Rabbi Gold’s passing presents us at Mishpacha with our own personal sense of loss

Rabbi Sholom Gold, who passed away this past Shabbos, was a brilliant talmid chacham who spent decades building Torah in various communities, ranging from Toronto to West Hempstead to Har Nof. His varied accomplishments reflected his diverse education; Rabbi Gold learned in Ner Israel in Baltimore, Ponevezh, and Chevron. He received semichah from Israel’s chief rabbi, Rav Yitzchok Halevi Herzog, and Ner Israel rosh yeshivah Rav Yaacov Yitzchak Ruderman zecher tzaddikim livrachah. Additionally, he also received a doctorate in Talmudic Law from Ner Israel.

Rabbi Gold’s passing presents us at Mishpacha with our own personal sense of loss. Each year, we knew we could look forward to three or four letters to the editor from him, exuding his very vibrant personality and incisive mind, all of which contained fascinating memories.

Below is just one example.

To the Editor at Mishpacha,

I have wanted for a while now to express my appreciation for the column “For the Record” by Yehuda Geberer and Dovi Safier. It is consistently excellent, providing fascinating glimpses of Jewish history that are both informative and inspiring.

Their piece on Reb Yochanan of Stolin had a particularly strong impact on me. I merited to be a chassid of Reb Yochanan during my teenage years and beyond. It brought back the scene at a Friday night tish when one of the chassidim said to the Rebbe, “Rebbe, we want to remain here (America) because we have two days Yom Tov.”

The Rebbe, who was a very silent person, roared back, “Ayn tug in Eretz Yisrael iz vert a toizent in chutz l’Aretz! [One day Yom Tov in Eretz Yisrael is worth a thousand in chutz l’Aretz.]”

Kislev, 1955. I was learning in Ponevezh and someone unknown to me tapped me on the back. I looked up and saw a Yerushalmi-garbed young man who said to me, “Der Rebbe is niftar. Kum.” (The Rebbe died. Come.) Nothing more was necessary. I put on my jacket and coat and followed him to Yerushalayim to the Karlin-Stolin shul, where hundreds had gathered to mourn.

One final scene. For about two years the Golds lived in Migdal, just north of Teveria. My wife of blessed memory and I would go into the city to walk along the shore of the Kinneret. One night, as we passed the cemetery, I heard people shouting. I told my wife, “You keep going. I want to check what those sounds are.” It turned out to be a few hundred Karlin-Stolin chassidim who had come from Yerushalayim to the kever of Reb Yochanan. It was the 21st of Kislev. Of all who were there, I was the only one who had been with Reb Yochanan.

I have been to the present Rebbe — what a scene. Thousands of chassidim. The Germans targeted the Stoliner dynasty for destruction — but some survived.

Karlin-Stolin is another awesome example of Am Yisrael Chai: the ability to emerge from the depths of the Shoah and rebuild, thrive, grow, and surpass the past despite all odds.

I was deeply moved when the present Rebbe visited us during the shivah for my wife Bayla.

Sholom Gold

Rabbi Gold now joins his many great rebbeim who served as an inspiration to him during his lifetime. We can only hope to tell his story as well as he told theirs.

Yehi zichro baruch.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 969)