On 6 Shvat last Thursday, a life full of limud Torah
and harbotzas Torah conducted according to the full
meaning of the posuk, "Hatznei'a leches im Hashem
Elokecho" (Micha 6:8), came to an end with the passing of
HaRav Dov Gavriel Ginsberg in Toronto.
HaRav Ginsberg was marbitz Torah at Yeshivas Beis
HaTalmud, Telshe Yeshiva, the Mesivta of Yeshivas Chofetz
Chaim of Forest Hills, and as the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas
Ner Israel of Toronto for fifteen years. He was also the
founder of the famous Project SEED all over the world and was
very active in support of the network of Community
Kollelim founded by HaRav Nosson Wachtfogel zt"l,
the mashgiach of Lakewood Yeshiva.
Biography
HaRav Ginsberg was born in 5690 (1930) in the Bronx. He was
orphaned from his father at the age of three and was raised
mostly by his mother, a tzadeikes and an ehrlicher
Yiddishe mother. His zeide Rav Shimon Kagan lived
in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he was the shochet-rov-
chazan- mohel -- in short the Jewish kol bo -- and
HaRav Ginsberg spent some time with him.
Around 5703 (1943) when he was 13, his mother remarried to
Rav Yitzchok Stollman, who was a Slobodka talmid and
then served as one of the main rabbis in Detroit. He became
very close to his stepfather.
The turning point in his life came in 5706 (1946) when he
went to Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland. He became one of the
talmidim muvhakim of HaRav Elya Meir Bloch and also of
HaRav Mottel Katz, zichronom livrochoh. He often
referred to them as his fathers, which was an especially
strong statement since he was an orphan.
As a sign of how close R' Gavriel felt to his rabbeim
HaRav Avrohom Ausband said at the levaya that he
remembers as a child that HaRav Elya Meir Bloch was niftar
on Shabbos. Upon receiving the news, HaRav Mottel Katz
shed one tear, and then wiped it away and went back to
keeping Shabbos as usual. HaRav Ginsberg saw R' Mottel's
actions and understood from them what had happened, but he
could not hold back and he just sat on the floor and cried at
the loss.
Some of the Torah of HaRav Bloch that has been published is
based on the notes that he took. Also his notes and
recollections were important in the publication of the Torah
of HaRav Shmuel Kharkover and HaRav Leib Malin, both from
Beis HaTalmud in New York City.
In 5715 he married his first Rebbetzin (born Schindler from
NYC). For a while he was the first kollel yungerman in
Telshe, but a year later he moved back to New York and
learned in Beis HaTalmud for seven years. In that period he
also developed a kesher with HaRav Yitzchok Hutner and
with HaRav Moshe Feinstein. While he was there he started the
yeshiva ketanoh of Beis HaTalmud and many of the great
talmidim of Beis HaTalmud learned by him.
In 5722 (1962), in the middle of the winter, HaRav Mottel
Katz asked him to come back to Telshe to become mashgiach
of the beis medrash. He agreed and he put all his
considerable kochos into the work, bringing a great
ruach chaim into the beis medrash. He was busy
all day answering the questions of the bochurim and he
infused a tremendous chiyus into the whole beis
medrash.
In 5725, in addition to mashgichus he began to say
shiur Aleph-Beis, meaning the second year of beis
medrash. (The first three shiurim are referred to
in Telshe as "Aleph-Aleph," "Aleph-Beis" and "Aleph-
Gimmel." Only the roshei yeshiva said shiur Beis.)
In 5730 (1970) he moved back to New York City to become
menahel of the Mesivta of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim of
Forest Hills in Queens. At the same time he also served as
rov of Kehillas Tiferes Moshe in Kew Gardens. In 5742 he left
Chofetz Chaim (though he continued at the shul) to
work on his life's dream of mass harbotzas Torah which
he believed could best be accomplished by founding
kollelim in as many places as possible.
He made a mosad called Community Kollel Centers that
was to be the vehicle for founding these institutions. His
first attempt was to start a kollel in the Five Towns
on Long Island outside of New York City, but it was not
successful. His first success was the West Side Kollel which
began in 5745 (1985) in Manhattan. It was the first of
many.
In 5748 he was asked to become rosh yeshiva of Ner Israel
Yeshiva in Toronto, where he has been serving since.
When the first steps were being taken to set up the network
of kollelim under HaRav Nosson Wachtfogel zt"l
the late mashgiach of Lakewood, HaRav Ginsberg was
asked to become involved since it was known that he had been
working along similar lines. HaRav Ginsberg joined
enthusiastically and worked very hard on the project,
collecting money every year and helping in any way he could.
He told people that he felt that the kollelim were a
realization of his life's dream and he was especially happy
that his involvement was without personal negi'a since
his name was not publicly associated with the entire effort
in any way.
His personal tsnius is also evident in the fact that
few people knew of his association with the famous Project
SEED. The idea also grew from his dreams and he was
personally involved in many of the individual SEED programs.
For example, he went to Los Angeles himself five times. He
made a special effort in England, going by himself to
Gateshead to organize things and to speak to the Rosh Yeshiva
there. In the United Kingdom the SEED program has enjoyed
outstanding success. He also went to France in connection
with Project SEED.
His vision of SEED was not primarily a project of kiruv
rechokim or even kiruv kerovim as it is usually
understood. He saw it as the ideal form of harbotzas
Torah. SEED was step 1 according to him. Step 2 was to
have a kollel the entire year. The explicit goal and
tachlis of the effort is that every Yid should
be a full ben Torah.
His Friday morning shmuessen in Telshe were legendary.
Starting after Shacharis, they usually continued
until 9:30. Though officially only for his shiur
almost the entire yeshiva came. One of his steady themes was
not to go to college. Bliben by learnen, bliben by
harbotzas Torah -- that was what he preached and
practiced.
He certainly kept hundreds -- and it was probably thousands
that he kept in Torah. Some cases were known but many
apparently were not. During the shiva someone told the
family that R' Gavriel apparently had heard that he was
planning to go to college and he worked behind the scenes at
Camp Munk where he spent the summer, to have him convinced to
go to Ner Israel for his education. He credits the fact that
he stayed a ben Torah to this private effort of R'
Ginsberg.
When his Rebbetzin was niftar in 5756, she had been
sick for a year. Then his family saw so forcefully how he
lived with emunah peshutah. As the doctors said things
got worse and worse, his emunah got stronger and
stronger.
For five years he was an almon and his greatest fear
in that period was of a zivug sheini since the
gemora says that the zivug sheini is lefi
maasov. He said, "I know my ma'asim," and he was
worried. He finally married about two years ago and the
feeling of the family is since it is lefi ma'asov,
there is no greater testimony to his level of his
ma'asim than the zivug sheini he was
zoche to.
He was niftar on the night of 6 Shvat.
The levaya in Toronto was on Thursday. The
maspidim there were HaRav Avrohom Chaim Levine, HaRav
Chaim Stein, HaRav Mordechai Loewy, HaRav Shlomo Miller,
HaRav Avrohom Ausband and members of the family. In New York
the maspidim were HaRav Shmuel Birnbaum and HaRav
Shmuel Kamenetsky.
The aron reached Eretz Yisroel on Friday. The
maspidim there were HaRav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, HaRav
Don Segal, and HaRav Nochum Eisenstein. HaRav Ginsberg was
buried on Har Hamenuchos in Yerushalayim.
