Ed-Op:
The Middle East situation is no better than my stray cat situation. Every day,
I put out cat food for the strays in my neighborhood. Every once in a while,
the population is controlled by the county. From up to nine strays the
population when down to one white male with a few others who visit from time to
time to take a drink or get left overs. Recently, a black cat came with a very
small kitten. Based on the behavior of the white male, I assume it is father
cat and he brought the kitten to the food. The white will attack the kitten
when the father is not there. The father and the white one will go at it other
even if I put food out in two places meters apart, the black cat wants to start
up with the white one.
The
situation in the Middle East is the same as the cat situation. The PLO will not
stop their quest to drive Israel to the sea for 11 pieces of silver or an
American Peace Plan for territory, State recognition and a $50,000,000,000
package. It might be the western way of thinking but that is not their thought
process. It is time to realize that these people cannot be bought from their
dreams or religious hatred that blinds them to reality.
Correction
not Sanhedrin: There is a story in Tractate Menachos 44 Aleph of a
man who was particular on Tzitzis but paid money to see the most famous
“lullaby lady” of her day. Thanks to Rabbi Mimran Shlita who was unavailable to
help me before publication.
Parsha Korach
So
far there have been a lot of rebellions and trouble from the masses that appear
easily stirred by rabble-rousers. Not so with the Leviim they were
non-participants in the Chet HaEgel and did not send out spies. The only thing
we could put on somebody from Levi was the private conversation between Miriam
and Aaron within Moshe’s immediate family. However, instead of learning from
past rebellions, Korach is about to engage upon a very dangerous rebellion. Did
Dathan and Aviram insight his jealousy or did he insight them? It did not
matter; the last big rebellion was about to take place until the Chutzpa of
Zimri.
16:1 Now Korach, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son
of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth,
sons of Reuben, took men;
Korach was a close cousin of Moshe. He had been
passed over to become the prince of Levi from the son of a younger child of
Kohath and that he was angry about. It was bad enough that Moshe and Aaron had
by-passed him but this was adding insult to injury. He was angry and jealous at
what he saw as unfair. It did not take much having Kohath situated near Reuven
and Gad to have a near-by neighbor or friend one to insight the other unto
rebelling for their “birthright”.
2 and they rose up in face of Moses, with certain of the
children of Israel, two hundred and fifty men; they were princes of the
congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown; 3 and they assembled themselves
together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them: 'Ye take too much
upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD
is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of the
LORD?'
The biggest error one can do is to be blinded
by his own fallacy. At least every so and so many months I get from a Jew or
two and even non-Jews who claim to me that they are the Moshiach. In fact, one
non-Jew swore to me that this was so. It did not take much to make these men
blind by their own fallacy.
4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face.
This was either the Tachanun prayer, or from
humbleness as he did so with the spies too.
5 And he spoke unto Korach and unto all his company, saying:
'In the morning the LORD will show who are His, and who is holy, and will cause
him to come near unto Him; even him whom He may choose will He cause to come
near unto Him. 6 This do: take
you censors, Korach, and all his company; 7 and put fire therein, and put incense upon them before the LORD
to-morrow; and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be
holy; ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.'
They do not realize what they are doing as they
have to listen to Moshe to take the censors. They receive this warning: ye take
too much upon you, ye sons of Levi! For your status is that of a Levi but not
that of a Cohain.
8 And Moses said unto Korach: 'Hear now, ye sons of Levi: 9 is it but a small thing unto you,
that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to
bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and
to stand before the congregation to minister unto them;
G-D has given you an elevated status cease and
desist now while all is good for you.
10 and that He hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren
the sons of Levi with thee? and will ye seek the priesthood also?
Even I did not get the priesthood and only
served temporarily during the inauguration of the Mishkan but now I am only an
ordinary Levi.
11 Therefore thou and all thy company that are gathered
together against the LORD--; and as to Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against
him?'
You are now warned that you are going against
HASHEM.
12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of
Eliab; and they said: 'We will not come up;
He wanted to talk some sense into them but they
would not even come to listen to reason.
13 is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a
land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must
needs make thyself also a prince over us?
The spies brought death to people in the
wilderness. Now they want to rebel and will die sooner rather than later.
14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with
milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards; wilt thou put
out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.'
Groundless hatred and feeling that Moshe
usurped himself upon them. They refuse to see that he was made leader by
HASHEM.
15 And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD: 'Respect
not Thou their offering; I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I
hurt one of them.'
Moshe had been hurt for their sakes in the past
but this time, he was hurt, insulted and slighted by this rebellion as they
were personally against him and Aaron.
16 And Moses said unto Korach: 'Be thou and all thy
congregation before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow; 17 and take ye every man his fire-pan,
and put incense upon them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his fire-pan,
two hundred and fifty fire-pans; thou also, and Aaron, each his fire-pan.'
They spent the whole day making their own
fire-pan. Korach supposedly asked Moshe a lot of questions such as what happens
if a Tallis itself is make of Techeles or what does one use if salt is not
tasty, etc.
18 And they took every man his fire-pan, and put fire in
them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting
with Moses and Aaron. 19 And
Korach assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of
meeting; and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
Would the L-RD listen to Moshe’s prayer and
protect him or were these rebels correct?
20 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: 21 'Separate yourselves from among
this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.'
Now the general population was warned for their
own sakes to stand clear of the area where these 250 men were.
22 And they fell upon their faces, and said: 'O God, the God
of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all
the congregation?'
Moshe prayed for the masses of the congregation
as some wanted to offer by themselves in the future incense for the sake of
heaven and not to rebel.
23 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 24 'Speak unto the congregation,
saying: Get you up from about the dwelling of Korach, Dathan, and Aviram.'
On ben Pellet is not here as
his wife figured that Dathan and Aviram were the leaders, he would always be
second and why go against Moshe for she saw the results and carcasses of the
other rebellions. She gave him salty cheese and salty vegetables with wine the
night before and he was out of it. She immodestly combed her hair at the
entrance to their tent. The ultra-fanatics not wanting to be offering a Korban
with thoughts of an immodest hair of a woman before them turned away. He was
saved by her actions and she made the correct calculation: For if they
succeeded, he lost sacrificing one incense. But if he lost, he would die and
she would be a widow. She was smarter than him. The sons of Korach had the same
calculation and wrote Tehillim afterwards.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Aviram; and the
elders of Israel followed him. 26
And he spoke unto the congregation, saying: 'Depart, I pray you, from the tents
of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be swept away in all
their sins.'
Yet another warning against rebelling and again
publically so as there were witnesses for the death penalty to be given.
27 So they got them up from the dwelling of Korach, Dathan,
and Aviram, on every side; and Dathan and Aviram came out, and stood at the
door of their tents, with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said: 'Hereby ye shall
know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works, and that I have not done
them of mine own mind. 29 If
these men die the common death of all men, and be visited after the visitation
of all men, then the LORD hath not sent Me.
If nothing happens to these men, it shall be
proof that the L-RD has not sent me. Otherwise if they die an unnatural death
then they were wrong and the L-RD has sent me.
30 But if the LORD make a new thing, and the ground open her
mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down
alive into the pit, then ye shall understand that these men have despised the
LORD.' 31 And it came to pass,
as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground did cleave
asunder that was under them. 32
And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and
all the men that appertained unto Korach, and all their goods. 33 So they, and all that appertained
to them, went down alive into the pit; and the earth closed upon them, and they
perished from among the assembly.
For those who say that this was a normal
earthquake, it was something else for only they were swallowed, no major fault
line and the earth closed itself upon them. Now all miracles are natural events
but this was a special earthquake that closed in upon itself in just that area
and place or it was a sink-hole that collapsed upon itself.
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry
of them; for they said: 'Lest the earth swallow us up.' 35 And fire came forth from the LORD, and devoured the two hundred
and fifty men that offered the incense.
The
quake or sink-hole was accompanied with some natural source of either lava or
natural gas that caught on fire with the firepans for the incense.
17:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses,
saying: 2 'Speak unto Eleazar
the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the fire-pans out of the burning,
and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are become holy; 3 even the fire-pans of these men who
have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made beaten plates for
a covering of the altar--for they are become holy, because they were offered
before the LORD--that they may be a sign unto the children of Israel.'
Since the fire-pans were offered for the
sake of heaven they had become holy but they had to be purified by fire and
then used to cover the Mizbayach.
4 And Eleazar the priest took the
brazen fire-pans, which they that were burnt had offered; and they beat them
out for a covering of the altar, 5
to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, to the end that no common man,
that is not of the seed of Aaron, draw near to burn incense before the LORD;
that he fare not as Korach, and as his company; as the LORD spoke unto him by
the hand of Moses.
So maybe the
congregation would finally quiet down!
6 But on the morrow all the
congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against
Aaron, saying: 'Ye have killed the people of the LORD.' 7 And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against
Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting; and,
behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. 8 And Moses and Aaron came to the
front of the tent of meeting.
It appears to me that this was not from
the sons of Korach but relatives from Dathan and Aviram. Perhaps others. The
L-RD had become furious not at 250 members of the Congregation but the whole
assembly.
9 And the LORD spoke unto Moses,
saying: 10 'Get you up from
among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.' And they fell
upon their faces.
Now the wrath of the L-RD was upon the
Congregation and a plague had started killing off people.
11 And Moses said unto Aaron: 'Take
thy fire-pan, and put fire therein from off the altar, and lay incense thereon,
and carry it quickly unto the congregation, and make atonement for them; for
there is wrath gone out from the LORD: the plague is begun.'
From whence did Moshe know about the
incense between the people and the plague. When he went up to heaven, he
grabbed the DIVINE Throne for fear of the Angels but HASHEM ordered them to
give Moshe presents. The Angel of Death, Samael, gave him the knowledge of the
incense against the plague. – Medrash.
12 And Aaron took as Moses spoke, and ran
into the midst of the assembly; and, behold, the plague was begun among the
people; and he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. 13 And he stood between the dead and
the living; and the plague was stayed. 14
Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred,
besides them that died about the matter of Korach.
From our standpoint looking back we see a
rebellion, death, rebellion death, rebellion death we would ask ourselves are
we going against Gaza with Cast Iron, Pillar Cloud and Protective Edge but not
fighting to win maybe we should try winning for once. The same with the people
who lived in the desert. This was not the orders of the leaders upon the army
but the people themselves so they had less an excuse than we have. With one
exception today, if you elect the same “leaders” how do you expect different
result?
15 And Aaron returned unto Moses unto
the door of the tent of meeting, and the plague was stayed.
Things were back to
normal at this point.
16 And the LORD spoke unto Moses,
saying: 17 'Speak unto the
children of Israel, and take of them rods, one for each fathers' house, of all
their princes according to their fathers' houses, twelve rods; thou shalt write
every man's name upon his rod. 18
And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi, for there shall be one
rod for the head of their fathers' houses. 19 And thou shalt lay them up in the tent of meeting before the
testimony, where I meet with you. 20
And it shall come to pass, that the man whom I shall choose, his rod shall bud;
and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings of the children of Israel,
which they murmur against you.'
The people needed a miracle to put them in
their place and the rod chosen will be that of the leader or priest and put an
end to all the rebellion once and for all!
21 And Moses spoke unto the children
of Israel; and all their princes gave him rods, for each prince one, according
to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among
their rods. 22 And Moses laid up
the rods before the LORD in the tent of the testimony. 23 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses went into the
tent of the testimony; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was
budded, and put forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and bore ripe almonds.
Rods that had been away from the ground
whittled down for use for a long time. Now that of Levi had buds and blossoms
and almonds.
24 And Moses brought out all the rods
from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel; and they looked, and took
every man his rod.
But not so Levi.
25 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Put
back the rod of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept there, for a token
against the rebellious children; that there may be made an end of their
murmurings against Me, that they die not.' 26 Thus did Moses; as the LORD commanded him, so did he.
So Moshe returned the rod of Levi with the
buds, blossoms and almonds into the Teva.
27 And the children of Israel spoke
unto Moses, saying: 'Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 28 Every one that comes near, that
comes near unto the tabernacle of the LORD, is to die; shall we wholly perish?'
The fear of the L-RD that should have been
upon them before had finally registered.
1 And the LORD said unto Aaron: 'Thou
and thy sons and thy fathers' house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the
sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your
priesthood. 2 And thy brethren
also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou near with thee,
that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee, thou and thy sons
with thee being before the tent of the testimony. 3 And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the Tent;
only they shall not come nigh unto the holy furniture and unto the altar, that
they die not, neither they, nor ye.
Only the Cohanim and Leviim were holy
enough that they would not die. The ordinary man was to keep his distance.
4 And they shall be joined unto thee,
and keep the charge of the tent of meeting, whatsoever the service of the Tent
may be; but a common man shall not draw nigh unto you. 5 And ye shall keep the charge of the holy things, and the charge
of the altar, that there be wrath no more upon the children of Israel. 6 And I, behold, I have taken your
brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; for you they are given
as a gift unto the LORD, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And thou and thy sons with thee
shall keep your priesthood in everything that pertains to the altar, and to
that within the veil; and ye shall serve; I give you the priesthood as a
service of gift; and the common man that draws nigh shall be put to death.'
For the service, the Leviim too would die
as any stranger but only the Cohanim.
8 And the LORD spoke unto Aaron: 'And
I, behold, I have given thee the charge of My heave-offerings; even of all the
hallowed things of the children of Israel unto thee have I given them for a
consecrated portion, and to thy sons, as a due for ever. 9 This shall be thine of the most holy
things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, even every
meal-offering of theirs, and every sin-offering of theirs, and every
guilt-offering of theirs, which they may render unto Me, shall be most holy for
thee and for thy sons.
This Avoda (service) is for you alone and
everything even eating shall be done in holiness.
10 In a most holy place shalt thou eat
thereof; every male may eat thereof; it shall be holy unto thee. 11 And this is thine: the heave-offering
of their gift, even all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel; I have
given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, as a due
for ever; every one that is clean in thy house may eat thereof.
Ritually clean an unmarried or widowed
daughter and his non-Jewish slave that is he property.
12 All the best of the oil, and all
the best of the wine, and of the corn, the first part of them which they give
unto the LORD, to thee have I given them. 13 The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they
bring unto the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house may
eat thereof.
Those who eat must be ritually Tahor the
fourth degee.
14 Everything devoted in Israel shall
be thine. 15 Everything that opens
the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto the LORD, both of man and beast,
shall be thine; howbeit the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the
firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
Someone born to a Bas Cohain or Bas Levi
is except but others must redeem themselves or their parents redeem them with 5
Shekelim.
16 And their redemption-money--from a
month old shalt thou redeem them--shall be, according to thy valuation, five
shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary--the same is twenty
gerahs.
A human first born is redeemed but not
that of a kosher animal.
17 But the firstling of an ox, or the
firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they
are holy: thou shalt dash their blood against the altar, and shalt make their
fat smoke for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savor unto the LORD. 18 And the flesh of them shall be
thine, as the wave-breast and as the right thigh, it shall be thine. 19 All the heave-offerings of the holy
things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee,
and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, as a due forever; it is an
everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with
thee.'
You get the Bechor. Today we make a Cohain
a partner in the ownership of the pregnant animal but if not the Bechor has to
graze until it gets a blemish and then is eaten by the Cohain.
20 And the LORD said unto Aaron: 'Thou
shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any portion
among them; I am thy portion and thine inheritance among the children of
Israel.
Cohanim have absolutely no land like
cities of the Leviim and the surrounding fields but their portion is perhaps a
house in a city and in the sacrifices and Teruma and Teruma Maaser.
21 And unto the children of Levi,
behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for
their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting. 22 And henceforth the children of
Israel shall not come nigh the tent of meeting, lest they bear sin, and die. 23 But the Levites alone shall do the
service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be
a statute forever throughout your generations, and among the children of Israel
they shall have no inheritance.
But they did have 24 cities and
surrounding fields which the Cohanim did not have.
24 For the tithe of the children of
Israel, which they set apart as a gift unto the LORD, I have given to the
Levites for an inheritance; therefore, I have said unto them: Among the
children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.'
They receive the Maaser and are teachers
in Israel.
25 And the LORD spoke unto Moses,
saying: 26 'Moreover thou shalt
speak unto the Levites, and say unto them: When ye take of the children of
Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye
shall set apart of it a gift for the LORD, even a tithe of the tithe. …unto the Levites as the increase of
the threshing-floor, and as the increase of the wine-press. 31 And ye may eat it in every place,
ye and your households; for it is your reward in return for your
service in the tent of meeting. 32
And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, seeing that ye have set apart from it
the best thereof; and ye shall not profane the holy things of the children of
Israel, that ye die not.'
The Maaser is given to and
sufficient for their needs.
The
Orthodox Jew in SS Uniform by Avi Bigman
Shocked at what he had found, Haim ran up the basement stairs, his mind racing. Could my mother have unknowingly married a Nazi? What else is he hiding from us? What crimes was he involved in?
Panting and out of breath, Haim entered the kitchen and yelled out, “Mommy, Daddy is a Nazi!”
Haim is my uncle. I have known about his stepfather for a few years now, and every year I am reminded of his past on Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, though, I decided to look into the matter. I’ve been collecting countless documents from personal archives and a few institutions in Israel and the US. Naturally, not everything was preserved in full. Some of the stories lack detail, while in other instances, there are discrepancies between the various documents and Haim’s childhood memories. But nevertheless, what I have been able to learn makes for a fascinating and inspiring story.
This is the incredible story of William Zeev Brickman, a professor of education, an American spy and an emissary behind the Iron Curtain.
William Wolfgang Brickman was born in June 1913 in Manhattan, the son of Shalom-David, a German Jew, and Lahia-Sarah, a Jewish woman originally from the Polish town of Jedwabne, the infamous site where the Polish locals murdered their Jewish neighbors.
As a member of an Orthodox Jewish family, Brickman mostly spoke Yiddish at home, while he learned English and other languages out on the street. His father died when he was young, apparently the result of a self-inflicted umbilical hernia aimed at helping avoid the military draft back in Europe.
William was a towering, vibrant boy. When he registered for college, he decided to play it safe and major in something he knew he would be good at. With a background in German and Yiddish, he decided to register for the German and education programs at the City University of New York.
Agent 004
By the late 1930s, Brickman had a blossoming academic career, but World War II broke out and threw a wrench in his plans. In March 1943, one year after the US entered the war, he was drafted into the air force as a historian and German-language expert. In a letter of recommendation for an officers’ course, Brickman’s direct commander at his base in Fort Worth, Texas described him as “a scholar turned soldier, who proudly made the transition from civilian to military life.”
Brickman had requested to be drafted as an officer in the air force’s medical or chemical warfare units. All signs point to him having been convinced the war would serve as a sort of continuation of his academic career, but once again, fate would have other plans.
In late 1944, following the allied invasion of northern France, it was clear the demise of the Third Reich was a matter of time. The US military was on the lookout for German speakers when Brickman’s name came up. He was summoned to interviews that were presented to him as ascertaining whether he would be a good fit for the occupation forces in Germany after the war. Brickman was supposed to serve in the occupation forces’ postal service where his knowledge of German would be considered an advantage, they said. He scored high marks on the language exams, and was accepted to the role. He didn’t know it at the time but his peaceful life was about to get a lot more interesting.
According to the military documents, Brickman was to be stationed with the US Counter Intelligence Corps 970th division, which operated in liberated territories in order to catch Nazi agents that had stayed behind. Between Jan. and Feb. of 1945, Brickman took an intelligence course at Fort Ritchie base in Maryland, in preparation for his being stationed in liberated Germany. According to Haim, at this stage there was yet another change in plans – Brickman was drafted to the Office of Strategic Services, the US intelligence agency that would later become the CIA.
At first, Brickman was alarmed. Beyond the challenges of being stationed overseas, he did not want to leave behind his mother, who was alone and suffering from a serious illness. As an Orthodox Jew, he also feared that on such a mission, he would not be able to maintain his religious way of life. Nevertheless, Brickman would soon be identified as Agent 004. Later on, his relatives would joke that Brickman had in fact preceded Agent 007, otherwise known as James Bond.
Setting the trap
For reasons that remain unclear, instead of parachuting in, the forces crossed the border by foot, setting up camp in Regensberg, Germany. This was made easier by the fact that the allied forces had already made significant progress, and the battle for Berlin was already in its advanced stages. The Germans began to destroy documents and archives, and the chaos that pervaded made it impossible to check the identities of agents posing as Nazi officers, thus allowing the agents to carry out their missions.
The official military documents I found while researching this article do not add any information or details about this period. All I know is what Brickman himself said about this time in conversations with his stepson. As Brickman told it, his unit offered Nazi officers a way out of the country, interrogated them and then foiled their escape plans. Their working assumption was that the only people in the area with the means and desire to leave Germany would be senior officers in the SS and the Wehrmacht.
Their method went something like this: Some of the agents in the unit would go out in public, mainly to the bars the Nazi officers were known to frequent. After having given the appearance they had been drinking, the agents would begin to brag about how they could help those who had the money flee the country for South America. When someone would turn to the agents and ask for their help, they would direct them to a specific cabin where the agent would say they would find a Nazi officer with the connections and ability to get them out of the country. The Nazis would arrive at the cabin at night where they would be greeted by a secretary who would ask them a few questions about where they served, their ranking and the like. The secretary would then call Brickman, who would be waiting in the office inside.
Brickman would be dressed in SS fatigues, on his shoulder the insignia of a military rank higher than that of his guest.
According to Haim, his stepfather “made sure not to take things too far. He wanted to remain credible, but he wanted to be more senior than the Nazi in order for him to obey him and treat him with respect.”
In his conversation with the Nazi, Brickman would investigate the officer over his actions in the war and the places where he had served, before agreeing on a payment for his evacuation. Eventually, Brickman would send him a rendezvous point on the Czechoslovakian border and an agreed upon date when a group would prepare to leave for South America. When that date arrived, the Nazi officers would show up to the meeting point. But instead of finding their guides for the trip out of the country, they would find other OSS officers, who would take them hostage and transfer them to allied prisons. Other senior officers were taken to Nuremberg.
In one case, Brickman’s unit had received information about the presence of very high-ranking SS officer in one of the villages in the area, and the agents set out to arrest him. Brickman entered the room, gave him two minutes to pack before leaving. The officer protested, saying he had many possessions and needed more time. Brickman made it clear that if he was not ready, he would be arrested and dragged through the streets naked. Two minutes later, the officer was ready.
Brickman was involved in a mission to catch Martin Bormann, one of the heads of the German Nazi regime. While the allies suspected he was hanging around the Czechoslovakian border, there were no pictures of him available, so he could not be identified. Brickman arrived at the village where Bormann was born and located the school he had attended as a boy. It was there he found a photograph of Bormann, which he distributed to his fellow agents. According to Haim’s account, his father managed to get to the village where Bormann had apparently been hiding, although he did not ultimately succeed in catching him.
After the war, Brickman went back to working with the Counter Intelligence Services, where he was made responsible for Germany’s Deggendorf district. At one point, he was stationed with the security unit tasked with securing the area where the Nuremberg trials were being held in 1945. In this role, a disguised Brickman would try to infiltrate the site in civilian clothes, with the aim of exposing weaknesses in the security system there. From time to time, when he would walk around among the Nazis’ cells, he would run into a prisoner he had helped capture. He would take the opportunity to remove his military hat and reveal his kippah underneath. “He wanted to show them that fate had been reversed, and the victims had become the masters,” Haim said.
In the months after the war, Haim would often serve as a witness at Jewish wedding ceremonies for concentration camp survivors conducted by a rabbi from the US military.
Brickman set himself a goal of collecting as many materials as possible from the Nazi era during his stay in postwar Germany, in order to preserve and document them for the sake of historical remembrance.
Among these documents, some of which are now at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem, others now housed in Brown University’s archives, one can find a collection of files and pamphlets from the Nazi era. There is also a copy of the Nazi party’s 1933 campaign platform, numerous Reichsmark bills, various limericks and everyday documents distributed by the regime. One of the more important findings that Brickman managed to take with him from Germany was an elegant album produced by the Gestapo that detailed the various torture methods used by the secret police. The album was donated to the Yad Vashem archives in 1960, along with uniforms, flags, pins, a collection of stamps and various other items from that period.
Postcards from behind the Iron Curtain
Taking advantage of his knowledge of a variety of languages, Brickman’s research focused on the comparison of different education systems around the world. He wrote dozens of books on education, published dozens of articles in periodicals and Jewish magazines and edited a journal in the field.
In 1958, Brickman married Sylvia Mann, the daughter of a Jerusalemite family that had immigrated to the US. Mann was divorced with two children, Haim and his sister Simcha. It was in the early 1960s, when Brickman became a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania that the family moved to that house in Philadelphia, taking with them William’s large collection of books and various objects that would expose Haim to his past.
According to Haim, William didn’t talk much about that time in his life. But Haim does recall how his stepfather would embarrass him whenever they would go see a James Bond movie together. “He would erupt in laughter in the middle of the movie. It really embarrassed me as a child,” Haim said.
Brickman died in the US in 1986 and was buried in Jerusalem. He now has 25 great-grandchildren who reside in Israel. At his funeral, he was lauded for his contribution to Jewish education in the US and his efforts to obtain federal funding for Jewish day schools.
The original version of this article appeared on Israelhayom.com
For photos: https://www.aish.com/jw/s/The-Orthodox-Jew-in-SS-Uniform.html?s=shl
Now
Nof HaGalil: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264934
Pulled
by the current 10 km. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264959
All
new Black and Jewish Congressional Alliance. https://www.israpundit.org/dont-let-demagoguery-derail-new-black-jewish-congressional-alliance/?utm_source=phplist4270&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=ISRAPUNDIT+DAILY+DIGEST+jJUNE+22%2F19
Petach
Tikva to declare Trump Square. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265028
Netanyahu
offered a coalition with Ganz. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265040
Keystone
cops have to release suspect. 2.5 months after the rape, the police scramble to
find cloth evidence. Boy are they fast! http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265063
Nobody
wants to draft Charedim stop the nonsense – Labor. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265023
Wishful
thinking poll after the right being way ahead suddenly the left leads. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265149
Netanyahu
sees polls shift and panics. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265143
We
did not forget Barak’s failure. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265165
Inyanay Diyoma
CENTOM
sets up a hot line with Iran. Reports of cyberattack on their missile systems. https://www.debka.com/a-new-us-iran-hot-line-more-a-channel-for-miscommunication-than-dialogue/
Trump’s
peace (see Ed-Op above) https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5532206,00.html
No
deaths for drone. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5531086,00.html
This
time the Arab version seems more feasible view film. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264946
Kim
receives an excellent letter from Trump. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/06/22/north-korea-kim-receives-excellent-letter-from-trump/23754718/
Possible
hint to life on mars but there could be other explanations. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/06/22/curiosity-rover-found-a-big-hint-pointing-to-life-on-mars/23754723/
He
believes it was a miracle a chair in the right place at the precise moment. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264918
Bollywood
in Petach Tikva. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5526637,00.html
Abbas
rejects economic plan. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264957
Hamburg
Rabbi and leader spat upon. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264934
Breaking
General Flynn uncovered a massive Muslim Brotherhood terrorist funding linked
to the Clintons. https://www.israpundit.org/breaking-general-flynn-uncovered-massive-clinton-scandal-linked-to-terrorist-funding-was-immediately-targeted-by-obama-deep-state/?utm_source=phplist4270&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=ISRAPUNDIT+DAILY+DIGEST+jJUNE+22%2F19
Funny when the Jews demonstrate there is no problem
but let the “religion of peace” demonstrate and an alert:
Demonstration Alert, U. S. Embassy Jerusalem,
June 21, 2019
Location: Anti-American demonstrations may take
place in city centers in the West Bank and Gaza. Demonstrations may
also occur in other locations in the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel.
Event: Anti-American demonstrations are
expected to take place on June 24, 25, and 26, 2019. Previous
demonstrations have sometimes encountered a strong security force presence and
response. On those dates, U.S. government employees and family members
are prohibited from official and personal travel to the West Bank. This
includes travel along Route 1 and Route 90 through the West Bank.
Individual
sanctions on Iranians. https://www.debka.com/new-trump-sanctions-on-iran-target-ayatollah-khamenei/
Cyberwar
may help Iran with Russia and China. https://www.debka.com/us-covert-cyber-war-on-iran-may-prompt-russian-chinese-cyber-strikes-on-american-targets/
Building
a coalition to protect gulf. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265036
11
fires from many balloons. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265039
Belgistan
plot to attack US Embassy. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265035
Crypto-currency
will make central banks rethink policy. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3764912,00.html
Middle
East Security conference in Yerushalayim. https://www.debka.com/moscow-pointedly-allows-east-jerusalem-venue-for-us-russian-israeli-mid-east-security-meeting/
Improving
the IAF with US, UK AFs. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265120
Saudis
capture ISIS leader of Yemen. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265105
Israel’s
second space probe needs a larger challenge. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265099
Arab nationalism always trumps prosperity and
development, so it is difficult to believe the economic workshop can produce a
different result. Ben Dror Yemeni Bahrain a failed conference. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5536147,00.html
Same
failed path ignoring Politics - Ayalon. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5533424,00.html
Eichler
problem with deal of century. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5533186,00.html
Cuba
to restore oldest cemetery. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5536112,00.html
Balloon
terror fires and explosives. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5535940,00.html
Either
cut the budget or raise taxes whatever it is bad for Netanyahu and that is why
he wants to stop the election. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5536033,00.html
Effort
to cancel elections a spin. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265104
Many
lottery cancelations as they fund pro-Arab leftist’s films. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265086
The
man who jumped on barb-wire for Netanyahu is betrayed. I’m disgusted at this
behavior. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265070
Right
does not keep agreement far-right dismantles relationship. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5535884,00.html
Iran
jokes about the US inability to destroy them. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265163
Cyber
conference: Israel helped foil an ISIS attack in Australia and now that cars
have become moving computers, Israel can compete in the car parts industry. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265137
Owner
of Pittsburg Restaurant fires antisemitic manager. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265157
Russian
interference in airport GPS. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5537589,00.html
Breaking news despite another we cease and they
fire agreement an explosive balloon was dismantled Friday Morning.
Riots
in East Yerushalayim. https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-shoot-dead-east-jerusalem-man-launching-fireworks-at-them/
Gaza
Arson 20 fires on Thursday. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265215
Bennett
hit fire-bombers first. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265203
Another
we cease and they fire. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265222
30%
of Minorities believe in discrimination against Jews. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265199
US
sends in Marines in case Iran go overboard. https://www.debka.com/with-tehran-set-to-upgrade-uranium-enrichment-the-uss-boxer-strike-force-with-marines-reaches-iranian-shore/
You
can’t pay Egypt enough to give up territory or me enough to convert to another
religion. Some things money can’t buy. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5537942,00.html
Blue
& White Party to court the right. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5537839,00.html
Gewalt!
German antisemitism increases. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5538149,00.html
IDF
rocket explodes in poor training. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265181
Not
only Miami having airport worker’s strike. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265204
Electrocuted
boy revived bystanders psychotrauma unit at work. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/265213
Have
a wonderful and peaceful Shabbos,
Rachamim
Pauli
