By Rabbi Meir Goldberg. After the holocaust, the broken survivors of the Nazi concentration camps were gathered and provided for in DP (Displaced Persons) camps. The Klausenberger Rebbe Zt’l acted as both a father and a Rebbe to many of the Jews there, constantly providing them with material and spiritual chizuk.
There was a young man in the DP Camps, who grew up in a religious home who now refused to have anything to do with the Yeshiva that was set up or anyone in the frum community. In spite of all of the pleading and cajoling of his friends, the young man would not respond to them at all. The exasperated bochurim decided to speak to the Rebbe to see if he could impact this fellow.
The Rebbe summoned the young man to his temporary residence. The Rebbe said to the man, “I know why your upset. It’s because they took the best ones and they just left us.” The Rebbe again said, “They took the best ones and they just left us.” The Rebbe held the young man in a tight embrace and together they sobbed and cried and repeated over and over, “They took the best ones and they just left us.” The fellow left a changed man. His friends had spoken to his head but the Rebbe spoke to his heart.
Yesterday, Klal Yisroel, the Staten Island community and the Kiruv world lost one of it’s best, R’ Dovid Winiarz. R’ Dovid was a giant in Ahavas Hashem and Ahavas Yisroel. He had a perpetual smile and always a word of encouragement and chizuk for everyone. While he ran a business, the hours and sheer devotion that he had for Kiruv Rechokim was astounding. His entire essence was one of kiddush Hashem.
Yesterday, Hashem took the best one and He just left us….
Rabbi Meir Goldberg is the director of the Meor Rutgers Jewish Xperience.
Yaasher koach Meir. The shame is how we only appreciate how special he was and how much we loved having him after Hashem decided that we won’t have the zchus to have him in our midst anymore. Klal Yisrael has a great shortage and void in ahavas Yisrael and simcha without his contribution let alone the great tzar of losing such an unassumingly great oved Hashem. We must all actively look for ways to emulate him and fill that critical deficit.
Well Said commentator #1 – why indeed is it that we are full of praise and appreciation AFTER a person is tragically taken from us, yet we too often never show them/tell them our appreciation and love for them face to face when they’re alive!
We are too good at being excellent obituary writers – why are we waiting till after a persons’ (tragic) death to express our appreciation for a person – right now today, go up to a person you admire and tell them that to their face and brighten their lives (and not their deaths).