Today, 13 Tishrei, marks the Yartzeit of Reb Naftali Kravitsky, a staunch chassid, an incredible talmid chacham, and a uniquely special person. This is the story of the mathematician who prioritized Yidishkeit and mesiras nefesh in the order of operations.
There is so much for all of us to learn and appreciate from his life story, and we hope you will enjoy and find inspiration in the short biography printed here.
The information was compiled, researched and written by Rabbi Yankel Oster.
Click here to download PDF of full booklet
Childhood – Dark Beginnings in Leningrad
The year 5698, תרח”צ, is perhaps the darkest year in the history of Lubavitch in the Soviet Union. During that year, the acronym of which spells the Hebrew word for murder, many chassidim went missing at the hands of the communists, never to be seen again. People were arrested and never came home. Families lost fathers, brothers, uncles, and sons. The darkness and fright were terrible.
Amidst the turmoil, on the eighteenth of Kislev, 5698, a baby boy was born to Reb Osher and Nechama Kravitsky in the city of Leningrad. They named him Naftali after Nechama’s father, Reb Naftali Marinovsky.
Reb Osher was a strong chassid. He had learned in the underground Tomchei Temimims in Charkov, Nevel, and Kremenchug from the age of 14 together with famous chassidim such as Reb Mendel Futerfas and Reb Nochum Goldshmidt. Hiskashrus and chassidishe conduct was ingrained in him, and this naturally had a profound effect on Naftali’s life.
Naftali was three years old when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union. The German army blazed across the country, capturing town after town. They would soon be on the outskirts of Leningrad where their advance was finally slowed. They then laid siege to the city.
Naftali’s family remained in Leningrad when the siege began. Times were dire, as there was a severe food shortage in the city, and many people would starve to death at the hands of the Germans. The hardships were unimaginable and personally affected Naftali and his family. During the siege, Naftali lost his younger sister Feiga.
After some time, the Kravitskys were able to escape the city and make the arduous and perilous journey to Samarkand together with other families from anash. They arrived there in 5702, joining many families of chassidim who had fled from Leningrad and other cities and towns farther west. Samarkand was relatively safe from the dangers of the war, and the communists were not as active in antagonizing the chassidim in the far off location. Thus, it offered the ideal refuge from the terrors of this dark time.
Refuge in Samarkand
Wartime in Samarkand was not easy for Naftali and his family. Soon after they arrived, his father was drafted into the army. Reb Osher was sent off for multiple hard years of military service and would only return home when the war ended. He lost an eye in the war and would wear an eye-patch for the rest of his life, an eternal testament to the challenges that he had gone through.
With her husband conscripted into the Red Army, Naftali’s mother moved them into the home of her brother, Rabbi Shmaya Yehuda Marinovsky, the former rav of Kremenchug. His home was a torch of Torah and Chassidus for the many refugees who had fled to Samarkand during the war years. There were daily minyanim in the house, and the house was constantly filled with chassidim. The young Naftali was very much influenced by the atmosphere of the home, his uncle, and his two cousins Reb Yisroel Yaakov and Reb Chaim Ozer.
In Samarkand, Naftali was able to go to the underground cheder that had been set up. There, he learned Torah from famous chassidim such as Reb Dovber Chein, Reb Elya Chaim Roitblatt, and Reb Zusya Paz. Although he only spent a few years in this atmosphere as a young child, his time in cheder impacted him for life. At the cheder in Samarkand, he began to display his unique qualities of diligence, patience, and shrewdness. Even at a young age, he would daven slowly and carefully from a siddur. But above all else, and despite his many talents, what set him apart was his kabolas ol.
An Orphan in Baku
At the end of the war, Reb Naftali’s father returned to Samarkand, reuniting the small family. However, their joy would not last long. Sadly, Reb Naftali’s mother passed away about a year after the war’s end. Years later, people would recount to the family about the young orphan who was brought to the shul in Samarkand three times a day to say Kaddish for his mother.
Reb Naftali’s father remarried. During the first few years following the war, many anash families were famously able to smuggle themselves out of Russia using forged Polish passports, but the Kravitskys were unable to flee. The family moved to Baku, Azerbaijan on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Baku was a far cry from Samarkand. There was no cheder for Reb Naftali to attend, no legendary chassidim to learn from, no farbrengens to participate in, nor was there a chassidishe shul to daven in.
There were a few chassidim who lived in Baku during the dark post-war years. Reb Naftali’s uncle, Reb Ezriel Marinovsky, lived there, and a trip made to Baku by Reb Itche Mishulavin to collect bichelach of Chassidus suggests that the shochet in the city was a chassid. These individuals must have influenced and taught Reb Naftali alongside his father, Reb Osher, who invested so much for his son to grow up a chassid, despite the difficult times.
Characteristically, Reb Naftali would persevere in the face of overwhelming and unique challenges. In Baku, Reb Naftali had no choice but to attend the local public school where he did very well, even earning a gold medal upon his graduation from high school. Nonetheless, Reb Naftali stood strong in his commitment to Torah, mitzvos, and living a life in the spirit of Chassidus.
While not much is known about this time of his life, Reb Shmulik, Reb Naftali’s oldest son, once asked his father how he made it through these challenging times. Reb Naftali responded that the two years that he had spent in the underground cheder in Samarkand with Reb Berke Chein and Reb Elya Chaim Roitblatt carried him through. Even at seven years old, such a powerful impression had been made on him.
There is an anecdote that transpired in Baku which can shed much light into the depth of Reb Naftali’s character, even at a young age. When he was ten years old, his Uncle Ezriel gifted him a Shas that was printed in one volume without Tosfos. Reb Ezriel had found the Shas in a box in his mother’s possession, and he passed it on to provide the young Reb Naftali with a way to utilize his outstanding capabilities and to learn in isolated Baku. On the inside cover, Reb Ezriel wrote, “I am giving this Gemara to my nephew Naftali on condition that he learns from it for no less than fifteen minutes daily. He promised me that he would do so.” Below Reb Ezriel’s writing is Reb Naftali’s signature, forever testifying to the promise that he made and his commitment to Torah at such a young age.
A Chassidishe Valedictorian
Upon graduating high school, Reb Naftali enrolled in university in Moscow to study mathematics, bringing him back into Russia proper. Truth be told, being a university student did not really attract Reb Naftali. Instead, university had a side benefit that Reb Naftali was interested in. One of the foremost challenges faced by Yidden in the Soviet Union was how to avoid working on Shabbos, and a degree from a university would qualify him for a job that did not require working on Shabbos.
Reb Naftali was a gifted student and quickly gained the respect of the faculty. Due to the anti semitic climate present in Moscow, he did not receive any awards like he had in high school in Baku, but he was respected as a top student. He would eventually graduate with a doctorate.
As could be expected, being a student at the university in Moscow entailed quite the challenge for Reb Naftali. Keeping Shabbos and kashrus, putting on tefillin, and living the lifestyle of a chassid did not come easy. To put on tefillin, Naftali told his roommates that he wanted to eat alone in their room while they all ate in the public dining hall. He would also use the time to organize their room, so they agreed. He would then lock the door and put on tefillin, also ensuring to make the beds before they returned. It happened that one of his roommates wanted to come into the room during mealtimes. Wearing his tefillin, Naftali refused, telling this goy that mealtime had not yet ended. The goy tried to break the door down and proceeded to hit Naftali. Naftali — who would never even consider hitting someone — was forced to fight back, but he managed to keep the goy out of the room.
Keeping kosher was very difficult, and his diet consisted of bread and vegetables. Keeping Shabbos also entailed its challenges. Once, Reb Naftali told Reb Nosson Kanelsky that a certain day was a yom tov for him. What had happened? An exam had been scheduled at the university for Shabbos, and for whatever reason, he had been allowed to take it two days later, on Monday.
Throughout his life, Reb Naftali followed halacha without compromise. Later on in life, after Reb Naftali moved to Eretz Yisroel, there was a period when the Rebbe was very involved in arranging that the electric grid in Kfar Chabad should be powered by its own generator on Shabbos. In Eretz Yisroel, the power plants are unfortunately run by Yidden on Shabbos, and it is potentially an issue to derive any benefit from electricity on Shabbos. Having its own power source circumvented the issue for Kfar Chabad, as it could be done in a way that eliminated any potential chilul Shabbos.
While this was going on, Rabbi Yaruslavsky, the rav of Nachlas Har Chabad, remarked at a farbrengen that there was basis not to use electricity on Shabbos locally, as they did not have such a generator. Reb Naftali took this seriously. Until his final day, he wouldn’t leave the lights on in his house for Shabbos and yom tov and instead used candles for light.
A rule of the university was that students were forbidden from wearing anything on their heads. Going without a yarmulke was obviously out of the question for Reb Naftali, and he found a solution for this issue as well. The university had a rule that anyone who wore a hat for “cultural reasons” was allowed to do so. Having grown up in Central Asia, Reb Naftali bought a tubeteika, a cap that was commonly worn by locals in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, before university started. He was thus able to wear this cap instead of a yarmulke during his university years.
Despite his academic prowess, his achievements at the university were always of secondary importance. Reb Naftali had been educated that Torah and mitzvos, Chassidus and its ways, were the priority, and this is how he would live his life. No different were his university years. His chassidishe heritage, passed down to him by his relatives and lit aflame during his time in Samarkand, always outshined everything else that was going on in his life, whether in Baku, Moscow, or later on in Eretz Yisroel.
In university, Reb Naftali always diligently maintained a daily routine to learn Torah — Chumash, Mishnayos, and Gemara. Moreover, he kept a strong connection with the members of anash who lived locally. Among those who he had a connection with were Rabbi Yehuda Butrashvili, Reb Nosson Kanelsky, and Reb Moshe Katzenelenbogen.
For Shabbos, Naftali had an arrangement to stay at the home of Reb Moshe Lichterov in Udelnaya. This allowed him to leave the atmosphere of the dormitory where he lived during the week and to spend Shabbos in the Lichterov’s chassidishe home. From there, rain or shine and no matter how frigid it was, he would make the long walk to the famous shul in Malakhovka where he could be with other members of anash. There, they would daven, learn Chassidus, and farbreng.
Rabbi Shmaya Marinovsky, Reb Naftali’s uncle, was once in Moscow during this time period and visited Reb Naftali. He was amazed to see how his nephew remained a staunch chassid despite being surrounded by the secular, communist atmosphere. He was a yerei Shamayaim through and through, unwavering on every detail that being a frum Yid entails. Understandably, Reb Naftali undertook all of this in complete secrecy. The discovery of his hidden, true-self would have led to immediate expulsion from the university — and perhaps worse.
Life in the Soviet Union – Raising a Family in Moscow
On the fourth of Nissan, 5721, Reb Naftali married Riva Rubashkin, the daughter of Reb Avraham Mendel and Nechama Rubashkin. Nechama was the daughter of Rochel Leah Batvinikov, the daughter of the famous chassid Reb Meir Simcha Chein. Like so many families of Russian chassidim, Riva’s family had a harrowing story similar to Reb Naftali’s. They had initially lived in Leningrad and fled to Samarkand during the war, and her parents also fought to educate her in the ways of Chassidus despite communist rule.
Riva’s mother, Nechama, arranged the shidduch. She knew the Kravitsky family from Samarkand, and Reb Osher had even stayed in the Rubashkin home at some point. The young couple met at a chassidishe wedding in Moscow, despite the dangers of attending such an event. When looking for a shidduch, Reb Naftali only focused on one thing. He wanted to marry a young woman who wished to build a Jewish home without any compromises and who would happily dedicate her life to the education of their future children. This was the foundation of the special life that they would live together for many years to come.
Soon after their marriage, they moved into the upper story of the Rubashkin’s home in a small village outside Moscow called Ilinka. Moving into a conspicuously frum environment would bring negative attention to the young couple, and moving into the home of Riva’s parents was the best way to discreetly live near another frum family.
It was around this time that Reb Naftali graduated from university, and he was immediately appointed to the faculty as a professor. While this position never really appealed to him, it offered a priceless benefit. It spared him from working on Shabbos. While living in Ilinka, Reb Naftali and Riva were blessed with their two oldest children. Shmulik was born in 5722, and Sara (later Reichman) was born in 5725.
From the very beginning, communism would set the backdrop for the young family. Their chuppah was held in secret in a private home, and no pictures would be taken at the wedding in fear of them falling into the dangerous hands of the authorities. That would enable them to identify wedding guests as chassidim and to know who was connected to who.
Together, the Rubashkins and the Kravitskys were the only frum families in Ilinka. With no minyan to attend, Reb Naftali davened at home, and the young children were not exposed to a regular frum community. On yomim tovim, Reb Naftali would make the walk to daven and farbreng in the shul in Malakhovka. While Yidden were allowed to daven there, the KGB was always watching who came and went, and they would commonly antagonize those who attended regularly. Thus, most of the people who went were older and didn’t have a job that they feared losing or a family at home. Despite the risks, Reb Naftali would attend on yomim tovim.
Living so far from a shul and only being able to go infrequently, the first time that Reb Naftali was able to take his family to a real shul was in 5731, when he took them along for Simchas Torah night. While the communists had extinguished much of Yiddishkeit in the Soviet Union, they were never able to put out the light of Simchas Torah. Hundreds of Yidden, most of which had no active connection with Yiddishkeit throughout the entire year, would show up for Hakafos, filling the shul, inside and outside.
The KGB overlooked the activity at the Malakhovka shul on Simchas Torah night, viewing the occasion as more of a celebration of Jewish pride than the joy that Hashem’s children have when they conclude the holy Torah. This gave Reb Naftali the opportunity to take his family on the long walk to Malakhovka, where they joyously participated in Hakafos with their fellow Yidden and stayed at the Kanelsky’s home for the rest of Yom Tov.
Every summer, the young family would be offered a pleasant breath of fresh air. Many families of anash would rent summer homes in Ilinka, transforming the little village into a chassidishe shtetl. Among them was Rabbi Shneur Pinksy, who learned regularly with Reb Naftali, and other families, such as Schiff, Kogan, Bisk, Chatzenov, and Rappaport. They would have an underground minyan in one of the houses, and the farbrengen would often go late on Shabbos afternoon.
In Russia, danger lurked for a Yid at every corner. Once, Riva was on the subway in Moscow with their son Shmulik and a vendor walked by calling out, “Who wants ice-cream?” Despite usually being silent in public, having been trained to never even tell anyone his name or where he was from, Shmulik answered that he wanted the ice-cream but wasn’t allowed it. In fear of being exposed as a frum Jew, Riva immediately covered up that he had a sore throat.
Even as a professor, keeping Shabbos had its challenges. Reb Yankele Lerner was friends with Reb Naftali all the way back from Samarkand. Reb Yankele was two years younger than Reb Naftali, and they remained friends for life. Reb Yankele would occasionally travel to Moscow from Samarkand, and while there, he would always make a point to visit his dear friend Reb Naftali who he respected for his chassidishe character and his deep insight. He would come to stay for Shabbos, as would others, and they would learn and farbreng. During his stay, the two chassidim would find themselves in a reality far removed from the communism that surrounded them.
One Shabbos, Reb Yankele saw a few upset students outside the Kravitsky’s home. They wanted their professor to change a mark that they had received and were demanding to come inside the home and speak to their professor, an unthinkable option with the table set for Shabbos. Realizing the gravity of the situation — how Reb Naftali’s identity as a frum Yid could be revealed by the students — Reb Yankele somehow managed to convince them that their professor was not home and that they should return to discuss their issue on the following day.
The students finally gave in, and Reb Yankele was able to rejoin a now very relieved Reb Naftali. This story was not a one-off event. Constantly, Reb Naftali and his family found themselves endangered by their true identity. However, they stayed true to themselves with mesirus nefesh, sparing no effort to to be shomer Torah umiztvos.
On another occasion, the motor that pumped water into their house broke, and they needed a mechanic to come fix it. As was common in the Soviet Union, the mechanic was an unreliable drunk, and he did not show up when he was supposed to on Thursday or on Friday. Finally, the mechanic showed up on Shabbos morning, but with the candlesticks on the table, letting him in was not an option. They would have to make due without water for a few more days.
With no one letting him in, the mechanic got the impression that no one was home, and he decided to steal the dog that the Kravitskys kept in their large front yard. The dog was important to them because it barked if anyone was coming, giving them time to get the house ready for prying eyes. But keeping Shabbos was more important, even if it meant never seeing their dog again.
Limitless Effort for their Children and Hashem’s Brachos
The greatest issue that chassidim faced in communist Russia was that of public school. The communists required all children to go to their secular schools beginning at age seven — even on Shabbos. Thus, from the moment their children were born, Reb Naftali and Riva were busy figuring out how they could save their precious little ones from a communist education and chilul Shabbos.
Even before their oldest son Shmulik was required to attend school, Riva decided to take him to doctors in search of a note that would exempt him from attending. The Kanelskys, who the Kravitskys were close with, had decided to tell the government that their children lived far away in Tashkent and went to school there. However, this meant that their children could never leave the house during the day and could only venture out for a few minutes at night to get fresh air. Understandably, this was very difficult, and they didn’t want to take this approach.
Without a connection in the medical world and lacking the money to pay a bribe, Riva didn’t have a plan for how she was going to receive a document stating that her perfectly healthy son was not fit to attend school. Nevertheless, she trusted in Hashem and went from doctor to doctor and from one clinic to the next, telling them that her son was very unwell and incapable of attending school. Upon seeing a healthy child, however, the doctors would tell her that nothing was wrong and her son was perfectly capable of attending school. Eventually, and with enough perseverance, she got an appointment for Shmulik to receive tests that would determine the status of his health.
At this appointment, Shmulik received his tests right next to a boy who was clearly very unwell and suffering from many physical and mental ailments, Rachmana litzlan. The contrast between the two boys was clear. On the one hand was a boy whose mother was merely claiming that he was sick and, on the other hand, one who was seriously ill.
A few weeks later, Riva took Shmulik back to the office to receive the results. A new doctor read them out: The results stated that things were horrible, and the outlook was no good. Typed up on the paper was a list of severe conditions. Obviously, this left the doctor astounded. The boy standing in front of him appeared to be in perfect condition, not at all what the evaluation indicated.
They then realized what happened. The office must have made an error and mixed up the evaluation of the boy in failing health with Shmulik’s. Fearing for their jobs and possible imprisonment in a far off Soviet jail, the doctors realized that they had better not make Riva any issues to avoid being potentially reported. They asked her what they could do for her.
This was her chance. She told them that she wanted a note stating that her son Shmulik was unfit to attend school. Hashem had answered the tefilla of a Jewish mother seeking to save her son from Soviet public school.
Free from a communist education, Shmulik was able to stay at home where Reb Dovber Rikman taught him Torah. In addition, Shmulik had to complete the public school curriculum at home. Monthly, the 1st grade teacher would come to the house to check up on his progress and to bring new workbooks. No one was allowed to know, and only Reb Naftali, Riva, and Reb Dovber had knowledge of the entire arrangement. Sara secretly became a student of Reb Berel as well. She would sit next to the door and listen to Reb Berel teach Shmulik. She would write what she learned in a notebook, and she brought the notebook with her when they left Moscow for Eretz Yisroel. Thankfully, the immigration officials did not find this notebook containing a young girl’s Hebrew handwriting.
Once, while Riva was out of the house, a Jewish man approached the house. Not wanting anyone to know that he was exempt from attending public school, Shmulik quickly put on a Soviet school uniform and ran out of the side door to hide in the bushes. In the meantime, Sara opened the door for the man. Shmulik’s plan was to wait there until he saw the goyishe kids coming home from school. Then he could walk back in, pretending that the school day had ended.
However, after hours of hiding, the kids never came home from school. Shmulik got fed up and gave up on his plan, and he walked into the house, telling the man that he had come home early because he wasn’t feeling well. The man, whose name was Reb Zalman Levin, a chassid from Riga, realized what this boy was up to. He laughed and laughed, “Shmulik, since when is there school on Sunday?”
That day was a Sunday, and public schools were closed. As Shmulik didn’t know that there was no public school on Sundays, he must not have gone to public school at all. Reb Zalman was impressed that the Kravitskys had managed to keep their son out of public school.
A little while later, someone dropped off a package from Riga at the house. Reb Zalman had sent a Gemara for this young boy who was privileged to only learn Torah at home. The Kravitskys only had a big old Vilna Shas at home, and young Shmulik was simply too small to use it properly. Reb Zalman had sent a new, much smaller print of Bava Kama, making it much easier for the young boy to learn.
A testament to how Reb Naftali raised his children is a story that took place with Shmulik when he was seven years old. He greatly wished to have his own Tehillim, and Reb Berel Rikman found him an old print in the shaimos of the Malakhovka shul that was missing a cover and some pages. They made a deal: Reb Berel would bind the sefer with a cover and add in some blank pages as long as Shmulik agreed to write in the missing kapitelach. Shmulik agreed, writing in the pages of Tehiillim in perfect handwriting at the age of seven.
The Rebbe’s Bracha
Living in Communist Russia was no easy feat, and it was no surprise that everyone’s greatest wish was to leave the country. Besides for the dangers involved with being a chassidishe Yid, Russia was commonly plagued by food shortages, even for a person with an important job like Reb Naftali. Often, it was only due to the help of Ezras Achim that the Kravitskys had food to eat.
However, because Reb Naftali was a professor, it was even harder to receive exit papers. Riva’s mother had been allowed to leave in 5727, but the Kravitskys were stuck. They had applied twice for an exit permit, but they were denied both times. Even expressing the desire to leave was an offense in the Soviet Union. Reb Naftali was fired for his job following the submission of an exit request, his senior age the reason stated — not exactly a solid excuse for firing a man in his mid 30s — and he was thus forced to take a less prestigious position where he could still keep Shabbos.
Once, at the government office, an official had asked Riva what her husband’s occupation was. When she informed him that he was a professor, he told her that leaving Russia was an absolute impossibility for them. Thus, they lived in Ilinka for about ten years.
On one of the times that they applied to leave, the immigration office wanted to ensure that the rejection letter was properly received by the Kravitskys and had it delivered by a police officer from the local precinct. Only Shmulik and Sara were home when he came, and they knew not to open the door for a police officer. Instead, he slipped the letter to them through a small opening in the window. Wanting to make sure that they understood what it was about, he announced the news in a booming voice, “YOUR REQUEST TO LEAVE TO ISRAEL WAS REJECTED.”
When Riva got home, she was mortified. Due to the anti-semitism that was prevalent, it could be life-threatening had the neighbors heard the policeman’s announcement.
From the time when Riva’s mother arrived in New York in 5727, she would take every opportunity to ask the Rebbe for a bracha for her daughter, son-in-law, and family to leave Russia. Finally, in 5731, about a year after Reb Naftali was fired from his job for requesting to leave, the Rebbe replied that they would soon receive good news.
Thousands of miles away in Moscow, Reb Naftali and his wife found out about the Rebbe’s bracha through the clandestine channels that the chassidim maintained with New York. With the certainty that they would now receive papers, Riva headed off to the government office to again apply to leave the country. A few days later, the good news arrived. Reb Naftali and his family would be permitted to leave Russia, an open miracle of the Rebbe.
Eretz Yisroel – According to Rebbe’s Wishes
After a five day stopover in Vienna, the Kravitsky family boarded a plane to Eretz Yisroel where they arrived on Daled Nissan, 5731, the 10th anniversary of Reb Naftali and Riva’s wedding. They would soon celebrate Pesach, having just experienced their own personal geulah. They decided to settle in Nachlas Har Chabad, as per the Rebbe’s wishes for new Russian refugees to settle in the neighborhood. Dozens of chassidim would come to meet the young family when they exited the terminal, a very joyous scene.
At the airport, they were met by a friend of Reb Naftali by the name of Mr. Heshel. He had been close to anash in Moscow, but had joined the Mizrachi movement after arriving in Eretz Yisroel a few years before the Kravitskys. When they heard that Reb Naftali was emigrating from Russia, the movement sent Mr. Heshel to the airport to greet them. He was to offer Reb Naftali a position in Bar-Ilan university, which would come along with an apartment in Bnei Brak. Riva was inclined to live in Kfar Chabad where she had relatives.
Although he knew that living in Nachlas Har Chabad would entail a long daily commute if he wanted to work at a university, as far as Reb Naftali was concerned, the matter was not up for discussion. Telling everyone that he was primarily a Chabad chassid and only afterwards an academic, he informed them that he was going to follow the Rebbe’s wishes and settle in Nachlas Har Chabad. And so it was; the Kravitskys moved into a small, simple apartment in the new neighborhood where they lived together with many other anash families.
The Rebbe would soon send a letter to express his gratification to the chassidim who moved to Nachlas Har Chabad during that period. The Rebbe wrote to them he was pleased with the good news that they were able to move to Eretz Yisroel and with the doubled (“בשורה טובה על בשורה טובה”) good news that they settled in Nachlas Har Chabad.
Reb Naftali had planned on bringing to Eretz Yisroel his copy of the thesis he had written to receive a doctorate in the Soviet Union. However, it was taken away when they were going through customs to leave the country. This blocked him from easily receiving a doctorate in Eretz Yisroel, and he had to instead spend a few months learning Hebrew and taking the necessary exams, not at all an easy task. Reb Yankele Lerner would later relate that this was very extraordinary. To receive a new degree in such a short time could only be done by an exceptional genius.
After this, Reb Naftali was offered a position at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rechovot where he worked for a while. Later, he was hired by Ben-Gurion university in Be’er Sheva where he would work for the rest of his life while still going to Rechovot once a week.
Ben-Gurion University offered him to move into the nearby upscale community of Omer that had been built for scientists and the university’s faculty. The fancy villas there were much nicer than the basic third floor apartment that the Kravitskys had in Nachlas Har Chabad. Again, Reb Naftali would hear nothing of the suggestion. Moreover, wanting to fulfill the Rebbe’s directive purely of his own accord, he declined to take any compensation for his daily commute from Nachlas Har Chabad to Be’er Sheva. He would make the over-an-hour commute daily for more than twenty years.
In Eretz Yisroel, Reb Naftali and Riva were blessed with two more children. Avremy was born in 5732, and Shifra (later Cohen) was born in 5734.
How a Chassid Lives
Reb Naftali’s identity as a chassid guided every day of his life in Eretz Yisroel. Every morning, he would attend the shiur Chassidus given in the shul by Reb Elchonon Yakovovitz before davening. When he davened, he would patiently articulate every word out loud, so that it could be heard by the person next to him, and when the Torah was read, he always stood. He also had an astute knowledge of dikduk, and he knew the entire Tehillim by heart. In the evenings, sometime after returning from Be’er Sheva, he would often head to the shul to learn Gemara and Rambam with his chavrusos, among them Reb Mendel Vechter.
Reb Mendel, who would later become Reb Naftali’s mechutan, told the story how once, after a few l’chaims on Simchas Torah, he approached Reb Naftali with a proposal: “You don’t drive a car to Be’er Sheva; you take the bus. Why don’t you take a sefer of Chassidus and go through it on the way?” Reb Naftali humbly agreed to the proposal, despite, as Rabbi Vechter put it, “Being older and wiser than me.” A few months later, Reb Naftali came over to Reb Mendel to inform him that he had finished going through the sefer.
This was how Reb Naftali treated everyone around him. He was approachable, humble, soft-spoken, and loved by all. And while very smart individuals often lack in their character traits, Reb Naftali’s smarts and middos went hand in hand. Always, after davening on Shabbos, he would take the time to put away seforim that others had left on the tables. Additionally, never did he allow anyone in Nachlas Har Chabad to call him Professor Kravitsky. He insisted on being called Reb Naftali.
Once, in the mid 70s, it was decided that Nachlas Har Chabad needed an oversight committee to manage various matters in the community. Everyone voted in a silent election, writing in who they thought was most fit to serve on the committee. Reb Naftali received the most votes, and he therefore became the head of the committee. He faithfully served the community for years until, eventually, the need for the committee went away, and Reb Naftali was relieved of one of his many responsibilities.
Most Fridays, Reb Naftali would participate in mivtza tefillin in Ashkelon, and for every yom tov, Reb Naftali joined other chassidim from Nachlas Har Chabad to visit army bases in southern Israel on mivtzoyim.
Reb Nosson Kanelsky shared that he and Reb Naftali once went to visit an army base on Chanukah. A soldier at the base had been a student at the university and recognized Reb Naftali. Approaching his professor, he asked him what he was doing there. “I knew that you were an important professor; I didn’t realize that you are also one of the people who come to hand out donuts with the Chabadniks,” said the soldier. The Hebrew words he used were: “אתה לא רק שם, אתה גם פה”.
Reb Naftali — who never raised his voice at anyone — politely replied that the soldier had things backwards: “אני פה, ואני גם שם” — “I’m here; I’m also there.” In other words, he told this soldier that being a chassid and fulfilling the Rebbe’s instructions to go on mivtoyim was his first calling. To earn a living, he also worked as a professor at the university.
In Eretz Yisroel, Reb Naftali served in the reserves, as was mandatory. During the Yom Kippur war, he was rushed out of shul to fight, but his unit did not face any real action. They were deployed to the Sinai and eventually crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt.
Reb Reuven Galperin told two interesting stories of their time together in the reserves. Once, they were instructed to inspect their equipment, and they found Reb Naftali taking apart the ammunition. Reb Naftali simply wanted to see how the bullets worked, and then put them back together. This was characteristic of Reb Naftali. He needed to comprehend how everything worked. Similarly, in the early days of the internet, Naftali would email his grandchildren articles from Chabad.org. He was never intimidated by the latest technology, but always wanted to figure it out and use it positively.
When Reb Naftali’s father passed away in Adar 5736, he wanted an exemption from reservist duty for 11 months so he could say Kaddish. Outright, his commanding officer denied his request. Reb Naftali was not so easily deterred. He went to the commander of the base to whom he explained his case, and he received an exemption. Needless to say, his commanding officer was not too pleased.
A Caring Father
In Eretz Yisroel, Reb Naftali had a very demanding schedule. Every morning, he caught the bus to Be’er Sheva at 6:10 AM, already having gone to mikvah, learned Chassidus, davened, completed the shiurim of Chitas, and eaten breakfast. To do this, he woke up daily at 4:30, and needless to say, he didn’t get very much sleep. However, when he was home in the evening, he never told any of his children that it was too late for something, that he had to go to sleep.
Reb Naftali was a loving and caring father who was fully involved in his children’s lives. He was interested in their education and was always there for them when they had an issue. He listened more than he spoke, and when he offered advice, it was always with a few choice words that would play out to be the best approach possible. He made sure to only speak to his children in Yiddish, not Hebrew and not Russian.
Never did Reb Naftali raise his voice, and for him to use corporal punishment was out of the question. His children knew that he would never consider doing anything that was even slightly out of line with halacha or how a chassid should act, and they wanted to follow in the footsteps of their father who they respected so much. For them, a look was good enough to know that their father who they loved so much didn’t approve of something.
Once, Reb Naftali told Reb Shmulik that he found it easier to raise children in Russia than in Eretz Yisroel. In Russia, it was very clear to his children that they, the family with a black and white picture of the Rebbe hidden in the closet, were different. It didn’t matter if the other children didn’t eat chalav Yisroel or went to the movies. The Kravitsky children had a sense of “Veniflinu;” they lived with a higher standard.
In Eretz Yisroel, however, they were surrounded by families of chassidim with similar backgrounds. Reb Naftali couldn’t just tell his sons that they weren’t supposed to repeat a bad word that another kid had used at school because they had higher standards. They were in it together with the other families.
Remarkably, Reb Naftali never spoke to his sons about mathematics, his accomplishments at university, or his career. In fact, his family did not know that it was planned for him to be promoted to dean in the upcoming academic year when he passed away, and they were only informed by those who knew him at the university. He remarked to Reb Shmulik, “I became a ‘wagon driver,’ but you should go on to do more important things.”
The Head of the Department, the Chassid
While it wasn’t communist Russia, a secular Israeli university was not exactly an atmosphere well-suited for a chassid. Nonetheless, as he had done in so many other situations, Reb Naftali stayed true to who he was, remaining the same chassid through and through.
Reb Naftali rose through the ranks and eventually became the head of the mathematics department. This didn’t change him one bit. Every day, he would show up to campus dressed as a chassid, proud to have a beard, with his tzitzis out, and wearing his hat and jacket. He always ensured to put the Hebrew date on the board. The talented head of department had a profound effect on everyone around him, influencing them in the ways of Torah and mitzvos. After his passing, many students of Reb Naftali relating to the family that his presence on the campus, how he behaved in such a refined manner and his care for every student — both Jewish and non-Jewish — made a tremendous Kiddush Hashem.
Yitzchok Cohen related that when he was a secular student at Ben-Gurion University, an acquaintance invited him to spend Shabbos in Nachlas Har Chabad. Walking into shul on Shabbos morning, he had the surprise of his life. Professor Kravitsky, one of the most well-respected faculty members, was sitting in shul, wearing a kapota and a talis and learning Chassidus with a group of elderly chassidim.
After davening, things got even more surprising. Professor Kravitsky sat down at the farbrengen and listened quietly to an elderly chassid. Here, one of the world’s brightest mathematicians was humbly soaking up every word of this elderly Jew, all while eating herring and saying l’chaim on mashke. Eventually, Reb Naftali stood up to dance with the other chassdim, adding to Yitzchok’s surprise.
The Shabbos morning spent in Nachlas Har Chabad, observing his unpretentious professor, changed Yitzchok’s life. He was inspired to deepen his connection with his professor and to grow in his Torah and mitzvos. Eventually, he became a frum Yid and settled in Nachlas Har Chabad, just like the chassid who he came to respect so much.
Similar to when he lived in Russia, Reb Naftali never placed value on his outstanding accomplishments and standing in the academic world. Once, a family member of Reb Naftali asked him how he had earned the title of professor. Reb Naftali replied that such things were foolish. “Making a change in your life with regards to chassidishe conduct is far more valuable.”
A Unique Responsibility
A few months after Reb Naftali and his family arrived in Nachlas Har Chabad, the Rebbe sent a letter addressed to the community instructing that a gemach, a free-loan society, be opened. Amazingly, in the postscript, the Rebbe named three individuals to be in charge of the fund, Reb Dovber Rikman, Rabbi Yehuda Butrashvili, and Reb Naftali Kravitsky. In the letter, the Rebbe wrote that he was sending 7000 dollars to launch the fund, and that they were to lend to anyone, whether rich or poor, who was in need of a loan. By doing so, they would build the community, both physically and spiritually, enabling it to absorb more Russian immigrants in the future.
As one would expect, being hand-picked by the Rebbe was very special to Reb Naftali, and he embraced this responsibility to the fullest. He kept the gemach in perfect order with devotion, uncompromising diligence, and talent, despite everything else that took up his time. It was a common sight for neighbors to see Reb Naftali letting people into his home at late hours — sometimes after 11pm — to provide them with a loan. The house was busy almost every evening with people coming and going, and Reb Naftali embraced this as part of the Rebbe’s orders.
Under his stewardship, the gemach acquired the necessary funds and made loans to thousands of people, benefiting locals and borrowers from all around Eretz Yisroel. Characteristically, Reb Naftali did all of this humbly, unpretentiously, and agreeably, all while ensuring that the finances were in perfect order. Often, during yechidusen, the Rebbe would inquire about the status of the gemach from Rabbi Yaruslavsky, the rav of Nachlas Har Chabad.
During the 1980s, inflation in Eretz Yisroel skyrocketed. Many gemachs in Eretz Yisroel switched to lending US dollars instead of shekalim as they offered much more stability. Having been previously instructed by the Rebbe to only lend shekalim, the administration of the gemach had Reb Dovber Rikman ask the Rebbe if they could change the policy. The Rebbe instructed him that they were to continue lending in shekalim, and that they should increase their efforts in obtaining funding for the gemach. Interestingly, many gemachs in Eretz Yisroel had to close during that time period, but the gemach in Nachlas Har Chabad stayed open.
Traveling to the Rebbe
At the Rebbe’s request, Reb Naftali and his family traveled to the Rebbe for Tishrei 5732, six months after arriving in Eretz Yisroel, with a group of anash from Nachlas Har Chabad who had recently left Russia. It was common for chassidim who had newly exited from Russia to travel in groups to the Rebbe soon after leaving Russia, and this trip was no different. The Rebbe would even pay for the expenses.
They came to New York for a full month. During this time, the Rebbe showed a lot of attention and care to the group of Russians, including Reb Naftali and his family. In turn, Reb Naftali soaked in every minute in the Rebbe’s presence, strengthening his connection to the Rebbe. Over yom tov, the Rebbe even spoke a sichah in Russian. Clearly addressing the group, the Rebbe told them that it was incorrect to think that they would no longer face spiritual challenges. In fact, the Rebbe said, the challenges in the free world could be harder than those faced behind the Soviet Union.
During their visit, the family merited to have yechidus with the Rebbe twice. The first time was a private yechidus with just the family during Aseres Yimei Teshuvah. It was quite a long yechidus, and the Rebbe used most of the time to inquire about Yiddishkeit in Russia, discussing many people who were still there.
The second yechidus was a yechidus klolis towards the end of Tishrei for the entire group from Nachlas Har Chabad in the Rebbe’s yechidus room. This was rather uncommon at the time, as yechidus klolis only became prevalent later on. Among the matters discussed, the Rebbe asked the group to choose a few representatives to visit Zalman Shazar who was then the President of Israel and to bring him the Rebbe’s regards. At the end of the yechidus, the Rebbe gave a Tanya to Shmulik and a siddur to Sara.
This would be one of the only two times that Reb Naftali traveled to the Rebbe. Although the university would often offer to pay for him to go to the United States to lecture in American universities, Reb Naftali would always decline the offer. Reb Naftali explained to his family that if he went to America, he would certainly stop in NY to visit the Rebbe. However, he did not feel suited enough to have a yechidus and to see the Rebbe’s holy face.
The gemach was a reason why Reb Naftali hesitated to travel to the Rebbe. It kept him busy for most of his evenings for over twenty years when he dealt with the relevant matters, making sure everything was accounted for and handing out and receiving money. The other two people appointed by the Rebbe were much older than Reb Naftali, and he would have to shoulder most of the responsibility. Despite his amazing achievements and effort, he always felt that he should be doing a better job with this special task, and he was embarrassed to come to New York.
Only after almost twenty years had passed from his first visit did he again travel to the Rebbe in 5751. He made this trip with much excitement and anticipation, eager to see the Rebbe.
Reb Naftali’s hiskashrus was legendary. He connected himself to the Rebbe with heart and soul, and the Rebbe, his teachings, and his instructions were the only matters of real importance in his life. In fact, Reb Naftali never hung a picture of the Rebbe on the wall of his house because he could not imagine standing with his back to the Rebbe’s picture.
Reb Naftali merited to receive words of praise from the Rebbe — the highest honor for a chassid. The Rebbe told Reb Naftali’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Rubashkin, that her son-in-law was a man of incredible qualities, adding that it is very worthwhile to be close with him as it would benefit her greatly.
Communal Affairs
Additionally, Reb Naftali was a founding member of the Shamir society, a group of Torah-observant academics who had fled Russia and Eastern Europe. The society was started with the Rebbe’s approval, and Reb Naftali was at their first meeting in New York on 28 Tishrei, 5732, the day before they flew back to Eretz Yisroel. The group merited for the Rebbe to address them privately soon after their first meeting.
The Rebbe told them that their primary focus should be to influence others, unlike other similar societies who met mainly for their own interests. Both by being examples of frum academics and by engaging others directly, they were to see to it that new Russian emigrants would retain at least the same level of Torah and mitzvos that they were at while living in Russia, and to encourage them to grow.
The Rebbe told them that they would often encounter individuals who would tell them that their knowledge of science was antithetical to Torah. If they believed in Hashem, they were to abandon academic pursuits. The Rebbe instructed them that the purpose of the society was to respond on the contrary. Scientific knowledge only leads to a stronger belief in Hashem and a greater commitment to Torah and mitzvos.
The Rebbe also highlighted that they would have an advantage when assisting academics still located in the Soviet Union. As Russian academics themselves, it would be easier for them to contact and influence those still on the other side of the iron curtain.
Reb Naftali took on his own private initiatives to reach out to others. He would regularly walk to a community close to Nachlas Har Chabad to help out a struggling minyan. There, he made shiurim with the community members and would teach them the Rebbe’s Torah. The people who attended were always so impressed by this man who was a successful professor, yet knew the amount of Torah and Chassidus that could only be expected of a man who had spent his entire life exclusively learning Torah.
Another responsibility of Reb Naftali was to sound the Erev Shabbos siren in the neighborhood. There was no automatic timer, and he had to set it off manually. Every week — for years on end and without fail — Reb Naftali sounded the alarm a few minutes before Shabbos, alerting the neighborhood of the holy Shabbos. He was also appointed to the parent board of the local Chabad school. During his tenure, the quality of the education and the atmosphere of the school improved immensely.
Reb Nosson Kanelsky tells the story that he was very much struggling financially at a certain point in life, and during this time period, his son turned bar-mivtzah. When they were opening up the bar-mitzvah presents, Reb Nosson saw that Reb Naftali had written out a very large check. Approaching Reb Naftali, he asked him what it was about. Reb Naftali replied that the check was for the parents who had raised such a wonderful boy. Reb Naftali knew that they were going through a hard time and was seeking to help as much as possible.
His Final Days
Throughout all of his years, Reb Naftali hoped that he would be able to retire from the university and learn Torah all day. He never had the opportunity to attend yeshiva in his youth, and he wished to make up for the lost time in his senior years, to finally rid himself of the academic world’s burdens and to be free to learn Hashem’s holy Torah full-time.
However, Hashem had other plans for Reb Naftali. During the summer of 5758, he began to suffer from headaches and was diagnosed with yenne machla. On Shabbos, 13 Tishrei, 5759, Reb Naftali passed away, leaving behind children, grandchildren, friends and acquaintances, the many, many people who he had helped or influenced, and the tremendous legacy of a friendly genius, a humble and dedicated chassid.
