Last Saturday night, I observed an after-Shabbos tradition that is shared by millions of Jews around the world. Within five minutes of Havdalah, I had begun my gluttony of digital information and was itching for my social-media fix. My computer was booted up, my phone restored to its “on” position, and my iPad surfing the Web. After 25 hours of my weekly information blackout, I was very excited to find out the results of the South Carolina primary and, more importantly, start my week following my friends on Facebook.
Only this week was different. Instead of the usual nonsense that is posted on Facebook on a Saturday night, my newsfeeds were filled with people from all over the world giving their condolences on the loss of a great man. Over Shabbos, the Kesher yeshiva in Yerushalayim, which I had the honor to attend, lost a pillar and a light unto those that knew him, Rabbi Yeshaya German.
To fully understand the loss, you must first understand what Kesher is. The years that a boy spends in Israel are of the most important years of his life. Most people who go to learn Torah for a year or two end up learning more about themselves than anything else. They make lifelong friends and create strong bonds with rebbeim that can never be broken. In Kesher, these experiences are amplified to an extent whereby friends become brothers and rebbeim become fathers. It is a place where the dedication of the hanhalah and the support of our fellow schoolmates helped us become the people we strived to be. It is more than just a yeshiva; it is a family in the truest sense of the word.
So when the news came out after Shabbos that one of our most special family members had passed away, the Internet was aflutter with mourning students from around the world. From Chicago to Florida and England to Israel, Facebook statuses were filled with mini eulogies and stories of a man that meant so much to all of us. Throughout the night, texts were sent and phone calls were made from current students and alumni, that a great man has left this world. Not just any great man, but our rebbi.
What made Rabbi German a rebbi to all of us was not the fact that we all spent time in his shiur, even though many did. Nor was it the private chavrusas that he had with talmidim throughout the day. It wasn’t even the intense personal relationship that some had with him. Rather, he became our rebbi through the way he lived, the way he interacted with people, and the way he dedicated himself to a life of holiness. This was a man who slept in the yeshiva dorm throughout the week and only saw his family on the weekends, so that he could spend more time with us and his learning. Living in a boys’ dormitory is never an ideal situation for anyone. I am sure it was an extra challenge living in the Kesher dorm. I am sure he had many sleepless nights because of the noise and excitement at all hours of the night. Yet he never complained. If he had the pleasure of greeting a student in the halls in the middle of the night, he would just give us one of his smiles and say goodnight.
A rebbi usually teaches us how to live by teaching us Torah. Rabbi German taught us all how to live just by going about his day. Even though he was always learning, he was always available for a much-needed schmooze. He became our rebbi because he could never say “no” to sneaking food from the kitchen for boys that came back from visiting friends at 2 a.m. He became our rebbi because he always had a snippet of Torah to share as he passed us in the hall. He became our rebbi just by doing his early-morning and late-night rituals in the dorm. He is our rebbi because we had the opportunity to observe a man that lived for a higher calling. We got to see how a man can spend his day, literally from start to finish, serving G‑d.
This is a rebbi. Most of my friends from Kesher have moved on for a few years now. But whether we became doctors, lawyers, educators, rabbis, or skilled workers or are still trying to find our way in the world, we are all better men because we had a rebbi who showed us how to live, just by living. To quote a post on Facebook by a Kesher alumnus last motzaei Shabbos, “I bet Rebbe is chilling with G‑d right now.” That’s one bet that I’m not willing to take.