Rav Gershon Edelstein, 100, OBM

By COLlive reporter

Rabbi Yerachmiel Gershon Edelstein, an esteemed Rosh Yeshiva and spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party in Israel, passed away on Tuesday, 10 Sivan 5783.

He was 100.

Rav Edelstein was born in the town of Shumyatch (Shumyachi), near Smolensk, in the Soviet Union, to Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Edelstein and Miriam Mobshovich.

His mother obtained forged birth certificates for her sons, stating that they were three years younger so they would not have to attend a school run by Yevsektzia, the anti-religious Jewish branch of the Communist Party.

Thus, the young Rav Edelstein studied with Rabbi Zalman Leib Astulin OBM, a Lubavitcher chossid who was known for his yiras shamayim and for being an outstanding talmid chacham.

A few years ago, Rav Edelstein hosted a visit by Zalman Leib Farkash of Monsey, NY and was moved to hear that the Lubavitch boy was named after his childhood teacher, Rabbi Astulin.

When Rav Edelstein’s mother was ill with typhus, he and his younger brother Yaakov were sent to stay with their aunt, Rivka Tzvia Paz, in the city of Klimovich (Klimavichy).

There, they once again turned to Lubavitcher chassidim to study Torah. Teaching the Ederlstein brothers was Rabbi Mordechai Shneur, known as R’ Munye, who later served as a teacher in the Kfar Chabad village. He also learned from Rabbi Moshe Axelrod, a Lubavitcher Rov in Belarus and later in Ramat Gan.

Over the years, Rav Edelstein remained in touch with his 3 Chassidic teachers and expressed his reverence for their piety and scholarship. In a conversation with family members, he once commented how Rabbi Axelrod is the one who make him “stand on his own two feet – spiritually.”

The Edelstein family was able to immigrate to the holy land of Israel. Their father was elected rabbi of Ramat Hasharon, a city bordering Tel Aviv. Since there was no local Yeshiva, their father homeschooled them in Gemara and commentaries. A tutor taught them grammar, arithmetic, and English, which was the official language at the time.

In 1935, the sons were sent to the Lomzha yeshiva in Petah Tikva, under Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky OBM. They later joined Rabbi Rozovsky left at the newly established Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak in the winter of 1943–1944. They were among the first six students in what became a renowned Litvish yeshiva.

In 1947, Rav Edelstein married Mrs. Henya Rochel, daughter of Rabbi Yehoshua Zelig Diskin, rabbi of the Pardes Channa town. That year, he was also appointed Reish Mesivta in Ponevezh and has taught there ever since.

In 2003, Rav Edelstein joined the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah, the Litvish haredi political party that is part of Yahadut Hatorah (“Gimmel”). His counsel was sought on public affairs affecting both the frum and wider Israeli society, infusing his decision with Torah scholarship, Ahavas Yisroel and practical thought.

Once such decision was the question of succession to Bnei Brak’s Chief Rabbi Moshe Landa OBM, a Lubavitcher chossid. In a city with a Litvish majority, but with a Chassidic rabbinic lineage, Rav Edelstein ruled that Rabbi Landa’s son Rabbi Aizik Landa should serve alongside the Litvish Rabbi Shevach Rosenblatt. The two continue to work in unison.

Lubavitcher entrepreneur Itzik Crombie is married to a relative of Rav Edelstein. He recalled how Rav Edelstein casually asked him how as his Sholom Bayis (marital harmony) during a visit. After hearing an answer, Rav Edelstein advised: “Listen and respect. That is the whole secret to a good relationship.”

In a public statement, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Rav Edelstein “was a spiritual leader of enormous stature whose Torah and pious greatness influenced our generation and will influence generations to come.”

Israel’s Chief Rabbi David Lau said: “I had the privilege to be near him during my studies at the Ponevezeh yeshiva and through guidance and wise advice in all religious matters until very recently.”

A huge crowd of over 100,000 people from across the country attended the levaya which took place on Tuesday in Bnei Brak.

Baruch Dayan Haemes.