The Cincinnati community had the zchus of hosting Hagaon Harav Nachman Levovitz Shlita, the first ever visit by one of the Mir Roshei Yeshiva to Cincinnati. He was graciously hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Wilheim.

Harav Nachman was able to touch and provide chizuk to so many people in the short time he was there. He visited the Cincinnati Hebrew Day School and was greeted by dozens of boys singing “Yomim” together, dancing Rav Nachman into the Bais Medrash where the Rosh Yeshiva spoke and then greeted every boy.

Harav Nachman moved on to daven mincha in the Communicare offices in Blue Ash and had lunch with many of the frum employees there. Harav Nachman interwove the relationship of Eliezer and his master Avraham into a mission for us to realize our true purpose to be m’kadesh shem shamayim while keeping true to the tznius that yiddin are supposed to be living with.

The Cincinnati Kollel then hosted Harav Nachman for a shmooze given to the yungeleit, followed by a tour given by Rabbi Heinemann. Harav Nachman toured Atara High School and spoke to the girls right before dismissal before moving on to a dinner at the Mesivta of Cincinnati with the bochurim, Rabbeim, and fathers. He regaled the boys with stories and lessons in his almost 60 years of being part of the Mir as well as from his Zeidy, the Mir mashgiach, Hagaon Harav Yeruchem Levovitz zt’l.

After Maariv, Harav Nachman joined dozens of Mir alumni and friends at the home of Rabbi and Mrs. Yosef Zoimen. There was a palpable energy of excitement and recognition of having one of the ziknei Rosh Yeshiva of Eretz Yisroel take his precious time out to come visit Cincinnati, to give chizuk. R’ Yosef Zoimen introduced the program and spoke of the hakoras hatov and excitement on everyone’s mind. R’ Mechael Soroka then shared his memories and reminisced of Harav Nosson Zvi’s zt’l herculean efforts to make time to learn with each chaburah and each bochur that wanted, no matter how he was feeling or what was going on. R’ Michy Fishman remembered the coziness that was felt every first seder on the same benches used for the last seventy years and discussed how alumni started a post Yom Kippur seder they had in the Mir and then took that idea and brought it to Cincinnati, where it has thrived every Motzai Yom Kippur over the past ten years. Harav Nachman in his address remarked on those memories and implored the oilem to come together again as a chaburah. Just as the Mir bochurim in Shanghai had started mailing divrei Torah to one another that lasted long after they left the daled koslei hayeshivah, so too should the Cincinnati Mir Chaburah work to develop a program to be able to share divrei torah with one another in a meaningful and constant way.

Early the next morning, Harav Nachman was on his way back to New York to catch a flight back to Eretz Yisroel, taking with him the varmkeit of the Cincinnati community.