Community Magazine June 2009

44 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE A H o y M i s s i n e H o i t e A Family Legacy Rabbi Holtzberg’s story actually begins sixty years ago, when his father, Mr. Simcha Holtzberg a.h. , arrived in Israel from the ashes of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. His spirit shattered, he searched for a mentor to help inspire him to build his life anew. With Hashem’s grace, Holtzberg met and befriended the legendary Rabbi Aryeh Levine, z.s.l. , the “Father of the Prisoners” who was widely recognized for his assis- tance to Jewish fighters imprisoned by the British authorities. Rabbi Levine’s magnetic personality inspired Holtzberg, who settled in Tel-Aviv and opened a Judaica business. In 1967, Holtzberg went to visit his ailing mentor in Jerusalem’s Haddasah Ein Karem Hospital. The hospital at that time was filled with IDF soldiers recovering from injuries suffered during the recent Six Day War. Rabbi Levine turned to Holtzberg and plead- ed, “You must help these precious souls who have sacrificed everything for the Jewish people. Do what you can to encourage them, to bring them joy and comfort.” From that day on, Simcha Holtzberg became the father of untold numbers of wounded IDF soldiers, visiting them regu- larly in hospitals, rehabilitation centers and their homes, helping them rebuild their lives and overcome the trauma of injury. He also took personal care of the widows and orphans of fallen soldiers. His selfless devo- tion earned him the Israel Prize in 1976. In 1999, five years after Holtzberg’s pass- ing, the Israel Philatelic Federation issued a stamp in his honor. A street in Jerusalem’s Pisgat Zev neighborhood bears his name as a tribute to his extraordinary work. Financing for Hesed Rabbi Ephraim Holtzberg continues his father’s famous legacy of kindness, offer- ing devoted care and companionship to wounded soldiers and terror victims. An integral part of this effort is the exquisite banquet hall that he runs in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, one which likely boasts the most stunning view of any banquet hall on earth – directly overlooking the Kotel (Western Wall) plaza. The fully air conditioned hall offers a wide selec- tion of catering, decorating, photography and musical entertainment options to suit any preference. The first simha to be held in this hall was the sheva berachot of the grandson of Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv shlita – with the great sage himself, in attendance. But perhaps most special of all, a significant portion of the proceeds from the hall go directly to fund a variety of unique hesed projects. One such project is a free service to worshippers at the Kotel following the Yom Kippur fast. “In 1967, on the first Yom Kippur after the Old City’s liberation,” Rabbi Holtzberg recalls, “scores of people spent Yom Kippur day praying at the Kotel. My father realized that many of these people had a long walk home – an hour or more – and had nothing to eat or drink after a day of fasting.” The prophecy foretells a time when the redeemed Jerusalem will earn the title “Ir Hassedek – City of Righteousness” (Yeshayahu 1:26). One courageous resident of Jerusalem’s Old City is doing his part to make our nation’s spiritual capi- tal worthy of this lofty designation even today. Rabbi Ephraim Holtzberg became one of the Old City’s first Jewish residents after its liberation when he joined the founding class of Yeshivat Hakotel in 1967. Since then, he has made his mark on the city – and the State of Israel as a whole – by devoting his life and, more recently, his business to remarkable acts of hesed. DAVID SILVERBERG Rabbi Ephraim Holtzberg