Friendship at Yeshivas Rashi

One of those who benefited from Rav Shimshon's chessed was Yeshivas Rashi in Yerushalayim, headed by Rav C. Miletzky. Rav Shimshon adopted the yeshiva as his own. He befriended the bochurim and helped them change and grow. His shmuessen there were unusual. Everyone sat together around a table and he began to share pearls of wisdom, so that it was more like a vaad, a council of friends. It was the warmth and friendliness he radiated that made the difference.

When he was staying in Yerushalayim, one bochur related, every time he was assailed by feelings of depression he would go and watch Rav Shimshon davening. That alone gave him the encouragement he needed.

Rav Shimshon gave his shmuessen at Yeshivas Rashi in the evening, after speaking six or seven times that day. He arrived exhausted and drained, yet the moment the shmuess began, his eyes gleamed and he was full of energy. One comment heard in the yeshiva was, "He did not give shmuessen in our yeshiva. He came and showed us what it means to experience Hakodosh Boruch Hu." In his enthusiasm he would look at the bochurim and smile, as if to say, "You do not understand me. You do not know what you are missing." He loved them, and they loved him in return.

Rav Avrohom Deutsch relates, "After the accident, a Jew from Gibraltar called me up and cried and cried. I told him, 'Many Jews are distressed.' He dismissed this. 'You loved him, but to me he was a father. My father.' Rav Shimshon had gone to Gibraltar for four days especially to learn with him. The real point is that one hears things like this from many dozens of people, to each of whom Rav Shimshon was the closest."

An avreich from Yerushalayim says, "When my father passed away, he was the only one who comforted me. Now that he has passed away, there is no one who can comfort me."