For over 30 years, Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein ztl was a popular educator, speaker and fundraiser with a “heart of gold.” His hundreds of classes were delivered with a fiery passion and a deep love for all Jews. For many of his classes he never took a fee. He went above and beyond to reach out to numerous young men and women regardless of their religious affiliation. He even paid to send kids to yeshiva and to Israel.
If a student came to him with a problem, the rabbi would stay up to the early hours of the morning to try to find out how he could help that student to find a solution to the problem, while at the same time, showing the student the beauty of a Jewish lifestyle. He saw these troubled youth as one of his own children and approached donors as if he were a parent asking for his own child.
He was often successful in raising significant amounts of money for his many lifesaving projects for them, perhaps due to his sincerity and for feeling that he was doing this for his own child.
If it weren’t for Rabbi Wallerstein ztl, so many young people would be lost, lonely and miserable.
Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein ztl was the founder of Ohr Yitzchak, Ateres Naava Seminary for Girls, and Ohr Naava Women’s Institute in Brooklyn, NY.
Rabbi Wallerstein and Rabbi Shimon Finkelman have co-authored a new book called Honor Them, Revere Them.
https://www.amazon.com/Honor-Revere-lesson-Kibbud-VaEim/dp/1422625532
To listen to Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein ztl 4-minute story, Hashem Take Away My Pain, please click on the audio link below. (As heard on Stories To Inspire.org.)