Huge documentation: Thousands at funeral Rosh Yeshiva Torah Vodaath zt"l

Thousands attended this evening (Sunday), the funeral procession of Hagaon Rabbi Chaim Israel Belsky zt"l, Rosh Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, Flatbush, New York and one of the leading Roshei Yeshiva and halachic authorities of our generation. Hagaon of blessed memory, died on Thursday night at the age of 78. Thousands of Haredi Jewry in the United States attended the funeral in Flatbush on Friday, with the participation of Roshei Yeshivas and Torah sages of the United States. At the funeral he was eulogized by Roshei Yeshiva, his children and his son-in-law, the benefactor R' Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz.

The coffin arrived in Israel today and the funeral went out from Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, where he was eulogized by Roshei Yeshivas and rabbis.

At the start of the funeral Tehillim were said by Rabbi Yitzchak Ezrachi, one of heads of the Mir Yeshiva.
Thereafter hespedim were said first by Rosh Yeshiva of Mir Hagaon Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, who spoke on the extent of his greatness, and his being a giant of giants: "a cedar in Lebanon was cut down, it is difficult to mourn one who the Gedolim of our generation were astonished at the scope of his knowledge of Torah. It says in the Gemora "Mishemes Yosef ben Yoezer Ish Tzreidah Ve'Yosef ben Yochanan ish Yerushalayim batlu ha'eshkolos, amar Rav Yehuda amar Shmuel, ish shehakol bo". Rabbi Israel was one where everything is, Torah, deeds, chochma and middos, his massive scope and clarity in Torah, genius in all treasures of Torah and control anywhere in Shas."

Hgrb"d Povarsky Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevez, said: "We need to know that one gets to this by humility, as it says by Hillel "hai chossid, hai anov".

Hagaon Rabbi Reuven Feinstein Rosh Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim eulogized in English. In his words he lamented the tremendous loss to all the yeshiva world in Israel and the United States.
Hagaon Rabbi Binyamin Karlebach of the Mir yeshiva rabbis, eulogized him that he applied to himself "al tachzik tova le'atzmecha', because he understood the profundity of "ki lekach notzarta". "25 years ago the great deceased sent Rabbi Yaakov Malehn toexpand the boundaries of the Mir Yeshiva," he said, "and that is his connection to this place of Torah, as he observed "behishalechecha tanche oscha, so it will be fulfilled in him "vehakitsosa hi tesichecha".

His son-in-law Hagaon Rabbi Reuven Cohen, Rosh Kollel Zichron Yosef in Modi'in Illit cried out, "Avi, avi, rechev Yisroel uparashov, Torah, Torah higri sak, the great masmid that every moment of his life was connected and glued to Torah, when I went to bed at 3 AM he was still sitting and learning and when I got up at 7 am he was already sitting and learning, I asked him how many times he finished the Shas, then he told me that he finished each maseches a different amount of times, but finished at least fifty times the entire Shas, one could see on his volumes of Shas how tattered from overuse they were".

His son-in-law Hagaon Rabbi David Goldstein Magid Shiur at Yeshiva Torah Vodaath eulogized him in English as he wept bitterly that the righteous is lost and there is no one there to notice. "The whole world is sustained for Chanina my son, and Chanina my son suffices with a small amount of carobs, he made sure that the whole world will eat Kosher unquestioningly and for him it was sufficient to have a small amount of carobs, he lived in frugality.

After the Kaddish, a crowd of thousands came out to escort the bed headed by Hagaon R' Shmuel Auerbach, who participated in the funeral procession, Hgrm"tz Bergman, Hgrm"h Hirsch, Hgr"s Markowitz, Hagaon Rabbi Moshe Gross and other rabbis, Roshei Yeshiva and Marbitzei Torah.

The funeral procession then proceeded to the Kamenitz Yeshiva on David Street, where he was eulogized by Hagaon Rabbi Yitzchak Shiner, Rosh Yeshiva of Kamenitz: "It is difficult to escort Hagaon Rabbi Israel zt"l about whom Harav Elyashiv zt"l testified that he knew the entire Torah".

Hagaon Rabbi Israel Reisman Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaath said: "One always saw and learned from him how to learn with geshmak and joy with chayus and dveikus to Torah, and he used to comment on song sung in Volozin 'Olam Haba is a gute zach, lernen Torah iz di beste zach' that one should sing lernen Tora iz a'gute zach, for what is sweeter and better than learning Torah."

His son-in-law, Hagaon Rabbi Ben Tzion Berel, Rav at Derech HaTorah yeshiva in Modi'in Illit, eulogized him: "One time he went on vacation for three days when he came back I asked him what he was doing on vacation, so he told me: I learned all Bava Basra Rashi Tosfos, and with all the necessities the public he was preoccupied with he managed to learn the entire Torah since he utilized every five minutes he had to learn more. The house would be full of people and he would be studying at the kitchen table with a large Gemora, and nothing would bother him."

His talmid Rabbi Moshe Samsonowitz Rosh Kollel at Modi'in Illit mentioned in tears that "in every place one talked with him, he had special clarity".

The funeral procession then moved on to Har Hamenuchos, where he was buried, close to midnight.

Photography: Kobi Har Tzvi

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!