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23 Iyar 5761 - May 16, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Rebbetzin Shoshana Bamberger O"h
by S. Bruchi

A large throng of Bnei Brak residents, headed by gedolei haTorah, roshei yeshiva and dayanim and followed by thousands of graduates of the Ponevezh yeshiva, accompanied the righteous Rebbetzin Shoshana Bamberger o"h, eishes chover of HaRav Ben Tzion Halevi Bamberger, zt"l, former menahel ruchani of Ponevezh, on her last earthly journey. She was niftar in her 76th year.

Rebbetzin Bamberger, daughter of HaRav Yaakov Meir the rav of Rishinburg and one of the chief opponents of the maskilim, was born in Germany. When Europe's skies darkened, the family made its way to Eretz Hakodesh via Amsterdam. Her father was niftar on the way. At first her mother, together with her four children, settled in Petach Tikvah. Later on they moved to Bnei Brak.

During those difficult times when the family suffered from a lack of the barest essentials, young Shoshana took a factory job in order to enable her illustrious brother, yibodel lechayim tovim ve'arukim, HaRav Yissochor Meir, to study Torah undisturbed.

When she came of age she married HaRav Ben Tzion Bamberger, assuming the entire household financial burden in order to enable her husband to study Torah. He served as a ram in the Or Yisroel yeshiva ketana for ten years, and was later asked by the Rav of Ponovezh and by the Mashgiach, HaRav Yechezkel Levenstein, to preside as menahel ruchani of the yeshiva. HaRav Bamberger remained in this position until his petirah, arousing his students to advance in avodas Hashem through his discourses and writings.

Rebbetzin Bamberger was a paradigm of yiras Shomayim, modesty, simplicity and inner avodas Hashem. She dedicated her entire life to chesed with the living and with the deceased in a remarkable manner. So great was her chesed that her husband called her, "a genius in helping others and a genius in not being helped by others."

Many stories about her acts of kindness and activities on behalf of the poor and unfortunate are known to the chesed organizations of Bnei Brak. However, in keeping with her last will and testament and requests by the family, only a bare sketch of these activities is being presented here. During her final years she fell ill, and on 13 Iyar she returned her pure soul, which had been refined by much suffering, to its Maker.

The levaya proceeding from her home was attended by thousands. Due to her explicit request that no hespedim be delivered nor words of praise written in her memory, no hespedim were delivered. However her brother, who parted from her, noted that when he was young, he merited to study Torah because she went out to work for his sake. He also pointed to the tzedoko and chesed she did in an unobtrusive manner.

Close to chatzos she was buried in the Netzivei Ponevezh cemetery in Bnei Brak.

She is survived by her sons HaRav Yaakov and HaRav Yosef; her daughters who are married to HaRav Azriel Frishman and HaRav Shaman Ozer Yaffeh respectively; as well as by her brother Yissochor Meir and sisters Rebbetzin Cholack and Rebbetzin Pffefer; grandchildren and great- grandchildren, all of whom are continuing to uphold the great spiritual legacy she bequeathed to them.

 

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