Thursday, December 13

In Memoriam: Reb Moshe Ezra OBM

What people told me:

Mr Hochhauser always had a smile, a word and an ear for everyone, regardless of age or background.  He treated customers with utmost respect, never responding loudly to some argumentative clients – even if it meant losing a sale.



What people told me:

Mr Hochhauser knew his customers well; why, they bought their reading material from his shop!  However he knew his Seforim even better, so whatever subject the potential customer mentioned, he always knew what Sefer or book to suggest as the ideal one for the customer’s needs.

Mr Hochhauser greeted all and sundry on the street, with his characteristic, regal nod adorning his radiant face.



Some possible additions:

He was very calm but always in a rush. His tight schedule of learning would leave many Kolel-leit in the dust… When he finished Rabbi Shimon Hirschler’s Daf Yomi Shiur, which started six o’clock in the morning, he continued learning after Shacharis and his toast’n’egg breakfast – the same for most of his lifetime - Rabbi Yisroel Menashe Reisman’s online Parsha recording. He then continued on to the Kollel Ba’alei Battim, where he prepared all the Seforim before the Shiurim and returned them after the learning was over.  The early afternoon Daf Yomi Shiur by Rabbi Alexander Heller(?) was followed by a Chavrusa in Chumash with Rashi (with his brother YL”T Reb Aharon Sholom Hochhauser ShLYT”A ASK HIM / HIS FAMILY IF HE WANTS THIS MENTIONED) and then there was the early evening Daf Yomi Shiur by his nephew Rabbi Hershel Reitzer.



He never missed the weekly Alim LiTerufah leaflet, begging his children to ferret out the ones that he missed from Sheymos or by retrieving them by eMail from the publishers in Antwerp.  As trivial as this may sound, it points to his consistency in searching for meaningful ways to fill his spare time, whether at home or when he was out and about.



His power of speech was such that when needed he had a word to say, but most importantly he knew what not to say, which was 95% of his speech time… (rephrase)



His Davening was an example of an Eved HaShem, not noticing anything around him during the Amidah prayers (rephrase?)



He always kept small change in his pocket or a few vouchers, so not to let an appellant go without a donation (rephrase?)



When two of his Eyniklech arrived from Eretz Yisroel for their sister’s wedding – the last one he attended just a week before his Petiroh – he uncharacteristically kissed them on their forehead, which they never experienced before. The same happened when they came to take their leave to return to their families in the Holy Land.  As the Gemoro says: he might not be conscious about it, however his Mazal is fully cognisant of what is to come.



He held a Droshoh during the Shabbos Sheva Brochos and said that HaShem acts in a variety of ways to bring good to Klal Yisroel and one of them is “beHesech HaDa’as  - loosely translated “when one is not paying attention”.  He finished off by wishing all of us that we should soon experience the ultimate redemption “beHesech HaDa’as”.  He left us with a blessing that should speedily come to fruition, still in 5778 Omeyn!

The family

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