A Humble Giant

By: Rabbi B. Mordechai Lipskier

He was many years my senior and far wiser than I, yet he sat at the shiur that I teach at The Beis Medrash with such humility. The first time he came I didn’t know who he was but was curious about his older man who sat down right next to me to listen to the shiur. No, he didn’t just listen, he was an active participant, asking intriguing questions and adding a real liveliness to the group. He introduced himself as Yaacov Hanoka.

I only found out later that he was the known Doctor Hanoka.

The L’chaim publication had a write up about Dr. Hanoka a few months ago. In it they included some background about his life:

When Dr. Hanoka completed the basic part of his yeshiva studies, he told the Rebbe that he wanted to continue with advanced studies, receive Rabbinic ordination, and become a fulltime rabbi. The Rebbe responded by telling Dr. Hanoka, ‘You will do much more for Judaism by having three letters after your name than by becoming a rabbi.’ And with that Dr. Hanoka returned to college, eventually receiving his doctorate in physics. Dr. Hanoka has a PhD in solid state physics and has worked on solar cells for the past 35 years. He has 70 publications and 56 patents in this field. He is a founder and vice president of Evergreen Solar. Dr. Hanoka is co-founder and Chief Technology Office of Massachusetts- based start- up 7Solar Technologies.”

In addition, it is well- known that Dr. Hanoka was one of the famous pioneers of the pegishas in Crown Heights in the 1960s and 70s. Along with Rabb Sholom Ber Gordon and ybl”ch Rabbi Zalman Posner, and under the careful guidance of the Rebbe, he spoke to college students, turning their lives around.

I wondered, what had I to offer this accomplished man and hoped not to disappoint him. He attended whenever he was able (his illness sometimes did not allow) and asked me to recommend some seforim he could buy in order to study more about the topic we were learning. He came back the next week to show me that he had bought the seforim and thank me for the recommendations. He would also attend Rabbi Chaim Shochat and Rabbi Mendel Schneur’s classes- also years younger than him and listen with a real interest.

Some nights he would sit with a chavrusa and learn b’hasmadah… I would hear from his children how much he enjoyed the time he spent learning at TBM but in truth it was TBM that gained from his dedication to Torah and the fantastic, intelligent and educated questions that he brought up during shiurim. Something tells me he knew the answers. His questions were designed to help us think, to be sharper, to question and to find answers in seforim.

Several weeks before Purim Dr. Hanoka stopped coming. His illness was taking its toll on him and he hadn’t the strength to leave his house. I missed having him at the shiur and went to visit him on Purim. Dr. Hanoka was very weak and hurting badly but he managed an upbeat conversation and even a dance (in his chair). Perhaps he knew how happy it would make his daughter (who was in the house at the time) to see him dance and smile. In any case, that was the last time I saw Dr. Hanoka.

Dr. Hanoka passed away yesterday. Already I am missing this humble giant.

Hamokom Yenachem Eschem Besoch Shaar Avaylay Tzion VeYerushalayim.
May his family merit to be reunited with him with the coming of Moshiach Now!