By COLlive reporter
Rabbi Yitzchok Feigelstock, the longtime Rosh Yeshiva of the Litvish Yeshiva in Long Beach, New York and a member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudath Yisroel of America, passed away on Wednesday, 12 Menachem Av 5781.
He was 95.
He was born to R’ Avrohom and Gittel Feigelstock and grew up in the Viennese Orthodox Jewish community of Austria. His father was a learned businessman who taught Torah every morning and evening, and who lectured for several hours every Shabbos, Chabad.org reported.
When he had the means, R’ Avrohom’s children were privately tutored in Gemara in the morning and learned secular subjects from an observant Jewish teacher in the afternoon, going twice a year to be tested in a public school.
When his business suffered amid growing antisemitism in the early 1930s, other students joined the Feigelstock children to help defray the costs.
When the Frierdiker Rebbe—Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, of righteous memory—visited Vienna for health reasons in the mid-1930s, Avrohom Feigelstock arranged for a group of students, including his sons, to visit the Rebbe where he was staying at the Hotel Continental on Praterstrasse.
The boys stood in a semi-circle around the Rebbe’s table, then passed by his seat one by one and kissed his hand. “He … spoke to us lovingly, with such care and devotion,” recalled his younger brother Rabbi Hershel Feigelstock OBM, who went on to become a Shliach of the Rebbe for more than 75 years and Principal of Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch in Montreal, Canada.
Rabbi Yitzchok Feigelstock became one of the closest students of Rabbi Aharon Kotler OBM, a prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Lithuania and founder and Rosh Yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG) in Lakewood, New Jersey.
Despite the historical disagreements between Lubavitch and Lakewood, Rabbi Feigelstock has kept out of the foray. In fact, he allowed his brother’s nephew, Rabbi Yossi Biston, today a Chabad Shliach in Florida, to present a regular shiur in the Alter Rebbe‘s Tanya to bochurim at the Yeshiva of Long Beach.
“He very highly respected the Rebbe – even when his talmidim would ask him about it and he didn’t take part in the machlokes,” said his nephew, Rabbi Yosef Feigelstock, Rov of the Chabad community in Argentina and a renowned halachic posek.
Rabbi Feigelstock OBM was fortunate to see the Rebbe on at least one occasion and in 1948 merited to stand behind the Rebbe at the wedding of his brother Rabbi Hershel whom he greatly admired. Besides for their yiras shamayim and great knowledge in Torah, the brothers shared a passion for chinuch al taharas hakodesh.
He is survived by his children, nephews and nieces, Rabbi Yosef Feigelstock – Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mrs. Shternie Greisman – Crown Heights, Mrs. Rivky Teitelbaum – Miami, Rabbi Avrohom Feigelstock – Vancouver, Mrs. Chaya Medalie – Johannesburg, R’ Shneur Zalman Feigelstock – Montreal, R’ Sholom Ber Feigelstock – Los Angeles, Mrs. Devorah Leah Davidson – Pittsburgh, R’ Alter Yehoshua Feigelstock – Los Angeles; great-nephews and great-nieces.
The funeral was held on Wednesday at the Mesivta of Long Beach in New York and on Thursday at the Bais Yitzchok Bais Medrash of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood. He was buried in Lakewood.
Baruch dayan haemes.
Baruch Drink Haemes