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I used to call with the more heavy questions once or twice a year. He had tremendous understanding and patience and when I hung up I felt that I was doing the right thing and had a sense of calm.
Since he died, I havent found anyone who comes close either understanding-wise or patience-wise.
If anyone can recommend a Rov who might fill the void, please offer name and number. TIA
Of course,I feel the same way as you.
Rav Blumenkrantz z”l is simply irreplaceable;there is no one like him.
I do recommend a Rav,but I would rather give you the info “off the air” so ….
Of Course: I know what you mean:( What a loss to K’lal Yisrael.
I have a Rav I use for regular shailos, but when it comes to the “heavy” shailos which he doesn’t feel comfortable paskening, I call R’ Mordechai Willig from Riverdale.
Aside from my usual Rav, with other sheilahs like Kashrus etc i’ll call Rabbi Binyomin Forst
Ofcourse – depending on where you live, there are many choshuve Rabbonim in different cities that have tremendous understanding and patience. To name a few: Rabbi Gissinger in lakewood, Rabbi First in Chicago, Rabbi Hopfer in baltimore.
Rabbi Feiner in the FarRock/5towns area
He is amazing!!!
of course, non can be same as R Blumenkranzts ztl, I went to his levaya, he didnt know me by name, but i felt so much hakaras hatov. what a caring father he was to anyone who contacted him.
I called once for someone who came from overseas, and needed a school. He told me: Tell Rabbi x I said she should go to his school, vekach haya. a 2 minutes conversation and it was a done deal BH. no discussion of tuition. just a word from R Blumenkranz. loved and admired by all.
R Gissinger I am told is very hard to reach, a lot of good people around, but no replacement, not the same. R Feiner is a young person, he moved from EY not too long ago, would be curios to hear more about him. His wife gave a shiur, and in my humble opinion it was too much like a morah talks to high school class, not my style at all.
I too was a big chassidiste of Rabbi Blumenkrantz, I call many people for shailos including Bais Horaah either of monsey or lakewood who make it easy but lately for questions that require some understanding I have started calling Rabbi Viner from Monsey. Certain things about Rabbi Blumenkrantz that impressed me I feel are present in Rabbi Viner. It is not easy to find someone that you are comfortable calling, Hatzlocha.
of course,I just realized!
If any of his sons took over for him,they would probably follow the derech they observed with their father,the Rav,z”l.
I don’t think that question should be posed to the rebitzen,though.Did you mean hypothetically?
Ofcourse, I know a perfect Rov for you whom I have used for years. A gaon shebgeonim, and one of the warmest and most aideleh people alive. Totally mekubal in and a product of the Yeshivishe velt. He is the Rov of a rather large kehilla so I hesitate posting his info online without asking him. He is busy yomam valayla with chesed, bikur cholim and shiurim, so I am worried if he receives a slew of new phone calls, he may simply not physically be able to function, as he is up most nights as it is.
I am sure privately I can give him one more person. Maybe the Mods will let you contact me.
send the name to [email protected] and, bli neder, ill pass it on to ofcourse
You’re welcome.
One thing is that it may sometimes takes a bit of time for the Rav to get back to you. It used to be quicker, but the community grew, so don’t get frustrated.
‘when it comes to the “heavy” shailos’
I ask the same rav the “heavy” shilahs as the “soft” ones. For many of the heavy ones HE calls HIS rav.
DID one of his sons take over,by the way?
Yes, one of his sons took over his shul. It is so heartwarming to hear people talking about Rabbi Blumenkrantz ztzl, of whom I felt the same way.
Rav yisroel Belsky is quite reliable
You want to try Rabbi Belsky. Very caring, understanding and knowledgeable.
I called him out of the blue for an issue I was having. It was the first time I spoke with him and he totally involved himself to try and resolve it. He can be hard to reach though.
Mods,I get it, but I’m telling you…
It was actually his Yahrzeit two days ago.
What a great warm person.
What a great teacher.
What a great Possek.
One of his Mechutonim told me that in the middle of his child’s Vort and Chasssuna he was getting calls from Mashgichim and Mikvas from all over and calmly answered all the Shailos without making the caller know that he was interrupting.
R Blumenkrantz represented the Demus deyuknah of yisroel Sabah for many of us
i stil feel a void .. I miss his hadras panim at simchas and other significant events
Not all rabbonim are sympathetic to women.Fact.
Rabbi Blumenkrantz z”l is up on my dining room wall as a “real” tzadik.He was a “malach”.
You are only a real gadol if you treat ALL yidden humanely.
“charliehall, I feel you cant compare asking personally to someone asking for you. I’d always feel like I might have gotten a different answer had I explained the issue myself, with the often necessary back and forth dialogue. I wouldnt want to take that chance with an important issue.”
I feel the exact opposite. My rav knows me well and knows where I need to be machmir and where my yetzer hara won’t be tempted by being meikel. Even the gedol hador doesn’t know any of that. Also, I have been taught that it is important to follow a consistent derech and not pick and choose rabbis for shilahs — even gedolim.
(And my rav seems to enjoy it when he gets a chance to consult with a gedol over an interesting shilah.)
charliehall
whos your rov and which gedol does he consult?
Your Rav will advise you on everything, including which Rav too approach for a particular piece of advice or halacha.
Your Rav is part of your life, every day of your life.
To Ofcourse:The story was with celery soda the call came at 4:00 AM from a woman The oven story was Erev the first days of Pesach just 15 minutes before Yom Tov.
ofcourse: rav belsky is extremely caring understanding and pleasant to talk to. he takes your situation and helps you like its his.
that could be sometimes true but im in Yeshiva Torah Vodaath where Rav Belsky is, when you speak to him you realize his gadlus.
“whos your rov and which gedol does he consult? “
He is a retired rabbi who had shuls in the Bronx, Westchester, Long Island, and elsewhere, who earned semichah from Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik z’tz’l (“The Rav”) back in the 1960s. He still works part time as a chaplain. One nice thing about having a rabbi who doesn’t have a congregation is that he isn’t very busy; he always gets back to me very quickly.
He never tells me *exactly* which gedol he consults with for any particular issue; this makes sense because these are private psaks. If the gedol wanted to publish that particular halachic opinion, it is up for the gedol to do so! Similarly, I don’t publish my own rav’s name although I’ve referred people to him personally. The gedolim I’ve most often heard him mention are Rabbi Hershel Schachter and Rabbi David Cohen. But if he personally heard a ruling from The Rav, he almost always paskens that way, even when The Rav was a Daat Yachid.
which Rabbi David Cohen?
“..but I tried calling more than once…but the Rov never called back even once”
Most Rabbonim today are far busier than their predecessors of time past. They do not have the time for playing telephone tag, unless you are someone that the Rav knows or are a regular mispallel in his shul. You will have to keep trying to reach him on the telephone or better yet, go to where the Rav davens and speak to him personally. The main point here is, as I stated earlier, you should have a Rav all the time, not just when you need him.
Ofcourse, sorry to hear about the difficulties. It is not a bad idea to try to attend one of his weekly shiurim, and speak afterward. However, if that is not possible, then it may take time. One thing for sure, is that the weeks before Pesach are the worst for any Rav. I myself who know him very well, never try to call during that time, unless it is an immediate and quick Pesach shayla.
If you can wait until after Yom Tov, may be best. However, if it is urgent, then maybe keep trying. Note, the secretary is not Jewish. This Rav always felt that having a frum, Jewish secretary means that people’s private matters may somehow get out into the Jewish community at large. He therefore bdvaka has a non-Jewish secretary who is unlikely to have any frum friends to whom she might unwittingly relate anybody’s personal info.
i called the number in the book, left a message and was called back. my question was answered.
Who’m I gonna call? … Ghostbusters
yeah my mother called R” blumenkranz too-he was my mothers teacher……shes says the same this that she doesnt know who to call….
there is a number in the Blumenkrantz book that you can call-718-337-6056. Mods, its in the book for this year so its a public number. again there is rabbi binyamin forst who is also available. whenever i call he is very patient and takes the time to answer my questions. i only call him if i cant get in touch with my Rav or if I’m calling about something more intense. since my rav is in constant contact with Rabbi Forst it is ok. you can ask him anything and he is there to gladly answer it for you. i always made it a point to say who i was whether he asked or not because i wanted him to know who i was etc. B”H he is a really special man!
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