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 A Tzadeikes In Our Time
 A Tribute to Rebbetzin Yaffah Sternbuch A”H wife of Hagoan Rav Moshe sternbuch Shlita- Ravad Of Yerushlyimby her Daughter 
Written by C. Levyand Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis Eishes Chayil
Chazal
teach, that while the deceased is being eulogized, he is allowed back down to this worldsince it causes a spiritual awakening. That is both encouraging and obligating. It is very hard to do justice to all the special attributes that the Reb. Sternbuch exhibited and made her the giant shewas. If only the very tip of her praise is exposed, it will strengthen all those assembled, which inturn empowers the speaker.According respect to a
talmid chacham
(
Torah
scholar) is greater than the actual studying of
Torah
. What are
Chazal
teaching us? According respect and valuing
Torah
, is greater than the actualstudying. For what empowers a person to invest great effort, to dedicated ones entire being, torenounce everything else for the sake of
Torah
study? Only profound reverence for
Torah
andappreciation of
Torah
.This is the woman's part in Torah. She is obligated to revere and appreciate the value the
Torah
. When she encourages her husband to study, and she accompanies her children to
cheder,
sheis motivating them to apply themselves to their study of Torah, by demonstrating her appreciationfor
Torah
, their
Torah
 
Presumably, everyone who knew Reb. Sternbuch, will agree that this fundamental obligationwas the focal point of her life's work. Yes, she was unique in her appreciation for
Torah
. She lovedTorah from the depths of her soul, even as far back as during her adolescence.The story is told about a
shidduch
 
that was suggested. The young man was a t
almid chacham
, aboy who not only had the potential to learn, but one who studied. He was a
lamdan
as well
.
 However, word had it, that during
bein hazmanim
he might help his father in the business. Shewasn't interested. She wanted someone who would be wholly immersed in his
Torah
study,without any money-making prospects at all.Her father was the one who had introduced this lofty value to her and he repeated thisanecdote to the Chazon Ish emphasizing that she was young, but adamant. She wanted
Torah
and
Torah
alone. The Chazon Ish replied that if that was what she wanted, that was what she'd get.Indeed, that was precisely what happened.
In The Merit of Torah
Every woman performs good deeds and mitzvos, such as reciting a bracha with the properintention and various acts of kindness, that entitle her a part in the world to come. Every mitzvahshe does, is a merit. However, in order to merit
techiyas hameisim
, she requires merits of a differentnature. It is necessary to have a personal part in the
Torah
.How can a woman who doesn’t study
Torah
have a portion? Indeed,
chazal
ask: what is themerit of women? What insures her of arising, along with all those men who studied Torah? Chazal
סב
"
ד
 
offer three suggestions. Each one is an opportunity for a woman to have a share in
limud haTorah
.And Reb. Sternbuch excelled in each one and exemplified all three.The first thing
chazal
suggest, is accompanying her children to their
Talmud Torah
(place oflearning Torah). When a mother accompanies her sons to
cheder 
, she dismisses all of her ownneeds, everything that she has to accomplish, the functions of the day. She drops it all, and joyfullyescorts her child to
cheder 
, thereby ingraining the knowledge in the Rav, that his Torah is ofprimary importance to her.When Reb. Sternbuch lived in Yerushalaim, she walked her children to the Eitz Chaim
cheder 
 daily and then went to fetch them at the end of the day. She also regularly took the time to inquireafter her children's performance in
cheder 
. She didn’t think that it was a waste of her precious timeto hold these mini conferences.Her children's rebbe, R' Shlomo Zalman Porush commented about her "I've been teaching herefor forty years, and this is the first time I have encountered a woman with such dedication to
Torah
." R' Aryeh Levine, the spiritual mentor of the Yeshivah confirmed that.
 
Once, upon being told by one of her children that his Rebbe was not testing him, she wentdown to the
cheder 
. Peeking through the window, she was determined to see for herself if that wasindeed the case. What she observed, confirmed the child's report.She went directly to the rebbe and began to cry. What would become of her son's
Torah
? If therebbe didn’t test him how would he ever know how to study properly? That child testifies thatthose tears still flow in his blood, and have motivated him to study ever since.HoRav Sternbuch would tell about the tears that Reb. Sternbuch shed when lighting candles,entreating the One Above that her children and all their offspring should delve in Torah until theend of time.Reb. Sternbuch reviewed the chumash with her boys every afternoon. This included studyingthe
teitch
(Yiddish translation). However, since Yiddish wasn't her first language, she wasconcerned that she wouldn’t do the job properly. Thus, she went to the
rebbe
and asked if hepossibly had some sheets form which she could study with the children.The rebbe was duly impressed and told her that he had his own sheets which she was welcometo copy. Perhaps this was the catalyst for the rebbe to print his sheets, which are widely used in
chadarim
today. A notebook with
chiddushei
Torah and
teitch
of a few
 parshios
is still in the Family'spossession today.
Uninterrupted Learning 
Chazal's second suggestion for women to merit Torah, is to enable their husband's studying.Whoever knew Reb. Sternbuch could testify that this was her life. Her whole life was her husband'sTorah. There is an amazing letter that she wrote to her future mother-in-law, after her engagement.Eagerness to support her husband's study of Torah is prominent in that letter. In addition, shedisplays keen sensitivity to her
chassan'
s mother, who could not attend the engagement. This is thecontent of that letter:My dearest,I have used an unusual salutation, but I feel that I cannot address you with your name, whensoon I shall be calling you Mother. I want to say, that having gotten to know your son, I'm reallylooking forward to meeting you, and to express my feelings to you personally.
 
I'm sure you would have felt much more confident if you had been able to meet me anddetermine with the discerning eyes of a mother, whether I qualified, and only after that, give yourapproval to this monumental step in your son's life. I too should have preferred that.It is entirely possible that I don’t have the good traits attributed to me. And maybe there arenegative traits in me, that people don’t think I have. However, I can reassure you of one thing.There is one trait that you will most certainly find in me. I shall always aspire to be that which myfuture husband wants me to be.And how she pursued that, with enthusiasm and joy, like a fresh bride on her wedding day –for the rest of her lifeShe had an amazing standard in catering to her husband. There was a special room for the Ravin the house, which was his study room. Shelves were hung with his
sefarim
and a bed was madeup for the Rav in case he needed to take a nap, having tired from his continuous studying. Whyshould he have to leave the room to lie down?She also had an air conditioner, which was not easy to come by in those days, installed in thatroom. But knowing that the Rav was sensitive to the B'nei Brak humidity, she insisted on insuringthat he had the optimum peace of mind.
 
The room was never locked, but entrance was barred. Reb. Sternbuch instilled the importanceof keeping it closed, in her children and in all those who frequented their home.In order to make sure that the Rav would be allowed to study uninterrupted, there was a signstuck on the door of the Rav's room for all those who might not be familiar with the rule, statingthat the Rav was learning and that the door was not to be opened. A niece also mentioned that sheremembered being told, that there must be no disturbance to the Rav and they must speak quietly.The door of their house however was never locked. There were no keys but there was nothingto fear, since there was very little around. Whoever wanted to, was welcome to enter.The Rebbetzin always prepared both hot and cold drinks in her husband's room. People recallthat with amazement, but she did it quite naturally. She did everything naturally. She appreciatedthe Rav's Torah study to such an extent, that she would not allow as much as a minute of it to besquandered. If for example, she brought the Rav a cup of tea, and it was a cold drink he wanted just then, wouldn’t it be a shame that it wasn’t there to begin with?
 
Spreading HoRav Shternbuch's Torah
Reb. Sternbuch's most incredible and famous task was disseminating her husband's Torah. Ashort time after they got married, she noticed that he was writing many
chiddushe Torah.
. Therewere papers all over, and she was concerned that some of his Torah might get lost. So she didsomething that doesn't seem so incredible today, but then it was a colossal effort. She collectedthose papers and began to type them, on a typewriter.She, the fresh new wife, viewed her husband as a giant. Nothing was too hard if it concernedhis Torah. It was not popular to print
seforim
then, but she would do it because his Torah wassupreme. She simply collected his papers and copied them. His handwriting was illegible, no onecould read what he wrote, but that was not a deterrent to her. She could do it. So she copied thepages and took them to a printer who prepared the proof.She scrimped on food in order to get that first volume of his
shiurim
printed. But it was allworthwhile, when after she presented the published
sefer 
to the Rav, it gave the Rav the impetus to
of 00

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