I was privileged to attend Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik’s shiur where I heard—more than once—the Rav describe the erev-Shabbos Jew in very beautiful language. Rabbi Goldberg’s cogent articulation of the importance of erev Shabbos made me think about my grandfather, William (Zev) Taub. He came to America on the eve of WWI to escape the czar’s forced conscription and remained shomer Shabbat throughout. Despite the fact that he was fired from countless jobs, together with my grandmother, he persevered. It was not only my grandfather, but people like him who remained shomrei Shabbat under difficult conditions who inspired me and earned the respect of Rav Yerucham Gorelick, a rosh yeshivah of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He would call them the “real heroes of Shabbos preservation.”
Whatever Rabbi Goldberg writes is enlightening. This article is no exception.
Rabbi Barry D. Hartman
Orthodox Chavurah Minyan of New Bedford
New Bedford, Massachusetts