One of the top rabbinical directors of the Yeshiva of Ponevezh, Rabbi Chaim Shlomo Leibowitz, zt”l, has been laid to rest.
Rabbi Leibowitz, 83, passed away at approximately 9 am Sabbath morning surrounded by family and his students. He was laid to rest Sunday afternoon at the Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem.
When word of his death was received at the yeshiva when the Sabbath ended, the paroches was removed from the gilded Holy Ark as a sign of mourning.
Rabbi Leibowitz was born to Rabbi Yaakov Moshe and Tzeina Leah Leibowitz in White Russia, and grew up to be renowned for his acumen from a very early age.
The family escaped to Vilna prior to the outbreak of World War II and made their way to Jerusalem.
Rabbi Leibowitz learned in Jerusalem’s Hevron Yeshiva and immediately after his marriage to Sima Rothstein, the daughter of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Rothstein — head of the Diskin Orphanage — he was named head of the yeshiva at Kaminetz in Jerusalem, where he remained until taking on the role as one of the rabbinic leaders of Ponovezh in Bnei Brak.
Rabbi Leibowitz was also the grandson of Rabbi Baruch Ber Leibowitz, zt’l, referred to as the “Birkas Shmuel,” a disciple of Rabbi Chaim of Brisk, founder of “Yeshivishe” learning style.
The venerated rabbi fell several months ago in his home. The accident caused medical complications which included bleeding in the brain. He recently was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.
With thousands accompanying the body from the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, the rabbi was brought to his final resting place at Har HaMenuchot in Jerusalem.
He is survived by Rebbetzin Sima, his wife. Two of the couple’s children have predeceased the rabbi, a daughter, prominent teacher Mrs. Kayla Rivka Schwartzman z’l, and a son, Rabbi Hezkiyah Yosef Leibowitz, z’l.
Baruch Dayan HaEmes. May his soul be bound up in the bond of life.