I first met Shaul on Chol Hamoed Pesach. I came from New York with a busload of students on our way to Washington for a Pirchei trip, with a stopover at Ner Yisroel in Baltimore. While waiting for our room assignments, I decided to visit the beis medrash. It was approximately 1:00 a.m. The lights were off with the exception of one small light. There, sitting at a table, was one person totally engrossed in his learning. He did not even look up to see who had entered the beis medrash at that hour. I was very impressed, to say the least.
Years later, when
I came to Ner Yisroel, I found out that the person who was so engrossed in his
learning was Shaul Epstein.
Shaul came to Ner
Yisroel in 1958 from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was 24. He wrote a letter to Rabbi
Naphtali Neuberger, z”l, about coming
to the Yeshiva. He had a degree in math and science and offered his services to
pay his way. Rabbi Neuberger accepted his offer.
Shaul learned and
attended shiurim in the morning and
taught math and science in the afternoon. After a couple of years, he decided
to learn full time. For years afterwards, he studied diligently, mastering many
masechtas. Shaul was a truthful
person who would never mislead anyone. Shaul believed with his full heart that
a person can only be truly honest with himself and others if he learns Torah
and lives a Torah way of life. He found such a person to be his guide and
mentor for life. That person was the mashgiach
of Ner Yisroel, Harav Dovid Kronglass, zt”l.
He found in Rav Dovid not only a gaon
in learning but a truthful person who genuinely cared for every student. Rav
Dovid would invite Shaul to his home when the Yeshiva was off. This was
especially so on Pesach. Shaul would always reminisce about how uplifting an experience
it was to spend Pesach with Rav Dovid and his entire family. When Shaul came to
the Kronglass home, he, too, was family.
Shaul became a
fixture at Ner Yisroel. Students at all levels found him to be very
knowledgeable. Many students asked to learn with him and that he help them
understand their learning. They found Shaul to be not only knowledgeable but
also a true friend who wished to help others. His friendship gained him respect
from the entire student body. I am proud to say that I was one of those
students.
As time went on, I
became a close friend of Shaul. We studied together at times and had many
conversations in hashkafa, Torah ideology.
After many years in Yeshiva, Shaul moved into town. He missed the daily
interaction with the students but felt it was time to move on. I kept in touch
with Shaul all the years after he left the Yeshiva. For decades, we had a study
session in his apartment at least once a week. He loved talking in learning.
Throughout the
years, Shaul kept in touch with his family, especially with his sister Chana
who lives in Eretz Yisroel. They visited each other at times and were always
there for each other. This also includes his nieces and nephews.
In Baltimore,
Shaul had many close friends who kept him company and cared for him. These
included Dovid Herman, Avroham Shwartz, Moshe Bamberger, and his roommate Shaya
Gronowitz.
As the years went
on, Shaul became frail and weak. It was clear that he needed personal care and could
not continue to live in his apartment. It was decided to have him move into an
assisted living kosher facility called Aventura. At Aventura, the staff cared
for Shaul with the utmost professionalism. He became a very popular resident.
Everyone liked and respected him and saw in him a highly educated person.
Shortly before his
passing, we celebrated Shaul’s 90th birthday. We brought together
many of his friends from his yeshiva days. We celebrated together with Shaul,
which he very much enjoyed and appreciated.
When Shaul was
still well enough to walk on his own, I would take him to different shuls in
town to daven Mincha and Maariv. I was amazed to see that, at every shul we
attended, there were people that would come over to Shaul and tell him how much
he had helped them when they were in yeshiva. They would tell Shaul, “You
helped me so much with my learning. You learned with me, you taught me, you
guided me.” Just about every place that Shaul went, he was treated with the
same sentiments and compliments. They truly meant them.
Throughout the
Jewish community of Baltimore, Shaul earned a keser shem tov, the crown of a good name. It should be no wonder
because he was everyone’s teacher, guide, and intimate friend.
Yehi zichro baruch.
