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| Rav Yehoshua Heshel Eichenstein, ZTL |
I first met him when I was in 9th grade in Telshe. I was 14. He was just a few years older than me and was in the 2nd highest Shiur in the Beis HaMedrash. Back in those days (1961-62) there was a Mussar Vaad for high school students every Friday night led by a Beis HaMedrash student. Rav Eichenstein was my Mussar Vaad leader. We learned Mesilas Yesharim.
Back then Rav Echenstein was clean shaven and wore a suit. Looking the way most Beis HaMedrash students did.
After I left Telshe to attend HTC high school, I did not see him again until he returned to Chicago to teach Gemerah at HTC. He was a favorite to his many students because of his kind and gentle ways.
About a year before I got married he opened a Shul (in an office building he bought from some Christian missionaries) in West Rogers Park. It was about a mile or so away from my home in Hollywood Park. I attended the second Shabbos after it opened - and continued doing that for the next 25 years with my wife whom I married a year after my first Shabbos there.
Although he looked like one, Rav Eichenstein was not your typical Chasidic Rebbe. He was educated in Telshe Yeshiva where he received an secular education to go along with his religious education. That was reflected in his vocabulary when he spoke publicly. He did not hold court. Or have any of the trappings of Chasidus other then his manner of dress and a love of his Chasidic heritage.
He sought to be a mentor to anyone and everyone, regardless of Hashkafa or religious background. His goal was to inspire people to honor and participate more in their Jewish heritage. He was not just about talking the talk. He walked the walk. Big time.
He instituted many Shiurim and eventually built a beautiful new Shul, Chesed L'Avrohom on the location where his old shul stood. At the time it was the first new Orthodox Shul to be built in the Chicago religious community in many years. He correctly reasoned that as the wealth of the Jewish community increased, there would be enough money in the community to do that.
The Shul was only the beginning. He soon added many different Minyanim for Shachris, Mincha and Maariv, every weekday. Just about any time you want to find a Minyan, you could find one there. A few years ago he started a Chasidic Kollel in his shul that is flourishing to this day. there is an Arichas Yomim Shiur for the ;elderly that he incorporated into the Shul auspecies.
If you wanted Shmurah Matzah he had made the trip to the Shotzer Matzah factory to personally supervise the baking of hand Matzos and did not charge a penny over his cost. And I am certain he gave a lot of it away free to people who couldn’t afford it.
But even that was a drop in the bucket of what he built. He truly wanted his institution to be a place where every Jew could find everything they needed. I am not exaggerating. What is now known simply as The Center was born. To mention just a few of the things The Center does - apartments are available in the neighborhood where Meshulachim can stay free of charge as they collect their much needed funds.
The Center provides meals for people in need delivered free of charge any day of the week via volunteers to those than need them.
Refuah 311 has a huge medical building that houses medical services that include doctors and other medical professionals in a variety of specialties. The Center has organized CPR courses, had defibrillators distributed to all the Shuls, provides a taxi service that could be Halachicly used on Shabbos.
Even something as simple as a bicycle helmet is available at the Shul cost of (about $5 when I investigated it about 10 years ago.)
The list goes on.
The empire he built is unmatched in Chicago. I have only scratched the surface of his many accomplishments. I am sure that I have missed many of the things he has done in Chicago for the Jewish community. He was tireless in his pursuit of serving the Jewish people. Available to all at all times. Never refusing a call. Never turning down a call for help. He seemed to have a personal relationship with any and all Jews that came his way.
To say that Rav Eichenstein was an inspirational figure is an understatement. His absence will be felt. And he will be sorely missed. Baruch Day HaEmes.
