Rav Aharon Walkin zt"l

The Rov Who Changed Queens

Rav Aharon Walkin zt"l, who was niftar before Pesach, was the rov of K'hal Bais Aharon in Lakewood, New Jersey, where he lived. He also presided as the rosh yeshiva of the Chazaq Beis Midrash Bais Nosson Meir and the rosh kollel of Kollel Zichron Moshe V'Leah in Queens. Rav Walkin's infectious smile helped one ease into learning; it was the rosh yeshiva's passion to help his disciples—from students to professionals—devote their assigned times to the Torah. His profound involvement with the advancement of our community is interconnected with his own life experiences, which paint a colorful picture of American Jewry.

Born in Brooklyn, with Rav Moshe Feinstein serving as his sandek, Rav Walkin's parents moved to Kew Gardens Hills when he was a year old, and later moved to be closer to his grandparents in Kew Gardens. He was a great-grandson of the Pinsker Rav, Rav Aharon Walkin, after whom he was named, and a grandson of his son, the Lukatcher Rav, Rav Shmuel Dovid Walkin. The rosh yeshiva once remarked, "I carry his name humbly, since I don't feel I do him justice."

Rav Shmuel Dovid, a protege of the Chafetz Chaim, studied in Radin for a dozen years early in life, spending significant time with the famed sage. His wife, Rebbetzin Tzivia Walkin, who was raised next door to the Chafetz Chaim, was a granddaughter of Rav Moshe Londinsky, the Radiner rosh yeshiva. The Walkins fled the war by staying in Shanghai, and Rav Shmuel Dovid eventually was appointed as a rov in Crown Heights and then Kew Gardens.

Rav Aharon Walkin was a talmid of great roshei yeshivah and rabbonim. Rav Yitzchok Isaac Leibis, the head of the Igud Harabonim, awarded him semichah and was a family confidant. Rav Walkin also treasured the teachings of Rav Chaim Pinchos Scheinberg. After his grandfather passed away, Rav Avraham Pam took a central role as rebbi and father figure. Primarily, Rav Yisroel Belsky and Rav Dovid Feinstein were others whom Rav Walkin turned to for halachic insight. Rav Shmuel Berenbaum of the Mirrer Yeshiva was another influence, as was Rav Shlomo Feivel Schustal, under whom Rav Walkin learned in Yeshiva Torah Temimah.

He also maintained close ties to Rav Yitzchak Yisraeli, chief rabbi of the Bukharian Community in the USA and Canada, and became a partner alongside Rav Noach Isaac Oelbaum, rov of Khal Nachlas Yitzchok, in the work to uplift the post-immigrant communities in Queens and beyond. Rav Shlomo Teitelbaum, who led K'hal Adas Yereim in Kew Gardens, was a close confidant of Rav Shmuel Dovid Walkin.  Here is the additional content integrated:

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Rav Walkin cherished his relationship with Reb Aaron Cyperstein, who arranged the yarchei kallahs in Rav Teitelbaum's shul. "Rav Walkin was a gadol who epitomized ahavas Torah and ahavas Yisroel," reflected Cyperstein. At the virtual levayah, Rav Malkiel Kotler recalled visiting the Chazaq headquarters where he saw the painstaking, tireless work of Rav Walkin firsthand. Rav Noach Isaac Oelbaum, rov of Khal Nachlas Yitzchok, had a close relationship with Rav Walkin and recalled the mesiras nefesh for all his talmidim, where Rav Walkin treated each bachur as his own son, and took on each problem as his own. Rav Walkin's rebbi, Rav Shlomo Feivel Schustal, recalled that as a bochur, Rav Walkin's face would light up with each chiddush he would discover.

Rav Ilan Meirov explained how the rosh yeshiva was down-to-earth, capable of speaking to each bachur on his own level, from dissecting a difficult text with gedolim to teaching the basics to public school children or brightening the day of yeshiva yungeleit. A typical morning shiur would bring doctors, lawyers, barbers, and diamond dealers, and Rav Walkin connected with each. He gave balebatim and many bochurim a home to excel in their learning. Ensuring that the avreichim receive their stipend was always a concern for Rav Walkin. Over the last number of years, the rosh yeshiva spent the weekdays in Kew Gardens Hills. It was no secret that the rosh yeshiva would often stay up overnight, shedding tears in tefillah and learning for often-absolute, complete strangers, treating them like his own children.

Rav Walkin made it clear that the test of learning is consistency—to be involved in its study, day after day and night after night. There was no better role model for this concept than his personal dedication to his studies, especially in the toughest times. In January, Rav Walkin's Kollel Zichron Moshe V'Leah celebrated the semicha of eight new rabbonim. One of them, Rabbi Azarya Pinkhasov, remembers the rosh yeshiva's wide smile and mannerisms of love for all he encountered: "When I was about to be introduced to the rosh yeshiva, I had a present fear; once we began speaking, these feelings of trepidation instantly melted." Overpoweringly, it was concluded that the two most poignant traits taught by Rav Walkin were honesty in all of life's trials and tribulations, and hakoras hatov, expressing thanks to anyone who is deserving.

Then, in the beginning of March, Rav Walkin made his final appearance in Beth Gavriel in Forest Hills at Rav Yisraeli's semicha convocation. "The rosh yeshiva changed Queens," stated Moshe Sdayeb, a close talmid of Rav Walkin. Following a horrific Brooklyn house fire that shattered the lives of the Azan family, Rav Walkin was pained to the point that he described to his yeshivah balebatim the need to dedicate a sefer Torah in memory of the kedoshim. In a special show of achdus exemplifying the rosh yeshiva's love of all, the sefer Torah, mostly sponsored by members of the Queens Bukharian-Sephardic community, was donated to Rav Walkin's Lakewood Ashkenazi community.

Rav Walkin leaves his eishes chayil, Dr. Yaffa Walkin, and their children, as well as his parents and siblings. Yehi zichro boruch.

78 - YatedNe'eman,   30 Nissan 5780, April 24, 2020