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13 Teves 5760 - December 22, 1999 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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News
Rav Zeev Adleman, zt"l

by S. Baruchi

A deep pall of mourning descended on the Torah world at the passing of the gaon, HaRav Zev Adleman, one of the greatest tzaddikim of our times who was nifter Wednesday the 6th of Kislev at the age of 86.

A huge throng, headed by the gedolei hador, roshei yeshiva, dayanim, and bnei torah from all strata of the chareidi community. participated in his levayo which left from the Maayanei Hayeshuva hospital in Bnei Brak, passed by his home and Kollel Chazon Ish to the Shomrei Shabbos Zichron Meir cemetery.

News of the petirah spread rapidly, and his family and students managed to arrange the levaya very quickly, as he had requested in his tzavo'o.

As his final behest, no hespedim were delivered. Emotionial words of hisorreus were delivered by his friend, HaRav Boruch Rosenberg, the rosh yeshiva of Slabodka, who spoke about Harav Adleman's unique personality and his avoda in Torah and tefillo, and called the community to repent in light of the great void formed with the passing of one of the gedolei hador.

HaRav Zeev Adleman was born in Brisk in Sivan 5674. His father, the righteous Reb Avrohom, was very close to the Brisker dynasty, a bond he continued to maintain in Eretz Yisroel.

It was in that illustrious home that Reb Zeev's personality was formed and the remarkable foundations of his spiritual fiber were cast. Outstanding character traits, remarkable hasmodo and nobility of spirit characterized the man who studied together with HaRav Moshe Soloveitchik, and with HaRav Aharon Leib Steinman in the Imrei Moshe yeshiva in Brisk.

When he was fifteen, he was forced to flee Brisk lest he be drafted into the army. He reached Kaminetz, where he began to study under Harav Boruch Ber Lebowitz, soon becoming one of his closest and beloved students.

After leaving Brisk, Harav Adleman never again saw his parents nor his sister and brother-in-law and their five children, who perished al kiddush Hashem in Brisk.

In his tzavo'o he asked that their memories be perpetuated on his tombstone.

In 5697, he arrived in Eretz Yisreol, and joined the Lomze yeshiva in Petach Tikvah, rapidly becoming one of its most outstanding students. His entire life centered around the Torah hakedosha and omal b'Torah.

In 5705, he married Channa Ita Levi oh, daughter of Reb Moshe Eliyahu Levi, of Yerushalayim, one of the founders of the Hachnosas Orchim institution.

Directly after their marriage, she began to teach, and he continued to learn in the Kollel Toras Eretz Yisroel, where such illustrious gedolim as HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach also studied.

With the aliya of the Teheran Children, he became deeply involved in the saving of Jewish children, and opened the door of his home to many orphaned and solitary people. Many still consider themselves his children.

Together with his wife, they made many shidduchim, and helped establish many Jewish homes, especially after the Holocaust.

In 5721, HaRav Adleman and his wife moved to Bnei Brak, where she became one of the most important teachers in the Rabbi Wolf seminary. She had come there at the request of Rabbi Wolf, who had asked her to help found the seminary. In her capacity as a mechaneches, she had a great impact on many students.

Due to his wife's position, HaRav Zeev was unable to accept the position of menahel ruchani of the Zichron Yaakov yeshiva.

The roshei yeshiva, at the advice of the Chazon Ish, tried to persuade him to accept that position, but he refused. One time, the Chazon Ish, who held him in great esteem, asked him why he had refused that position. He replied that he wanted to continue learning, and that his wife found it difficult to leave her teaching position in Bnei Brak.

The Chazon Ish replied that in that case, he would no longer interfere in the matter.

He studied for many years with his brothers- in-law, HaRav Yeshaya Wasserman zt"l and HaRav Mordechai Springer, zt"l, and together they excelled in their learning, amazing piety and asceticism, known only to a few.

For a certain period, he was the menahel ruchani in the Ohel Yaakov yeshiva in Bnei Brak, where he delivered mussar discourses.

During the past fifty hears, he was very ascetic, and separated himself from this world.

Every year, he would maintain a taanis dibbur from rosh chodesh Elul until after Yom Kipper. In addition to that, he would maintain a taanis dibbur every Thursday, Friday and Shabbos, until completing the study of the parsha, and would fast every Thursday.

His family testified that throughout the entire week, except on Shabbos he didn't go to bed, but would study with hasmoda, until falling asleep over his gemora. When he would awake after a brief nap, he would continue studying until 3 A.M. Then he would daven and study until the afternoon, returning home briefly for a light meal, after which he would resume his studies.

He wore tefillin nearly the entire day, His tefillos were well known, enunciating every single word, as if he were counting precious jewels.

His life was one long saga of deep immersion in Torah, exertion and toil in avodas Hashem, with deep humility, which was his most salient characteristic.

The avreichim who attended the mussar shiurim in his home, noted his special fatherly warmth and traits, and the pleasant manner in which he managed to penetrate their hearts and guide them.

He himself, they said, embodied the traits he demanded of them, especially humility, alacrity, gratitude, and pure and clean speech. He was a paradigm of shmiras halasohon, and never spoke ill of anyone.

After the petirah of his wife, in 5745, his health began to deteriorate, becoming even worse in recent years.

A while ago, he was hospitalized in Maayanei Hayeshua. Even during that period, he made valiant efforts to daven in a minyan.

Despite his suffering, he didn't forego even one of his lifelong practices and hanhogos.

When he missed the minyan in the hospital, he would ask to be taken to Itzkowitz shul to daven, even though every movement caused him much pain.

During the past few months, his health deteriorated.

He did not leave children. As a result, the tzibbur is asked to study for the benefit of the soul of the gaon and tzaddik, Reb Zeev ben hakodosh Reb Avrohom zt"l.


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