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Jewish World Review Oct. 21, 2004 / 6 Mar-Cheshvan, 5765 Seek and save By D. Sofer
"My dear Reb Avraham," the rabbi began warmly, "may you merit to grow in Torah and yiras Shamayim, in line with the aspirations of your pure heart. May you become a true son of Avraham Avinu [Abraham our forefather], after whom you are now named."
The blessing was one that might be bestowed upon a lad at his bar mitzvah, when, as an adult, his life starts anew. Indeed, a new life, complete with a new name, was beginning for Avraham Kotsuji — at the age of sixty. His story, of how a Japanese college professor became an Orthodox Jew, is perhaps one of the most unusual human dramas of World War II.
"We will never forget what you did for us when we were in Japan," the sage continued. "Nor how
you risked your life to save us. The merit of that mesirus nefesh [self-sacrafice] is what stood in your stead and led you to seek shelter under the wings of the Shechina [Divine presence] and to become a genuine member of the Nation you helped so much."
Setzuso Kotsuji was born in 1900 into an aristocratic Japanese family. His father was a prominent Shinto priest, descended from a long-line of well-known priests. Kiyoto, Setzuso's birthplace, was the center of the Shinto religion and the Shinto's main house of worship was located there. Quite naturally, Setzuso's father hoped that he would follow the family tradition and also study for the priesthood.
Divine Providence, it seems, had other plans. Ones that would impact the lives of thousands and continue to do so til this very day.
When Setzuso was thirteen, he visited an antique bookshop and discovered a Tanach (complete Hebrew Bible) which had been translated into Japanese. It was the first time he learned about monotheism. Thirstily, he devoured the sacred work. In time he began to embrace the belief in a single G-d as Truth. Gradually he veered away from his polytheistic heritage.
After marrying, Setzuso's search for Truth
brought him to America, where he began to
study Tanach and Hebrew at a university.
When he eventually returned to Japan with a doctorate in Hebrew
and Judaic studies, Setzuso continued to broaden his knowledge
in these fields.
In 1937, Setzuso published his first book in Japanese
on Hebrew language and grammar. He also
founded the Tanach and Hebrew Department at
Tokyo University. The department attracted many non-
Jewish students and, quite rapidly, Professor Kotsuji
gained acclaim in Japan as a scholar and thinker of
repute. Soon thereafter he became highly esteemed in government circles,
where he made many friends. The professor would eventually put those connections to good use in the saving of many lives.
At that time, a number of Japanese researchers were publishing studies that linked their nation to the Ten Lost Tribes. Though erroneous, the claims evoked a wave of interest in Judaism among Japan's
Intelligentsia and Prof. Kotsuji's books became widely read.
During his studies in the United States, Prof. Kotsuji
had never actually met Torah-observant Jews. His first encounter with
such individuals would come in Charbin, the capital of Manchuria, where a
large community of former Russian Jews had existed
since 1890. When Manchuria was conquered by
Japan, the emperor invited Prof. Kotsuji to
serve as his Jewish Affairs Advisor. Prof. Kotsuji accepted
this offer and moved to Charbin, where he remained
for a few years. While there, the professor formed warm
relationships with its Jewish community and its Rav (spiritual leader), Rabbi
Moshe Aharon Kiskilov.
A SAVING FRIENDSHIP
When the Mirrer Yeshivah, one of the most prominent bastions of higher Jewish learning in pre-Holocaust Europe, arrived in the Japanese city of
Kobe, Prof. Kotsuji saw an opportunity to finally familiarize himself
with the Torah world. In Kobe, he became very close
with the academy's roshei yeshivah (deans) and talmidim (students), whose
refinement and nobility of spirit, he would later relate, had a profound impact
on him.
The Jewish refugees' entry permits to
Japan were in actuality only transfer visas, which expired
within two weeks of their arrival. Although the
Japanese authorities extended these visas a number of
times, after a while there pressure was exerted upon the
yeshiva to leave Japan and continue to their "destination"
— which was, of course, non-existent and would have meant certain death.
As a result of Prof. Kotsuji's intervention, the Japanese
authorities agreed to extend the refugees' visas several
times, letting them stay for eight months instead of the
original two-week period. Later, when the Japanese
decided to banish the Jews from Japan, they did not
expel them completely but instead deported them to
Shanghai, China, which was then under Japanese rule.
TAKING ON THE ANTI-SEMITES
In 1941, on the eve of Japan's war against
the United States, Japan and Germany became closer still.
And anti-Semitism in Japan, a country which had barely any Jews, intensified to the point that high ranking
Japanese leaders publicly blamed the Jews for
both World Wars, claiming that wherever Jews go, they
spread havoc.
Prof. Kotsuji countered these accusations by waging a
vigorous and brave battle against anti-Semitic incitement.
Determined to halt it, and to portray the Jews to
the Japanese in a positive light, he published a book,
titled "The True Character of the Jewish Nation". In it
he exploded all of the German myths and lies about the
Jews, and portrayed the Jewish Nation as highly ethical
and as the Chosen Nation to whom G-d bequeathed the
true faith.
Prof. Kotsuji also began traveling throughout Japan,
delivering lectures in which he praised the Jewish Nation
and again refuted the lies of her enemies. He even
appealed to the Japanese to assist the Jews, declaring,
"Divine Providence has brought thousands of unfortunate
refugees to our shores, so that we should grant them a safe haven, where they will find peace
and tranquility. This is our mission in life. Let us not
betray it."
Prof. Kotsuji practiced what he preached, and much of
the humane treatment the Japanese accorded the Jewish
refugees may be attributed to his efforts.
When a delegation comprising the leaders of the Jewish refugees — headed
by the Amshinover Rabbe, Rabbi Shimon Kalisch, and Rabbi Moshe Shatzkes —
met with Japanese government representatives in Tokyo, they
were greatly aided by Prof. Kotsuji, who acted as their
mediator and translator. As a direct result of his intervention,
the Japanese improved their attitude toward the Jewish
refugees and withstood Germany's pressure to banish the
Jews from Japan — at least temporarily.
In 1941, when the Japanese government
changed its attitude, and indeed banished the Jewish
refugees to Shanghai, Prof. Kotsuji continued to maintain warm and
active ties with the Jews. Even though Japan was relatively
empty of Jews at that time, he still delivered lectures
on the fine attributes of the Jewish Nation.
Such activity was particular risky since the
Japanese government was led by a pro-Nazi nationalist
group which wrathfully persecuted all of its opponents.
But this did not deter Prof. Kotsuji, who refused to stop speaking out
against the Nazis. When the publisher of his forthcoming book asked him to delete the denouncements of the Nazis, Prof. Kotsuji refused.
TRUE SELF-SACRAFICE
Towards the end of 1942, the Japanese Bureau of
Investigation began to believe the German reports that
Jewish subversives were planning to gain control of the
world. Prof. Kotsuji was accused of encouraging
that plot and of abetting Japan's enemies, the Jews.
Prof. Kotsuji was arrested and interrogated under torture,
in which his interrogators demanded that he reveal
his role in the plot. When he said that it was all a figment
of the imaginations of the anti-Semites, he was further
tortured to the point that his life was in danger.
Then a miracle occurred. At the peak of the interrogation,
a high-ranking Japanese colonel who knew Prof.
Kotsuji very well suddenly appeared at the prison where the professor
was being held. The colonel was startled to see one of Japan's most-respected academics
incarcerated on blatantly false charges and locked up
with criminals. Immediately, the colonel demanded that
Prof. Kotsuji be released, and that all of the charges
against him be dropped.
This incident heightened Prof. Kotsuji's already strong
belief in the Divine, and induced him to conclude that
the Creator protects those who defend Jewry.
AFTER THE WAR
A few years later, Prof. Kotsuji finished his translation
of Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs), a project which enabled him to better
understand the relationship between the Divine and the
Jewish Nation.
During that period, Prof. Kotsuji continued to correspond
with his friends from the Kobe period — the
talmidei chachamim (scholars) of the Mirrer Yeshivah. When he
felt that he was ready to accept himself the beauty and depth of Jewish observance and belief,
he informed those friends that he would be coming to
Jerusalem to convert.
In 1959, sixty-year-old Professor Setzuso
Kotsuji converted to Judaism. He was
renamed Avraham ben Avraham Kotsuji and warmly
welcomed to the Jewish faith by his friends from the Mirrer yeshiva, which he was responsible for preserving and which today with its Jerusalem and Brooklyn campuses is again among Judaism's most prominent institutions of higher learning.
Professor Avraham Kotsuji spent the final years of his
life in Brooklyn's fervently-Orthodox community. The heads of the Mirrer
Yeshivah formed a special committee that rallied to his
aid and raised money to support and care for all of his needs.
Avraham ben Avraham Kotsuji returned his soul to the Creator on the 5th of Cheshvan,
5734/1974. His casket, in accordance with his will, was brought to Jerusalem, where he was
buried atop Har HaMenuchos. His funeral was attended
by a large throng of the worlds's most prominent rabbinical authorities, communal
leaders and students of the Mirrer Yeshivah.
May his name be forever remembered and blessed.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring reading material that will uplift you. Sign up today for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. D. Sofer is a writer for the Monsey, New York-based weekly, Yated Neeman. Comment on this article by clicking here. © 2004, Yated Neeman | ||||||||||
