A historic encounter between Rabbi Yolles and the founder of Daf Yomi, Rav Meir Shapiro

Title: The Eternal Daf

Location: Philadelphia

Document: The Jewish Exponent

Time: 1926

At first glance, the inscription on Rav Ephraim Eliezer HaKohein Yolles’s Har Hazeisim headstone seems standard, referring to his titles as “gaon av beis din of Philadelphia’’ and Sambor Rav, the latter inherited from his father Rav Sholom and grandfather Rav Uri. It also makes mention of his sefer Divrei Ephraim Eliezer. But it’s the final line on the lengthy epitaph that catches the eye: “Eighth Daf Yomi cycle, Zevachim 95.” There is a story behind that last cryptic line, which dates back to a historic encounter between Rabbi Yolles and the founder of Daf Yomi, Rav Meir Shapiro.

Rabbi Ephraim Yolles was born in 1894 in Sambor, Galicia. In 1921, Sambor chassidim in New York invited him to serve as their leader, so Rabbi Yolles and his wife Binah immigrated to the United States. He was ultimately asked by Philadelphia’s Chief Rabbi Bernard (Dov Aryeh) Levinthal to lead the Kerem Israel shul in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. Shortly after his arrival, Rabbi Yolles was chosen as chief rabbi of Strawberry Mansion’s organization of Orthodox synagogues, and later presided over the Philadelphia beis din and kashrus agency.

In 1923 Rabbi Yolles received a letter from his father describing his experience at the Knessiah Gedolah of Agudas Yisrael in Vienna. “One young rabbi captivated everyone with his eloquence and brilliance,” he wrote. It was Rabbi Meir Shapiro, who electrified the gathering with a novel proposal, suggesting that Jews around the world study the same daf of Gemara every day:

What a great thing! A Jew travels travels for 15 days to America, and each day he learns the daf. When he arrives, he enters a beis medrash in New York and finds Jews studying the very same daf, and he gladly joins them. Another Jew leaves the States and travels to Brazil, and he goes to the beis medrash, where he finds everyone learning the same daf he himself learned that day. Could there be a greater unity of hearts than this?

Rav Sholom Yolles advised his son to start Maseches Berachos on Rosh Hashanah, so that far-away Philadelphia would be connected to lomdei Torah around the world. While the shiur at Kerem Israel began with gusto, the excitement soon faded as Rabbi Yolles’s congregation struggled with the fast-paced style, and it didn’t last long.

In 1926 Rav Meir Shapiro traveled to America to raise funds for the construction of Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin. During Rav Meir’s stay in Philadelphia, Rabbi Yolles hosted him, and shared with his guest the challenges he had encountered in maintaining Daf Yomi.

“Start again and stay with it,” encouraged Rav Meir. “Someday you’ll thank me. And I’ll consider it a personal favor if you learn the daf.”

Rabbi Yolles was moved by Rav Meir Shapiro’s sincerity and commitment to the idea. That evening he resumed his Daf Yomi schedule, and it became an integral part of his life. The daf and Rabbi Yolles became inseparable. No obligation, invitation, or communal responsibility deterred him, and he completed the cycle eight times, with Zevachim 95 his final daf.

Some More of Sambor

The Sambor dynasty was founded by Rav Uri HaKohein Yolles. Named for Rav Uri (the “Seraph”) of Strelisk, he was a talmid of Rav Yosef Shaul Nathansohn, author of Shoel U’meishiv, and a follower of the Sar Shalom of Belz. Before Sambor he was a rav in Komarno, and following the passing of Rav Yehuda Tzvi of Stretin, he emerged as a chassidic leader in his own right.

Galician Chaplaincy

Renowned as a young Torah scholar in Galicia, in his teens he received semichah from Rav Koppel Reich of Budapest and others. He assisted his father in Stryi by serving on the beis din, and he founded a local yeshivah. During World War I, he served as a chaplain in the Austro-Hungarian military, and established kosher kitchens for Jewish soldiers.

Reverence for the Rebbe

Among the many gedolei Yisrael with whom Rabbi Yolles shared a close relationship was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, whom he visited with his family each Chol Hamoed. In 1971 Rabbi Yolles attended a Yud Tes Kislev farbrengen and was caught on camera urging the Rebbe (who rarely slept) to try and get some more sleep.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 901)