By Eliakim Willner
Yisroel (“Eric”) Willner was born in Vienna on October 20th,
1926, to Yaakov and Mina Willner. Yaakov Willner
came to Vienna as an older bochur; his family were chassidim, originally
from Brezhev, Poland. Mirel (“Mina”) Willner (nee Lowe) was born in Hungary.
She was orphaned at a young age and taken in by an older married sister who
lived in Vienna. Yaakov and Mina were introduced in Vienna, married there and
settled down to raise a family. They had two children, Malka (“Mali”) and
Yisroel (“Eric”).
Yisroel went to “gymnasium” and cheder
in Vienna. When, as an adult living in the US, he went to visit the kevarim
of his parents in the Viener Chevra chalakah in NJ he always stopped to
say some Tehillim at the kever of his cheder Rebbi in
Vienna, Rabbi Hornspiegel, who is buried in the same chalakah.
On March 12, 1938, the Nazis, yemach
shemom, invaded Austria. They encountered little resistance and Austria was
annexed to Germany within a day. The Jews in Austria, and in particular in the
larger cities like Vienna, realized the imminent danger, but getting out through
normal channels was almost impossible. Jews outside the danger zone arranged
permission for children to be sent out of Austria by boat, from Holland, to
England on what became known as the Kindertransports. These trips were fraught
with danger since the Nazis controlled the seas and had no hesitation sinking
these ships filled with Jewish children; several were in fact sunk.
Demand for spaces on the Kindertransports
was high; there were long waiting lists. But Yaakov and Mina were successful in
getting Yisroel and Mali onto the Kindertransports, with Mali leaving first and
Yisroel managing a berth on a later boat.
The Kindertransports were arranged
hastily and the Jewish community in England was not prepared to absorb all the
refugee Jewish children pouring into the country. The Jewish communities were
centered in larger cities, which were targets of German bombers. So many of the
children, including Yisroel, were placed in non-Jewish homes in the
countryside.
Most non-Jews in England had never seen a
Jew in their lives, and their opinion of Jews was formed by old, negative
stereotypes. This was true of the family that hosted Yisroel. Whether he sensed
that, or whether he felt that all non-Jews were anti-Semites because of his
experience in Austria, he decided to hide his Jewishness from his hosts. He
told them he was a vegetarian so he wouldn’t have to eat meat. He insisted on
walking to school on Shabbos (since he couldn’t get out of going
entirely). He refused to write on Shabbos and he was punished for it.
All of this at age 11, without adult guidance.
His father had sent along tefillin
with him, not knowing if he would see him again before his bar mitzva,
or ever again, and Yisroel kept them hidden.
B’H, his parents eventually made it to
England themselves and his father was present at his bar mitzva (his
mother was only able to make it out a few months later). Shortly after they
were reunited the family managed to obtain papers and emigrated to the United
States, settling first on the lower East Side and eventually moving to the
Bronx, where they became close to Rav Moshe Bick, zt’l. Yisroel
maintained his kesher with Rav Bick for the rest of his life.
Yisroel went to Yeshivas Yaakov Yosef
until high school, and for high school, he went to Yeshiva Yitzchok Elchonon,
and continued in that mossad for college and for semicha, which
he earned with distinction.
Yisroel had a burning love for eretz
yisroel from a young age and became a leader in HaShomer HaDati, an
organization for frum young people who shared his love of eretz
yisroel his idealism, and his dedication to the klal.
There he met Bronnie Singer, who became
his wife and life partner.
Yisroel and Bronnie’s ambitions in life
were chinuch and kiruv. While many of his classmates went into
the Rabbinate after graduation, Rabbi Willner took on a first teaching position
at Yeshiva Zichron Moshe. Recognizing that there were more kiruv
opportunities “out of town”, Rabbi Willner took a position as Talmud Torah
principal in Malden, MA, but moved on to a similar position at a larger Talmud
Torah in White Plains, NY, a few years later. His wife taught the younger
grades in that Talmud Torah.
Rabbi Willner spent ten productive years in
White Plains and he and Bronnie had a significant impact on the community.
Prospective baalei teshuva, lonely seniors and many others were regular
visitors to the Willner home. Hundreds of children were impacted by the chinuch
they received at that Talmud Torah due to Rabbi and Mrs. Willner’s influence.
During his years in White Plains Rabbi
Willner completed his PhD in Educational Psychology at NYU, laying the
groundwork for his next career move. He and his wife realized that chinuch
opportunities for their children were limited in White Plains and understood
that as their children grew older they would have to move closer to a city that
housed real Yeshivos, capable of giving their four children the chinuch
they wanted them to have.
So, after ten years in White Plains, the
Willners moved to Brooklyn, where Rabbi Dr. Willner became principle of one of
the largest girls high schools in New York, Esther Schoenfeld High School on
the lower East Side – the position that is most associated with his career in chinuch.
It was at Esther Schoenfeld that he became famous for the traits that he was
known for, for the rest of his life: his erudition, his competence, his calm
temperament, sense of fair play and pleasant disposition.
Gradually, the demographics of the lower East Side changed
and the Jewish population dwindled. Esther Schoenfeld had opened a sister
branch in Borough Park, Brooklyn and the decision was made to close the East
Side branch. Rabbi Willner was offered a position at the Borough Park school,
but declined. His good friend Rabbi Ephraim Oratz was principal there and Rabbi
Willner did not want to encroach on his turf.
Rabbi Willner was in his 50’s at the time and finding a
secure full-time position in chinuch would have been difficult, and
would have created parnoso issues. Rabbi Willner was always forward
thinking and he realized that he was getting closer to retirement age, and retirement
benefits in chinuch were not very promising. (He actually continued to
work until he was 80.)
However, Rabbi Dr. Willner had excellent professional
credentials and was able to assume a professorship at Kingsborough Community
College where he taught Psychology and spearheaded the creation of several
valuable programs that are still in use there today. In the files he left
behind are warm and personal letters of commendation and thanks for his many
contributions there.
Rabbi Willner’s first love was chinuch, and he
continued in that role even after he assumed his full-time responsibilities at
Kingsborough. He shared his expertise at running the secular studies department
in a New York City high school with several Yeshivos struggling to get a handle
on navigating the complexities of that task, including Bais Rivka in Crown
Heights and the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway. He shared his life-wisdom with young
men and women at Touro College when he assumed a part-time teaching and
administrative position there.
Rabbi Willner had a brilliant mind and he continued to “hold
in learning” no matter what else occupied his professional time. He was also
able to self-train in other disciplines that he found useful and interesting,
and became an accomplished financial planner – so much so that many of his
Yeshiva chevra, whom he kept in constant touch with, consulted him for
financial planning advice.
Above all, Yisroel Willner was a family man and he adored
and doted on his children, grand-children, great-grandchildren and
great-great-grandchildren. It was his pleasure, for as long as he was able to
do it, to speak from the heart and impart of his wisdom at family simchos,
where his drashos were usually the high point. When writing new drashos
became hard for him, and it was suggested that he “recycle” previous material –
all of which was carefully archived, because Rabbi Willner was a meticulously
organized man – he was horrified. For him, every grandchild and
great-grandchild was unique and deserved his or her own custom-crafted drasho.
No recycling allowed!
When he was in his 70’s, Rabbi Willner gave testimony to
Project Witness, wherein he described his harrowing war experiences. In his conclusion he
remarked, “I feel obligated to live an appropriate kind of life – to help
others and to be marbitz Torah”. And that he did.
Rabbi Yisroel Willner was a very special and unique
individual, and he will be sorely missed by his large family, b’ah, by
the people who he worked with, learned with, davened with, vacationed
with and simply interacted with in any way.
Yehi Zichro Boruch.
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