Rabbi David Zeller (z"l)

BS”D Rav David Zeller By Zvi Leshem Abstract: This paper was written for a book presented to Rav David Zeller z"l on the occasion of his 60th birthday in 2006. Sadly he became ill soon after and passed away in the spring of 2007. In honor of his 8th "yartzheit" tonight I am uploading the paper with minor stylistic editing. May his memory be for a blessing. Looking back upon twenty years of friendship I come to the realization that Reb David has had a profound impact upon my life, for which I am most grateful. Typically, we first met in a health food store near the shuk. David was then living on Moshav Modiin and grappling with two crucial decisions, where to learn and where to live. For him these were decisions that could not be taken lightly, for they would no doubt have a major impact on his spiritual development and that of his family. In the end he came to Efrat and to Yeshivat HaMivtar. We became both neighbors and learned in the same Bet Midrash. In Efrat David and I shared common interests and frustrations, which led us to collaborate upon a number of projects. We made several early abortive attempts to start an alternative minyan for slower, quieter davening. The response was very poor. I guess we were ahead of our time. After the death of David's first wife, Elana z”l, we worked together to establish Machon Elana, a center for Torah study for women. The program was co-sponsored by the Gush Etzion Community Center, and met two mornings a week at the Magen Avraham synagogue in Efrat. We studied Mishna, Hilchot Shabbat, Maharal and Rambam. David would give special classes on Chassidut, usually on Rosh Chodesh, and we brought in a variety of guest speakers for special occasions. Women came from as far away as Hebron for classes. At that time the idea of a Bet Midrash for women was fairly unique. Eventually the Community Center continued the program together with Michlelet Herzog. In a sense Machon Elana was actually the forerunner, not only of the Herzog programs for women, now centered at Midreshet Migdal Oz, but also of the Women’s Bet Midrash of Efrat. David and I for a number of years taught classes together in Chassidut at the Bedein’s house on Shabbat afternoon. This was also a first for Efrat. I don’t think anyone in Efrat had ever really studied Chassidut before and many people would come to hear us taking turns sharing teachings from Rebbe Nachman, Mei HaShiloach and the Sfat Emet. At a certain point the two of us began a chevruta in Mei HaShiloach on Shabbat afternoons that eventually grew into a chabura of six men. We studied for many years, learning, among other works, Mei HaShiloach, Tanya, Likutai Moharan, Sippurai Maasiot, Meor Einaim, Aish Kodesh, Netivot Shalom, and Pachad Yitzchak. Looking back, it is incredible how much we actually accomplished on those Shabbat afternoons, and there is no doubt that my own development in Chassidic studies benefited very greatly from these sessions. It was here that I was first exposed to the writings of the Piaseczner Rebbe, to whose works I have devoted myself for the last ten years. This chabura eventually became the nucleus for one more attempt to begin a new minyan in Efrat. After careful planning and advance publicity Shirat Shlomo met on the first night of Sukkot 5754 (1993). Our motto was the three “shins”, shtika, shira and simcha (quiet, song and happiness). This time Efrat was ready for a spiritual revolution and almost 100 people packed the library that night. The rest is history. I am proud to count Reb David as a friend. I have learned much from him over the years. I bless him on his 60th with another 60 years of Tora and Avoda, surrounded by his loving family and friends.