In His Father’s Light

Rebbe Elimelech Lowy of Tosh radiates his father’s light to a new generation, fighting a battle against self-importance, pettiness and arrogance.

R
ight in the middle of Kiryas Tosh, in the empty lot adjoining the park across from the small shopping center, there’s a large, colorful sign. It’s partly concealed by a huge pile of gray snow, but you can still read the words “Meshenichnas Adar Marbin b’Simchah.” Against the image of wine glasses and dancing chassidim, the banner wishes visitors and locals alike Simchas Purim and simchos tamid.

The sign was put there by the yeshivah bochurim of Kiryas Tosh as a happy message to the residents. But in its confidence and pride, it’s also a statement: Despite Kiryas Tosh’s stores, new developments, and businesses, this is a town built primarily for the yeshivah bochurim and the tzaddik at their center.

They are the cause, everything around them the effect.

It’s an interesting little hamlet, Tosh, not quite like any other place in the Jewish world. It has neither the bustling cosmopolitan feel of Kiryas Joel, nor the focused intensity of New Square. Tosh is a different dimension.