Boruch Dayan Emet
The greatest combination of erudition, honesty, decency, brilliance
and modesty I have ever seen has left us.
Mori v’Rabbi, Rabban shel Yisrael – HaRav Aharon
Lichtenstein ZT”L has left us orphaned. The only solace we have is that he leaves
behind thousands of shiurim, tens of thousands of students, and an image
and model to look up to, to aspire to and attempt to emulate - even though we know
that we will fall hopelessly short of his greatness.
Those of us who were privileged to see the way he honored
his parents learned a lesson that is seared in our minds, a lesson of no lesser
importance than those he imparted in his shiurim. His midot and halichot,
personal integrity and comportment taught all his students that even if we fell
short of his brilliance, and could never hope to achieve his breathtaking level
of erudition and insight, we could – we must – aspire to his level of decency.
In this area, too, we are dwarfed by his giant stature.
אבי אבי רכב ישראל ופרשיו, הרבה מעות יש לי ואין לי שולחני להרצותן. (תלמוד בבלי מסכת סנהדרין דף סח.)
