BS"D

THE FOUNTAIN HAS BEEN STOPPED, THE VOICE HAS BEEN SILENCED
by Yitzhak Kolakowski

Tears filled the eyes of all Klal Yisroel last Friday when we lost one of 
the most special Tzaddikim of this generation.  HaRav HaGaon R' Avigdor 
Miller, ztk"l passed away last week shortly after 1am on Erev Shabbos,
 the 27th of Nisan.  The Rav was 93 years old.
  
That night we counted the sefirah of Hod sheb'Gevurah (Majesty of Strength).  
Rav Miller, ztk"l, was Hod Sheb'gevurah, as he was a Cohen with the zeal of 
Pinchas (Hod is the sefirah of Aaron HaCohen), and a man of incredible Gevurah.

I remember a few years ago, when I was just beginning to become religious.  
 I was spending Shabbos with my Rav in Whitelake, NY, sitting in the little 
Beis Medrash, when I picked up an old book in English called Sing You
 Righteous by a man named Rabbi Avigdor Miller.  Before long that name 
would find a constant place on my lips.  From the second I began reading 
this volume, my whole life was changed.  Rabbi Miller spoke of ideas that
 are so obvious, and yet I had never thought of or heard anything like it.  
He spoke about how we know that Hashem created the world, and how
 the evolutionists are wrong (up until then I had always believed in 
evolution b'emunah shleimah), the problems with Christianity, the 
evils of the secular world and of the university system.  He wrote in 
an unabashed style with no fear of telling it like it is.

I learned later that this great man was a Rabbi in Brooklyn who wrote
 several books and was one of the first Rabbis to record his shiurim 
(Torah lectures) on audio cassette.  His deep voice has been the
 voice of emunah and yiras shamayim for a generation of Jews. 
 He was a fountain of living water through which Hashem poured 
out life-giving truth to His people.  He was a man who studied
 carefully every word of any science, history, or literary text he 
could find, and who, with Solomonic wisdom, eloquently 
demonstrated the vanity and futility of all of them and the superiority
 of Hashem's holy Torah above all else.  His teachings, wit, and 
fearless, uncompromising style changed the lives of generations of B'nei Torah.

After reading a few more titles like Rejoice O Youth and 
Behold, A People, and listening to many of his tapes, I felt 
that Rav Miller made a huge impact in my life.  Finally, I had 
the incredible zechuss to go to that holy address at 1819 Ocean 
Parkway  to hear what many people called "the greatest shiur in
 the world" live and in person.  The kedusha one felt when one 
was merely in this man's presence was beyond description.  
And to see his holy mouth say those words I had heard on so 
many tapes, "Bruchim haboyim, welcome everyone.  We're 
about to begin, b'Ezras HaShem, number…" was an experience 
I doubt I will forget.  There was no room in his shul, as it must
 have been every Thursday evening.  Religious Jews of all kinds, 
Ashkenazim and Sefardim, Hassidim and Litvaks, and a full
 section of women behind the mehitzah, all packed together to 
hear the words of this giant from a holy, bygone world.  We all 
came to see one those holy men who left America as a bachur to 
go be moser nephesh in the Torah institutions of Lithuania, before 
they were wiped off the face of the earth; to see a remnant of 
Slabodka Yeshivah.  It was hard to believe this man was in his
 nineties.  He looked almost like he was in his sixties (his beard
 was not even entirely gray, let alone white!), and seemed almost 
to be healthier than any of us, speaking with a fervor of love of
 Hashem and love of every Jew.  After the stirring shiur, I got in
 line to approach Rav Miller and to shake his holy hands, as he
 blessed every precious Jew with "Brachah veHatzlachah"
 (blessing and success).  I was dressed in my Shabbos clothes, 
black hat and all, and I told Rav Miller, "Rebbi, thank you so
 much.  I came from a completely non-religious backround. 
 I read Sing You Righteous.  I owe it all to you, and I just 
came to say thank you."  The incredible feeling I had when
 I brought a smile to the tzaddik's face was unforgetable.

Once again, prior to my leaving to go to learn in Eretz Yisrael,
 I made it a point to go to see him again.  It was shortly after 
that time that a tragedy claimed the life of Rav Miller's grandson 
during a trip to Yerushalayim in honor of his son's Bar Mitzvah. 
 This broke his heart and his unusually robust health left him. 
 Hashem allowed His servant's voice to tell us so much, and 
then He allowed no more, for Hashem desired to hear that
perfected and holy voice praise Him in the world to come.  
This orphaned generation has lost another father.  Now Klal 
Yisrael needs to be comforted with the coming of Moshiach,
may it be so soon!  ~