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9 Kislev 5761 - December 6, 2000 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
HaRav Kulefsky zt"l -- A Personal Report
by D. Plaut

It was on Thursday afternoon about 4 p.m. that I heard the devastating news that HaRav Kulefsky zt"l was niftar. Though I knew he had a heart condition, I didn't know that his condition had been steadily declining over the last year.

We drove to the yeshiva on Friday morning to join them for neitz davening at 6:40 a.m. When we reached Mt. Wilson Lane, the long, winding road that leads to the yeshiva, we were forced to stop, as the road was blocked off and men were stationed there, directing traffic and instructing people where to park their cars. They told those who were attending the levaya to park their vehicles in one area and directed anyone who planned to leave early to another parking area.

The regular tables had disappeared from a large section of the spacious beis medrash and rows upon rows of chairs filled the room instead. Immediately following davening, HaRav Moshe Mintz began reciting Tehillim, which lasted about a half an hour. Then HaRav Moshe Brown led a heartfelt recitation of perek 119 until about 8:15 a.m.

The hespedim were over at about 11. As hundreds of people were melave the aron, walking over the wide leaf-covered fields surrounding the Yeshiva, the sound of hundreds of people rustling through the dry leaves created a most eerie atmosphere. The crowd followed the aron up the hill leading from the yeshiva's campus to the main road, and then the aron went to the beis olom.

All the maspidim spoke about HaRav Kulefsky's hasmodoh and ameilus beTorah. I think this was certainly the common thread and most universal theme. More specifically, the maspidim said he had a tremendous ameilus in preparing the shiurim and transmitting them over to his talmidim. This was a result of his own desire for mesikus haTorah and for clarity in Torah.

Many people acquired a love and appreciation of the depth and beauty of Torah by listening to his shiurim. When HaRav Kulefsky said over divrei Torah, he found equal importance and enjoyment in repeating other people's Torah as in saying his own chiddushim. This is a sign of a true chochom.

HaRav Abrams related that HaRav Kulefsky used to enjoy the divrei Torah of a certain talmid chochom, and sought to hear and read whatever he wrote. However, one day he found out that this person had insulted HaRav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l. Not only did he stop reading his Torah, but he sent back all the Torah letters he had received from him. This ultimately caused HaRav Kulefsky to also suffer bizyonos from that talmid chochom.

Years ago, when HaRav Abrams made his son's pidyon haben, he recorded HaRav Kulefsky's dvar Torah in honor of the occasion. When he returned to England, he visited a rebbe of his, an odom godol who is unknown to the public. When this rav heard the tape, he exclaimed, "This is a talmid of R' Boruch Ber, zt"l."

And he was correct. Though he had never learned under R' Boruch Ber himself in Europe, HaRav Kulefsky was a talmid of HaRav Reuven Grozovsky in Beis Medrash Elyon and of HaRav Shlomo Heiman zt"l of Torah Vodaas, who were both talmidim of R' Boruch Ber zt"l. Several people made the point that HaRav Kulefsky was someone who had a mesorah from his rabbonim.

HaRav Moshe Heinemann said that besides being a great lamdan he was well versed in the poskim. You could talk to him in any sugya; he was comfortable in both the lomdus and psak. HaRav Heinemann mentioned that HaRav Kulefsky was American born and raised. Though he grew up in a generation where Torah was scarce in America, he still rose to a great madreigo. That is mechayeiv and machazeik us, encouraging us to be gedolei Torah.

One thing that I personally remember about him is that he was always oseik in shidduchim. I suppose this could be put under the heading of being involved with talmidim which was mentioned prominently by the maspidim. He was major force in the very successful Iranian program at Ner Israel, which was a prime example of his involvement with the talmidim.

HaRav Nosson Kulefsky said that the first time his father went for open heart surgery, it was in Washington about 20 years ago. For some reason (I think the weather), no one form the family was present in the morning before he was brought in to surgery. He wrote a letter to be given to whoever came, saying that they should be sure to put on his tefillin, and say over the davening as in the intensive care unit he would be unable to talk.

His hasmodoh and concentration were legendary. Everyone known that he always let the talmidim out for shiur late because he always lost track of the time when engrossed in Torah.

I think it was HaRav Abrams who said that he remembers when they got the news in Lakewood that HaRav Aharon Kotler zt"l was niftar. Everyone was devastated beyond consolation. The mashgiach, HaRav Nosson Wachtfogel zt"l, gave a shmuess. He said that when R' Boruch Ber Leibowitz was niftar, the bochurim couldn't be consoled, until one of their rabbeim said that even though our great teacher is gone, the G-d of our teacher is still with us, as much as ever. This must be our nechoma as well.

 

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