Rabbi Dovid Goldstein

R' Dovid Goldstein (13 Shevat 5692 - 16 Iyar 5776 / 1932 - 2016) was among the elder Chabad chassidim. He merited to see and participate in farbrengens of the Frierdiker Rebbe and enter for yechidus many times. He possessed hundreds of holy responses from the Rebbe and the Frierdiker Rebbe, as well as various items from Beis HaRav.

Early Life

R' Dovid was born and raised in the Boro Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York to his father R' Moshe Yehuda and his mother Mrs. Chaya Malka, a chassidic family, though not Chabad chassidim. There he learned in cheder under the melamed Reb Shlomo Zalman Hecht, who later became the Rebbe's shliach in Chicago. His father was known in his previous place of residence as "Der Shomer Shabbos" (The Shabbos Observer), as he was almost the only one who was strict about Shabbos observance in the city.

His older brother Yosef Goldstein became close to Chabad chassidus, and following him, he was also drawn to it. In his youth, he wanted to study at Yeshivas Tomchei Tmimim at 770, but due to the great distance between his neighborhood and Crown Heights where the yeshiva was located, and various health constraints, his parents did not allow him to learn in Tomchei Tmimim. In one of the letters he wrote to the Frierdiker Rebbe about his strong desire to transfer to Tomchei Tmimim and his parents' refusal, the Rebbe instructed him to obey their instructions, and when his health situation improved, he could transfer.

Despite this, he would frequently come to 770, and on Shabbos and Yomim Tovim he would walk despite the great distance.

With the Frierdiker Rebbe

The first time he saw the Frierdiker Rebbe was at a farbrengen held in a hotel. While the chassidim were waiting for the Rebbe to come out to the farbrengen, the Rebbe was in an inner room and R' Dovid waited by the door. When the door opened momentarily, he peeked inside and beheld his holy face.

In the years when the Frierdiker Rebbe farbrenged on the second floor, entry was permitted only to elder chassidim. Many times he tried to push his way in, but without success. One year, before the Chag HaGeulah of 12-13 Tammuz, he waited on the stairs long before the farbrengen began, and after a few minutes when the Rebbe came up, he let him in and instructed him to hide in the coat closet. After more than half an hour of waiting in the closet, the Rebbe inquired about his welfare.

When the Frierdiker Rebbe came out to farbreng, the Vaad Hamesader looked for bochurim who had entered without permission, and during the searches, they also checked the coat closet. R' Dovid, who was caught, pretended to faint, and the Vaad members brought him to the Rebbetzin's room and called for first aid. When they went out to bring him a glass of water, he slipped inside to the farbrengen.

With the Rebbe

In 5710 (1950), entry to the Rebbe's room was almost free, and R' Dovid took advantage of this many times. Once he came in to ask the Rebbe for "tikkunim" for various matters, but the Rebbe answered that he had no connection to this. When he entered again, the Rebbe asked him with a smile, "Did you also enter every week by the Shver (father-in-law)?"

In 5711 (1951), he merited to enter for yechidus with the Rebbe and complained that he couldn't concentrate during davening. The Rebbe replied that the segulah for this is "to daven from the siddur." The next time he entered for yechidus, he told the Rebbe that this also didn't help, and the Rebbe asked which language was closest to his heart? When he replied English, the Rebbe instructed him to daven from a siddur with English translation. When he passed by for kos shel bracha some years later, the Rebbe began speaking to him in English.

In Eretz HaKodesh

In the 1980s, he immigrated to Eretz HaKodesh and settled in Netanya where he married at a relatively late age. He later lived in Tel Aviv for a period, and then settled in Tzfat where he became a regular presence at the Chabad Yeshiva. He would organize learning initiatives for the bochurim where he raffled off letters and items from the Rebbe, farbreng with them, and tell them stories of chassidim from the early years of the Rebbe's nesius.

In 5773 (2013), he moved to the Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood in Yerushalayim, and after two years returned to Tzfat.

On 16 Iyar 5776 (2016), he suffered cardiac arrest at his home on Rav Kaplan Street in Tzfat and passed away at age 84.

Family

His brother, R' Yosef Goldstein, Crown Heights. His son, Yosef Yitzchak, Crown Heights, Brooklyn.