I had already prepared a different article for this month's issue when I received word that my Rebbe, Rabbi Ephraim Greenblatt zt"l, was niftar. Although my family left Memphis decades ago, we remained in touch with him. He officiated at my own wedding. I was happy that we got to visit with him during a recent vacation in Jerusalem.
Our families go back to 1970, when my parents moved us back down to Memphis and enrolled us in the Memphis Hebrew Academy. We lived a block away from the rabbi, and he used to drive us to school. He and his wife, Miriam z"l, invited our family for our first taste of Shabbos. She taught me alef beis in the first grade, and he opened my eyes to Chumash in the 3rd grade, and taught me Talmud in 8th grade.
He learned by his own rebbe, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in the early 1950s. He later went to spread Torah in Memphis. He went down as a bochur, and later established his family there. Each of his children have become pillars of their own communities.
Rabbi and Rebbitzen Greenblatt sacrificed the Jewish comforts of Brooklyn to bring the light of Torah to thousands of the uninitiated, like my family.
He did not have his own congregation. Rather, he was the ba'al koreh at the local orthodox shul. He taught bar mitzvah lessons to hundreds of young boys. He recorded practice tapes of the davening and the Torah readings. He did not make copies from one master tape. Instead, he custom recorded the lessons for each boy, during their sessions. He did everything with a smile, a sense of humor, and a pure love for fellow Jews of every age and background.
I still remember fondly how he would keep our third grade class interested in learning. He used to have fun with it. A kid would ask to be excused, and he would be allowed to leave the classroom. Two minutes later, the rabbi would send out another kid to "spy" on him. A few minutes after that, the rabbi would send another kid to spy on the spy. We ate that up. It made learning fun. He would clean his glasses with hundred dollar bills, like they were meaningless pieces of paper. That always made us smile. He also had a weekly raffle, where everyone would guess a number, and the winner got a prize. (I always chose 44). What I wouldn't give to hear one more of his "Benny stories", which was about a character he had created.
For all of the humor and fun, he never compromised his principles. He would go toe to toe with whoever necessary when he stood up for daas Torah on a matter affecting the community or an individual. He remained in constant touch with his own rebbe, to the point where he may have the most responsa addressed to one individual in the Igros Moshe, Rabbi Feinstein's major work on Jewish Law.
People sent questions to Rabbi Greenblatt from all over the world. He compiled the answers to those questions in his own series, the Rivevos Ephraim. That work made him a household name all over the Torah world. For all of the recognition, he was still quite approachable and unassuming. You would never think that as a young
teenager, he volunteered for Lechi, one of the precursors of Tzahal, the Israeli Defense Forces. He was too young to fight the British and the Arabs at the time, but he was quite adept at gun running to support the
nascent defense efforts.
He was a strong proponent of giving every Jewish child a chance for a solid Jewish education, regardless of circumstance. When some people suggested that he modify his lesson plan to include more topics, he
replied that his job is to make sure his third graders come back for fourth grade. His observations were very astute, as I remember classmates who dropped out of the MHA even before eighth grade. I cannot recall a single time when the rabbi ever lost his temper in class. He always found a way to control the class without reverting
to a loud power play or through fear. It was all about respect and good humor.
He was gentle, kind, and encouraging. His method was to set an example, and to make us want to follow in his path. It was never about shoving rules or lessons down our throats. We had a deep love and respect for Rabbi Greenblatt. That is something you do not often find for a grade school teacher. Can you even recall the names of every teacher you had growing up? Are you in touch with them? Do you let them know how well you are doing, and express gratitude for their contribution to your development? I am certain that Rabbi Greenblatt
enjoyed that from hundreds of his pupils, many of whom transformed their lives, and sometimes even that of their families, to live as Torah true Jews. That is his legacy, as are all of the many generations to come from his
handiwork.
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