Community Magazine August 2012

An enormous void was left in the Jewish world with the passing of one of the greatest sages in our generation on 28 Tamuz 5772 (July 18, 2012). The g adol hador (leader of the generation), Hagaon Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv z.s.l. passed away after being hospitalized in Jerusalem’s Shaare Tzedek hospital for six months due to an extended illness. The emotional funeral that followed on that Wednesday night (at 9:00 p.m. EST) drew an estimated 250,000 people who came to pay their last respects to the great leader of the nation. For months, Jews around the world had been praying for the venerable sage’s recovery so he could continue to lead us. Rav Elyashiv, the leading Ashkenazic halachic authority of the generation, was the natural address for virtually every complex, intricate halachic question that arose. Throngs of people would come to him and write to him seeking his guidance, advice and blessings. On that sultry summer night in Jerusalem, thousands came to express their grief over the fact that Rav Elyashiv is no longer with us to lead and inspire us. True to his legendary and characteristic humility, Rav Elyashiv had specified in his will that no eulogies should be delivered at his funeral. The enormous crowd thus filled the streets of Jerusalem not to listen, but to pray, reciting Tehillim and Selihot in light of the great tragedy that befell our nation, beseeching Gd to ensure that we are properly led in the absence of this Torah luminary. The rabbi’s body was tearfully escorted by many thousands to his final resting place in Har Hamenuhot Cemetery in Jerusalem. RABBI ELIYAHU C. ABOUD 1 Nisan 5670 (April 10, 1910) – 28 Tamuz 5772 (July 18, 2012) After 17 childless years, his very birth was a miracle. During his childhood, he suffered several serious illnesses from which doctors said he would not recover. At the tender age of 12, he was uprooted from his home to settle in a foreign land, and throughout his youth, he never attended formal yeshiva. Nobody could have imagined that this unassuming and modest prodigy would grow to become one of the greatest Torah leaders of the modern age, or that his remarkable life of 102 years would leave an indelible impression on the Jewish world. 40 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE