Inside ArtScroll Season 2 Episode 8: Interview with Rabbi Eliezer Krohn

[Music] Hello everyone and welcome back to Inside Art Scroll where the books you read and the people who write them come to life. Today we are joined by Rabbi Elezar Cron the author of the brand new A woman's guide to practical hala. Thank you, Rabbi Cron, for being here at Arts School Studios for this conversation about your wonderful new safer. I know I called it a book. It's really a safer It's a safer design to educate girls and women regarding halist that are relevant to them specifically. And obviously, you have an kind of an expertise in that area. So, tell us a little about yourself and how you got into this area of practical. So, thank you for having me. It's really an honor. It's a to be here. Um the way it started was you know I was living in really focusing on namikin. Um then I joined a kachum kabura in the mir. I always say I had the best of both worlds. I was in the mir learning kachum. I came back to America. We lived in for five years. I came back and I joined a kyo and that really really opened up my eyes to learning and getting it down to the practical. So I'm in the I was in the pose clifton community kyo where I live in pic and it really brought hala to life for me my wife it was actually interesting how I started teaching girls and teaching women my wife teaches in the bayakov of pic in the high school and I they asked me to speak by the kanuka um I wasn't connected at all to the school but my wife was so they asked me to speak I spoke for 20 minutes I guess uh the principal rabbitson Stern of mayor Stern's rabbitson liked to speech and she called me a couple weeks later if I would substitute. So I I was actually doing a bris in Queens that morning. So I wasn't able to make it back on time. But when I came back, I said, "I'm sorry. I can't I'm not available." But when I came back, I asked my Kyle, I said, "If they called me once, this was like in January, a couple of weeks after Kaneka, they'll probably call me again. Is this something I would be allowed to miss for to start, you know, to teach, to substitute, make a little bit money on the side?" So he said is this something you see yourself doing in the future? I said definitely I feel like just practical clarity clear something I feel like I will be good at. He said if this is an investment for the future then you'd be allowed to. I subbed like around 12 or 14 times till the end of the year and then in the summer she called me if I would teach al for the 11th grade in the bay of Payek and um always I have a debt of gratitude to Rabbitson Stern who got me you know who hired me for my first teaching job and and it took off from there. I started teaching in the New York seminary by Rabbit Assaf for seminary age. I teach now in renaspakov and Edison the high school and I teach to married women four different class three or four different classes during the week for hala practical hala through different shs and through different groups of women and tour anytime just uh spread everywhere and you know I get emails and phone calls from all over the world teaching and trying to uh trying to help people you know to practical actual practical so going back a bit I I should have mentioned at the outset of our interview when people hear Rabbi Alzar Cron they probably wonder and that answer is yes you're related to the famous Rabbi Cron you're a son of Rabbi Pesak Cone so tell us a little about your upbringing I know you grew up in Queens right so talk about that a little growing up in the home of your parents and the impact that they had on you uh going forward you are a male as well which is a apparently a family tradition I always say it runs in the blood runs in the blood so you and your brothers so talk about talk about that for a moment. So, um before I just talk about my parents, it was interesting you mentioned that like oh people ask are you related? So like in the beginning I wasn't used to being spoken to in third person. Everyone everyone was you like one time a girl asked me what does Rabbi Cone think about? I'm like why' you ask him and like I'll give you his phone number. I'm like no like you like oh me okay me. Um but uh but yes I have the great skills of being a son of the one and only Rabbi Cone and uh and Mrs. Cone growing up in their house was it was besides that their amazing parents were and are amazing parents but but they're both people that are just giving over to the cl especially in regards to education. My mother has been in Shavak high school for many many many many years a teacher in Na'vi and Kish and Muser and my father for his speeches it's also educating it's inspiring but it's also education in in a major way and we I I grew up that we live for the cl we live for others and it takes a lot of time takes time sometimes away from the family but but but it's a it's a family project together inspire iring others and teaching others and guiding others and it's the biggest in the world. It's the biggest in the world. And you know the the Shirim the women that come to the Shir and Torah anytime they they it's a partnership. It's all a partnership like like Arts Girl knows you could have a great author but they need somebody you know to get it out there. And that's that's what makes art girl so special. But I grew up in a house where it was always involved in in the cl whether it's advice or or teaching and uh it's something that's just ingrained. I think we I'm I'm one of five. I'm the youngest of five. Um, and we're all married. So from the 10 of us, I think seven out of 10 are in education. Seven. So it it's something that's uh that's that's that's raised with ingrained in us and something that we try. Now you where did you go to yeshiva grow? I went to yeshiva in sh went to mosha in Q gardens in Shara which is right up the block from my parents house. Then it was in the mir. So all the way all the way two years I was shitz for two years in Bish four years high school then two years bes then I went to the mir for three years elephant was my rebi and then I went back to shar then I went to common epste I was very close to epste was my he was my ms kadjian but I was I was very close to and you know I was still very close to elephant and arale and andi is someone you know these are all pictures in my dining room and on my desk and very very close to all of them and uh yeah but I was really only in two yeshivas my whole life sharer and the mir when after the mir I went back to I never didn't go to lakewood um I have I have of having from kavaya of lakewood but I never learned in lakewood I got permission from to to take the through besa but I was already living in pic and I never learned in lakewood I do brism in lakewood but I never learned in in lake yeshiva did you always have a nia an interest in halaka even in char actually not it it wasn't I you know when when I got engaged so I told my father like I don't really like know how so my father said I'll take care of it my father calls art scroll and he ordered me all of right and and clear and and practical and footnotes on the bottom which is also great but and I was reading them and then after I got married like I said to my wife like does Our does our crockpot have silver form? Of course it does. You don't think I know like but my wife knew more than me which is a lot of times the case when it comes to bacham and girls from basakov. So but that's why I I cherish teaching basakov girls and seminary age girls because they're the foundation a lot of time of the house and the kitchen and so much goes through them. They where do they learn it from their high school that that's and their seminary. And for me to be able to have the to be the one to have to give them that foundation, that's to me that's priceless. And I I'd love to you for you to address the uh sometimes a misnomer. People don't realize what teaching entails. It's it's it's not simple. You really have to know your stuff. You really you have to know your stuff on your toes, but you have to prepare. You have to prepare. I have friends that are and they tell me that they would never be able to teach in a girl school. I always tell the girls and the women that 50% maybe even more of my preparation is what not to say is what not to say. Meaning you could open up an English safer open up a mishtabura with a dish of mishabur and a piscuous and you start giving all different complic it's not relevant to them and it just confuses them. So you have to filter out what's not important, what's not relevant, but you have to know it because all you need is one girl to raise her hand and ask an honest good question. But what happens if So you have you should know the answer. If not, you'll get back to them. So you have to know it and it could be in your notes, but you don't say it unless somebody raised their hand. You can't obligate them to know like these random and that's what I really tried for this safer bashem to to accomplish that to only talk about the common cases that are normal. What does a girl what does a mar what does a woman what does a married woman need to know for her daily life there's a a phenomenal safer called and it's translated in English but I always say that that's a safer for men about women and there's a lot of cases there that don't happen very often and it's just it's too much the I was going to ask you about is there anything comparable to your safer that you're that you're familiar with I I don't I don't think so that it's written for girls, meant for girls. It has small footnotes on the bottom just in case their father, their husband, their brother, their son wants to look into it. Where where where did he get that from? So I have the marmakonus on the bottom. Um but very short. It's not long footnotes. It's very very short just someone who wants to look into it just to see the source. But it's written for women. And that's why you know we mentioned before that I wanted the safer to be out like two or three years ago already. But Gdayado is is such a genius and such a master that he said we have to have women read it through first. So first the first thing told me was that you can't just write. Nobody knows who you are. You don't have that reputation yet. You need a RV that's going to look through it. So my father thought of Rabbam from Kugan Hills. Fantastic idea. He went through it twice and he gave his stamp of approval, corrected a few things, fixed a few things and um and he was the first one. Then we had Rabbi Lashwitz Lashwit who was on the phone with last week but I was on the phone with him for hours and hours. He went go went through everything a lot of corrections corrections is I don't know if it's the right word nuances maybe nuances and clarity and to add and what to subtract and I have a lot of accuracy raw um for many many hours and like you pointed out before so much of it is what not to include is what not to say like this is it's it's not relevant and and and to put what to put in what to take out and after that four women went through it Mrs. Eisner Mrs. Dick Mrs. Finkelman and Mrs. Stern. All four of which I didn't know in advance. Four of Arts premier editors. You don't get better than them. Right. So that's exactly what my father said. I said, "Oh, Mrs. So and so now again is looking through." She My father said, "Alaza, don't complain. These are the top arts girls giving you the top. You should be happy." And they went through and they went through the fine comb. And I was on the phone with them also for hours and hours each one and finetuning to make it clear. If they if it's not clear, it it's not our world. So, it has to be clear. And we went through it and then Rables went through it again. We're on the phone last week and uh just to make it concise and clear. Me and you, you know, we think it's clear. I mean, we just just just for example, I wrote you make the braha on the SRig. So, you hold it upside down and then you make the brah and you turn it right side up. So, Mrs. Stern said, "Well, what is upside down?" I what upside down? Of course, the pitum is down. She's like, "You think everybody knows that, but maybe there's a a girl out there doesn't know what does upside down mean?" Excellent. I never thought of that. I never thought of that. So, you know, and sure enough, I checked in another English safer and they wrote pit them down, you know, to make to make sure that it's clear. So, it has to has to be, you know, clear and and that's not to not to assume not to take anything for granted that people. But it reminds you of something that we quote here at art school quite a lot in the name of Rabbi Mayor's Law that when you're putting out a project, a book, make sure that it's good enough that no one will ever put one out like that again. Right. Meaning this should be the definitive authoritative safer on this particular topic. In this case, it's for women. You want to make sure that it's authoritative. Like you said, you had a reviewed Rabbi Obam. And you also want to make sure that it's clear so that's well understood and also that it's comprehensive enough that it addresses all the different topics which brings me to my next question. Is there a particular area of hala that you found in teaching girls that either they need more kind of reinforcement? Is there a particular area that you focus on? Is it shabas because later on once they're married it becomes so relevant? Well, what's an area of that you find that you're accomplishing so much by really giving them that boost? So, the answer to that question I really feel is specifically for girls. There are a lot of differences between men and women when it comes to the area of one of the classes that have this of teaching by Rabb in the New York seminary is the differences between men and women in really the first half of the semester the first half of the year the first semester we focus on what are they obligated to din what are they not obligated to davin meaning me and you we go to schul we say everything of course but when a woman is home and she's busy with her children she doesn't have time to say everything. So what is she obligated and what is only voluntary? The answer to that question is going to decide okay I have 12 minutes to davin. What should I dav in? I can't say everything. So what you have to dive in in order of the sitter but what do I choose to say? What do I choose to leave out? The answer to that question is what are you obligated and what are you not obligated? And also how late in the day can you say it? If you could say all day long Mr. Shabb brings an opinion you could say in the afternoon even at night. So don't if you have 12 minutes to dash you could say that this afternoon it's better to choose. So we go through all of from what they're obligated what they're not obligated and when how late in the day are they able to say it and is I mean is what is one of the mitzvah that a woman cherishes so much got yeah they have to know it is an area that women connect to is very powerful and uh so that that's tremendously instructive right And I have a whole section on hustilah in in um in in the safer and some of them are that a lot of women are not aware of such as how not itself the and then afterwards how late in the day can someone say that? So the says one thing the says something else argues on the says only till four hours into the day. The says if it was an which usually it is otherwise why wouldn't they have said it they could do so many they say that for a girl it's only till four hours into the day that's which is so I explain to them what does that mean four hours is not four times 60 minutes I explain to them show and after that time you don't say so Mrs. Dick had never heard of that hala. Um, and some of the other women did not. And I said, "It is a mak that's clear." And I write the footnotes where someone could look more into it. But that's how I would come out in Pascan in class. And and that that's an eye openener. You know, you wake up late on a Sunday. You got to know what time it is. You have to know what time. So that's something that a lot of a lot of girls don't realize. And uh um and tudos in general, when a woman is busy with her children, she doesn't have to don good. So I don't have to dive and a lot of women know that. If I'm busy with my children, I don't have to d but at least at least then you fulfilled the according to the not according to the but at least according women may assume that if I think I miss it and miss it. No, but it takes one or two minutes to say then you accomplish at least according to the opinion of the so you know is like that like excite me you know to give it over and now the girls like they never realized that because you have a great opportunity here. you're empowering the girls and women to know how much more they could do even in what we would call compromised circumstances and compromise not in a bad way where they're taking care of family doing what they're supposed to do. So that's that's tremendously helpful. Any other things that come to mind because this is really interesting. Uh you mentioned before about my father. Um one thing I did want to mention about my father because I didn't want it uh to come out the um you know looking that we gave over you know my parents just give over to the cl and as if kas shalom any of the children you know suffered and I I tell you my favorite Rabbi Cronhn story okay and I guarantee you don't know it because it's not in any of my father's books. Okay and I try I try to imitate this. I try to copy this. Um, I remember one time I called my father. Uh, Mount talked to him about something. It wasn't something so important. I just called him and I remember where exactly I was. I called him and I always called my father on his cell phone cuz he could be home but chances are he's not home. So this way I'm safe. I just call his cell phone. I called him one time. This happened about 10 11 years ago. Called him on a cell phone and um and he was home. Happened to be he was home. So I started talking to him and I heard the home phone ring in the background. So my father says, "Okay, hold on one second." He gets the phone and he hangs up. Like within 105 seconds, he hangs up. I said, "Th Who who was that?" He said, "Oh, it was someone from." But I told him, "I'll call back later." So I said, "You you could really get the phone. It's not it's not so important. I'll call you back later." He said, "No, no, no. It's fine. I'm on the phone with you." Fine. I'm talking to him for another minute or two. The phone rings again. He picks up the phone and he hangs up right away. I said, "Who is that?" It was someone from South Africa. But I told him, "I'll call back later." I said, "Tad, the next time the phone rings, you could get it. I'll call. We'll talk later. It's not so important." My father said, "Elzer, you're the most important person to me. You're the other everybody else could wait. To me, you're the most important." And I repeat, I we weren't talking about something so so time-sensitive, but you know, someone who's involved in and teaching and bristim as as you mentioned and answering Shilus and writing and you get busy, but I always try and my wife gets a lot of credit because she does a so much in the house that lets me learn and answer the phone and and write and notes, but I I try to, you know, just imitate my father. That first comes the family. First is the family. And I read um the the biography honor of Maris Lawitz and I think there was like a whole I don't know a whole chapter but but I think a section spoke about over there how family was first. Family was first and and you you give you give over the messiah to your children and uh you know my kids bashm know a lot a lot of as they hear my phone calls and uh and you know discussions around the table but they know that they they need they need to come first. That's uh now a letter to girls and women who you teach. Do you find that they're calling you later on? I am on the phone non-stop non-stop with the onion with the flesh knife and the pan and because I teach kosher kitchen to the married women. I teach it in 12th grade in reinakov Shabas and I teach and uh and I'm I'm on the phone all really all the time. Sometimes I just have to call back and I'm on and a lot of the girls they call me for questions. One of the classes I teach is of what are you allowed to say? What are you not allowed to say? What are you obligated to say? And at what point and the girls call me for but also for guidance. Three girls just got engaged within the past month that that I I helped throughout the dating process. I was on the phone with them for a long long long time. I'm the fourth girl that I'm helping, but I helped her say no to the boy, which is also for her was the right thing. I I always tell the girls if they're if I'm their rebby, I'm I'm the rebby for life. And they could call me whenever they want. They don't have to, but they could call me for life. I give up my cell phone and uh they try. They're fortunate to have that. We try we try and uh we try to give guidance. My father always whenever my father always all the all the time is on the phone guiding people in regards to Sha and my father always talks talks about it around the Shabas table. Of course he doesn't say any names but but he says I was called with this question this week. What would you think? What would you what would you guys say? So we were raised and grown up to like seeing situations and what would be what would my father have said in certain certain cases? You know, we have a Thursday night conference call. I've heard about this. You've heard about this the Z conference call. So, no, no, tell tell our tell our viewers. So, 10:30 Thursday nights. I'm not giving out the phone number because it's only for family. Um, we have a conference call and they don't take attendance, but but we try to go on as much as we can. My father always, you know, tells over what happened that week to him and where he went and and always these type questions which I like to uh get involved in. But but just things that happened to him during the week. And what would we say? And I'm the youngest. Besides the grandchildren, so I'm older than them, but from the siblings, I'm the youngest. So I I like to talk last, you know. I let my my brother, my brothers-in-law, my sisters, my they all have what to say. We're all Cronhn's. So we all we all or we married a crone. So we all have what to say. So but but we're trained we're just trained like that to try, you know, to help to help others and uh you know, be able to see like the the big view, the big picture. You spoke before about passing on the M. Syra and that segus very well to Mila your father's been a mile for many many years when did you first realize that you know what you also want to carry on that ms and tell tell us a little about that experience being a mo while be while really being busy it's it's hard being a mo going out in the morning having a teaching schedule taking care of the family talk about that a lot of my teaching doesn't start till 11:00 in the morning um because I can't confirm I can't you know I can't guarantee that I'll be there at 9:15 The married woman is early in the morning but then I could cancel on the past two Wednesday mornings I canceled my share because I my brother is a rebberry so I've gotten boram a lot a lot of brisma and waterberry so the past two Wednesdays my bris was in waterberry so I had to cancel the share this Wednesday bes is in tekk I have to see how the timing how the timing works but I knew since I was a little child that I wanted to be a seven or eight years old I decided I want to be a my father's a fifth generation Moy so I'm a sixth generation Barashem people ask me who's a better mo you or your father so I joke. I said, "What do you mean? My father's a fifth generation mile. I'm a sixth generation mile." But um I knew since I'm a little child, I used to go around with my father to bristim. And it's an experience because my father always says there's two parts to being a good mile. Number one is doing a good job. And number two is everything else. Explaining everything, answering the questions, checking the baby before and after, showing confidence and being there for them and calming them. And that's all part of the the teaching. That's all part of the training. when you learn from your father, you know, you get to see you get to see it up close. I used to go I used to walk with my father from Q Gardens to Hillrest to Qarn Hills or Forest Hills on Shabas. I remember Kipper in our slippers. We walked to Hillrest once for a bris. Um and it for me it's it's so special. That's why we moved to Pose. There was no Moy that lived in Payic. We moved to Pose 14 and a half years ago. Lakewood didn't need another young. So we moved to Pose where there was no Moy and my father gave me a lot a lot of Brisen. My brother-in-law Fryan Pearlstein is also a Moy. We work together us three. It's it's phenomenal. It's it's it's amazing. And my father has helped me so much. And he you know it's not enough to be a good mill. You need a you need a foot in. And my father gave me bristim you know in the beginning. And uh still you know when he gets called for two in one day you know we we mix and match and we check babies for each other you know before and after. It's it's such a and I I my father never forced me. I have one brother. I didn't force him to be a mo. He always wanted to be a rebi and I always wanted to be a right and uh and I have four boys can. I'm not going to force them. If one of them does, great. But I'm not I'm not going to force them. But here you are carrying on the crone legacy, the crone misin. And you're also, like you alluded to at the beginning of our conversation, carrying on the chron legacy of being there for the clal, educating, sharing from what you have with others, enriching their lives. So we'd like to wish you a mazav on the release of the new safer, a beautiful, beautiful volume, which I'm sure is going to be well received and wish you continued and educating, inspiring, uplifting. May you do so for many more years. Amen. Thank you very much for having me. Thank you for being here. [Music]