Accolades, tributes, and memorials continue to roll in as thousands mourn the death of Rabbi Ronnie Greenwald, an activist par excellence who used his gentle humor, genuine warmth, and passion for community service in a variety of roles ranging from surrogate father, summer camp director, and renowned spy trader. Rabbi Greenwald, known to all as Ronnie, passed away suddenly at the age of 82 on January 20 while on vacation in Florida.

A quiet and unassuming figure who never called attention to himself, Rabbi Greenwald used his charm, humor, and ability to endear himself to others in all that he did, whether it was negotiating with foreign governments or finding ways to bond with the many young adults whose paths intersected with his.

His persistence and persuasiveness made Rabbi Greenwald a political asset, and he worked for New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and President Richard Nixon in their election bids. Networking his way through Albany, Washington, and beyond, Rabbi Greenwald used his connections and leverage to benefit the Jewish community and to help others in need.

His low-key personality and easy smile made him the consummate negotiator, giving him the ability to build a solid rapport with others, making them all the more amenable to acquiescing to his requests. While Rabbi Greenwald’s most high-profile case is likely the release of Russian dissident Natan Sharansky from a Soviet prison, his efforts took him around the world as he fought for the rights of several others who were unjustly incarcerated, earning the release of additional political prisoners.

While many would use their political clout and influence for their own purposes, Rabbi Greenwald was the picture of humility. Preferring to eschew the limelight, he rarely spoke of his own accomplishments.

“People have been asking me what he was involved in, and I almost draw a blank,” confessed nephew Rabbi Eliyahu Fink, rabbi of California’s Pacific Jewish Center. “He actually never talked about the things that he had done. I would only hear about it from others who would say that he had helped them.”

 

Occasionally, a juicy tidbit or two might accidentally slip into a conversation when Rabbi Greenwald would share one of his many stories.

“He would mention something and your ears would perk up and you would think, ‘Did he just say that?’” said Rabbi Fink. “He would hem and haw and maybe share a few details. I always wanted to hear more, but it was very difficult to get the information from him. He wouldn’t talk about things unless they were important or it was relevant to what was being discussed.”

Even when Rabbi Greenwald did share stories of his exploits, he frequently omitted many details. Rabbi Fink pointed to his uncle’s well-documented trip to Lithuania in 1997 with a delegation of rabbis to negotiate the release of World War II–era sifrei Torah that had been seized by the Nazis. While some of the Torahs rescued on that trip were salvageable, several were not, and a funeral was arranged to bury the damaged scrolls.

Rabbi Fink noted that the trip also included a stop in Telze, Lithuania, the original home of the Telshe Yeshiva. Rabbi Greenwald, a talmid of the Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland in his youth, eulogized the many students of the yeshiva who were murdered during the Holocaust at the ruins of the original edifice, which still housed scorched sifrei Torah. Standing amidst the destruction, Rabbi Greenwald bent down and recovered a single piece of klaf that was mostly charred, with just one readable pasuk from ParashasMattos, a commandment to MosheRabbeinu to avenge the deaths of the nation of Israel.

“This was our revenge,” wrote Rabbi Fink in a July 2014 Facebook post. “An alumnus of the Telshe Cleveland coming back to the original Telshe yeshiva, burying the burnt Torah scrolls and eulogizing the students who perished as a proud, observant Jew.”

While many found Rabbi Greenwald fascinating because of his many adventures, Rabbi Fink said his uncle’s sense of humor was truly compelling. “It was even more exciting and interesting than the stories of his escapades,” said Rabbi Fink. “There are people who use humor to hurt or are shallow, but for him, humor was one of his weapons, a way to connect with others.”

Rabbi Greenwald used his ability to broker a deal in day-to-day life, going to bat for at-risk young adults as early as the 1960s and 1970s, a phenomenon rarely discussed decades ago. Hoping to get the approval of the leading gedolim of the day, Rabbi Greenwald sought their blessing but made it abundantly clear that he would be going ahead with his work, with or without their approval.

“He was respectful enough to have the conversation with them, but he knew what needed to be done and wouldn’t be discouraged by bureaucracy,” said Rabbi Fink. “The rabbanim told him that this wasn’t the way things were done, and he told them, ‘I understand where you are coming from and I would say that same thing in your position, but I know where I am coming from and we will do this. We need to do this.’”

Despite his involvement on both the communal and local levels, Rabbi Greenwald made sure to be available to his family whenever possible. “People in powerful and influential positions often sacrifice familial relationships, but I know for a fact that he was there for his children and his grandchildren,” remarked Rabbi Fink. “He was very dedicated to his family, and whenever he was available he was very focused on the immediate family and the extended family before going on to spend time with others.”

Yenty Halpert, a longtime teacher in Monsey who maintains a close connection with many former students, described Rabbi Greenwald, founder and director of Camp Sternberg, as the point person for anyone who needed help, particularly in the Monsey area.

“He was the go-to address for people who had nowhere to turn,” said Halpert. “Every girl who went to Sternberg knew him and felt a connection to him. He was a father figure to many of these girls. It is amazing how one person could have been involved in so many things.”

The face and the soul of Camp Sternberg for 50 years, Rabbi Greenwald was directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the camp and enjoyed spending time with the thousands of campers from all walks of life who knew that Sternberg was a melting pot where all were welcomed warmly.

Longtime camper Aviva Gluck, who now serves as the Sternberg nurse, said that her close relationship with Rabbi Greenwald began at the age of nine. “When I was a homesick camper my first summer, he called on me to hold the Havdallah candle, and my love for him grew from there,” said Gluck.

Gluck remembers Rabbi Greenwald asking her and a few friends to describe their ultimate camping experience when she was just 13. The group described a program that had no indoor plumbing or electricity, where campers cooked all of their weekday meals over an open fire.

“We were very surprised a few months later when he took our words and created the Intensive Pioneer program,” said Gluck. “He respected us and I, in turn, respected him tremendously.”

Another summer in Sternberg gave Gluck newfound admiration for Rabbi Greenwald, when a camper charged into the dining room to report a bunkhouse fire. “Rabbi G. directed her onto his golf cart and proceeded to drive around campus removing the fire extinguishers and trying to control the fire until the fire department responded,” said Gluck. “No fire would destroy his camp.”

In another incident, a group of boys from a neighboring Boy Scout camp attempted to sneak into Sternberg late one night. “Rabbi Greenwald and the caretaker beat them up and they never came back,” recalled Gluck.

Gluck’s, husband, Rabbi Zvi Gluck, said Rabbi Greenwald’s love for Camp Sternberg was beyond words. “It was magical,” said Rabbi Gluck. “He was always very proud to keep the camp clean and he would point to things on the ground and ask girls to pick them up. One time, Rabbi Greenwald heard that one of the younger girls who didn’t know who he was saw him picking up trash and thought that he had been hired by the camp to pick up garbage. He smiled when he heard that story. It gave him a lot of nachas.”

Many former Sternberg campers shared their thoughts about Rabbi Greenwald on Facebook.

“Rabbi Greenwald was the heart of the camp,” wrote Rose Kahn. “I honestly did not know that the man who did handstands Saturday night to make us laugh worked for various presidents and as an international hostage negotiator and lobbyist, among other things. He had a truly remarkable life and made an impact, something we can only hope to do half of. I am proud to say I met him and attended his wonderful camp, cheers of which I still remember till this very day.”

“My life took a turn for the better the day Rabbi [Greenwald] called me into his office in Camp Sternberg,” posted Srivky Weisberg. “He saw I was hurting and set out to make things right. Rabbi believed in me at the times that I couldn’t and always held me to a standard that left me scrambling to prove him right.”

As the first camp to accept special-needs kids, Camp Sternberg paved the way for the numerous camps that exist today to serve the special-needs population. “Parents went to all the camps, asking someone to make a program for them, but no one wanted them,” said Miriam Nockenofsky, whose daughter attended Sternberg’s Camp Mishkan, which caters to special-needs girls. “Once Rabbi Greenwald started, he encouraged others to follow suit.”

Nockenofsky admitted to being shocked to hearing about Rabbi Greenwald’s death. “To me, he was larger than life,” said Nockenofsky. “It’s hard to believe that someone of his stature was still human and could be subject to human frailties.”

Rabbi Greenwald’s care for teens wasn’t just limited to the girls he met at Camp Sternberg or at the helm of first the Monsey Academy for Girls and then Bnot Chaya Academy. He and his wife, Miriam, often took in young adults who had nowhere to go, with many becoming extended family members, remaining in the Greenwald home for lengthy stays.

“Rabbi Ronnie Greenwald, z’l, was such a special person,” posted Yoni Skurowitz on Facebook. “He accomplished so much in his life. He helped so many Jews and stood up for what was right and wasn’t afraid to fight for the truth. He was the only rabbi here that believed me and stood up for me. Thanks for taking the time to listen and help me out during the toughest times in my life. Your memory will live on forever.”

Yeshai Rubin shared his story on social media of meeting Rabbi Greenwald during a particularly challenging time in his life. “When I was 18 and basically homeless, Rabbi Greenwald heard through a family friend about my troubles and they arranged for me to meet him,” wrote Rubin. “Without even knowing me, he spoke to me for a few minutes and handed me the key to his house and said I’m welcome if I need. Of course, being stubborn and angry, I took a few days till I moved in. This is the type of person we lost. A great man who has helped more people than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Close to 1,000 people turned out to honor Rabbi Greenwald at his funeral in his hometown of Monsey, with hundreds more paying their respects at two other levayos, at JFK Airport and in Jerusalem. Rabbi Greenwald was buried on Har Tamir and is survived by his wife Miriam, his six children, and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

During his lifetime, Rabbi Greenwald sat on the boards of countless organizations and institutions, not as a figurehead, but as an active and contributing member.

“I have known Rabbi Greenwald for many years, and he was the pioneer of askanus,” observed Yisroel Kahan, a community liaison to the Ramapo Police Department. “He was an askan way before it was in style to be an askan and was a pillar of chesed.”

Kahan lauded Rabbi Greenwald for his wide scope of work, which ranged from the communal to the international level. “He was the Nachshon ben Aminadav when it came to at-risk children and off-the-derech kids and all the things that aren’t popular today, let alone back in the day. He paved the road 30–40 years ago for many things: dealing with Russia, with Iran, countries that nobody had access to. He was the liaison; he was the bridge. This is a big loss for Monsey, for New York, and for KlalYisrael as a whole.”

Sandy Eller is a freelance writer who writes for numerous websites, newspapers, magazines, and private clients. She can be contacted at sandyeller1@gmail.com.