Recollections of Rav Nachman Bulman ztz”l on his 18th yahrtzeit

When I returned to the University of Illinois in August of 1985 to complete my poli-sci degree, I was a totally different person than I had been when I left a year before. I had spent my junior year at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where I developed a passion for Torah learning that far eclipsed my interests in political theory, and I was returning as a shomer mitzvos.

It was a rough transition. The campus, set in the tall corn fields of downstate Illinois, seemed like the proverbial wilderness. With my modest dress and Torah worldview, I felt totally alone. It was my senior year and I was trying to strategize my next move in life. Finding a job in Washington D.C. seemed like the obvious next step, but there was an inner voice pulling me toward a different destiny.

During winter break, I joined my friends from Hebrew University for a reunion in New York. One of them was planning to spend a few days in Monsey at a school for newly observant women, and she invited me to join her. I was totally exhausted when we arrived, and when the madrichah announced a talk from a rabbi visiting from Israel, I thought I would probably fall asleep at the lecture.

I didn’t. The visiting rabbi was Rav Nachman Bulman zt”zl. He spoke about his dream to create a community for English-speaking olim in Israel. He described the challenges he faced trying to build a community in the lower Galil, and shared stories about sending members of the kehillah to teach Torah at local kibbutzim. I was spellbound as he recounted his struggle to win the trust of the local Russian immigrants and his success as the communities became allies. One story moved me immeasurably: there was a young American who had been involved in other religions and was staying at a kibbutz near Migdal Haemek. The members of Rav Bulman’s kehillah reached out to him and invited him to join them for Shavuos night learning. At daybreak, he approached Rav Bulman. “I spit out the poison,” he said simply. He maintained a connection with Rav Bulman, and eventually returned to a Torah lifestyle.

Rav Bulman’s insight and analysis of the trends in Israeli society was clear and incisive, and he understood the demographics of Israeli society better than any of my college professors. He spoke with great empathy and tolerance for Ashkenazim, Sephardim, secular, and religious communities. He inspired me with his hope for the future, telling us that the geulah will come in the end, and we should never despair.