The image of the chassid R’ Reuven Marantz, of blessed memory, was a familiar one to thousands of Chabad chassidim who met him during his regular evening performances at Chabad weddings. The expression of pure joy and tranquility was ever-present on his smiling face as he sought to bring true happiness to others, in addition to uplifting his young students. “Beis Moshiach” brings a collection of memories from family, friends, and musical colleagues who have difficulty speaking about him in the past tense.
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
(left to right) R’ Reuven Marantz and his sons Shmulik, Yudi, and Menachem Dovid, performing at Shmulik’s wedding. Rosh Chodesh Shvat 5774.On the afternoon of Erev Yom Kippur, hundreds of Kfar Chabad residents attended the levaya of the beloved Chabad educator and Chassidic musician, R’ Reuven Marantz, of blessed memory. The prevailing feeling among all those in attendance was that Kfar Chabad had lost one of its finest sons, a learned chassid, happy, smiling, filled with Chassidic feeling. He had been privileged to provide generations of Jewish children with a proper and kosher education, and he had been a beacon of light for many others.
I had the good fortune to be one of his students, and I loved him as did all my classmates. Saying goodbye to him was very hard. The sudden news of his tragic passing at the young age of fifty-seven came as a devastating blow to the worldwide Chabad Chassidic community in general and the residents of Kfar Chabad in particular, with an emotional anguish and stunned disbelief that is hard to put into words.
THE RABBI’S SUGGESTION: AN ORTHODOX EDUCATION
R’ Reuven Marantz was born in Brooklyn, New York into a Conservative Jewish home. “We fulfilled everything we knew,” recalled his older brother R’ Tzvi. “We more or less observed the holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and we even ate matzos on Pesach. What we didn’t know, we didn’t observe, and regrettably we didn’t know much then.” R’ Tzvi fondly recalls his brother’s childhood and the tremendous affection he had for him. “He excelled in everything he did. As a result, there were children who often teased him because they were jealous of his success. Nevertheless, he refused to confront them.”
The Marantz children were sent by their parents to study in a public school near their home. In addition, they went each Sunday to a “Hebrew School” program conducted according to the doctrines of Conservative Judaism. Eventually, the boys were sent to the Conservative leader for bar-mitzvah lessons. After a few meetings, the teacher called in Reuven’s parents and surprised them with an interesting assessment: Reuven should go to learn in an Orthodox yeshiva.
“He told my parents that in contrast to other youngsters he had taught, my brother demonstrated a serious interest in the learning material and had developed a strong connection to it,” R’ Tzvi Marantz noted.
Even in his younger years, Reuven was known among the members of the Conservative Jewish community as one who was constantly busy organizing communal activities. “He was a leader and he knew how to draw people after him. He organized groups for sporting activities and field trips, and people really appreciated him for his communal work. He was a very sociable person who knew how to bring all kinds of different people together into one cohesive group.”
AN UNEXPECTED CONNECTION TO CHABAD
R’ Reuven made his spiritual trek along the path of Torah and Chassidus together with his parents, R’ Velvel Pesach a”h and (may they live long) Shaindel Raizel, and his brother R’ Tzvi, albeit each in their own separate way. “Each of us learned in a different college. His connection took root during his studies at the State University of New York in Binghamton.
“During this same period, Reuven heard about an organized trip to Eretz Yisroel for young Jews, and he jumped at the opportunity.
“The program had a tremendous influence upon Reuven, and it was the first push that led him to change his whole lifestyle. From that time on, his journey to greater Torah observance became more serious. Eventually, he made the decision to leave his college studies, immigrate to Eretz Yisroel, and begin learning at the Litvishe ‘Ohr Sameiach’ yeshiva in Yerushalayim.
“In the meantime, I became connected to Chabad together with my parents. At a certain stage, the entire family made aliya and we settled in Kfar Chabad. My parents convinced Reuven to leave the Litvishe yeshiva in Yerushalayim and join Yeshivas ‘Ohr T’mimim’ in Kfar Chabad, headed by Rabbi Shneur Zalman Gafni.
“Reuven was hesitant at first. He said that he would come on a trial basis for two weeks, but it eventually became permanent. He entered the yeshiva in the summer of 5739, and by Chanukah 5740, he was already a full-fledged chassid.”
In the winter of 5740, Reuven traveled to New York together with his father, and during their visit, they were privileged to have a private audience with the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. R’ Reuven later transcribed the events of that yechidus. He wrote about the Rebbe’s instructions to his father, after R’ Velvel told the Rebbe that he works as a music teacher for young children. The Rebbe asked him: “And can you spread Yiddishkait to them by teaching them songs that contain holy content, like ‘Shma Yisroel’, ‘Modeh Ani’, and ‘B’Reishis Bara’?”
THE SENSITIVITY
OF A TEACHER
After his wedding, he established his residence in Kfar Chabad and became a teacher of young children. Anyone who had been privileged to learn from R’ Reuven will never forget his uniquely joyous teaching style in class. In general, he related to all matters of holiness in a distinctively heartfelt manner. Torah p’sukim were recited again and again with a special sweetness. Even today, twenty-five years later, the memories remain strong. R’ Reuven taught second and third grade for decades in the Kfar Chabad Talmud Torah, and in recent years, he assumed a new teaching position in the Shikkun Chabad community of Lod.
One person who was by his side, assisting him for many years, is R’ Mordechai Moshishvilli, and he still has a very hard time speaking about his dear and beloved friend in the past tense.
“R’ Reuven was a very special Jew, filled with the joy of life. Everything he did was with an infectious enthusiasm and vitality. He had concern for every Jewish child, and he refused to give up on any of them. He would always come prepared for his class, and he would give over most of the learning material through drawings on the blackboard. He particularly used his artistic talents when he came to teach the weekly Torah portion. I saw that his visual presentations enabled the children to remember the material quite well. I often urged him to launch an artistic career, together with his work in music.
“As I said before, he never gave up on a single child, even when they were particularly challenging,” R’ Mordechai recalled. “After the Pesach holiday, the students would begin learning the Chumash from the text. We would then organize a party and invite all the parents. The highlight was each child reading a pasuk with its explanation. Once there was an extremely shy and reticent boy whose parents were fully aware of his difficulties. They suggested that their son be allowed to skip the public performance, thereby avoiding any unnecessary embarrassment. However, R’ Reuven wouldn’t hear of it. With sheer determination, he prepared the boy for the event. To the surprise of everyone, the boy read the pasuk out loud to a sweet melody. R’ Reuven’s stubborn determination won over all the pessimists and other professional educators.”
PRAISE HIM WITH RESONANT TONES
Together with his educational work, R’ Reuven was a renowned musician who used his talents to bring joy to his fellow Jews. He played in a variety of musical forums, even making time to give music lessons to young children.
“R’ Reuven the chassid, R’ Reuven the humble. The heart refuses to believe, writing about you in the past tense because you have been taken from us so suddenly,” wrote the Chabad vocalist R’ Mendy Jerufi shortly after R’ Reuven’s passing. “I’ll never forget the phone call from you twenty-two years ago, when you invited me to sing with ‘The Marantz Brothers,’ which was then a ‘Chabad band.’ I know now that a simcha without the music of your saxophone cannot be complete.
“You taught me the principles of my new profession, and you recommended me to all your clients,” R’ Mendy continued. “R’ Reuven the chassid – always with a Rambam or the ‘D’var Malchus,’ always with a smile on his lips and a cheerful expression on his face. You taught me how to remain a chassid even in this line of work, not to be affected by the world around me and to remain connected.”
R’ Reuven’s acts of kindness in the field of music were not well known, as he did them privately without fanfare. However, those who do know can tell about numerous cases of chassanim and kallos from financially strapped families or without parents for whom R’ Reuven played at their wedding free of charge. “I met someone at the levaya who had long since left Kfar Chabad and moved to another city,” said R’ Aharon Halperin. “I asked him why he felt he had to come to the levaya on an Erev Yom Kippur from so far away. His reply: ‘Out of a sense of gratitude.’ He told me that several years earlier, he had made a bar-mitzvah celebration for his son and he invited Reuven to play. The music and dancing was outstanding, as always. At the end of the simcha he asked R’ Reuven what his fee was. ‘Don’t pay me anything,’ he said. ‘I know that your financial situation isn’t that great and I happily played tonight voluntarily.’ All his efforts to convince R’ Reuven to take something in payment were gently declined. ‘So how could I have not come and pay my last respects?’”
Singer R’ Simcha Friedman, who sang at many weddings alongside R’ Reuven said: “On Erev Yom Kippur, I received the sudden announcement of his passing. I was beside myself. I didn’t know a thing about his illness. Just the previous month, we had performed together at several events, and he came in his typically cheerful mood. He played with great joy with a constant smile on his face.”
Vocalist R’ Elor Vellner still hasn’t absorbed the loss: “The feeling of shock was tremendous. Of all the people in the ‘music industry,’ R’ Reuven was unique in his modesty, his joy of life, his simplicity, and his characteristic humility. I always had a warm place in my heart for this rare and sweet individual.”
In recent years, R’ Reuven played in the band led by R’ Menachem Herman. He and the other band members were with R’ Reuven near his hospital bed just two hours before his passing, and they played some of the niggunim he so loved. “Another one of R’ Reuven’s unique merits was how he made certain that everyone davened Maariv in a minyan at the end of every wedding. Thousands of chassanim davened Maariv in a minyan on the night of their wedding, thanks to R’ Reuven,” Herman said.
BRINGING JOY TO THE HEARTS OF MANY
His son Shmulik, who remained with his father for the duration of his eight-month illness, tells us about the many acts of charity his father did. “My father was a very practical person. Everything he did was because he had to do it, without expecting to receive any words of thanks. People meet with me and tell me about the weddings where he played for no charge or those people he would help financially. There are families that he supported each month, and our family knew nothing whatsoever about it. After his passing, we saw that through his credit card, he regularly gave three thousand shekels to charity.”
According to Shmulik, we can learn a great deal from his father’s direct approach. “I was with my father during his final months, when he went through a series of difficult treatments. Yet, when we would return home, he would remind me that he had to prepare a music lesson for one of his young students. He would happily teach the child as if there was nothing wrong with him. I would often plead with my father to postpone the lesson, but he was determined. ‘It’s hard for the parents when a lesson is cancelled. They paid for the lessons and I must keep to my schedule,’ he would explain.”
His brother R’ Tzvi also describes how R’ Reuven’s sensitivity served as a central feature of his personality. “When he had to do an act of kindness for someone, Reuven wouldn’t just settle for good thoughts about the person; he was a man of action. When he was already very ill, he was informed about an elderly Kfar Chabad resident who was hospitalized in the Shmuel HaRofe Medical Center in Be’er Yaakov and in need of some encouragement and support. Reuven didn’t waste a moment, and he asked someone to drive him there to make a bikur cholim visit. When he arrived, he took out his saxophone and cheered the man up. He then stayed with him and didn’t leave the hospital room until he heard about the man’s pains and complaints. He listened attentively and restored his feeling of contentment. At the time, Reuven’s health condition was very poor, yet he didn’t think about it. The only thing that concerned him was making another Jew happy.”
R’ Tzvi knows of many such stories and examples. “There used to live in Kfar Chabad a chassid whose health was growing progressively worse. Many people tried to help him, but he refused to cooperate. As his condition deteriorated, he was eventually hospitalized in a medical institution in the Judean Mountains region. All his friends had raised their hands in despair and hopelessness. The only one who didn’t give up was Reuven. He would travel every two weeks to see him and raise his spirits, and he did this joyfully and with all his heart. He visited with him until he was no longer able to get up from his sickbed, and he did this with the utmost modesty – without almost no one knowing about it.”
A SOLDIER IN THE REBBE’S SERVICE
Together with his work in the fields of music and education, he also found time together with his fellow teacher, Rabbi Aharon Halperin, to go out on T’fillin Campaign activities at the Maman Company headquarters at the Lod International Airport. “We traveled together for decades on mivtzaim in the offices of the shipping and transport companies. With his characteristic grace, R’ Reuven managed to become very friendly with many people. On auspicious occasions, he would bring his clarinet or saxophone and instill a little joy in the workers.”
Rabbi Halperin tells how R’ Reuven never settled just for putting on t’fillin. “He was a very practical Jew. Whenever we went out, he would prepare some insightful d’var Torah and share it with his regular ‘clients.’ The loss of R’ Reuven is felt there very deeply. You can see how the people loved him and his cheerful heartwarming smile.”
REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU’RE WITH THE REBBE
It was both moving and sad to read his last letter to his son HaTamim Avichai, a few days before Rosh Hashanah. Its content teaches you a great deal about R’ Reuven’s Chassidic character:
Dear Avichai, I am very happy that you are going for Tishrei – you have deserved for a long time to travel to Beis Chayeinu, and thank G-d, it has come to pass!
Please conduct yourself like a chassid and use every day for Torah study, learning by heart, Avodas Hashem, mivtzaim, and the most important thing, filling the packages with brachos for the whole year - which includes your hanachas t’fillin and bar-mitzvah. At every important opportunity, such as T’kios, N’ila, the dancing at Simchas Beis HaShoeiva, and the Hakafos on Simchas Torah, keep my image in your mind and then I’ll be together with you there – mamash. May the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach bless me with a complete recovery – mamash.
Love, Aba
R’ Reuven was privileged to be on the level of “good for Heaven and good for creation,” and “one who is pleasing to his fellow man is pleasing to G-d.”
He leaves behind his wife, thirteen children, grandchildren, his fellow Chassidim, and countless friends and acquaintances. He is sorely missed by all those privileged to know him and love him.