"This Double Take story only reinforces our society’s preoccupation with externalities and superficialities"
I was greatly inspired by Reb Eytan Kobre’s beautifully written article about the beloved and unforgettable rosh yeshivah and mashgiach, Reb Yeruchem Kaplan.
In it, he makes mention of the book that I wrote about his father, Reb Mendel Kaplan. I must admit that if indeed the book is a considered a classic — or even that the book came out altogether — it is all thanks to the painstaking editing work of Reb Yeruchem, who in his great humility did not even allow me to publicly thank him in the book.
In the introduction of the biography of Reb Mendel, Reb Yeruchem (anonymously) wrote the following about his great father:
“And Esther would captivate all who saw her (Esther 2:15). Chazal (Megillah 7b) explain this to mean that she found favor in the eyes of people of every nationality. Each nation believed she was one of them. Reb Mendel would explain that each nation had its specific quality and character, and Esther possessed the positive qualities of all the nations, so each saw in her their particular uniqueness. So it was with Reb Mendel. Everyone had his Reb Mendel. To a chacham, he was the chacham; to a lamdan, the lamdan; to an illui, the illui; to a mensch, the mentsch; to an anav, the anav. Whatever quality one had in himself, it was that quality that he saw in Reb Mendel.
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