Nosson Tzvi Finkel

Rav Nosson (Noson) Tzvi Finkel (1943–2011) was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and he is considered one of the greatest leaders of the Torah world of our generation. Yahrzeit - 11 Cheshvan Burial place - Har HaMenuchot, Jerusalem In the late 1980s he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Despite severe trembling and difficulty speaking and walking, he continued to learn Torah every day, give shiurim, and lead an enormous yeshiva. Moreover, he consciously avoided medications that might dull the clarity of his mind, fearing he would lose the ability to learn properly. [You can see the famous photo of him lighting the Chanukah candles with tremendous effort in our post. Many call it a symbol of the victory of the soul over the limitations of the body]. Rav Nosson Tzvi turned the Mir into the largest yeshiva in the world. When he took over as Rosh Yeshiva in 1990, it had about 1,200 students. By the end of his life, the number of students had reached nearly 6,000 bochurim and more than 1,600 avreichim. His principle was simple: "Anyone who wants to learn Torah must find his place here." It was precisely because of this openness that the Mir became the largest center of Torah learning in the world. It is said that he remembered the names of thousands of students, along with many details of their lives. Even at large gatherings, he could recognize a former student after years and ask about his family. Those who knew him said that everyone felt as though they were the only one to him. The Blanket – the Famous Holocaust Story Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel told this story of the blanket to a group of American businessmen, among whom was Howard Schultz, the future head of Starbucks — it was he who made the story known to the whole world. When the guests entered Rav Finkel's office, they saw a man suffering greatly from Parkinson's disease. His hands trembled, and it was difficult for him to speak. Out of respect, they looked away. Suddenly he struck the table with his hand and said: — Gentlemen, look at me! Then he asked: — What is the most important lesson of the Holocaust? One answered: — "That we should never forget." Another said: — "That Jews should never be defenseless again." Rav Finkel shook his head: — No. You have not understood the most important thing. And he told the following story. When Jews were brought to the death camps, after several days in cattle cars, they were thrown into barracks. Sometimes six people were given only a single blanket. Whoever received it had to decide: "Shall I pull it toward myself so that I don't freeze, or shall I move over and share it with five other people?" And then Rav Finkel said the words that became famous: "It was precisely at that moment that the greatness of the human spirit was revealed — we moved the blanket over to five other people." After a short pause, he looked at the businessmen and said: "Take your blanket. Go back to America and share it with five other people." In the Torah world, it is usually explained that this was not so much a historical lecture about the Holocaust as a lesson about life in general. Every person has their own "blanket": •⁠ ⁠time, •⁠ ⁠money, •⁠ ⁠knowledge, •⁠ ⁠attention, •⁠ ⁠a kind word, •⁠ ⁠a prayer for someone else. And the question Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel left for each of us: "Are you pulling the blanket toward yourself — or sharing it with others?" This is exactly how he himself lived: despite his severe illness, he gave all his strength to his students and to building Torah. Many of his talmidim said that his entire life was the embodiment of this story.   May the merit of this tzadik protect Am Yisrael!