Memory Lane: Reb Daniel Goldstein, Z”l, A Pure Voice of Prayer and Piety

By Yehuda Alter

The Goldstein family is a Boro Park legend, having lived in Boro Park for close to a century. In that time, their dedication and mesiras nefesh for Yiddishkeit has not waned. But in those early days, they were the exception to the rule, swimming against the current of the accepted mores—a badge that they wore with pride, and which their fourth and fifth generations continue to look back upon with great awe. 

Here, we profile one of the “Goldstein boys”— Reb Daniel—who would always return to Boro Park to daven before the amud on the Yomim Noro’im at the flagship Agudah on Fourteenth Avenue, a true highlight of the year for the mispalelim, which was only elevated by Reb Daniel’s incredible voice and heart, and his expression of the Goldstein family’s long musical tradition. 

Providence 

The Goldstein family came to America in 1902, settling in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and Moshe Yehuda Goldstein married into the Goldman family of Pawtucket, R.I. 

The couple settled in in Providence, and this is where their second son Daniel was born in 1923. In 1928, out of concern for the children’s chinuch, Reb Moshe Yehuda and his wife Chaya Malka, brought the family over to Boro Park. They were abandoning their entire lives, and a good parnassah for an uncertain future—and their mesirus nefesh for Yiddishkeit would continue to be of great necessity.  

Reb Moshe Yehuda, like his father, was good with hands, and he started a printing business in his basement. And with this was begun the legendary Goldstein Press which is still in business, and whose enormous printing presses stood for years on the corner of 16th Avenue and 46th Street. 

The Goldstein boys learned in Yeshiva Toras Emes, and later on Daniel went to Torah Vodaath, also attending Camp Mesivta, under Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, zt”l. He eventually became the camp manager. 

His kana’us for Yiddishkeit is evidenced in the following story. As is well-known, hashkamah minyonim for Shabbos morning (after which many people unfortunately went to work) were commonplace in Boro Park of that time. One Shabbos morning, Daniel ran into the center of a large shul and banged on the bimah, loudly protesting chilul Shabbos, and before the congregants understood what was happening, he was gone. He would print signs at his father’s printing press exhorting his fellow Yidden to keep Shabbos and other mitzvos. 

A Unique Ba’al Tefillah

Daniel’s shidduch was made in the Sfardishe Shul in Boro Park. His mother observed Sarah Biston during davening, and decided that she would be a fitting match for her son. The couple settled in Boro Park, and Reb Daniel went to teach in Be’er Shmuel. One year, he joined the erev Pesach matzos of the recently arrived Skverer Rebbe. From that moment on, he became bonded to the Rebbe with heart and soul. 

He would be at the Rebbe’s side as he founded “Skver town.” In the beginning, he continued to commute to Boro Park to teach—in his unique style, filled with warmth and love. In the summers he continued to manage Camp Mesivta, until it shuttered. Then, the Skverer Rebbe—who trusted him implicitly—asked him to serve as principal of the girl’s school, a mission that he carried out with tremendous devotion. At the same time, he had a host of other responsibilities at in the fledgling town; no job was beneath him. 

His dedication to Skver was without limit—except for the tefillos of Yomim Noro’im. 

Since the 1940’s, when the Agudah minyan was formed, he served as its ba’al tefillah. Rav Shraga Feivel had already recognized his exceptional koach, his warmth, and his voice, and would ask him to daven often. 

“What hartzigheit! The way each word poured out of him with such emotion was truly awesome and inspiring… everyone felt it,” recalled a daughter. He would often be joined by his brother Shmuley Goldstein and his sons, who would harmonize alongside him, transporting the Agudah’s mispalelim to higher realms, as the voice Reb Daniel, purified by his unwavering spirit, resonated within its walls in Boro Park of yesteryear.