This past Thursday, the 17th of Tammuz, Torah Jewry mourned
the petirah of the gaon, HaRav Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg,
the rosh yeshiva of Ner Yisroel of Baltimore, and one
of the greatest roshei yeshiva in the United
States.
As a youth, HaRav Weinberg studied in the Rabbenu Chaim
Berlin yeshiva in New York City under HaRav Yitzchok Hutner,
where he was well known for his remarkable hasmodoh,
his conduct, his special hanhogos, and his in-depth
learning. Even when he was still young, he yearned to study
Torah and, due to his tremendous diligence and exertion he
achieved astounding bekius. "Bor sud she'eino
me'abed tipah," was the dictum used to describe him
them.
Reb Shmuel Yaakov pored over his studies day and night
without pause, expanding his Torah knowledge further and
further, out of purity of character and soul. He was an
outstanding student of his mentor, HaRav Yitzchok Hutner,
himself in turn a star talmid of the Alter of Slobodke
from Europe and Eretz Yisroel, from whom he acquired the
foundations and principles of Torah thought and
mussar.
He married the only daughter of HaRav Yaakov Yitzchok
Ruderman, the rosh yeshiva of Ner Yisroel of Baltimore
and another star talmid of the Alter from Europe.
After his marriage, he continued to pore over his studies in
his father-in-law's yeshiva. He began to reach out to the
younger students, and all the top talmidim of the
yeshiva were attracted to him. His prodigious intellect and
thorough commitment to truth and honesty and his deep Torah
roots, coupled with his penetrating understanding of the mind
and soul of American youth, gave him an ability to touch the
young American talmidim in ways that were rare in
those days.
In 5724 (1964), his father-in-law sent him to Toronto, to
preside as the rosh yeshiva of a branch that Ner
Yisroel had established there several years earlier. He
brought an energy and excitement to the yeshiva that
attracted even those who would otherwise have had no thought
of attending a yeshiva. Also, talmidim from Baltimore
would go to Toronto especially to spend time learning under
him.
He was like a compassionate father to his students, and was
deeply concerned for the personal development of each and
every one of them, offering them individual guidance, and
dedicating every fiber of his soul to their progress.
Talmidim fondly recall his Chumash shiurim in
those days, in which he learned Chumash slowly,
showing the importance of each word and the way to seriously
analyze the holy words of the Torah.
In 5732, when the yeshiva in Toronto decided to become
independent, he returned to Baltimore.
Shortly before the petirah of his father-in-law in
5747 (1987), HaRav Weinberg was asked to preside as the
rosh yeshiva of Ner Yisroel in Baltimore, one of the
major yeshivas in the United States. The shiurim which
he delivered there for over fifteen years, gained wide repute
for their tremendous depth. In these shiurim, he
provided the bnei yeshiva with guidelines on how to
approach and clarify a sugya.
He had a deep impact on his students and on all who heard his
shiurim, and it was from him that they acquired the
eternal kinyonim of Torah, halocho, and pure
yiras Shomayim. They regarded him, too, as a paragon
of an oveid Hashem, whose entire life was devoted to
Torah dissemination and as a father image, whose was deeply
concerned for their spiritual welfare and sought to guide
them along the path leading to Beis Hashem, according
to the traditions transmitted to him from the gedolim
of previous generations.
His home was a beacon for Torah scholars and Torah seekers.
He received everyone warmly, genially, and with remarkable
nobility of soul, which aroused tremendous admiration for
him.
As an outstanding orator, HaRav Weinberg was always one of
the main speakers at public affairs of chareidi Jewry in the
Untied States. He felt duty-bound to go to wherever he was
invited, to spread Torah. His fervent words, which emanated
from a pure heart, had a tremendous impact on his listeners.
His compelling and eloquent speech influenced many to return
to their roots and to draw closer to the Torah world. With
his broad knowledge and persuasive manner of expression, he
was able to touch the hearts of many.
He was a member of the Moetzes Roshei Hayeshivos of Torah
Umesorah for many years, and was very active in expanding the
projects of this important organization, known for its many
endeavors for the chinuch of so many Jewish
children.
His sons, sons-in-law and daughters are all important people
in the Torah community, deeply involved in spreading the word
of Hashem.
The levaya set out from the Ner Yisroel yeshiva of
Baltimore towards the evening, and HaRav Weinberg was buried
beside his illustrious father-in-law, HaRav Ruderman. The
levaya was transmitted in a direct broadcast to the
Eish HaTorah yeshiva in Jerusalem, headed by his brother,
HaRav Noach Weinberg who considered himself a talmid
of his older brother. Throngs of the niftar's students
from all over Eretz Yisroel came to Eish HaTorah to listen to
the hespedim.
