In 5781 we lost Rav Dovid Feinstein and Rav Dovid Soloveitchik, both of whom I had a connection to. (These losses compounded the loss of Rav Yaakov Perlow in 5780.) What I saw in these three gedolim, what Klal Yisrael lost, is an unparalleled commitment to Klal Yisrael.
Rav Dovid Feinstein was a posek acharon, the final halachic word. Any posek in the world who had a sh’eilah would come to him, and there was no sh’eilah he would turn away, no area of halachah that was not his forte. I had the zechus to come into Rav Feinstein’s daled amos quite a few times, as he served as sandek at several brissim where I was the mohel.
Rav Dovid Soloveitchik was my son-in-law’s rebbi, and every time I went to Eretz Yisrael I would visit him. He was a delight to speak with because he personified the Brisker derech. He may have lived in Eretz Yisrael, but his head was in Brisk. The tradition of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik and Rav Velvel Soloveitchik was in his DNA. When you spoke to him, you could truly feel a connection to the previous generation.
The Novominsker Rebbe was not eager to accept the mantle of leadership of Agudas Yisrael. But he took it upon himself because he recognized that there was a void, so he stepped in to fill that void. He felt a responsibility for the klal.
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