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ב״ה, פרשת חיי שרה // כ”ד חשון תשפ”אVOL. XXIII - NO. 1134

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Fight to the Finish A former appellate judge

and a pro-Trump attorney

weigh in

Media or MeddlersDid the press manipulate

the election?

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18Cheshvan 5781 // November, 11 2020WEEKLY VOL. XXIII - NO. 1134

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WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

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November 11, 2020 // Parshas Chayei Sarah

כ”ד חשון תשפ”א // פרשת חיי שרה

VOL. XXIII NO. 1134

WEEKLY MAGAZINE

TorahI visited when he was 95. I asked,“Vi geit es azoy?” He

answered, “Everything is going according to The Plan.”

Hashkafah

My question for you is: Why? Why does

Hashem care in what order I cut my nails?

8|

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Escape! Saved by a Polish train driver

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Hagaon Harav Dovid Feinstein, Zt”lהגאון הרב דוד פיינשטיין זצ“ל

Hamodia Supplement24 Cheshvan 5781 / November 11, 2020

Novemb er 6 , 2020 / תשפ“א ן חשו “ט י June 23 , 1929 / תרפ“ט ן ו י ס ו ט“

ויפקד מקום דודשמואל א פרק כ פסוק כה

Has’chalas Gemara at Yeshiva Shaarei Tzionof Piscataway, N.J.

P. 37

Harav Yaakov Busel, Zt”lThe Youngest ‘Alte Mirrer’Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Z”lFormer Chief Rabbi of England

Candle Lighting

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NewsFirst Tourist Flight from Tel Aviv to Dubai Wonderful WorldSpotted Salamander

NewsJoe Biden Wins Election, President Trump Mounts Legal Challenges

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In theIn the Know Know With With

In the Know With

ISSUE 490 24 CHESHVAN 5781 NOVEMBER 11, 2020 ב“ה , יום ד‘, פרשת חיי שרה

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Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Chase Center on November 7, in Wilmington, Delaware. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

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Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP

A group of Japanese

nationals gather on the

streets of Scranton, Pa.,

to show their support for

President Donald Trump on

Monday, Nov. 9, 2020.

What Happened To That ‘Blue Wave’?

FROM POLLS FROM POLLS TO COURTSTO COURTS

38 54Threat to Ban Milah in Finland

Averted

Health Official: Yeshivos Have

Low Corona Infection RatesBREAKINGISRAEL

6 8GOP Backs Trump as He Calls

For Recounts, Fights to Prove

Election Fraud in Court

Will America Ever Trust Its

Elections Again?BREAKINGOPINION

WEDNESDAY

DAILY VOL. XVII - NO. 3802 // November 11, 2020

ב”ה, פרשת חיי שרה // כ”ד חשון, תשפ"א

P. 48

P. 51Brooklyn Red Zones Areas Turned Orange

Trump Will Stand by Israel as Long as He’s in Office

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High Court; ‘Obamacare’ Likely to Survive

PRIME 8-9

EDITORIAL: Picking Up the Pieces

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U.S. Allows 1st Emergency Use of Antibody Drug

P. 66

A New Wave of Terror in Europe

JDN

SPECIAL PULLOUT SUPPLEMENT Hagaon Harav

Dovid Feinstein, Zt”l

ויפקד מקום דודשמואל א’, כ, כ”ה

Hagaon Harav Dovid Feinstein, Zt”l הגאון הרב דוד פיינשטיין זצ”ל

Hamodia Supplement24 Cheshvan 5781 / November 11, 2020

Novemb er 6 , 2020 / תשפ”א ן חשו ”ט י June 23 , 1929 / תרפ”ט ן ו י ס ו ט”

ויפקד מקום דודשמואל א פרק כ פסוק כה

2 24 Shevat 5776 // February 3, 2016Overview

IND

EX Levayah 3

Biography 6

Interview with a Close Talmid, Rabbi Boruch Moskowitz 10

The Silent Giant, by Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel 12

A Pillar of Leadership, by Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Klein 13

An Appreciation, by Rabbi Nosson Scherman 14

Dovid HaMelech beseeched Hashem, “Achas sha’alti me’eis Hashem osah avakeish, shivti b’veis Hashem kol yemei cha-yai…” (Tehillim 27:4) Although he was constantly interrupted, battling for Klal Yisrael, helping the downtrodden and leading our nation, nevertheless his feet automatically brought him to

the beis hamedrash (Vayikra Rabbah 35:1).Hagaon Harav Dovid ben Hagaon Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, shared

that same desire: to bask in the glory of Hashem as he studied and taught Torah. Yet he sacrificed his own yearnings for the sake of others. His ears were ready to listen to the brokenhearted as they poured out their grief, his eyes saw what Klal Yisrael needed as he guided them with his wisdom and love, and he always lent a helping hand, yet his feet never surrendered as they constantly brought him home to the House of Hashem.

In his final days, Dovid HaMelech told his son Shlomo HaMelech, “Guard the keepings of Hashem to go in his ways… So that Hashem shall keep His word…” (Melachim I 2:3-4) The legacy that Hagaon Harav Dovid leaves us is the same. We must keep the Torah and go in His ways, just as he did. In return, we will surely merit to see that the legacy of the Rosh Yeshivah remains with us, until we greet Moshiach ben Dovid, bimheirah b’yameinu, amen.

חבל על דאבדין ולא משתכחין-The Editors

Photo Credits: Menachem Adelman, Agudath Israel of America, JDN, SG PHOTOS, AE Gedolim Photos, Tsemach Glenn, Medabrim Tikshoret

3SUPPLEMENT 24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020 Levayah

BY RABBI BINYOMIN ZEV KARMAN

“He was a Gaon, a brilliant tamid chacham. Decades ago, his father, Hagaon Harav Moshe, zt”l, attested that “ehr ken Shas — he knows Shas.” Rav Moshe was measuring it with his own comprehension, and he said he knew it expertly. And Harav Dovid continued learning without pause.

“He was certainly a Posek. Harav Elyashiv, zt”l, considered him the Posek for America.

“He was ehrlich. The Rosh Yeshivah [Rav Moshe] said, ‘Du vest nisht gefinen aza ehrliche vi ehm — You will not find such an ehrliche person like him.’”

“So what can I add?” Harav Chaim Ganzweig, shlita, the Mashgiach of Mesivtha Tiferes Jeru-salem (commonly known as MTJ and referred to as Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim), asked the crowd of thousands mourning the loss of Harav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l. “The passuk (Yeshaya-hu 55:3) states, ‘chasdei Dovid hane’emanim.’ Although the meforshim explain it as going on the kindnesses that Hashem does, which are perma-nent, I would like to explain, b’derech drush, that it may be going on the chessed that our Rav Dovid performed the entire day.

“He was not obligated to take responsibility for the yeshivah nor for the kollel, and indeed all the harbotzas haTorah that he performed was

entirely chessed. The way he interacted with peo-ple, regardless if they were rich or poor, wise or foolish, talmid chacham or am ha’aretz, great or small, all were recipients of his endless chessed. Most did not even realize the chessed he was doing for them, as he did a tovah for each person according to the individual’s need.”

As these poignant words of Rav Ganzweig reverberated through the crowd, tears streamed down not only his eyes, but undoubtedly down the faces of the thousands who gathered to pay the kavod acharon to the humble figure who nev-ertheless towered above the rest. He wore a plain jacket and no kapote, and his hat was just as plain. But those who knew him, or even happened to meet him for just a short time, soon came to real-ize that he was clothed in greatness.

“Before my zeide was niftar (in 5746/1986), few people out of the circle of his talmidim knew who he was,” his son Rabbi Mordechai said. “He sat behind a beam and never sat on the mizrach until he was forced to move there when he took over the yeshivah and kollel after my zeide passed away. Suddenly, he exploded on the scene, and he was famous, but he remained oblivious to it all. He never rubbed shoulders with the prestigious people, but remained together with every single Yid.

“He shouldered the burden of the yeshivah and kollel, and undertook responsibilities for the

klal like Chinuch Atzmai, and for the yeshivah of Harav Michel (Feinstein). But he still shlepped to weddings, and not only for those close to him. If someone who only knew him in passing needed a mesader kiddushin, he shlepped there. And he would come even if he was not accorded any kib-bud, because it was irrelevant to him. He did it to help another Yid.”

Rabbi Shmuel Fishelis, the son-in-law of Rav Dovid, began the levayah with reciting several kapitlach of Tehillim, and then summed up what Rav Dovid was for our generation. “Moshe Rab-beinu asked Hashem to appoint his successor as ‘Ish asher ruach bo’ (Bamidbar, 27:18), which Rashi explains to mean a person who could deal with the spirit of each individual. Rav Dovid knew how to give chizuk to each individual, how to give a smile and encouragement as the person needed.

“We know that Avraham was the pillar of chessed, Yitzchak the pillar of tefillah and avodah, and Yaakov was the ish tam yosheiv ohalim. Rav Dovid embodied all these virtues. His chessed encompassed all — his tefillos in which he dav-ened for all who approached him for brachos, and for Klal Yisrael as he carried their tzaros, and of course the Torah, where he was the address for the she’eilos from all corners of the world. The passuk (Shmuel I 16:18) says concerning Dovid, ‘vaHashem imo.’ The Gemara (Sanhedrin 93b)

Chasdei Dovid Hane’emanim

A view of the crowd at the levayah.

4 SUPPLEMENT24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020Levayah

explains this to mean that the halachah was like him in all places. And Rav Dovid’s psak was indeed respected in all places.”

Harav Reuven Feinstein, shlita, spoke about the need to understand the loss of such a tower-ing Gadol. “My father [Rav Moshe] asked why in this week’s parashah, it says that Avraham came to eulogize Sarah and to cry for her. We know that Chazal say that bechi, crying, is first (for 3 days). So why does it mention that Avraham said a hesped before it says he cried? The answer is that it depends who you are speaking to. If people

do not realize what they lost, then you must first explain it in a hesped, and only then they can cry properly.

“The Gedolei Hador are called the einei ha’eidah, the eyes of the congregation. They have the ability to see the future ramifications of everything that is transpiring now. Rav Dovid was able to foresee what lies in store because he lived through so many difficult tekufos. He saw the yeridah of Torah when he lived under the Stalinist regime when he was unable to learn Torah with his father, yet ehr iz oisgeshteigen, he

grew in that time, and eventually saw the Torah’s growth. He saw the tzaros of the world, and we need him so much now, to analyze and guide us in what is happening. If we do not understand that, then we should cry for that lack of understanding alone.”

* * *Rav Dovid was born in Luban, Russia, in

5689/1929, while his father, Hagaon Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, served as Rav. As the Stalinist regime began harassing the Rabbanim, the family fled to America and settled on the

5SUPPLEMENT 24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020 Levayah

Lower East Side. Rav Dovid learned in Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim with his father, and even-tually began delivering shiurim there. When his father was niftar, he took over the yeshivah and many of his responsibilities, including becom-ing a prominent chaver of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael of America, a member of the Vaad Roshei Yeshivah of Torah Umesorah, and involved in Chinuch Atzmai, Agudas Harab-bonim, and many other communal organizations. He wrote several sefarim, and answered she’eilos throughout the day and night from all over.

* * *Rabbi Moshe Dovid Tendler, a brother-in-law

of Rav Dovid, described how Rav Dovid dealt with each person exactly as he should, and was a perfect fit. He explained that Rashi tells us in the beginning of this week’s parashah that Sarah was as beautiful at 20 as she was at 7 years old. In what way is a 20-year-old better than a 7-year-old? At 20, a girl may dress in a way that is not proper, and can stand out as not fitting. A 7-year-old has a certain charm that no matter what, she seems to fit perfectly, which helps people over-look minor infractions of social standards.

That attribute was most befitting Rav Dovid, since he knew exactly how to deal with each per-son; he interacted with his talmidim in the best manner, he answered she’eilos in the best man-ner, and with his family as was proper for them.

“In each situation, he dealt with it as Hashem would want it to be dealt with. The informality of his smile belied the manner in which he spoke.”

Harav Shmuel Kamenetsky, shlita, Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshiva Gedolah of Philadelphia, spoke briefly and described Rav Dovid as “an ois-nahm fuhn ah mentch (an exceptional person). It is especially hard to describe the many facets of his personality. He was kulo tov, kulo geshmak. He was a chaver tov, a good friend. He was a min bifnei atzmo (a breed for himself ). He under-stood everyone and what they needed, and he did whatever he could do to help.”

Rabbi Shlomo Fishelis, his grandson who served as his gabbai in recent years, described some of the personal hanhagos he was able to observe. “He was so consistent. He would sit for three or four hours saying Kinos, and after three hours he was saying it exactly the same as he was at the beginning. His hasmadah was indescrib-able. Even when his boisterous triplet grandchil-dren entered the room, he continued his learn-ing, as he was oblivious to everything while he learned.

“He walked the streets with such hatzne’a leches, like he was one of us, while he was actu-ally on a different plane. He once said that he was born during the week of Behaalos’cha, in which the maftir speaks about lashon hara. He said it had an effect on him, as he was quiet by nature,

which helped him keep out of trouble. Yet he knew how to speak when he had to, and he let his family know that the door was always open to speak to him whatever they felt the need to.”

The final speaker, his son, Rabbi Mordechai Feinstein, told how over the past few months, Rav Dovid, zt”l, was able to perform many of the mitzvos and he did them with such simchah, which was a characteristic he exuded throughout his lifetime. He related how when the doctors told him he had to drink on Yom Kippur, he was not upset, since it was now the will of Hashem for him to drink. His entire life, he was vigilant to daven b’tzibbur, but when he was not able to do it lately, he was not upset, since this was now the retzon Hashem.

He thanked all the people who helped over the years and over the last few months in particu-lar when his father was ill, and asked mechilah if he was negligent in giving the proper kavod. He then told how during his recent illness, Rav Dovid mentioned that he wished to ask others to be mochel him if he slighted them, and therefore was requesting everyone to oblige.

Rabbi Eidelman, the director of Mesivta Tife-reth Jerusalem recited the Kel Malei and asked mechilah in the name of the staff of the yeshivah. The aron then headed to the airport where it was transported for kevurah in Eretz Yisrael.

Yehi zichro baruch.

6 SUPPLEMENT24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020Biography

BY RABBI BINYOMIN ZEV KARMAN

“Pe’er Hador — The glory of our generation.” This appellation was assigned to Hagaon Harav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l, by none other than Hagaon Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, in a halachic response. Yet to the uninitiated, Rav Dovid seemed to be a simple man, unadorned by any of the splendor and grandeur sometimes accorded to leaders. Truth be told, this is exactly the way he preferred it to be.

Rabbi Burton Jaffa was a talmid of Rav Dovid more than half a century ago, but with Rav Dovid, once a talmid always a talmid. When his mechu-tan was meshadech with the family of Rav Dovid years later, he asked Rav Dovid if there were any hakpados, i.e. anything in particular that Rav Dovid wanted to have during the course of the wedding.

“Only one thing. I do not want to sit oiben uhn (up in front), not by the meal nor by the chuppah,” was his reply.

“Just bear in mind that this was the chasunah of Rav Dovid’s own grandchild, and he still wished to remain out of the limelight. Even by the sheva brachos he refused to sit at the head table,” Rabbi Jaffa pointed out.

* * *Rav Dovid was born in Luban, Russia, in

5689/1929, at a time when his father, Hagaon Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, served as the Rav of

the town. The Stalinist regime set out to harass the Rabbanim, and teaching Torah was fraught with danger. Rav Moshe expressed that he had once worried if Rav Dovid would be able to learn, and he was somewhat resigned to hoping that he remained within the fold.

Fast forward some 40 years. Rav Moshe was speaking with someone about his illustrious son, and said with some degree of pride, “Ehr ken Shas; ehr hut gelernt Shas a hundert mohl — He knows Shas; he learned it a hundred times.” That incident took place 40 years ago, and the knowl-edge and review multiplied exponentially during the interim.

When life in Russia became unbearable, the Feinstein family immigrated to America. After a short stint in Cleveland, Rav Moshe became Rosh Yeshivah of Mesivtha Tiferes Jerusalem on East Broadway on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, when Rav Dovid was just 8 years old. Ultimately, the yeshivah, where Rav Moshe and Rav Dovid learned and taught, became the address not just for thousands of talmidim, but indeed for the entire Klal Yisrael. Whether a Rav who need-ed a decision on a weighty matter of halachah, askanim who needed guidance in communal issues, or a simple Jew who needed advice or a shoulder to cry on, they all were afforded the wise counsel of these towering Gedolei Hador.

Rav Dovid learned with his father, who had him look over some of the thorniest she’eilos

Vayipakeid Mekom Dovid

The Posek Hador, Hagaon Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l.

7SUPPLEMENT 24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020 Biography

that came his way. Numerous she’eilos appear in Igros Moshe where Rav Moshe addresses or men-tions his son with reverence. In time, Rav Moshe appointed Rav Dovid to say a shiur in the yeshi-vah, and a new chapter in his life began, albeit “under the radar.”

Those who knew Rav Dovid were well aware of his daily schedule. After davening, he would head down the block to the pizza shop and order a bagel and coffee, and return to yeshivah to learn during first seder. As the years went on and the pizza shop closed, he would cross the bridge to Williamsburg and drop in at Green’s bakery on Sunday and Friday, with his talmidim picking it up for him during the week.

One morning, his nephew, Mr. Lenny Greher, was sitting with Rav Dovid in his office and ques-tioned him on this behavior.

“Uncle Dovid, you shlep each day to purchase a bagel and coffee. Why don’t you simply send someone to the dining room to bring you your meals?”

In characteristic fashion, Rav Dovid removed a paper from his desk drawer and explained, “When my father, z”l, hired me to say a shiur in the yeshivah over half a century ago, he signed a contract with me, which is right here. I looked through the contract and it does not say anything about receiving meals from the yeshivah. Now, if someone is making a bris and provides breakfast, and he invites me to the seudah, I can then attend and partake in the meal, since he is paying for it. But otherwise, I have not taken as much as a cup of milk from the yeshivah all the years I am here.”

Yes, Rav Dovid was a Maggid Shiur, eventu-ally assuming the position of Rosh Yeshivah, and he undertook the responsibility for the financial stability of the yeshivah and its kollel. Yet the cup of milk, which was not in the contract, remained out of bounds for decades, since it was not explic-itly included in the contract. This simple form of glattkeit and ehrlichkeit, which others marvel at, were clear-cut in the eyes of Rav Dovid, and any roundabout justification to be lenient never crossed his mind.

Rabbi Jaffa recalls entering Rav Dovid’s shiur after spending a year learning in Eretz Yisrael. “While in Eretz Yisrael, I was used to seeing a list of marei mekomos, sources we should look at before entering the shiur for the day. The list could contain Rishonim, Acharonim or other sources. When I entered Rav Dovid’s shiur, I was surprised he limited it to explaining the simple pshat in the Gemara and Rashi. I questioned him as to why he presented the shiur in this manner.

“His answer surprised me and will probably surprise many. He said, ‘Everything important in the sugya essentially lies in Rashi, if you learn it and examine it properly. When time goes on, there is a good chance you won’t remember the myriad pshatim mentioned elsewhere. But if you have a thorough understanding of the sugya with Rashi, you will remember it and will be able to grasp everything else in the sugya.

“As Rav Dovid said his shiur, we realized how everything in the sugya flowed from the way he said the Gemara and Rashi. His phenomenal bekius and thorough understanding came to the surface, and he would give over a special under-standing of the sugya.”

Rabbi Jaffa remained close to Rav Dovid over the years, and his granddaughter became engaged to the son of a man who attended Rav Dovid’s weekly Chumash shiur, which he deliv-ered on Friday. The chassan’s father brought his son to Rav Dovid and asked him to serve as the mesader kiddushin. Rav Dovid said he could not

commit. The father went to the office and begged the administration to arrange for Rav Dovid to attend. When they asked who the kallah was, he replied it was Jaffa. “Why doesn’t he call?” they said. However, since Rav Dovid did not give a definitive answer, the chassan asked Harav Chaim Kitevits, shlita, Rosh Mesivta, Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, to serve as the mesader kiddushin.

As Rav Kitevits was filling out the tena’im and kesubah, Rav Dovid humbly slipped into the wed-ding hall to wish mazel tov to the families. Rav Kitevits noticed his presence, and immediately moved to the side, insisting that Rav Dovid be mesader kiddushin. They argued back and forth, with Rav Kitevits saying, “How will I be a Rebbi for my talmidim and have any respect if Rav Dovid is here in the room and I am mesader kid-dushin?” Yet despite Rav Kitevits’ protestations,

Rav Dovid’s extreme humility won out, and he ended up with receiving just a brachah.

The Gemara in Megillah (31a) states, “Rabi Yochanan said, ‘Every place you find the great-ness of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, you also find His humility.’” Following in the path of Hashem, Rav Dovid managed to conceal his greatness in a cloak of humility.

Aaron Katz, a lifelong Lower East Side resi-dent and talmid of Rav Dovid, had numerous opportunities to converse with him, asking both personal she’eilos and eitzos as well as present-ing various questions from the Lower East Side Hatzalah.

“When we would ask him a she’eilah or for advice, he never told us, ‘This is what you must do.’ He would always preface his answer by say-ing, ‘The way I see it,’ and then say this is the hal-achah, or this is what I think should be done. But he let us know that this is only his understanding, and he was not demanding we accept it.”

“I once asked Rav Dovid a difficult she’eilah,” Reb Aaron continued, “and he anticipated I would be anxious with his answer. While answer-ing, he made a point of adding reassurance that I should not worry about the psak, which helped put my mind at ease. We knew that whatever he said, it was without any agenda, and he meant it l’shem Shamayim, and of course we never had any doubt.”

People would say that Rav Dovid had three possible answers: yes, no, and better not. When he answered a she’eilah, it was given in a succinct manner, and the questioner knew exactly what to do. His phone rang at all hours of the day and night, and he was ready to answer it and provide whoever was calling with a ruling they could rely on.

Harav Aharon Kahn had a close relationship with Rav Dovid, as he served as a Rav on the Lower East Side for many years before establish-ing Knessess Bais Avigdor in Midwood nearly three decades ago. In describing the relationship that Rabbanim had with Rav Dovid, Rav Kahn noted that he was recognized as the Posek Hador. He related, “When did I call him … when did we all call him? When we dared not pasken for fear of making a life-or-death error. Yes, that was cer-tainly true. But we also asked whenever we felt he had the shoulders that we didn’t even want to have. He knew Shas — thoroughly; he knew the poskim — intimately. Speaking for myself, I had supreme confidence in his decisions. First, because more than 50 years ago, I heard a very reliable source tell me that Rav Moshe, zt”l, said about his son, ‘Any she’eilah that you ask me you can ask Rav Dovid.’ Also, he never had an axe to grind, never an agenda that determined him. It was the halachah and nothing more. He was very pure. Finally, the way he spoke, with that calm, deliberate cadence, made all of us feel his own confidence in his psak. His psak was always short and precise and absolute. And on the rare occa-sion when he said, ‘I don’t know,’ you understood that all those other times he really knew.”

Rabbi Aharon Schur was in kollel and was studying complicated halachos which involved intricate calculations. After delving into these halachos, his chaburah had two unsettled ques-tions, which they presented to several Rabban-im, who said they were difficult indeed, and were unclear as to how one should pasken.

“We called Rav Dovid,” Rabbi Schur remem-bers, “and he immediately replied, ‘The first is an interval, the second a pattern.’ The short, precise answer was characteristic of his replies. Years later, I met a Rosh Kollel who was studying these same halachos, and I presented them to him. He told me, ‘I had a difficult time with these same two cases. After researching it, I found a Sugah Bashoshanim in the middle of a long piece who says the first is an interval, and the second is a pattern.’ I was in awe of Rav Dovid, who dealt with these difficult she’eilos and supplied his clear-cut psak in an instant.”

8 SUPPLEMENT24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020Biography

In recent years, she’eilos involv-ing end-of -life issues became more common as technology and inter-ventions were introduced, and new “morality issues” took hold. As with most life-or-death she’eilos, they ended up on Rav Dovid’s doorstep, and he was inundated with daily calls to rule on these cases. Agu-das Yisrael established Chayim Aruchim, an organization which deals with the legal issues as well as guiding people to proper poskim to rule for their individual cases. Rav Dovid took an intimate interest in this endeavor, and many of the pos-kim sought his advice and guidance as to how to rule on these life-or-death cases.

Rabbi Shmuel Lefkowitz of Chayim Aruchim told Hamodia, “Chayim Aruchim was privileged to have had an open door to Harav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l. We asked him serious she’eilos related to Chayim Aruchim’s work dealing with end-of-life issues.”

Rav Dovid stressed the impor-tance of asking a she’eilah and receiving guidance from daas Torah each step of the way, including the question of continuing treatment and what sort of testing to allow or not allow.

“Together with other Gedolei haPoskim, Rav Dovid signed a letter

addressed to hospital board mem-bers and executives urging them to respect our values,” Rabbi Lefkow-itz said.

Rabbi Jaffa told Hamodia how Rav Dovid treated each and every person who came to ask a she’eilah. “He let you speak as long as you wanted, letting you explain every aspect of the she’eilah until you were sure that you told him all the details. At that point, he might ask one or two questions, and he would issue a clear-cut psak.”

There was a time when an out of town organization asked Rabbi Burton to forward a she’eilah about servicing a learning-disabled child in a non-Orthodox setting. There was a disagreement in the commu-nity if this should be done, and it was decided to present the she’eilah to Rav Dovid. Rabbi Jaffa elabo-rated on the details of the situation and, all the while, Rav Dovid lis-tened silently.

“Rav Dovid wanted to verify if it involved teaching any hashkafic issues which may be problem-atic,” Rabbi Jaffa recalled. “I told him that they knew that the teach-ers were all sheitel-wearing kol-lel wives, and all they wanted was that this girl who was confined to a wheelchair should be taught alef-beis. His answer was classic. ‘You

Rav Dovid Hofstedter presenting the sefer Moed L’Dovid to Harav Dovid Feinstein.

With Harav Yisroel Belsky, zt”l.

BY BEN ZION WOLFF

They came from near and far, yeshivaleit and working men, Litvish and Chassidish. They did not come because the speaker was flamboyant or entertaining. They came to hear the pure unadulter-ated dvar Hashem as put forth by someone they knew to be not only a gaon in Torah, but indeed a Gadol b’Yisrael.

One of the listeners was a retiree who dreamed of spend-ing his golden years reveling in the Rosh Yeshivah’s Chumash shiur that he had heard so much about. Another, who usually was able to attend only during the summer months, was a Menahel of a mesivta in Brooklyn who looked forward to the summertime Fridays when his schedule would allow him to go to the Lower East Side for the shiur.

Yet another person in atten-dance was a Chassidishe young man whose work schedule left him with free time on Friday, and who could think of noth-ing better to do with his down-time than listen as the Rosh Yeshivah spoke words that emanated from his essence, words of emunah peshutah, and watch as the character of the Rosh Yeshivah shone forth from the shiur.

“The Rosh Yeshivah had an incredible ability to analyze the pesukim and carve out the most beautiful pshatim, and derive practical lessons from it. He quoted Chazal exten-sively from many different sources,” he said.

“Some of the topics Rav Dovid discussed were being subordinate to retzon Hash-em, and really using every fiber of one’s being to serve his Creator. He would delve into topics such as the inner meaning of keeping Shabbos, and what it symbolizes. He stressed that all our actions and work are not really “ours”; it is all Hashem’s. He explained that is why we back off and refrain from work for a full day, which is to internalize the concept that it’s not our work that makes us successful, it’s Hashem’s.”

Those who had the zechus to attend the shiur quickly became enamored with Rav Dovid. “At times, I watched him daven,” a regular attendee remarked. “He used to utter each word carefully, with immense intention.”

The shiur of Rav Dovid, zt”l, like everything in his life, was open and available for all seg-ments of Klal Yisrael. And he will be sorely missed by all.

Vayedaber Dovid — The Weekly Chumash Shiur

9SUPPLEMENT 24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020 Biography

never know if by teaching this child alef-beis you will be able to reach not only her neshamah, but also the neshamah of her parents.’ The sim-plicity of his answer along with the confidence with which it was given was accepted by all sides.

Simplicity is a word used often to describe Rav Dovid. He wore a short jacket and not a kapote, and a fedora with a turned-down brim, not the type of hat preferred by many Rabbanim or Roshei Yeshi-vah. He would invite guests whom others refrained from inviting, and they were regulars at his home for Shabbos and even the Sedarim on Pesach.

“Everything he did was his way of doing chessed,” said Mr. Greher. “On Wednesday afternoon, he would travel to Brooklyn to do the Shab-bos shopping for the Rebbetzin, which was his way of performing chessed for her. Before they went to the store, they went to be mevaker choleh and, afterward, he went to the store to make his purchases. He lived without any fanfare and gave up what he loved most, which was to sit and learn, in order to help out others.”

“On Shabbos morning after dav-ening, if Rav Dovid was aware of anyone on the Lower East Side who was making a kiddush and would appreciate his participation, he made it a point to attend,” Aaron Katz said. “It made no difference to him if the kiddush was in the Boyaner Kloiz or in Mizrachi. If the person would appreciate see-ing him there, he would come. And of course, if Rav Dovid was coming, we would all come along with him.”

“I know of a person on the Lower East Side who ...[made] a kiddush in his house each week for an extend-ed period of time,” Lenny Greher added. “Each week, Rav Dovid would go to this man’s house in order to give him the kavod of host-ing Rav Dovid at his kiddush.”

Hakaras hatov played a major role in all his actions. “Rav Dovid had two Rebbeim in his life; his father, the Rosh Yeshivah Harav Moshe, zt”l, and his cousin, Harav Mechel Feinstein, zt”l, who was a Maggid Shiur in Mesivtha Tiferes Jerusalem in the early days,” Lenny Greher related. “Rav Dovid had such hakaras hatov to Rav Mechel that he raised hundreds of thou-sands of dollars to support Yeshiva Beis Yehudah, Rav Mechel’s yeshi-vah. It was all an outgrowth of his tremendous hakaras hatov.”

Rabbi Burton added a personal vignette about the hakaras hatov of Rav Dovid and his Rebbetzin. “After working 34 years as Execu-tive Director of PTACH, I was cho-sen as the honoree for their dinner. Rav Dovid was on my invitation list, but I never expected him to attend. In fact, I never called him to inform

him of the dinner, because I did not want to be matriach him.

“Lo and behold, during the din-ner, in walks Rav Dovid and the Reb-betzin. I was shocked and, as I ran over to greet them, I told them that I had not expected them to come. The Rebbetzin’s answer floored me. ‘For the past 40 years, you never missed a dinner for the kollel, and we shouldn’t come to return the honor?’ When I expressed my sur-prise that she kept cheshbon about the kollel dinners, she indicated that she surely knew whom they owed hakaras hatov to.”

In his later years, the curtain of his greatness was pulled back, much to his chagrin. People flocked to him not just for she’eilos or advice, but increasingly they approached him for brachos. A woman who was mar-ried for five years and unfortunately miscarried twice asked Rav Dovid

for a brachah. “I guess the Ribbono shel Olam owes you triplets,” was his reply. Sure enough, the women gave birth to triplets and, after sev-eral months, brought them to Rav Dovid’s apartment. After taking them by train from Williamsburg to the Lower East Side, rolling them in a carriage through the streets and bringing them up in the eleva-tor, the triplets were cranky and the mother a bit hassled. As she stood by the door and told Rav Dovid that she came to thank him for the brachah, he beamed his inimitable smile and replied, “Aren’t you glad I didn’t say quintuplets?”

From Rav Aharon Kahn: “And his smile. It was a constant, a perma-nent declaration of the genuineness with which he gave everyone his heart. To say these words about the niftar is easy. But as I think about how much it takes to be like that, I

begin to wonder: Can such a person truly exist? I believe the answer lies in a Gemara in Sanhedrin (88b), which tells us that a ben Olam Haba is one who is humble and modest, enters bowing and leaves bowing, learns Torah constantly but does not take credit for himself. The Gemara concludes that the Rab-banan placed their eyes upon Rav Ulla bar Abba.

“The Rabbanan of that dor needed to prove that indeed such a person exists, that it is possible that this world can spawn such a ben Olam Haba Torah giant. That is how hard it is to fathom. They need-ed to find such a Gadol. So too, Rav Dovid walked among us with that kol demamah dakah which was his signature quality in so many ways, and truly it was impossible to know him. Perhaps there will be no one like him for us to know in our life-times. Mi yiten temuraso.”

* * *Harav Dovid Povarsky, zt”l, was a

talmid in the Mir who was extreme-ly close to Harav Yerucham Levo-vits, zt”l, the legendary Mashgiach. Whenever the Mashgiach would deliver a shmuess, Rav Dovid would sit up close and follow his every word, and incorporate it into his life.

When Rav Dovid married the daughter of Harav Dovid Dov Kreiser, zt”l, and left the Mir, Rav Yerucham began the next shm-uess by looking at the empty chair where Rav Dovid sat for so long, and lamented, “Vayipakeid mekom Dovid — And the place of Dovid was noted [as vacant].” (Shmuel I, 20:25)

The place of Harav Dovid ben Harav Moshe, zt”l, is vacant, leav-ing the generation bereft.

Yehi zichro baruch.

Harav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l (third from L) with (L-R) ybl”c Ezra Rothenberg, Yaakov Glatter, Harav Hillel David, shlita, Harav Moshe Tuvia Lieff and Harry Rothenberg, Esq.

With Harav Aharon Schechter, shlita, at the Siyum HaShas.

10 SUPPLEMENT24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020Interview

BY RAFAEL HOFFMAN

Writing about any Gadol b’Yisrael presents the daunting challenge of putting intangible spiritual greatness into words.

However great that challenge usually is, it is multiplied when faced with the task of attempt-ing to write about Harav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l. Klal Yisrael knew quite well that beneath his terse words, simple comportment, and attempt to live a quiet life from within the walls of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem (MTJ) on Manhattan’s ever eclectic Lower East Side, that Rav Dovid was among the true Gedolei Hador.

Renowned for his humility and ahavas Yisra-el, there is a sea of stories about his unassuming nature and love for every Jew — no matter from what walk of life he came. After the petirah of his father, Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, Rav Dovid increasingly took on leadership positions in the klal and dedicated himself to several causes, especially ones relating to chinuch.

Yet, Rav Dovid’s greatness was his absolute dedication to and command of the wholeness of the breadth and depth of Torah. His shiurim were never attended by hundreds of talmidim, he never published chiddushim on Shas or teshuvos; and most who approached with halachic ques-tions were answered with a word or two. It was well known that the most complex she’eilos came to Rav Dovid’s door from around the globe, but few were privy to the geonus that lay beneath his plain exterior.

Giants of the generations had little problem detecting his gadlus. Harav Yosef Shalom Elyas-hiv, zt”l, referred to him as the “pe’er hador — the beauty of the generation” and Rav Moshe himself once added to the end of one of his own chiddu-shim in Dibros Moshe that “Hagaon Harav Dovid” agrees to the above interpretation.

One of those who were privileged to some level of insight into Rav Dovid’s absolute mastery of Shas and Poskim, as well as his sechel hayashar, was Rabbi Boruch Moskowitz. In his 26 years as a talmid of Rav Dovid, Rabbi Moskowitz had the privilege to converse with him daily on a wide array of sugyos and halachic issues. Those con-versations and the extensive source material that served as the background for them were printed in V’dibarta Bam, a two-volume collection of Rav Dovid’s opinions on a wide array of practical hal-achic she’eilos from all four sections of Shulchan Aruch.

“He was holding in kol haTorah kulah,” said Rabbi Moskowitz. “I would spend weeks prepar-ing sugyos with all the marei mekomos so that I could present the questions to him in a few minutes and he would be machria between the various shittos. I could quote 20 sources and he would follow each step of the way as if he had just learned them himself. The Rosh Yeshivah had perfect command of all of them and, in a second, could tell you why a shittah in the Rishonim or Acharonim did or did not apply to the question at hand.”

Rabbi Moskowitz said that Rav Dovid’s ten-dency to answer most questions with few words was not only a function of his exceptionally quiet nature, but also because he feared that getting into too many details with someone who lacked a

full understanding of the sugya could easily lead to confusion.

As such, Rav Dovid had the highest regard for bnei Torah committed to learning topics in depth in a way that they could fully comprehend how much went into any psak that ultimately emerged.

“Many people were not aware of his amkus (depth) because he answered people so concise-ly,” said Rabbi Moskowitz. “Rav Dovid was very happy when people would learn Halachah in a way that wasn’t just divrei nevius. He stressed that the proper way to approach any halachic issue is to master all points of the sugya and then applied it to Halachah.”

Armed with a phenomenal recall of the Torah he had learned and an exceptional ability to ana-lyze complex issues, Rav Dovid did not have a spe-cific approach, but was able to apply the correct combination of factors to each problem without interference from tangential issues.

“Every case was different,” he said. “He had a very original mind, but he didn’t pasken accord-ing to his own chiddushim and, if there was a clear psak or consensus, he went with it, even if he understood the sugya differently. He thought through whatever mekoros there were on the she’eilah together with the mesorah and min-hagim that were relevant and with his sechel hayashar arrived at the psak.”

The Torah Sheb’al Peh of Igros Moshe

For more than a generation, the sefer Igros Moshe has held an unparalleled role in present-day issues of psak Halachah. For much of Klal Yisrael, saying “Reb Moshe held like this” ends a

halachic debate. Among the many aspects to mourn in the

loss of Rav Dovid is his command not only of his father’s thousands of teshuvos, but of the method of thought that went into them.

“I once asked him if a certain svarah was his or his father’s. The Rosh Yeshivah said, ‘I don’t know, because everything I have is from my father.’ That’s what a real talmid is. His mind adapted to thinking along the same lines as his Rebbi and without quoting a psak, he thinks about things the same way,” said Rabbi Moskowitz.

While the many teshuvos of the Igros Moshe have become part of the permanent library of psak Halachah as they are written, from the decades he spent learning with and assisting his father, Rav Dovid often explained why Rav Moshe had applied a given response to the situation relevant to the teshuvah in his sefer, but that his general psak would have been different. In other instanc-es, he knew from experience that, in writing, Rav Moshe had expressed a certain opinion, but over time, had evolved to view the question in a more lenient or stringent way.

“The Rosh Yeshivah had Shas with the perush of the Igros Moshe,” said Rabbi Moskowitz. “It wasn’t just another Acharon he knew, the Rosh Yeshivah developed his mind in such a way that he had mastered his father’s approach to hal-achah l’maaseh and made it his own. That’s some-thing the dor has now lost.”

The Straight Path to Greatness Part and parcel of the persona of Rav Dovid

was that, despite his universally acknowledged greatness, he remained unfazed by the regard

Plain Greatness Peeking behind the screen of simplicity:

An interview with Rabbi Boruch Moskowitz, a close talmid

Talking in learning with Rabbi Moskowitz (R) at his son’s chasunah. L: Rav Shlomo Teitelbaum, zt”l.

11SUPPLEMENT 24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020 Interview

in which the tzibbur held him, and continued to conduct himself largely like an ordinary Yid per-forming mundane chores in public, and relating to the wide variety of characters in his circle as equals.

“The Rosh Yeshivah was mekabel from Reb Moshe that learning Torah and having a good head was not a reason to hold yourself in any higher regard than anyone else,” said Rabbi Mos-kowitz. “Many people treated him like he was their friend because that was how he acted. And it didn’t bother him. But for his talmidim who were zocheh to discuss Torah with him b’iyun, his gad-lus came out and those people had a deep sense of yiras hakavod for him.”

Rabbi Moskowitz said that Rav Dovid’s sin-cere humility also allowed him to pasken she’eilos free of any personal stake in how his position was looked at by others.

“It didn’t matter to him if people followed his psak or not because they were what he held was the emes, but he had no personal connection to it,” he said. “I remember one time when a person came to the yeshivah to ask an eitzah, but wasn’t happy with the response and ended up speaking disrespectfully and personally insulting him. Not only didn’t the Rosh Yeshivah answer him, he didn’t say anything about it afterward either. He was never bothered by insults or impressed by kavod because whatever he did wasn’t about him, it was l’hagdil Torah ul’haadirah.”

The key to gadlus was equally straightfor-ward in Rav Dovid’s mind. Asked how his father was able to complete Shas b’iyun at age 17, he responded simply, “He was a big masmid.” The characteristically succinct reply encapsulated his own credo that gadlus is achieved not through anything complex, but through hard work; and is

commensurate with the enthusiasm one brings to his limud haTorah.

Rabbi Moskowitz said that, likely, no one ever fully understood when or on what schedule Rav Dovid revisited the many sugyos he had mastered throughout his life, but those who spent time in MTJ witnessed that he was constantly reviewing masechtos, reviewing Shas an unknown number of times.

Beneath Rav Dovid’s calm exterior lay an uncanny ability to focus on learning even under the most trying of circumstances.

On the morning of the September 11 attacks, Rav Dovid and Rabbi Moskowitz walked out of MTJ and saw the Twin Towers burning. After a while they went back inside and Rav Dovid went to his office while a group of people gathered in the beis medrash to say Tehillim.

After about a half-hour, Rav Dovid entered, went to his seat, and opened his Gemara as he did every day at that time. Asked about what was the proper way to spend one’s time under the circum-stances, Rav Dovid responded that “the koach haTorah is the greatest thing.”

“He cared deeply about what was going on around him, but his belief in the koach haTorah was such that he felt that learning was the great-est zechus he could lend to help in such a tragic time,” said Rabbi Moskowitz. “Rav Dovid said Tehillim every day, it was not as if he did not think it was important, but now was a time that he usu-ally learns and, somehow, he was able to concen-trate the same way he did every other day.”

Recognizing that a simple focus on avodas Hashem is not so simple for many people, Rav Dovid lamented the generation’s pursuit of ever enhanced physical pleasures and acquisitions, feeling they ultimately pull a Jew away from

emunah and his connection to limud haTorah. While accepting the responsibilities he had, Rav Dovid voiced the highest admiration for those who could dedicate themselves to Torah free of distractions, often offering his brachah to merit to live a life of “lachasos b’noam Hashem.”

Rabbi Moskowitz was one of those who attended Rav Dovid’s daily Mishnayos shiur which completed Shishah Sidrei Mishnah sev-eral times. While new mishnayos were learned each day, finer points were often argued about and discussed months after they had been cov-ered — something Rav Dovid was always happy to engage in.

The seder was so precious to Rav Dovid that, even when away from the yeshivah and through much of his final illness, he kept up the cycle. When Rabbi Moskowitz met Rav Dovid over the summer, he told his Rebbi that he had kept pace with where the shiur would have been up to through the challenging times of the COVID lockdown, to which Rav Dovid happily replied, “So did I.”

“He appreciated and understood the value of every bit of Torah. How many people have a chashivus for mishnayos in Kodashim and Taha-ros that they learn them b’iyun? He lived the Torah,” said Rabbi Moskowitz.

“The Maharsha says that the main point of a hesped on an adam gadol is to cry over the Torah that has been lost. The generation has lost Rav Dovid’s Torah and the protection it gave us and that is what we have to mourn. But, the Rosh Yeshivah said many times that when an adam Gadol leaves the world, by learning from his ways and strengthening themselves in Torah and avo-dah, the tzibbur has the ability to fill the void he left.”

A view of the crowd at the levayah of Hagaon Harav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l, at the Shamgar funeral parlor in Yerushalayim on Monday afternoon.

12 SUPPLEMENT24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020Agudah

BY RABBI CHAIM DOVID ZWIEBEL

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, AGUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICA

Some things about Harav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l, were well-known: his greatness in Torah scholarship; his stature as one of the leading hal-achic decisors of his time, follow-ing in the footsteps of his revered father Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l; his leadership of Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim, where he served for decades as Rosh Hayeshivah and produced thousands of talmidim; his popular sefarim in the areas of Halachah and drush; his quiet, unas-suming demeanor that endeared him to Jews from all walks of life.

Ish HaklalLess well-known, though, was the

incredible amount of time and ener-gy Rav Dovid devoted to addressing the communal and personal chal-lenges facing “Klal Yisrael and Reb Yisrael.” Perhaps most notably, he was instrumental in the found-ing and development of Artscroll — a historic undertaking that has transformed the face of the Jewish People.

He would frequently lend his name and kochos to help raise funds for urgent projects and worthy mos-dos. A relatively recent example was the major campaign approxi-mately four years ago to add new classrooms and new teaching staff for the children of French Jewry as they were making aliyah to Israel to escape escalating anti-Semitism in France. Rav Dovid traveled from city to city, leading a delegation that included Harav Aryeh Malkiel Kot-ler, shlita, the Satmar Rebbe Harav Zalman Leib, shlita, and a number of distinguished baalei battim, to raise the money needed to establish these programs in Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Dovid also took to heart the plight of individuals who would turn to him when they were in des-perate straits and urgently needed assistance. I was personally on the receiving end of a number of calls from Rav Dovid over the years, ask-ing me to assist an individual who had gotten ensnared in the crimi-nal justice system, or to help place a yasom in summer camp. Needless to say, Rav Dovid’s personal interest in these cases left a great impression on me.

A Unique Role on the Moetzes

As a member of Agudas Yisro-el’s Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and Torah Umesorah’s Vaad Roshei Yeshiva, Rav Dovid participated in countless meetings and phone con-ferences, heard many presentations,

reviewed numerous documents and proposed statements — the pains-taking process by which Gedolei Yis-rael apply their daas Torah to press-ing issues of the day.

I have had the great privilege to participate as a lay representative of Agudas Yisroel in many meetings of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. In that capacity, I often marveled at the unique role Rav Dovid would play at these meetings. He would sit in his seat, paying careful attention to the presentations, obviously engaged in the deliberations of his colleagues. Yet he would typically remain silent throughout the discussions unless specifically solicited for his opinion: “Vos zugt der Rosh Hayeshivah fun Tiferes Yerushalayim?” So prompt-ed, he would state his view — which

would almost always carry the day.Occasionally, Rav Dovid would

wait until after the meeting had concluded to offer his input. I recall once when the Moetzes was con-sidering publishing a statement on a particularly sensitive topic, and various members had offered their comments and suggestions on a pro-posed draft. Rav Dovid approached me after the others had left to tell me that a particular paragraph needed to be rewritten in a certain way. Why hadn’t he said so during the meeting? I didn’t have the chutzpah to ask him, but I believe that it was because of his sensitivity to the feel-ings of some of his junior chaveirim on the Moetzes who might be hurt had he challenged them during the heat of the deliberations.

Siyatta DiShmayaRabbi Moshe Sherer, z”l, would

often say that there was enormous value in having Gedolei Yisrael sit together around a table to develop policies on issues of the day — even if some participants in the meet-ing keep their silence throughout the deliberations. There is a spe-cial siyatta diShmaya, said Rabbi Sherer, when Torah giants gather together to address matters affect-ing the klal. These great people enhance the proceedings just by their mere presence alone.

Rav Dovid Feinstein undoubt-edly brought great levels of siyatta diShmaya to every Torah gather-ing he participated in. He will be sorely missed. Mi yiten lanu tmu-raso!

The Silent Giant

At a meeting of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah.

With the Novominsker Rebbe, zt”l, and, ybl”c, Mr. Shlomo Werdiger.

13SUPPLEMENT 24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020 Torah Umesorah

BY RABBI SHMUEL YAAKOV KLEIN

For the second time in seven months, Torah Umesorah (TU) — indeed, Yahadus America and Klal Yisrael as a whole — sustained a most insuf-ferable loss upon the petirah of one of the Torah world’s most towering figures, a posek of this generation — Hagaon Harav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l. He, and the Novominsker Rebbe, zt”l, who was niftar two days before Pesach, were among the most venerated elders of Torah Umesorah’s Vaad Roshei Yeshiva. As such, Rav Dovid was in the vanguard of Gedolei Yisrael whose wisdom and inspired leadership has been carving out the direction and the vision for chinuch in North America.

The niftar’s relentless involvement with mat-ters of the klal left him precious little time. He was not only at the helm of the famed Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem on Manhattan’s Lower East Side and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTo-rah of Agudath Israel of America; Rav Dovid was also at the beck and call of scores of people who telephoned the Rosh Yeshivah daily from across the globe with complicated questions in Hal-achah. And this, in addition to his own personal hasmadah, which was nothing less than legend-ary. Despite all this, he always answered the call of TU.

According to TU’s Menahel, Rabbi Dovid Noj-owitz, “I had the zechus to interact with the Rosh Yeshivah on many occasions. The Rosh Yeshi-vah’s response to any request we made of him was always, ‘If it’s for Torah Umesorah, I must do it.’” Thus he attended functions and meetings even when his compelling schedule often seemed to make those things impossible. “And he always showed the warmth of a Gadol who appeared to have nothing else in the world that needed his attention more than we did,” Rabbi Nojowitz continued.

“I remember not long ago,” the TU Menahel shared, “Rav Dovid agreed to attend an early Sunday morning function of TU that took place in Deal, New Jersey. The varmkeit that he exuded was remarkable. And this was obviously felt by the throngs of local Yidden, including mothers and little children, who stood in line to receive a brachah from the Rosh Yeshivah and who dis-played such an outpouring of warmth toward him.”

Rabbi Nojowitz reminisced about a particular visit he paid to the Rosh Yeshivah’s office, which was both very small and a study in simplicity. “That day he was taking part in a siyum with the kollel of Tiferes Jerusalem, and I joined him for the half-hour he was there. I just have such a distinct memory of the simchah and the warmth that were felt by all during the siyum. The partic-ipants were visibly moved by the Rosh Yeshivah’s presence.”

In truth, I myself attended meetings of the TU Vaad Roshei Yeshiva numerous times when Rav Dovid was present. His voice was seldom heard during those meetings, as he appeared to defer to the views of the other participants. The exemplar of the most sterling middos tovos — not the least of which was his perfection of hatznei’a leches, modesty in all respects — Rav Dovid would sit with a most pleasant countenance and would sel-dom voice a view, or so it certainly seemed. I was most struck by his demeanor and by the fact that he would show such commitment to our organi-

zation.”In my own view, I could not help but think that

there were two possible explanations. One is that he was fully aware of the importance of the activ-ities of TU and the impact that it has on hundreds of thousands of children. He thus sensed the imperative to be a part of its deliberations and its decision-making.

However, a second factor that occurred to me was that Rav Dovid served as heir to the pre-cious legacy left him by his father, Hagaon Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, who for decades was a pil-lar in the forefront of leadership of TU. As was pointed out by one of the maspidim at the funeral on Sunday morning, Rav Dovid was a stickler for minhag and for mesorah, often expressing

the view that it is our duty to uphold the prac-tices and policies handed down to us. Rav Dovid thus carried on with the sacred role that was Rav Moshe’s for many years.

In fact, two years ago, at a Torah Umesorah Leadership convention, Rav Dovid received trib-ute for being one of three members of the orga-nization’s Vaad Roshei Yeshiva who were carry-ing on the service of leadership of their fathers. The other two were, yibadlu l’chaim tovim, Harav Shmuel Kamenetsky, shlita, and Harav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, shlita.

Rabbi Nojowitz was quick to point out that, despite appearances, Rav Dovid was the final authority on many of TU’s issues. In his demure manner, he quickly responded, in a few short words, to the most challenging matters that were put before him. “It was a common occurrence for other members of the Vaad to tell me that they could not make a decision on a matter before consulting with Rav Dovid Feinstein.”

Moreover, on issues for which many other Roshei Yeshivos felt that they could not pasken, they would regularly turn to the Rosh Yeshivah who was able to pasken instantly, with neither hesitation nor doubt.

It has been 34 years since the passing of Rav Moshe Feinstein — 34 years since the mantle of leadership was assumed by his son, Rav Dovid — 34 years during which the light that has shone forth from the Rosh Yeshivah has illuminated the lives and the paths of Klal Yisrael, radiating from the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The Rosh Yeshivah was the manifestation of all the vir-tues we are meant to emulate in Gedolei Yisrael — from his brilliance to his offering himself for the sake of the tzibbur. From his character traits to his command of Torah. The void that has been created by his demise will not easily be filled by Yahadus Hachareidis in general. Nor will it be easily overcome by Torah Umesorah, the organi-zation to which the Rosh Yeshivah was so unfail-ingly devoted. Yehi zichro baruch.

A Pillar of Leadership

14 SUPPLEMENT24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020Artscroll

BY RABBI NOSSON SCHERMAN

When the Chazon Ish was niftar, the Brisker Rav said, “Until now it was a world with the Cha-zon Ish. Now it’s a world without the Chazon Ish.”

Those of us who knew the well-concealed Harav Dovid Feinstein even somewhat can say those same words: “Until now it was a world with Reb Dovid. Now it’s a world without Reb Dovid.” It’s a world without the person Harav Eliyashiv, zt”l, called the Posek Hador of America.

Reb Dovid tried very hard to be a private per-son, to conceal his greatness, to spend his life learning and teaching. He acted like an ordinary Jew — brim-down fedora, short jacket, avoidance of public life, and sitting in the middle of his beis midrash as long as he could — but he failed. Much though he tried to mask his stature, his greatness shone through and he was forced to accept the burdens and honors of leadership, but neither his dress nor his manner changed. Even late in his life he would do the Erev Shabbos shopping, assisted by his loyal disciple Eugene.

The other Gedolim knew it very soon, but little by little the general community realized that he was a fitting successor to his immeasurably great father. Even in Williamsburg, people came to him with their she’eilos and brought their children for brachos. And his brachos were much more than formal courtesies.

An adam gadol was very ill and his doctors told the family that his condition was hopeless and the end was only a few days away. The family asked a confidant of Reb Dovid to arrange a meet-ing with the Rosh Yeshivah so that they could seek his rulings on medical and end-of-life ques-tions. The meeting took place and he answered all their questions. At the end of the meeting, Reb Dovid said, “I answered you because you wanted the meeting, but none of it will be necessary.” The Gadol recovered and resumed his very busy schedule for several years.

Reb Dovid was more than the biological heir of the Gadol Hador, Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l. Reb Dovid and his father would learn together every night and the Rosh Yeshivah would often

review his most complex teshuvos with Reb Dovid before finalizing them. Interestingly, nei-ther father nor son objected to others who dis-agreed with them, sometimes vehemently, or even disrespectfully. Sometimes, a Rav or writer would ask for permission to disagree publicly or in writing, and the response was always the same. No one has a copyright on Torah. The cor-rect ruling will be judged by the accuracy of its proofs and reasoning. The broad acceptance of the decisions of both Reb Moshe and Reb Dovid speaks for itself.

A wealthy, very successful businessman told this writer that many of his deals involved com-plex halachic dilemmas, regarding which he always sought rabbinic guidance. He was once advised to consult Reb Dovid. The man told me, “When I was halfway through describing the sit-uation, Reb Dovid understood it better than I did ad told me what to do. Since then I bring all my hard ones to him.”

On a more mundane matter, a girls’ school administrator wanted to turn his backyard into

An Appreciation

Harav Dovid, zt”l, Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, z”l, and ybl”c Harav Yaakov Bender, shlita, and his sons.

15SUPPLEMENT 24 Cheshvan 5781 // November 11, 2020 Artscroll

a playground, but there was a fruit tree in the yard. He consulted Reb Dovid. In the course of the con-versation, it emerged that the fruit tree had not produced fruit for a few years. The Rosh Yeshivah said simply, “If it doesn’t give fruit, it’s not a fruit tree.” Case closed. An important element of his greatness was that he could cut to the core of a question without being obstructed by extraneous details.

Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, z”l, and the Rosh Yeshivah were extremely close, from when Reb Meir was a talmid of Mesivtha Tifereth Jeru-salem. For forty years they spoke on the phone almost every day. It was natural, therefore, that from the first day of ArtScroll/Mesorah, Reb Dovid was a key to every important decision. If there was ever a ques-tion of whether to undertake a proj-ect, Reb Dovid’s word was law.

That relationship continued with Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz, who expressed our feelings about Reb Dovid in one word: “Irreplace-able!” At one point, Reb Meir told Reb Dovid that our financial situa-tion was so dire that we would have to drop a major project. The Rosh Yeshivah said that we must contin-ue and Hashem would help. A little later that day, he called to say he had arranged a major loan. The work continued, and before long there was indeed siyatta diShmaya.

When the Mesorah Heritage Foundation was created to fund ArtScroll’s scholarly work, Reb Dovid became a founding trustee and never missed a meeting. It was the first time he lent his name and active presence to anything out-side his Mesivtha. He asserted that ArtScroll’s work was essential to Klal Yisrael and he therefore felt compelled to depart from his prac-tice of avoiding such involvements.

Often overlooked in discuss-ing the Feinstein family is a point noted by Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz. We all assert our faith in Chazal, but in many cases it is in the abstract. To Reb Moshe and his sons, every word of Chazal was a reality, as concrete and immovable as Mount Everest. When asked how it is possible that one of the monumental baalei tze-dakah of the generation could have suffered critical financial revers-es, Reb Dovid said simply that he probably didn’t give as much as he should have.

He did not wear his yiras Shamayim on his sleeve, but it was absolute, as was his unwavering fidelity to the Halachah.

Unlike his father, Reb Dovid was not a prolific writer. Over the years, he wrote several sefarim in English to provide the Mesivtha with much-needed fundraising vehicles. He would send handwritten notes to this writer, who would do the actual writing.

For the last several months, while he was in poor health, he was work-ing on a commentary to the second half of the Haggadah, from Hallel to the end. As in everything he did, his originality was astounding. He would allude to new ideas and base them on references to pesukim, Gemaros, and Midrashim. It was obvious from his handwriting that he was weak and did not have the strength to check the sources he was quoting. However, every source was accurate — daf, chapter, and passuk — which is great testimony to his total knowledge of Shas and Tanach.

Equally astounding to those who knew him best was his has-madah. He learned with total con-centration. Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz was once with him on a four-hour flight. The Rosh Yeshivah was so engrossed in his learning that he was oblivious to anything else. That he was thoroughly familiar with the Gemara didn’t matter; learning must be done without distraction.

In addition to his regular shi-urim in the Mesivtha, Reb Dovid said a Chumash shiur every Friday. It was open to the public and peo-ple came from all over and from all walks of life. Some professionals would leave their offices to attend the shiur. As in his writing, these sessions were incredibly original. Never did he quote commentators. His insights were always true and firmly based, but how he interpret-ed the verses to include these con-cepts was his and his alone.

Understandably and justly, there is great focus on his great-ness in Torah and Halachah, but he was equally great in the extraor-dinary degree of his chessed. He would do anything to help a fellow Jew, whether it was a child in the yeshivah, a widow or orphan, or a once-successful businessman who had fallen on hard times. A penni-less unfortunate was as important to him as a major supporter of the Mesivtha. If the Torah does not dif-ferentiate between them, how could he?

Near the end, he said that he wanted a small levayah. Just as he fled from honors in life, so he resisted it when he was leaving this world. Thanks to COVID and the availability of video hookups, his request was substantially granted. In normal times, there would been at least 100,000 people to bid fare-well to the Gadol Hador.

Our generation has suffered an incalculable loss. Klal Yisrael will survive. It always does. But it takes a long time to fill the void. Hagaon Harav Dovid ben Hagaon Harav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, has left us a huge legacy of Torah, chessed, yiras Shamayim, and the example of how a Jew should live. His life should be a road map for us all.

מו’ ע

והיל

שכ מ

כיודר

כל ד ל

דוהי

וי”ד

ק יסו

ח פ י”

רק’ פ

אאל

מוש