Shor Yoshuv - Dedication of Hebrew Yad Yisroel

 'Thirty years ago I first met Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld and his wife Rebbetzin Sara Freifeld I am dedicating the Yad Yisroel sefer to their memory as well as the memories of a number of members of the Shor Yoshuv community. 

I once asked Rabbi Freifeld how he was able to provide proper guidance to so many people - all of whom. had a unique relationship with him. He answered, "'I do make mistakes. 'But: I am right more often than 'I am wrong. 'But more important than my judgment is the community that i have created. People grow more from this community than from me." 

His huge stature and his warm smile have not diminished with time. 'Nor has his powerful voice urging timid souls to greatness, or his ability to make the abstract - real Like the prophets of the past, he had the ability not only to be inspiring but also to perceive what each individual needed in order to progress. 

If Rabbi Freifeld can be described as the defining personality of Shor Yoshuv, the 'Rebbetzin can rightly be described as the spiritual force that energized the community. She was a full partner in ail that he did. I had the zechus of seeing how they inspired people in many different situations. 

Rabbi Freifeld told me the following story during Shiva. "When Shor Yoshuv started I was extremely busy My wife was even busier raising a large family, teaching and preparing night and day for our many guests. One day someone told us of two children who had been abandoned. I was upset but had no time. Her response was simply' 'They are Jewish children. and we must help them'. She met with social workers, raised money for their education and arranged foster care. Her deep compassion for everyone, made her oblivious to the impossible difficulties that  stopped others.  

'The Rebbitzin’s mother, Rebbetzin Leah Cohen was a remarkable Yerushalmi. She shared her perceptive insights with me while 'I enjoyed many meals in her home. :Her words of "'Yeshuas 'HaShem Ke'heref Aiyen" still echo when times become difficult. _ _ 

Rebbetzin Freifeld once asked me to visit a woman hospitalized with terminal cancer. Mrs. Alice Dukoff, whom she described as her spiritual twin, made an indelible impression on me the way she faced death. 

Mrs. Pauline Gingold was a tzadekes in her 90’s who was living in a nursing home. 'Rabbi Freifeld frequently commented that her conversations should be recorded. Her direct and intimate relationship with G-d, typical in 'Europe a century ago, is rare in the sophisticated and se(f conscious modern World.  Her observations made from the perspective of a century of Avodas :Hashem were valuable gems. We completed Tzena 'U’Rena and the Menoras HaMeor together. She was the magnet that attracted many to visit the nursing home where they learned how to do 'Bikur Cholim. · Slier accomplished more Mitzvos in the nursing home than others accomplish in a lifetime. 

Seffi Stefansky was another exceptional person of the Shor Yoshuv community. She was kept alive on(y by constant trips to the hospital for dialysis and many operations. She was a pure and natural personality who became excited when seeing a beautiful fIower or a golden sunset. A devoted student of Rebbitzen Freifeld, she had the same excitement when dealing Tehillim or a Malbim. 'This intense purity and pain existed side by side in the same remarkable  person. She was described by one Rav as a living Shulchan Aruch of how to deal with suffering.

Rabbi Aaron Dovid  Cohen was a distinguished member of Shor Yoshuv. His Hasmoda and love of learning were a natural part of him. He was a role model in his devotion to the Rebbeim his .Ahavas Yisroel and his enthusiasm in sharing everyone's Simchos. 

Yitzchok Tillem was propelled to discover tremendous energies within himself through the Freifeld's. He was an inspiring college instructor at Stern College, a lawyer who devoted much time to Jewish causes and a creative entrepreneur. His greatest concern was with helping others. His brief life ended in a plane crash on a mission of mercy in 'Ethiopia. 

They will not be forgotten 

ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.