Last week I was contacted by someone who is writing a primary school textbook about the different peoples living in the United Kingdom. He wanted an explanation as to what the Jewish religion is and asked if I could supply it. I wrote..

Some of the travellers will prove to be natural leaders and the others will turn to them for guidance and interpretation of the original instructions."

The Father is of course HaShem Yisborach. The Journey is that of Jewish Souls into this world. Only through their faithfulness to the instructions and their attachment to the group can they hope to return successful to their final destination. There is no other way for a Jewish soul to find its way back.

Reb Yerucham zt’l uses exactly that analogy in describing the Journey of a Jewish soul into the world. Reb Yiztchok Issac Sher zt’l of Slabotka uses the same idea to explain why Jewish women were determined to bring children into the world even in Mitzrayim where half would be killed at birth. Only through making the journey here could the Souls hope to return "home".

Last week in Manchester marked two educational milestones. One was the Petiro of the legendary teacher Reb Yoina Balkind zt’l The other was the second Manchester Encounter Conference.

It was not easy making that Jewish journey when RebYoina began teaching in the Nineteen Twenties. Yidden had only recently arrived here and had to struggle hard to escape the poverty which is so often the travelling companion of any immigrant. The results of their striving for material wellbeing was that their spiritual wellbeing took a turn for the worse. Rebbe Balkind often cast an eye over the boys in his famous Cheder and noticed absentees. No Jew’s Journey is complete if some are left behind so off he would march to ask boys parents why little Dovid or Chaim wasn’t in Cheder. A sheepish parent might reply that they had no choice but to send their son to the factory where he could operate a machine and earn fifteen badly needed shillings a week. Rebbe Balkind would arrive at the factory and retrieve his Talmidim. As for the badly needed fifteen shillings; he would pay that himself. No one knows where he found the money but he considered it a small amount indeed to help a Jewish soul to find it’s way back to where it came from. The Balkind Cheder grew both in size and reputation and Rebbe Balkind pioneered educational techniques, which were way in advance of his time. Thousands of little Jewish Souls were escorted along their road for over sixty years by this master guide. The results are to be found all over the city of Manchester to this day. Travel to any community whether in the South or the North of the town and you will meet "Old Balkind Boys". Some may have slipped a bit in their Shmiras Ha Mitzvos but the Kovod they have for Torah, Orthodoxy, and their Rebbe has meant that to this day Manchester is a bastion of the values he stood and lived for. It is no exaggeration in this writer’s opinion to state that this one man made Manchester.

Anything created will require attention and maintenance if it is to stay in good condition. The second Educational Milestone was the second Manchester Encounter Conference. Over fourteen hundred people traveled to the stunning Whitworth Hall to hear and be guided by many of the world’s very best Educators. Teachers came from America, London and of course Yerushalayim. Scores of teachers, hundreds of pupils, direction for the next stage of the journey given and received.

Rebbe Balkind was both a Rebbe and a father to me and when I first came to Manchester and he agreed to teach me it was on one condition "You must never try to give me anything". So every night for a year he taught me from six o’clock till midnight.

The Journey of Klal Yisroel would be impossible but for those very rare Neshomos which are sent along to guide the rest.

Rashi tells of what happened when Esauv and his army of four hundred came to finally "settle the score" with Yaakov Avinu. They were met by Malochim who started to attack them asking, "Who are you?" "We are Esauv’s men" they called, only to be hit harder. "Leave us alone, Easuv is the son of Yitzchok!" The Malochim hit them even harder. "Easuv is Avrohom’s grandson!" the Malochim continued their attack. "He is Yaakov’s brother!" they called, and the Malochim left them alone.

It is not enough to have been attached to Tzadikim to have a connection to Torah, which lies in the past. The attachment to Tzaddikim and Torah has to lie in the present.

The Chofetz Chaim calls Yiddishe Neshomos who have lost the Derech "Lost Sheep" There are some he writes to whom HaShem has given special Koichos to make sure that they find their way back to the Derech. Such people should be given a special title; Roaye Yisroel, Shepherds of Israel.

The true legacy of Reb Yoina Balkind is that his beloved Torah thrives and inspires in the City to which he gave so much. Today it may take a score of the best teachers in the world and a small fortune to produce the effect that one man could manage single handed with almost no material reward whatsoever.

The readers of this Newspaper are not indifferent to the other Souls who have been sent on their journey with us. We are reaching out in a score of different ways whether financially or participating in Encounter, SEED, Ohr Somayach and many others. When we do so in Manchester we are sharing in the greatness of Manchester’s great guide and Teacher Reb Yoina Balkind zt’l. We also have the opportunity to share in his title, Roaye Yisroel.