Birth of Yehoshua Velvl William Hordes

William was the second elder son after Girshl. He was born in Cholui. When he was a child the family moved to Bobruisk where he studied first at the Bobruisk yeshiva and later at the yeshiva of Rabbi Rafael Wolozcyner. He was the only one of the Yechiel family who left Russia in the beginning of the 20 century. His life in the US was very much different from the life of his siblings who stayed in Russia. It was marked by a very active involvement in all aspects of the Jewish life including politics, social life and religion. He also prospered financially having established his own insurance agency. He succeded in combining religion with the social life. He used to read one page of Gmara every day and actively supported the Chabad movement. He was one of the most prominent members of the Detroit Jewish community actively supporting Israel. A newspaper named him as one of the leading Jewish National Fund workers. It was him who introduced into the JNF the system where donations are asked for a particular project (say a forest) which is named after the donating person (he even gained the title "Mister JNF"). William died in 1964 at the age of 71.

Ishee Velvl William Hordes, still in Russia	William with Ben-Gurion at a meeting, 1951.	William blows a shofar

Event page: Birth of Yehoshua Velvl William Hordes