The passing of Reb Isaac Reichmann marks the end of an era. Reb Isaac was the youngest child of the legendary baalei tzedokah va’chesed Reb Shmaya and Mrs. Renée Reichmann, and the last of the famous trio of Reichmann brothers (Reb Beri, Reb Moshe, and Reb Isaac) who, from their headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, redefined the entire concept of hachzokas haTorah in modern times. With his petirah on Sukkos, we have lost one of the last remnants of that era.
The Reichmann family is famous for its tznius. They shun publicity and avoid the limelight whenever possible. In fact, the secular press used to joke about how the Reichmann brothers always seemed to evade the cameras. While this is true for all of them, Reb Isaac somehow managed to remain hidden the most. Reservedly quiet and completely uninterested in kavod, Reb Isaac was the quintessential anav u’shfal berech. Although a partner with his brothers in their business and tzedokah endeavors, he somehow managed to stay in the background regarding almost all matters.
A Toronto rosh yeshiva remarked at the shivah that the gemara in Chullin (89a) tells us, “Ma um’nuso shel adam ba’olam hazeh? Yasim atzmo k’ilem — What should a person’s occupation be in this world? He should render himself silent as a mute.” One can see from this gemara that remaining silent is an umnus, an occupation, something that requires work and training to master. The rosh yeshiva remarked to the aveilim that Reb Isaac, to those who knew him, was someone who had plenty to say. He was a brilliant man with both Torah and worldly knowledge and experience to share. And yet, his words were always measured and few. He would often remain silent, taking in his surroundings and giving others his full and undivided attention. And when he did speak, his words were powerful and cogent. Similarly, with his petirah being on Yom Tov, he ascended to Shomayim in silence, without long, elaborate hespeidim or much noise at all.
Reb Isaac was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1933. As mentioned, his parents were famous for their chesed efforts, with Reb Shmaya known as a tremendous baal tzedokah and machnis orach, and Mrs. Renée was known as the go-to address for any medical referral in all of Austria. Not only would Mrs. Renée direct Yidden from across Europe as to which doctors they should go to, but she would accompany many of them to the doctors’ offices herself, ensuring that they would receive proper care and not be overcharged.
As can be expected from such a home, Reb Shmaya and Mrs. Renée were extremely busy people. This led their youngest, Isaac, to develop an extremely close relationship with his sister and eldest sibling, Eve, who was called Maidy. He would often remark that throughout his childhood, his sister Maidy was like a second mother to him.
The story of the Reichmanns’ escape from the Nazis due to their adherence to the mitzvah of kibbud av va’eim is well known, but we will recount it briefly for context. The bar mitzvah of the eldest boy in the family, Eli Reichmann, was scheduled to take place in Vienna with much pomp and grandeur. The Pupa Rebbe was even slated to attend. However, when shortly before the bar mitzvah, Reb Shmaya’s father, Rav Dovid Reichmann, had a stroke, the family canceled the plans and moved the bar mitzvah to the grandparents’ home in Hungary. The three youngest children, Beri, Moshe, and Isaac, were left in Vienna with the nanny.
That very Leil Shabbos was the infamous Kristallnacht when the SS rounded up almost all of the prominent Jewish community leaders and sent them off to forced labor. They arrived at the Reichmann residence, looking for Reb Shmaya, but providentially found that he was not home. After Shabbos, Reb Shmaya, having heard that he was wanted by the SS, escaped to France, while Mrs. Renée and Maidy returned to Vienna to collect the rest of the children and some belongings.
At the time of the family’s escape, Reb Isaac was a child of around five years old. His siblings would recount how mesmerized he was by the planes that were flying above them, completely unaware that they belonged to the Nazis. At several points, the family had to exit their vehicle and run for cover due to the bombings coming from those planes. On one such occasion, they ducked into some high grass and waited for the bombing to subside. When everyone resurfaced, they realized that Isaac was missing. Somehow, in the confusion, he had let go of his sister’s hand and had gotten separated. The next few minutes, as they frantically searched for each other, were most frightful for everyone involved. Boruch Hashem, they found each other and continued to France, where they stayed for around a year and a half.
On another occasion, the family had to cast away some of their furniture and belongings in order to make room for other Yidden on their truck. In the process, a little bicycle that Isaac was particularly fond of was tossed away. Although this was devastating for the small child, his father explained to him that they were doing so to save other Yidden and that everything would be all right.
As the Nazis approached France, the Reichmanns fled to Spain and then to Tangiers, Morocco, where they found refuge for the rest of the war years. Tangiers was not only their place of refuge but also became Mrs. Renée’s base of operations from which she would organize care packages and visas for countless Yidden who were trapped in occupied territories. Through developing a relationship with the Red Cross, Mrs. Renée was even able to send care packages into some of the concentration camps; packages that provided life-saving sustenance, enabling Yidden to survive. As Isaac grew, he was able to watch and take in all that his parents and siblings were doing, absorbing tzedokah va’chesed into his very DNA. Reb Isaac once told one of his grandchildren about a time in Tangiers when the family started to eat a lot of oranges. At first, it seemed odd, as every other dish seemed to contain oranges. However, he soon realized that there was a Yid who sold oranges whose business was struggling, and his parents were trying to bolster his parnossah.
In Tangiers, the Reichmanns were not satisfied with the standards of the local Jewish school and instead chose to send their boys to the local public school and hire private rabbeim to teach them Torah. As a young boy in Tangiers, Reb Isaac had two main rabbeim; his first cousin, Rav Kalman Reichmann — a tremendous talmid chochom who would later move to Montreal, and the Hodhazer/Viener Rov, Rav Ezriel Yehuda Leibowitz, with whom he would retain a kesher for the rest of his life.
Shortly after his bar mitzvah, his parents sent him to far-off London, England, to learn at Yeshivas Toras Emes under Rav Moshe Schneider. Reb Isaac’s older brother Reb Moshe, who had since moved on to the Gateshead yeshiva, had done the same a few years earlier, and he was following in his footsteps. Due to his young age, Isaac did not sleep in the same place as the rest of the bochurim, but in the home of the rosh yeshiva’s daughter and son-in-law, Rav and Rebbetzin Zeidel Siemiatycki. Rav Zeidel was from the chashuvim of the Mir yeshiva, and a tremendous gaon and tzaddik. Reb Isaac would often mention the strong roshem that Rav Zeidel had on him.
After a year or so in London, Isaac moved on to the Gateshead yeshiva, where he really “found himself,” developing into a mature ben Torah. It was in Gateshead that he acquired a mehalech in learning from Rav Leib Lopian, who he would always consider his rebbi muvhak, and much hadrocha and mussar from the mashgiach, Rav Moshe Schwab. Many of his chavrusos and chaveirim from Gateshead would go on to become gedolei Yisroel, such as Rav Avrohom Gurwitz, and Rav Tzvi Kushelevsky. The shiurim that he heard in Gateshead on Yevamos and Nedarim remained with him for the rest of his life, as his grandchildren attested. It gave him such nachas to be able to send his son Reb Shmaya to learn in Gateshead as well, and he would kvell as they would reminisce about their hallowed alma matter.
After learning in Gateshead for several years, Reb Isaac made his way to Eretz Yisroel. Unsure as to which yeshiva to attend, he decided to travel to Bnei Brak and simply ask the Chazon Ish where he should go learn. Still a relatively young bochur, he phrased his question somewhat oddly to the Chazon Ish, asking “Which is a better yeshiva, Ponovezh or Chevron?” To which the Chazon Ish replied, “Could I possibly answer who is a greater malaach, Gavriel or Michoel? Ober, vus is shlecht mit Be’er Yaakov – what is wrong with Be’er Yaakov?” Understanding that the Chazon Ish was advising him to go learn at the recently established yeshiva in Be’er Yaakov, Reb Isaac made his way there, where he went on to learn under Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro for a few years.
During his time learning at Be’er Yaakov, he developed a desire to go and meet the great Slutzk and Eitz Chaim rosh yeshiva, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer. There was a famous shtickel Torah from Rav Isser Zalman on the sugya that he was learning, so Reb Isaac considered it an opportune time. After knocking on the door, he was greeted by the Rebbetzin, who began to inform him that Rav Isser Zalman wasn’t feeling well. However, as she was doing so, Rav Isser Zalman’s voice could be heard calling out to her, asking who was at the door. When the Rebbetzin replied that it was a yeshivaman, Rav Isser Zalman instructed her to invite him in and give him a cup of tea. As Reb Issac sat at the table with his tea, Rav Isser Zalman appeared, wearing his robe and clearly frail. However, despite his frailty and ill health, Rav Isser Zalman greeted him with his famous warmth, inquiring as to who he was and where he was learning. After speaking with Reb Isaac for a few minutes, Rav Isser Zalman remarked that he simply had no more strength and had to lie back down. Their meeting was perhaps shorter than what Reb Isaac had hoped for, but the lesson of the ha’arocha one must have for a yeshivaman was something that would stay with him forever.
Reb Isaac also had a special encounter with Reb Ahrele Belzer during his time as a bochur in Eretz Yisroel. While Reb Ahrele would usually only shake people’s hands with a towel in between, when he heard that Reb Isaac was an einikel of Rav Avrohom Gestetner, a boki b’Shas who was known throughout Hungary for his geonus and tzidkus, he shook his hand directly, without the use of a towel.
In 1955, as a young bochur of only twenty-two years old, Reb Isaac traveled to Canada, first to Montreal where his two eldest brothers, Eli and Hashi, were living, and then to Toronto, where he established of branch of the family’s tile distribution company, Olympia. He was soon redt a shidduch with Miss Ada nee Halpern, the daughter of the famous parnas of Bnei Brak and close confidant of the Chazon Ish and other gedolei Yisroel, Reb Nochum Yoel Halpern. Reb Isaac traveled to Bnei Brak to meet his eishes chayil, who became and remained his partner for life. At their chasunah in Bnei Brak, the Steipler Gaon was mesader kiddushin, out of his deep respect and kesher with the Halpern family.
The new couple returned to Toronto where they were soon joined by his brother and sister-in-law, Reb Moshe and Mrs. Leah, then by his parents, and finally by his brother and sister-in-law Reb Beri and Mrs. Egosah. While Reb Isaac was privileged to have been exposed to numerous gedolei Yisroel and to some other very talented individuals, his greatest teacher was undoubtedly his father, Reb Shmaya. “My father did this. My father wouldn’t do that,” were his constant refrains. As the youngest child, Reb Isaac had a unique bond with his father, who imbued in him lessons for life. After his father’s petirah, Reb Isaac grew a beard and never took it off. As one of his grandsons related, over the past few years, Reb Isaac, who was always reticent to show outer displays of emotion, began to cry more often. More often than not, when he would say, “My father,” his eyes would start to tear.
While he celebrated all of his children’s successes, he clearly demonstrated that hatzlocha in ruchniyus was paramount and that nothing else could compare to it. During the early 1980s, shortly after he and his brothers closed a very big deal that received world-wide attention, his son Reb Avromi received semicha from Rav Pinchos Hirschprung, the chief rabbi of Montreal. A fellow related how, when he met Reb Isaac in shul shortly thereafter, he wished him a mazel tov, with the big business deal in mind. “Yes, he worked very hard for it,” Reb Isaac said with a broad smile. The fellow, quite confused, had no idea what Reb Isaac was talking about. Reb Isaac, on the other hand, didn’t even consider that the fellow meant the business deal when the simcha of his son receiving semicha was also at hand.
The Reichmann brothers’ financial success and subsequent career of hachzokas Torah is not the subject of this article and has been well-documented elsewhere. Reb Isaac took a part in many of the family projects that reshaped Toronto and other Jewish cities across North America such as mosdos haTorah and community infrastructure such as shaatnez laboratories and accessibility to cholov Yisroel products. In the early years of Kollel Toronto, Reb Isaac would learn there b’chavrusa with one of the yungeleit, making sure that the chaburah would get off to a good start.
Whenever roshei yeshiva and other gedolei Yisroel would come to visit or to raise funds, he would always receive them with the utmost respect. He would always attempt to sit the roshei yeshiva at the head of his dining room table, although sometimes they would insist that he sit there. On one occasion, a leading rosh yeshiva came to Reb Issac and asked for a donation of eighteen thousand dollars. Without even flinching or pausing to consider it, Reb Isaac wrote the check for that amount. After the rosh yeshiva left, Reb Isaac told his sons that, on the one hand, he had wanted to write the check quickly to show the rosh yeshiva respect. However, upon further reflection, he feared that the rosh yeshiva had possibly left his house having charotah that he hadn’t asked for more, considering the speed with which the check had been written.
The gedolim appreciated Reb Isaac not only because of his generous support but also due to his chochmah and sterling middos. Rav Koppelman used to say that he would come to Toronto from time to time for two reasons; to raise funds for the yeshiva and to visit his friend, Reb Yitzchok Isaac. When his son, Reb Avromi, once took leave of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rav Yaakov asked him, “Bet az di tatte zol davenin far mir – ask your father to please daven for me.” When Reb Avromi’s face appeared to be incredulous at the prospect that the gadol hador was asking that his father daven for him, Rav Yaakov replied that “Einer vus gebt a sach tzedokah hut a koach hatefillah – one who gives a lot of tzedokah has a power of tefillah.”
Reb Isaac always continued to be kovei’a itim, having multiple chavrusos, often with his grandsons and with other talmidei chachomim such as Rav Moshe Rabinowitz. Reb Isaac developed unique relationships with each of his grandchildren, extolling them for their strengths and pushing them to develop their kochos. He always showed tremendous emunah throughout his life, even in times of tremendous challenge and sadness.
It should be noted that his youngest child, Reb Shmaya, with whom he was always exceedingly close, stood vigilantly by his side, tending to his every need, both medical and otherwise, day and night.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Ada Reichmann, his sons, Reb Avromi and Reb Shmaya, his daughter, Mrs. Rochelle Rottenberg, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, committed to following in his ways.
Yehi zichro boruch.
