Shragee Gestetner was a popular wedding singer. He was very talented and full of energy. If you watched or attended the Siyum Hashas at Metlife Stadium in 2012, you heard him leading everyone in song. Maybe you’ve heard him at a wedding or listened to his CD’s. Shragee loved what he did and he had a very special neshama. Hearing him sing was an uplifting experience. But Shragee and his home were becoming the address for people who wanted to party. It seemed like his life was never serious. Everything was a party and it lasted all night. As his family grew and he grew older, Shragee realized that it was not good for him to be on stage every single night. He needed to eat dinner with his family, spend time with his children and start waking up at a normal time every morning. He didn’t want to live his life trying to become a celebrity.

So Shragee stopped taking wedding jobs. He shut down the studio in his basement. He founded a business selling wall panels. Shragee also decided to settle down in other ways. He took upon himself to study Torah daily. Starting with five minutes, then ten, he worked his way up to half an hour a day. But then one Rosh Hashana, Shragee did something irresponsible: he committed to studying  for two hours every single day. He had been toying with the idea for weeks, but on Rosh Hashana he committed.  His business took off that year, but the commitment to study two hours a day was a big challenge. Shragee had plenty of energy, and he was no longer up to all hours of the night, but he just didn’t like to learn. He could handle light learning for fifteen minutes or half an hour, but sitting down and studying Talmud for two hours a day was not something that would ever work for him. He struggled with his commitment.

On Simchas Torah, Shragee went to New Square and danced with the Torah until 4:00am. He sang as he danced: ‘Hashem, please make this work for me”. He wasn’t trying to become a Rabbi or a teacher. He just felt like he needed a breakthrough. It was 4:00 am, he had 90 minutes left to learn, and absolutely no interest.

So at 4:00 am, Shragee wandered into the Beis Medrash in New Square. He saw his friend Yisroel Alter Manis sitting with a Gemara. Across from him was another gemara and an empty seat. Yisroel was waiting for his brother, but he agreed to study with Shragee for a few minutes. They began to study and Shragee began to give up. He really didn’t enjoy leaning. Yisroel Manis skipped to an easier Gemara at the bottom of the page.

Shragee listened spellbound. His musical and poetic heart was on fire from the gemara his friend had chosen. “Is this Gemara?” he asked. “I love this!” Yisroel Manis said. “It can all be this good, if you are willing to work hard”. Yisroel Manis agreed to study with Shragee every day. Patiently he explained each line of Gemara. Sometimes they spent two hours on one line, but Yisroel Manis didn’t care. “One line a year is fine with me”, he would say.

And so Shragee stuck to his two hours. And he kept on singing and he kept growing his business. One time they went to a trade show in Vegas. They were up until 3:00 am setting up their booth. Shragee returned to his room, but he had 45 minutes left to learn. The next morning Shragee was still sitting up in his chair. “I learned a little, and I dozed off a little”, he said, “but between naps I think I got 45 minutes in”.

Music remained a big part of Shragee’s special connection to Hashem. He booked a ticket to Israel to attend the Lag B’omer celebrations in Meron. His favorite part each year was the Toldos Aharon bonfire where thousands of people would sway together singing Ani Maamin. He would say it was his “maximum spiritual high”. You can watch the singing on video, and it is indeed beautiful, but in retrospect it was a tragic scene. When Shragee arrived, it was very crowded and he barely made it inside. There were so many people going in and coming out. It was unclear which way was which and where to find safety. The crowds swelled and Shragee Gestetner, alav hashalom, was tragically trampled by the many people he had come to sing with. He was one of the forty five people who passed away that night.

The talmud tells us that we are asked six questions when we come to heaven:

1. Were you honest in business? 
2. Did you have set times for studying Torah? 
3. Did you do your best to ensure the next generation of the Jewish people? 
4. Did you look forward to Moshiach? 
5. Did you focus your energy and your thoughts in productive ways?
6. Were you constantly aware of Hashem’s presence in your life? 

When Shragee was asked that Lag B’omer: “Kavata Itim Latorah?” “Did you set aside time for studying Torah?”, the answer was a confident “Yes. I put aside two hours a day”. 

A couple of years earlier,  he would have made many excuses. He would have explained that he couldn’t study, that he couldn’t understand, couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t enjoy. But, because he wanted to make it happen. Because he was determined. Shragee said “Yes”. 

We are all different. Most of us aren’t celebrities or Skverer Chasidim.  But one thing we have in common is that we can all make excuses. Or we can all do better. We can be more honest than we thought we could be. We can be more focused on Hashem’s plans for this world. We can be more engaged in living a G-dly life, and more aware of Hashem’s presence in each and every moment.

We need to all find ways to become better. Let’s find a way to hold onto our unique personalities, but also to grow in ways we never thought possible. Take a moment to envision yourself doing something you always believed in but never thought you could do. If you can envision it – even something very small – commit to it. And pray to Hashem to help you.

Eleven years ago, Shragee sang in front of thousands of people at the Siyum Hashas. Some of us were there. He begged Hashem “Sisnaheg im amecha b’midas Harachamim” – “please, G-d,  treat us with mercy”. May his prayers – and our prayers – be answered and may we all be written and inscribed for health, inspiration, good news, and gathering together to serve Hashem with our full hearts.  

Perhaps next year at this time we can all sing together in  Yerushalayim with the coming of Moshiach. 

Yehi Zichro Baruch