Remembering Librarian Leah Adler, Gottesman Library Hosts Colloquium
Yeshiva University Libraries held a colloquium on Oct. 26 to remember the life of Leah Adler, the Mendel Gottesman Library’s longtime head librarian of Judaica and Hebraica who passed away in 2019. The talks focused on Adler’s passions and featured speakers from YU and other institutions.
Director of University Libraries Sandy Moore introduced the colloquium, which took place on the fifth floor of the Gottesman Library. She was followed by YU President Ari Berman — a cousin of Adler’s — who announced the dedication of a plaque in Adler’s memory.
President Berman wrote on X the following day that “Leah was more than a librarian — she was a guardian of Torah and wisdom, ensuring that generations of students could access the ideas and values that shape our people. Her life’s work reflected the very mission of Yeshiva University: to preserve, share, and build upon our sacred heritage for the next generation.”
Current Gottesman Head Librarian of Hebraica-Judaica Tina Weiss then noted three of Adler’s interests that the evening’s lectures would highlight: Bible, German Jewry and the Land of Israel.
It was Leah’s relatives who presented first, beginning with her daughter Mali Adler Brofsky. Brofsky gave a biography of her mother, talking about the chessed she did and her proficiency in both Torah and madda. Adler’s husband Mark then read a letter by her brother Aryeh Jeselsohn, which again praised Adler for her chessed as well as humility, wisdom and modesty.
Roshei Yeshiva Rabbi Meir Goldwicht and Rabbi Daniel Feldman were the next to speak after Gottesman Curator of Special Collections and Hebraica-Judaica Shulamith Berger read the plaque dedicated to Adler. Rabbi Goldwicht spoke in Hebrew, his native tongue, about Adler’s ability to see broader values while also possessing a librarian’s sharp attention to detail. Rabbi Feldman — on the theme of the land of Israel — discussed whether or not Jerusalem maintains its ancient halachic holiness, citing a dispute between Maimonides and Ra’avad on the matter.
YU’s Professor Naomi Grunhaus and Hunter College’s Rabbi Professor Yitzhak Berger then presented on topics related to the Bible, one of Adler’s passions. Grunhaus argued that Nachmanides was willing to offer explanations of verses in the Torah that diverged from the standard halachic readings, citing his treatment of the beginning of parashat Ki Teitzei as one of her examples. Rabbi Berger explored Radak’s interpretation of Tehillim 104, including the views that it follows the pattern of the six days of creation and that the final word, “hallelukah” (104:35), is a command to the nations to praise G-d.
An additional topic explored during the event was the history of German Jewry, one of Adler’s lifelong passions. Shulamith Berger talked about King Frederick of Prussia and his son’s 1703 and 1716 bans on Jews reciting the line in prayer, “sheheim mishtachavim lehevel varik” [“they bow to the futile”] and how rabbis had to swear this wouldn’t be recited. Then, Professor Elisheva Carlebach of Columbia University presented on the “civic scribes” or “shamashim” of Germany who arose in the 16th century and wrote on their Jewish communities.
Zvi Ginzberg (YC ‘27) reflected on the event.
“It was a pleasure to hear from an excellent cross-section of YU’s scholars and teachers, as well as scholars from other institutions, and it was a lovely and fitting way to remember Mrs. Adler, to whom all of us who benefit from the library’s tremendous resources owe so much,” Ginzberg told The Commentator.
Adler “oversaw the development of the Library’s resources and its comprehensive physical and technical transformation,” the Yeshiva University Libraries event webpage reflected. “She was both respected and beloved by her colleagues and always the epitome of professional competence and heartfelt concern for her co-workers.”
Photo Caption: Mendel Gottesman Library
Photo Credit: The Commentator
