(FEINSTEIN, DAVID)

R. Mordechai Feinstein, the bride-groom, was the older brother of R. Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986). The bride was the daughter of R. Meir Schwartz (Shachor), the Rabbi of Shklov and teacher of both R. Mordechai and R. Moshe. R. Mordechai was serving as a Rabbi in the town of Hrozowa before his marriage. However just prior to the wedding, his future father-in-law passed away, and, as stated in his wedding-invitation, R. Mordechai succeeded R. Meir Schwartz as Rabbi of Shklov. The language of the wedding-invitation is especially poignant: The grieving widow invites “all our friends in mourning” to “light our darkness” (an allusion to her husband’s name of Meir) and "to join in our happiness." The wedding itself took place in the Jewish year T'R'P"V, the numerical equivalent of “686”. The composer of this wedding invitation had an extraordinary mathamatical talent for ingenious “gematrioth.” Viz: The name of the Chathan and Kallah, as spelled in the invitation - equals 686; the date “De-Chodesh Cheshvan" - equals 686; the Chathan’s name and his father's name - equals 686; and the honorific of the Chathan - equals 686. It is very likely this ingenious invitation was actually composed by the signatory herself, Rebbetzin Tzertel Schwartz (Shachor) of Shklov, who according to family tradition was an unusually gifted scholar in her own right. Movingly, decades later, whenever R. Moshe Feinstein made mention of his deceased brother Mordechai's name, he would weep, reminding those gathered that whereas he might posess a good memory, his brother Mordechai far surpassed him in sharpness and acuity of mind and depth of understanding.