Rabbi Peretz Dinovitz, zt”l, master mechanech and  what I call a Rebbe’s Rebbe will be sorely missed by scores of people.  Having taught 3d grade for 30 years, and quite proud of his “job,” Rabbi Dinovitz saw the beauty in each and every talmid.  Listening at the Levaya today to all the stories  from some of those talmidim,  now adults spread  throughout the world and spanning  the Jewish spectrum, was testimony to  his love and influence and that of Mekarvan Shel Torah.  His acts of chesed were outstanding, reflecting his core belief of Nosei B’Ol im Chaveiro;  nothing was impossible in his mind and as such,  many people identified with him as their personal  Rebbe.  Yes, he will be sorely missed and we may never know the full scope of his kindness and greatness.  But in truth, that was  typical of his humble demeanor and the very person that he was.

I was zocheh to live around the corner from Rabbi Dinovitz, as well as  have my 2 sons, now ages 25 and 27, learn under his tutelage at Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim Talmudical Academy, and call him their Rebbe.

I also had the privilege of seeing him daily as I too taught in the same Yeshiva.  Many a morn’  began  with his trademark smile and wishes for a good day. (oh how he kibbutzed with Mrs. Karlip and Mrs. Brager, and of course Rabbi Brull!) My husband received those same greetings upon meeting him in shul, or just around the neighborhood. In truth, this is how he greeted anyone!  And as was said at the levaya, he didn’t see color, he saw heart.

B’Sever Panim  Yafos was his countenance and Kol Yisroel Areivin Zeh L’Zah was his modus operandi for living.  Rabbi Dinovitz bequeathed this Mesorah to his children as well, along with his Eishis Chayil, esteemed preschool Morah, Morah CV.

But my relationship with the Dinovitz’s  goes back further than my TA days.  When I first moved here, as a young preschooler, shortly after the sudden death of my father, my family moved to an apartment complex right around the block from the Dinovitz home.  Known as the  Parkington Apartments, and what was the hub for Kollel couples in the 1970s, many choshuve people in our community started their lives in this simple  neighborhood and davened at Ohel Yaakov, just up the block. 

Ohel Yaakov was started by Rabbi Dinovitz's father, Reb Binyomin, zt”L.  Reb Binyomin was a pioneer in bringing  Yiddishkeit to the neighborhood and was an adamant protector of Judaism and her Torah in an era when many were not.

Rebbetzin Gittel Dinovitz, tichyeh, a warm and ebullient person, supported her husband and was the consummate Rebbetzin in welcoming people and caring for them.  It was in this home that Reb Peretz was raised and it was with these values that he perpetuated in his own home and anyone who he came into contact with.  The Senior Dinovitzes sincerely welcomed my widowed mother, and me and my brother, as naturally as they would with their own children.  The Rebbetzin always called me mamaleh, urging me to sit next to her in shul, and just laughed when she saw my very active  younger brother climb and jump all around, never chastising his energy.

Sitting in the shul yet once again, I couldn’t help but recall those early painful days of my move to Baltimore, that was buffered by the kindness of the Dinovitz family.  And then to experience that  Torah yet once again, as  a parent myself,  with Morah CV as our childrens Morah, and Rabbi Dinovitz as our sons Rebbe, continuing in the circle of life and giving as I was able to teach one of their grandchildren, who was indeed named after Reb Binyomin, closing that circle in a most poetic and noble way.

May Rabbi Peretz Avrohom Dinovitz, ZT”L's, memory and legacy be a blessing and lesson for  all of us as he continues his holy work on different plane, as a meilitz yosher for his family and klall Yisroel.

Yhi Zichro Baruch