Sign up for our weekly email newsletter to never miss a story Karen Lansky Edlin was 19 years old when the Ahavath Achim Synagogue dedicated a Torah that survived the destruction of the Jewish community in Ozorkow was the culmination of a two-year effort by Karen’s parents to secure the sacred scroll from a town central to their life story I had never heard a shofar blown outside of a major holiday,” Lansky Edlin recalled the refurbished Ozorkow Torah will be rededicated at Ahavath Achim. The 1 p.m I smile a huge smile as we talk about rededicating the Ozorkow Torah I can imagine how the town looked; I see all the faces that lived in the town and I smile that they have not been forgotten,” Lansky Edlin said There was a thriving Jewish merchant and tradesman class Lola Borkowska grew up in Lodz and spent summers visiting grandparents in Ozorkow and Parzeczew Lola and her siblings fled to their grandparents in Parzeczew the Nazis assembled the Jews to witness other Jews being hanged then divided the community by those selected to work and those transported to the Chelmno extermination camp including Lola’s grandparents and young cousins Lola and her family were sent to the Ozorkow ghetto When the Lodz ghetto was liquidated in 1944 they were transferred to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland (where Lola survived an inspection by the Nazi Dr and sister were sent to a series of camps; Ravensbruck which Lola described as “hell on earth” in an oral history Among the prisoners Lola encountered at Bergen-Belsen were a pair of Dutch sisters whose family hiding place in an Amsterdam warehouse had been betrayed to the Gestapo Both girls died there of typhus in February 1945 Lola’s mother died of illness one day before British troops liberated Bergen-Belsen in April 1945 her brother Lou and their father Michael – reunited at the Feldafing displaced persons camp He had been arrested at 17 and sentenced to work on the German Autobahn (highway) and railroads where he learned he was the lone survivor of his immediate family Rubin sought any surviving relatives at Feldafing “Actually a very funny story,” Lansky Edlin said “My Dad went looking for my mother because he heard that she had nice legs.” Rubin found her in the camp hospital and siblings arrived in New York on June 24 Rubin operated a grocery in East Point and then built a successful real estate business As founding members of Eternal Life-Hemshech an organization of survivors and their descendants the Lanksys were instrumental in creation of the Holocaust memorial at Greenwood Cemetery and the Holocaust exhibit at The Breman Museum Rubin Lansky holding the Ozorkow Torah at the Ahavath Achim Synagogue who today is president of Eternal Life-Hemshech remembers her mother speaking publicly about the Holocaust at a time when most survivors did not had hid their synagogue’s Torah in the attic of its shtibl Drajhorn found the Torah still in the shtibl and for 30 years kept it in his home the Lanskys were afraid to accept the Torah requesting that the Torah be donated to Ahavath Achim allowing Drajhorn to request a government permit A separate historical society permit had to be obtained promising that the Torah would not be used for profit “My mother and I come home one day and there’s a huge crate just sitting at the front door,” Karen Lansky Edlin said “We had no warning it was coming.” The Torah was wrapped in white cloth still met the requirements for use in services Drajhorn’s wife wrote that when her husband learned that “his last living link with the past” had arrived He was beside himself that the Torah could be used again.” On the day the Torah was presented to Ahavath Achim Lola wrote to the congregation: “It is with pride and joy my husband and I present this old Sacred Sefer Tora from the city of Ozorkow Poland in honor of Tobias Drajhorn the last living Jew in the city and in loving memory of the Jewish Community that perished in the Holocaust.” arranged for the Torah to be refurbished by a sofer work that began in November 2018 and lasted for 10 months Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal is grateful for the presence of the Orzokow Torah it was so fragile that we could only use it a few times a year and only one reading [on Yizkor] we are encouraged to do so to keep the pages limber and the text free from cracking and other issues that Torah scrolls often go through,” he said with what it survived and the communities that it represents is like having those souls with us when we read it.” “My mother always told me that people told her in the camps We are so happy to be able to continue the legacy that my parents started This story was originally posted at the Atlanta Jewish Times. Religion Unplugged is part of The Media Project and a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News.EIN: 83-0461425Site design by Peter Freeby Privacy Policy This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article (Read Garry Kasparov’s Britannica essay on chess & Deep Blue.) Reshevsky on Chess (1948) and How Chess Games Are Won (1962) Log in and download the free e-publication of the latest A&B The printed version is available for sale online in our store and press salons throughout Poland unique e-mail [will also be used as login in the portal] Only name - check the correctness of the data Only the last name - check the correctness of the data password must be at least 8 characters long * fields required for registration; data can be completed in account settings after logging in ** establishment of a student account follows verification of the validity of the student ID card Please try later or let us know: contact Technology: aitnet.pl Ⓒ AiB Publishing House 2025 Author Jonathan Zalman prepared a story in long-form for the Tablet Magazine in which he decodes a story of the Rebbe with famed World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer Zalman was assisted by Rabbi Dovid Zaklikowski, director of Lubavitch Archives who has done much research into the story for his future book about the Rebbe director of Chabad activities in Prospect Heights Tablet Magazine titled the article Bobby Fischer vs The Rebbe: The chess genius denied he was a Jew and it focuses on Fischer’s rejection of his Judaism and anti-semetic statements and the Rebbe reaching out to him about his Judaism The Rebbe reached out to Fischer through another World Champion Sammy Reshevsky America’s great white chess hope was Samuel Reshevsky Chess Champion who did not play on Shabbos He became an International Grandmaster at 39 and defeated seven world champions in his lifetime although his main profession was that of an accountant played a 16-game match versus 18-year old Fischer who hadn’t lost a game in American tournament play in four years The match was played at the Beverly Hills Hilton and billed the “Match of the Century,” and the winner would take home 65 percent of the $8,000 prize money With the match tied 5½ -5½  (1 point for a win the contest hit a snag when the 12th round was rescheduled for the following day due to Reshevsky’s religious observances whose circadian rhythm was that of a bartender failed to show for the morning commencement When Fischer was absent from the 13th match too (Fischer would ultimately sue his opponent and the American Chess Foundation; the case was eventually dropped.) As Frank Brady notes in Endgame the result of the match “was the unfortunate casualty of Bobby’s ingrained sleep habits and long shadow of patronage in chess.” A few years later Fischer became a disciple of the Worldwide Church of God; ironically its tenets forbade him from competitive chess on the Sabbath defeating his rival Reshevsky along the way would earn him the title of International Master He would go on to retain his crown two more times for a record eight in front of Reshevky’s seven Fischer unexpectedly took 18 months away from chess the Rest of the World” tournament in Belgrade Vasily Smyslov had been adjourned,” writes Brady Bobby sat down with Reshevsky to analyze the position and consider possible strategies the older grandmaster might play when the game resumed After ten years of bitterness and competition this was the first time Fischer had had a friendly interchange with his American rival (The next day Reshevsky won his game).” Fischer writing for Brady’s (now-defunct) Chessworld magazine years later would name Reshevsky as one of the 10 greatest chess players of all time Known affectionately in his youth as “Shmulik der vunderkind,” Reshevsky lived in Crown Heights and developed a relationship with Rabbi Yoseph Yitzchak Schneersohn He once asked for a blessing from the Rebbe who agreed on the condition that Reshevsky study Torah daily; Reshevsky obliged Reshevsky wrote seven books on chess and worked regularly as a journalist at age 70 and no longer competing at a world-class level Reshefsky was considering retiring from professional chess and approached Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson the seventh and last Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch movement the Rebbe told Reshevsky that playing chess was his “way of fulfilling the commandment of sanctifying G-d’s name” and suggested that he not hang it up just yet Reshevsky tied for first place at the Reykjavik Open Reshevsky received a congratulatory letter from the Rebbe but I consider it my duty not to miss the opportunity to bring it to your attention You are surely familiar with the life story of Bobby Fischer of whom nothing has been heard in quite some time he did not appear to have the proper Jewish education which is probably the reason for his being so alienated from the Jewish way of life or the Jewish people I am writing to you about this since you are probably better informed about him than many other persons and perhaps you may find some way in which he could be brought back to the Jewish fold Reshevsky took it upon himself to seek out Fischer in Los Angeles during a visit to the area for a tournament Fischer by then virtually disappeared from public view—with one exception Because of his aversion to Western medicine he now sported a limp and many of his teeth were rotted or had fallen out he was a shell of the custom-suit-wearing chess stud who’d taken the world by storm What’s on record of the visit is that the chess prodigy agreed to meet with his elderly former rival for three hours When Reshevsky spoke of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s desire to get him involved with Judaism Fischer became exasperated and requested that his long-time chess foe and friend leave Fischer typed a letter to the Encyclopaedia Judaica Jerusalem offices at 866 Third Ave I was naturally distressed to see that you have erroneously featured me as a Jew in ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA Please do not make this mistake again in any future additions of your voluminous I suggest rather than fraudulently misrepresenting me to be a Jew and dishonestly abusing my name and reputation as a kind of advertising gimmick to improve the image of your religion (Judaism) you try to promote your religion on its own merits—if indeed it has any I trust that I am not being unrealistically optimistic in thanking you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter According to Dovid Zaklikowski, the director of the Lubavitch Archives asked a disciple to instruct his son-in-law to organize a public gathering once a month who would follow in his father-in-law’s footsteps as the seventh and last Rebbe would focus his meaningful commentary on a particular subject Samuel Reshevsky attended a gathering led by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson The king is the most valuable piece on the chessboard Protecting the king and attacking the pieces which threaten the king’s “dominion” is the objective of the game and the goal of all the pieces at the king’s disposal The same thing is true with all of created reality The king represents the King of the Universe He had an end-goal in mind—that this G-d-denying reality be made into place where His dominion is known Just as all of the pieces in the chess game exist in order to fulfill this deepest desire of the King of kings While the king represents the transcendent quality of G-d This quality of G-d generates the rest of the spiritual hierarchy They inhabit the spiritual worlds and channel Divine energy to the worlds below and are imbued with great powers which represent the souls of Jews as they are embodied in physical bodies in this world Every level of this hierarchy has a unique position and method of moving Like the pawn that can only go forward one step at a time we make the world into a place where G-d can feel at home by moving slowly We do our work with simple actions that are often not very glamorous we must work within the limits of the natural universe when a pawn finally completes its step-by-step progression and reaches the other side it can be swapped and promoted to a higher level It is even possible for a pawn to attain the level of queen This is also true spiritually: It is possible for a simple human soul to be united with its source malchut d’Atzilut to be charged with the level of G-dliness that is higher than all the angels and souls We are the only ones in all of the realms of created reality that are capable of this kind of drastic transformation And what does it mean to win a game of chess What is the future that even G-d Himself will drop everything to save It means to win the war of all wars: when the world will be a place of good and harmony peace and tranquility; when no part of G-d will be in exile; and when the essence of G-d will no longer be “removed” from creation.” director of Chabad activities in Prospect Heights and Fort Greene says that when the Rebbe sent Reshevsky to see Fischer he was testing his theory; if Fischer could recognize his Jewish soul he could overcome his inner hatred and embody malchut d’Atzilut—become the queen In a recent interview in Kirschenbaum’s home he read me an excerpt from a talk the Rebbe gave about what it means to be a Lubavitcher Hasid can apply to Jews and non-Jews alike: “A Hasid is like a street lamplighter In olden days there was a person in each town who would light the streetlamps with the light he carried on the end of a long pole There must be someone to light even those lamps so that they may meet their purpose and light the lamps of others.” While the Rebbe was not interested in using Fischer as evidence of Jewish genius the chess master’s apprehension that he was being used was not entirely wrong Saving Bobby Fischer’s troubled soul—his Jewish soul—would be proof of the Rebbe’s theory of the spiritual potential inherent in every Jew The first place to look for evidence of Bobby Fischer the lamplighter is within the game of chess itself—in America When Fischer won the 1972 chess championship he had to overcome a formidable Russian chess regime one that was and continues to be subsidized by their government tells the riveting story of a group of New York City middle-school students at “below the poverty line” I.S who use chess as a springboard for life—teamwork The school boasts one of the best chess teams in the United States winning more national championships than any other middle school in the country—a testament to the inroads Fischer blazed himself becoming the only FIDE world chess champion the United States has ever produced at a critical moment in the country’s Cold War confrontation with the Soviet Union While many viewed Fischer as a greedy diva he saw a dearth of money within a game that took everything within an individual to reach the top so he fought tooth and nail for every penny tens of thousands of dollars can be won in international play on a regular basis currently grants scholarships to chess-playing students from eight countries has made numerous national television appearances including on 60 Minutes and The Colbert Report  (he beat the host at rock-paper-scissors) 4) Fischer’s IM title did not come in 1964 yg: while you’re surely a wonderful fellow your erroneous comment begs the question: why do you seem so eager to detract from this piece… 1: It is expected that you would admit that Grandmaster Reshevsky was a top four World Champion 2: Nowhere afaik did this piece say he was a member of the co-G which you apparently accept yourself given your stating that he “lost interest” in 1976 (note: this timing afaik would concur with the piece) 3: ‘Clearly’ the employment of the known term “great white hope” was used figuratively to refer to a candidate America or Jews hoped would bring them a World Championship title Quite appropriate considering the subject matter being a championship title 4: The piece afaik correctly points out that Fischer won the IM title in 1963/4 this not detracting from any previous titles unless you’re suggesting he didn’t win the IM title that year It’s a shame that after the piece quotes Fischer denying any Jewish roots altogether that it fails to elucidate afaik a discovery or admission to the contrary or elucidate his having come closer to Judaism