תורה מציון

Who was Moshe Green? Why do we feel his loss so profoundly? What lessons can we learn from the way he lived his life?

At a most basic level, Moshe was a builder, both of family and institutions. The eloquent Hespedim delivered at his funeral, attested to his manifold activities as patriarch of his extended family and his numerous philanthropic leadership roles at institutions of Jewish learning. We, too, at the Lincoln Square Synagogue Kollel feel his loss at the most basic of levels. For Moshe Green not only co-chaired the Religious Zionist Kollel Network from the Israeli side, at it was not only his scholarship fund which provided the stipends for the Kollel fellows on the American side, but he also worked hard to insure the coordination and unity of the various parties. Moshe Green was a philanthropic leader, not only of many institutions, but a leader who toiled to facilitate strong bonds between all communal institutions.

But there was a deeper message in the way Moshe Green lived his life. Not infrequently, major philanthropists care more about their power, their plaques, their "kavod" and their honorary degrees. Access to them is simply not for students. Not so with Moshe Green - his was more interested in hearing what the students had to say, and how to improve the existing institutions or create new ones, rather than just perpetuating the status quo. Moshe Green wanted to hear and see the Beit Midrash itself and not just the boardroom politics.

I had the privilege of knowing Mr. Green for almost a decade, most of my adult life. We first met when I was a twenty years old RIET student making a presentation in front of the RIETs Board of Directors. I spoke about the creation of the YUSSR organization to spread Torah in then the Soviet Union and the wonderful work of RIETS smikha students responsible for that operation. Most of the attendees listened politely and then returned to their more important issues on the agenda. But Mr. Greens reaction was to promptly write a thousand $ check to the student organization and then proceed to insist that the students be honored at the annual RIET dinner. And so it was, that for the only time in recent memory, a group of students where the focus of attention at the RIETS dinner, with Mr. Green , of course, speaking in their honor and presenting their award.

****

Three month ago, Moshe Green approached me requesting that I deliver a shiur to commemorate the yahrzeit of his parents. I refused. Why? I explained that it would be a much greater honor to his parents were it to be he who would make a siyyum in their memory. He hesitated, not fully confident in his own abilities. I insisted, noting that he could start a trend of lay people making siyyumim for yahrzeits, instead of the prevalent custom of merely sponsoring a Kiddush. And so after initial hesitation, Moshe Green began studying Maimonides 'Hilchot Chamez Umazah', in part in Chavrutah and in part on his own, making his siyyum in memory of his parents on Chol Hamoed Pessach. Little did we realize, that only a couple of month thereafter we would all be planning siyyumim to honor his memory.

My last conversation with Moshe Green related to the possibility of personally coming to share in the Torah of the Kollel's sedarim on a daily basis. The idea appealed to him on two levels. He desired to see with his own eyes what the Religious Zionist Kollels were accomplishing and he aspired to personally reap some of the fruits of his labor and support. Moshe decided that on his next stay in the US he would give the life of a Kollel Bachur a try for a couple of hours a day. Hakadosh Baruch huh however ordained, though, that it was simply not to be.

Moshe Green once mentioned to me that he and his wife Charlotte gave 50% of their annual income to tzeddakah. This is most certainly an awesome standard for us all to aspire to! But what I would add is that Moshe also dedicated much more than 50% of his time and energy to Torat Israel, Am Israel Ve'Eretz Israel. Moshe Green not only envisioned but he also built and lived our ideals and institutions, participating at once with their students and with their leaders, as a student and as a leader. It is this shining example and legacy from which we have learned in the past and will hopefully continue to learn from in the years to come.

Yehe Zichro baruch!