Rav Abba Zalka Gewirtz zt”l has left this world and ascended to his rightful place in the Olam Ha’emes. Reb Abba Zalka, as he was affectionately called, was many things. He was a rov, a speaker, a builder, a visionary, a rebbi, a teacher and a friend to so many. He riveted his audiences with penetrating insights into the Seforno, and still possessed the healthy self-awareness to bring others to laughter. Perhaps, though, most memorably, is Reb Abba Zalka’s commitment and subservience to his yedid nefesh, the Telzer rosh yeshiva, Rav Mordechai Gifter zt”l. Yes, it is unlikely we will encounter someone like Rabbi Gewirtz again.

Reb Abba Zalka’s story begins several centuries prior to his birth in a town in Galicia, Dembitz, where Rabbi Gewirtz’s ancestor was appointed rov of the city. For seventeen (!) subsequent generations, the office of the rov of Dembitz was held by the direct descendants of this ancient progenitor of the Gewirtz clan, with a son succeeding his father and then, in turn, being succeeded by his son.

For Jews living over the Green Line, the 2005 Gush Katif expulsion is a tragedy of the past and a warning for the future. What happened once can happen again. After all, the United Nations and most of the world regard every Jewish home on the West Bank as illegally built on stolen Arab soil. Right now, three West Bank settlements face imminent destruction. In addition, a number of outposts were destroyed.

This month, MK Menachem Moses of United Torah Judaism visited three Jewish communities in the West Bank that are home to 160 families. This was part of a desperate campaign to save them from demolishment. Migron, Givat Assaf, and the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El have been under order of demolition since September 12 when Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch of Israel’s Supreme Court rendered a novel and controversial judicial decision.

“How can they go public without asking rabbonim?” my friend asked indignantly, the anger recognizable in his voice.

It was the vaccine issue that set him off.

First a little background.

Recently, there have been a number of reported cases of whooping cough in Lakewood, NJ. In fact, two infants were hospitalized in critical condition due to untreated whooping cough. Neither of those infants had been vaccinated against the disease. Doctors have also reported that whooping cough has spread to those who were not vaccinated at an alarmingly quick rate. As a result, Lakewood’s famous senior pediatrician, Dr. Reuven Shanik, publically declared that he would not see any patients whose immunization records were not up-to-date.