Behind thescenes
Rav Aaron Waijsfeld is more than simply a figurehead Rabbi in the Boro Park Center. He is an active part of it and dedicates his time and energy to providing residents and staff with a warm and spiritual experience.
t r a e H h t i w i b A Rab
By Meir Segal
R BTS BORO PARK CENTER
esidents and patients at nursing homes and rehab centers have various needs. Those needs range from medical, dietary, therapeutic, rehabilitative, and psychological. But an underrated need is the spiritual one. People don't realize how crucial spiritual fulfillment can be to a person's overall health and happiness, and that need is sometimes taken care of by the facility's Rabbi. In my limited experience with nursing homes, the title "Rabbi" is conferred upon whoever is hired to ensure that there is a minyan for the tefillos and leads the Shabbos and yom tov meals. Most of the nursing home "Rabbis" that I have met are not the most knowledgeable about Jewish law or history. Nor do they need to be. Singing zemiros, giving out aliyos, and leading the tefillos requires only some basic familiarity with halacha. However, when conversing with Rav Aaron Waijsfeld, Rabbi at the Boro Park Center, I am blown away by his knowledge in all parts of the Shulchan Aruch. Not that my opinion means anything, I am simply basing it on my previous experiences with people in the same position at other facilities.
56 / The Center Spirit / September 2021
Rav Aaron is lanky, tall, distinguished-looking, with a gray beard and round glasses, wearing a traditional long rekel. "I went to Bobover schools when I grew up," Rav Waijsfeld tells me. He went through a fascinating journey for a Bobover boy. "After going to Eretz Yisrael for a couple of years I learned in Beth Medrash Govoha and eventually landed in Emek Halacha, the Kollel of Rav Tuvia Goldstein." Rav Tuvia Goldstein was a legendary posek whom Rav Moshe Feinstein would frequently consult with when dealing with complex cases. After learning under Rav Tuvia for a number of years, Rav Waijsfeld earned the prestigious semicha from Emek Halacha. "Before this was the Boro Park Center, it was the Hebrew Home for the Aged and then it morphed into Metropolitan Jewish Geriatric Center. After that, it
