BARUCH DAYAN EMES: GADOL HADOR HAGAON HARAV GERSHON EDELSTEIN, ZECHER TZADDIK L’BRACHA

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The Olam HaTorah in Eretz Yisrael and throughout the world is in deep aveilus upon the passing of the Gadol HaDor, HaGaon HaRav Yerachmiel Gershon Edelstein, z’tl, shortly before 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning at the age of 100.

Shortly beforehand, HaRav Gershon’s situation became critical and the doctors tried to resuscitate him. Meanwhile, the Torah world in Eretz Yisrael stopped everything to plead for Rachamei Shamayim.

HaRav HaGaon Gershon Edelstein, zt’l, was the Nasi of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and the leader of Chareidi Jewry in Eretz Yisrael and throughout the world and served as the Rosh Yeshivah of Ponevezh Yeshivah for 80 years. After the petirah of HaGaon HaRav Aryeh Leib Shteinman, z’tl, HaRav Edelstein and HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, zt’l became the leader of the Olam HaTorah.

The levaya is tentatively scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Yeshivas Ponevezh. A bittul melachah has been called throughout the entire city of Bnei Brak during the time of the levaya.

[PHOTO GALLERY: Gadol Hador, Hagaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein ZT”L]

HaRav HaGaon Gershon Edelstein, z’tl was born in 1923 in the Russian town of Shumyatch to HaRav Tzvi Yehudah, the Rav of Shumyatch.

As a child, Rav Gershon’s mother obtained fake birth certificates for her sons with the wrong dates of birth to delay mandatory school attendance under the Communists. Instead, HaRav Gershon and his brothers learned Torah with a private Rebbe at home. Meanwhile, HaRav Gershon’s mother developed typhus, later passing away from the illness.

In 1934, Rav Gershon’s father obtained permits to enter Israel. He and his sons traveled by ship from Odessa, arriving in Israel on Lag B’Omer. The family settled in Ramat Hasharon, where HaRav Gershon and his brother Yaakov slept on the floor. There too, the boys learned Torah at home with their father since there was no religious school in Ramat Hasharon.

In 1935, HaRav Tzvi was elected as the Rav of Ramat HaSharon. The same year, after HaRav Gershon begged his father, he and his brother Yaakov were sent to the Lomza Yeshivah in Petach Tikvah.

Shortly later, HaRav Shmuel Rozovsky requested that HaRav Gershon and Yaakov join the newly established Yeshivah Ponevezh. HaRav Tzvi agreed and the two brothers lived in the home of HaGaon HaRav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, zt’l.

The Rosh Yeshivah, HaGaon HaRav Yosef Shlomo Kahneman, z’tl, initially appointed HaRav Gershon to teach young Holocaust survivors in the Batei Avos orphanage, and in 1945, HaRav Gershon began delivering shiurim to talmidim at Ponevezh. In 1947, HaRav Gershon married Henya Rochel, the daughter of HaGaon HaRav Yehoshua Zelig Diskin, z’tl the Rav of Pardes Chana, and the same year, he was appointed as Rosh Mesivta in Ponevezh.

HaRav Edelstein, z’tl, became the Rosh Yeshivah of Ponevzeh together with HaGaon HaRav Baruch Dov Povarsky in the mid-1990s. In 2003, HaRav Edelstein was appointed to the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degal HaTorah.

In the wake of the petirah of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, z’tl, a little over a year ago, HaRav Edelstein was recognized as the Gadol HaDor and was the address for all major issues and shailos for Chareidi Jewry throughout the world.

וכל בית ישראל יבכו את השריפה אשר שרף ה

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)


11 COMMENTS

  1. ברוך דיין אמת
    ויאמר לצרותינו די
    Even Though Such a Humble Tzaddik Just Turned 100 True אריכת ימים
    Still A Tzaddik leaves this World leaves such a void, we truly have to take from Rabbi Edelstein Zatza”L his Humbleness, his intellect vision, especially on chinuch, we can say a יחיד בדורינו, his אמת , His clarity , How he explained with such patience, answering Questions with humbleness yet Clarity, never ever Disparaging ח”ו someone else. Definitely a sad Day, But we must move on life goes on, Rav Edelstein would wish for himself , people should not make a big deal, just keep going in Torah Tefillah and Gimilus Chesed !! So I will humbly ble Neder be mekabel on myself לעולי נשמתו הטהורה something small, and Move on, because knowing this Tzaddik that is what precisely he would wish we all do זכותו יגן עלינו

  3. A great loss! My son-in-law told me that the Rosh Yeshiva zatzal still blew Shofar this past Rosh Hashono in the massive Yeshiva minyan, one of the highlights of the day

  4. tzadikim are alive even when they pass and reshaim are dead even when they are alive. Reb Gershon was a true tzadik who withstood the Zionists in their infancy and became a huge talmid chochom.

  6. The fact that this article was clearly prepared is gross and pathetic.

    Moderators Note: Not one word of this article was prepared. Part of this article was written in minutes when it was published – just a few minutes after the Petira, and the rest added over the next hour or two.

    Ok Moshe W.?

  7. @Mikee

    What’s wrong with preparing? I’ve got no doubt that that all the frum periodicals & magazines do it and organize their info way in advanced. It would be nearly impossible otherwise.
    We see from the gemara amaraim would ask each other what they would maspid about them – if not for anything just for the divrei torah coversation, all the more so for a gadol when bigger kiddush Hashem is involved.

  9. when the gaon and tzadik Harav Shmuel Salant ZTZ”L was niftar 100 years ago, they found between his seforim, hespeidim on all the gedolim of his time that were still alive. you cant prepare a proper hesped in the spur of the moment. you need time to prepare a proper hesped.

  10. When my daughter was hit by a car at the age of two- 10 years ago, Rav Gershon ztz’l gave a brochoh that they would be able to fix her broken leg (fibular and tibular were snapped in half!) without even an operation. That’s exactly what happened and BH she has not even a scar and walks perfectly! Tzaddik gozer veHashem mekayem!

  11. His amkus hachaim nobody knew but he did not show it and there is nobody left to help us and that has the ruach hakodesh like yesomim