Jerusalem – Torah Chigri Sak! Hagaon Harav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, Zt”l

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    Jerusalem – The world has lost an exceptional individual – a Rosh Yeshiva who combined the rare ability to plummet the inner most depths of Talmudic reasoning with the ability to plumb the inner depths of the Jewish soul with the insights of Mussar. He combined all this with yet another quality – he possessed an unparalleled Ahavas Yisroel that was palpable to all who knew him.

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    On the Yartzeit of Rochel Imeinu, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim has passed on.

    Rav Finkel was the scion of a Rabbinic family – the great grandson of the famed Alter of Slabodka –for whom he was named. He was born in Chicago, in 1943 and was raised in a typical American Jewish manner.

    The Talmud (Yuma 35b) tells us, “Hillel – obligates the poor in Torah study, Rabbi Elazar Ben Charsum obligates the wealthy in Torah study.” One can say the same thing about Rav Finkel zt”l, but in two dimensions – both equally dramatic.

    Rav Finkel obligated those born in typical Jewish America in intense and in depth Torah study. This famed Rosh yeshiva grew up in Chicago Illinois, wearing a baseball cap and known as Natty Finkel. He grew up on baseball, American kosher hotdogs, apple pie and everything else that represents the American Jewish scene. He transcended all – in order to develop into a personality that develops other personalities.

    But more than this, Rav Finkel was able to overcome the greatest of medical obstacles too – he suffered from the debilitating illness known as “Parkinson’s Disease.” He had difficulty walking, talking and moving about. He suffered from tremors too. Yet notwithstanding all of this, he expended every effort to raise funds for his Yeshiva. He travelled to and from to America often when he should perhaps not have exerted himself so much. People would plead with him not to expend the energy, but he could not help it. To the Rosh Yeshiva, the greatest of zchusim was in providing for his beloved Talmidim and for his beloved Rabbeim. He loved them all, and all who came in contact would see that very palpable love.

    It is almost universally well known that the Rosh yeshiva did not take pain medication for his condition. Why not? He did not want the medication to affect his performance in the understanding of Torah – even one iota. His love for Torah and appreciating its insights to the maximum would not allow him to miss out on even one ounce of further insight and appreciation.

    He would spend time in Lakewood, not only because so many of his Talmidim had come back to that citadel of Torah to study, but because of the Bnei Torah that permeated the city. He would visit Far Rockaway too, and warmly welcomed alumnus and parents.

    Any visitor that went to his home in the Bais Yisroel section of Yerushalayim was struck by the name of the street – “Amailim.” Yes, of course. Perseverence – Amailim – those who persevere. What name of a street could better describe the person? He worked hard at everything he did, whether it was in learning, whether it was in the maintaining and forming of special bonds of love with all those who he came in touch with, or whether it was in dealing with debilitating illness.

    In his tenure as the Rosh Yeshiva of the largest yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel, the Mirrer yeshiva grew to be able to educate some six thousand current students. It grew under his direction, both in numbers as well as in quality. One shiur, in the Yeshiva, that of Rav Asher Arielli has over six hundred students in attendance. The shiur is such that one of Rav Arielli’s shiurim could be broken up into six different shiurim of major substance.

    After the devastation of Europe that was the Nazi holocaust, the Mirrer Yeshiva relocated temporarily to Shanghai China. In 1947 Reb Leizer Yudel Finkel launched the Yerushalayim branch of the Yeshiva and eventually it grew exponentially. Rav Leizer Yudel passed away during Bein HaZmanim in 1965, when his son Reb Beinish Finkel and Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz took over the Yeshiva. When Rav Chaim passed away in 1978, his son in law Rav Nachum Partzovitz took over until 1986. Rav Beinish Finkel took over until his passing in 1990. After that Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel became Rosh Yeshiva and he led the Yeshiva into a remarkable period of growth.

    Rav Finkel’s dedication to not just his talmidim, but all Talmidim studying Torah was legendary.

    In the summer months, many Yeshiva students would study in the Beis Midrash of the Mirrer Yeshiva because it both offered a Kol Torah as well as a comfortable air-conditioned Bais Midrash, a reprieve from the debilitating heat of Yerushalayim in the summer months. Rav Finkel welcomed this and expressed, in his characteristic humility, his sense of appreciation that the Yeshiva could merit such a zchus. Beyond this, the Rosh HaYeshiva took it upon himself to serve the other Ueshiva bochurim lunch meals. That’s right – unheard of tzidkus. A yeshiva giving lunch meals to talmidim not from its own Yeshiva? Such was the love that the Rosh haYeshiva had for Bnei Torah – all Bnei Torah. He continued this practice until this past summer when the yeshiva, facing an unprecedented debt load, finally had to discontinue it.

    The Rosh Yeshiva passed away of a heart attack in his home at approximately 6:00 AM. Hatzolah volunteers arrived at his home but were unable to save him. Nafla Ateres Rosheinu.

    The author can be reached at [email protected]


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    48 Comments
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    Rabbi Yair Hoffman
    Admin
    12 years ago

    One of the last great Roshei Yeshiva.. He loved everyone

    Rabbi Yair Hoffman
    Admin
    12 years ago

    Thank you VIN – you are always there for us.

    pikech
    pikech
    12 years ago

    What happened so suddenly? Was it a massive heart attack?

    HappyOlah
    HappyOlah
    12 years ago

    Thank you, Rabbi Hoffman, for sharing the life of this great tzaddik. I was zocheh to see him just last week at a chasuna where he was m’sadeh kedushim. He took the time, away from the microphones, to speak personally to the chosson and kallah.

    Mikerose
    Mikerose
    12 years ago

    He had a very cute story which I personally heard from his “Peh tohoir v’ekodosh ” about walking passed a childrens shoe store ,mothers were shopping shoes for their little ones -stopped and cried … Can anyone write us the detail ?? Pls

    alwaysonscene
    alwaysonscene
    12 years ago

    Burch dyen hemes we all need to take apon ower seolvs to do tshuvah this day was a black day by klal yisriel we haerd to meny tragdys let’s all make sholom with our animys. And mishiach should come how faster

    genmill
    genmill
    12 years ago

    Oi. So sad. So scary how many great people we are losing. This is devestating.

    12 years ago

    This year can probably set a record with the large numbers of Roshei Yeshiva passing away. Something is up and it’s not good!

    SherryTheNoahide
    SherryTheNoahide
    12 years ago

    Wow- I sat & read the article & cried my eyes out! What a special soul! It is so sad that he has departed from this world! G-d knows we NEED decent, righteous individuals amongst us to help us to grow & to learn! So when one departs….it leaves a vacuum that is hard to refill or replace!

    My heartfelt condolences to his family, to his community… and to the whole Jewish world, at the loss of such a Tzedik! May HaShem bless you all & help to comfort you during this time of tragedy & loss.

    Sincerely,
    SherryTheNoahide & Family

    5towns
    5towns
    12 years ago

    I wish all of us would take on a little ahavat chinum in response to all the tragic and natural losses we have had in the last few days and weeks. Remember that Jews are your brothers and sisters. Yes there are squabbles among siblings, but always underneath there is love. Please love all Jews even if they don’t look or act like you. There is an opinion that each of the 12 shevatim had their own derech in avodat Hashem. We do not believe in “my way or the highway”. 70 panim laTorah. Even our secular brethren are our brothers and sisters. Do not push them away. Make a kiddush Hashem in everything you do.

    Joe-Shmoe
    Joe-Shmoe
    12 years ago

    I learned there when the israeli govt cut funds to the yeshiva. The R”Y ZT”L decided that badatz is too expensive and that he can get the same level of kashrut by going with shearit, Plus his own mashgichim (purchasing soo much, made sense to have own mashgichim). Now everybody knows there are chasidim who only eat badatz. When the r”y zy”a, heard that some bochrum were having this issue, he told them. 1) you can eat that hechsher on my achrayus. 2) We have our own mashgichim which you can trust. Then our tayere rosh yeshiva called in some chasidim bochrum, and told them that he secured funds (worked on it!) and everybody with this issue could eat in a place called “heimishe essen” for free.

    What a tzaddik! He never pushed anybody out of yeshiva, anybody interested in learning, even if he didn’t look like a typical yeshiva guy, was accepted. This r”y had a heart which had room for each and every yid. This was one of the differences bet him and every other rosh yeshiva!

    returnies to U.S. didn’t have a yeshiva, he found funds to build a complex. Only to be undermined by other yeshiva.

    A broken heart.
    Hamakom yenachem OSANU, for we are all in mourning.

    sane
    sane
    12 years ago

    Can someone give more background. where did he learn in America, who were his parents, etc.?

    Thoughtful
    Thoughtful
    12 years ago

    Where to start????

    A genuine and absolute “moser nefesh” for torah avodah and every detail of yiddiskeit in every sense of the term… he was in physical pain – extreme pain at times – never able to sit or stand straight for even a moment. And all the while he ran the yeshiva from A-Z. He gave shiurim in yeshiva and in his house, all the while his body threw itself – violently at times. He greeted and farherred the boys at the beginning of the zman.

    And of course he took the financial burden upon himself with all its extreme hardships. Hardships, which puts a tremendous strain – pysically and emotionally – on any healthy person let alone a person suffering round the clock like he did. Any one who saw him at any of his overseas fundraisers or dinners saw what it meant for a person to literaly torture himself for the yeshiva. But he of course didn’t look at it that way. He always tried to put a smile on his face as hard as it was for him physically.

    Of course his ahavas yisroel was exemplary. His love for each and every yid – no matter of type -radiated thru his pure eyes and neshama.

    May he be a meilitz yosher for all his heartbroken talmidim and the rest of klal yisroel.

    Shaul in Monsey
    Shaul in Monsey
    12 years ago

    Yesterday we were all talmidim of Waterbury, today the Mir.

    MazelKGH
    MazelKGH
    12 years ago

    You must have used a wrong picture. There is no way that the man in the picture was only 68 years old. Did he lead a very difficult life? Was he ill?

    enlightened-yid
    enlightened-yid
    12 years ago

    I’m curious if national, non charedi Israeli media cover stories about rosh yeshivas when they pass?