Knesses Israel". His Talmudic training there was so thoroughly and rapidly absorbed that through scarcely no more than a boy he was ordained as Rabbi, in 1921, by the world-famous Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein and Rabbi Solomon David Cahana of Warsaw.
He immigrated to the United States on the S.S. Latvia, sailing from Danzig (14 July 1921) along with his widowed mother Guta Tova.
[edit] Life in Chicago
He came to Chicago in 1921, and immediately became member of the faculty of Beth Medresh Latorah Hebrew Theological College. At the same time he pursued his secular studies at the University of Chicago and received degrees of Ph. B 1926. and M. A. 1930 and wrote a dissertation in English history on the Exclusion Bill crisis from 1679 to 1681.
Rabbi Starr married in 1924 to Pearl (Penina) Cohen (Born 15 December 1904, Died 1970).
Rabbi Starr obtained U.S. citizenship, on 16 May 1929, and in 1931, he was elected Rabbi of Am Olam (8006 Cottage Grove Avenue, Chiccago). His scholarly article "Historical and Present Day Judaism" was published in Ohel Moed.
He was Senior Rabbi at Hebrew Theological College (Skokie, Illinois). By the time he had finished his career at Hebrew Theological College, he had taught three generations of some student's families. Tremendous Lamden, and knew all the Masechtot that are regularly studied in yeshivot, as well or better than any Rosh Hayeshiva anywhere in the world. He was critical of Israeli yeshivot, faulting them for luring the best students from American yeshivot.
Rabbi Starr was also the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Joseph South Shore (5433 W. Jackson Boulevard).
[edit] Life in Israel
In 1984, Rabbi Selig Starr became Rosh Yeshiva at Darchai Noam (Jerusalem).
[edit] Philosophy
Even more than diligent Torah study, Middos Tovos or Tefilla Betzibbur, he emphasized Ahavas Yisroel. Rabbi Starr could be caustic and critical, most often when a student said something that he considered to be illogical.
As a teacher of future rabbis, he cautioned students that they must "know what you know, and know what you do not know."
Rabbi Selig Starr enumerated "Ten Modern Important Commandments" for his students and family. They were as follows:
- Remember to embrace equally all the three fundamentally Jewish loves: Ahavas Hashem, Ahavas Torah and Avahas Yisroel.
- Remember not to minimize any one of them in anyway whatsoever.
- Remember that time is the most precious element in your mental treasury therefore spend it very carefully.
- Remember not to spend your spiritual harvest time more on one crop than on the others.
- Remember that personal flattery (chenipah) is your worst enemy, while expert criticism is your best friend.
- Remember that human behavior must be analyzed and comprehended; some people are acting as spiders, while others, like flies enwrapped in the deadly silken threads of the spiders. Avoid the company of either one of them.
- Remember that six million of American Jews are waiting for your spiritual orthodox guidance. Do not disappoint them.
- Remember that you have been trained to fight two internal enemies, ignorance and confusion, the latter is the greater.
- Remember that our spiritual orthodox survival depends solely on the ability of our leaders to rescue the wine while the barrel is broken, to watch over the Torah inheritance while the ghetto walls have been eliminated.
- Remember that destiny (hashgachat haborei) has bestowed upon the incoming Jewish generation the greatest amount of the most precious blessings, and, at the same time imposed upon our selected Talmudic Scholars the greatest responsibilities to be sincere Servants of G-d, Torah, and Israel (as an independent State and everlasting people).
He was a great tsadik but disdained displays for appearances only. Once he criticized a student for wearing his tsitsis hanging out. His student replied that wearing tsitsis is one of the greatest mitzvot and he wanted to show how proud he was. Rabbi Starr replied that the Brit milah is an even greater mitzvot but it is not displayed.
[edit] External links
More than any of these "ten commandments" Rabbi Starr had a motto which he constantly drummed into his students: "You should know what you know and know what you don't know"
