11th
Zaide’s Yahrzeit
Today was my Zaide’s yahrzeit (anniversary of his death). So here’s a little story about him. In 1932 my Zaide and his class were all having their 13th birthdays—becoming “bar mitzvahs”. So to celebrate this momentous time in the boys’ lives, the yeshiva took them to visit one of the holiest men of the century—the Chofetz Chaim.
The Chofetz Chaim was very, very old. He died in 1933 and there are conflicting accounts about his age. Some say he was 106, others say he was somewhat younger than that. But anyway, the Rebbi brought all nine boys with him but couldn’t ask the Chofetz Chaim to speak with or bless them all since it would have been very difficult for him. So he allowed only the two best boys in the class to go forward and receive a blessing.
My Zaide was one of the two boys and the blessing the Chofetz Chaim gave him was that he should have aruchas yamim (long life) and that he should stay close to the Torah all his life.
It almost makes you wonder if the Chofetz Chaim had nevuah (prophecy). My Zaide was the only one from his family to survive the Holocaust. He lived to be 90 years old. He never strayed from living by and for Torah.
As a matter of fact, a few years ago my father went to visit his parents and when he was leaving Zaide’s study, Zaide pulled out a list from his pocket and after consulting it, asked my father to bring him a particular sefer (book of commentary on Talmudic laws or Jewish customs). My father did what he was told and asked about the list. “All my life,” Zaide said, “I’ve been learning and studying so that when I go to the World to Come and I’m tested I’ll know as much as I can. But now, as I’m getting older, my memory is starting to go so I wrote a list of the seforim I need to review so that I don’t forget anything.”
When his Parkinson’s made it too difficult for him to open a sefer or read what it says, my Bubbe would set up DVD’s for him of Rabbinical lectures.
I was only going to write about the Chofetz Chaim story, but I do want to say something about my Zaide’s character. He lived his life for Torah, to bring kedushah (holiness) into the world, and never lost sight of what was important. When he was a refugee in Shanghai during WWII, he would spend his days and nights in the yeshiva learning and when he’d start getting tired he would grip the metal bars on the chair to stay awake. And then the next morning? He would still be one of the first people to arrive for Shacharis (morning prayers). Pushing aside what your body needs in order to fulfill what you think is right is a superhero thing to do. Doing that every single minute of your life though, comes from a humbleness most people couldn’t even pretend to have.
Since my Zaide spoke little English, we were never very close. But I feel very strongly that our family has been shaped by his middos (good traits) and that gives me an advantage to be somewhat like he was. זכר צדיק לברכה (may the memory of
the righteous be for blessing)
