Bending his body into a crazy pretzel like shape

Realist commenting to mentalblog.com: Rabbi Moshe Kanovsky Esquire:

I am 4 months older than Moshe Kanovsky A'H and I am also having a lot of trouble coming to grips with this whole situation.

I was with Moshe from Grades 4-6 in Siver Spring in the Hebrew Academy and then again in the Yeshiva of Greater Washington in 7th Grade. He was a really nice guy and a true Mentch.

He attended my Bar Mitzvah and I attended his. I believe I even stayed by his house for shabbos for another classmate's Bar Mitzvah. Moshe was also fun loving .He had this unique way of bending his body into a crazy pretzel like shape. It was very entertaining .He was also an extremely fast runner. He loved to read.

After 7th grade He skipped 8th Grade and went Mechina's Ner Yisroel. I believe his first stint in NIRC ended after Rabbi Nussbaum Shiur in first year Bais Medrash. From what I understand he became a true Masmid and was really accomplished in his learning. He polished off many Mesechtas and gave Lomdishe Chaburah's in Rabbi Nussbaum's Shiur. Another friend of mine told me that he was also very into Mussar and pretty much knew Mesilos Yeshorim by heart.

For 2nd, 3rd and 4th year Bais Medrash I believe he went to Rav Tzvi Kushelfsky's Yeshiva. He might have spent some time in the Passaic Yeshiva before that. I think both of those Yeshivas were a really nice fit for Moshe as they are both very elitist Yeshivas and everyone there really knows how to learn.

Our path crossed somewhere around the spring of 1997 when he came back to Ner Yisroel.

For a couple years I believe Moshe was kind of torn with which direction he wanted to go in life. I believe he really wanted to learn forever maybe become a Rosh Yeshiva one day, but for some reason he felt he had to do some school. Maybe it was the culture of Ner Yisroel, maybe he succumbed to the pressure of his parents. I personally felt that he should've learned forever and possibly become a Maggid Shiur in Beis Medrah or a Rosh Hayeshiva. He was tremendous Bal Kishron and had tremendous ability. I am a big believer in Torah and Derech Eretz and say this about very few people. He was familiar with Ner Yisroel, but he probably should've been in Lakewood.

In college he took some IT course and accounting courses and did not like it. I believe he disappeared from yeshiva all together for about 6 months and now I realize he was probably was suffering from depression. He was not the most confident guy, but I did not realize he was really so depressed.

At some point around 1999-2000 Moshe really got his act together. He figured out what he wanted to do. He moved to the Lower East side and attended Cardozo Law School. He would give Shiurim at MTJ at night. He became a Ben Bayis by first cousin in the lower East Side and even came down to my Chasunah in 2000 with them.

I had the Zchus of dancing with Moshe at my Chasunah as I remember from my video that he led off the 2nd dance. I lost touch with him as I did with most of my chevra from yeshiva. The last time I saw him was a couple of years ago when he went to Chanoch for Rosh Hashanah He told me that he had finished Law School and was looking for a job. He had also moved in with his Father in Boro Park. Recently, I was told that he moved to Passaic. I am not sure if he lived alone.

It was real privilege to have known Moshe Kanovsky A'H and a I really had so much respect for him which makes this so difficult. I think we all can to learn a valuable lessons from this Sudden Petra.

First, Depression is a very serious illness and we must take it very seriously .It must be treated with the proper medication and the person must have a support group. Second, we need to be sensitive to those less fortunate then us. People with Parnash issues, Widows, Divorcees, Orphans, Older Single Bochrum and girls and couples who do not have children.

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to Moshe's family. Hamkom yenachem eschem bsoch Avlei Tzion Yerushalayim.