Rabbi Chaim Isaac Flink, 76, the very humble tzadik who lived much of his life in Queens, died last Friday. On Motza’ei Shabbos, a crowd of mourners bid their farewells to the niftar in the borough where he learned, married, and built his Jewish home that hosted countless individuals from all walks of life.
“He only saw good. That was it,” said Rabbi Aryeh Sokoloff, the rav emeritus of Kew Gardens Synagogue. “He believed in every single person, no matter what they looked like, no matter what they did. He’s good. When you speak about ahavas Yisrael, that’s Rabbi Flink.”
He spoke in front of the aron ahead of its flight to Israel, where he was buried. Cries were heard as those words were uttered because anyone who encountered Rabbi Flink and his family received unforgettable experiences in kindness from a giver who sought nothing in return.
“He shared his knowledge, food, and enthusiasm for Torah,” said Rabbi David Algaze, the rav of Havurat Israel in Forest Hills, where Rabbi Flink taught at the shul’s kollel. “He was an unbelievably strong person. There were miracles happening in his life, things that were almost inconceivable, that nobody could have ever expected.”
Born in Cleveland and a graduate of the University of Chicago, he became a yeshivah bachur at 23, fully committed to a lifetime of learning. Rabbi Dovid Harris, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Kew Gardens Hills, spoke of his interest in musar and decades of work at the Yeshiva as it grew from its former home in Forest Hills to its sizable present campus, along with a global network of affiliated yeshivos, camps, and alumni.
“I met him 53 years ago when I was a little kid. He was an administrator at a camp rented out by the Yeshiva,” said Rabbi Avrohom Hecht. “He did everything that had to be done. He wrote grants, letters to donors, and the newsletter.” When the Yeshiva had a branch in New Haven, he taught there, helping talmidim in a variety of academic subjects.
“He taught whatever they needed him to teach. He was well-versed in everything,” said Rabbi Hayim Schwartz, executive vice president of the Yeshiva. Along with his Jewish knowledge, Rabbi Flink had an excellent grasp of numbers, having worked as an actuary prior to becoming a bachur. He also loved music, writing overtures for Abie Rotenberg, a fellow talmid of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim. “He did not want the credit for it. He was selfless.”
Looking back at his childhood in East Cleveland, his years in high school were outlined with extracurricular accomplishments: Spanish Honor Society, Future Teachers, the school orchestra where he played the bass, and his photo quote, “All things are won by diligence.”
“At the University of Chicago, he was the president of the campus Yavneh chapter, which represented Orthodox students,” his wife Dr. Elisheva Hettinger Flink said. “He authored its booklet of songs and was close to the Novominsker Rebbe, who spoke on campus.”
Rabbi Hecht’s home is within a few blocks from where the Flinks lived, and he remembered how he davened with all of his concentration. During N’ilah, his pleas to Hashem for marriage and children were expressed with tears over many years. Rabbi Yosef Singer of Mesivta Chofetz Chaim spoke of those years as comparable to Yitzchak Avinu, who spent decades working with trust in Hashem before becoming married and building his family.
Rabbi Flink married Elisheva at age 49, with all of the rebbeim at Chofetz Chaim dancing at the long-awaited simchah. “It was a long-distance relationship, she was in California,” one neighbor said. “When she landed and saw his big smile, she knew that he was the one.”
He doubted that they would have natural children of their own, and through the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisrael, they adopted Moishy Rothman and Yisroel Meir “Issy” Flink.
“I was seven years old at a yeshivah in Kishinev. They called the Flinks on the night before I came to America,” Issy Flink said of the sponsoring organization. “It was kind of crazy, I only spoke Russian.” Upon landing in Queens, he was given a warm home and chinuch at Beer Hagolah, a kiruv yeshivah that specialized in educating children from the former Soviet Union. “It was kindergarten at age seven, learning everything from the beginning. It was hard to transfer, but it was something that I truly wanted.”
The Flinks settled in a tight apartment, but the living conditions did not deter them from the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim. “They would put all their furniture in the hallway to fit the guests,” another neighbor said.
They later moved into a spacious home on Beverly Road that allowed for more guests and bookshelves to line the walls. For more than a decade, people from all walks of life shared meals hosted by the Flinks. “We cooked, cleaned, set up, and spoke,” Issy Flink said. The diversity on the menu matched their guests. There were Persian, Mexican, and Indian themes. “From Hodu to Kush,” as Dr. Flink called it, faithfully rendered from cookbooks with participation from everyone in the family.
There were breaks during the Flinks’ years in Kew Gardens, when Dr. Flink’s career as an orthopedic surgeon took the couple to a remote hospital in Gallup, New Mexico, that served Native American patients, and a hospital in Memphis. “We’ve met hidden Jews on the street and at the hospital in Gallup. A radio station operator, teachers, and an artist. We hosted them on Shabbos,” Dr. Flink said.
Wherever they lived, Rabbi Flink contributed to Jewish learning with individuals, groups, and classrooms. They returned to Kew Gardens where, at age 57, Dr. Flink was zocheh to a miracle, giving birth to their son Nachy, named after Chofetz Chaim Rosh Yeshiva Rav Chanoch Henoch Leibowitz zt”l, who had a tremendous impact on Rabbi Flink. Two years later, their son Hananiah was born and they made plans for aliyah, selling their house for an apartment in the heart of Jerusalem in 2014. In the meantime, Moishy moved to Rochester to manage real estate while Issy became an FDNY paramedic.
But Hashem had other plans. Their adjustment to life in Israel did not proceed smoothly and Rabbi Flink’s health deteriorated after a fall injured his hip. The family relocated to Rochester, where they lived with Moishy as their youngest sons enrolled in the local yeshivah affiliated with Chofetz Chaim.
“His house was a place of refuge; I’ve been there countless times,” said Irina Yadgarova, who lived nearby in Briarwood as a student. “I miss his warm smile, and there were people from all walks of life in his home. I’m very grateful that I’ve gotten to know him.”
Reporter’s Note:
Rabbi Flink’s humility was unmatched. When I was becoming observant, Yadgarova brought me to the Kew Gardens Synagogue for an event. A tall, bearded gentleman stuck out his hand and introduced himself as Eugene Robert Flink. I had no idea that behind this full English name was a talmid chacham par excellence. My first Pesach Seder was at his home, and I was proud to return to my worried parents at 2 a.m. with memories for a lifetime. Upon my engagement, I was happy to embrace him and say that, after a long search, I would be married. After becoming a parent, our second stop in Jerusalem after the Kosel was the Flink apartment, where we saw Rabbi Flink living out his dream of learning in the Holy City. This land now holds his remains until we see each other again.
By Sergey Kadinsky
