At the conclusion of shiva for Rabbi Leibel Turk AH, his son, Rabbi Yossi Turk, shliach to Cordoba, Argentina, shares memories of his father, his pleasant personality, his care for davening and mitzvos, and his dedication to his holy work of shechita.
By Rabbi Yossi Turk
והחי יתן אל לבו
As we get up from Shiva and prepare the hakomas matzeiva for our dear father, it’s time to contemplate on some of his traits, share them, and try to emulate them.
Receiving everyone with a smile, was part of his personality. Wishing good morning to Jews and gentiles alike on the way to shul, was the norm. Where there was a smell of community politics, he would stay far away.
He was a somei’ach b’chelko in material and economic issues, but always striving for better in spiritual aspects.
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He would daven slowly, always having a hard time keeping up with the chazzan. At our Shabbos table, bentching was always sung from beginning to end.
He would be one of the last to leave shul on Motzei Shabbos, as he would collect and return the seforim to the shelves. Even in recent years when he would walk with the aid of a walker, he would use the walker as a cart to transport the seforim to the shelves.
In his yeshiva years, when in camp and he had a day off, the time was utilized to chazer a maimer etc. Same can be said years later at the shechita, free time, was valuable time, put to good use with learning and davening.
Every Motzei Shabbos, after making Havdoloh, the first activity done was cleaning the Shabbos leichter leaving them ready for the following Shabbos. On Fridays, hours before Licht bentchen, he had already prepared the leichter, lighting the candles for a moment, before extinguishing them with his fingers, so that they should be easier for our mother to light.
In his younger years in Manchester, on long Friday evenings, between Mincha and kabolas Shabbos, he would gather us kids together upstairs and keep our rapt attention with Chassidisher stories.
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At the shechita, no compromising his yiras shomayim and halocho, even when pressured to be more lenient by managers and owners worried about their economic loss.
Giving out candies to the workers at Shechita surely helps to keep them in good spirits.
He loved sharing his Shechita expertise, knowledge and experience with talmidim, without any personal gain. And by the way, don’t call the Chalef a knife, It’s a Chalef! A holy tool.
“Zeide, how are you today?”
“B”H we had 43 Glatt!”
“But i didnt ask how many glatt you had! I asked how are you!”
He was so dedicated to his mission, it was inseparable from his person.
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Once, when visiting Córdoba Argentina, he wasn’t feeling well, so a doctor was called for a home visit. After the doctor took his blood pressure, Reb Leibl said: now let me check your blood pressure, and put Tefilin on the doctor, for the first time in his life.
When he himself was reluctant to go for doctor checkups in Queens, the incentive to get him excited and look forward to keep his appointment was visiting his brother Yankel who was living in a nearby nursing home, to put Tefilin on him, and all the other patients in the home.
The simcha in helping another yid do a Mitzva was palpable.
Our Home in Manchester was a true Chabad house. Before Purim, the neighbors would gather in our dining room to prepare hundreds of Mishloach Manot to be distributed during Purim day to all the Jewish nursing homes in the area.
Erev Yom Kippur early, our backyard was the place to go to for Kaporos.
On those long winter Motzei Shabbos, many Anash Melave Malkahs were held in our home.
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We hope and pray that speedily the promise of והקיצו ורננו שוכני עפר will be fulfilled, and we will be together again, with Moshiach Tzidkeinu.
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