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Rav Moshe Twersky, H”yd, on his yahrtzeit

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This Shabbat Chayei Sarah marks the yahrtzeit of the holy martyrs of the Har Nof Massacre in Jerusalem, on the 25th day of Marcheshvon in 2014.

This column is dedicated to one of those holy martyrs, Rav Moshe Twersky, H”yd, subject of a book by Rabbi Yehoshua Berman titled “A Malach in Our Midst. The Legacy of a Treasured Rebbi, Harav Mosheh Twersky.”

Rabbi Berman shared with me his thoughts on the legacy of Rav Twersky, which I share with you as part of my tribute to all who were martyred.

Rabbi Berman, a musmach of Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, began his hesped eulogy:

“HaGaon HaKaddosh Rav Moshe Twersky, H”yd, was born on the 15th of Elul 5715 (Sept. 2, 1955) in Boston, to loving parents Rav Yitzchak Asher, the Talner Rebbe, zt”l, and tlct’’v, Rebbitzen Atarah. From his earliest youth, he was tutored intensively with paternal devotion by his grandfather, HaRav HaGaon Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l. That, coupled with the warm and embracing atmosphere of the Talner Kehilla, provided him with the strong and lasting foundation that would serve as his springboard to a life of Torah and avodat Hashem.

“Among others who were of great influence upon his religious outlook were such outstanding spiritual figures as Rav Yehuda Zev Segal, zt”l, the Manchester Rosh Yeshiva, and Rav Yisrael Elya Weintraub, zt”l, one of the world’s great interpreters of Kabbalah of our day.

“[Rav Twersky] grew, quietly and inconspicuously, into one of the top gedolei hador of our generation, a scion of the Brisker tradition. His remarkable, creative mastery of Torah, exoteric and esoteric, was masked by his extraordinary modesty and self-effacement. He craved and, in large measure, preserved humble anonymity.”

A version of this column was published in 2015.