Rabbi Avrohom Asher Makovsky told a story. Rav Michel Barenbaum, zt”l, was the Mashgiach of Mesivta Tifereth Yerushalayim, known as MTJ, under Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l. After Rav Michel passed away, many grandchildren and greatgrandchildren were born to his family. But none of these babies were named Michel.
Someone asked one of Rav Michel’s children why this was happening. Didn’t they want to carry on Rav Michel’s great name? The answer was astounding.
Rav Michel’s wife had passed away before he did. But other grandfathers from other branches of the family had passed away during Rav Michel’s lifetime. He thought about the other grandfathers’ widows.
Unlike his wife, who was enjoying her reward in Olam Haba, these women were still living in this world. Wouldn’t it make them happy to see babies named after their husbands? So, when Rav Michel wrote his will, he left these instructions: As long as these widows were alive, whoever wanted to name a baby for a grandfather should name for a grandfather whose wife would be able to appreciate it. He knew that eventually, as his generation passed, he’d have plenty of children named after him. But while the widowed grandmothers were still in this world, he wanted them to enjoy the honor!
Reprinted from the Parshas Terumah 5786 email of Rabbi Yehuda Winzelberg’s Torah U’Tefillah.
