"What did the Rosh Yeshivah have to give up to stay and learn Torah?" 

The theme running through the recent Mir dinner in the Bell Works building in Holmdel, New Jersey was that of mesirus nefesh, nullification of self-interest for HaKadosh Baruch Hu and the greater good. There is the mesirus nefesh of Ralph Herzka and Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz, two of the Mir’s most prominent donors, both of whom have been extending themselves for the yeshivah for years, and currently stand at the forefront of a renewed effort to ensure the financial security of that great bastion of Torah. There is the mesirus nefesh of the yungeleit, the herculean devotion of the yeshivah’s devoted askanim and the overarching dedication of the rebbeim and roshei yeshivah.

Mr. Herzka directly addressed the Mir’s beloved rosh yeshivah, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel ztz”l, who was the very paradigm of mesirus nefesh, recalling the legendary story of Rav Nosson Tzvi’s youth — how a young American boy from Chicago ended up in Yerushalayim and, enthralled by his uncle Rav Laizer Yudel Finkel, ended up staying to learn, changing not only his own life but that of thousands of individuals and forever elevating the Torah landscape. Mr. Herzka also recalled the mesirus nefesh that Rav Nosson Tzvi’s mother displayed in allowing her son to stay in Yerushalayim, so many miles from home. He then recalled a question someone posed to Rav Nosson Tzvi in his later years. “We know,” the questioner inquired, “that the Rosh Yeshivah’s mother was moser nefesh so you could stay and learn. But what about you? What did the Rosh Yeshivah have to give up to stay and learn Torah?” Mr. Herzka paused before relaying Rav Nosson Tzvi’s iconic response: “I sent my Cubs cap back home.”

As thousands gathered in Holmdel, New Jersey, celebrating a hallmark yeshivah in Yerushalayim, little did the Chicago Cubs know that they had just scored their greatest home run.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 907)