Motzei Shabbos kodesh (26 Sivan) after
chatzos, a throng of tens of thousands of pained and
bereft mourners accompanied HaRav Boruch Shimon Shneerson
zt"l, the rosh yeshiva of Kochav MiYaakov--Tchebin in
Yerushalayim on his last earthly journey. Among the
procession, led by Maran HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv,
shlita, were masses of bnei Torah and
thousands of the niftar's students, as well as roshei
yeshiva, admorim, rabbonim and members of the Moetzes
Gedolei HaTorah.
The great gaon, HaRav Boruch Shimon Shneerson zt"l
who served for many years as the rosh yeshiva of the Tchebin
yeshiva and as a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah,
alongside yibodel lechayim tovim ve'arukim Maran the
Rosh Hayeshiva HaGaon HaRav Eliezer Menachem Shach
shlita, was born in Poland in 5673 (1913). His
parents were HaRav Yosef Moshe Shneerson, and Rebbetzin
Nechomoh.
As a child he studied with older students under the tutelage
of the well-known melamed of Cracow, Reb Moshe
Chossid. A short while before his bar mitzvah, he received a
brochoh from the elderly Admor HaRav Yissochor Dov of
Belz who, despite his weakness, received the young Boruch
Shimon with love, instructing his gabboim to call
Boruch Shimon up for maftir in the beis
medrash.
After his bar mitzvah he went to Radomishla, where he
studied under HaRav Chaim of Radomishla who was very fond of
him. HaRav Shneerson would often quote HaRav Chaim of
Radomishla's chidushei haTorah. During his youth
HaRav Boruch Shimon became known in Cracow as an
illui who had amassed a vast amount of Torah
knowledge and had received smicha.
Later on, his father brought him to Lublin where he studied
under HaRav Meir Shapira and was one of the yeshiva's
outstanding students. Even though he had resolved to study
far from the limelight, he was considered one of the finest
students of the yeshiva. His outstanding qualities were so
well known that his mentor assigned him the task of testing
students who sought admission to the yeshiva. He was also
very close to the menahel ruchani of the yeshiva,
HaRav Shimon Zelchover, as well as to HaRav Moshe of Boyan
of the yeshiva's Vaad Haruchani and to HaRav Aryeh Tzvi
Proman of Koziglov.
As a result of the blessing of HaRav Shimon Zelchover a
miracle occurred and he wasn't drafted into the Polish army,
even though he had received a draft notice.
When World War Two broke out HaRav Boruch Shimon fled to
Russia, where he was miraculously saved. During his flight,
when he saw that roads leading to his destination were
perilous, he stopped off in a small village on the roadside
and moved into a house that was on the verge of collapse,
where he stayed and studied day and night for five months.
Years afterward, he related that he covered a vast amount of
material in that period.
When he reached Russia, the authorities continued to
persecute him and they first imprisoned him for a full year,
and then afterwards sent him to Siberia for another year.
Later he related that three of the halochos which he
had studied very thoroughly in his youth helped him in the
Russian exile: the halochos of kiddush
hachodesh which enabled him to construct a calendar from
memory, the halochos of conducting a Seder
without matzos, and the halochos of
vessels for netilas yodayim.
During his five years in Russia he suffered greatly and
underwent very difficult and bitter nisyonos. When
Jews there received small packages of food, some exchanged
treif meat for permissible food, and at that time he
wrote a halachic response on the issue.
Once he was hospitalized due to a liver ailment. At that
time, Jews tried to keep their Jewish identity hidden. One
of the patients saw that he was davening under his
sheet. The two made contact and began to study masechta
Brochos together by heart. The only Jewish sefer
he had in his possession while he was in Russia was that of
the Or HaChaim Hakodosh, on which he made annotations and
added references which he later published.
After his release from Siberia he reached Bucharia where he
met his future father-in-law, the ga'avad of Tchebin.
The latter, who had been a member of the Lublin yeshiva's
Vaad Haruchani, knew him. In Bucharia, in conditions of
hunger, poverty and want, the tenoyim of HaRav Boruch
Shimon and the daughter of the ga'avad of Tchebin
were held.
He reached Eretz Yisroel on a Maapilim (illegal
immigration) ship after being freed by the Russians, along
with many Jews of Polish citizenship. The British lay in
wait for such ships and then sent them to Cypress, where the
immigrants were placed in detention camps. HaRav Boruch
Shimon, in a remarkable manner, succeeded in evading the
British even before the ship was sent to Cypress. The
British searched for him for a long time but didn't find
him.
He wanted to study Torah in peace and privacy in Eretz
Yisroel, but the gedolei Yisroel, headed by the Admor
HaRav Aharon of Belz, who had also come to Eretz Yisroel
after having been miraculously saved from the Holocaust,
asked him to become involved in Torah dissemination and the
rescue of the younger generation which had slowly begun to
arrive in Eretz Yisroel.
For a number of years he served as the rosh yeshiva in Lod,
refusing to head the Tchebin yeshiva in Jerusalem. He said
that he didn't want to bear the burden of the yeshiva but
rather to devote himself to his Torah studies, and that he
felt comfortable in Lod all week even though staying there
entailed being away from his home in Jerusalem. However in
5717 (1957), at the request of his father-in-law, he agreed
to serve as the rosh yeshiva of Tchebin in Jerusalem, where
outstanding students studied.
He published his sefer, Bircas Shimon on Bovo
Kamo, at the request of his father-in-law. Afterwards,
he published seforim on Bovo Metzia, Bava Basra,
Shabbos and Kiddushin. He also republished the
sefer Harokeach, which contains many remarkable
chidushim and comments. He also published his
Bircas Shimon series on Torah and the festivals, as
well as some of the works of the gedolei hadoros with
his comments. He also published a new edition of the
Boruch Taam (whose yahrtzeit is 7th Tammuz)
the Chacham Tzvi and many other seforim.
He was a great gaon in all areas of the Torah. Due to his
remarkable memory and great diligence, he mastered Yoreh
De'ah with the Shach by heart as a youth. His
shiurim were very astute, reflecting his phenomenal
bekius and straightforward thinking. He would quote
from all parts of the Torah from memory, and his
seforim display his tremendous command of the entire
Torah. Even though his students noticed that he had
kabboloh works at home, he was very circumspect and
did not speak about that aspect of his knowledge. His
students relate that it was only when he was in the
hospital, during the final period of his life, that he asked
that kabboloh works be brought to him.
After the petirah of his illustrious father-in-law,
the ga'avad of Tchebin, the Admor of Gur, the Beis
Yisroel, asked him to join the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, in
which HaRav Boruch Shimon served for many years, together
with Maran the Rosh Hayeshiva, HaGaon HaRav Eliezer Menachem
Shach, yibodel lechayim arukim. HaRav Shneerson was
very beloved by all of the gedolei Yisroel of the
generation and he led many of the battles of the chareidim
in Eretz Yisroel. For a number of decades he also served as
a member of the executive board of Vaad Hayeshivos.
He fled honor and was the epitome of humility. Quietly and
modestly, he would daven to Hashem and often spoke
about serving Hashem with temimus and not by means of
mofsim. From the moment he assumed the burden of
heading the Kochav MiYaakov yeshiva, he dedicated himself to
that task with mesiras nefesh behaving toward his
students as a compassionate father. He also shared the pain
of his fellow and of the community at large and felt close
to every Jew. He was very involved in tzedokoh in an
unobtrusive and modest manner.
Throughout the scores of years in which he headed the
yeshiva gedola he produced thousands of students,
many of whom who have become gedolei Yisroel,
rabbonim, roshei yeshiva and dayanim. His students
were very fond of him and were very grateful to him for the
good years they spent in the yeshiva under his warm and
genial guidance.
Two years ago, he suffered a stroke and was hospitalized in
very critical condition. After a while he recovered and
returned to direct the yeshiva with full strength and to
deliver shiurim. A number of months ago he fell ill,
and required protracted treatments. In the yeshivos in Eretz
Hakodesh prayers were said for his recovery.
After Pesach his health improved and he was released from
the hospital. Around Pesach, he moved into the yeshiva's
building so that he could daven in the yeshiva with
his students and deliver shiurim to them. Two weeks
ago his health deteriorated, and once more his many students
prayed for his recovery. However, on Shabbos parshas
Shelach his health took a sharp downward turn, to the
great regret of his family and students many of whom
remained by his bedside throughout the day. He was
niftar on Shabbos afternoon.
News of the petirah of HaRav Boruch Shimon Shneerson
spread throughout Jerusalem on Shabbos, and on motzei
Shabbos it spread to Torah centers throughout Eretz
Yisroel and the entire the world. After Shabbos, his
aron was brought into the yeshiva's beis
medrash on Channah Street.
After chatzos, his levaya proceeded from
Shamgar to the yeshiva. He was accompanied by roshei
yeshiva, rabbonim admorim and members of the Moetzes Gedolei
HaTorah, headed by Maran HaGaon HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv
shlita.
At 12:30, his bier was brought to the Tchebin yeshiva, where
he had delivered shiurim to thousands of students
over scores of years. In compliance with his will, no
hespedim were said. At night he was brought to rest
in the Chelkas HaRabbonim on Har Hamenuchos, near the grave
of his father-in-law and that of the Admor HaRav Aharon of
Belz.
Together with his righteous wife, who helped him with great
dedication throughout their entire married life, he raised
an illustrious Torah family. He is survived by his sons, the
rabbonim HaRav Yosef Moshe Shneerson and HaRav Nochum
Shneerson, who are continuing to spread Torah and guide the
yeshiva of Tchebin. His grandchildren and great-
grandchildren are all following in his path, that of Torah
and yirah.
