As a brilliant disciple of the Chazon Ish, Rav Yaakov Edelstein could have spent his life secluded in the beis medrash. Instead, even the cynics clamored for his advice and blessings
As a brilliant disciple of the Chazon Ish, Rav Yaakov Edelstein could have spent his life secluded in the beis medrash. Instead, even the cynics clamored for his advice and blessings
(Photos: Moshe Goldstein Shuki Lehrer Mattis Goldberg Yehuda Farkowitz and Berish Filmore)
While the Torah world has keenly felt the loss of Rav Yaakov Edelstein — who passed away three weeks ago on 25 Shevat — none are more broken than the residents of the upscale Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Hasharon where he served as the town’s rav for 67 years. Most people would expect a place like Ramat Hasharon ensconced between yuppy North Tel Aviv and opulent Herzliya to have a more “modern” chief rabbi someone who could “fit in” with the locals. But the pall of mourning hovering above the town is palpable — over this talmid of the Chazon Ish who served as a father figure to religious and secular alike.
“I’m going back to the beis medrash now ” deputy mayor Yaakov Koretzky one of hundreds of Rav Yaakov Edelstein’s baalei teshuvah tells me as we walk past the famous house on Rechov Naomi where so many lives were transformed over the years. “There at least I’ll still feel the Rav’s presence.
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