| Magazine Feature |

Only Torah Consoles

 By Yisroel Besser | October 29, 2024

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The sudden passing of Rav Shlomo Halioua leaves a shocked and shattered people

Photos: AEGedolimphotos.com

As the greatness of Rav Shlomo Halioua grew, so did his humility. The son-in-law of Chaim Berlin Rosh Yeshivah Rav Aharon Shechter, he was one more talmid before the master, even as he could no longer conceal his radiance. Until Rav Aharon passed away, and this humble servant became Rosh Yeshivah. Yet just as his fire started to blaze, it was snuffed out, leaving behind a shocked and shattered tzibbur. 

IFyou knew Rav Shlomo Halioua, you are already crying.

If you did not know him, then you should cry now.

Not only because you did not know him, but because the nation you belong to — Klal Yisrael — sustained a serious blow with his sudden passing: one of those asher amarnu betzilo nichyeh, of whom we said, “Under His protection we shall live.” (Eichah 4:20)

He was a general who earned his rank in the trenches, a king whose crown was formed by hands lined with toil.

He was rosh yeshivah in Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, and I wonder if there is another yeshivah in which the title carries as much meaning.

In that yeshivah, it means rosh yeshivah, but also rebbe, father, and melech.

And somehow, he did it.

To the alumni (in Chaim Berlin, there are no former talmidim), he represented the grandeur of what was, the sweeping, panoramic vision of Rav Yitzchak Hutner, the ability to fuse nigleh and nistar, to articulate esoteric complexities with the clarity and enthusiasm of a talented ninth-grade rebbi. He could sit at the head of a table lined with people older than him and make Yamim Tovim come alive as they once had, reenergizing talmidim who belonged to a brotherhood forged decades earlier.

To the talmidim of his father-in-law, Rav Aharon Shechter, he was heir to the avodas Aharon, the relentless, indomitable drive to serve — the ability to sit by a Gemara for five, six, seven hours at a time (as they often did, the two of them together on a sublime island of their own), the mix of incredible strength and incredible refinement and the humility that comes with being a servant to Klal Yisrael.

And to the talmidim, the yungeleit and bochurim inside that flourishing, vibrant Torah citadel on Coney Island Avenue?

He was the Rosh Yeshivah. The one who shared with them the Torah squeezed out of his essence with intense toil, whose breadth matched his depth, who seemed able to instantly draw on any source to clarify a point, and to whom that clarity — perfect havanah in a Rashba, the omitted word in the Rambam, the nuance in a Rashi — was the point of existence, the reason we are here.

Pure Pleasure

Chacham Avraham Halioua came from Meknes, Morocco, a city rich in talmidei chachamim and tzaddikim, but it was a city in decline when Rav Avraham Kalmanowitz came to visit. The indefatigable rosh yeshivah of Mir-Brooklyn, Rav Kalmanowitz traveled through Morocco, encouraging young families to join him in New York and encouraging parents to send their sons there as well, where he would provide for their spiritual futures.

Rav Avraham was descended from the prestigious rabbinic family of Maharam Chalava and Rabbeinu Bechayei. He emigrated to Brooklyn in 1948 and joined the Mirrer Yeshivah; as Rav Kalmanowitz foretold, he soared in Torah and yiras Shamayim.

At the chanukas habayis for the new beis medrash at Yeshivah Darchei Torah’s Camp Oraysa this past summer, Rav Yaakov Bender welcomed Rav Shlomo Halioua to speak. In his introduction, Rav Bender recalled his years as a talmid in the Mir, saying, “And we learned how to daven by watching Rav Avraham Halioua… there was such heiligkeit there….”

Shlomo Chai Dovid Yitzchak Halioua was born in 1958, and Chacham Avraham and Rabbanit Masouda (scion of the prestigious Toledano family, a rabbinic dynasty of its own) sent him to Yeshivah of Brooklyn, where he excelled. An old Jewish Observer article, (Summer, 1974), reports on the Pirchei Agudath Israel Hasmadah contest: one of the top winners was young Shlomo Halioua, who engaged in 75 hours of Torah study during his leisure time over Pesach vacation.

From there, he went to learn under Rav Binyamin Paler, who would become one of his prime rebbeim. Rav Paler, a talmid of the Brisker Rav, opened a new doorway before this eager talmid, who traveled to learn in the Brisker yeshivah in Yerushalayim. When he came to learn in Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, he was already an accomplished talmid chacham, and he developed a close connection with the Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Aharon Schechter.

Rav Shlomo married the Rosh Yeshivah’s daughter, Rebbetzin Nechama, and became a chaver of Kollel Gur Aryeh — literally, a friend to the beis medrash, its people, its seforim, its visitors and its storied history.

The aura around him, recalls a talmid of that period, was one of pure pleasure. “You saw him standing in the corner, speaking in learning with his chaburah, and you just loved him — he was a pure lamdan, a brilliant talmid chacham who was taking monthly Mifal HaShas tests on tens of blatt, yet so sweet and humble. He did not look around the beis medrash or actively socialize, but somehow, he had a radar for those in need, and he made these quiet chasadim his own.”

His ambition and aspiration was to learn Torah. Nothing more, and nothing less. He radiated the simchah of a person whose world is complete, thrilled to be in a beis medrash, to be able to absorb Torah from his father-in-law and from Rav Yankel Drillman, whom he revered.

His humility drew talmidim to him, and his pleasant nature affected them as well. His eyes sparkled when you spoke to him in learning, and there was only you, the person with whom he was speaking — whatever your age, however unsophisticated your question may have been.

so much hope!

And now, what remains?

Oloseihem v’zivcheihem, leratzon al mizbechi — Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon My mizbeach.

And what a sacrifice this is, one that leaves an entire tzibbur reeling.

Building Upon Shards

His people, talmidim of Rav Hutner, of Rav Aharon, of Rav Shlomo, they will stand tall once again, showing the world the timeless Yiddishe skill of moving forward: they have taken a yeshivah with a glorious past and given it a glorious present. They will find the strength, the spirit, the stamina and the siyata d’Shmaya to give it a glorious future as well.

Reb Shlomo, the Rosh Yeshivah, spoke about the broken shards of stone from the destroyed Beis Hamikdash, and how those stones were used to build Torah in galus. Reb Shlomo built on a shard after the petirah of Rav Aharon, and now, that fragment is itself destroyed, barely a sliver remaining.

But on it, they will build yet again: on Shemini Atzeres, as the Rosh Yeshivah was slipping away, we read a pasuk in the Haftorah. And it was when Shlomo had finished building the house of Hashem… and all Shlomo’s desire that he wished to make. (Melachim 1 9:1)

He did not finish building — he was just getting started — but in those 12 months, he made it clear what he wanted, and with this, the echo of his deep voice, a voice filled with conviction, with heart, and with sincerity, they will continue to build.

 

In the Heavenly Succah, There’s Only Life

By Shmuel Botnick

Alittle over a year ago, Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin struggled to find footing following the loss of its rosh yeshivah, Rav Aharon Shechter ztz”l. Rav Aharon had been everything the legendary yeshivah stood for: A brilliant talmid chacham and baal machshavah whose existence brimmed with the overflowing vigor charged by the reality of Torah itself.

How would they continue? Who would take his place?

Rav Aharon himself supplied the answer — a brilliant one indeed.

Rav Shlomo Halioua was Rav Aharon’s son-in-law and through him, the torch of leadership would continue. A son of Rav Avraham Halioua, young Shlomo had been a talmid of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin while still a bochur and stood out among his peers for his extraordinary genius. He attained an impeccable clarity in his learning, with a firm grasp on the singular style of machshavah originated by Rav Hutner and perpetuated by his talmidim.

For decades, Rav Shlomo served as a much beloved maggid shiur in the yeshivah as well as its rosh kollel. It wasn’t until his father-in-law’s medical condition grew more serious that he began to deliver ma’amarim in the yeshivah.

In Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, a “ma’amar” is treated with the greatest reverence. It is held to a delicate standard, where the ideas must be deep yet clearly defined, abstract yet firmly based.

Following the passing of his father-in-law, Rav Shlomo was formally crowned as rosh yeshivah. In one of the first ma’amarim he delivered in this capacity, he spoke of forging onward in the face of loss.

It was during Aseres Yemei Teshuvah — still in the middle of the shloshim. He began slowly, referencing the “groise aveidah,” the enormous loss of a decades-long beacon of inspiration. “Mir zuchen nechamah,” he said, “we search for comfort.” “Avu iz der nechamah — where is the consolation?”

The nechamah, said Rav Shlomo, is in the Torah. And he proceeded to explain: On Yom Kippur we are bequeathed with what appears as two disparate endowments. We receive atonement for our sins, and we also become the recipients of the Luchos shniyos — the second set of Luchos, which were presented to us on Yom Kippur.

Is there a connection between the atonement and the second Luchos?

Rav Shlomo quoted Rav Hutner who explained that the two are inherently linked. A sin is a cessation of existence — sins are a form of death. Effectively, atonement for sins is a dimension of techiyas hameisim, a resurrection from the demise wrought by sin.

When Moshe Rabbeinu broke the first set of Luchos, its sacred letters departed — osiyos porchos b’avir. This departure was a form of death.

The second set of Luchos, said Rav Hutner, isn’t merely a replacement of the first — it is a revival of the first. Through the second set of Luchos, the first set lives on.

Just as atonement for sin revives the dead, the second Luchos revive the first Luchos.

Torah lives on.

The kol shofar that we experienced at Matan Torah, said Rav Hutner, is that declaration of eternity. Torah shall never die.

Rav Shlomo delivered this message in the weeks following Rav Aharon Shechter’s petirah.

The Luchos shattered, but we will persevere. A second set of luchos will always be there to revive the first.

One year later, this second set of Luchos was shattered as well.

Shortly before the oncoming of the second days of Yom Tov, Rav Shlomo was admitted to the hospital with an alarming infection. His situation deteriorated rapidly, and on Sunday, after Yom Tov, he passed away.

Osiyos porchos b’avir.

Just days earlier, Rav Shlomo presided over the yeshivah’s Simchas Beis Hashoeivah. He spoke multiple times, sharing numerous gems and penetrating insights. One of his ideas focused on the term found in the Gemara — “reui’yin kol Yisrael leisheiv b’succah achas — all of Yisrael are worthy of sitting in a single succah.’” Rav Shlomo expounded upon the idea of “succah achas” explaining that although we live in a world of multiplicity, there is a sum of the parts that stands at the core of the parts themselves. The “succah achas” is that uniting factor of hundreds of thousands of souls making up the entity that is Klal Yisrael.

The shards of this fresh set of Luchos, shattered in the prime of its life, is too searing to contemplate. Rav Shlomo carried so much promise, the perfect general of a proudest army.

And now he’s gone.

Mir zuchen nechamah…avu iz der nechamah?

Rav Shlomo told us the answer. The nechamah lies in the Torah.

The shofar that resounded at Har Sinai continues, one set of Luchos bringing a previous one to life.

Somewhere within the haze of broken shards and flying letters lies the equilibrium of a single, unifying, constant force; in that succah achas, there is no death.

The legacy sparked by Rav Hutner, continued through Rav Aharon, and passed on to Rav Shlomo, will endure this crushing blow.

Up in Shamayim, these three towering talmidei chachamim sit together, basking in the brilliance of the Torah to which they devoted their lives.

And sometime soon, they will share this Torah with all of us, a most exquisite ma’amar given in perfect harmony.

As we all join together in a true and final succah achas.

Eternal Send-off

During those painful moments following the petirah of the Rosh Yeshivah, the family and talmidim found themselves forced to absorb yet another blow with the passing of Rabbanit Masouda, mother of the Rosh Yeshivah — a daughter of royalty, wife of royalty and mother of royalty.

Veteran talmidim reflected on the significance: she had lived and breathed his success, her eyes looking on and rejoicing as he grew in Torah, meriting the nachas she had davened for when she left the familiarity and comfort of family in Morocco.

Now, when he was on his way to a glorious reception in the realm of truth and light, she would be there to behold the splendor, to see the shiur he would give, to watch him speak in learning with Rav Paler, with his father-in-law and with Rav Hutner.

On Monday, two aronos sat side by side on Coney Island Avenue, outside the yeshivah, a mother seeing her son off to the yeshivah shel ma’alah, a world of eternal joy.

 

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1034)

All credit goes to Yisroel Besser, Shmuel Botnick & the Mishpacha.

 

Rav Abba Zalka Gewirtz ztl

• Rabbi Yechiel Spero
• January 25, 2012 all credit goes to Rabbi Spero and the Yated

Rav Abba Zalka Gewirtz zt”l has left this world and ascended to his rightful place in the Olam Ha'emes. Reb Abba Zalka, as he was affectionately called, was many things. He was a rov, a speaker, a builder, a visionary, a rebbi, a teacher and a friend to so many. He riveted his audiences with penetrating insights into the Seforno, and still possessed the healthy self-awareness to bring others to laughter. Perhaps, though, most memorably, is Reb Abba Zalka's commitment and subservience to his yedid nefesh, the Telzer rosh yeshiva, Rav Mordechai Gifter zt”l. Yes, it is unlikely we will encounter someone like Rabbi Gewirtz again. Reb Abba Zalka's story begins several centuries prior to his birth in a town in Galicia, Dembitz, where Rabbi Gewirtz's ancestor was appointed rov of the city. For seventeen (!) subsequent generations, the office of the rov of Dembitz was held by the direct descendants of this ancient progenitor of the Gewirtz clan, with a son succeeding his father and then, in turn, being succeeded by his son.

As a young man, Abba Zalka was sent by his parents, Jonah and Chaya Rivka Gewirtz, to learn in the newly established yeshiva in, of all places, Cleveland, Ohio. He had the good fortune to study together with someone several years his senior, a rebbi of mine, the inimitable Rav Meyer Zanitsky zt”l. Abba Zalka would wake up at five in the morning and learn for three hours, so that he could be on equal footing with Reb Meyer.

 

Eventually, Reb Abba Zalka went to learn with Rav Dovid Leibowitz zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbeinu Yisroel Meir Hakohen (Chofetz Chaim), who played such a prominent role in his life. Although he passed away in 1941, while Reb Abba Zalka was still a relatively young man, he always referred to Rav Dovid, with great reverence and love, as “rebbi.”

 

In fact, Rav Henach Leibowitz zt”l, Rav Dovid’s son, would refer to Rabbi Gewirtz as his father’s talmid muvhak. About twenty years ago, on the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of Rav Dovid Leibowitz, a major commemorative tribute was held in New York, with Rabbi Gewirtz chosen to deliver one of the major addresses. Rav Avrohom Pam commented on that drasha, “It was as if I had seen my rebbi (Rav Dovid Leibowitz) come alive before my very eyes!”

 

– – – – –

 

After Rav Gifter finished his short stint as a rabbi in Baltimore, he applied for a rabbinic position in Waterbury, Connecticut, a prestigious position at the time. His main competitor was Reb Abba Zalka, who was, at the time, a young rov in Bradley Beach, New Jersey.

 

Rabbi Gewirtz had already heard about Rav Gifter and been highly impressed by what he had heard. Rav Henach Leibowitz was sitting in his bais midrash when Rav Gifter, freshly back from Europe, entered to sit and learn. Word soon spread in the bais midrash that a true talmid chochom was among them. Soon, many of thebochurim gathered around Rav Gifter to fire questions at him. Reb Abba Zalka remembers hearing from his friends how the young Rav Gifter deflected the questions and quieted his challengers. As one witness described it, it was like a lion defending his terrain. The others came to contest, argue and strive with Rav Gifter in learning, but with precision and passion he silenced them all. They were learning Maseches Yevamos in the yeshiva and Rav Gifter was not, but it made no difference. At this point, he was completely comfortable in anything he had ever learned. He had mastered the masechtos and now he was thirsty for more and more learning. Especially after spending so much time on the boat away from a bais midrash, Rav Gifter was hungry for the ris’cha de’Oraisa (fire of Torah) and pilpul chaveirim he had treasured in the yeshiva.

 

The astonished group of bochurim had been exposed to greatness and they would never forget it. Reb Abba Zalka was very impressed upon hearing the story.

 

When the Waterbury synagogue board voted, their choice was Reb Abba Zalka. When they informed him, he told them that they had made the wrong choice. Rav Gifter, he explained, was destined for greatness. As he put it, “He’s a better man than I.” So the shul hired Rav Gifter, who would always remember Reb Abba Zalka’s kindness and generosity.

 

 Eventually, when Rav Gifter finished his tenure in Waterbury, he was succeeded by the same Reb Abba Zalka, based on the recommendation of Rav Gifter. In fact, Rav Gifter picked him up at the station when he came to replace him, since he was eager to finally see Reb Abba Zalka in person, saying later, “I had to meet the man who praised his competition and gave away his job!”

 

Rabbi Gewirtz remained the rov in Waterbury for the next 25 years, until he was invited by Rav Gifter to become the executive vice president of Telzer Yeshiva in 1968.

 

 Not only did Rav Gifter remain connected with Rabbi Gewirtz, but the close relationship between the Gifters and the Gewirtzes carried over to the next generation, as Rabbi Yonah Gewirtz became a closetalmid of the rosh yeshivah, and Reb Dovid Gewirtz kept a connection, as well. And then it intensified even more, as the Gewirtz grandchildren came from New Orleans to learn under Rav Gifter.

 

– – – – –

 

In the early 1940s, after Rav Gifter left Waterbury, Reb Abba Zalka became the rov. He focused his energy and efforts on building the community, and build he did. He established the day school and oversaw the kashrus, while bringing many families closer to Yiddishkeit. For 25 years, he shaped the Waterbury community. Nurturing relationships, he helped them grow as families and individuals. During his time in Waterbury, Reb Abba Zalka communicated with the great talmid chochom, Rav Yehudah Leib Forer zt”l, Rav Elazar Shach’s rebbi and the rov in Holyoke, Massachustes. In their correspondence, Rav Forer referred to Reb Abba Zalka as “mechamed nafshi, the one for whom my soul desires.”

 

After 25 years, the time had come for a change. Rabbi Gewirtz had reached a plateau in his professional life in Waterbury. His congregation had flourished under his stellar leadership, and he had succeeded in molding the kehillah according to his image of Torah-true Judaism. Bonds of friendship had been created between him and the congregants, some of which have endured until this day. He had established and maintained Beth David Academy, one of the very first American out-of-town day schools with a Judaic studies faculty who were bnei Torah and G-d-fearing, an unusual feat in those days for a day school in a small community. He had made a difference in the lives of his congregants, and they sorely wanted him to remain in Waterbury, but he sought a greater challenge.

 

The opportunity came in a phone call from his old friend (and one-time competitor) Rav Gifter, during which he offered him a position at Telshe Yeshiva. Rabbi Aaron Paperman zt”l had recently left the yeshiva, and the yeshiva was in need of someone to undertake fundraising and other administrative functions. Rabbi Gewirtz was appointed to the newly formed position, vice-president of Telshe Yeshiva, in 1969,and the rest of his illustrious career with Telshe, as the saying goes, is history.

 

Reb Abba Zalka would often say, “My approach was not just asking for a check. I educated people.”

 

In a sense, then, while the yeshiva was educating the students who entered its portals, Rabbi Gewirtz reached out and educated the lay population about the critical importance of supporting a yeshiva. He was an eminently effective teacher, because Jewish values and ideals resonated within him. Thus, when Mr. Adolph Beren once remarked to him that he himself doesn’t understand why he funds Telshe Yeshiva more generously than his own shul in Marietta, Rabbi Gewirtz explained to him that his shul, as beloved as it is, is but a local institution, but Telshe Yeshiva is an institution “upon which the continuity of our people depends.” He hammered home the point by saying, “You depend on the yeshiva, for your children’s future depends on the yeshiva!”

 

In addition, Reb Abba Zalka would take his rebbetzin along on his fundraising trips, as she was as essential to the mission as he was. As a couple, they were inseparable, thus setting a standard for those travelling away from home to raise funds for Torah. They displayed how it must be a joint undertaking, a united objective, and a unified goal.

 

– – – – –

 

When Reb Abba Zalka’s grandson, Rabbi Yonah Gewirtz’s son, Danny (Doniel), was learning in the Telshe Yeshiva, Rav Gifter challenged him to finish the masechta he was learning and then to take a test on the material. Rav Gifter promised Danny $100 if he passed the bechinah. Danny had grown up in New Orleans and had made tremendous progress since he came to the yeshiva. But finishing Maseches Bava Kama was a much greater challenge than anything he had ever attempted before.

 

At the time, he was in Rav Dovid Barkin’s shiur, learning with a son of Rav Shaul Dolinger, another second-generation Telzer. Danny knew that his father was a talmid of the rosh yeshiva and that his grandfather was a close friend. Danny felt that he wanted to excel in order to please everyone. Therefore, in order to finish, the learning partners decided to learn one blatt a day of Maseches Bava Kama. Soon, though, they encountered some difficult topics and realized that they were not going to finish.

 

After a brief talk with his son, Danny’s father gave Rav Gifter the update. When Rav Gifter encountered Danny, he said, “Dan, I spoke with your dad, and he says you are close to finishing. Are you ready for the bechinah?” Danny said that he was not yet ready. Rav Gifter assured him that he would only be asked questions on the material he had learned.

 

When the time came for the test, Rav Chaim Stein and Rav Dovid Barkin were also in the room. Rav Chaim asked Danny a question on Tosafos, even though the bechinah was only supposed to be on Gemara and Rashi. Fortunately, Danny happened to know that particular Tosafos. But then Rav Gifter asked Danny a question about something at the very end of the masechta. Danny looked at the rosh yeshiva and reminded him that he had not finished the masechta. Nevertheless, Rav Gifter told him, “I will tell you the Gemara and then I will ask you a question on it. Let’s see how you think. Let me hear your explanation [sevara]. I want to see how your mind works.”

 

Although Danny was nervous, he answered Rav Gifter to the best of his ability. To his surprise, Rav Gifter said, “I’m sorry, but you did not earn the $100 reward. And I have to call your father to tell him.”  

 

Danny was devastated. He had worked for an entire year to finish, but he had just fallen short. And furthermore, Rav Gifter had assured him that he would only test him on what he had learned. It seemed to him that the only question he had not answered correctly was the one on the part of the masechta he had not learned. Still, he waited and listened as Rav Gifter picked up the phone to call his father.

 

“Reb Yonah,” Rav Gifter said into the phone, “I just finished testing Danny. And he did not earn the $100 for the bechinah.” There was silence on the phone that seemed to last a lot longer than the five seconds it actually was. Then, a wry smile appeared on Rav Gifter’s face. “Instead, I am going to give him one hundred and fifty dollars. That is what he deserves for such a wonderful accomplishment and such a great sevara!”

 

Rav Gifter removed his personal checkbook from his pocket and wrote out a check for $150 and handed it to Danny. Danny took the check home with him, framed it, and proudly displayed it on his wall.

 

– – – – –

 

At the end of Rav Gifter’s life, as he slipped away into the twilight, Reb Abba Zalka went to visit him. As Rabbi Gewirtz later recounted at Rav Gifter’s levaya, when he sat down next to the rosh yeshiva, there was no response; the rosh yeshiva, he learned, was unable to communicate. Therefore, instead of talking, Rabbi Gewirtz decided to sing the classic mussar niggun to the words of the great Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto from Mesillas Yesharim, “Adam do’eg al ibud domov ve’eino do’eg al ibud yomov – Man worries about the loss of his money, but doesn’t worry about the loss of his days. Domov einam ozrin veyomov einon chozrin – Man’s possessions do not help him and his days do not return…”

 

He repeated these solemn words over and over, as he cried.

 

– – – – –

 

The Gewirtzes were more than just close friends of the Gifters. They were family. Reb Yonah and Reb Dovid, Reb Abba Zalka’s children, both had a special relationship with Rav Gifter. On the last Rosh Hashanah of Rav Gifter’s life, when he was already quite ill and non-responsive, Reb Dovid came by with his family to wish the rosh yeshiva and the rebbetzin a gut yohr, as they always did.

 

 When Reb Dovid entered the house, he was overcome by a strange feeling. He had always been somewhat intimidated by Rav Gifter, and yet, in many ways, he viewed the rosh yeshiva as his grandfather. In fact, as a young child, Rav Gifter had bounced him up and down on his lap. He even sang to him a special ditty titled, “Reb Dovidel fun Vasselkof” (Reb Dovidel, Reb Dovidel fun Vasselkof, itzter er iz in Tahrnoff…). When Dovid was young, Rav Gifter would sometimes call him “Reb Dovidel fun Vasselkof.”

 

When Dovid had gone away to yeshiva, Rav Gifter had demanded that he send him his Torah thoughts. Rav Gifter would return them with his comments and sign the letters, “With love, Mordechai.” As Dovid explained to me, the Torah thoughts were not always up to par and Rav Gifter would let Dovid know that he expected more of him. Consequently, the next letter that Dovid would send would usually contain a sharper Torah thought.

 

But now, Reb Dovid felt strange, because he saw that Rav Gifter was a shell of his former self. Although he had been placed by the table, he was unresponsive. When Reb Dovid walked into the room, he wished the rebbetzin a gut Yom Tov and a gut yohr, and then turned his eyes to Rav Gifter. Although Reb Dovid was overcome with emotion, he still wanted his yearly bracha. That was what kept him going from year to year. And now, it seemed a distant dream.

 

Ignoring the reality, Reb Dovid called out, “Rebbi, ah gut yohr! Can I have a bracha?” When no response was forthcoming, Reb Dovid continued, “Doesn’t the rosh yeshiva remember me? Please, rebbi, give me a bracha…”

 

 Reb Dovid was becoming quite emotional as he sat down right next to his rebbi. “Rebbi, please…it’s Dovidel fun Vasselkof.”

 

Through his tears, Reb Dovid began to sing the lullaby that Rav Gifter had sung to him when he was a young child. Amazingly, tears began to roll down the rosh yeshiva’s face, too. Then, once more, Reb Dovid begged the rosh yeshiva for a bracha he was unable to deliver. Finally, Reb Dovid asked for one amein, as he slowly repeated the bracha he had heard from the rosh yeshiva so many times in his life.

 

Shockingly, Rav Gifter suddenly responded, “Amein ve’amein!”

 

 Reb Dovid’s tears blinded his vision, but it was this bracha that he would remember more than any other.

 

The bracha for Reb Dovidel fun Vasselkof.

 

– – – – –

 

With the petirah of Reb Abba Zalka, the two yedidim have been reunited. As talented as he was, Reb Abba Zalka allowed Rav Gifter the peace of mind and menuchas hanefesh to lead the yeshiva while he embraced his role as the achisamach, a rebbi of a different sort. With that compliance, he cemented his legacy as the paradigm for executive vice-presidents. During the tumultuous period of uncertainty and transition following Rav Boruch Sorotzkin’s petirah, it was Reb Abba Zalka who, financially, held the yeshiva together. That will never be forgotten.

 

Amongst those who greet Reb Abba Zalka will be his great rebbi, Rav Dovid. He will see his rebbi once more and perhaps share with him one of his keen insights into the depths of the Seforno. The thousands he merited with the privilege of supporting Torah will come to thank him for their Olam Haba.

 

And now, he will have a chance to teach them once more.

 

Yehi zichro boruch.

 

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The author thanks Rabbi Yisroel Schneider, who wrote a beautiful tribute to Reb Abba Zalka on the occasion of his seudas preidah from Telshe Yeshiva. Some of the material in this article originally appeared in that tribute.