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NOVEMBER 12, 2020 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
proached the Rosh HaYeshiva in the Bais Medrash and asked for a bracha. “Rebbe, I want to win the jackpot at my weekly Bingo game. It’s forty dollars. Can you give me a bracha?” At the same time, Rav David’s son, Rav Berel, approached holding a phone. Someone was calling from a Los Angeles hospital with a halachic health issue. Rav David signaled to his son to wait a moment and briefly continued his conversation. He wished the man not only a jackpot win, but a double jackpot! The man thanked the Rosh HaYeshiva and left happily. Without missing a beat, the Rosh HaYeshiva pivoted, picked up the phone, and addressed a complicated medical issue. To those learning in the Yeshiva who had witnessed similar scenarios, it was no surprise. Rav David could be all things to all people. His heart was big enough to carry any Jew, and his scholarship never flagged. The love his family, students, neighbors, and community felt for him was reciprocated in full, and it in no way impinged on the time he needed for learning Torah. Rav David’s ability to hone in on a person’s needs and supply the audience for any hurt he may have caused them, and he did so on appropriate encouragement surpassed that of any mental health prohis father’s behalf. fessional. A teenage boy was once brought to Rav David for chizuk. He had experienced many serious challenges in his young life and a person who had so many demands on his time, and was drifting from the religious path upon which he had been brought who valued his time so preciously, Rav David constantly up. He told the Rosh HaYeshiva that his life was horrible. He was indulged in the ultimate chessed of lending a listening ear. In earconstantly gaining and losing ground, always ending up at square one lier days, before the problems of Klal Yisrael became weightier and – a dangerous and unhappy place where he didn’t want to be. Now his burden greater, it was well-known that anyone could walk into this teenager is a successful adult and recalls the Rosh HaYeshiva’s Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem and speak with the Rosh HaYeshiva. He succinct advice. “He said that this was all a part of didn’t slot appointments or have any handlers superwhere I had to go. And that Hakadosh Baruch Hu vising his schedule. Rav David admired his father Rav David doesn’t play ball with people. Hashem doesn’t just Rav Moshe’s ability never to waste a moment and randomly throw people up and then throw them yet to have all the time in the world for anyone who admired his father down. It’s all part of a process and it would all be needed him, and he exemplified this attribute as well. good – and it was.” Rav David Feinstein had an uncanny talent for Rav Moshe’s In a similar scenario, a young teenager was introunderstanding a person and recognizing what he ability never to duced to Rav David and told him that he felt like he needed, no matter what kind of person he was. His had reached the lowest point a human being could son-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel Fishelis, eulogized Rav waste a moment reach. Rav David sprang up from his chair and told David and described him as an “Ish asher ruach bo” (Bamidbar, 27:18), which Rashi explains to mean a and yet to have him, “I’m mekaneh (jealous of) you! You are at the lowest point? That means the only place for you to person who could deal with the spirit of each indiall the time in the go is upwards.” vidual. Rav David knew how to give encouragement, The Rosh HaYeshiva’s thinking was so clear and advice, and empathy to all types of people. And Rav world for anyone forthright that, when he issued a psak, it almost David was always on the mark. Somehow, no matter how faulty your delivery of how unlikely the situation who needed him. looked easy. Rav David would break down a problem into parts and could make complicated issues clear seemed, Rav David always “got it.” and concise. It was all about adherence to halacha A very shy young man was beginning to blossom and serving Hashem. by developing a hobby in photography. He would During his most recent illness, Rav David was come to the Yeshiva on Chol Hamoed when he was unable to daven in a minyan or to fast on Yom Kippur. Unlike many off and take pictures of the Rosh HaYeshiva. There were a few regwho might have been disturbed at these limitations, Rav David was ular mispallelim that didn’t take kindly to the young man’s hobby content. If it was not the will of Hashem for him to pray communally and gave him somewhat of a hard time, though the Rosh HaYeshior halachically permitted for him to fast on Yom Kippur, it presented va consistently welcomed him and was not offended by his camera no problem for him. He was in full acceptance that this was the way work. One Chol Hamoed, the boy came into Yeshiva and presented he was obligated to serve, and his focus was always on doing the Rav David with a laminated poster featuring a collage of the many ratzon Hashem. On the first night of Sukkos, late in the evening, photographs he had taken of him. The Rosh HaYeshiva responded Rav David felt well enough to go downstairs to the sukkah and did with genuine pleasure, that, in turn, gave pleasure to the new phoso with great pleasure and joy. tographer. He especially enjoyed one picture of himself learning and A rabbi tells a story of how he approached Rav David with a shaila enthused, “This is my favorite! I have to show it to the Rebbetzin!” he did not feel qualified to answer on his own. A woman was diagOnce, after the regular Mishnayos shiur, a sincere person ap-
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