Rav Nisan Alpert ztz"l

An excerpt from Mishpacha Magazine written by a R' Eisenman, a talmid of Rav Nissan Alpert ztz"l who recently had a yahrtzeit.

He was kind, compassionate, and friendly and I soon learned how “normal” he really was. As a young bochur I noticed that he’d often arrive at yeshivah from the Lower East Side in a taxi. I overheard one of the other rabbanim ask him how he could afford to take cabs so often. With a twinkle in his eye, Rav Nisson replied, “Just because I’m a poor man, does that mean I also have to live like one?” That answer quickly alerted me to his wonderful and rich sense of humor.
It was his conduct during the last few months of his life that left an indelible impression on my soul. Although aware of his dire prognosis, he continued to arrive every day at yeshivah to say his shiur.

When I was went to visit him in the hospital he was so proud to show me the teshuvos in Rav Moshe Feinstein’s Igros Moshe that were addressed to him. Rav Nisson was a talmid muvhak (star pupil) of Rav Moshe ztz”l. He smiled and gushed as he pointed to the teshuvos, just like a little boy would point to his name on a “nachas note” sent home by his rebbi; such was Rav Nisson’s total awe and respect for his beloved rebbi.

He gave his last shiur a few days before Pesach. It was just a few days to Pesach; most of the boys had gone home and only a handful was left. Suddenly the elevator opened and out walked Rav Nisson. He was gaunt and pale, but he was here. We looked at him and said, “Rebbi, why did you come in? We could have learned on our own?”

Rebbi looked at us and with a broad smile said, “That’s what I was afraid of.” The smile never left his face. He delivered the last shiur on the Haggadah. His last words to us were, “Boys, remember: We see from Pesach that no matter how bad a situation seems, there is always hope, there is always the realization that no situation is irreversible. Yeshuos happen all the time; one must have bitachon.”