20 Jan IN TRIBUTE TO RAV KELEMER ZT”L
As the week of shiva has ended for my revered teacher and Rebbe Rav Yehuda Kelemer ל”קוצז†, I have been moved to tears numerous times from the beautiful stories I have read . Many of the same similar stories have happened to me. When I moved to West Hempstead with my family in June of 2004 little did I realize that I would have the honor and merit to learn torah and to have a personal relationship and see with my own eyes an example par excellence of a true tzadik.
Our Rabbis say that םירבד†השלש†לע†לעו†הדובעה†לע†הרותה†לע†דמוע†םלועה†דסח†תולימג. The world stands on three pillars On Torah, on Avodah ( worship) and on acts of loving kindness (Avos) . While there might be some who are as great in Torah knowledge as Rav Kelemer ( although I doubt it) and possibly some Rebbe’s are as great as Rav Kelemer in davening to Hashem as RAv Kelemer (although I doubt it) and there might be a Rav who is as great a baal gemilas Chasadim as Rav Kelemer ,I know no one who was or is a giant in all three in our generation like he was. He was דחא†ורודב†one in a generation.
I saw first hand as I sat in his shiurim on motzei Shabbos where Rav Kelemer would quote by heart sources that he had read 40 or 50 years ago ( “I remember learning a sefer 40 years ago and on page _ it says …..”). When I realized who Rav Kelemer was I realized I was sitting at the feet of one of the Gdolei Hador. I noticed in reading Igros Moshe questions written to Rav Moshe by Rav Kelemer, stories of the relationship that Rav Kelemer had with Rav Soloveitchik ztz”l but there was much more. Not everyone realized it because Rav Kelemer was so modest and humble. If you were not cognizant it would go under your radar. Case in point when I was teaching at DRS yeshiva high school as a substitute and I was sitting in the teachers lounge . The very dynamic and young Rebbeim were bemoaning that all the gedolim had passed such as Rav Moshe ל”צז, The Rav ל”צז†, Rav Kotler ל”צז†and there was no one left in the US. I mentioned to them that do they not know that there is one of the great gedolim, a talmid of many of the great gedolim of the last generation? They said who ? I said Rav Kelemer of course! These very nice young Rabbis proceeded to tell me I was wrong. For those who know me that isn’t a very smart thing to say about my Rav. However I wanted to keep my substitute gig and I remembered that Rav Kelemer z”l would never want me to fight another Jew even to defend his honor. So I held my tongue. Luckily Rabbi Mel David who was teaching math at the time at DRS walked into the teachers lounge. I said to Rabbi David “Isn’t Rav Kelemer one of the gedolei hador “? Rabbi David proceeded to tell me a story that made me 100% sure I was right. Rabbi David said that he used to sit with Rabbi Kelemer answering many questions as Rabbi Kelemer would be inundated with questions so Rabbi David handled the regular halachic questions so Rabbi Kelemer could handle the really tough questions. Rabbi David said he was sitting in the room with Rav Kelemer and the phone rings. Rav Kelemer says :” Shalom Aleichem Rav SHlomo Zalman Mah shlom kvodo?” ( How is Rav Shlomo Zalman ? ) Rav Shlom Zalman Auerbach called Rav Kelemer. Rabbi David said “ I did not hear what Rav Shlom Zalman (zl) said but I did hear Rav Kelemer say no Rav Shlomo Zalman I do not agree I think one should do this….. Rav Shlomo Zalman had called Rav Kelemer for his advice !
In the matter of Avodah I remember Rav Kelemer’s beautiful voice and heartfelt tefilot especially on the yamim Noraim.
With regards to gemilut CHasadim I do not have any different stories except one: As I said I came in June 2004 and by January of 2005 I had gotten divorced. In February 2005 Rav Kelemer called me up to invite me for shabbos lunch. I had mentioned that I had been invited and people were surprised . What had I done to get the honor of being invited? I really didn’t know. I found out that Devorah ,my ex wife, had invited Rebbetzin and Rav Kelemer z”l to her house for lunch. The rebbetzin declined but invited Devorah and my kids for lunch. Rav Kelemer immediately invited me so that there would not be any sign of favoritism or any sign that the Rav of West Hempstead had taken sides. It was these small things and many great things which made the stories of his chessed legendary. I will also miss my meetings with you at 1 am and calling you and speaking with you and taking an interest in my life. I will be forever grateful for your kindness to me and to my family.I knew you had many more important things to do but you always found time for me. Thank you Rav Kelemer!
As I said before there might be one or two Rabbis who are greater in one of the three areas mentioned above. However, there was no one and I venture to say there will be no one that was the gadol hador in all three areas of Torah, Avodah and in Gemilut Chassadim like our Rav, our teacher, our father and our friend like Rabbi Yehuda Kelemer לק”וצז†.
Rabbi Baruch (Brian) Thau is the Executive Vice President at American Friends of House of Hope.
BY: A.Z. THAU
The Shiva of Rav Kelemer Ztz”l has ended and his loss is strongly felt and not any less shocking. For me to try and describe the many interactions I had with him as a boy growing up in his shul in West Hempstead would only give a tiny glimpse into the man, Rabbi, figure, and personality that he was. In the years since I had moved out of West Hempstead and gone to Yeshivat Hakotel and then made aliyah I also had several interactions with him which are more memorable to me.
As I was trying to find pictures I had with me talking to him or interacting with him I was only able to find one picture of me dancing with him at my Bar Mitzvah. This reminds me of my first Bar Mitzvah lesson I had with him to help prepare me for my drasha. Somehow as busy as he was, he would make the time to sit with every Bar and Bat Mitzvah boy and girl to help the prepare. I was instructed to look through my parsha, parshat bo, and write down any questions that I had. When I showed up to my meeting he was polite and wanted to get to know who I was. After 15 minutes of just talking with me, he finally asked me where my questions on the parsha were. I told him “I didn’t have any questions (because I didn’t think whatever I was going to ask would be significant and because I obviously (outside of practicing the leining) didn’t learn my parsha as I was instructed. He calmly with a gentile smile said to me “You are a smart boy, you must have questions, everyone has questions, I have questions.” He didn’t yell at me or say next time don’t waste my time. I had just waisted 15 minutes of his time from his busy schedule and it didn’t phase him in the slightest. The next time I brought my list he was very pleased and didn’t make any remarks about me having wasted his time, it was as if that previous incident hadn’t happened.
The other partial memory I wanted to share was how he made time to shmooze with me every time I had come back to West Hempstead, whether it was a family simcha or just a plain old vacation. Whenever he saw me that first time back he would immediately take me into his office and schedule me in for a minimum of a half hour and many times we spoke for well over an hour. This always surprised me. I was not particularly close with him when I lived in West Hempstead and I had only lived there for 7 years before going to Yeshiva/ Aliyah. Why would he take so much time out of his super busy schedule for me? My only answer is that once you were a boy growing up in his shul/ member/ congregant of his, you were always going to remain close to him no matter where you went in life.
These are only two of the numerous interactions I had with him and the loss is no less shocking. My father for years has been telling me that Rav Kelemer was one of the 36 Hidden tzadikim of our generation (and for those who knows my dad’s story when he was substituting in DRS ןיבי†ןיבימה) and when I recently heard Rabbi Aryeh lebowitz’s Shiur (https://www.yutorah.org/sidebar/lecture.cfm/984946/rabbi-aryeh-lebowitz/tzadik-yesod-olam-an-appreciation-of-rav-kelemer-zt-l/ the 36 hidden tzadikim in the world. Speaks about Rabbi Kelemer from 27 min to the end. Incredible stories…) I knew it to be that much truer what my father had told me.
Baruch Dayan Haemet, Shiyehi Zichro baruch. May we always be zocheh to make him proud and to remember who he was.