Not Just Numbers

Case 11 Conclusion: Yehuda Leib Graubart

Fifteen Minutes

Did you find anything surprising about this person’s life?

Did you make any assumptions that were later challenged?

Is there anything specific about this person that you would like to know?

Details

Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart (1861-1937) was born to a prominent rabbinical family. He was the chief rabbi of Staszów, Poland and an internationally renowned halachic authority. Rabbis from throughout the Russian Empire travelled to visit Graubart for his wisdom and guidance.

Having witnessed consistent violence against Eastern European Jews, Graubart was a Zionist (Jewish nationalist), believing that Jews should have a state where they would not have to rely on others for their security. This view differed from that of many other Orthodox Jews in the early 1900’s, who saw Zionism as a secularization of Jewish identity that would drive Jews away from religious practice.

In 1920, while attending a conference in London, Graubart faced religious persecution and was informed that he would be arrested upon returning to Poland. He did not want to flee Poland, but accepted a sponsorship invitation to be the Rav HaKolel (chief rabbi) of Toronto’s Polish Jewish community, most of whom were from Staszów.

Graubart developed a robust Torah curriculum at Toronto’s Eitz Chaim Orthodox Jewish school. He also pushed for more widespread observance of Shabbat (the Jewish weekly day of rest), but these efforts were unsuccessful.

Graubart was involved in a series of disputes with other rabbis over who had the authority to determine which Toronto butchers were kosher (acceptable under Jewish dietary laws). One case was brought before the Supreme Court of Ontario before being assigned to a panel of Orthodox Rabbis from New York to reach a verdict.

The vast majority of Staszów’s Jewish community, which first appeared in 1526, and constituted more than half the town’s population before World War II, was murdered during the Holocaust. The Stashover-Slipia Congregation in North York continues to represent Toronto’s Jewish population descending from Staszów.

For more information:

Freedman, Nessiya. 2019. “Scandal Rocks the Toronto Jewish Community: Multiple Stories Unfold.” Ontario Jewish Archives. 2019. https://ontariojewisharchives.org/Blog/Scandal-Rocks-the-Toronto-Jewish-Community-Multiple-Stories-Unfold.

Shemen, Nachman. 2020. “The ‘Rav,’ Rabbi Yehuda Leib Graubart.” In Staszów Memorial Book, translated by Miriam Leberstein, 130–34. https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/staszow/sta109.html.