Mazal tov to Aaron '99 and Chaya Segal on the birth of their son Ariel Baruch, brother to Sarah and Yonatan!
May they be zocheh to raise him leTorah, leChuppa, uleMaasim Tovim.
Ariel Baruch is named in part for Harav Yehuda Amital zt"l. See below for an explanation of the name.
פסיקתא דרב כהנא (מנדלבוים) פיסקא יג - דברי ירמיהו
אשר היה דבר י"י אליו בימי יאשיהו מלך יהודה עד תם עשרה שנה לצדקיהו בן יאשיהו מלך יהודה עד גלות ירושלם בחדש החמישי (ראה ירמיה א: ב, ג). א"ר אבון עלה אריה במזל אריה והחריב את אריאל. עלה אריה, זה נבוכד נאצר הרשע, דכת' ביה עלה אריה מסובכו (שם /ירמיהו/ ד: ז). במזל אריה, עד גלות ירושלם בחדש החמישי (שם /ירמיהו/ א: ג). והחריב אריאל, הוי אריאל אריאל קרית חנה דוד (ישעיה כט: א). על מנת שיבא אריה במזל אריה ויבנה אריאל. יבא אריה, זה הק' דכת' ביה אריה שאג מי לא ירא (עמוס ג: ח). במזל אריה, והפכתי אבלם לששון (ירמיה לא: יב). ויבנה אריאל, בונה ירושלם י"י נדחי ישראל יכנס (תהלים קמז: ב). חסילה
Our son Ariel Baruch is named in memory of two very special people: Chaya’s zaide, Rabbi Dr. Baruch Poupko, and Rav Yehuda Amital, the founding Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, both of whom passed away recently. In a simple sense, the name ‘Baruch’ is in memory of Chaya’s zeide, whose name was ‘Baruch Aharon’, and the name ‘Ariel’ – lion of God – is in memory of Rav Yehuda Amital, since Yehuda is blessed and charged in last week’s parasha with the dominion of a lion. But this division of labor among the names is not exactly what we have in mind. As Chaya and I see it, the whole name conveys the legacy of each of Ariel Baruch’s namesakes.
Lions can surely use their power for destruction, but, the Pesikta teaches us, a lion of God can harness his power to rebuild that which was reduced to ashes, to turn misery into joy, and to gather in the dispersed and the downtrodden. Chaya’s zeide and Rav Amital were both outstanding exemplars in this regard.
Zeide was born in Russia, and after escaping Stalin’s iron fist, he, along with his family, made his way to the United States in 1932. After receiving semikhah from Yeshivat Rabenu Yitzchak Elchanan ten years later, he devoted the rest of his life to the restoration of the Jewish people in the aftermath of the Shoah: here in America, he was President of the Rabbinical Council of Pittsburgh for fifty years and founded the Hillel Academy in Pittsburgh; he led the first Rabbinic delegation to the Soviet Union, and returned there over a dozen times, where he campaigned publicly for the right of Soviet Jews to live religiously full and free lives; and as an ardent religious Zionist, he passionately stood up for Israel in times of crisis.
Rav Amital lived through the Shoah after which he made his way to the land of Israel. Upon arrival, he turned down several professional opportunities in order to devote himself to the study of Torah and the rebuilding of Torah institutions, a commitment he had made in the dark hours of the Holocaust. But he wasn’t just rebuilding what had been lost in recent history – he saw himself as restoring the sovereignty and dignity that the Jewish people had lost nearly 2000 years ago. Chaya and I recall being present at his speech at the 60th anniversary of the Yeshiva’s founding: he said through tears, “From the times of Rabbi Akiva, no Rosh Yeshiva has had the privilege of teaching Torah, going out to defend his people in war, and coming back to the Beit Hamidrash”. This, he described, as a תופעה היסטורית – a phenomenon of historic proportions. Indeed it was.
Both Zeide and Rav Amital displayed incredible strength and fortitude in rebuilding the Jewish people and restoring its dignity, and they both saw this opportunity as a blessing and a charge: they were not just an Ariel, but an Ariel that is Baruch, blessed.
Remarkably, they were endowed not only with the strength of the lion, but the other quality which Yaakov Avinu identified in Yehuda: “Ata Yoducha Achecha” – “your brothers will acknowledge you”. They were both graced with an ebullient and magnetic personality, one that united others around their clear moral and spiritual vision. Zeide’s magnetism allowed him to unite the Pittsburgh Jewish community, across denominational lines, in a host of communal endeavors. Rav Amital was widely acknowledged across the political and religious spectrum as a man of impeccable integrity: the range of authors of essays collected in a recent volume published in his memory (לעבדך באמת) is astounding, and they would never be found together between the two covers of a book if not for Rav Amital’s unique ability to command the respect of all his brethren.
Ariel Baruch is Zeide’s great-grandson, and Zeide would surely have smiled at him today with the same warmth and enthusiasm that he used to show to Chaya and his other grandchildren. And as Rav Amital said at the 60th anniversary gathering, he too considered the children of his talmidim his own grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I will add on a personal note that although I was not a close talmid of Rav Amital’s, I learned much from his sichot as well his demeanor. He often emphasized the importance of simplicity, humility, and sincerity in one’s avodat Hashem, and he was a living model of these characteristics. As I mentioned at the Shalom Zachar, he objected to the speeches given at his son Yoel’s brit in which the speakers kept on insisting that Yoel should grow up to be a Rosh Yeshiva. Rav Amital said in response that his own father was just a good, simple Jew, and that’s what he really hoped for from his son: to be a good Jew who serves Hakadosh Baruch Hu with a pure heart. Our son is truly blessed to have these two great familial figures as guideposts in his life and to join the ranks of those who will carry their names.
Ariel Baruch was born on Asara B’tevet, the day Nevuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. Our hope and prayer to Hashem is that he will see that day turn into one of blessing, joy, and dignity for Yerushalayim and the entire Jewish people. As Rabbi Avun taught:
על מנת שיבא אריה במזל אריה ויבנה אריאל. יבא אריה, זה הק' דכת' ביה אריה שאג מי לא ירא (עמוס ג: ח). במזל אריה, והפכתי אבלם לששון (ירמיה לא: יב). ויבנה אריאל, בונה ירושלם י"י נדחי ישראל יכנס (תהלים קמז: ב).
