Two years later: Shua Finkelstein Z”L

Shua Finkelstein

On this date two years ago, a young man named Shua Finkelstein, 20, from Lakewood, NJ  was found dead from an overdose of pain killers. Shua and I went to the same yeshiva in Israel in 2007. Although I’d spent the previous year there, I returned for six weeks and it was during that time I met Shua, who was in the middle of his year at the yeshiva.

 

Although I barely knew him and didn’t really get a chance to get to know him, when the news came to me that he had died, I felt like I had lost a member of the family.

And while I’m honestly ignorant in regards to what troubled Shua in life, I would like to share something he wrote shortly before he died. He wanted it to be shared with the public, and so I hope I can honour his memory by fulfilling this wish.

Rosh Chodesh Elul 5765: The first day of a new life

Today’s date on the Jewish calendar is the anniversary of very significant day in my life. On The second day of Elul in 2005 (5765) I spent my first full day of yeshiva in Israel.

It was the beginning of a magical journey that would change my life forever.