By COLlive reporter
Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein, a renowned lecturer who inspired Torah seekers around the world and founded a dynamic institute for women in New York, passed away on Monday, 1 Iyar 5782.
He was 64 and recently suffered from an illness.
He was born in Boro Park and was raised in Monsey, NY. He studied in the Yeshiva of Spring Valley, Bais Shraga in Monsey, in the Mir Yeshiva in Brooklyn.
He considered himself a student of Harav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Shaar Hashamayim in Jerusalem, and would consult with Rabbi Harav Feinstein OBM and Harav Dovid Cohen.
After getting married to his wife Estee in 1978, he moved to the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn and worked as a teacher in Yeshiva Torah V’Yirah in the Bronx and then the Mill Basin Yeshiva Academy on Avenue U.
“When I got married, I went into the plastic bag business half a day and I became a rebbe,” he told Ami Magazine. “My father really pushed me into being a rebbe. He saw I was very good with children, so I told him I’d do it for one year. That was 36 years ago…”
Hearing about his successes, a principal of a Jewish girls’ school asked him to lead a hashkafa class for girls. He initially resisted but eventually accepted.
“I do, baruch Hashem, have five daughters and a wife, and no sons. So I had learned a lot about women anyway,” he later commented.
That class led him to establish Ohr Naava, a center of learning and guidance for young Jewish women. It hosts events and classes and allows for private appointments on personal matters to be booked with a team of professional educators and caring individuals who serve as role models and mentors.
It operates today numerous programs addressing the gamut of Jewish women’s needs, including Ateres Naava Seminary, Tiferes Bnos Yisroel Seminary, Ateres Miriam Seminary, Bnot Chaya Academy, Hakaras Hatov Initiative, Ohr Naava Shidduch Initiative, The Yutta Zicherman Crisis Center for Intervention, and the groundbreaking, therapeutic Ranch at Bethel.
Rabbi Wallerstein soon became an internationally sought-after speaker, traveling the world and inspiring men and women from all walks of life. On a typical day, he spoke at schools, shuls, community centers and mental institutions, with the goal of “lighting up lives – one neshama at a time.”
His Torah classes online were viewed and listened to by thousands drawn to his Torah knowledge, trademark passion, and clarity of delivery.
Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist of Crown Heights, is one of the many who mourned his passing. Rabbi Schonbuch, a psychotherapist and author, lectured for several years at Ohr Naava and hosted Rabbi Wallerstein for a talk at his Torah Psychology Conference on Viktor Frankl and Man’s Search for Meaning.
“He was a tremendous talmid chacham, a fantastic orator, and a person who dedicated his life to improving the self-esteem of countless young people, helping them become closer to Hashem,” he told COLlive.com.
“Rabbi Wallerstein openly spoke about his own addiction,” Rabbi Schonbuch said. “He was hurt as a child and overcame his addiction by helping other people – more than we know. He said addiction is like driving down the same road that has a dead end. The only way out is to build a bigger road – and he did that.”
Rabbi Wallerstein is survived by his wife Estee, their 5 daughters and grandchildren, as well as his mother Charlotte Bunim.
The levaya was held on Monday in New York.
Boruch Dayan Ha’emes.
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VIDEO: Torah Perspectives on Addiction by Rabbi Zecharia Wallerstein
He mentioned the rebbe alot in his classes. He learned fromthe best!
It’s indescribable what he did for the frum community in the Flatbush area when there was nothing like it at the time. He worked with and showed love to teens whose families and schools wouldn’t even look at them.
Years ago, I went to weekly shiurim for women at the organization that he started. There was nothing like that in the Flatbush neighborhood before him!!
A foundational loss. I was involved in many music performances/concerts he sponsored or promoted. A selfless individual who cared deeply for others. He was independently successful and did not need the headache. Yet, he cared deeply. A tremendous loss. Will be sorely missed.
Rabbi Wallerstein ztl had such a positive affect on my daughter Bassie. We had the highest respect for him. He cared and treated each indivual with the highest respect . He was a positive role model , mentor. He will truly be missed by Klal Yisorel! Moshiach Now!
“May God comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”
I’ve heard of so many dynamic programs he created for girls and that he himself was a powerful speaker and guide who put his whole heart into it.
Rabbi Wallerstein, a”h, gave to this generations youth with endless love. He was foundational in helping my teen daughter years ago and steering her toward building the Torah ho.e she has now. He was a tzaddik mamash.
A tremendous Talmid Chochom and Oheiv Yisroel!!
Meaningful story and powerful video. building beautiful roads doesn’t stop upon passing. May his memory be for a blessing.
As a cousin of his, I can say that Zecharia was not a Kovod mentch. He could have commanded that kind of kovod that he deserved, but he just didnt. He was Esti’s husband, and that made us cousins. Every time he saw me, he made time to shmooze, and just talk. I knew I was talking to greatness, someone who really cared for every yid. But he treated everyone as if he was a regular guy,, not someone rich, not someone famous, not someone uber successful. And that was his greatness. Zecharia you will be missed by me, and… Read more »
What an amazing talk!
Rabbi Wallerstein lived l’chatchillah ariber. His first full day in shomoyim was the birthday of the tzemach tzedek.
Rebbe Maharash was born ב’ אי’יר.
I am a young 21 year old girl living in Monsey NY, for the past three years. Since I was about 12 years old I have been listening to all his speeches on Torah Any Time, first started by calling on the telephone and then I downloaded the app on my Ipod. Every day after a long hard day of school and work I would plug myself in to Torah Any Time and listen to Zecharia Wallerstien. I have never gotten an opportunity to meet him personally but I know from friends of mine who have gone to his Seminary… Read more »
I am a young 21 year old girl living in Monsey NY, for the past three years. Since I was about 12 years old I have been listening to all his speeches on Torah Any Time, first started by calling on the telephone and then I downloaded the app on my Ipod. Every day after a long hard day of school and work I would plug myself in to Torah Any Time and listen to Zecharia Wallerstien. I have never gotten an opportunity to meet him personally but I know from friends of mine who have gone to his Seminary… Read more »
A Huge Loss
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