In the previous installment we talked about my father’s three pictures of the Rabbonim in their seat at the front of Shul. (Here.) He never took this picture with Rav Mantel Shlita- although he had ample time and opportunity.

Here follow some interesting anecdotes about photos of the Rabbonim in more relaxed settings.

The picture of Rav Schwab zt’l on the cover of the Artscroll book. This picture is a mock-up painting made electronically from a picture my father shot at a private family affair on the occasion of the Rav’s 80th birthday in 1991.

The picture has been ordered many times over and was hung in the Yeshivah high-school. It is one of the few pictures of the Rav in which he is not smiling. Rav Schwab was very photogenic and generous with his smiles. But for this picture – which was a posed portrait with his wife- he does not smile (see photo above).

There is a lot to say about this, and I wrote about it somewhere. Smiling for a portrait is something that was, perhaps, an innovation of American culture. A way to show future generations your smile. If you have family heirloom pre-war photographs the subjects are always posed with a serious expression.

I would like to mention here that Mr. M Schwab- the Rav’s son – who is an exemplar of Kibud Av V’em, treated my father with utmost repsect. Firstly, he hired him whenever possible. He also had a standing request that he mail him any photos of his father and would receive remunerartions. After every interaction- a warm note would arrive in the mail with deep appreciation- the way members of our community often show their thanks!

An interesting footnote to this event. A very large family photo was arranged at the end of the festivities. There was one extended family member who was engaged to be married. My father felt that since she was not yet married the fiancé be left out of the picture. The particular family felt that he needed to be included since he was already like family. What happened? The engagement was broken and the young man needed to be airbrushed out of the photo.

Here’s more:

Rav Breuer zt’l lighting a cigar. My father tells how he was waiting for Mr. Jerry B. z’l in the apartment he shared with the Rav. My father was often at the apartment because Mr. B. employed him for two years as a messenger for his computer company when my father was between jobs. My father would sometimes see an interesting picture on the wall and take a photo of the photo in order to have a copy for himself. Anyhow, this time while waiting he saw the Rav enjoying a private moment in his study and he grabbed a picture of it. There is a lot of detail to see. (Of course, the Rav’s study has been preserved so these details can still be observed. ) The particular scene- the Rav lighting a cigar in his study, was also captured on movie and is viewable in the presentation dad made for the 1974 Yeshivah dinner. (Which I recently restored at great personal cost.)

Rav Breuer and Rav Schwab enjoying a laugh- (several versions). This is a picture that has received wide dissemination. I believe it is my father’s and it was at an event in the Mt. Sinai Shul. A hearty smile on Rav Schwab’s face seems to be in response to something witty Rav Breuer just related. There are a few other pictures of the two Rabbonim in a light moment. One of which is ubiquitous- with a candle between them at a dinner table. I do not know the origin of the picture, and if it is my father’s. Others are less known but are out there.

My father took a picture of Rav Gelley in Tallis and Tefillin giving the short Halacha after Shacharis. Bright morning sunshine fills the room beaming in through the Shul’s prominent eastern widows and gives a lot of life to the picture. A similar photo exists of – hibadel lichayim aruchim- Rav Mantel Shlita.

As a child of ten I visited our family in Basel. I remember seeing a  stout religious woman in her 40s or 50s exiting the grocery store with her packages, placing them in the bin of a moped, and then driving off. We never saw anything like this in America! An Oma on a motorcycle! My father told me the woman was from the Ehrlanger family and related to Rav Schwab. Well here is a similar picture. Rav Schwab spent summers at his son-in-law’s camp in Moodus, Connecticut.  My parents stopped by to visit once and the Rebbetzin gave my mother a tour on a golf cart. This was amusing to my father, so he snapped a picture!

For the record. My mother a’H kept a large file with pictures that people would enjoy on their home. These were enlargements ready to go. She always charged a fee- although she would ask the check to be writeen to the Yeshivah. This whole online project came about because someone requested a picture from my father, and he was about to ask a fee. I told him- in my insolence- that it was time to disseminate the collection. If there is someone today looking for a picture of our rich heritage- let’s get it to them without too many barriers. I am not from the old school of nicle-and-dime fundraising.