This past week was the Yahrzeit of my late grandfather Rabbi Sholom Klass.
It’s been 20 years since my grandfather passed away. However there are some people who live on in your hearts forever. And each year when I write something about my relationship with him and what he meant to me it seems as if he was just here yesterday and the memories are still so fresh in my mind.
Although I grew up in Israel for a large part of my childhood, and the physical distance between us was definitely felt, in my mind and heart there was no one closer to my Zaidy than me. He used to call me his sunshine. And I tried to brighten his life.
When I was young, he would play little games with me and I would laugh and giggle with my cousins with great joy. And in the summer when we were all together in the hotel, we would do all kinds of sports and I would show off to him how good I was at everything.
The fun memories are nice and have a sweet taste of my childhood and my great love for my Zaidy.
I grew up and had children of my own. Unfortunately, not all of them got the chance to really get to know my Zaidy since we lived so far away in Israel. However, as I grew older my thoughts of my grandfather weren’t about the sporting contests or getting some quarters for the pinball machines. My thoughts were of life’s purposes and continuity, replacing those of my childhood thoughts.
As I grew older and my family was growing as well, I started looking into my family history on a different level. I had children of my own now and I wanted to know what kind of values to instill in them.
When trying to raise a family, we first look towards our parents. We see how they raised us and we try to emulate all the good qualities that we saw in our home. However, the roots from where we come, are just as important as far as molding our children’s lives and my own for that matter.
This world is a circle and what goes around comes around. What we learn from the Torah is “Maase Avot Siman Lebanim” which means that the deeds of our ancestors is a sign for the children. We learn from Moshe Rabbeinu and from our holy mothers and fathers. The entire Tanach was written down for us so that we may learn from all the actions of the Jewish people throughout time. So obviously we can and must learn not only from our parents and our immediate circles, but from all our lineage as far back as we can remember.
Each and every story we hear about a grandparent or a great-grandparent has a very intimate and personal message for us. We are the continuation of their good traits and qualities. Therefore it’s almost mandatory to learn and find out all one can about their family tree. In that way we will see how to behave and more importantly what to pass on to the next generation.
With that in mind my Zaidy was a person with a vision, with strength and with a heart that wanted to help everyone he could, especially his family. First and foremost I would say that his love for the Torah and all it entails was his greatest love. After that I felt that he loved his family so very much and was always trying to unite everyone together. Whether it was on Shabbos or on holidays, Zaidy was always making sure no one was left behind. He was a go-getter and someone who never gave up. These are some of the qualities that helped me form my life, as a descendant of Rabbi Klass.
I try to remember stories of different things my grandfather would say or do that have great value, and this is what I pass onto my children, and this is what I myself, take into my heart.
By remembering my grandfather and the wise things he would say or do, and trying to follow this path, we are keeping the family’s good qualities alive one generation after the other.
Remembering someone isn’t just on the day they passed away. Remembering someone is living the life that they had and doing the good things that they did. In this way our family will live on forever because we are behaving like they did and that is considered as if they are still alive.