We all know that Queens is a special community filled with achdus and wonderful yeshivos and chesed. There is something else unique and special about Queens. Did you also know that we are graced with k’varim of tzadikim in Mount Judah Cemetery and the adjoining Union Field Cemetery, which are just off the Jackie Robinson Parkway?
On Sunday morning, September 10, Rabbi Paysach Krohn, well-known mohel, speaker, and author, led a tour of the k’varim of tzadikim who are buried in Mount Judah and Union Field Cemeteries. This tour was organized by Mordy Mehlman and Dovi Mehlman of Citicom, and it was the 17th year of this annual tour. Rabbi Krohn has been leading the tour for over a decade.
Sunday morning started out overcast, but humid and warm. Two large busloads of people from Brooklyn arrived, and the group of over 100 people proceeded towards the kever of Rav Avraham Pam zt”l.
It was just as we headed towards the kever that rain began falling. It was a light drizzle at first, but it soon gained velocity and the drops fell fast and furious. This writer brought an umbrella for the hot sun and even sunscreen and sunglasses in anticipation of extreme heat. Alas, the sunglasses and sunscreen were totally not needed. Of course, the umbrella came in handy for the pounding rain. Some participants put up umbrellas and others pulled up hoods or stuck bags on their heads. No one complained about the inclement weather.
The group stood and listened as Rabbi Krohn shared that it was the 90th yahrzeit of the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Yisrael Meir HaKohen Kagan, which made it an especially auspicious time to be visiting the k’varim. He shared two poignant stories about the Chofetz Chaim that teach us musar for our lives. First, the Chofetz Chaim lived in a small town, and there was a tremendous machlokes in the shul of the town; somehow, the rav of the shul, without wanting to, became enmeshed in the machlokes. The community took sides, and eventually the rav was forced to leave the community. He was very downhearted after this and eventually passed away.
The Chofetz Chaim witnessed how machlokes and lashon ha’ra are lethal, and he wanted to do something for klal Yisrael. He was only 34 years old when he wrote his first sefer, sefer Chofetz Chaim, which is a sefer we are still learning today. He went on to write sefer Sh’miras HaLashon and then the Mishnah B’rurah, which took him over 30 years to complete. We learn from the Chofetz Chaim that you have to do a favor for someone every day and to be careful in sh’miras ha’lashon, and if you see a need in klal Yisrael, go ahead and do something about it. He also married a simple woman who was older than him, and he did so even though he could have had a shidduch with someone wealthy or more learned. He married the daughter of his mother’s second husband, in order to be sensitive to his mother’s shalom bayis. He later said that this was the best thing he could have done, as she was a good wife to him and she allowed him to learn and write his s’farim.
Rabbi Krohn led everyone in reciting T’hilim 23 and then we proceeded – I should say sloshed – towards the kever of Rav Avraham Pam zt”l as the downpour increased to a more torrential type, pounding and drenching everyone even if they held an umbrella. Underfoot, the puddles increased into mini-streams of water as we carefully picked our way toward the kever.
Rabbi Krohn used a microphone, which amazingly worked in the downpour. Without missing a beat, he shared information about Rav Pam, and then everyone had a chance to daven by his kever and recite T’hilim. He shared how Rav Pam once walked through a heavy snowstorm to go give a shiur, even though it was unlikely that anyone would attend. One person was there. When that person was asked why he had come to the shiur, he responded that he knew Rav Pam would come.
Rav Avraham Pam lived from 1913 to 2001. He was the Rosh HaYeshivah of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn, and he taught Gemara and Halachah for 63 years. ArtScroll wrote about him that he taught his students integrity and to be caring and thoughtful, to use words that heal and never to hurt. He stayed out of the limelight.
Rabbi Krohn shared that we learn the midah of eidelkeit from Rav Pam. He also shared a story about Rav Pam that showed that Hashem remembers the mitzvos and good that you do, and He pays you back for them, measure for measure.
In addition, he shared a story about Rav Pam’s rebbetzin, Rebbetzin Sarah Pam, a”h. When Suri Feldman, a Bais Yaakov student who got lost during a class trip in a forest in New England, was finally found, someone screamed when she heard she was found. That person was Rebbetzin Pam, who was so caring about fellow Jews.
As the rain continued unabetted, the uncomplaining group marched on to the next kever.
We stopped at the kever of Rav Shlomo Heiman zt”l (1892-1945), who was an earlier Rosh HaYeshivah of Torah Vodaath. One wintery morning, after a heavy snowstorm that made the streets impassable, Rav Shlomo gave his shiur with the same fire and enthusiasm as if all his talmidim were there, when in fact only four were in attendance. When his talmid, Rav Moshe Samuels, asked him why he was teaching with so much energy to such a small class, Rav Shlomo responded, “Do you think I am teaching just you? I am teaching your talmidim, and their talmidim, too!” [Rav Samuels later taught in the Mesivta for many decades.] “Rav Reuvain Grozovsky, in his eulogy for Rav Shlomo, said that Rav Shlomo had a ‘vagshal’ (hanging scale) in his mind, where he was able to weigh each and every Torah thought and judge its accuracy. This thought process, along with his dedication to his talmidim, helped him develop, during the decade that he was in Torah Vodaath, many of the future roshei yeshivah who would eventually lead the post-World War II Torah world. Some of these include Rav Elya Svei, Rav Yaakov Moshe Kulefsky, Rav Eliyahu Moshe Shisgal, Rav Yosef Levitan, Rav Elazar Kahane, Rav Don Ungarisher, Rav Simcha Shustel, and others. Rav Michel Yehudah Lefkowitz of Ponevezh was a talmid from Rameilis. Rav Shlomo taught his talmidim to weigh each piece of information for its logic and truth. He would delve into the words of the Rashba, expressing what can be learned from each word. He spent a great deal of time probing the words of Rabbi Akiva Eiger, saying that understanding his words is the proper path to understanding Torah.”
On his deathbed, Rav Heiman suddenly sat up and told his students to bring a chair for Rabbi Akiva Eiger. Rabbi Eiger must have come to escort him to Shamayim.
Rabbi Krohn shared that Rav Heiman said to never discard a child. Every child has a future. Thousands of talmidim were the “children” of Rav Heiman and his rebbetzin.
Rabbi Krohn taught that the midah we learn from Rav Heiman is perpetuating future talmidim.
We then plodded on through the incessant rain towards the kever of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l. Rav Yaakov (1891-1986) was close to the Alter of Slabodka, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel. He met Rav Chaim Soloveitchik in Minsk during World War I, and Rav Soloveitchik had an influence on him with his teachings on chinuch. Rav Yaakov was close to Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l. Rav Yaakov’s sefer Emes L’Yaakov, thoughts on Chumash, is a famous sefer.
Rabbi Krohn shared a story that happened when Rav Yaakov’s son wanted to place mezuzos lower down in the pre-school, so the children could reach and kiss them. Rabbi Kamenetsky said that this was wrong because you are teaching them sheker. His midah was emes.
Following this, the group headed to the kever of Rav Henoch Leibowitz zt”l (1916-2008). Rabbi Krohn shared that, though the Rav and Rebbetzin didn’t have biological children, they had thousands of children. Rav Henoch lived an extraordinary life. Rabbi Krohn shared that his own father, Avrohom Zelig Krohn, zt”l, learned under Rav Henoch Leibowitz’s father, Rav Dovid Leibowitz zt”l.
Rav Henoch was only 23 when he took over the Rabbinical Seminary of America – Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim – after his father’s death. Rabbi Krohn’s father was then the Executive Director of the Yeshiva, and he advised Rav Henoch to move the Yeshiva to Queens. Rav Henoch was soft-spoken. Rabbi Krohn then shared a favorite shmuz of Rav Henoch. Hashem said, “Please listen to my words.” Why does Hashem have to say “Please”? The Baal HaTurim teaches that this shows us that to inspire someone you have to speak softly. Rav Henoch’s midah was to be marbitz Torah. Today, Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim has started Jewish communities across America, and the Yeshiva is known for teaching beautiful midos. The Yeshiva was molded after the image of Rav Dovid’s rebbi, the Alter of Slabodka. The goal was to raise talmidei chachamim and mentchen with a mission to work for klal Yisrael. The greatest merit of his talmidim was to be marbitz Torah.
Near the k’varim of Rav Henoch and his rebbetzin, Rebbetzin Pesha a”h, is the kever of the Chofetz Chaim’s second wife, Miriam Fraida Kagan. His first wife was Frieda; she was 17 when he married her; when she died, he was 63. He remarried at age 65.
The midah we learn from the Chofetz Chaim’s second wife is to prepare early for Shabbos. She had her table set for Shabbos by noon on Friday. Rabbi Krohn suggested doing this Thursday night, so children wake up knowing its Erev Shabbos.
The then-completely drenched group trudged onward to the final kever. They boarded the buses and cars and headed to the nearby cemetery to the grave of Rav Yaakov Yosef (Rabbi Jacob Joseph). Rabbi Krohn shared that this is the saddest story. Rav Yaakov Yosef lived to be only 62 (1888-1902). He didn’t want to come to America, as he worried about the frum standards, but g’dolim in Europe knew that he had debts, and they advised him to come and to become Rav of the eight shuls in New York at that time.
The standards of kashrus at that time were inferior, and he fought to bring up those standards, though it meant firing people and getting people angry at him. The butcher’s union at that time criticized him and slandered him. He saw the standards for the flour in matzah were not high enough. He fought to change this, and this raised the price of matzah a quarter of a penny. This also angered people. He started the Etz Chaim Yeshiva, which later became the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, and then it expanded to became Yeshiva University.
He had a stroke in 1897 and suffered for five years. He lost his position as Chief Rabbi and Rav HaKollel. He lived on the Lower East Side and, after his death, people realized his greatness and they wanted him buried there. His work raised the level of kashrus in America. Thousands come on his yahrzeit. We learn from him the midah of standing up for what Hashem wants, no matter what.
Everyone davened and said T’hilim at the k’varim in the incessant pouring rain. As Rabbi Krohn noted, it was amazing how no one complained about the weather. We see the midah of m’siras nefesh on behalf of klal Yisrael and love for klal Yisrael modeled by Rabbi Krohn, who continued the entire tour with so much enthusiasm and kavod for the tzadikim and the participants, despite the monsoon around him.
Water purifies; it should have that effect, and Hashem should see the m’siras nefesh of all of us and answer klal Yisrael’s t’filos for a sweet, healthy new year of personal and communal y’shuos.
By Susie Garber
