Divrei Hesped (eulogy) for Rabbi Kalman Zev Levine

Killed al Kiddush Hashem 25 of Cheshvan 5775

Streams of Tears

Yermiyahu cried out “Einei einei yordu mayim” “My eyes, my eyes, stream with tears.” (Eichah 1,16). Rashi explains that this refers to crying constantly. What is the deeper message that the Navi is conveying to us?

Generally crying helps a person to feel better afterwards. However when a person feels boundless pain he just keeps crying and crying and crying. This is what Rashi means; even after all the crying, the mourner over Yesuhalayim still does not still does not feel better.

I do not believe that I have every cried so much in one day as I did on the day of the murder of these four kedoshim. The first niftar I heard about was Rav Aryeh Kupinsky my next door neighbor is a yedid nefesh, who learned together with me in yeshiva. Two years ago his fourteen year old daughter died unexpectedly in her sleep. His children were just getting over the shock of losing their sister and now their father is dead.

Afterwards I heard about Rav Moshe Twerski was a magid shiur in Toras Moshe where I studied for five years as a bachur and I cried even more. Then I heard about Rav Dovid Goldberg, my son in laws uncle who made sheva berachos for my daughter not long ago in his home, and more crying.

After these three doses of bad news in one morning I thought I had exhausted my supply of tears.

However at 1PM I got a phone call from one of my talmidim that Rav Kalman Levine, who is a rosh chebura and rebbi in my kollel, had been murdered. At this point I just collapsed in despair. The tears have been flowing all day, and the pain just gets stronger and stronger. There is very much to be said about all of these kedoshim, but I am going to focus on Rav Levine who was a member of my kollel.

The Biggest and the Smallest

Rav Levine had many, many maylos; but perhaps his greatest attribute was his humility. Rav Levine was a master of the entire Torah, and wherever you asked him, shas, halacha, mussar, the source was on his lips. He would mention the answer nonchalantly, like it was not a big deal that he knew everything. He exemplified what Chazal say “Lo pasak girsa m’pumya” Torah did not leave his mouth for a second.

Yet with all of this Torah knowledge, the concept of honor did not even cross his mind. He exemplified what Chazal tell us (Shabbos 105b) “He was the gadol of the chabura” the greatest of all the talmidim in the Beis Medrash, and at the same time he was “The katan of the chabura” for he carried himself with the ultimate simplicity and pashtus.

On the way to the kevura, his nephew Rabbi Yehuda Kraft commented that the Chafetz Chaim writes that if a person receives honor in this world, this detracts from his reward in the next. Rav Levine goes to olam habah with all of his reward intact completely.

Oved Hashem

Rav Levine was a complete oved Hashem. He learned until very late hours every night and woke up every morning for neiztz without exception. I daven neitz occasionally, and I am astounded how without exception he never missed a minyan. I was amazed by his consistency.

Rav Levine was a zariz. Wherever he went it was fast and in the midst of sherus, complete service of Hashem. He went from mitzvah to mitzvah like an arrow being shot from a bow – straight for the target. He lived and breathed the Boreh Olam.

Rav Levine headed a shiur in Mesilas Yesharim in the kollel once a week. This was the essence of his life. Everything he did was just one straight path to the truth.

His midos were exemplary. Rav Levine was always happy, and when he attended a wedding he was literally bubbling over with simcha. It gave him the greatest joy to see that his talmidim were growing and progressing.

Rav Levine’s greatest joy was Torah learning and whenever he was learning it was like he was in olam habah. When something went wrong he would say, “Anyway this world is not where we are meant to be. Our real home is Olam Habah.”

Emunah Sheleima

Most of us have a point, as small as it may be, or safek in emunah. By Rav Levine there was no point. His emunah was 100% complete with not an iota of room for any doubt.

Rav Levine and I traveled home together from kollel every day for a number of years. During the last year the conversation was almost always the same. Rav Levine constantly remarked that it is clear to anyone who can see that we are at the threshold of redemption. For Rav Levine moshiach was already here.

Every time there was news of a killing or kidnapping his emunah was strengthened and strengthened. He would often say that there is absolutely nothing left for us to do except to come to the recognition that we have nothing to rely on except Hashem. He would say these words with all of his heart and all his soul.

Speaking to Hashem

Rav Levine davened like he was standing directly in front of the shechinah. The night before his petira he davened in the kolllel. He had his hands up in the air and he was speaking to Hashem.

I often davened next to Rav Levine and he was literally crying during prayer. Every single beracha was taken with the greatest seriousness. During his tefilah he looked like he was engaging in war – a battle to raise his emunah higher and higher and come to a complete recognition of Hashem.

A few days before he remarked to one of his students how it is so easy for a person not to be yotzei tefilah. If a person does not have kavanah in the first berachah of Shemona Esreh. Rav Leveine had kavana in every Shemona Esreh.

There was no such thing in his life as chopping a tefilah. A few days before his petria he told me Maariv takes me half an hour. The only way I can daven and still make our ride is if I daven early.

Guarding His Toungue

Rav Levine guarded his tongue like no one else could. We once had a passionate discussion about one of the halachos of shemiras halashon. I was lenient and he was machmir. The discussion got so heated that we almost came to blows. In the end we agreed on the halacha, but I saw that he not only knew the halachos of lashpon hara he lived them.

After Rav Levine had been buried one of his students got up and gave a fiery derasha. He spoke about Rav Levine’s hasmada and middos. Even after a full day of crying there were more and more tears.

However one of the most inspiring things he said was about Rav Levine’s shemirras halashon. You could not get in a single word of lashon hara when talking to Rav Levine. He had a comple mastery of the halachos, and they permeated through his blood.

Korbanos Tzibor

As Jews living in Eretz Yisrael we are being pursued daily. Jewish blood is spilled and the enemy just gets more and more blood thirsty. What can we do to deal with this situation?

Rav Rubin, the rav of Kehilas Bnei Torah where the incident took place, mentioned that the way of the Jewish people is not to take revenge. Our job is to serve Hashem with complete emunah. The tests that we are experiencing now are all nisyanos in emunah. Each person has to think about what happened today and think how they can increase their emunah and come back to Hashem in teshuva sheleima.

The rav related that when he was learning in kollel they received a special visit from Rav Shach who was already very old and weak. Rav Shach just read the pasukim of Bereshis, explaining how Hashem created the entire world. Initially Rav Rubin was disappointed that this gadol b’Torah was relaying such a simple message, but in his later years the rav understood the great depth of relating emunah peshutah, simple faith in Hashem.

The rav also mentioned that the custom is to bury those who die al Kiddush Hashem in their blood stained clothes. The Shach explains that the reason for this is that when he get to Olam Habah Hashem will see their blood stained clothes. This will arouse His anger against the murderers.

May the blood of these four kedoshim, and all the Jews that have died al Kiddush Hashem come before Hashem’s throne and scream out for mercy. We are in the most difficult times, and there is nothing that can help us now except for tefilah. May these four kedoshim be a malitz yosher for us and may our tefilos be answered speedily.