The Incalculable Loss of Reb Dov Wolowitz a”h

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

The Levaya will be held at noon today, at Sh’or Yoshiv – a Yeshiva that he helped build. 

We have lost the voice that drove us to do very important things.  Example:  It was his voice that caused a number of gvirim in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway to step up to the plate and support the single mothers of Klal Yisroel in the Five Towns.  There are some 300 in this community that would receive that extra $200 or $250 per month – that would allow them to just barely make it. 

He had a number of pet projects.  The single moms was one of them, and it was close to his heart.  I last saw him at a parlor meeting for the Slabodka Yeshiva in Bnei Brak.  He was weak from his illness.  Very weak.  And yet, he was still fire. 

He asked a wealthy individual if he would give substantially to the single mothers of the community.  The wealthy man said that he does give and is one of his supporters in this matter.  Reb Dov said, “I’m going to check up on you.”  And he did.  Tired, sick and older now than he was in his prime, he managed to do so.  The Gvir gave him a nice check again, however. 

We don’t say Hespedim during the month of Nissan.  But we can say words of inspiration – when it is not before the Mais. 

This article will not even begin to address how this Talmid of Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l helped put Lakewood’s BMG on its financial feet.  That so much of the Torah which has emerged from that citadel of Torah is because of him – or rather his cajoling, his pushing.   No, for now we will deal with two other things:  Kiruv and supporting the downtrodden – the reason that we emerged from Mitzrayim – bizchus nashim tzidkanios. 

And what better way to inspire than to hear Reb Dov’s own words cajoling, pushing us further and further to stand up to our responsibilities?  He did so to prod us all into supporting the Kiruv movements and the divorced mothers in our midst.  The organization that he had founded in Kiruv has in its 35 years of existence has already created 2300 facts on the ground.  Frum families that would not have been there.  He has single-handedly raised millions of dollars to help the single-moms in the Five Towns/Far Rockaway area.

The world is now a very different place without Reb Dov Wolowitz a”h.  AT a dinner a few months ago he spoke about Paroh and Pesach.  These were his words:

“There’s a midrash I’d like to tell you about. The midrash says that when Paroh was determined to destroy the Jewish nation, and he called one of his chief advisors, Iyov.  And he asked Iyov, “What do I do? Do I wipe out the Jewish people?”

And the Midrash says, “Iyov was quiet. Iyov didn’t answer, and Hashem punished Iyov with great yissurim.  He inflicted him with great pain. And Iyov, in his pain, got up and yelled and screamed and hollered and cursed the Rebono shel Olam!

The Brisker Rav asked a couple of questions on this midrash:

• Number one, what did he do that was so terrible? He knew that Paroh was determined to destroy the Jewish people. For him to tell Paroh and go along with it and say, destroy them, that he couldn’t do. After all, it’s Hashem’s chosen people to tell them not to destroy the Jewish people. Paroh wouldn’t have listened anyway. So the most intelligent and logical thing that he can do –  is not answer. So what then did he do wrong? Why was he punished? Question number one.
• Question number two. When Iyov was cursing Hashem and yelling and screaming and hollering, the Midrash ends. The Midrash should have continued and said, “Hashem punished him for cursing.” He cursed Him. But the Midrash seems to say, “End there. And Hashem did not punish him. Why didn’t Him punish him for cursing Him?

The Brisker Rav says like this:  “You, Iyov, you used your logic. Where was your logic when Hashem was punishing you? Where was your logic to scream and holler and curse Hashem? Why didn’t you fight your lips? Keep your mouth closed?

Take your punishment. There was no logic in you cursing Hashem!

Elah Mai?  When a person is in pain, it is natural for a person to get up and to scream and to holler. That’s a normal reaction. And that’s what he did.

But you, Iyov, when Paroh wanted to destroy the Jewish nation, then you used logic? Where was your feeling? Where was your pain?

Why didn’t you feel? And get up and scream and holler?? For that, you get punished.

There are kiruv organizations who have devoted their lives to Klal Yisroel.  Reb Dov’s efforts have also helped bring children of Chassidisha families back from the abyss.  Let’s hear his voice again:

“Today we hear how orthodoxy is thriving. We hear people saying, we’re winning the war. Torah has never been learned as much as it is now. Daf Yomis are going all over, we see Yeshivas are packed, they’re full.

And so people are talking and saying how wonderful things are. And I would like to present the other side of the coin.

I remember when I was growing up and I was in high school, there was a statistic. There were 150 million people in the United States of America and there were 6 million Jews.

Today, I’m told you have some 330 million people in the United States of America, and you have less than 6 million Jews.

According to that cheshbon, we should have way over 12 million Jews, million Jews. What happened to over 6 million of our brothers and sisters, they’re lost.

Intermarriage, we know is over 60%. Has anybody shed a tear? Does anybody cry over it?

Does anybody really think about it? There are some people who do..There are people who worry constantly and are trying to stop the tide of assimilation.

They have devoted their lives to feel the pain of Klal Yisroel.”

And Reb Dov would say the same thing about feeling the pain of the mothers of Klal Yisroel.

Sadly, his voice is no longer heard.  But now that we have read this article, you can no longer say that you did not know that these problems existed.  The intermarriage problem – the single mom’s who do not make ends meet.

Why will you not be able to say that you didn’t know? 

Because there was a Jew named Dov Wolowitz who told you about it and told you how you could do something – How you too can continue to work and toil –  and do things for Klal Yisroel!

The author can be reached at [email protected]