The Levayah
“I remember feeling the heat on my neck from the sun while I was standing there and listening to the hespedim. I remember putting my hand on my neck and immediately thinking, Thank You, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, for the sun.”
The levayah was Rabbi Miller’s, and those spontaneous thoughts of gratitude belonged to his close talmid—and great-nephew—Rabbi Lesin.
That was the moment it became clear to him. Not in theory, not in retrospect, but right there.
This is how I think.
This is how I live.
This is what his Torah has done for me.
“In the emotional turmoil of the hespedim, I realized how much all of my hanhagos throughout a regular day are completely influenced by the Torah that I learned from Uncle Avigdor,” says Rabbi Lesin. And yet, Rabbi Lesin is quick to clarify that the family connection is secondary. Above all, Rabbi Miller was his rebbe for life.
“When he told me about my great-grandfather—his shver, Rabbi Ya’akov Moshe HaCohen Lesin—he would say he was somebody who practiced what he preached. I always thought about Uncle Avigdor as being just like that, somebody who lived this way. He didn’t just say good Torah, or things that were interesting or clever. Much more than that—these were things he worked on himself for years. What he said was so real, so genuine, because he actually lived this way.”
From LA to New York to Eretz Yisrael
Rabbi Lesin grew up in Los Angeles. Geographical distance meant Rabbi Miller wasn’t a significant presence in his life as a child. He only truly got to know Rabbi Miller later on, when he was living in New York. But from that point on, he grew closer to Rabbi Miller, imbibing his Torah ideology through reading his books and listening to his recordings. He cherished the visits to Rabbi Miller’s home, spending Shabbos with him, eating meals in his home, and receiving personal guidance. He also attended the famous Thursday night shiurim.
Now, the Lesins live in Yerushalayim, after seventeen years in Kiryat Sefer, where they thrived. Rabbi Lesin is a marbitz Torah in various yeshivos, as well as in Kollel Libo Chofetz, where he serves as Menahel Ruchani.
For over thirty years, Rabbi Lesin heard his uncle’s shiurim and read his books consistently.
“All my shiurim are influenced by him,” he says. “Almost every shiur I give is a homage to him, even my daily Gemara shiur. For the past two and a quarter years, I always begin the Gemara amud yomi shiur that I give for Dirshu (https://www.dirshu.co.il/396417-2/) the same way: ‘Bruchim habaim—welcome everyone! We are about to begin b’ezras Hashem…’ That’s how he began his Thursday night lecture.”
Only Toras Avigdor
Each year on the yahrzeit, the family arranges a gathering at Rabbi Miller’s tziun on Har Hazeisim. One year, Rabbi Yehuda Samet was organizing a minyan at the kever. “We were talking on the phone about the details, and he asked me, ‘Have you seen Toras Avigdor?’ I said I didn’t know anything about it.
“‘These pamphlets are so powerful,’ he told me. ‘You have to read them.’”
“That was the first time I heard about Toras Avigdor. I started reading them and was blown away. I’m familiar with his Torah. I recognize many of the shiurim being quoted. But the way it flows is amazing. They splice four, five, sometimes six shiurim into a single piece. I can hear him through the words. It’s always either mechadesh something I didn’t know, or it crystallizes yesodos I already knew in a powerful way.
“Shortly after that, someone in my neighborhood started delivering it to me. I can’t have Shabbos without it.”
Lessons
It’s hard to pinpoint one lesson that has had the greatest impact, but Rabbi Lesin is keen to share how Rabbi Miller used every moment of his time to achieve his tachlis in the world. To illustrate this, Rabbi Lesin shares a mashal that has stayed with him. A new driver starting out at a New York trucking company is sent to Los Angeles loaded up with goods for delivery. Off he goes, a little too sure of himself. Two weeks later, he returns.
“How was your trip?” asks the boss.
“The trip was great!” says the newbie. “I didn’t get any tickets! I wasn’t involved in any accidents! Everything went like clockwork!”
The boss opens the truck. To his astonishment, all the merchandise is still there.
“I sent you to deliver goods!” the boss tells his employee. “It’s not enough that you came back with no tickets and with an undamaged vehicle. What did you actually achieve while you were away?!”
Hashem puts us in this world not just to avoid aveiros, but to become great. After 120 years, He wants us to “deliver the goods”: a lifetime of Torah, growth, and improvement. It’s never enough to say, “I didn’t do this or that aveirah.” We have to utilize life for positive achievement, and for that, Hashem gave us time, our most precious commodity.
“Rabbi Miller didn’t waste any time,” says Rabbi Lesin, recalling that Rabbi Miller made sure to use every minute for avodas Hashem.
Strengthening the Message
Rabbi Miller is no longer here to act as a guide. But the way his talmid and great-nephew views the world hasn’t weakened. That way of thinking just grows stronger every day, both for Rabbi Lesin and for his many talmidim who are quietly learning Rabbi Miller’s Torah years later.
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