Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Rabbi
Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz
Personal
Born
Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz

1913
Volozhin
Died27 June 2011 (aged 97–98)
Jerusalem
ReligionJudaism
SpouseChava Esther Gershonowitz
ChildrenMoshe Dovid
Avraham Yitzchak
daughter (died in infancy)[1]
Parent(s)Moshe Dovid and Chaya Lefkowitz
DenominationHaredi
Alma materHebron Yeshiva
OccupationRosh yeshiva, maggid shiur
PositionRosh yeshiva
YeshivaYeshivas Ponovezh L’Tzeirim
Began1954
Ended2010
OtherMaggid shiur, Yeshivas Tiferes Tzion, 1940–2011
Buried28 June 2011, Bnei Brak
ResidenceBnei Brak

Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz (1913 – 27 June 2011)

Ponovezh L’Tzeirim from 1954 to 2009, raising thousands of students. He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah, a member of Mifal HaShas, and nasi (president) of the Acheinu kiruv organization, and played a leading role in the fight for Torah-true education in yeshivas and Talmud Torahs in Israel. In addition to his own Torah works, he published the teachings of his rebbi, Rabbi Shlomo Heiman
, in the two-volume Chiddushei Shlomo.

Early life

He was born in Valozhyn, Russian Empire (now Belarus) in 1913 to Moshe Dovid and Chaya Lefkowitz. This was the second marriage for both his parents. His father was almost 80 years old when he was born. The family lived in great poverty. Moshe Dovid had children from a previous marriage who lived in America; they would send their father three rubles (the equivalent of one dollar) each month. Lefkowitz would use two of the rubles to pay for a melamed for Michel Yehuda, and the other ruble to support the family. Chaya Lefkowitz's son and daughter from a previous marriage lived in Palestine.[1]

At age 12 Michel Yehuda began learning in a yeshiva ketana (the equivalent of high school) in the town of

Rameilles under Heiman. While there, in 1932, his father died.[1]

In 1936 Lefkowitz and his mother immigrated to

Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. Heiman and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski gave Lefkowitz letters of recommendation to show the roshei yeshiva of the Hebron Yeshiva, in which they wrote, "He will enlighten the Torah world". At the Hebron Yeshiva, which had relocated to Jerusalem after the 1929 Hebron massacre,[2] Lefkowitz became very close to Rabbi Leib Chasman. Heiman also referred Lefkowitz to Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim Yeshiva, and he became close to him as well.[1]

Lefkowitz also developed a close relationship with the

chupah.[1]

Torah disseminator

After his wedding, Lefkowitz began learning in Kollel Toras Eretz Yisrael in Petah Tikva. He also began giving regular shiurim (Torah lectures) in his father-in-law's yeshiva, Tiferes Tzion, a position he held until his final days more than 70 years later. He began giving a nightly shiur to baalebatim (working men) in the Chazon Ish's home in 1953; he also continued this shiur until his final days.[1]

In

mussar talks) there until his final days.[2]

In the late 1990s, Lefkowitz started a

Kiryat Sefer, Petah Tikva, and other locations.[1]

Leadership

Lefkowitz was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah,[6] a member of Mifal HaShas, and nasi (president) of the Acheinu kiruv organization,[7] and played a leading role in the fight for Torah-true education in yeshivas and Talmud Torahs in Israel, appearing at rallies and signing on many kol korei (proclamations).[1]

Chazon Ish etrog

Lefkowitz was instrumental in saving the lineage of a variety of

Balady Citron called "the Chazon Ish etrog", which was certified as kosher for the mitzvah of etrog by the Chazon Ish. After one Sukkot, the Chazon Ish handed Lefkowitz a packet of seeds taken from the etrog he had used for the festival and instructed him to plant them in his yard. Lefkowitz, who had no agricultural experience, followed his mentor's instructions to plant and water it, and the tree grew and bore fruit. Every year the Chazon Ish came to select his etrog for the holiday from the tree, as did his brother-in-law, the Steipler Gaon, and other Gedolei Yisrael. Lefkowitz also allowed etrog growers to take cuttings from the tree to grow entire orchards of etrogim certified as kosher (mehudar) by the Chazon Ish. The tree itself is unusual, as etrog trees normally grow from the tree itself or from a cutting, not from seeds, and those planted from seeds usually don't yield fruit. Moreover, etrog trees typically produce for five to seven years, whereas Lefkowitz's tree produced hundreds of clean, high-quality etrogim for over half a century.[3][8] In a 2016 interview, Rebbetzin Leah Elyashiv, the daughter of Lefkowitz, noted that the original tree is still growing in the backyard, surrounded by second-, third-, and fourth-generation offshoots.[9]

Final days and funeral

In March 2011, Lefkowitz's health declined, and he began to suffer from various ailments. In June, he relocated to the

yahrtzeit of his father-in-law.[1]

An estimated 100,000 people[10] attended his funeral in Bnei Brak on Tuesday morning, 28 June, including Gedolei Yisrael, rabbis, rebbes, roshei yeshiva, and thousands of Lefkowitz's students from throughout the decades. In the oppressive heat, chesed organizations handed out thousands of bottles of water, and hundreds of volunteers and 15 ambulances were on hand. Dozens of people fainted and some had to be taken to hospital.[1]

The coffin was not taken inside the Ponovezh yeshiva, per Lefkowitz's will. His grandson, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Korlansky, read out parts of his will, and his two sons, Rabbi Moshe Dovid Lefkowitz and Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Lefkowitz, delivered eulogies. The funeral then proceeded to the Bnei Brak cemetery, where Lefkowitz was buried in the Ponovezh section.[1]

Works

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Marks, Yehuda. Harav Michel Yehudah Lefkowitz, zt"l. Hamodia Israel News, 30 June 2011, pp. A22–A24. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d Levine, Asher. "Celebrating Our Torah Centenarians". Zman, June 2011, pp. 48–49. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  3. ^ a b Pines, Menachem (30 September 2009). "The Chazon Ish's Magic Esrog Tree" (PDF). Mishpacha. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Jerusalem – Ponevitch Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi 'Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz Passes Away At 97". Vozizneias. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  5. ^ a b Alpert, Yair (26 June 2011). "Tefillos Around the Globe for Rav Michel Yehudah Lefkowitz". matzav.com. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  6. ^ Tannenbaum (29 June 2011). "Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz zt"l". The Jewish Press. Retrieved 21 August 2011.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "The Tears of HaGaon HaRav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz". Acheinu. 24 July 2009. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  8. ^ Freund, Rabbi Tuvia. "The Tradition of Chazon Ish Esrogim". Hamodia Sukkos Torah Supplement, 21 September 2010, p. 9.
  9. Ami Living
    : 184–190.
  10. ^ Mandel, Jonah (28 June 2011). "Huge crowds gather in Bnei Barak for rabbi's funeral". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  11. ^ "מנחת יהודה - בבא קמא" [Minchas Yehuda – Bava Kama]. hebrewbooks.org. 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  12. ^ "מנחת יהודה - קידושין" [Minchas Yehuda – Kiddushin]. hebrewbooks.org. 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  13. ^ "מנחת יהודה - קדשים" [Minchas Yehuda – Kodshim]. hebrewbooks.org. 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  14. ^ "מנחת יהודה - זרעים" [Minchas Yehuda – Zeraim]. hebrewbooks.org. 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  15. ^ "אמרי דעת" [Imrei Da'as]. hebrewbooks.org. 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  16. ^ "צוואת (מיכל ליפקוביץ) - ליפקוביץ, מיכל יהודה בן משה דוד, 1914-2011 (Page 1 of 8)".
  17. ^ "המקח וממכר [ע"פ עמק השער] - רב האי גאון-רבי מיכל י. ליפקוביץ (Page 1 of 211)".

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michel_Yehuda_Lefkowitz&oldid=1219703538"