Rabbi Moshe Neuman zt”l

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Rabbi Moshe Neuman zt”l, longtime menahel of Bais Yaakov of Queens, NY.

Rabbi Neuman was a musmach of Rav Yitzchok Hutner zt”l at Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin.

From the years 1961 to 2011,  Rabbi Neuman stood at the helm of Bais Yaakov Academy, shepherding it from a school of 27 students in a tiny building in Corona to a school of close to 850 students in a four-story building in Kew Gardens.

Throughout those years, Rabbi Neuman was a consistent and reliable presence for all the girls who studied at Bais Yaakov.

А smile at the beginning of the day. A warm hello. A concerned “How are you?” These seemingly simple memo­ries of Rabbi Neuman are what generations of students of the Bais Yaakov Academy of Queens hold dear in their hearts.

As a young man, Rabbi Neuman was work­ing toward a degree in tax law, but his obvi­ous talents in the area of chinuch led his rosh yeshiva, Rav Hutner, to nudge him in a dif­ferent direction. From his first experience as an eighth-grade substitute, it was clear that Rabbi Neuman was a natural. He “got kids” and was able to reach them on their level, gain their trust, and make them want to learn.

Rabbi Neuman worked for four years as a third-grade rebbi and assistant principal in Detroit. After his marriage to Rivkah Hol­lander, the couple moved to Allentown, Penn­sylvania, where Rabbi Neuman served as prin­cipal of the Jewish Community Center Day School. In the spring of 1961, sensing that it was time for their growing family to return to New York, Rabbi Neuman accepted the posi­tion as principal of a fledgling girls’ school in Queens.

Bais Yaakov flourished under the auspices of Rabbi Neuman, growing quickly from a small school into the thriving institution it is today. What was the secret of his success? Bais Yaakov alumni who attended the school at any and every point during Rabbi Neuman’s 50 years of tenure all point to the same key characteristics: “He knew everyone’s name – first and last,” and, “He greeted us each and every morning with an enthusiastic ‘Boker tov’ and a smile.” While these might sound like small gestures, it is clear by the deep im­pression they made that they were in­deed significant and meaningful to his many students.

Hands-on would not be an adequate term to describe the level of care and concern that Rabbi Neuman brought to his position. Any way a child needed to be nourished, he was the man for the job. It would not be unusual to see the esteemed principal bend down and tie a young student’s shoelace.

When the Balsam farm on Cross Bay Boulevard closed down, Bais Yaakov had a problem getting chalav Yisrael milk. Rabbi Neuman came to the rescue, shlep­ping milk in his car from Boro Park each and every day.

“Can I come in and disturb your class?” was Rabbi Neuman’s opening gambit to enter the classroom and spend some quality time with BYQ’s talmidos.

Mrs. Gitty Acker, an administrator in BYQ and longtime third grade morah, shared that she would call Rabbi Neuman into her classroom each time the girls finished learning a parshah in Chumash. He would “quiz” the students, giving them a chance to show off all they learned. He also went into each classroom in the school dur­ing Elul to blow the shofar and used to read part of Megillas Esther to Mrs. Acker’s stu­dents each year before Purim. “The girls were always amazed when he said the Aseres Bnei Haman in one breath.” In the sixth grade, he would give weekly parshah lessons from Rabbeinu Yonah. He was not a principal who sat in his office. He spent time in the classrooms.

Rabbi Neuman knew how to turn even bitter moments into sweet ones. Mrs. Chana (Goldberger) Fendrich recalls nostalgically how when she was sent out of class and sent to the principal’s office, Rabbi Neuman offered her a candy and told her not to tell anyone.

He had a very close relationship with the teachers. As one teacher says, “Rabbi Neuman could get us to do anything for a student because we knew that he was willing to do anything. There was no such thing as saying no.”

Mrs. Nechama Jurkowitz, Limudei Kodesh principal at Bais Yaakov, recalls that Rabbi Neuman would sit with the teachers and both listen to them and give over to them. “Teachers felt it was worth coming to school to teach, and also to be taught – by Rabbi Neuman.”

Rabbi Neuman didn’t just know every student’s name. He knew everything about them there was to know: their challenges, their strengths, what might have worked for them in the past, and what did not. He looked for the best in each child so he could inspire her to bring out her kochos and reach her potential.

Mrs. Tamar (Well) Miller entered BYQ in seventh grade after moving to New York from Chicago. She and her father arrived first, ahead of the rest of the family. She relates that Rabbi Neuman used to check on her all the time. “He always used to ask me how I was doing. I’ll always remember his smile and his warmth. He really cared.”

Mrs. Elisa (Hoffman) Taub, Director of the Midos Program in Bais Yaakov, attended BYQ as a student and sent her daughters to the school. In her view, “Rabbi Neuman never changed, from when I knew him as a little girl to when I knew him as an adult.” With his sig­nature warmth, everyone felt a personal con­nection to him. “He always got his messages and his values across through his anecdotes. Eretz Yisrael, ahavas Yisrael, the Jews trapped behind the Iron Curtain, the Holocaust – he was always teaching, but you didn’t neces­sarily feel like he was teaching you. He was putting his heart into your heart.”

Rabbi Neuman’s caring extended beyond his students to the entire Klal Yisrael. Mrs. Shifra (Jakubowicz) Silber remembers that every assembly would begin with kappitel kuf-lamed, recited responsively as a tefillah “for our brothers and sisters trapped behind the Iron Curtain.” This made a lasting impres­sion on his many students.

Above all, Rabbi Neuman wanted to teach the girls at Bais Yaakov to have middos and mentchlichkeit. “Stand up for someone older who might need a seat… Call your grandpar­ents before Shabbos.” These lessons were im­parted on a daily basis.

Mrs. Nechama Jurkowitz captured one of Rabbi Neuman’s unique qualities: “When you spoke to him, you felt like there is no one else in the whole world who mattered to him at that moment. Students felt that way, and teachers, too. He never forgot what you spoke about, and always remembered to ask you about it. It was all about relationship.”

Rabbi Neuman is survived by his wife, Mrs. Rivkah Neuman, and a wonderful family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The levayah will be held today at 1 p.m. at Shomrei Hadas Chapels, located at 38th Street and 14th Avenue in Boro Park.

Yehi zichro boruch.

Note: The interviews in the above tribute first appeared in the Queens Jewish Link when Rabbi Neuman zt”l and his rebbetzin were honored at their son’s Bais Yaakov in Far Rockaway.

{Matzav.com}