Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, head of the famed Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem and member of the Torah Council of Sages of Degel HaTorah, passed away early Tuesday morning at the age of 68. He apparently suffered a heart attack.
His funeral procession left from the yeshiva after eulogies that began at noon on its way to the Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Giv’at Shaul.
Radio Kol Chai reported over 100,000 people in attendance and said that Rav Yosef Shalom (“HaGrish”) Elyashiv, the venerable leader of hareidi-religious Jewry, left his home and waited in his car despite his advanced age for the funeral to pass his home so as to pay his respects to the deceased.
Leading hareidi religous rabbis orderded all businesses owned by hareidi religious in Jerusalem to shut down during the funeral. All hareidi religious schools, teacher’s seminaries and yeshivot were closed.
Rabbi Finkel headed the Mir Yeshiva since 1990, and he will be succeeded by his second son, Rabbi Yehudah Leib Finkel, one of his11 children.
He was born in Chicago and was a grandson of the “Alter of Slabodka,” who founded the Knesset Yisrael Yeshiva in Slabodka and led its Mussar (Stringent Ethics) Movement during the 19th century.
The rabbi once refused to take drugs to help him cope with Parkinson’s disease because of concern that it would affect his memory. “I’d rather be ill my whole life than to forget even one word of the holy Torah,” he commented.
He also was against yeshiva students attending demonstrations, and he prohibited his students from doing so.
During the 20-year period of his leadership and despite his illness, the yeshiva expanded greatly and became the largest yeshiva in Israel and the second largest world over. He also opened branches in Modiin Ilit and Ramat Shlomo.
Boruch dayan emes
The Rosh Yeshiva accepted me to yeshiva even though I couldn’t pay even one cent. He loved every talmid of the yeshiva and every Jew. I know bochurim who asked him if he would learn with them and he arranged that they could come to his home on certain nights to learn, or to form a chabura that he would participate in. Even though it was painful and difficult, The Rosh Yeshiva would say a shiur klali and it was awe inspiring.
🙁
WE NEED MOSHIACH NOW!
may klal yisroel only know of simchas with the ultimate simcha of Moshiach Now
His Mesiras nefesh for Torah and his bittuldike way are things that all of us Chassisidm can learn from. Despite his personal physical struggles for so long, his ahava to his talmidim and dedication to them is apparent from the clips that are on the web.
BDE!!!!!
my non lubavitch cousins all go to mir.
As a lubavitcher, we can appreciate the loss of this Tzadik Talmid Chochom!!!!!!!
A regular American modern-Orthodox kid, Chicago born, who arose to become among the most revered roshei yeshiva in eretz-Yisroel…. through nothing but personal ameilus batoyrah and great siyata dishmaya.
What an inspiration.
I saw a video of him giving a shiur after his body was already ravaged by Parkinsons. It’s something extraordinary to see such mesiras nefesh for learning and teaching Torah.
A truly devastating loss for klol-Yisroel.
he shall be greatly missed
I am deeply saddened by the passing of The Rosh Hayeshiva of the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Harav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, a giant of a man, whom I had the privilege of learning in his Yeshiva for close to nine years. He was the only Rosh HaYeshiva I ever met who vocally expressed his intense love for his talmidim. I will cherish the moments that I spent with him, and will never forget the hundreds of t.imes I heard him say to the students in the Yeshiva “Ich Chab Dir Leeb”, I love all of you! I wish I could… Read more »
My cousin served as a personal aide to Rabbi Finkel — the family told stories about him, and he was such a special man.
yehi zichro boruch!
He was only interested in expansion of Torah,not politics or belittling leaders of groups other than his and for that he is due great respect