Rabbi Shmuel Bloom to retire from Agudah

Far Rockaway resident reflects on over three decades of service

By Yaffi Spodek

Issue of Dec 5, 2008 / 8 Kislev 5769

Rabbi Shmuel Bloom’s history with Agudath Israel began 56 years ago, when he joined the group’s Pirchei youth movement. From there, he steadily climbed through the ranks of the organization, beginning his first professional stint in 1975 as director of vocational education. He became the organization’s top professional in 1998 upon the death of his revered predecessor, Rabbi Moshe Sherer, z”l.

Today, he holds the title of Executive Vice President; but come January he will pass the torch to his successor, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, capping 34 years of service to a cause that, he says, will forever be close to his heart.

Rabbi Bloom, a resident of Far Rockaway, reflected on his years of service in an interview with The Jewish Star, following the Agudah’s annual convention held in Connecticut on Nov. 29.

“I am retiring from the position but I cannot leave Agudas Yisroel,” he said.

He will maintain his position as Vice Chairman of the Agudath Israel World Organization, which deals with issues affecting the Jewish community worldwide.

“I’ve reached retirement age and I felt that there were good people ready to undertake the responsibility I was carrying,” Rabbi Bloom said, explaining his decision to retire at this time. “At this stage of my life, I can serve in other areas.”

He has accepted a position to join the staff of Yeshiva Ohr Sameach in Israel, where he will lead their Ohr LaGolah program. The program, he explained, “trains American yungerleit to prepare for community positions back in the United States.”

He anticipates spending a significant amount of time in Israel, and would ideally like to live there for half the year, alternating between Jerusalem and his current home in Far Rockaway.

“I want to be able to use my experience to train others to take communal positions in the United States as rabbonim, kiruv workers and teachers,” he said, adding that he plans to begin in February. “I am very excited about it.

One accomplishment that Rabbi Bloom is most proud of from his tenure at the Agudah is the Siyum HaShas of the Daf Yomi. It was started in 1975, when the seventh siyum since Daf Yomi’s inception was held for 1,100 people. The 11th siyum, in 2005, was an international event with 120,000 participants.

A second area where the Agudah had a significant impact was in helping Iranian and Russian Jewry through initiatives such as Operation Open Curtain and Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisrael, a project that was founded by Rabbi Bloom.

“We started in about 1980 when there were fewer than 50 ba’alei teshuva in Russia,” he recalled. “As I am retiring, there is a vibrant active Torah Jewry both in the states of the former Soviet Union and in Israel and the United States, thousands upon thousands of shomrei Torah u’mitzvos.”

Rabbi Bloom also recounted how Iranian children were smuggled to the United States through Pakistan in the late 1970s, at a time when there was only a handful of Iranian Orthodox Jews in America. Today, there are close to 30 communities led by Iranian rabbonim throughout the United States.

Another Agudah service, particularly invaluable during the current economic recession, is the PCS — Professional Career Service — “through which we were able to train and place tens of thousands of people in positions of gainful employment through COPE and other services,” Rabbi Bloom explained.

Though he is sentimental about closing a significant chapter in his life, Rabbi Bloom is secure in the knowledge that his job is in worthy hands with the appointment of Rabbi Zwiebel in his place.

“I have worked closely with him for the last 25 years,” he said, noting that he recruited Zwiebel from a major law firm and asked him to join the Agudah team. “I am impressed with his talents and leadership skills and I am confident that he will be a great leader to take Agudas Yisroel to the next step.”