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1 Av 5762 - July 10, 2002 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Rav Elchonon Tzvi (Charles) Wengrove zt"l
by Yated Ne'eman Staff

Last Friday, erev Shabbos parshas Matos-Mas'ei, Rav Elchonon Tzvi (Charles) Wengrove zt"l was niftar. He was buried on Har Hamenuchos before Shabbos.

Born in America in 5688 (1928), Rav Wengrove was raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. He was a talmid of Torah Vodaas and specifically of HaRav Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz. He was considered an outstanding student there and received semichoh from his rebbe. He married in America. His wife Rose passed away twenty years ago.

His wife's grandfather was Rav Yechiel Pesach Karelenstein, zt"l, who was sent by HaRav Tzodok Hacohen, the admor of Lublin, to raise money for the yeshiva in Lublin. R' Tzodok asked him to be the yeshiva's permanent representative in America. When he expressed his concern about educating his children properly in the America of those days, R' Tzodok promised and blessed him that not one of his descendants would go out to tarbus ro'oh. That blessing was fulfilled, as all of R' Yechiel's descendants are following the derech haTorah.

In 5729 (1969) R' Wengrove moved to Eretz Yisroel, settling in the then-new neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol. He worked for the Feldheim publishing house for many years as a translator from Hebrew to English, and over the years became well-known as an expert in the field. He translated dozens of seforim including Chofetz Chaim al Hatorah, Ish Tzaddik Hoyoh, and Sefer Hachinuch which he studied in great depth, and many, many more.

He was an expert baal korei and used to read the Torah in several places every Shabbos without pay. For many years he read in the Meah Shearim shtiblach and for several years he read every week at the Kosel, walking there from his home in Ramat Eshkol. When he stayed with his son-in-law in Ashdod, he often read the Torah for the Admor of Pittsburgh, zt"l and shlita.

In his last months when he was confined to a wheelchair, his pleasure and simchah at being able to read from the Torah even in his difficult circumstances were evident.

He was a quiet man of outstanding tsnius. When he was hospitalized his family had to ask the doctors to examine him carefully since they knew that he would not complain even when he had plenty of reason to do so.

He had been hospitalized for an extensive illness, and just when it seemed like he was about to be released, he was niftar late Thursday night, 25 Tammuz.

Participating in his levaya were HaRav Yaakov Blau, rov of Sanhedria in Yerushalayim, and HaRav Yedidya Menat.

He was buried on erev Shabbos on Har Hamenuchos. He is survived by a brother in America, by his sons R' Shmuel Ozer and R' Nochum, and by sons-in-law R' Yehoshua Reiss of Yerushalayim and R' Ezra Shor of Ashdod, and by his grandchildren, all of whom are following in his footsteps.

 

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