Since this section is dedicated to Chaim's blessed mother, I am posting this in memory of her husband. He was lucky and blessed to be married to such a wonderful Eshet Chayil as Chaim's mother. May his memory be immortalized.
Pesach Ben Dov, Z"L
by
Chaim Ben Pesach
(Originally published by JTF.ORG on February 16, 2000)
Pesach Ben Dov, my father of blessed memory, zichrono livracha (may his memory be immortalized), died recently.
My father was not only my mentor and my friend, he was also my hero. My father was a very rare type of person because he was so loyal, so brave, so honest and so decent.
He stood by me through thick and thin. Through prison, probation, halfway house and house arrest. During more than a quarter-century of struggle, my father was always there for me and for the Jewish people.
I also remember being inspired by my father's actions as a New York City high school teacher. He refused to pass illiterate Third World students despite all types of threats. He stood all alone among the teachers and did so with great courage.
But my father's greatest attribute in my eyes was his honesty and decency. "Always keep your word," he taught me. When my father made a promise, no matter how big or small, he kept that promise.
His last words to me before his untimely death in the hospital were, "Please take $2.50 out of my pants pocket. Your mother went shopping and I owe her the money."
Here he was on his deathbed in agonizing pain and his main concern was that he "owed" my mother $2.50 for some groceries. My father always paid even his smallest debts immediately.
He was so selfless. As he was dying in excruciating pain, he told us, "Don't worry about me. Go home and go to sleep."
All his life, he lived for his family. He never thought of himself. He never did anything for himself.
Honesty, decency and selflessness were so much a part of his character that his family had to love him. It was impossible not to.
When he sought to instill Jewish pride in his two children, myself and my sister, there was never the slightest doubt that with a father like this, my sister and I would indeed always be proud Jews.
In the end, he suffered terribly but never uttered a word of complaint. He was joking and trying to cheer us up as the end drew near. Always brave and always selfless.
The Rabbis in the Talmud teach us that a mere moment in Olam HaBah (the World To Come) will be worth more than a thousand years in this world. It will be paradise on earth.
For me and my family, just living in the same world with my great father will indeed be true paradise.
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