The Life and Legacy of Rabbi Shlomo Lankry, zt”l

Mozelle Forman

King David teaches in the Book of Tehillim (89:3), “Olam hesed yibaneh – The world is built on kindness.” Hashem created the world with kindness, with the intention that we will emulate His graciousness.

In order to fulfill our mission of bringing hesed into the world, we must understand what hesed really means. It means an action that is motivated by a spirit of generosity, an action that we are not obligated to do, isn’t repayment for an act done for us, and for which we expect nothing in return. Hesed means giving out of a spirit of genuine and selfless generosity.

Avraham Avinu is known as the embodiment of the virtue of hesed. Rav Eliyahu Dessler, zt”l (1892-1953), explains that Avraham dispensed kindness not out of a sense of duty, but out of a burning desire to give. Avraham’s soul was infused with the spirit of hesed.

The prophet Michah instructs: “…do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your Gd.” We fulfill our spiritual destiny not by doing acts of kindness – but rather by loving those acts. Our focus must be not on the acts themselves, but on the joy we experience when we perform such acts. We are to not just act kindly, but to love acting kindly.

Rabbi Shlomo Lankry, zt”l, was such a person – someone overcome by a burning desire to help those in need, filled with compassion for his fellow man, who dedicated his life to alleviating other people’s pain and distress, with no expectation of honor or of anything in return.

Not Letting Anyone Feel Alone on His Watch

Just as Avraham sat in the doorway of his tent hoping to welcome guests, Rabbi Shlomo stood on Kings Highway waiting for an opportunity to help another person. And just like Avraham, who not only served his guests water, but fed them an entire meal, Rabbi Shlomo extended himself above and beyond, looking after all of the person’s needs.

His son, Rabbi Moshe Lankry, recalls that as a young boy, he would see his father standing in front of Sisu, his bookstore on Kings Highway, looking “to the left and to the right – not only once, but a few times. I didn’t understand what he was doing. Then one day he said to me, ‘Moshe, you see that lady? Walk her home.’ So I did. I spent an hour with her listening to her life story. And when I got back, my father asked, ‘Nu, how was it?’ I learned a lot about my father then, and a lesson for life.”

The Mishnah (Avot 1:5) instructs, “Let your house be open wide, and let the poor be members of your household.” Likewise, the Gemara (Shabbat 104a) teaches, “The way of those who do hesed is to run after the poor.” Rabbi Aaron Lankry experienced this every Friday night alongside his father.

“Every Friday night after shul, my father would take us to every shul in the neighborhood looking for a rabbi, a shaliah, anyone who didn’t have a place to go, and bring them home with us. And many times they didn’t leave; they would stay for months.”

Rabbi Shlomo Lankry’s daughter, Emily Antar, says she does not remember a week without guests.

“And I don’t mean cousins or other relatives,” she clarifies. “Our guests were people who had no place to be.”

Rabbi Aaron said his father was committed to “not letting anyone feel alone on his watch,” and he attributes this commitment to the rabbi’s own experience as a refugee arriving on American shores, when he and his family were greeted with an outpouring of kindness.

A Mission of Torah and Kindness

Rabbi Lankry was born in the village of Beni-Mellal in Morocco, which had a small but vibrant community of Torah-observant Jews. Prior to his bar-mitzvah, he was sent to learn in the Schneider Yeshiva in England, where he studied under the yeshiva’s founder, Rav Gedalia Schneider, a disciple of the Hafetz Chaim. (The Schneider Yeshiva produced a number of other outstanding rabbis, as well, such as Rav Eliezer Lopian and Rav Alter Alperin.) During his period in the yeshiva, Shlomo learned Yiddish and became acquainted with the culture of European Jewry. He would later credit his experience in the yeshiva with engendering within him the feeling that every Jew is a brother to whom one is committed to help.

At the age of 21, he returned to Morocco seeking a bride, and he married the woman who became his eshet hayil and lifelong partner, Zehava. The couple moved to Meknes, where the rabbi taught in the yeshiva while Mrs. Lankry taught in the preschool. Already early in life, he set himself on a mission to teach Torah and extend kindness to his fellow Jews.

Although the Jews in Morocco were treated well, hostility towards them intensified in 1967, following Israel’s victory in the Six Day War. For the sake of their family’s safety, Rabbi Shlomo and Zehava made the difficult decision to leave Morocco. Most of the Jews who left Morocco at this time emigrated to Israel, but Rabbi and Mrs. Lankry decided to sail to the U.S. so they could live near great yeshivot, and because they felt their two sons had a greater chance of retaining their religious commitment in America. Mrs. Lankry had two brothers learning in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn, so that is where they chose to settle.

Upon arriving in Brooklyn, Mrs. Lankry describes, they “were like a computer mouse; a force moved us around, and wherever we went, we found our way.” She says she feels an enormous debt of gratitude to all those who helped them during those early years, and she believes this experience shaped the rabbi’s commitment to helping other people and ensuring that they never feel alone. They were helped by people like the Zachs family, who invited them to live with them from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur; Mr. Meyer Birnbaum, who gave them an apartment rent-free for three months; and Rabbi Avraham Newhouse, who helped them attain their green cards. These people, among others, were the “force” sent by Hashem that guided the new immigrants to where they needed to be.

“Everyone Knows Where to Find Me”

While living in Mr. Birnbaum’s apartment, Mrs. Lankry cooked meals for him to express her gratitude. Mr. Birnbaum, owner of Mauzone catering, quickly discerned her talents as a cook, and hired her to work for the catering business. The rabbi, meanwhile, began working at Magen David Yeshivah and organized a minyan for the Moroccan students learning at the Mirrer Yeshiva.

With his keen eye for the community’s needs, the rabbi partnered with Shimon Cohen to open a store of religious books in the heart of the community. He always wanted to be near a yeshiva, and so he established his store – called Sisu – on Kings Highway, around the corner from the Mirrer Yeshiva.

Rabbi David Ozeri disputes the idea that Sisu was a store. “It was not a store,” he insists. “It barely had any merchandise. Sisu was a front – a front for the rabbi to do hesed, to save people’s lives, to be mekarev people.” In fact, Rabbi Aaron Lankry shared that a pile of checks from rabbis and Torah scholars who had purchased etrogim were found in the back of the store, having never been cashed.

Rabbi Lankry always felt that sitting on an upturned milk crate was the way he could provide the most help. He would say, “Everyone knows where to find me.”

Indeed, everyone knew that Rabbi Lankry would be there when they needed him. As the rabbinic leader of, and driving force behind, the Chevra Kadisha for over 50 years, he was the man that the entire community turned to in their darkest times. He would be available 24/7, even in the middle of the night, to guide, console and reassure. When asked why he would answer the phone at 2am knowing there was nothing he could do for the family until morning, he responded, “I have to pick up the phone in the middle of the night to say, ‘Don’t worry, I am taking care of everything’.” The rabbi couldn’t sleep knowing that a community member, whom he regarded as a family member, was in distress.

Daniel Sultan, whose father and grandfather worked alongside the rabbi in the Chevra Kadisha, and who himself has worked with the rabbi for 30 years, marvels at how he was “so full of energy and compassion, and dedicated to preserving the dignity of the departed.” Mr. Sultan says Rabbi Lankry “supported every endeavor of our committee,” adding, “we owe him a great debt of gratitude.”

When the committee came to the rabbi for advice on purchasing new burial plots, he concluded by saying, “But you won’t need them – Mashiah is coming.”

The Shoulder We All Leaned On

Mrs. Lankry relates that Rabbi Lankry first became involved with the Chevra when a fellow rabbi of Moroccan descent passed away, and he volunteered to perform the taharah (cleaning the body in preparation for burial) to ensure that it would be done according to tradition. Jacob Arama, who himself was a dedicated member of the Chevra, was so impressed with the honor that the rabbi bestowed upon the departed that he urged Judah Sultan, the original head of the Chevra Kadisha, to hire him. The rabbi was working at Magen David at the time, and he didn’t want to accept the position, fearing it would disrupt his teaching schedule. But Mr. Sultan called the Board of Magen David and said, “We need him,” and they worked out an arrangement.

Rabbi Lankry spent the next 50 years ensuring that every deceased person was treated with dignity and respect, helping the deceased greet Gd in the next world in the best way possible. He performed the ultimate act of hesed – “hesed shel emet” (true kindness”) – preparing the body for burial and cemetery rites, a hesed which cannot ever be reciprocated. Rabbi Saul Kassin describes the rabbi’s role as “one of the most difficult responsibilities in public service, the truest, most selfless act of benevolence one can do for another.” He was the shoulder we all leaned on. He worked tirelessly, attending to every detail of thousands of funerals – sometimes handling multiple funerals on the same day – comforting the family during the shivah and even beyond, encouraging them, in his own special way, to stay connected to each other.

Even while devoting countless hours to serving Hashem and community, Rabbi Lankry always made his family his highest priority. His daughter, Adina Mezrahi, recalls, “We knew he was there for us. My father was always the one we would call when we needed someone to pray for us…and we knew we would be well and all would be okay. I remember growing up dancing with him and how he danced with his granddaughters at their weddings. He made us all feel so alive, which is incredible considering what he did every day.”

Rabbi Lankry was blessed with keen insight into human nature, and truly understood people. Rabbi Duvi Bensoussan described the rabbi as a second father who “knew you were capable of greatness and wouldn’t settle for less,” adding, “He believed in me, introduced me to my mission, telling me I was meant to be a talmid hacham, and he never let me be anything less.” Reflecting on Rabbi Lankry’s example, Rabbi Bensoussan says, “If you want to find clarity and purpose in your life, find someone who believes in you and will be relentless to hold you to that path.”

Masquerading as a Simple Man

Rabbi Bensoussan and Rabbi Eli Mansour both humbly acknowledged that “We did not give enough kavod [respect] to Rabbi Shlomo. He wouldn’t let us.” The rabbi’s humor and joviality made everyone around him feel relaxed, but also had the effect of concealing his greatness. As Rabbi Mansour said at the arayat: “The rabbi was very humble, very private in his avodat Hashem [service of Gd]. He masqueraded as an adam pashut, a simple man. But he was very far from simple. Only now will we hear the stories.”

His daughter, Mrs. Emily Antar similarly says, “So many people approach me and begin, ‘You don’t know what your father did for me.’ We are beginning to understand the scope of my father’s legacy of hesed.”

Rabbi Lankry’s passing has left a great void in our community, but the family is mobilizing to fill it, to whatever extent possible, by continuing the rabbi’s work. “So far, there are three of us needed to do his work, and I’m sure more of us will be involved,” Mrs. Emily Antar added. As Rabbi Aaron Lankry said, “It isn’t over.” The impact of the rabbi’s lifetime of kindness, his example of humility, gratitude, and yirat Shamayim (fear of Gd), will, please Gd, endure through the dedicated efforts of his family and the countless people he inspired.

We all pray that these efforts will be successful, in the great merit of Rabbi Shlomo ben Rahel.

(Author’s Note: It has been my humble honor to write this tribute to Rabbi Shlomo Lankry, zt”l. It must be emphasized, though, that no amount of words – and certainly not a 2000-word article – can even begin to capture the sheer magnitude and of his awe-inspiring work and legacy.)

Frieda Schweky

Take a look at the following and see what triggers you. If you were a parent, teacher (and what parent was not a teacher this past year?) or student during the 2020 pandemic, hold on to your hats as you read! Two weeks to stop the spread. Six feet apart. Distance learning. Zoom. Mute. Unmute. Zoom code, passwords, headphones. Not enough tablets and computers to go around. Two of your children’s classes happening at the same time. Short video clips, play, pause. Work from home while being a morah, a chef, and a housekeeper. And on, and on!

Suddenly having to figure out remote schooling and then having to do it on the daily was a huge struggle for families across the globe. For me, having young children in school during the pandemic was no small feat. Although they were not responsible for studying or tests, the technical coordination fell on me. I had to put in the zoom code and password at the correct time, wait around for the teacher to allow them in, unmute, turn on the camera, mute for the lesson, unmute when the teacher requested, and that was when there weren’t technical difficulties! At first I thought zoom would be a nice break for the kids to distract them during the day with some learning. However, I soon came to realize it was just another chore I was responsible for. It was all too much.

Now we are entering a brand-new school year, so how are parents, teachers, and students in our community preparing for the shift back to what we all hope will be a much more normal year? I interviewed a few community members to find out.

Celia Francis

As a parent (and teacher) I highly recommend parents prepare their kids for back to school. In-person learning is highly important and should be treated as such. Kids should be encouraged to be social, form good relationships, and most importantly, have a good routine set in place.

Home learning was not ideal for many reasons, and a major one was the lack of structure. We have to work to get that routine down of getting up early, eating a good breakfast, and heading out to school prepared for a full day of learning and social interaction. I suggest about two weeks before the first day of school waking your kids up at the hour they would need to be up for school, so they get used to it. They should also have their outfits picked out the night before and have anything else they’ll need to bring with them to school ready to go that night.

As a teacher, I can’t wait for the start of this coming school year. Every district has its own rules, but I’m looking forward to hopefully no masks and no plexiglass getting in the way. And, of course, in-person learning all year as opposed to on and off zoom school. I’m looking forward to fun class projects, inter-grade larger projects in which different classes come together, as well as having the special needs children back with the rest of the children. The social aspects of things really enhances the learning. For faculty, too, I’m eager to work together with co-workers again and to collaborate on different lesson plans and special projects.

If something positive came out of this pandemic it’s definitely to be more aware of having good hygiene at school. That includes being more aware of the importance of more frequent hand washing, personal space, and keeping the classrooms clean and germ-free. No one wants to get sick and hopefully this will make for a happier and healthier classroom experience for all.

Raquel Vogel

I think this school year will be better because there will be more consistency in terms of kids being about to spend time together in the classroom. This is imperative so that they continue to gain social skills. In this day and age of technology it’s a slippery slope. Kids can be more introverted and being isolated can lead to social awkwardness. We all know in the real world social skills are highly important to get ahead.

Although I am unsure of the exact Covid protocols for this coming year, I’m looking forward to the kids hopefully wearing masks a lot less and being able to take full clean breaths as well as seeing each other speak. This should make everything feel much more back to normal.

Rosie Nigri

I really enjoyed all the new social opportunities high school had to offer when I became a freshman in the 2018/19 school year. Sophomore year came around and I was eager for more of the same school experience. Little did I know what 2020 would bring. Zoom school was really rough, as it took away all the fun parts of school and left only the learning. When we were finally

back to in-person school fall of 2020 things were not back to normal. There were masks restricting my breathing, which were uncomfortable and distracting. We no longer ate lunch in the cafeteria with the rest of the school, but instead we ate in the classroom. Speaking of classrooms, we stayed in the same one all day with the same kids, day after day, period after period. Only the subject and teacher would change. It felt more like elementary school and less like high school. We didn’t have sports after school or any fun holiday or rosh chodesh programs like we used to.

I don’t know what this next year has to offer but I am hopeful. I’m hoping for things to go back to the way they were, I’m hoping for lunch in the cafeteria and a change of environment and peers with every class switch. I’m hopeful that the rest of my high school experience will be as normal and fun as that first year was!

Margo Cohen

I really think it’s important that our kids grow up in a normal, stable environment. Masks for children should never be mandated again. I’m hoping my kids will have a more calm and relaxed year, with no sudden or unexpected shutdowns. I’m ready for structure, I’m ready for homework, kids to bed on time, and out of the house bright and early.

I hope it’s not going to be like last year, but we really don’t know. What I honestly feel is that it’s going to be nothing like the beginning of last year. We came to school, buses were canceled, masks were a must, and after just a few weeks of being in school, they had to close down because of an outbreak. I don’t think this September will look anything like that one.

Casey Dweck

We are so stoked and cannot wait to get back to school in full swing! I’m a mom, my kids are from the ages of four to thirteen, and collectively as a family we are eager for what the new year has to offer!

To be honest it feels a little far off. With the holidays in early September we’re only having two full days and two half days in what’s supposed to be the first month of school. But October should be hopefully awesome and consistent. It’ll be nice for us parents to not have to worry about suddenly having kids home from school and on zoom.

At the end of last year there were pretty much no masks and no barriers. Starting off this fall without the fear of the unknown, which was pretty much the whole vibe of last fall, it’s going to be a completely different experience.

As a member of the PTA, school year 2020/2021 was exhausting and eventful. Every time a child was quarantined or a whole class was quarantined, we’d send home care packages for them. It was a lot. We were a small school and we sent out over 70 packages over the course of one year. It was a lot of work. For that reason and much more, we are looking forward to a more normalized year all around. This year instead of buying masks and taking covid tests as school prep, we get to enjoy good old fashioned school supplies shopping for back to school prep! Can’t wait!

Jessica Anteby

I teach kindergarten. Last year was rough when I had some kids or even just one on zoom due to exposure or illness. It was a big challenge. For example, I’d tell the parent to log on at a certain time for writing, but if reading was running late I’d get texts from a parent worried I’d forgotten about their child. Or if we were running early, we would have to wait for that student to log on to begin the lesson. Then when they were finally logged on, I had to juggle zoom and a classroom full of students. It was a struggle I’m looking forward never having to deal with that again.

This coming year I’m looking forward to meeting class parents in person! Last year all the PTA meetings were on zoom, and I feel like I didn’t really meet the parents, like if I passed them on the street, I would have no idea who they were. Also, school events, like authors’ fair, and siddur and chumash plays are so much more exciting for the kids and everyone when parents are allowed to come and join. It was a completely different vibe without them. I’m excited for this year to go back to normal!

Finally, I look forward to just walking in the hallways and hopefully being able to smile at everybody without a mask in the way!

In Conclusion…

School year 2021/2022 definitely looks to be shaping up. When we were in the thick of it during 2020, we really did not know how long all the restrictions and zooming would last. The unknown was daunting and uneasy. This year, although some things are still unknown, there seems to be an overall easiness. There is a vibe of the anticipated return back to normalcy that is calming down parents, teachers, and students. As of now whoever wants a vaccine can get one. It seems as though we have reached some sort of herd/community immunity. So long as no serious Covid variant rears its ugly head, we should have smooth sailing this school year, after, of course, being home almost all of September for the high holidays!

Hoping you and your families stay safe and happy this school year and get the most out of it as possible!

Until next time,

Frieda Schweky

Sam J. Sutton

The 2021 MSB Season is nearing the finish line. In a journey that began in early April, now over three months later we are just a game away from crowning a new champion.

Two Great Teams Make It to the World Series

The two World Series teams are the 11-1 Ball Busters – lead by captain Yanky Itzkowitz, alongside Hank Dweck, Alan Jemal, and the Cy Young winner Ray “Payday” Sakkal – and the scrappy 6-6 Rubble On The Double squad lead by captain David “DT” Tawil alongside perennial all-star Steven J. Gindi, Natan Safdieh, and Rookie Edmund “The Phenom” Beyda.

The Ball Busters simply dominated their opponents for the duration of the regular season and earned themselves a bye into the semis and faced off against a hot Mamba Mentality ballclub. After dropping game one of the best of three series, The Ball Busters got to work and went on to win games two and three. In Game 3, the Ball Busters found themselves down early in a 3-0 hole, but the power bats came alive. MVP candidate “Hammerin Hank” Dweck broke the 3-3 tie with a towering blast deep into the night and propelled his team into the World Series.

Rubble On The Double had a much tougher road ahead. Finishing the regular season at 6-6 they barely squeaked into the post season and were tasked with facing Super Smash Brothers in the Wild Card Matchup for a right to play in the semifinals. This game was anything but easy. In true fairytale fashion, Rubble On The Double, who were down 2-0 in the 6th, cut into the lead with a solo blast off the bat of Natan Safdieh and then sent Steven J. Gindi to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, and boy did he deliver! Gindi hit a frozen rope to the right center field gap to walk it off and advance ROTD to the semis where the second-seeded Jokers were awaiting. In Game 1 Rubble came from behind to win and in Game 2 they kept its post season magic going. Rookie Benny Abadi broke a 1-1 tie in the 5th with a two-run HR that painted the Right Field line and Rubble on the Double went on to win and continue its magic carpet ride to the World Series.

World Series Attracts Viewers in Person and Via Livestream

On July 11th at M&S Park, the World Series was underway. With a capacity crowd on hand and the games being livestreamed on YouTube to the community at large, the two teams who had two completely different paths to the dance faced off. After the lineups were announced the ceremonial first pitch was thrown by the 2021 MVP and Batting Champion Jack Harary, and the recipient of the pitch was league legend Ike Miz.

Game One

The World Series is a best of three so Game 1 is extremely crucial. ROTD came out swinging and went up 6-3 in the 6th powered by a Joe Gindi bomb that cleared the fence (first time in league history) and the Ball Busters seemed shellshocked, as they were in unfamiliar territory. But then it all clicked as the bottom of the lineup came alive and rallied to tie it at 6 in the bottom of the 6th, highlighted by a two-run frozen rope off the bat of Abe Dweck. After barely holding off ROTD in the top half of the 7th the Ball Busters walked it off in dramatic fashion as Rookie of the Year Shua Dany drove in the winning run as the Ball Busters won by a final score of 7-6.

Game Two

The Ball Busters were now one game away from completing one of the most dominating seasons in league history and Rubble On The Double with their backs against the wall needed to somehow find a way to win Game 2 to force a Game 3. The Ball found themselves down 3-1 heading into the 6th, the same inning they rallied in during Game 1. Lo and behold, they did it again! And they put up a two spot and tied it up at three and in the top of the 7th aided by untimely walks by Edmund Beyda. They put up another two runs and took a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th.

Rubble on the Double, just three outs away from being sent home for a long off season, dug down deep, and pulled out yet another magical finish in the post season. This was definitely a post season filled with memorable moments. ROTD sent up Steven J. Gindi with the bases loaded and one out, and he delivered again with a two-run base knock to tie it up at five, followed by clutch game winning hot shot off the bat of rookie Elliot “Little Papi” Setton to send this series to a decisive Game 3.

Stay tuned…