Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz

Early years

Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz zt"l was born in 1913 in Volozhin, then part of the Russian Empire and today in Belarus, to Rav Moshe Dovid and Chaya Lefkowitz. It was a second marriage for both of his parents, and his father was nearly eighty years old at his birth. The family lived in great poverty. Moshe Dovid had children from his first marriage in America, who sent their father three rubles each month, about one dollar. Two of the rubles paid for a melamed for Michel Yehuda, and the third went to support the family. Chaya had a son and daughter from her first marriage who lived in Palestine.

At twelve he began learning in a yeshiva ketana in Rakov and lived there with his uncle. He celebrated his bar mitzvah in Rakov in 1929, without his parents. A few years later he travelled to Vilna to be treated by an eye specialist, and he joined the Rameilles yeshiva under Rav Shlomo Heiman. His father passed away in 1932, while he was there.

In 1936 he and his mother moved to Eretz Yisroel, using certificates that her son Aryeh Leib had obtained. Rav Heiman emigrated to America at about the same time and became rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. Rav Heiman and Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski gave him letters of recommendation to show the roshei yeshiva of the Chevron Yeshiva, which had moved to Yerushalayim after the 1929 massacre in Chevron. They wrote that he would bring light to the Torah world.

His teachers

At the Chevron Yeshiva in Yerushalayim he became very close to Rav Leib Chasman. Rav Heiman also sent him to Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, rosh yeshiva of Etz Chaim, and he grew close to him too. He also formed a bond with the Chazon Ish in Bnei Brak.

The Chazon Ish suggested a shidduch with Chava Esther, daughter of Rav Avrohom Gershonowitz, the Rav of Zabinka and rosh yeshiva of Tiferes Tzion in Bnei Brak. At the wedding, on Lag B'Omer 1940, the Chazon Ish accompanied the chasan to the chupah.

Torah and leadership

After his marriage he learned in Kollel Toras Eretz Yisroel in Petach Tikva. He also began giving regular shiurim in his father-in-law's yeshiva, Tiferes Tzion, and he gave them there for more than seventy years, until his final days. In 1953 he started a nightly shiur for baalebatim (working men) in the home of the Chazon Ish, and he kept that up to the end of his life as well.

In Cheshvan 1954 the Ponovezher Rav, Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, opened a yeshiva ketana at Ponovezh and invited him to serve as rosh yeshiva together with Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman. Rav Michel Yehuda taught thousands of talmidim, and in time he taught the grandchildren of his first students. In the first two years Rav Nissim Karelitz and Rav Chaim Kanievsky were in his shiur, and he also taught Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman, now rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas HaRashbi and a son-in-law of Rav Elazar Shach. He gave a daily shiur at the yeshiva ketana until his health declined in the summer of 2009, and he continued to give shiurim and shmuessen (mussar talks) there until his last days.

In the late 1990s he began a kollel for the study of Taharos, together with an evening kollel for deeper study of the subject. Branches opened in Bnei Brak, Yerushalayim, Haifa, Ofakim, Kiryat Sefer, Petach Tikva and other places.

He was a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Degel HaTorah and of Mifal HaShas, and was nasi (president) of the Acheinu kiruv organization. He took a leading part in the struggle for Torah education in the yeshivos and Talmud Torahs of Eretz Yisroel, appearing at gatherings and signing many kol korei (public proclamations).

His character

From his youth he was known for his humility and modesty, and for the warm smile and respect he gave to everyone he met. He had deep insight into people and felt for those who came to him for guidance. He was a master of chinuch (Torah education), drawing his talmidim close with love, acceptance, warmth and patience, and the bonds he formed with them lasted a lifetime.

Teachings and seforim

He published the teachings of his rebbi, Rav Shlomo Heiman, in the two volumes of Chiddushei Rabbi Shlomo. His own seforim include Minchas Yehuda on Bava Kama, Bava Metzia, Bava Basra, Kiddushin, Gittin, Kodshim and Zeraim, as well as Darkei Chaim, Imrei Daas, Tzavaas Rabbeinu HaGadol (his last will and testament) and HaMekach VeHaMemkar.

Later years and passing

In March 2011 his health declined and he began to suffer from various ailments. In June he moved to the Katamon neighborhood of Yerushalayim for a rest. He lost consciousness on Shabbos afternoon, June 25, and was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. He passed away on Monday evening, 26 Sivan 5771 (June 27, 2011), the seventy-fifth yahrzeit of his father-in-law.

An estimated 100,000 people came to the levaya in Bnei Brak on Tuesday morning, June 28. They included gedolei Yisroel, rabbonim, Rebbes, roshei yeshiva and thousands of his talmidim from every decade. In the heavy heat, chesed organizations handed out thousands of bottles of water, and hundreds of volunteers and fifteen ambulances stood ready. Dozens of people fainted and some were taken to hospital.

In keeping with his will, the aron was not brought into the Ponovezh yeshiva. His grandson, Rav Yosef Shlomo Korlansky, read parts of the will, and his two sons, Rav Moshe Dovid and Rav Avrohom Yitzchok, delivered eulogies. He was laid to rest in the Ponovezh section of the Bnei Brak cemetery.