HaRav Yeshayohu Dovid Briskman zt"l, one of the last
survivors of the pre-Holocaust yeshivas, passed away on
Motzei Isru Chag (or the eighth day of Pesach outside of
Eretz Yisroel) at the age of 93.
Yeshayohu Dovid was born in Sarni, located in Poland's
Province in 5672 (1912). His father, HaRav Menachem Zalman,
was a prominent Karlin-Stolin chossid, one of Yeshivas Mir's
first talmidim and a close follower of HaRav Chaim
Ozer Grodzensky, zt"l.
He grew up in a home suffused with Torah and yiras
Shomayim together with his older brother Moshe
Hy"d, who was nicknamed Moshe Masmid while studying at
Yeshivas Mir and eventually married the daughter of HaRav M.
Karelitz, the brother of the Chazon Ish; his younger brother
Pinchos zt"l, who married the daughter of the Admor of
Skolya and was a talmid muvhok of HaRav Elchonon
Wassermann Hy"d and a talmid at Yeshivas Mir;
and two sisters, one of whom married HaRav Yeshayohu
Shimanowitz zt"l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbenu
Yaakov Yosef (RJJ), and HaRav Mordechai Shmuel Yogelnik
Hy"d the rov of Wizwa.
Upon coming of age all of the brothers were sent to holy
yeshivas. When the Chofetz Chaim passed through their town
one day their father asked him for a brochoh for
parnossoh, but after he mentioned that all three of
his sons were studying in yeshiva the Chofetz Chaim said,
"Then you are a very wealthy man and you don't need any
brochoh."
By the age of 12 Dovid had already left home to attend
Yeshivas Novardok in Bialystok under HaRav A. Yaffen. Among
his fellow students at the yeshiva was the Kehillos Yaakov.
Rav Dovid also studied at Yeshivas Novardok in Pinsk and
Lutzk, where he served in the rabbinate of HaRav Zalman
Sorotzkin. He did shimush under HaRav Sorotzkin and
received semichoh from him at a young age, receiving
one of only three semichoh letters HaRav Sorotzkin
wrote before the War. Rav Dovid also received semichoh
letters from the author of Mishmeres Sholom on the Pri
Megodim and from HaRav E. Y. Finkel, the rosh yeshiva of
Yeshivas Mir.
Later he arrived at Yeshivas Mir, where he delved into his
studies for many years and cleaved to HaRav Yechezkel
Levinstein. For the rest of his life he held onto a precise,
orderly notebook from his time at Mir containing his own
chiddushim and the chiddushim circulating in
the yeshiva. This notebook serves as a rare historical
document chronicling the yeshiva's wanderings during the war
years since it notes the date and place of
writing—Kaidan, Lithuania, 5700; Kobe, Japan, 5701;
Shanghai, China, 5703.
The memories from the yeshiva's period of exile in Shanghai
remained deeply etched in his mind for the rest of his life
and he passed them on to his offspring, who grew up on the
wondrous stories of Torah study through mesirus nefesh
and miracles on a daily basis. Toward the end of the war,
when heavy bombing by US planes started to claim many lives
the area of the yeshiva which was located near military-
industrial factories, a proposal was made to divide the
yeshiva to help ensure at least some
survived—vehoyoh hamachaneh hanish'or lifleitoh
(Bereishis 32:9).
The Mashgiach came out strongly against the idea, saying that
the yeshiva's ability to survive depended on the Torah study
of all members of the yeshiva together, and promising that no
tragedy would befall the yeshiva members as a result of the
bombing. He quoted the Medrash Tanchumo on Parshas
Noach which says that in every calamity HaKodosh
Boruch Hu saves two yeshivas from sword and destruction
in order to prevent the Torah from being forgotten by Am
Yisroel, adding that Yeshivas Mir was one of those two
yeshivas.
Surprised by the bitochon the Mashgiach showed in this
decision, which meant taking upon himself great
responsibility for the fate of the yeshiva, Rav Dovid went to
speak with the Mashgiach, who told him that every day the
founders of the yeshiva and his rabbonim came to him from the
World of Truth and told him how to proceed. In fact, despite
heavy bombing in the area, the yeshiva went unscathed.
On another occasion, as Rav Dovid accompanied the Mashgiach
through the streets, bombs started to fall, sending all of
the passersby running for cover. Grabbing onto the
Mashgiach's hand Rav Dovid began to run as well, but the
Mashgiach stopped him and said, "There is no need to flee.
Every bullet has its destination. We should step into a
courtyard because of mar'is ayin but beyond that there
is no need to worry."
In addition to the yeshiva members the ghetto was home to
many other European refugees who lived in poverty and want
and were severed from Yiddishkeit. Seeing their
misfortune Rav Dovid organized a small group of yeshiva
members to raise funds for these refugees, supply them with
food and medicine and invite hundreds of them to Shabbos
seudos at the yeshiva, where they heard divrei
Torah and chizuk.
Very impressed by his efforts, the Mashgiach also transferred
a substantial sum to support the project. At one point Rav
Dovid presented him with a detailed expense report for these
funds, but the Mashgiach refused to look it over saying that
he knew whom to put his trust in when he provided the
money.
At the end of the war Rav Dovid sailed to the US with HaRav
Abba Berman, who passed away last week, and HaRav Reuven
Fine. The Hand of Providence remained with them on this
journey as well. When the ship came upon a minefield on the
eve of Tisha B'Av the captain, noting their Jewish
appearance, asked them to pray for Heavenly Mercy. The young
men recited Tehillim tearfully all night long. In the
morning the captain informed them the danger had passed and
that he considered it a miracle.
When he arrived in New York, although he did not know English
and the American ways were completely foreign to him, Rav
Dovid did not rest on his laurels but set about building the
local Torah world. Even before he was married he had been
appointed chairman of national yeshiva committee and manager
of the Bais Yaakov seminary under HaRav Kaplan in New York.
He also served as rov of the Moritsher Shul in Williamsburg,
edited and published a Torah-based newspaper in Yiddish
called Bais Yaakov and was among the heads of Ze'irei
Agudas Yisroel of the US.
A few years later he got engaged to the daughter of HaRav
Moshe Zalman Levine, the rov of Sao Paulo who had studied
bechavrusa with the Sdei Chemed in Chevron before
moving from Jerusalem to Brazil, and was also the grandson of
HaRav Yaakov Leib Levi, av beis din under HaRav Yehuda
Leib Diskin and the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Beis Keil, a
yeshiva in Jerusalem for mekubolim.
After their engagement he moved to Brazil, which was a
spiritual wasteland at the time. Alongside his business
activities, he worked extensively to promote Yiddishkeit,
giving regular shiurim and stirring slumberers to
teshuvoh at the local beis knesses during the
Yomim Noraim. As a ben yeshiva he sanctified the Name
of Heaven through his dignified conduct and elevated
middos in a place that had no idea what a yeshiva is.
He worked extensively to influence Jewish youth and
encouraged many of them to travel to the US and Eretz Yisroel
to study in yeshiva, thereby saving them from spiritual
demise.
When he inspected the local mikveh he came to the
conclusion that a new mikveh would have to be built.
Together with a chavrusa he spent several months
studying maseches Mikvo'os and the associated
halochos. Meanwhile he raised the funds needed for
construction and saw the project through under his exacting
halachic supervision.
Under the direction of the Mashgiach, Rav Dovid sent large
sums of money to needy bnei Torah in Eretz Yisroel. He
maintained a regular correspondence with the Mashgiach, who
offered his beloved talmid encouragement and took an
interest in the details of his day-to-day life and spiritual
development. Rav Dovid also maintained contact with the Rosh
Yeshiva, HaRav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, who sought and received
his help in constructing the renovated building for Yeshivas
Mir in Jerusalem.
Rav Dovid was constantly working to raise funds among his
fellow kehilloh members in order to help maintain
yeshivas in Eretz Yisroel. He also accompanied many leading
roshei yeshivas in their rounds of visits to the wealthy
members of the kehilloh and hosted them in his home
for extended periods of time. He also tended to the
individual needs of Jews around the world, never sending
someone away empty-handed, sometimes covering all wedding
expenses anonymously.
As his three children grew older he began to consider the
possibility of moving to Israel to provide them a suitable
Torah education despite the material well-being that was his
portion. The gedolei Torah he consulted in the US,
including HaRav Moshe Feinstein and HaRav Yaakov Kamenetsky
zt"l, wavered, weighing his children's education
against his contribution to the religious advancement of
Brazil.
In order to reach a final decision he traveled to the US with
his wife and met with his rov, the Mashgiach. Before he had
even finished relating his doubts the Mashgiach instructed
him to move to Eretz Yisroel immediately. Returning to Brazil
they packed their things right away and made the move.
For decades he served as the rov of the Stolin-Karlin beis
knesses in Tel Aviv, where he elevated the bnei
Torah of his kehilloh and honored every ben
yeshiva who arrived at the beis knesses.
In Eretz Yisroel he continued to maintain close ties with the
Mashgiach, seeking his advice frequently. On one occasion,
when a sick Jew asked the Mashgiach to give him a blessing
for recovery, the Mashgiach asked Rav Dovid to hold his hand
and together they blessed the sick person.
When he reached an advanced age and no longer had various
affairs to tend to Rav Dovid served as an emblem of a real
ben Torah. He would sit and learn from morning to
night, not wasting a single moment. His daily conduct
attested to his yiras Shomayim, such as his insistence
on wearing a hat whenever he recited a brochoh and his
zerizus in performing mitzvas as soon as the
opportunity presented itself.
On the night of the 23rd of Nisan he was summoned to Yeshiva
Shel Maaloh at the age of 93. His is survived by his sons Rav
Moshe Zalman, the rov of Beis Knesses Shimon Hatzaddik in
Jerusalem's Katamon neighborhood, and HaRav Eliezer
Mordechai, a marbitz Torah at Yeshivas Mir, his
daughter who is married to HaRav Yair Kramer, the manager of
a seminary in Jerusalem, his grandchildren and his great-
grandchildren, all bnei Torah following the path of
Hashem.
