Dei'ah veDibur - Information & Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

1 Nissan 5769 - March 26, 2009 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

OBSERVATIONS

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

POPULAR EDITORIALS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS
HaRav Moshe Shlomo Halevi Fisch zt"l

By S. Bruchi

Thousands of Bnei Brak residents, including roshei yeshivos, rabbonim and dayonim as well as hundreds of students and former students from Yeshivas Daroma took part in the levaya on Friday, Erev Shabbos Veyakhel- Pikudei, for HaRav Moshe Shlomo Halevi Fisch zt"l, the founder and rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Daroma for bochurim from Latin America. He passed away Thursday night 24 Adar at the age of 71.

Moshe Shlomo Halevi Fisch was born in Buenos Aires in 5698 (1938) to Rav Dovid, who immigrated to Argentina from Galicia after World War I and who became part of a small group of Jews from Galicia and Warsaw who started a nucleus of observant Jews in what was then a spiritual wasteland.

While growing up, Moshe Shlomo saw his father switch jobs from week to week after constantly getting fired for "not coming in on Saturday." To make their home distinct from the local environs, his father allowed only Yiddish to be spoken.

During this period HaRav Zvi Zeidel Semiatitzky and HaRav Nisan Packar, who had studied at Yeshivas Mir under the Mashgiach HaRav Yeruchom, arrived in the city, gathering together a group of Jewish youths to form a yeshiva. Moshe Shlomo cleaved to HaRav Packar, who he considered his rov muvhok.

After marrying Ettel Freisler they moved to Eretz Yisroel, where he studied at Kollel Ponovezh.

He went on to serve as ram and mashgiach at Yeshivas Yehud under HaRav Tortzin, and later taught at Talmud Torah Tashbar in the home of the Chazon Ish zt"l.

Over 30 years ago, based on instructions from HaRav Shach, he sparked a major transformation among Jews in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Panama and Mexico by gathering a core group and bringing them to Eretz Yisroel to open a yeshiva. A few years later a donor paid for the yeshiva building that has been standing on Rechov Yehuda Halevi in Bnei Brak for the past 25 years. Hundreds of young men have studied there over the years, serving as a core to foster the development of Torah Judaism in Latin America.

HaRav Fisch would spend half of his time in Latin America, seeking out young men to study at the yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel.

Before his petiroh he spent a week at Sheba Medical Center after collapsing in his home the previous Shabbos.

Hespeidim were delivered by HaRav Sholom Stefansky, formerly a ram at the yeshiva, HaRav Nachum Guttentag, a former talmid of the niftar who now serves as a dayan in the beis din of HaRav Nissim Karelitz shlita, HaRav Chizkiyohu Mishkovsky, HaRav Aryeh Kovalsky, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Hadras Melech, Rav Daniel Califa and the niftar's sons, Rav Yitzchok Zeev, one of the founders of Beis Knesses Heichal Yitzchok in Kiryat Sefer and a prominent member of Kollel Breslav, and Rav Mordechai, a mashgiach at Yeshivas Ohr Elchonon Letzei'irim.

HaRav Moshe Shlomo Halevi Fisch zt"l is survived by his two sons and six daughters, who are married to avreichim bnei Torah and thousands of talmidim mourning the histalkus of their beloved teacher and rov.

 

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.