Rabbi Gershon Edelstein Passes Away at 100

Rabbi Edelstein, the spiritual leader of Lithuanian Haredi Jewry in Israel, had been hospitalized since the Shavuot holiday.

By United with Israel staff

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, spiritual leader of Lithuanian Haredi Jewry in Israel, has passed away at the age of 100.

Rabbi Edelstein passed away Tuesday morning after a deterioration in his condition. He had been hospitalized at Ma’ayanei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak since the Shavuot holiday last week after experiencing shortness of breath.

Born in the Soviet Union in 1923, Rabbi Edelstein’s family immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1934, settling in Ramat Hasharon in central Israel.

In 1945, at the request of Ponevezh Yeshiva’s founder, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, Rabbi Edelstein began teaching Holocaust refugees living in an orphanage, and continued teaching them when they began studying at the yeshiva.

In 2000, he became co-Rosh Yeshiva (Dean) of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. In 2003 he was appointed to Degel Hatorah political party’s Council of Torah Sages.

Since the passing of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky in March 2022, Rabbi Edelstein has been recognized as the leader of the Lithuanian Haredi community in Israel.

Following the news of the rabbi’s passing, Israeli political figures paid him tribute.

“Rabbi Edelstein was a spiritual leader of enormous stature whose greatness in Torah and reverence influenced our generation and will influence generations to come,” said President Isaac Herzog.

“His Torah-Jewish view which found its expression more than once in the educational principles which he instructed to many – saw the people and no less the man. This is a great loss to the yeshiva world and the entire nation of Israel.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Rabbi Edelstein was imbued with the love of Israel for every person. His sensitive attention to the challenges of the generation led him to guide, guide, direct, strengthen and encourage.”

“I had the privilege of meeting with the rabbi a few months ago, and the light shining from his eyes full of Jewish reason and wisdom left an indelible mark on me. The importance of passing on the heritage of Israel to the children of Israel came from the depths of his soul.”

The funeral procession is to depart Ponovesh Yeshiva at 3:30 pm. Rabbi Edelstein is to be laid to rest at the Ponovezh Yeshiva Cemetery.

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