As the shloshim of Rabbi Ovadiah Dubin, z”l, approaches, two of his daughters, Goldie Minkowitz and Aliza Rabinowitz of Teaneck, wish to share the words of tribute composed by two of Rabbi Dubin’s grandchildren, which so eloquently detail the 98-year life of a talmid chacham who shared his wisdom with talmidim of all backgrounds for over 75 years:

Early Years

In September of 1929, as the United States was slipping into the Great Depression, R’ Yisroel Eliyahu Dubin, an upholsterer by trade, made a decision to leave Philadelphia and move to New York in order to enroll his son in yeshiva. This at a time when the “Upholsterer’s Journal” had taken out a full-page ad that month warning upholsterers not to come to New York as there were no jobs available. But R’ Yisroel Eliyahu was undeterred. As he wrote in his autobiography, “I decided that if I wanted to save my children from becoming assimilated amongst the goyim, then I must immediately leave Philadelphia. My Ovadiah was to become six years old on Shemini Atzeres and the time was now… The day I enrolled my son in Chaim Berlin was the happiest day of my life.”

The son who would be turning six years old on Shemini Atzeres was Rabbi Ovadiah Dubin, z”l, who was niftar on the 24th of Shevat, January 26, at the age of 98. Rabbi Dubin’s life was a testament to his father’s vision and foresight. Rabbi Ovadiah Dubin, z”l, lived his entire life within the bounds of a yeshiva: as a student at Chaim Berlin and Torah Vodaath, as a rebbe in Chaim Berlin, Salanter, HILI and other day schools and talmud Torahs, and in his later years as a mentor to talmidim in Yeshiva Gedolah of Shaar Yoshuv.

A Master Mechanech From a Young Age

During his years at Chaim Berlin, Rabbi Ovadia Dubin developed a close relationship with both Rav Hutner and Rav Yaakov Moshe Shurkin, a talmid of the Chofetz Chaim. He not only learned Torah from Rav Shurkin, but he absorbed his pedagogical methods and approach to chinuch. Rav Surkin had once commented, “He [Rabbi Dubin] literally took everything from me!

Exactly how I explain a sugya and exactly how I speak to talmidim.”

Rav Hutner recognized Rabbi Dubin’s exceptional potential as a mechanech early on. When only 21, Rav Hutner called Rabbi Dubin into his office and asked him to take over a high school class for a teacher who was ill. Rabbi Dubin took over the class and achieved an astounding degree of success, although only a few years older than his students.

After Rabbi Dubin’s marriage to Sarah Ettel (Susi) Beller, he obtained a job as a rebbe at the Salanter Yeshiva in the Bronx. Several years into his career at Salanter, Rav Hutner sent a young bachur newly arrived from Eastern Europe to Rabbi Dubin to be mentored by him. That bachur was Rav Chaim Segal, who was later renowned as a master mechanech and the eventual menahel of Chaim Berlin.

From Salanter, Rabbi Dubin moved on to HILI Day School in Far Rockaway and then to other schools and talmud Torahs. After many years in Jewish schools, Rabbi Dubin was offered a position teaching history in public school. There, he had a tremendous impact on thousands of students. He always kept a spare set of tefillin in the back of his classroom as well as a small library of basic Jewish sefarim. He served on the committee that developed the Hebrew Regents and took special pleasure in including the names of his grandchildren in the questions.

Rabbi Dubin was an expert ba’al koreh and master of Hebrew language and dikduk, grammar. He taught many of his grandchildren to lein and bought a special Megillas Esther for any grandchild who actually leined for a kahal.

A special story was related about his unique style in leining. One of his grandsons, Dr. Reuven Minkowitz, was attending an orthopedic convention in Los Angeles. He was asked to lein on Shabbos and did so in the meticulous way he had been taught by his grandfather. After davening, a doctor approached him and asked him where he had learned to lein because his style had reminded him very much of his own teacher, Mr. Dubin. Overhearing this, another doctor shared that he had learned to lein from his teacher, Rabbi Dubin, in the same distinctive manner.

Retirement: A Return to Yeshiva

After the tragic passing of his beloved wife Susi in a car accident in 2001, Rabbi Dubin’s world was shattered. Fortunately, he found solace by returning to yeshiva full time. He spent entire days at Yeshiva Shaar Yoshuv in Far Rockaway, exhibiting tremendous hasmada in his learning.

At the levaya for Rabbi Dubin, Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Naftoli Yaeger described how Rabbi Dubin became a role model for the talmidim. He would arrive every morning at 8 a.m. after having davened and learned Daf Yomi at his shul. He would then learn until 6 p.m., taking only brief breaks to eat and exercise. Bachurim would approach him and request to learn with him, which he always obliged, learning whatever they preferred. He was totally committed to these special sedarim so that when his own grandchildren would come to visit, he made sure that it did not interfere with these sessions. His bond with these talmidim was so strong that they would vie for the privilege to drive him to and from yeshiva. Many invited Rabbi Dubin to give them divrei bracha under the chuppah.

Fluent in Shas and Tanach

Rabbi Dubin was fluent in Shas as well as Tanach. One Yom Kippur when he was in his 90s, a grandson took out a Gemara to learn with him. Rabbi Dubin asked him what masechta he was learning and then proceeded to recite the text from memory. On another occasion, when he had limited use of his fingers and someone would have to turn the pages for him, he was able to lein the haftarah from memory when the individual turned two pages ahead. He was known to give shiurim on the mesorah gedolah and mesorah ketana in Tanach, a subject unknown to most.

The Quintessential Mechanech

Rabbi Dubin saw in every situation in life an opportunity to teach. His sons recalled that when they were quite young their younger sister went missing on a Shabbos. Rabbi Dubin called them over and said, “I am going to call the police now as we have a situation of pikuach nefesh.” After his daughter was found, he once again addressed his young sons, “I am going to walk to the police station now to get your sister. But if they would have told me that she was sad and scared, I would have driven over even on Shabbos as that would be a case of pikuach nefesh.”

A great-grandson related how as a young boy, he was not able to pronounce the “ches” sound in his own name. Rabbi Dubin comforted him by telling him that the Gemara says that Rav Chiya also could not pronounce the “ches” in his name. Rabbi Dubin then successfully taught him to pronounce his name.

The lessons Rabbi Dubin taught reached their target because of the love he had for his family.

He knew each of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was aware of all of the details of their lives. He knew which ones had strep throat and which one had won an award in yeshiva—even well into his 90s. He never forgot the birthday of a child, grandchild or great-grandchild.

A Final Lesson in Kibud Av

Rabbi Dubin’s grandchildren were zocheh to an unforgettable, awe-inspiring lesson in kibud av

to a level unknown by most. His children changed their entire lives around to share in the caring for their beloved father with great mesiras nefesh during his final years.

Rabbi Dubin is survived by his sons R’ Avrohom and R’ Gershon, and by his daughters Goldie Minkowitz, Aliza Rabinowitz, Esther Shurin and Debbie Schuss, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren inspired by and following in his derech. Yehi zichro baruch!