True Heroes

It was undoubtedly one of the most exciting days of my pre-married life.

In 2000, I was one of the older bochurim in the Beis Medrash program of Yeshiva Shaarei Torah. At one point during that winter, the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Mordechai Wolmark, and many of the rabbeim went to Eretz Yisrael, each for a different reason. So, two friends in yeshiva and I decided that we didn’t want to be left out. It was shortly after the resurgence of the second intifada, and plane tickets and hotels were relatively cheap. We booked a room in the King Solomon Hotel in Yerushalayim and headed to Eretz Yisrael for a week.

One day while we were there, Rabbi Wolmark was visiting a few Gedolei Yisrael, and graciously invited us to join him. We met at the home of Chacham Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, in Har Nof. Rabbi Wolmark was already there with my rebbe, Rabbi Yitzchok Heimowitz, and they were speaking in learning. We were enamored by the large room, filled wall to wall, and floor to ceiling, with sefarim. It is said that Rav Ovadia knew where every sefer was and used them all. Before we left, Rav Ovadia gave each of us his characteristic loving, gentle slap on the cheek, and a blessing.

From there, we packed into a small rental car for the hour-long drive to Bnei Brak. That afternoon, we had the privilege of visiting and receiving blessings from Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman, and Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, yichronam livracha.

When we arrived back in Yerushalayim that evening, I was still trying to process that in one day I had met four of the foremost Torah leaders of our time.

What also struck me was the fact that in the presence of Gedolei Yisrael, my rebbe was also a talmid. I still have the mental image of Chacham Ovadia giving my rebbe the same loving slap on the cheek that he gave me. In front of Chacham Ovadia, we were both students. Being there with my rabbeim was analogous to a father and son visiting their saintly grandfather.

One distinction of Gedolei Yisrael is their ability to relate to all Jews on their level. Multitudes of Jews from all walks of life seek their blessing and guidance every day, and walk away feeling rejuvenated and invigorated.

Each Gadol also has his own approach and personality. When we visited Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, zt”l, the rosh yeshiva of Ponovezh l’tzirim, he made us feel incredibly welcomed. His uncanny warmth and shining countenance made us feel perfectly comfortable sitting next to him. When we stood in the presence of Rav Chaim and Rav Aharon Leib, it was with more of a sense of reverence and awe.

Our culture doesn’t only enjoy its sports icons and celebrities; it worships and idolizes them. Our children don’t want to just play ball like the best athletes; they want to be just like them.

We are deeply influenced by who we consider our heroes. We want our children to recognize the difference between wanting to be athletic and play like the pros versus wanting to be like them in other facets of life.

What defines a hero? Is a hero someone who can accomplish physical feats that others cannot, thereby achieving accolades and stardom, or is a hero someone who lives his/her life for others, sacrificing personal comfort for their sake and well-being?

I continue to cherish that day when I had the opportunity to meet four heroes, together with a couple of my rabbeim, who are also my personal heroes. People who live life always thinking about Hashem and His people are truly worth emulating.

In a couple of weeks, it will be 27 MarChesvan, the yahrtzeit of my zaydie, Rav Yaakov Meir Kohn, z”l. It’s amazing that it’s been almost four decades since his passing when I was a child, and yet he remains my foremost inspiration and role model. Aside from being a talmid chochom of note, with his smile and ever-present warmth and good-natured personality, one would think he lived the happiest life and had the most comfortable youth. The truth, however, was that he was orphaned and alone in his teen years, after the Nazis murdered his parents.

My zaydie raised money for the then young, burgeoning Beis Medrash Govoha of Lakewood in its formative years, and for Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Yerushalayim. He was the rav of the famed Slonimer shul on the Lower East Side for over two decades. He had an uncanny ability to connect with everyone, and he was an example of one who gave of himself for others.

Personally, he was, and is, my zaydie, and a perpetual inspiration. 

Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos.