Below is part of a fascinating historical clip from the Knessiah Gedolah of 1923 in Vienna, Austria, when over 900 Jewish leaders met to address issues important to Jewry.
At the beginning is a rare appearance of the Chofetz Chaim, nice and clear.
Among the participants are
- the Chafetz Chaim,
- the Rebbe Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Altare of Gur,
- Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski of Vilna,
- the Rebbe Rabbi Israel Friedman Tchortkov,
- Rabbi Moshe Friedman of Boyan,
- the Rebbe Rabbi Yitzchak Zelig Morgenstern of Sokolov,
- Rabbi Meir Dan Plotzky the “Kli Chemda”,
- Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin,
- Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein of Slabodka,
- Rabbi Meir Atlas of Shawil,
- Rabbi Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch of Telz,
- Rabbi Yehuda Leib Tzirelsohn from Kishinev,
- Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer of Slutsk.
The opening speech: Chofetz Chaim.
Important takana: the announcement of the Daf Yomi, by Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Lublin.
An important hachlata: the establishment of “Keren Hatorah”, financial assistance religious institutions because of the difficult situation after the war (WWI).
Knessiah Gedolah is the official name of the conference’s main World Agudath Israel movement in the world, with many participants and political and spiritual leaders, from Israel and abroad. To date, six Knessiahs have been held, the last of which in 1980.
Also seen are the Tchortkover, Rabbi Menachem Ziemba, Rav Elchonon Wasserman, Harav Perlmutter from Warsaw, Rav Y. Rosenheim, Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the Nitra Rav and Rav Sh. of Bobov as a bachur.
In the film also seen are Hagaon Rabbi Yaakov Meir Biderman and the Rav of Bendin.
See the entire clip here: http://mirc.sc.edu/islandora/object/usc%3A30855