So it was that a very few months later, I received the news of his death with a sadness and gloom that crushed my heart. I thought, “If this one, a remnant of the gaonim, has been taken by the Angel of Death, what will happen to us? Who is to be guardian of the Torah?”
Two long years have passed from that bitter and tragic day, the day that he was taken from us. In that time, my pain has not diminished and my sorrow has not lessened.
The image of this great personage had been etched on my soul, not to be removed for any foreseeable future.
Indeed, all who merited to see and know the gaon of Baku will never forget him, nor will the blessed memory of this righteous man be erased from their hearts.
Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (1884-1966) was a noted European posek and rosh yeshiva. He is best known as author of the work of responsa Seridei Eish.