If multitudes around the globe feel orphaned by the petirah of the Rosh Yeshivah ztz”l, no one feels that loss as much as his eldest son, Rav Leizer Yudel shlita.
And at no point was that loss felt as much as when Rav Aharon Leib Steinman, the first speaker at the levayah, announced that Rav Leizer Yudel ben Rav Nosson Tzvi would lead the yeshivah.
While Rav Leizer Yudel Finkel is a familiar face to many who have learned in the Mir, his humility is so profound that few who have seen him walking through the hallways of the Mir or getting onto the bus with the rest of the yungeleit would have guessed that he would serve as the next rosh yeshivah.
In recent years, he has become more visible during yeshivah functions, especially as the leader of the Yamim Noraim minyan held in Beis Shalom.
A member of the hanhalah who has been davening in that minyan since it was established relates that Rav Leizer Yudel has clearly inherited his father’s two outstanding character traits. On one hand, he is one of the brilliant minds in the yeshivah, whose shiurim appeal to the entire spectrum of Yeshivas Mir — including, interestingly, a large contingent of chassidishe bochurim who attend his daily shiur. On the other hand, Rav Leizer Yudel is a baal middos par excellence, taking extreme care never to hurt anyone’s feelings.
One year, a certain yungerman received an aliyah on Rosh HaShanah in the Beis Shalom minyan. The next year, this yungerman eagerly awaited his turn to be called up to the Torah. When Kriyas HaTorah ended on the first day, he figured that they would give him an aliyah the next day.
When he did not receive an aliyah, he was hurt, and he expressed his feelings to a member of the hanhalah.
When the message was relayed to Rav Leizer Yudel, he quickly rushed over to the yungerman to apologize, promising him an aliyah on Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur morning, the yungerman was not in Beis Shalom. As Yom Kippur came to a close, Rav Leizer Yudel rushed to his house. “What happened?” he asked with concern. “I had an aliyah for you!”
The yungerman explained that he hadn’t been feeling well, and was nervous that if he would walk to Mir, he wouldn’t be able to complete the fast.
Rav Leizer Yudel decided that he hadn’t compensated the yungerman properly for not giving him an aliyah on Rosh HaShanah. On Chol HaMoed, he visited the yungerman in his succah, sitting with him and singing zmiros for an hour, until he felt that he yungerman forgave him.
The gadlus in Torah and sterling character traits that have been transmitted from the Rosh Yeshivah ztz”l will serve Rav Leizer Yudel well as he embarks on the difficult task of accepting the mantle of leadership long before anyone ever imagined he would have to do so.
The above was reprinted with permission from Mishpacha Magazine. A special edition will be available in stores only, from Thur., paying tribute to the rosh yeshiva in stories, pictures and thoughts.
