Once exposed to Rav Aharon Kotler, neither would leave the tents of Torah
Acherished reunion that has become more frequent in recent years is that of the Slabodka rosh yeshivah, Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, with his childhood friend, the Passaic rosh yeshivah, Rav Meir Stern. Both were born and bred in Brooklyn and belonged to a now-legendary group of boys who took the train each morning to RJJ, davened together in the Zeirei Agudath Israel minyan on 14th Avenue, and summered in Camp Munk. They grew up in a milieu that encouraged and expected boys to focus on a profession after high school, yet a surprising number from that rarefied chevreh broke the mold.
After graduation, Rav Meir and Rav Moshe Hillel made the unconventional decision to learn in a fledgling yeshivah in Lakewood, New Jersey, founded barely a decade earlier. Once exposed to Rav Aharon Kotler, neither would leave the tents of Torah. Rav Meir went learn in Brisk for seven years and later returned to America, eventually being tapped to lead the Passaic yeshivah. Rav Moshe Hillel married the daughter of the Slabodka rosh yeshivah and moved to Bnei Brak, where he assumed leadership of the yeshivah there. For decades, the two friends guided their respective talmidim, numbering in the thousands, while living an ocean apart.
In more recent years, Rav Moshe Hillel began traveling to America more frequently, whether for his own yeshivah or as the de facto ambassador of the Israeli Torah world, and the opportunities for the two friends to reconnect multiplied, each meeting a source of visible joy for their talmidim. This past Motzaei Shabbos, at a Melaveh Malkah for the Passaic yeshivah in Lakewood, a surprise guest walked in toward the end of the program: Rav Moshe Hillel, accompanied by a circle of talmidim and gabbaim.
After sharing warm words about his lifelong friend with the Passaic talmidim, the band launched a spontaneous and spirited “Od yenuvun b’seivah, desheinim v’ra’ananim yihyu — They will still flourish in old age; they will remain vigorous and fresh,” celebrating two gedolim who once chose a quiet, countercultural path with an uncertain future, and now stand as living proof of how vibrantly and richly that choice took root.
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