A day before he passed away, Rabbi Hillel Goldberger came to Kollel in a wheelchair to learn Torah.
The rare disease he suffered from prevented him from moving around or speaking, but Rabbi Hillel fought with what was left of his strength to continue his busy schedule of Torah study, chessed for the public and individuals in need, and most importantly – to be the rock of his family, which remains orphaned and which now has nothing to sustain it.
When he passed away, his family utterly collapsed. Rabbi Hillel Goldberger ob”m, was the rock of the home, a rock which began to slowly erode during the last four years since he was struck by a rare disease of brain atrophy which spread slowly. Every deterioration in his condition led to a deterioration in the home.
He founded a loving and faithful family with his wife, may she live, in which they raised their 11 children, most of whom have since formed their own homes. Four children had not yet been married when Rabbi Hillel suddenly died this week.
Although he was sick for four years, his death was indeed sudden and unexpected, as he was still participating in Kollel sedarim as he normally did until the last 24 hours – but nothing was truly “normal.” He came with a wheelchair, without the ability to move around himself and without the ability to speak. But Rabbi Hillel would not give up.
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For that’s what he was like his whole life – never giving up in the face of obstacles. This is how he succeeded to be among the founders and directors of Moreshet Hanachal, which provides community support for hundreds of families and bochurim from the Breslav chassidus, served on all the committees of the shul in Meah Shearim, the Talmud Torah, and the haburot. He was always there for everyone.
He was there not just for the public – but also the individual. It was not rare to see him fix the plumbing for someone in the community who could not afford to pay a professional.
His many acts of chessed and his work for the public and the individual did not come at the expense of his Torah study. Rabbi Hillel was known as a chassid and tamid chacham, one who knew how to answer questions on all of Shas, on any masechet, alongside his great familiarity of Breslav Chassidic literature.
At home, Rabbi Hillel would suffice with less to a degree not seen in our generation. He knew exactly how to provide his children with everything they needed, such that they never felt they lacked anything – without going into debt. He was the rock of the home – economically and emotionally.
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It all started to come apart in the last four years. The rare disease that struck him did not prevent him from continuing his daily routine, but with all his efforts, he still continued to deteriorate, no matter how much he fought. Suddenly things were no longer as stable at home as they used to be.
After four years of illness, he died suddenly. The family he hoped he’d make it, with God’s help and thanks to the war he fought against the disease. But in the end, he was defeated. Hundreds of students accompanied him to his final resting place crying and weeping, and the family does not know how it will manage now.
His two daughters have reached maturity, and the widow – who did not deal with the financial side of the household until now, needs to marry them off and see to all the wedding needs, and she does not have two pennies to rub together. She does not know how she will survive the daily expenses once the shiva is over, let alone how she’ll marry off her children.
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A yeshivah student who is excelling at his studies, and the little girl at bas mitzvah age, need what’s theirs, and they also need to be cared for. And the father, Rabbi Hillel who saw to the physical and spiritual needs of Brelav chassidim, and before and after everything was simply the father they could talk to and rely on, is gone.
God commands us in his Holy Torah to hear the cry of the widow and the orphans. Rabbi Hillel Goldenberg ob”m devoted his whole life for the public and the individual. This is our time to return the favor, to heed the mitzvos of the Torah, at the command of the Father of Orphans, and donate for the widow and orphans, and thanks to which we will merit all the blessings mentioned in the Torah.
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