Horav David, zl, m’Bohush (eldest son of Horav Yosef Friedman, son of the saintly Horav Yisrael of Ruzhin), was a unique personality, noted for his piety, scholarship, and humility. Although he did not assume the position as Rebbe, he was deeply revered as a tzaddik, and he served as a spiritual guide to many. He died during his father’s lifetime. In the court of Bohush, two gabbaim, aides, assisted the Rebbe: Rav Avraham Chaim and Rav Avraham Mordechai. The second gabbai (Rav Avraham Mordechai) was extremely close with Rav David. Thus, when he was niftar, passed away, Rav Avraham Mordechai stood by his aron, coffin, and wailed uncontrollably. All attempts to quiet him failed. When the holy Rebbe (the father) walked into the room, he said, “Take him from the room; he is disturbing me. I must recite the blessing Baruch Dayan HaEmes, ‘Blessed be the Truthful Judge’ (recited by a mourner) to the niggun, tune, of Shalom Aleichem.” (This festive tune, which we sing at the beginning of the Friday night meal, is a joyous welcome to the Shabbos.)
During the shivah, seven days of mourning, people came from all over Romania to comfort the Rebbe. He did not speak at all. On the last day of shivah, as he was about to rise from his mourning, he related the following two Torah thoughts: “When a person receives a pikadon, a deposit (item to watch for safekeeping) and returns said item in as perfect condition as when he received it, he is considered a shomer ne’eman, a trusted watchman. In such a case, the mafkid who gave him the item to guard is in his debt. Certainly, if he returns the item in even better condition from when he received it, the mafkid is greatly in his debt. Clearly, I have returned the pikadon given to me (my son) in even greater condition than when I received it.”
The second thought was based on the idea that the world is composed of four categories of Creation: domeim, inanimate objects, ie, rocks, water, soil (representing stability and foundational existence); tzomeiach, growing vegetation, including plants, trees and all flora (which grow and reproduce, but lack mobility and consciousness); chai, living creatures, all animals etc. which possess movement and instinct, but lack higher reasoning or speech (representing vitality and the pursuit of survival); medaber, speaking creatures, human beings, endowed with the capacity to think, speak and have free-will (representing the pinnacle of Creation, tasked with a unique spiritual role).
“Noticeably,” said the Rebbe, “if three of these things ‘break,’ (tzomeiach, chai, medaber), such as the plant shrivels and dies, the living creature dies, or the speaking creature dies, all descend from their original conceived position/mission and are now like a domeim, an inanimate object. Concerning the domeim, however, even when it is broken – no change occurs. It had been inanimate before the break, and it continues to be inanimate afterward. This is the praise the Torah lavished on Aharon. Even after experiencing the tragedy of his sons’ untimely deaths, he suffered (what we might consider) a break, it left no impression, no change, nothing transformed from the Aharon ‘before’ to the Aharon ‘after.’ He continued in the same measure of service/acceptance to Hashem. Vayidom – he was inanimate, unchanging, as before.”
