By Yochonon Donn – Hamodia
Rabbi Chaim Boruch Wolpin zt”l, the beloved Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivah Karlin Stolin in Boro Park, passed away on Thursday, 16 Cheshvan, 5779.
Harav Chaim Boruch Wolpin who was niftar Thursday afternoon at the age of 88, after a lifetime of Torah and avodas Hashem, was a paradigm of hasmadah and warmth for hundreds of talmidim during his four decades at the helm of Yeshivah Karlin Stolin in Boro Park. Within five seconds of the last amen ending Minchah, his hat was off and his eyes were already scanning his well-worn Gemara.
“My father was a role model of growing up in America, growing up in Seattle, growing up in a situation where everybody in his generation chose different paths,” a son told Hamodia. “People told my grandparents, ‘you’re destroying him, he should go to college, have a career.’ Learning in kollel was considered a very horrible thing to do, not to have a career. He was from the first.”
Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1930, the Rosh Yeshivah was one of four sons of Reb Efraim Benzion and Kaila Wolpin, who were immigrants from the Stolin area of Belarus. All four were sent to New York as teenagers to learn in Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, a rarity at the time for an out-of-town bachur.
A prime talmid of Harav Reuven Grozovsky, zt”l, the Rosh Yeshivah had a leading role in disseminating his Rebbi’s chiddushim through the copious notes he took and phenomenal memory. The names of his venerated Rebbeim — “Mori v’rabi Reb Reuven, zt”l,” and “Mori v’rabi Reb Shraga Feivel, zt”l” — punctuated nearly every shiur and drashah that he gave.
The Rosh Yeshivah was an engaging speaker — even decades later talmidim were able to remember his shalosh seudos Torah and Chumash shiurim — and he had a way with one-line zingers. He would come up with an acronym for each year — 5753, I recall, was “try, shvitz, never give up.”
Above all, the Rosh Yeshivah emanated love and caring for his talmidim. He had a paper next to his siddur in which all their names were written and he would daven for their hatzlachah.
Rabbi Wolpin had several meetings with the Rebbe at Lubavitch Headquarters in Crown Heights.
“The Rebbe told my father he is going to shine the world with Torah, and have lots of talmidim, and will spread Torah to many,” his son told COLlive.
Rabbi Wolpin was a speaker at the annual Siyum Harambam in Crown Heights, and visited 770 in 2015, listening in on a Shiur.
The Rosh Yeshivah is survived by, ybl”c, his wife, Rebbetzin Hinda Devora; brother, Reb Dovid; and children, Reb Shea, Reb Yossi, Reb Leibel, Reb Avromy; Mrs. Sarah Rabinowitz, Mrs. Rachel Leah Rabinowitz, Mrs. Dina Smith and Mrs. Mindy Rivkin.
The levayah will take place at 11 o’clock Friday morning at Yeshivah Karlin Stolin, 5401-18th Ave. The aron will be flown to Eretz Yisrael on Motzoei Shabbos for kevurah.
הראש הישיבה זצ”ל אמר פעם, שהמבחן של האדם בבי”ד של מעלה יהיה כשזזים את השעון ונתוסף עוד שעה ביום, מה הוא יעשה עם אותו שעה, שאם יוסיף בלימוד התורה, אז זה סימן שכמה שבידו ללמוד הרי הוא לומד, ואם לאו ח”ו…..אז
I was his student in 1956 as one of the first talmidim in Beis Shraga on Monsey.
Yeheskel Lebovic
He once said בדרך רמז:
“ואהבת את…ובכל מאדך”
means, “In all your MOODS”!
The Rav Used to Have A Kvious With Reb Shmuel Levitin Z’L for many years
BDE. He was an interesting contributor to the Siyumei Rambam.