Litvish, chassidish, or Sephardic. It made no difference to him. A Yid was a Yid, and was precious in his eyes

The sudden petirah of Rabbi Hillel Mandel ztz”l at age 62 three weeks ago left the entire Chicago kehillah reeling. As the numbness from the initial shock has worn off, we have become keenly aware of the enormity of our loss

The relationship I had with Rabbi Mandel ztz”l was multifaceted. On one hand, he was the menahel to four of my children. On the other, he was a role model and rebbi to me. In addition, he was a good friend.

Rabbi Mandel came to Chicago’s Veitzener Cheder ten years ago when my son Chaim began eighth grade. Naturally, I expected Rabbi Mandel to focus most of his energy on the younger grades. After all, they would be the ones to develop a more long-term relationship with him, while the eighth graders already had one foot out the door.

How wrong I was.

Rabbi Mandel valued and showed concern for every child. He called me up early in the year and told me that after observing my son, he had the perfect yeshivah in mind for him. He proceeded to tell me that this yeshivah was Mesivta of Lakewood. I, as a balabos from Chicago, wasn’t exactly on board with sending my son there.

When I expressed this to Rabbi Mandel, he looked me in the eye, acknowledged my reservations, and told me he had already scheduled a farher for my son.

Of course, Chaim ended up going there, and he flourished. All because Rabbi Mandel felt an achrayus to my son to find the best yeshivah for him, even though he’d only known him for one year.

This was my introduction to Rabbi Mandel, a man who loved and felt responsible for every child.

Yet it does not end with one son and one story. When it came to my next two children, who are now in Telshe Riverdale and Toras Chaim–Slamowitz in Lakewood, Rabbi Mandel also showed deep concern about finding the best places for them to grow.

Rabbi Mandel showed the same dedication to my youngest son, who is still at the cheder. In fact, this son felt so close to Rabbi Mandel that he would go to his office daily to work on the thousand-piece puzzle that Rabbi Mandel left sitting out. Most children try to stay away from the principal’s office, but my son felt comfortable hanging out there and spending time with his menahel.

Rabbi Mandel lived the cheder. For him, chinuch wasn’t a nine-to-five job, but 24/7. That being said, he always made time for his family. He often reminisced about the family vacations he had taken, driving to beautiful natural settings where he could spend quality time with his wife and children in a relaxed atmosphere. This was so important to him.

Rabbi Mandel used to describe to me how proud he was of his children, always homing in on their good qualities and seeing them in a positive light. There was never a negative word, only positive. As a parent, I saw from him how important it is to incorporate this into chinuch.

From early on, I started developing a relationship with Rabbi Mandel and getting his opinion on different chinuch concerns. As I learned over the last ten years, his opinion was always spot on.