17 Responses

1. One of the great legendary figures in chinuch in America.

2. Baruch Dayan Ha’emes ! What a loss.

3. AS HEARD FROM SOMEONE (not my writing)

   Rav Nachman Mandel was my first grade Rebbe in HILI way back in 1975-76. It should be noted that while I went to a frum yeshiva, my family and I were not frum at the time. Even so, Rabbi Mandel treated me no different from any of the other children in the class. I was never singled out for my lack of Shabbos observance. He always took great care to see to it that my parents were never put down in front of me for their lack of being frum. In short, I learned chumash, halacha, etc. with the rest of the class. Did it cause some problems learning that watching TV was forbidden on Shabbos when it was done in the home? Yeah, it was a bit of a disconnect, but I managed to survive.

   Rabbi Mandel was an influence on me for the remainder of my life. I only saw him once or twice after that first grade year (My family moved to New Jersey the following year), but yet, he still continued to exert a positive influence not only on me but also on my mother as well. She credits him as one of the reasons why she is frum today — and me by extension.

   It seems odd to reflect on the fact that 30 years ago, a frum yeshiva allowed a kid who was not Shomer Shabbos into the school. To my knowledge, none of my classmate’s parents called the school to complain. I wasn’t banned from playing with any of my classmates. I (and my family) were simply accepted as a part of the group. I don’t know if Rabbi Mandel had any say about my being in his class, but if he did, then he was one who understood that in order to be m’karev people, you have to draw them close, not drive them away. He (and the yeshiva administration) saw the potential in our family, and chose to act kindly and mentchlichkeit. Rather than turn us away from the yeshiva, they opened their doors, and because of that decision, a child who wasn’t frum in their first grade class is a Shomer Torah U’Mitzvos today.

   (I find it interesting to contrast this with the treatment we received a mere five years later. Five years later, my parents were separated. My mother became a Shomeres Torah U’Mitzvos. My father remained [and remains to this day] not frum. Whereas five years earlier we were accepted in HILI even though we were not Shomer Shabbos at all, my mother faced great difficulties getting me into a yeshiva now that we were frum. In particular, one school would accept me only on condition that I had no contact with my father — a condition that my mother turned down flat.)

   I still, to this day, have many memories about Rabbi Mandel’s class. To my knowledge, he never became angry at the children and tried to engage them at whatever level they were at. I remember one time, we were learning Chumash. Well, at least the class was — I, on the other hand, wasn’t paying much attention. My attention was captured by the chart above the blackboard listing all the parshiyos of the Torah. While my Hebrew reading skills were okay for a first grader, but there were still some words that stumped me. And so, right in the middle of chumash class, I raised my hand and asked the rebbe how to pronounce the second to last parsha in Sefer Sh’mos. Even though this clearly gave away the fact that I was not paying attention to the lesson, nonetheless, with love and calmness, he answered my question (“Vayakhel”) without any trace of anger.

   Rabbi Mandel was the first person who made me aware of tefillin. My father didn’t even own a set of tefillin, so I had never seen one. Perhaps that’s why one day he took off his jacket and showed the class the marks that were left behind on his arm by the leather straps. Thinking back on it, I’m almost certain that it was done mostly for my benefit — I’m certain that just about the entire rest of the class had seen their fathers putting on tefillin.

   Rabbi Mandel gave out stars as rewards for learning. I still remember with fondness the small oaktag squares with the stamped stars on them. Even rarer were the ones with a five on them, indicating that it was worth five stars. Every month, he would take out a bunch of toys and “sell” them to the boys in exchange for the stars. In addition, he also made sure that every boy in the class got *something*, even if they didn’t have any stars that month.

   Another fond memory of Rabbi Mandel was the fact that he always made sure to call me by both my Hebrew names. I asked him about this and he explained to me that my Hebrew names came from two different people. However, to call me by just one would be, in a way, showing disrespect to the person from whom my second name derives. In order to honor both people, he said, he called me by both names. That was a powerful lesson that stuck with me though the years. When my kids were younger I used to call them by their full names, specifically because I was taught to do so by Rabbi Mandel. While I can’t say that I still do so 100% of the time, I still try to call them by their full names as often as possible.

   Lastly, I remember that I once won a siddur as a prize in first grade. Rabbi Mandel decorated the inside of the cover with my name. I still have that siddur today, partly as a reminder of the kindness that Rabbi Mandel showed toward us.

   The love and caring that Rabbi Mandel showed me has stayed with me for many years. It was his tolerance of a non-frum kid in his class, and his ability to look beyond that fact and still show love and caring that was a major factor in my being observant today. If more yeshivas would have the approach that Rabbi Mandel used thirty some odd years ago, there might be many more Jews who are Shomer Torah U’Mitzvos in the world today.

   May his memory be blessed.
   Baruch Dayan HaEmes.

4. The levaya in LA (8:30 p.m. EDT) will be able to be heard live on Kol HaLashon – (718) 906-6400, press * for live shiurim, press number for Hespedim (will not say the name).

   For a beautiful story about Rebbe, look in the Foreward of A Touch of Warmth by Rabbi Yechiel Spero.

5. Thank you oy vey. That was from my blog.

   The Wolf

6. He was my first grade reebe in TAG I will never forget his smile pulling teeth and jumping over the chair when everyone was in school. I still have my firsy grade siddur with his beautiful handwriting in iy. What an amzing mechanech he was
   Baruch dayan haemes.

7. I was also in Rabbi Mandel’s class (or Rebbe as we called him even in a girl’s school) about 30 years ago. I learned to read in Rebbe’s class and still use his technique with my own children. I remember those stars. Our “five stars” were on a red background and I earned one by memorizing all the parshios. I don’t have my siddur anymore but I do have a bencher that has my name that I received for doing Rebbe’s summer homework! I used to go sit next to him in shul on Shabbos (Yes he let a girl sit next to him!) and He always told us to follow in the chumash with our finger on the place. I still do this today. When I went to visit him about 12 years ago, He not only remembered me, He also remembered my parents by name and some of my siblings too! He had a very positive influence on me!(and I came from a very frum home!) He was a very special person who will be sorely missed! May He be a Melitz Yosher for his whole family and for Gantz Klal Yisroel!

8. h\The family will bw sitting SHIVAH in Brooklyn at:
   1680-59 st.

9. Thank you for sharing all those stories of Rav Mandel.

10. Harav Mandel Zatzal is survived by his wife, Rebbetzin Yitla Mandel; his three sons, Rabbi Moshe Mandel from Brooklyn, Rabbi Yehuda Mandel from Lakewood, Rabbi Hillel Mandel from Boston; his four daughters, Mrs. Rochel Feder from Crown Heights, Mrs. Chavy Israel from Brooklyn, Mrs. Frumie Weiner from LA, and Mrs. Miriam Silber from Brooklyn; scores of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren and students.

11. If anyone would like to listen to the Hespedim of the LA levaya on Kol HaLashon, call (718) 906-6400, press 8, then 10, then 16. It takes about 1 1/2 minutes until it starts.

    The first maspid was HaRav Avrohom Teichman, Shlita, the Rav of Agudas Yisroel of LA. The second maspid was HaRav Hillel Mandel, Shlita, a son of the niftar, Menahel of Torah Academy of Boston. The third maspid was HaRav Avrohom Mordechai Weiner, Shlita, a son-in-law of the niftar, 7th grade Rebbe in Yeshiva Toras Emes, Rebbe in Maimondides and Sho’el U’Maishiv in Mesivta Bircas Yitzchok in LA. The last maspid was HaRav Yaakov Krause, Shlita, a nephew of the niftar and Menahel of Yeshivas Toras Emes of LA.

    Yehi Zichro Baruch.

12. i, too was in hili back in ’61–i was in the other class so i never had the benefit of his chinuch but i will always remember him during recess always interacting and playing with ALL kids in the yard–he taught me how to swing upside down on the seesaw pole, among other things–i didn’t really know his children but frumie was in my class in 2nd grade(i still have the class picture)—i would concur with the person who commented on hili’s “open” policy–we had all kinds of kids in my class and we never gave much thought to who’s frummer than whom.

13. is there a phone number where they r sitting?

14. to #13..1-718-236-2145 (from “hamodia”)

15. If anyone would like to listen to the Hespedim of the LA levaya on Kol HaLashon, call (718) 906-6400, press 8, then 10, **then 9 ***, (then 4 in archives):
    1)The first maspid was HaRav Avrohom Teichman, Shlita, the Rav of Agudas Yisroel of LA.
    2) The second maspid was HaRav Hillel Mandel, Shlita, a son of the niftar, Menahel of Torah Academy of Boston.
    3) The third maspid was HaRav Avrohom Mordechai Weiner, Shlita, a son-in-law of the niftar, 7th grade Rebbe in Yeshiva Toras Emes, Rebbe in Maimondides and Sho’el U’Maishiv in Mesivta Bircas Yitzchok in LA.
    4) The last maspid was HaRav Yaakov Krause, Shlita, a nephew of the niftar and Menahel of Yeshivas Toras Emes of LA.

16. Just some of the memories of my 1st grade rebbi, Rabbi Nachman Mandel, Z”L.

    1. In HILI, our Hebrew teacher, Rabbi Nachman Mandel, Z”L, explained to the class an activity that we will be doing at an area of the school grounds that was covered with untouched snow. We were to do this by standing in line and then (staying line) walking through the snow. He gave us signals of when to start, stop, turn by using a whistle. And thereby forming a picture from the footprints of the entire class. He went to the blackboard, and quickly drew a dotted line that illustrated the path we were going to walk and how it will form a picture. I remember some students were impressed with the technique he used to quickly draw a dotted line using chalk. We then put on our coats and accomplished the assignment. It was a large star made out of our footprints.

    2. On the last, or one of the last, days of first grade, Rabbi Mandel told the class, “Next year you will be in second grade, but I will still be in first grade”.

    3. He would tell the our class stories of the Jewish holidays and history, and (perhaps when other first graders not in our class joined) he played the stories on a reel-to-reel tape recorder. (I wonder if anyone ever transferred these to DVD or digital form. I am willing to.)

    4. He said when you teach someone Hebrew, then whenever they daven or learn torah, the teacher also gets a mitzvah.

    -Chayim O.

17. One more memory:
    5. One time he asked the class to open their siddurs to the Avinu Malkeinu prayer. He then asked “How many Avinu Malkeinus are there? Please do not say it out loud; when you think you know the answer please come up, and tell me in my ear.”
    Then we all started counting the words “Avinu Malkeinu” in the prayer. I think one student got the answer right. He then explained to the class, that since Avinu Malkeinu was Hashem, the answer is there is only one Avinu Malkeinu.