An Adom Gadol Among Us: A Talmid ’s Tribute to Rav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l

Growing up on the Lower East side in the 1960s through the 80s, the impact of the many great people present - including the entire illustrious Feinstein family - was powerful. I lived amongst greatness and because I knew nothing else, I often took that greatness for granted. The children of these great Torah leaders were not only our neighbors, but our friends as well. Playing with Rav Moshe’s grandchildren on Shabbos morning at the yeshiva’s playground meant that when he greeted them we also got in line to receive a warm Good Shabbos smile and beracha.

I recall holding a Chumash for Rav Moshe once during laining (I trembled the entire time) as he raced back to his seat bein gavra l’gavra. One Shabbos morning, I arrived at the front door of MTJ at the same time Rav Moshe was leaving. I quickly held open the door for him but he motioned for me to come in, showing the kind of respect to me, a mere six and a half years old, that few others might have for an adult. I knew he was a great man and I made it clear that he had to come out first. He smiled and walked by wishing me a good Shabbos with a nod.

My mother’s friend lived in the same building as Rav Moshe on the FDR Drive. She would tell my mother a”h how much she looked forward to Chanukah when Rav Moshe would see her in the window arranging her licht when he came to light his own and he would be sure to share a friendly smile and wave. 

In 3rd grade, Rav Dovid’s wife yblc”t was my teacher in MTJ. She was a wonderful and caring teacher and, like Rav Dovid, loved her students as well. After High School, I had the tremendous privilege of attending Rav Dovid’s Chumash shiur and benefited greatly from my rebbe’s insights and clear hashkafah. 

The “East Siders” walked the same streets as so many unassuming Gadolim and shopped in the same stores: Moishe’s Bakery, Gus’s Pickles, Friedman’s Dairy Restaurant, Sam’s Delicatessen, Steinberg’s Restaurant, the Frum Hardware store, Gertel’s Bakery and G&M Caterers (to name just a few). Rebbe frequented Otzer Hasaforim, the local seforim store, which was the place to find any sefer one desired. He would talk in learning with the owner and showed us by example how to treat everyone with respect and dignity and true appreciation. 

The Feinstein family was simple, down-to-earth, extremely humble and very unassuming. That is the way I will always remember Rav Moshe, his wife, all of his children and their families.

Caring Heart

Rav Dovid’s brilliance was bested only by his loving heart. He truly cared about each student and the Yeshiva was the center of the community. The Yeshiva was set up in a way that it literally provided for our every single need, spiritual and physical. It is no exaggeration to say that no one was ever turned away because of financial reasons. The Yeshiva staff worked tirelessly to provide room, board (excellent meals too), clothing before the yomim tovim and many other items. 

Once, my mother happily brought $100 to the Yeshiva office to pay our outstanding tuition bill. The administrator, a great man who was deeply connected to Rav Moshe’s and Rav Dovid’s goals for the Yeshiva, thanked her. During a brief conversation he asked what her summer plans were for her children since the summer months were coming. My mother told him that there were no plans since we could not afford to go anywhere. The administrator sent her home with the $100 and with clear instructions that it should be used to do something during the summer for her children.  

True Gratitude

The atmosphere of the Yeshiva was one of respect, love and helping all those who needed anything. This lesson was instilled and could be seen even without having to go looking for it. So much so, that it became a quality ingrained in us even decades after leaving the Yeshiva’s hallowed halls. 

One summer, as a teen, my chavrusah and I were learning in the Beis Midrash when a well-dressed man came inside to speak to Rav Dovid. The man handed rebbe a check and said, “When I learned in the yeshiva many years ago, my family had nothing. Now, Baruch Hashem I have been blessed with a very successful business and my first duty is to repay you and the yeshiva!” 

Humble Helper

The Yeshiva had two pay phones located in the lobby of the Bais Medrash. It was not unusual to see Rav Dovid walking around the Bais Medrash to inform someone that they had a call on the pay phone. Rav Dovid would also sometimes refill the soda machine in the lobby when necessary. He had no qualms helping out his Talmid and the Yeshiva in any way possible.

We don’t always know, nor appreciate, the true essence of the people with whom we sit and interact with every day. The streets of the Lower East side were filled with true gadlus, something I failed to realize until I got much older.

It was a sunny day on the Lower East Side when my mother was experiencing a problem with a wheel on her shopping cart on her way home from the grocery store. The wheel fell off and she was unable to proceed. Frantic about her perishables and not expecting anyone to stop to help her, she was in a panic. Suddenly, an arm appeared and someone bent down and began to repair the wheel. 

My mother’s momentary relief disappeared and turned to horror when she realized that the person helping her was none other than Rav Dovid Feinstein. She frantically begged him to stop and apologized. The first words she was able to utter were, “Rav Dovid, what are you doing?”  Rav Dovid quickly paused so as not to upset my mother. “Oh, you don’t want me to fix it?” he asked. “How can I ask Rav Dovid to fix my cart!?” my mother responded.  “You didn’t ask me, I was walking by and saw the wheel off” was his matter of fact reply. It all seemed too obvious to Rav Dovid. A gadol can be down to earth, deal with other people in a mentshlach manner and make a person feel good. 

Healthy Friends

When I was about to leave to go to an out-of-town Yeshiva I received advice from Rav Dovid that would carry me for a lifetime. He was happy for me and wished me great success, but he made it very clear: “You must have good friends who encourage growth and you will succeed. If for any reason you find yourself in the wrong crowd, don’t underestimate their influence, they will win over you and you must leave right away.” 

Driving Directions

Although I loved occasionally driving Rav Moshe or Rav David places, I was a very careful and often anxious driver. Rav Dovid knew me well and aside from thanking me for providing transportation, he would give me tips and directions to make the ride smoother and to put me at ease. Although he could have spent the car ride with his head in a sefer or talking only in learning, he would often give me directions to calm my nerves: “After that exit, you want to be in the right lane so we can get off and merge, then you want to stay in the center lane.” Plenty of people who knew how to drive places without the need for constant reassurance would have been happy to drive Rav Moshe and Rav David, and yet, I was always made to feel as though I was the one doing them a favor for driving.

Worldly Knowledge

Rav Dovid’s advice and psak were sought after internationally. As a poseik his command of all Torah sources as well as worldly knowledge was astounding. Like his father before him, when he had shailos that involved medical or technological concepts he would reach out to experts in the field. 

I once needed to see a top frum medical specialist in New York, renowned in his field. I told him I was a talmid of Rav Dovid and that I had heard that he enjoyed a close relationship with my dear rebbe. The doctor smiled and replied, “I literally just got off the phone with Rav Dovid discussing a medical shaila that I had regarding a patient. Rav Dovid instructed me what to do!” 

Rav Dovid was once in England (I believe it was a stopover on his way to Eretz Yisrael) and like the Chid”a, went to see the Crown Jewels. He went on a tour about the Kings of England. Rav Dovid raised his hand and asked about the order of two of the pictures of the Kings hanging on the wall. He mentioned that it looks as if they had been reversed based upon the years which they reigned. The guide was surprised someone noticed, and even knew such a detail. “That man is correct”, said the guide, “the two pictures were mistakenly switched when they were installed and we have not yet been able to switch them to their proper order!”

Rav Dovid lived a life immersed in Torah and for him, his medical, historical and technological knowledge were a part of understanding Hashem’s amazing world. 

Sense of Responsibility

Rebbe taught us to be a responsible and active participant in our family and professional lives. 

Someone mentioned to me that they were once visiting Rebbetzin Feinstein shtichyeh. A young man knocked on the door wanting to speak with Rav Dovid and the Rebbetzin directed him to the kitchen. The young man looked like he was in shock when he saw Rav Dovid standing at the sink doing the dishes! “What is rebbe doing!?”, he exclaimed. Rav Dovid quickly educated the young man with his beautiful response: “I am a married man - I have  responsibilities!” The Rebbetzin turned to her guest and commented: “I am afraid to tell him that Rebbe also takes out the garbage twice a week!” 

My son, Yosef, was at a bris at MTJ when he went over to speak with Rav Dovid. He sent regards from me and received warm regards in return. Then my son asked Rebbe, “Can I ask the Rosh Yeshiva some shailos?” “No” replied Rav Dovid, who promptly walked away. A talmid explained to my son that it was nothing personal. Rav Dovid, the talmid explained, takes the responsibility of answering shailos very seriously. If you ask him questions, he will answer you with clarity; however, if you ask him permission to ask him questions, he will decline. My son got the courage to approach Rav David again and this time just started asking the questions which were all warmly answered. 

Tzaddik Gozer

At the Upsherin for my oldest son, Rav Dovid gave my wife and I many beautiful brachos. One bracha, though, still stands out to me more than the others. Rav Dovid said that we should have much Yiddisha nachas from these children (we had a son and daughter at the time) and all the others IY”H.” My Wife and I smiled at each other knowing that we would IY”H surely have other children with such a bracha from our rebbe. B”H the beracha was fulfilled.

Hashkafas Hachaim

Rav Dovid’s gematriyos were legendary! I remember being mesmerized by something rebbe said about Purim: We know that Hashem orchestrated every event in the Megillah even though His Name is not mentioned outright even once. The Name of Hashem that embodies this concept of “working behind the scenes” is Shakai, spelled shin-daled-yud. The numerical value of this word equals 314 (shin= 300, daled=4, yud=10). The combination of the first word of the Megillah, ‘Vayehi’ (vuv-yud-hay-yud) and the last word of the Megillah, ‘zaro’ (zayin-raish-ayin-vuv) has the same numerical value of 314 (vuv=6, yud=10, hay=5, yud=10, zayin=7, raish=200, ayin=70, vuv=6). Hashem was there with us from the beginning to the end; directly controlled everything even though it appeared like “natural occurrences.”  I can’t even begin to explain how hearing this vort affected me in its profundity and the importance of its lesson in life. 

Rav Dovid’s Erev Shabbos Chumash shiur was most enlightening. It was like I was learning Chumash for the first time in my life. Rebbe was teaching us a new way to look at things that we may have taken for granted and which we thought we knew everything about. I learned to look differently at even the simple “pshat” of a pasuk. I wanted to attend Rebbe’s shiur so much that when I started working I would put in extra hours on Monday through Thursday so that I could take off every Friday (this was before they had such a thing as an alternate work schedule). It was well worth the effort.  

Father’s Footsteps

Rav Dovid lived his life deeply connected with his illustrious father, preferring to be in the background rather than in the limelight. He seeked to carry on his father’s mesorah with the deepest respect and commitment. What was so eye-opening to me was that on one occasion, I spoke to Rav Dovid about “yichus.” Rebbe told me that “my Father is the Rosh Yeshiva and the Gadol Hador - what does that have to do with me? We need to make our own yichus.” I got the message.

Rav Dovid spent his life making himself into the greatest person he could be. His quest for emes was legendary. After Rav Moshe passed away, he would approach shailos with the attitude of “what would my father have said.” He was probably the greatest talmid who carried on the legacy of Rav Moshe. Like Chazal say (Bava Basra 75a), “P’nei Moshe, k’pnei chamah, P’nei Yeshoshua, k’pnei levana.” Yehoshua was like the moon who reflected Moshe, his rebbe. We saw Rav Dovid as the one who reflected and personified his father’s Torah, his father’s humility and his father’s greatness.