Jonathan Rosenblum: Why We Weep for Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, zt"l

Why We Weep for Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, zt"l 

by Jonathan Rosenblum
Jerusalem Post
November 25, 2011


On Rachel Imeinu's yahrtzeit, as I prepared to leave for the levaya (funeral) of Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, zt"l, I received a call from a reporter from Sydney. She wanted to discuss the antics of the zealots in Ramat Beit Shemesh. The next day Sky News called to discuss sexually segregated buses.

I told both reporters the same thing: Stop wasting your time on fringe groups and trivial issues. If you want to understand the chareidi community, first find out why over a 100,000 people attended the funeral of Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, with tens of thousands of adults sobbing openly and unashamedly. To understand a person or a community, observe what he or they honor: "[A] person [reveals himself] according to what he praises" (Proverbs 26:21).

Who was the remarkable man whose passing inspired such grief?

When Rabbi Finkel took over the reins of Mirrer Yeshiva from his father-in-law, Rabbi Beinish Finkel, zt"l, in 1990, he had already been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.