Rav Avraham Rockmill zt”l, longstanding rebbi at Yeshivat Ohr Somayach in Yerushalayim, who originally hailed from Forest Hills, was niftar last week.
In Forest Hills, he attended PS 175 and Halsey Jr. High before going to Stuyvesant High School. His story is a remarkable and inspiring one. He was on a summer trip to Israel before attending medical school, standing at the Kosel HaMaaravi when Rav Meir Shuster zt”l asked him if he wanted to learn more about Judaism. Avraham’s soul was lifted and he came to Ohr Somayach for a visit. Before long, Avraham became a mainstay of the yeshivah, learning with great ameilus and putting off medical school for a year (that would soon become for the rest of his life).
Starting off by reviewing his Hebrew reading with Rav Yaakov (Jimmy) Wasser, he was learning Gemara full time, including an hour every afternoon with me. He continued for years, learning with Rav Aharon Feldman shlita, and then in the Mirrer Yeshivah in Yerushalayim.
Then he became a rebbi of great importance at Ohr Somayach, teaching and inspiring the newest talmidim. Words can hardly describe what he accomplished over tens of years and the talmidim who discovered Yiddishkeit and Torah learning with him. He was truly a man who was larger than life, with a beautiful family with tremendous accomplishments.
Y’hi zichro baruch!
By Aharon Meltzer
