Five Towns-Far Rockaway community gathers to mourn Rav Elyashiv, zt”l

In a sobering show of mourning and respect, the main shul of Shaarey Tefilah in Lawrence was filled to standing room only with men and women for a series of eulogies for Maran Hagaon Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, this past Monday night.

The memorial service, for the Five Towns-Far Rockaway community, included hespedim (eulogies), by Rabbi Dovid Weinberger, Rav of Congregation Shaarey Tefila; Rabbi Aryeh Zev Ginzburg, Rav of Chofetz Chaim Torah Center; Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, Rav of Kehilas Bais Yehuda Tzvi; and Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Lieff, Rav of Agudath Israel of Avenue L, in Brooklyn. The crowd of men filled their space to the door and the women were standing to the edge of the mechitza, leaning attentively as the Rabbanim recounted their memories and experiences with Rav Eliyashiv, zt”l.

“Torah was his oxygen,” Rabbi Weinberger explained. “His life blood was another word of Torah. What came forth was ahavas (love of) Torah and deveikus Hakodesh Boruch Hu (closeness to G-d). ‘All the Torah was before him.’” He recalled how Rav Elyashiv’s face radiated, and cited his character trait of silence, of quietude. Rabbi Weinberger recounted that of the thousands of shaylos (Jewish legal questions) he asked the Rav, he “never experienced a hesitation for a second.”

Rav Elyashiv, said Rabbi Weinberger, taught what it means to live according to halacha, and called him a sefer Torah, an oak, a giant of Torah. “Hopefully we will find some chizuk (strength),” he said, sadly. “He will continue to learn in shami shamayim.” And he recounted how, when he last saw him, ”I told him that the nation of Israel needs him, we have nobody but the Rav. We are a dor yasom (an orphaned generation).”

Rabbi Ginzburg asked him 3,312 shaylos, he said. He pointed out that he was the last person not of the Elyashiv family to be near him a week before the Rav was niftar and that he was at the levaya. He said he watched the crowds of people, thousands from all walks of life, busloads of kibbutzniks, Mizrachi, Bnei Akiva, Hasidim, Satmar, illustrating the overwhelming affect this gadol had on klal Yisrael. He recounted that the Stiepler Gaon said of Rav Elyashiv in 1974, that “all his psakim (halchik decisions) are min Shamayim (from Heaven). Rabbi Ginzburg recalled various discussions and halachik decisions and their connection with Rav Moshe Feinstein, the posek and gadol hador of Rav Moshe’s generation. He recounted a story of two baalei teshuva, a young man and a young woman, who met in Israel and wanted to marry. It was determined that the man was a Cohen and the woman was a giyoret. Rav Elyashiv said that they couldn’t marry “but if you find one heter (one Rabbi to permit the marriage) I will be the mesader kiddushin.” Rav Moshe found a heter and said it was mutar (permitted). Rav Elyashiv was the mesader kiddushin.

Rav Elyashiv, said Rav Ginzburg, “was the lishkat hagazit (the hewn stone chamber—the place where the rabbinical court, the Sanhedrin, sat on the Temple Mount during the time of the Beit Hamikdash) of klal yisrael.”

Yhi Zichro Baruch.