On Hoshanna Rabbah, roshei yeshiva, rabbonim,
dayanim and a large crowd accompanied the esteemed
Rebbetzin Raizel Rapoport o"h on her last earthly
journey from the Be'er Avrohom Beis Medrash in Givat Shaul.
She was the widow of the gaon, HaRav Avrohom Rapoport
zt"l who was a member of the London Beis Din. She was
over ninety years old at the time of her petirah.
Rebbetzin Rapoport was born in the city of Kovel, in the
Volhynia district of the Ukraine. Her father, Reb Yaakov
Mordechai Ehrlich Hy"d, was a prominent Karlin-Stolin
chossid who was very close to the admorim of the Karlin-
Stolin Chassidim. Her father eventually moved to London where
he served as a shochet, and there he became known for
his love of Torah and talmidei chachomim. He became
close to HaRav Yechezkel Abramsky and HaRav Eliyahu Dessler,
and conducted his household in accordance with their
guidance.
This closeness had a profound effect on the manner in which
he raised his only daughter, who had been orphaned from her
mother at a young age. Growing up in her father's home, she
was imbued with a love of Torah and a willingness to devote
herself to Torah and mitzvos. At a time when there were still
no Bais Yaakov schools, it was a rarity that a young girl
aspired to marry a ben Torah.
HaRav Avrohom Rapoport came to London along with his rebbe,
the rosh yeshiva of Novardok HaRav Dovid Bleicher
Hy"d, for a visit and, through a stroke of
Hashgocho Elyona, he stayed on in London. HaRav
Bleicher said of him: "He will one day sanctify sheim
Shomayim in London."
Soon HaRav Avrohom Rapoport became one of the most
outstanding young men in the circle of those close to HaRav
Abramsky, and Dayan Abramsky, who know both the Ehrlich and
Rapoport families well, made the match between R' Avrohom and
Raizel Ehrlich. In 5695 (1935), they established their home
which rapidly became a beacon of Torah light in London.
Roshei yeshiva and gedolei haTorah, among them
the Rov of Ponevezh, as well as HaRav Zalman Sorotzkin and
HaRav Avrohom Yoffen, stayed at their home when they were in
London. Rebbetzin Rapoport was devoted to their needs when
they stayed with them.
During the Blitzkrieg on London during Word War II, the
family moved to the suburban community Bedford for safety and
their home there became a shelter for scores of refugees from
London, as well as for many American Jewish soldiers who were
stationed in the region and who came there for Shabbos and
Yom Tov meals, Pesach sedorim and Purim dinners.
Throughout the years, Rebbetzin Rapoport supported her
husband in all of his endeavors to strengthen Yiddishkeit
in London, and was one of the main activists in the
women's organization on behalf of taharas hamishpocho.
She treated the friends of her daughter, o"h, as if
they were also family members, opening her home to them and
attending to their needs and even helping them establish
Jewish homes.
After the sudden petirah of her husband 27 years ago,
she moved to Eretz Yisroel. It is said in the name of the
Vilna Gaon that long years of widowhood are a zchus
that can be cited in the beis din shel maalo.
She was the crown of the family, and with her nobility of
spirit and wisdom she had a profound influence on all her
surroundings. She merited to see her sons, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren, all pursuing the path of Torah.
Two years ago, she displayed remarkable spiritual courage,
accepting Heaven's decree with staunch faith when her
daughter, Rebbetzin Seril Karlinsky o"h, was suddenly
niftar.
During recent months, she underwent physical suffering, but
suffered even more from having to rely on assistance from
others. On her final day, she tearfully davened: "Neshomo
shenosato bi tehora hi," and on the night of Hoshanna
Rabbah she returned her pure soul to its Maker.
The levaya left on Hoshanna Rabba from the Beer
Avrohom Beis Medrash in Givat Shaul, named after her husband
zt"l. Because it was Succos, no hespedim were
delivered. Her son-in-law, HaRav Y. Karlinsky the head of the
beis medrash, delivered short words of parting,
quoting the verses from Eishes Chayil and asking that
she be a good interceder in Heaven on behalf of the Jews of
Eretz Yisroel who are currently betzoro.
She was buried in the Chelkas Harabbonim on Har Hamenuchos,
near her daughter. She is survived by blessed generations of
sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, including her
son Rabbi Betzalel Rapoport of the English edition of
Yated Ne'eman, all of whom are deeply involved in
Torah study and Torah dissemination.
