Editor’s note: Read our tributes to Rabbi Kaminetsky, z”l, at the following links: Rabbi Avi Bernstein, Rabbi Moshe Benovitz, Avi Rosalimsky, and Steve Gutlove.

Last week the community mourned the sudden passing of Rabbi Dovid Kaminetsky, beloved husband of Sury, father of Rabbi Yisroel and Elisheva Kaminetsky, Shimmie and Beth Kaminetsky, Lisa and Rabbi Yosef Zakutinsky, and Daniel and Heather Kaminetsky.

Rabbi Kaminetsky’s career in Jewish education included serving as principal of the Moriah School, Manhattan Day School, director of Camp Mogen Avraham, national director of NCSY, and most recently as associate principal of Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey.

Over the course of the last 16 years as associate principal at RYNJ, Rabbi Kaminetsky guided and mentored countless young men, helping them develop exceptional middot, a deep understanding of and appreciation for Torah and a love for Hashem and for His people. Through the hallways each day walked this giant of a man with a smiling and warm countenance as he greeted and spoke with everyone.

In his calm, warm tone, Rabbi Kaminetsky inquired not only how the students were performing in school, but made it clear that his greater concern was the general well-being of each boy.

The lasting relationships that he forged with his students have extended through the generations, which were a source of exceptional pride to him. His efforts in attending every single simcha possible was always appreciated.

Beyond the emotional and religious fortitude that Rabbi Kaminetsky provided the hundreds of students who have passed through the RYNJ middle school, he created and strengthened a comprehensive Judaic studies academic program that empowered and fueled some of the most outstanding Torah students in the metropolitan area.

Please see our special appreciation section for Rabbi Kaminetsky on pages 16 through 19. May the Kaminetsky family, as well as his friends and talmidim, be comforted among all the mourners of Zion and Yerushalayim.