The following is a stream of thoughts and impressions on
the loss of our Rav Sheftel, zt”l, which
is still so fresh and real. Harav Sheftel Meir ben Harav Naftali Halevy
Neuberger was a Legend of
a man, a Lion for
all of klal Yisrael, and a Leader for
his yeshiva, Yeshivas Ner Yisroel of world renown. I was privileged to call
myself a talmid of his for close to 24
years, during which time he made an indelible and everlasting impression on me along
with thousands upon thousands of talmidim
around the world.
I was first zocheh to meet R’ Sheftel at the young and impressionable age of 13,
when I entered Ner Yisroel. Physically, he was a towering, handsome, and regal
figure. He walked into any room and filled it with his grand presence. His very
whisper filled the space, yet with all of his grandeur and Torah-true shtultz, he
was the warmest
of human beings. His love of and warmth toward every talmid was part-and-parcel of his
essence. The successes of his talmidim
were his successes, and he wore them as a symbol of pride on his sleeve.
* * *
To give you a glimpse into the greatness of
R’ Sheftel, let me tell you about Shabbos Zachor,
the Shabbos before Purim, which is known as “Shabbos Rav Sheftel” to every
Ner Yisroel talmid around the world.
And that world spans the globe, from Tehran to South Africa, from Europe to
South America, and of course, all across the United States, where his talmidim live and contribute to their
communities.
On Shabbos
Zachor, Rav Sheftel would daven with the entire mechina of Ner Yisroel. His beautiful,
one-of-a-kind, booming voice still resonates in the hearts of his talmidim, especially on the Yamim Nora’im, when he brought a
thousand talmidim to tears with his
heart-wrenching rendition of Unesaneh
Tokef. He wasn’t a chazzan rather
a a baal tefilla. When he davened with great emotion, the words
came alive, and you felt the tefilla.
I cannot listen to any significant tefilla
throughout the year without “hearing” R’ Sheftel’s version as the “platinum” standard
bearer.
For the whole mechina, Rav Sheftel was the highlight of Shabbos Zachor. He would daven and eat, say divrei Torah, and sing zemiros
with the high school bachurim. He
would then have a beautiful oneg Shabbos,
and on motza’ei Shabbos, there was a special melava malka with singing and leibedik
dancing until the late hours of the night. He would pull every bachur into the circle and dance in his
unique elegant style with each bachur,
making that bachur feel like a
million dollars. He truly loved being with his talmidim, and they felt that genuine love and warmth.
As the Philadelphia Rosh Yeshiva, Harav
Shmuel Kamanetzky, said at the levaya,
R’ Sheftel was an individual whose essence and existence was for the greater
community, for the Yeshiva, and for klal
Yisrael, He worked on behalf of the klal, always, and at every opportunity.
* * *
Growing up with titans of Torah and avoda, his uncle, Harav Ruderman, zt”l, and his father, Harav Naftali Neuberger, zt”l, meant that doing, working, and living for others, with
absolutely no personal benefit, was inbedded in his DNA. Harav Beryl Weisbord, mashgiach ruchani of Ner Yisroel, said
it succinctly: “R’ Sheftel had tremendous kishron,
hasmada, and Toradik seichel hayashar, and he used all of his
talents on behalf of the klal. There
was no limit; every minute of the day
he strived to help others and constantly thought how to benefit the klal. These very sentiments
were echoed by Harav Malkiel Kotler, the Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva, who cited from Michtav Chazon Ish that only a person
with no atzmiyus whatsoever could be
the one bearing the financial burdens of the Yeshiva, and that Harav Sheftel
was just such a person.
Rav Sheftel was a beloved magid shiur and loved teaching Torah to
his talmidim, but when the time came
to assist his father in his askanus,
he gave up teaching for the sake of the klal,
and did what needed to be done. R’ Sheftel was a consummate people person. He had such charisma
and stature, but it was not pride that he exuded but, rather, Slabodka-inspired,
Torahdik nobility. He always had the correct insight into a meeting, knew
exactly what to say, had just the right shtikel
Torah. He could talk to a young bachur
as easily as to a United States president, senator, diplomat, politician, or
ambassador, always finding the right words to put people at ease and do what
needed to be done, on behalf of the klal.
I remember being present as a young bachur at a luncheon that was arranged
by Rav Sheftel on behalf of some cause. Barbara Mikulski,
the United States senator representing Maryland, was in attendance as were some other rabbanim.
There was an awkward steely silence permeating the atmosphere, until R’
Sheftel entered the Executive Dining Room of the Yeshiva and greeted her with
his booming, jovial, yet dignified, “Good afternoon, Senator.” Her demeanor immediately
changed, and the meeting went on successfully.
* * *
R’ Sheftel epitomized chaim; he had such a zest for life, such
spirit. He was a powerhouse of a Yid on behalf of the klal, a man on a mission. He had such strength that his petira was a shock to all who were
privileged to know him. As the Rosh Hayeshiva of Ner Yisroel, Harav Ahron
Feldman, so eloquently stated at the levaya,
“Eich naflu giborim (how the mighty
have fallen)”; he was “amazed that such a gibor
could be overcome by death. R’Sheftel was such a warrior for the Yeshiva, the
community of Baltimore, and klal
Yisroel that it is shocking to realize that he is no longer with us.
One can ask from whence does one person get
such strength, devotion, and commitment? For R’ Sheftel, it was clear he
derived his ko’ach from the klal: It was the people who gave him ko’ach. R’ Sheftel’s son, Harav Boruch
Neuberger, told the thousands of talmidim
watching and listening to the levaya around
the world, that 11 weeks before R’ Sheftel’s petira, right before he was hospitalized, when he was so weak, in what
would be his last trip before he reached Shamayim,
he insisted on traveling to New York to a meeting on behalf of the Yeshiva.
Although it was clear that he was in tremendous agony, he was elated, jubilant,
to be able to use his last strength and efforts on this earth for the sake of
Torah and the klal.
The Yeshiva was about to undertake the
monumental task of having its first ever online fundraiser. Unfortunately
just as it was about to begin, the news of R’ Sheftel’s petira was confirmed. The Yeshiva’s
talmidim and dedicated alumni were
devastated, and as a tribute to their beloved nasi and menahel, baal tefilla, rebbe, and inspiration,
they surpassed the goal and raised 3.5 million dollars in 36
hours.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that,
starting under the auspices of R’ Naftali Neuberger and under the direct helm
and through the tireless efforts of Rav Sheftel,
Ner Yisroel changed the face of Iranian Jewry forever. The Neuberger family
traveled to Iran back before the Shah was overthrown and planted the seeds for
Toradik Persian communities around the world. Hundreds of Persian bachurim were taken into the Yeshiva
regardless of their inability to pay tuition; they were given clothing and
food, but more importantly, they were given a home after going through
such harrowing experiences. Almost every Persian kehilla’s rav, on both on the West and East Coasts,
learned and got semicha from the
Yeshiva. I was at the shiva yesterday,
when a message from a kollel in Tehran, Iran was read aloud. The Rav in Tehran
was conveying to his kehilla all that
R’ Sheftel had done for their community and how heartbroken he was at his petira.
There are countless stories of such
devotion and care for his talmidim. R’
Sheftel danced at his talmidim’s simchos as at his own simchos and cried at their tza’ar and loss as at his own, because
his talmidim were his children, He embodied the spirit of the Yeshiva. He was a
true inspiration and tzadik, a Lion, a
Leader, a Legend.
May he continue from on high to be a meilitz yosher for his chashuve family, his beloved Yeshiva, and
his people.
A version of this article appeared in the Flatbush Jewish Journal.
