Rabbi Chaim Druckman passes away at 90
A notable figure in the Zionist movement passed away at 90 years old, and Ariel Kahana eulogizes him:
How can one summarize a life of Torah? With decades filled with work? With one's influence on the entire nation? With the decisions made at the country's most significant points in time? These questions arise when we are about to do what we hoped we would never have to – summarizing the life and work of our teacher and rabbi, Rabbi Chaim Druckman.There's also a video here recording a meeting Druckman had with the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1991.
It is nearly impossible to describe the rabbi's tremendous contribution to the nation of Israel, to the education of its generations, to kindness, and to our world. There is virtually no place; there is almost no act in which Rabbi Druckman's fingerprint is not noticeable. It is difficult to imagine the nation of Israel, especially Religious Zionism, without his mark on tens or even hundreds of thousands of men and women from all stripes in the State of Israel.
Rabbi Druckman, a winner of the Israel Prize, was considered the "elder of the rabbis" in Religious Zionism. As an educator, he stood at the head of the center of Bnei Akiva yeshivot and religious high schools for girls, the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and the hesder yeshiva union. As a public leader, he was one of the leaders of the Gush Emunim movement, was the head of the Conversion Authority, and served as a Knesset member and deputy minister.
He held a list of titles and positions left empty by his passing and will require many people to refill. This shows his abilities and the broadness of the shoulders upon which he bore his many responsibilities and duties. Over the course of three decades, I was privileged to work under and receive guidance from the rabbi as a member of the Bnei Akiva movement and while in the center of the Bnei Akiva yeshivot and religious high schools for girls. I witnessed the power of his mission firsthand. I felt the greatness of the leader and educator of the man before me.
