Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz
Encyclopedia
Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz (1913–27 June 2011) was a respected Haredi
Lithuanian
Torah leader
and rosh yeshiva
in Bnei Brak, Israel, for over 70 years. He was a maggid shiur
at Yeshivas Tiferes Tzion from 1940 to 2011 and rosh yeshiva
of Yeshivas 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 Torah
s 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.
(now Belarus
) in 1916 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
.
At age 12 Michel Yehuda began learning in a yeshiva ketana (the equivalent of high school) in the town of Rakov, boarding with his uncle. He marked his bar mitzvah there in 1929 without his parents. A few years later, he journeyed to Vilna in order to be treated by an eye specialist, and joined the yeshiva in Rameilles under Rabbi Shlomo Heiman. While there, in 1932, his father died.
In 1936 Rabbi Lefkowitz and his mother immigrated to British Mandate Palestine using certificates obtained by her son Aryeh Leib. At the same time, Rabbi Heiman immigrated to America, where he became rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. Rabbi Heiman and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
gave Rabbi 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
, Rabbi Lefkowitz became very close to Rabbi Leib Chasman. Rabbi Heiman also referred Rabbi Lefkowitz to Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
, rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim Yeshiva
, and he became close to him as well.
Rabbi Lefkowitz also developed a close relationship with the Chazon Ish in Bnei Brak. The Chazon Ish suggested for him a shidduch
with Chava Esther Gershonowitz, daughter of Rabbi Avraham Gershonowitz, Rav of Zabinka
and rosh yeshiva of Tiferes Tzion of Bnei Brak. At Rabbi Lefkowitz's wedding on Lag B'Omer 1940, the Chazon Ish walked him to his chupah.
. He also began giving regular shiur
im (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.
In Cheshvan
1954 the Ponovezher Rav, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman
, opened a yeshiva ketanah in the Ponovezh yeshiva and invited Rabbi Lefkowitz to serve as rosh yeshiva together with Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman. Rabbi Lefkowitz raised thousands of students, and even taught the grandchildren of his original students. In the first and second years of the yeshiva ketana, Rabbi Nissim Karelitz
and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky
were his students. He also taught Rabbi Meir Tzvi Bergman, today rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva HaRashbi and a son-in-law of Rabbi Elazar Shach
. Rabbi Lefkowitz gave a regular daily shiur at the yeshiva ketana until his health declined in summer 2009; he continued to give shiurim and shmuessen (mussar
talks) there until his final days.
In the late 1990s, Rabbi Lefkowitz started a kollel
for the study of Tohorot
, together with an evening kollel for in-depth study of this topic. Branches of the kollel were opened in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, Haifa
, Ofakim, Kiryat Sefer, Petah Tikva, and other locations.
called "the Chazon Ish etrog", which was certified as kosher for the mitzvah
of etrog
by the Chazon Ish himself. After one Sukkot
, the Chazon Ish handed Rabbi Lefkowitz a packet of seeds taken from the etrog
he had used for the festival and instructed him to plant them in his yard. Rabbi 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
. Rabbi 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 defies natural laws, as etrog trees usually 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 Rabbi Lefkowitz's tree has been producing hundreds of clean, mehudar etrogim for over half a century.
(Torah education), drawing his students close with "love, acceptance, warmth, and tolerance", and forged relationships with students that lasted a lifetime.
afternoon, 25 June, and was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where he died on Monday evening, 27 June (26 Sivan
5771). His Hebrew date of death was the 75th yahrtzeit of his father-in-law.
An estimated 100,000 people attended his funeral in Bnei Brak on Tuesday morning, 28 June, including Gedolei Yisrael, rabbis, rebbe
s, roshei yeshiva, and thousands of Rabbi 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.
The coffin was not taken inside the Ponovezh yeshiva, per Rabbi 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 Rabbi Lefkowitz was buried in the Ponovezh section.
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
Lithuanian
Litvak
Litvak may refer to:* Lithuanian Jews* Lithuanian Yiddish dialectPeople:* Anatole Litvak* Lydia Litvak...
Torah leader
Gadol
Gadol or godol גדול , is a Hebrew term used mostly by Haredi Litvish Jews to refer to the most revered rabbis of their generation. These rabbis are usually held in high esteem by other Haredi or Orthodox Jews, though not necessarily to the same degree as by Litvish Jews...
and rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
in Bnei Brak, Israel, for over 70 years. He was a maggid shiur
Maggid shiur
The term Maggid Shiur literarly translates from Hebrew to mean "sayer of Shiur".This term is used to refer to the Rabbi that lectures in a Yeshiva or Kollel.A Maggid Shiur is generally a Rabbi who lectures on advanced and in-depth Talmudic studies....
at Yeshivas Tiferes Tzion from 1940 to 2011 and rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
of Yeshivas Ponovezh L’Tzeirim from 1954 to 2009, raising thousands of students. He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah refers to the supreme rabbinical policy-making council of any of several related Haredi Jewish organizations....
of Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah
Degel HaTorah is an Ashkenazi Haredi political party in Israel. For much of its existence it has been allied to Agudat Yisrael under the name United Torah Judaism.-Ideology:...
, a member of Mifal HaShas, and nasi (president) of the Acheinu kiruv
Orthodox Judaism outreach
Orthodox Jewish outreach commonly referred to as Kiruv or Keruv , is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-Orthodox Jews to believe in God, engage in Torah study, and practice the Mitzvot in the hope that they will live according to Orthodox Jewish law...
organization, and played a leading role in the fight for Torah-true education in yeshivas and Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of public primary school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew, the Scriptures , and the Talmud...
s in Israel. In addition to his own Torah works, he published the teachings of his rebbi, Rabbi Shlomo Heiman
Shlomo Heiman
Shlomo Heiman was a Rabbi, Talmudist, and Rosh Yeshiva of the most prominent yeshivas in Europe and America.-In Europe:In 1892, Reb Shlomo was born in Paritsh, Minsk in Belarus. His father was Rabbi Michel Heiman. When he was 12 years old, he went to Kaminetz yeshiva to study under R' Baruch Ber...
, in the two-volume Chiddushei Shlomo.
Early life
He was born in Valozhyn, Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
) in 1916 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
Melamed
See also:Melamed Melamed, Melammed is a term which in Biblical times denoted a religious teacher or instructor in general , but which in the Talmudic period was applied especially to a teacher of children, and was almost invariably followed by the word "tinokot"...
for Michel Yehuda, and the other ruble to support the family. Chaya Lefkowitz's son and daughter from a previous marriage lived in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
At age 12 Michel Yehuda began learning in a yeshiva ketana (the equivalent of high school) in the town of Rakov, boarding with his uncle. He marked his bar mitzvah there in 1929 without his parents. A few years later, he journeyed to Vilna in order to be treated by an eye specialist, and joined the yeshiva in Rameilles under Rabbi Shlomo Heiman. While there, in 1932, his father died.
In 1936 Rabbi Lefkowitz and his mother immigrated to British Mandate Palestine using certificates obtained by her son Aryeh Leib. At the same time, Rabbi Heiman immigrated to America, where he became rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. Rabbi Heiman and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski
Chaim Ozer Grodzinski was a pre-eminent Av beis din , posek , and Talmudic scholar in Vilnius, Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
gave Rabbi 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
1929 Hebron massacre
The Hebron massacre refers to the killing of sixty-seven Jews on 23 and 24 August 1929 in Hebron, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine, by Arabs incited to violence by rumors that Jews were massacring Arabs in Jerusalem and seizing control of Muslim holy places...
, Rabbi Lefkowitz became very close to Rabbi Leib Chasman. Rabbi Heiman also referred Rabbi Lefkowitz to Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer
Isser Zalman Meltzer, , was a famous Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and posek. He is also known as the "Even HaEzel" - the title of his commentary on Rambam's Mishne Torah....
, rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva
Etz Chaim Yeshiva is an orthodox yeshiva located on Jaffa Road close to the Mahane Yehuda Market in downtown Jerusalem.-History:Etz Chaim Yeshiva was originally a Talmud Torah which was established in 1841 by the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Shmuel Salant. For the first two years classes were held in...
, and he became close to him as well.
Rabbi Lefkowitz also developed a close relationship with the Chazon Ish in Bnei Brak. The Chazon Ish suggested for him a shidduch
Shidduch
The Shidduch is a system of matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced to one another in Orthodox Jewish communities for the purpose of marriage....
with Chava Esther Gershonowitz, daughter of Rabbi Avraham Gershonowitz, Rav of Zabinka
Zhabinka Raion
Zhabinka Raion is an administrative subdivision, a raion of Brest Voblast, in Belarus....
and rosh yeshiva of Tiferes Tzion of Bnei Brak. At Rabbi Lefkowitz's wedding on Lag B'Omer 1940, the Chazon Ish walked him to his chupah.
Torah disseminator
After his wedding, Rabbi Lefkowitz began learning in Kollel Toras Eretz Yisrael in Petah TikvaPetah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
. He also began giving regular shiur
Shiur
Shiur is a lesson on any Torah topic, such as Gemara, Mishnah, halakha, Tanakh, etc.-History:The shiur has been a primary method of teaching since Mishnaic times. In a famous Talmudic passage, Rabbi Judah haNasi averred that he gained his sharp mind from watching Rabbi Meir deliver the shiur...
im (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.
In Cheshvan
Cheshvan
Marcheshvan , sometimes shortened to Cheshvan , is the second month of the civil year and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew...
1954 the Ponovezher Rav, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman
Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman
Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman , יוסף שלמה כהנמן, was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Ponevezh yeshiva. He was a renowned Torah and Talmudic scholar.- Biography :...
, opened a yeshiva ketanah in the Ponovezh yeshiva and invited Rabbi Lefkowitz to serve as rosh yeshiva together with Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman. Rabbi Lefkowitz raised thousands of students, and even taught the grandchildren of his original students. In the first and second years of the yeshiva ketana, Rabbi Nissim Karelitz
Nissim Karelitz
Rabbi Nissim Karelitz is the chairman of the beis din tzedek of Bnei Brak.He is one of the most highly respected Orthodox rabbis in the world and one of the most important leaders of the Lithuanian Haredi world, together with Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv and Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Wosner.His beis din ...
and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky
Chaim Kanievsky
Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky, , is an Israeli rabbi and posek. Kanievsky is considered a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society.-Biography:...
were his students. He also taught Rabbi Meir Tzvi Bergman, today rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva HaRashbi and a son-in-law of Rabbi Elazar Shach
Elazar Shach
Elazar Menachem Man Shach also spelt Eliezer Schach, was a leading Lithuanian-born and educated Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. He also served as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak along with Rabbis Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky...
. Rabbi Lefkowitz gave a regular daily shiur at the yeshiva ketana until his health declined in summer 2009; he continued to give shiurim and shmuessen (mussar
Mussar movement
The Musar movement is a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Eastern Europe, particularly among Orthodox Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term Musar , is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct...
talks) there until his final days.
In the late 1990s, Rabbi Lefkowitz started a kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
for the study of Tohorot
Tohorot
Tohorot is the sixth order of the Mishnah . This order deals with the clean/unclean distinction and family purity. This is the longest of the orders in the Mishnah. There are 12 tractates:...
, together with an evening kollel for in-depth study of this topic. Branches of the kollel were opened in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Ofakim, Kiryat Sefer, Petah Tikva, and other locations.
Leadership
Rabbi Lefkowitz 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, appearing at rallies and signing on many kol korei (proclamations).Chazon Ish etrog
Rabbi Lefkowitz was instrumental in saving the lineage of a variety of Balady CitronBalady citron
Balady Citron , is a variety of citron, or etrog, grown in Israel for Jewish ritual purposes. Balady is Arabic for "native." Local Arab farmers began using this name in the mid-19th century to distinguish this variety from the Greek citron, which was cultivated along the Jaffa seashore.The Balady...
called "the Chazon Ish etrog", which was certified as kosher for the mitzvah
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
of etrog
Etrog
Etrog refers to the yellow citron or Citrus medica used by Jews on the week-long holiday of Sukkot.While in modern Hebrew this is the name for any variety of citron, its English usage applies to those varieties and specimens used as one of the Four Species...
by the Chazon Ish himself. After one Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
, the Chazon Ish handed Rabbi Lefkowitz a packet of seeds taken from the etrog
Etrog
Etrog refers to the yellow citron or Citrus medica used by Jews on the week-long holiday of Sukkot.While in modern Hebrew this is the name for any variety of citron, its English usage applies to those varieties and specimens used as one of the Four Species...
he had used for the festival and instructed him to plant them in his yard. Rabbi 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
Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky
Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, known as The Steipler or The Steipler Gaon , was a rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and posek .-Biography:...
, and other Gedolei Yisrael
Gadol
Gadol or godol גדול , is a Hebrew term used mostly by Haredi Litvish Jews to refer to the most revered rabbis of their generation. These rabbis are usually held in high esteem by other Haredi or Orthodox Jews, though not necessarily to the same degree as by Litvish Jews...
. Rabbi 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 defies natural laws, as etrog trees usually 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 Rabbi Lefkowitz's tree has been producing hundreds of clean, mehudar etrogim for over half a century.
Personal qualities
From his youth, Rabbi Lefkowitz was known for his humility and modesty, and the warm smile and respect he accorded everyone he met. He displayed deep insight into the human condition and empathy for those who sought his guidance. He was a master of chinuchJewish education
Jewish education is the transmission of the tenets, principles and religious laws of Judaism. Due to its emphasis on Torah study, many have commented that Judaism is characterised by "lifelong learning" that extends to adults as much as it does to children.-History:The tradition of Jewish...
(Torah education), drawing his students close with "love, acceptance, warmth, and tolerance", and forged relationships with students that lasted a lifetime.
Final days and funeral
In March 2011 Rabbi Lefkowitz's health declined and he began to suffer from various ailments. In June he relocated to the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem for a rest. He lost consciousness on ShabbatShabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
afternoon, 25 June, and was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where he died on Monday evening, 27 June (26 Sivan
Sivan
Sivan is the ninth month of the civil year and the third month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a spring month of 30 days...
5771). His Hebrew date of death was the 75th yahrtzeit of his father-in-law.
An estimated 100,000 people attended his funeral in Bnei Brak on Tuesday morning, 28 June, including Gedolei Yisrael, rabbis, rebbe
Rebbe
Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
s, roshei yeshiva, and thousands of Rabbi Lefkowitz's students from throughout the decades. In the oppressive heat, chesed
Chesed
The Hebrew noun khesed or chesed is the Hebrew word for "kindness." It is also commonly translated as "loving-kindness," or "love." Love is a central Jewish value, and leads to many particular commandments. Chesed is central to Jewish ethics and Jewish theology...
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.
The coffin was not taken inside the Ponovezh yeshiva, per Rabbi 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 Rabbi Lefkowitz was buried in the Ponovezh section.
Works
- Chiddushei Rabbi Shlomo (2 vol.)
- Minchas Yehuda on Tractates Bava Kama, Bava MetziaBava MetziaBava Metzia is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin , the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called Nezikin , each Bava being a Part or subdivision...
, Bava Basra, Kiddushin, Gittin, Kodshim, Zeraim - Darkei Chaim
- Imrei Daas