Rabbi Israel Stern l, the Neshchizer Rebbe of blessed memory passed away Tuesday night. He was 50 years old. In recent years the Rebbe became seriously ill and last month his condition deteriorated and he became very weak.
The late Neshchizer Rebbe was the son of Rabbi Meir Stern, Rav of Moshav Meron, and the son in law of the late Shomrei Emunim Rebbe.
The Neshchizer Rebbe served his followers for many years in Ashdod. A source in his close circle told Kikar HaShabbat that even while he was severely ill, he was determined not to change his daily agenda despite his pain.
Rebbe Mordechai of Neshchiz, who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was renowned among the hasidim as an authority on the arrival of the messiah, and whenever a rumor had sprouted about the arrival of our redeemer, the Neshchizer Rebbe was consulted.
The funeral was held at 10 AM, at the Rebbe’s beit midrash in Ashdod, and at 2 PM it will proceed from the Shomrei Emunim beit midrash in Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives cemetery.