From a quiet community in Memphis, Tennessee came a man whose Torah brilliance, profound compassion, and willingness to go anywhere, anytime, to help another made him the rav and posek for thousands of Jews throughout America. Within Memphis, he founded one of America’s first Hebrew day schools, saving an entire community from leaving Orthodox Judaism. Nationally, he helped develop the kashrus standards that we all enjoy today. He brought countless Jews back to Torah observance before the kiruv movement ever started. And he traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to write kosher gitten, bills of divorce, enabling men and women to rebuild their lives.
His name was Rav Nota Greenblatt, and his story – and the many stories others tell about him -- will amaze you.
Rav Nota was a brilliant talmid chacham, one of Rav Moshe Feinstein's foremost talmidim. Yet he chose to live in Memphis, Tennessee, far from the Jewish metropolises that would have afforded him honor and recognition. But as humble as he was, as small as he made himself, his enormous heart was too big to hide.
This is the story of humility and Torah greatness, and the endless compassion of a very unique Rav.