A Gissinger grandson got up, and like his grandfather did years before, began to hum the sweetest of tunes

The K’hal Zichron Yaakov shul in Lakewood, New Jersey was founded by its famed mara d’asra, Rav Shlomo Gissinger z”l, who led the kehillah with a unique mixture of passion and warmth (and is the subject of ArtScroll’s At Any Hour). When the local boys would gather in the shul on Chol Hamoed for an early morning seder before heading out on their respective excursions, Rav Gissinger would become overcome with emotion at the sight and ascend to his podium where he would sing, “Kad yasvun Yisrael ve’askin besimchas haTorah…,” his voice reaching a crescendo as he reached the words, “chazu, chazu, banai chavivai… ve’askin bechedvasah d’li — When the Jewish people sit and busy themselve​s with the joys of Torah… ‘Look at my beloved children as they … become immersed in my delight.”

Alas, Rav Gissinger is no longer here to sing, but this year as the learning seder came to a close, a Gissinger grandson got up, and like his grandfather did years before, began to hum the sweetest of tunes. Moments later, he was joined by the current mara d’asra, Rav Dovid Merling, who took his place alongside the young boy and continued the most beautiful of traditions.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 957)