"If a bochur’s actions are a contradiction to his learning, then... you can draw your own conclusions"
Thank you for fittingly paying tribute to the builder among builders of Klal Yisrael of this generation — Rav Heshie Hirth, a”h. He was indeed larger than life, a relentless idealist and visionary, and yet so utterly grounded in the wisdom of practical detail that could bring that vision to life. I’d like to share three stories that I heard from him personally during my days as a balabus and small participant in the building of Rabbi Hirth’s beloved yeshivah ketanah, that I believe laid the root structure for who and what he became.
First: When Reb Heshie’s father and uncle as teenagers arrived on US shores to settle on the Lower East Side with their widowed mother, it was nearly impossible for Shabbos-observant Jews to make a living. As the months wore on, the two increasingly frustrated and desperate brothers devised a plan by which they could minimize all chillul Shabbos, walk to work, not carry anything, and thus keep their newly won menial jobs that would put bread on the table for themselves and their mother. They came to their mother on Friday morning, explained that life had become impossible, that they had a duty to support their little family, and that their plan would not involve any breaking of halachah.
There was a pause. “Very nice,” she told them calmly; “I see you have thought it all through. But,” she added, “if you don’t return by the time I bentsh licht tonight, don’t ever cross my threshold again.”
The two brothers heeded the powerful, emunah-filled words of their mother. Emunah and bitachon intact, they would go on over time to found a real estate business, and instill in their family — whose next generation was filled with builders of mosdos — that no sacrifice is too great when it comes to preserving Torah.
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