By Eli Rubin and Menachem Posner – Chabad.org
and COLlive
Rabbi Meir Roness – a longtime resident of the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., who dedicated his life to the dissemination of Chassidic teachings – passed away on Jan. 13, just one day after celebrating his 74th birthday.
As a young bochur, Roness worked with Rabbi Dovid Raskin, chairman of the Lubavitch Youth Organization, organizing and sustaining classes in Chassidus for non-Lubavitch youth throughout the tri-state area.
The efforts were a direct response to the pioneering call of the Lubavitcher Rebbe – Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory – to advance the welfare of Jews everywhere, not only physically but spiritually.
Roness and his fellow yeshivah students took the Rebbe’s message seriously, traveling near and far to give classes and talks, and to organize study groups. While many of his friends joined in the effort, it would be hard to find someone who surpassed the good-heartedness and single-mindedness with which Roness dedicated himself to his mission.
For more than 50 years, he continued his efforts uninterrupted. Though he aged physically, his spirit remained youthfully exuberant, and he continued to work diligently on behalf of Lubavitch Youth Organization. Roness considered his work to be a privilege, and he made it his mission to share that privilege with others, inviting everyone he encountered to make a small donation towards Lubavitch Youth Organization’s ongoing programs.
With a wad of bills in his hand and a pocket full of change, he could be seen making his rounds in the Crown Heights neighborhood, approaching one person after another with warm greetings and an uplifting word. In the mornings, he circulated in the synagogues; in the evenings, he made a brief stop at every engagement and wedding celebration in town, energetically congratulating the celebrants and encouraging their generosity.
Within the Crown Heights community, he was a familiar and beloved presence. An individual of unsurpassed warmth, sincerity and devotion, everyone knew that it was Roness who was being generous; he was not there to seek aid, but to enable an individual to participate in a greater good.
In his quiet and humble way—and over the course of more than half a century—Roness helped introduce Chassidic teachings to tens of thousands of individuals.
One of the programs Roness supported is the weekly “Thursday Night Chassidus” program at Yeshiva University in New York.
Each Thursday evening, 30 bochurim from Oholei Torah travel over an hour each way by subway to learn Sichos one on one with YU students. The successful program continually packs the Klein Beis Medresh at Yeshiva University.
For the past 40 years, Roness has been raising the funds for the popular classes, providing money for transportation, learning materials and refreshments, Ezra Kaplan, a student in Oholei Torah who helps organize the program, told COLlive.
The group of bochurim who organize this year’s program is unsure how they will raise funds to continue, they said. They are also raising funds for the annual upcoming Shabbaton, which takes place in February. Each year, nearly 100 YU students spend an inspiring Shabbos in Crown Heights, davening in 770 and joining meals and farbrengens with Shluchim and Rabbis in the community.
“Rabbi Roness kept the YU programs running for so many years,” said Kaplan, “and so many have benefitted from them. We hope that generous donors will come forward to help us continue.”
To help sponsor the Thursday night Chassidus program at YU, please email: [email protected].
At the end of the article it reads…. “To help sponsor the Thursday night Chassidus program at YU, please email: [email protected].”
WHERE/ HOW DO WE DONATE ?
I heard from my father that Reb Meir a’h would pick them up in a car and take them for a secret Tanya shiur in a corn field (NJ)!
He later went to Lubavitcher Yeshiva, and thus my family can say we owe it all to Reb Meir!!
it would be a great project and tribute to put together an album of all those stories and the fruits of his labor. On my visits to CH he always gave my children a picture of the Rebbe.
Great time i had there.
In my time – 5768 – i had the oportunity to learn with my best friend in cheider that wasn’t a lubavitcher.
Benzecri e Celso Wernick fazendo bonito.
Its even so much harder for the family
May you be comforted
We need moshiach now!
May the family only hear of good news!!
How when he was a young cheder boy in Montreal,Reb Yudel Chitrik a”h was his melamed, and being right after the war there were many talmidim who came from somewhat troubled homes and were extremely wild. so Reb Yudel a”h would start off learning with them, but after a while some students would really start misbehaving, when that would happen Reb yudel would start telling them stories and more stories so they would sit still and listen. those stories is really what gave them a strong chinuch..
May you be comforted in all ways
When I was a bocher learning in Bais Hatalmud in Bensonhurst, Reb Meir would pay for the car service to bring the maggid shiur for the clandestine Thursday night Tanya shiur there and back. When the shiur was discovered and “shut down” by “the authorities”, he gave us money for the car service to Crown Heights and back every week! This one peula along with countless others is still producing peiros in hafotzos mayyanei hachassidus ad hayom!
may hashem bring comfort to his family
your family is a true light to the community and i will miss you father, may hashem console you among the israel. Only simchas.
many yrs ago he sent me to teach tanya to teens wkly,when I got married I told him it’ll be hard now,He didn’t let go & in his friendly & non presuring (but persisting!!)way, he made it continue.through the next yrs he would constantly ask me about dif. yeshivos to find if they allready have a shiur chsidus & would tell me about new shiurei Tanya happening,that was his Simcha! & without taking ANY credit ! he went around as a Ish pashut.but he was A GIANT OF A CHOSID! There’s so much to say about him but it would… Read more »
I heared from one of his sons at the shiva, that he used to send it to 75 locations all over the us!!
For many years he organized Tanya/Chassidus shiurim in Lakewood (I think for years they were clandestine).
I think many of us saw him regularly but never really knew. . .
This is such an important program for our boys. It’s good for them to see that non lubavitchers can be just as learned (and sometimes more so), and just as frum. Many lubavitch boys grow up thinking any other derech is wrong. This is an opportunity for them to have mutual respect and see that both are right and good and holy, but in different ways.
i drove Rbabi Boruch Leshess ( now Rabbi in Monsey )to give Shiurim in TANYA in Woodridge NY in the catskills in the KAMENITZ YESHIVA
Also Rabbi Meir Minkowitz , afterhe got his Drivers Licence
drove him to the same place ,
at that time the KAMENITZ YESIVA was there all year around ,
all this is one of many many Yeshivoth where he payed for Bochrim to travel to give Shiurim in Yeshivos
He was not paid very much, and his family can really use some support.
He came over to my table @ my cousins wedding
In ohali Torah & after I gave my pledge(donation) he gave
Me a picture of the rebbe in retrun witch I felt &
Saw a light of a big tzadikk!
R’ Meir a”h funded a Tanya shiur which I attended with a group of bochurim at yeshiva Torah Vodaas. 2 of the bochurim are shluchim today.
Later he funded a shiur with Rabbi YY Jacobson at torah vodaas with 20-30 participants for 3 years.
What a person
doing amazing work! please help sponsor!!!
Many very Choshuva Chasidim and Mashpiyim in Anash were Niskarev to Chasidus over the years through these very Shiurim
I would look forward to seeing him in the mornings for his kind Brochos , I will miss him.
Its not often that you meet such an amazing, true Yid.
He also used the money to send by mail publications to Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati to give out on Mivtzoyim every Friday. I’m sure he used it for many other good things as well that we will slowly learn about!
who will continue his vital work.
R’ Meir collected for a lot more then just these YU Shiurim. R’ Meir arranged and raised the funds for thousands of Tanya and Chassidus shiurim for many many years. There are hundreds of People that would have never learned a word of chassidus if not for R’ Meirs persistence and encouragement promising bochrim that he would take care of all the logistics if they got ppl to commit to attend. I once asked him what gave him the Chayus to continue for so many years – He told me that years ago when a friend of his went on… Read more »