The Short Vort by Rabbi Eisenman

I was shocked when I heard of his passing.

It was sudden and unexpected.

I had only met him twice in person and spoken on the phone a few times.

Yet, I knew I had to go to the Shiva home.

As I entered, the sons did not recognize me and asked how I knew their father.

Rav Shlomo Zalman Kaufman ZT”L was not the Rav of a Shul nor a Rosh Yeshiva.

He was a Dayan who gave many Shiurim in his home.

Yet, he was a Rav who impacted the lives of hundreds.

I never heard a Shiur from him, nor did I discuss Shaylos (Halachik questions) with him frequently.

However, Rav Sholom Zalman Kaufman changed my life.

Rav Kaufman stood up for those with no one to speak on their behalf.

Countless women benefited from his courageous and sometimes unpopular support for them.

Chesed and Emes was his only compass.

He was the voice of the voiceless, and his broad shoulders supported those others would allow to fall between the cracks.

He was an individual who was fearless as he stood up for those in need.

He was undaunted in his defense of the defenseless.

Yet, we had not spoken in years. Why did I feel the need to make the trip to Monsey?

I went because Rav Kaufman gave me a priceless gift.

What gift had I received from this giant of a man?

Rav Shlomo Zalman Kaufman taught me what caring, and Chesed really mean.

Over fifteen years ago, I was at his Beis Din as a rabbinic supporter for a woman seeking a Get.

The deliberations became heated, and unfortunately, we could not reach an amicable resolution, and no Get was forthcoming at the meeting.

The meeting took place in the Summer, and soon after, the entire episode was placed on my back burner.

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur arrived, and soon afterward, Succos.

It’s now Hoshanah Rabbah, and my family and our guests are about to sit down for the Seuda in our Succah.

Suddenly, my wife informs me that two Rabbonim are at the front door and want to speak.

Who could be coming to my door on Hoshanah Rabbah morning?

Could they be Meshulachim from Eretz Yisroel? Unlikely.

As I arrived at the door, Rav Kaufman and the other Dayan of his Beis Din were there.

Rav Kaufman asked if he could speak with me.

He apologized for his unexpected and unannounced intrusion; however, he explained he had been up the entire night and believed he had finally come up with an acceptable and amicable resolution to facilitate the giving of the Get.

I was confused and asked, “But why come now, on Hoshana Rabbah?

The Get anyway cannot be given until after Yom Tov?”

He looked at me with disbelief.

His bleary, sleep-deprived facial expression said it all.

In his signature calm yet strident nature, he said, “What do you mean? Today is the Hoshana Rabba, the Gmar Din-the final judgment.

Could I go into Simchas Torah while knowing this woman is in limbo as she pines for her Get and closure to this painful Parsha?

Do we dare be B’Simcha when this woman remains in a state of uncertainty?”

At that moment, I realized that nothing in the world, not the Hoshana Rabba Seuda and not sitting in the Succah, mattered as much to Rav Kaufman as ensuring this woman would enter Yom Tov with the knowledge that her Get was forthcoming.

Only with an agreement in hand could he allow himself to eat or to sleep.

That day, I learned the true meaning of Chesed.

That is why I traveled to Monsey, to express my gratitude to the children and the wife of the man who has properly re-aligned forever my understanding of what it means to be a Rav.

This is the Chesed we must strive to do during these trying times.