Rabbi Kelemer Zt'l, Shiva Information Attached
5TC Team
Shiva information for Rabbi Kelemer has been updated as follows:
Shiva for Rabbi Yehuda Kelemer, zt"l, will be observed at the ​​​​​​​Kelemer residence, 689 Adams Avenue, West Hempstead, NY until Friday, January 15.
UPDATED SHIVA VISITING HOURS
(No visitors between 1:00 – 2:00 PM and 6:00 – 6:30PM)
For all those who are not comfortable making an in-person shiva visit, ​​​​The Kelemer family understands and Rebbetzin Kelemer can be reached by phone from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM at 516-538-9267 or 516-639-0056.
Minyanim:
Shacharis – 8:30 AM
Mincha/Maariv – 4:30 PM
המקום ינחם אותם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים
Levaya will take place Sunday morning at 11 am. Due to current health and safety concerns, we kindly request that nobody, aside from the Kelemer family, come to the shul in person.
Shiva details to follow.
May we share simchos and b'soros tovos together.
UPDATED: The Levaya will be Sunday morning at 11 AM, Zoom information to follow. The Levaya will only be for family members due to COVID concerns, all are asked to view the Levaya virtually. Yihi Zichro Baruch.
With great sadness and amidst tears we share the news of the loss of our mara d'asra, Rabbi Kelemer zt'l. There are not enough words to convey the agonizing emotions of this moment.
Despite our pain and shock as a shul/community, our 1st thoughts are about Rebbetzin Kelemer and the entire Kelemer family. Supporting them in this challenging time is our priority and sacred obligation. As such, we remind everyone to please respect the privacy of the Kelemer family. They will guide us as to how we can best support them, comfort them and give proper kavod to Rabbi Kelemer zt'l in the hours, days and weeks ahead.
Further details will be shared shortly as they are clarified.
Rabbi Josh Goller and Arthur Cooperberg
Rav Kelemer zt"l was a tzadik whose torah greatness was concealed only by his extreme humility and gentle nature. The rare community rabbi who was universally revered. A tzadik among us who acted as if he were one of us. #YehiZichroBaruch
— Aryeh Lebowitz (@bknwrabbi) January 8, 2021
5TC wishes the family and community a Nechama on this tremendous loss, Shiva details to follow.
Devorah Taitz January 8, 2021 At 9:58 am
So sorry to hear this. Boruch Dayan HaEmes! I had an encounter with him years ago. He was a tzadik!
Big loss for klal yisroel! A real tzadik!
Mordecai Muchnick January 8, 2021 At 10:12 am
We have lost Moshe Rabeinu all over again. BDE
Rochy Fried January 8, 2021 At 10:31 am
Rav Kelemer zt"l, was a rare gem. Yes, he WAS universally beloved, but that is because of his anivus, his gentle and kind demeanor, his love of Klal Yisroel, AND his incredible Torah and secular knowledge. His loss is not only profound for the community of West Hempstead, but for all of us whose lives he touched so deeply. My family and I are devastated by his petirah. May he be a meilitz yosher for all of us. We have lost another Giant.
Rochy and Yaakov Fried
Yaakov Kranz January 8, 2021 At 10:32 am
Unbelievable loss! Not only for the West Hempstead community, but for the whole Klall Yisroel! He was available even on the wee hours of the night to answer Shaalos. Recently he went far beyond the call to help our family even though I have had a brief aquatince many years ago. A real Tzadik !!! יהא זכרו ברוך
Esther Warshaw January 8, 2021 At 11:06 am
Boruch Dayan Haemes……. what a loss to his family and the community
So very sad. Baruch Dayan HaEmes. Wishing his whole mishpacha Nechama and koach.
Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer January 8, 2021 At 2:13 pm
BDE. A true nistar who would have ranked amongst the greatest Geodlim of the day, but his extraordinary anavah came before his breathtaking chochmoh.
Dov January 10, 2021 At 10:46 am
BDE He was a Gaon in Middos and Torah. A hidden gadol who ran from kavod to give kavod.
Israel Root January 10, 2021 At 10:49 am
The Last of the Mohicans-Rabbi Kelemer
Tonight is a very hard night to write because I'm deeply saddened by the petira of Rabbi Kelemer. Five weeks ago, I blasted "Pulpit Rabbi's" who are indifferent to their constituents. Rabbi's acting like actors on stage forgetting their role eagerly abandoning the very people who put them there in the first place to go lecturing. Why does it take days before the Rabbi calls you back and then tells you before you even talk "I only have two minutes to talk"? Why are Rabbis going off to exotic locations, especially on Yom Tovim, when your followers need you?
Rabbi Kelemer, is one of the Last Mohicans. Rabbi Kelemer was a people's Rabbi. He didn't go prancing to the limelight. Yom Tovim, Rabbi Kelemer was in his shul, home, and neighborhood because he cared about his people. Rabbi Kelemer was a hands-on Rabbi to the community of West Hempstead for 35-40 years, the neighborhood that he cherished and loved. Rabbi Kelemer would not let competing stores come in because he didn't want the sole business to suffer harm.
At first, I was in disbelief. It couldn't be! He is a sterling gem. He is universally loved by everybody and that is a chiddush (novelty) for Rabbi's to be loved by all. His shul has over 700+ families and is growing. I have attended that shul on Shabbos and witnessed the incredible love and devotion that his congregation has for him. You can Google or use Wikipedia to research his credentials as a Torah giant-pre-eminent posek, shul Rabbi, and publisher of numerous seforim but the purpose of this article is to dramatize the humility and warmth that he has for every fellow Jew.
Here is a story sent to me by my sister written by Rav Daniel Glanz entitled "My 'Chance' his encounter with Harav Yehuda Kelemer Shlita:
Seventeen years ago my Grandmother passed away after a long bout with Alzheimers. It was the first time my siblings and I had lost a grandparent and it was very difficult. After the levaya my father asked me to take my brothers and sister in my car and drive in the back of the line of cars headed to the cemetery to ensure that no one got lost. As we were on our way the car suddenly filled up with smoke and I was forced to pull over onto the shoulder of the highway. Since we were the last car in line, no one noticed what had happened to us. Back in those days not everyone had a cellphone which was unfortunately our situation.
So there I was, stuck on the side of the highway with a disabled, smoking car, without a cellphone with my two younger brothers and sister. After trying to wave down cars for nearly a half an hour a kind person stopped on the side of the road. He asked me if I was alright and offered to let me use his cellphone. Unfortunately I did not know my father's cellphone number or the name of the cemetery. I noticed that the man was in a rush and thanked him and he went on his way.
After another twenty minutes or so passed I had all but given up on trying to wave down cars and was thinking how this whole situation must have ruined the funeral and had my parents' worried sick. Suddenly, a young looking Rabbi pulled over to the side of the road. My little sister was on the verge of tears. The Rabbi immediately took over the show. He calmed all of us down and with a calm and warm smile told us that he wouldn't leave our side until all had been settled. Since I did not know the name of the cemetery he spent the next twenty minutes calling every cemetery in the area until he found the right one and left a message for my parents that everything was alright. He then waited with us for another forty five minutes until the tow truck arrived and he then loaded us up into his car and followed the tow truck to the nearest service station.
After arriving I went over to him and thanked him profusely for all of his help. He told me that he had spoken with my parents and told them where we were and that they would be there shortly. However, as much as I tried to convince him that all was under control and that he could leave, he refused. He told me that he would not leave us until my parents had arrived. So we sat in his car and schmoozed for a good hour until my parents finally arrived.
Before this encounter I had never heard of Rabbi Kelemer but I was blown away at his unbelievable willingness to provide a chesed for someone he did not know and how he performed the Mitzvah until and beyond its completion.
I have not spoken with him since but I will never forget this great act of kindness he did for me and my family. Perhaps the most staggering part of the story is that Rabbi Kelemer is a very busy man. He had no time to give more than two hours to a complete stranger on a normal day. But as I found out later, this was not a normal day for Rav Kelemer. He was actually on his way to court to help someone in his community with a very serious issue. I later found out that it was actually the busiest and most stressful day of his career up until that point and he managed to rearrange his impossible schedule and put the whole thing on hold for us, complete strangers!
This Torah giant is not just a talmid chacham but more importantly he is a gem of a person! There are hundreds of wonderful and kind stories about Rabbi Kelemer.
I had the liberty to meet and speak with Rabbi Kelemer. My older sister lives in West Hempstead and so I had the opportunity to daven in his shul. Rabbi Kelemer participated in several of my nephew's simchas too. Every time he spoke with me, I was spell-bound. I was enchanted like a magic spell came over me with the rabbi's soft-spoken words and sincere emotions that he exhibited. I never witnessed the Rabbi excoriating his congregation or displaying anger. Rabbi Kelemer was revered in his community and with everyone that came into contact with him. Rabbi Kelemer was universally loved.
In a sad but smiling way, if that makes sense, I will go to bed sleeping comfortably. Priceless gems and The Last of the Mohicans-Rabbi Kelemer, Rabbi Kaufman, Shloime Gross, Mom, Shlomo Mayer, Henney Machlis, Rebbetzin Jungreis can't be replaced!
So why am I smiling? Because we are nearing the footsteps of the coming of Moshiach and I'm very happy he is coming. The world is as zany as ever. The pandemic and the insurrection at the Capitol are hallmarks of insanity. Even Jews are caught up in the nuttiness. It's time to right the world. These acts that G-d does although hurt us and are very painful are the necessary steps needed to guide us to change our ways so that we all can benefit from Moshiach and eventually the world of truth.
(Israel Root is a freelance writer, inspirational speaker, paralegal, and educator. Please feel free to comment. You can email me at [email protected] for speaking engagements.)