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| Sheldon Kirshner, ZL |
Having just returned from Israel - visiting my son and his
family for Pesach, the last thing I did before returning to Chicago was attend his massively attended funeral there. I think I can say without fear of contradiction
that the ‘standing room only’ crowd was one of the largest ever to attend a
funeral in Israel of someone who lived in the US. And that was after the funeral
he had the day before in Chicago. Which was surely as large if not larger! There
is a reason for that.
Sheldon Kirshner was larger than life. That was the phrase I
heard most by those who spoke a bit about him on that day. It was the first
thing that came to mind after the initial shock of hearing of his death. He
loved everybody. And everybody that knew him loved him back.
I don’t think he had an enemy in the world, even though he
had a penchant for telling it like it is. When Sheldon spoke people believed
him They trusted his sincerity even if they disagreed with him. Sheldon was an iconoclast.
I envied his determination to be who he was without caring about what other
people thought or did.
Sheldon was an ardent religious Zionist and yet he had
tremendous repsct for the Satmar Rebbe. Refusing to criticize his anti-Israel
views even though he strongly disagreed with him.
His knowledge of the Malbim had few peers. And Sheldon
quoted him often when giving a D’var Torah. Which were often unique and
original. Truly a brilliant mind that never acted in any way that flaunted it.
A humble human being, to say the least. That alone would give him a ‘Lichtige
Gan Edan’.
But his true essence was in how he raised his children. He was all about family. How he loved them. And how they loved him back. When I say ‘family’ I mean those who considered themselves part of his family that were not at all related to him. People that came from difficult circumstances that he treated like his own 7 children. Often to the point of training them via his chosen profession as an electrical engineer, and helping them start a career.
To this day they consider themselves to be members of the Kirshner family.
He taught his children the true meaning of ‘Kol Yisroel Areivim Zeh BaZeh’. If
he saw a fellow Jew in trouble, he did not hesitate to help them. That attitude rubbed
off on all of his children.
And yet he never hid his emotions, crying at every family
simcha. When reciting a Bracha under the
Chupah for one of his children or grandchildren he could barely make it through
the Bracha without crying.
His Hashkafos were similar to mine. As was his approach to
raising children, letting each child be who ever they chose to be (within the boundaries
of Halacha, of course). As adults they have chosen the path that suits each one
of them best from. From modern Orthodox
to Charedi. All are deeply devoted to Torah, its study, and Mitzvos.
They are different and yet they are as close as any family can
ever be. Role models for the Jewish people.
There is so much more to Sheldon Kirshner I could say. But the one thing I want to convey is how much
I truly loved that man and how lucky I am to have become part of his loving
family.
Baruch Dayan HaEmes
