By COLlive staff
Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, a great talmid chacham who was the de facto leader and halachic authority of the Litvish haredi population in Israel, has passed away Wednesday, Tammuz 28, 5772.
He was 102.
Most of his days were spent engaged in Torah study and his vast knowledge came to play when complex halachic inquiries were sent his way as a dayan in the Jerusalem Beis Din and later as a widely accepted posek.
Indications of his knowledge were given when he served as a dayan in the Jerusalem Beis Din and in the shiurim he gave at the small Tiferes Bachurim shul in the Meah Shearim area in Jerusalem where he lived.
He born in 1910 in Siauliai, Lithuania as an only child to his parents after 17 years of marriage. His father was Rabbi Avraham Elyashiv (Erener) of Gomel, Belarus, and mother Chaya Musha, daughter of the kabbalist Rabbi Shlomo Elyashiv of Lithuania.
Originally his father’s surname was Erener, but his father adopted his father-in-law’s surname in order to gain a certificate to enter the British Mandate of Palestine in 1922. His father would daven from Chabad’s Nusach Ari Tehillas Hashem siddur.
At the suggestion of Chief Rabbi of Palestine, Abraham Isaac Kook, Rabbi Elyashiv married Sheina Chaya, a daughter of Rabbi Aryeh Levin, dubbed “Father of Prisoners” for his activities in jails and an admirer of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
The couple had 5 sons (one of them married the sister of the Chabad Mashpia in Haifa Rabbi Reuven Dunin) and 7 daughters (who married significant rabbinic figures). One son passed away of illness as a child, and one daughter was killed in 1948 by Jordanian shelling.
Rabbi Elyashiv was the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party which has representatives in the Knesset and had influence over the policies of the party, currently part of the political umbrella United Torah Judaism list (Yahadut Hatoraha).
He is survived by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and a nephew, R’ Shimon Yaakobovitch, a Chabad chossid in Jerusalem.
Baruch dayan haemes.
at least someone got their history correct!
It was not so well known, but Rav Elyashiv Zt’l was probably the world’s greatest baki in Toras Hanister (his grandfather, R’ Shlomo Elyashiv Zt’l, was in his time the greatest of the Mekubalim)
ITS SAYS HERE ERENER BUT i was under the impression that it was levison.
What’s the source that his dad davened nusach ari?
He was THE undisputed posek hador. FYI he became one of the greatest of the great even though he didnt learn Chasidus or visit the ohel…gasp! And for anyone who thinks he was connected to Lubavitch, do a little research and find out what he felt about Chabad. Vehameivin yavin.
More than 100,000 people attended Rav Elashivs levayah. He was not just a “Litvish Haredi Ashkenzai Posek”, Rav Elyashiv ZTL was recognized as the preeminent posek hador and was consulted by all walks and sects of Yiddishkeit across the spectrum.
The Rebbe Rashab had them printed in Rostov during World War I. The Frierdike Rebbe reprinted them in the US in the 1940s.
The Shala writes in parshas matos that it there is a Remez that when the Talmid chocham is nestalek it is a yeshuah for other neshamos that are in galus that can’t have a aliya. (he learns from the din of Arey Miklat)
i don’t know if you are aware that hespeidim is something mentioned in shas and shulchan oruch and isn’t a “misnagdisher” minhog. we in chabad have our reasons not to do hespeidim, but there is no reason to put down the minhog which is the classical minhag.
we should here good news soon !!
As is the custom in Lubavitch, there was no Hes’pay’dum. If he was not Chabad, the Rav knows that Hes’pay’dum are a no no! Maybe everyone in the Yeshevish world should take note…..
and by the way he doesnt just have great grandchildren. he has at least one great great great grandchild.
a quick search online shows that there were prints of the Rostover siddur (printer ain alef) that were called tehillas hashem. some historian….I do not know which one he davened from I am just saying that it is possible.
What a huge loss for all Yidden;
Lets not differenciate at a time like this;
Its a tragedy for the whole klal Yisroel;
BDH
http://www.rebbeclips.com/2011/02/rebbes-visiting-r-elyashiv.html
The book recently published about Rebetzin batsheva Kanievsky, R’ Elyashivs daughter, has a lot about their family history. It is very fascinating.
His father davened Tehillas Hashem? How did his father daven from a siddur published in 1945? At best he davened from Torah Ohr which Tehillas Hashem derived from.
He was the Godol Hador of the Litvishe Yidden, after him comes Rav kanievsky his son-in-law, Rav Steineman.
He recently lost his third child Sukkos time,Rebbetzen Kanievsky ZL.
BDE
tremendous lost
and just look what happened in Bulgaria
COL is a site that caters to Lubavitch community. Lubavitch like knowing connections, and it’s to honor them in our eyes, that those connections are mentioned. It’s not like when there are no connections, they write “Reb Chaim Shmerel Passed away. Reb Shmerel had no connections to Chabad”.
Boruch Dayan Emes.
He was Posek haDor of Ashkenazi Jewry
Who cares what his shaychus to Lubavitch is.
He was a heiliger yid that learned Torah yomam v’laylah. Halevai, I should learn as much in my lifetime as he did in 1 day.
A great loss to klall yisroel
kasha silukan shel tzadikim ksreifas beis olokeinu. another thing to mar the three weeks. As an aside I doubt his father davened with a Tehillat Hashem siddur as it probably wasn’t printed in his life time.