A son remembered: Levi Wolowik, one year later

By Michael Orbach

Issue of February 26, 2010/ 12 Adar 5770

Until the very end of the completion of the Sefer Torah, the smile on Rabbi Zalman Wolowik’s face did not fade.

Only occasionally, as the rav of the Chabad of the Five Towns hugged and kissed the men who helped complete the Torah in his son’s memory, and paused to wipe his own sweaty brow, did his smile flag ever so slightly.

A year ago, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Wolowik’s son, Levi, 9, a bright, popular student at Yeshiva Darchei Torah, passed away suddenly on Friday night, Feb. 28. After the tragedy, Chabad children around the world held a learn-a-thon in his memory, studying Tanya and raising sponsorship money in order to dedicate a Torah. The Torah’s completion was celebrated in Woodmere this past Sunday at the Wolowik’s home, two days after Levi’s first yahrtzeit.

Writing a Torah scroll is one of the 613 mitzvot; some sages hold that the mitzvah can be accomplished by helping to complete a single letter. As Rabbi Wolowik pushed neighbors, members of the community and fellow rabbonim to take a turn inking the sacred parchment on Sunday, his father in law, Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a senior Chabad official, urged all the signers to take a l’chaim from a nearby table after they completed a letter.

The event in Levi’s memory, which saw several hundred people flittering in and out of the Wolowik’s dining room and living room, could be considered a testament to Chabad itself, and the worldwide network that allowed children from 13 countries and 25 states, from China to Utah, to raise close to $65,000. More importantly, the event was a testament to the work and dedication of the Wolowik family, who managed to turn their unthinkable tragedy into a communal celebration. Moments before the unfinished Torah scroll arrived, Rabbi Wolowik busied himself helping a boy put on tefillin.

‘Bittersweet’ was the word on everyone’s lips.

“It’s tremendously joyous but it came out of a tragedy,” said Keith Moskowitz, whose daughter, now 14, was a student in the first class of the Chabad of the Five Towns nursery.

“They turn tragedy into light, that’s how they do it. They sacrifice their personal selves, suffering for the sake of the community, to bring the light of Torah to everyone,” he said of the Wolowiks, emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l.

A video monitor showed pictures of Levi and the Wolowik family, a wordless journey through the boy’s short life: from a swaddled newborn to the entire family dressed as cavemen to celebrate Purim. His death occurred ten days before last Purim; the Torah celebration was held a week before Purim, one year later.

The idea to dedicate a Sefer Torah and a library in Levi’s memory was formulated during shiva, said Peretz Wolowik, his uncle.

“We’re all one big family and we all wanted to do something for Levi,” he said. “This is the only way; otherwise the darkness gets stronger. You must bring light. That’s the message of Chabad.”

“It’s a wonderful opportunity but it’s bitter too, because we remember the son,” said Sholom Maidenbaum, a friend of the Wolowiks. “Jews always think that the sweet comes from the bitter.”

Moments later, Maidenbaum made his way to Rabbi Wolowik to shake his hand but Rabbi Wolowik would have none of it, embracing Maidenbaum instead, and sitting him down so he too could partake in the mitzvah and write a letter into the new Torah.

On one wall was an embossed frame with pictures of the late Rebbe and Levi; underneath the pictures was a wrinkled dollar bill. The frame was presented to the Wolowiks by the Lubavitch Youth Organization at a dinner this past year.

“The Lubavitch Rebbe used to hand out dollars to everybody,” a father explained to his two daughters.

Chani Marcus, a Lubavitch teacher from California, came to the Wolowik’s house on Sunday though she does not know the family personally. She had heard about the dedication from relatives who participated in the fundraising and wanted to be able to tell them about the event.

“It’s a great simcha but such a tragedy,” she said. “You see the struggle. We have to make sense, turning tragedy into growth and bringing beauty into the world.”

As soon as the Torah was completed a parade of people began making their way from the Wolowik’s home to the Chabad of the Five Towns on Maple Avenue.

Auxiliary police officers wearing kippot worked alongside regular police officers, blocking Central Avenue and guiding traffic to side streets. At Bagel Delight, a store on the corner of Central Avenue, two Israeli workers struggled to describe the purpose of the procession to their Hispanic co-workers.

“It’s ... how do you say ‘kavod’?” asked one. “Honor,” replied the other.

Rabbi Wolowik and his family were in the midst of the procession, singing and dancing with the Torah as a truck wearing a giant crown ducked under a traffic light.

Only once did Rabbi Wolowik’s smile fade: at 1:30 p.m. as the last two words of the Torah, “kol Yisroel,” were completed by members of his family.

The letter kuf was written by Rabbi Wolowik’s eldest son, Moshe Mendel; the yud and the shin in honor of the late Rebbe and his wife; a daughter wrote another letter in honor of all the Jews, the children of Hashem; and Rabbi Wolowik wrote the final letter himself, with his youngest son on his lap.

“Lamed is for Levi,” his son explained simply.

Only after he finished the last letter and began saying Shehekhianu¸ a blessing to thank Hashem for bringing him to this day, did Rabbi Wolowik cry.

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