Last week we mourned the passing away of one of the great leaders of our generation, Rabbi Shteinman.
Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman (1913 – December 12, 2017) was a haredi rabbi and posek in Bnei Brak, Israel. He was widely regarded as the gadol hador, the leader of the non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish world. He, along with several other rabbis, is credited with reviving and expanding the appeal of European-style yeshivas in Israel.
Last week, as the preparations for the funeral were being made, many roads leading up to Bnei Brak were completely closed down to enable all the thousands of people to attend the rabbi’s funeral. The people who were on their way to the funeral didn’t fuss over the major traffic jams that were created under the circumstances. However, the rest of the drivers weren’t very happy. In one location where the traffic was horrendous, there was a well-known television reporter in one of the vehicles. At first he too was greatly aggravated at the long time spent sitting in his car. At a certain point he noticed people leaving their cars on the side of the road and starting to walk on foot, many kilometers just to reach the funeral of Rabbi Shteinman. People of all ages, adults and children were walking. The reporter who was watching this scene in front of his eyes, couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and was even envious at the fact that so many people could be so concerned at paying last respects to such an old man of 104.
What made all these people flock like that at a moment’s notice, to leave everything and go pay one last respect to this rabbi? What does it mean to be a leader in the Jewish world? Who is a leader? What makes him a leader? There are many great leaders in the world. Best known today are leaders of world countries, who have fame, fortune and lots of prestige. What makes leaders of the Jewish world so great is their Torah knowledge, acquired throughout their lifetime. In our fast moving world, it might seem odd how a leader of such great stature, like Rabbi Shteinman, lived in such great simplicity, without looking for any fame or fortune, and yet had so many followers. He also had massive learning of the Torah which he studied all his life and lived by. All this is beyond our comprehension. The number of students that followed him was outstanding. Leaders of the world are mighty and famous, but they are untouchable. Only if you are a family member or work for them can you reach them and talk with them. Our holy rabbis are different, in that they are like our father. Anyone can reach the rabbi. The greater the rabbi, the humbler they are, and the more they want every Jew to be reached and touched. Our great rabbinic leaders are not interested in what the world thinks of them – only what G-d thinks of them.
On the point of world opinion, I would like to mention that I admire President Donald Trump’s recent proclamation in front of all the nations of the world, where he declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. For Jews this is a known fact. But the act of pronouncing this was a very amazing proclamation. This was an act that wasn’t looked upon positively all over the world. However in G-d’s eyes this was an act of triumph. Every day in our payers we say that the whole world will know of G-d’s glory. In 1967 during the Six-Day War when G-d gave us the capital city of Jerusalem back, undivided, this was a spectacular act, returning our Jerusalem to us, after such a long exile in the hands of the enemy. The world would like to forget these events. And here, this leader of the world, President Trump, stood up against world and let them know of G-d’s wonders.
Great Jewish leaders try to spread G-d’s glory at all times. We guide and teach our children to look up to these wonderful leaders who are truly a light unto us and unto all nations. What that news reporter saw was the belief and upbringing of clinging to our leaders and following in their footsteps.
May we merit many more righteous and holy leaders of the entire Jewish nation and may this enable us to see the full redemption G-d willing, soon in our day, amen.