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29 Adar 5762 - March 13, 2002 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Rebbetzin Ettel Dina Berlin o"h
by Betzalel Kah

In Yerushalayim, the righteous Rebbetzin Ettel Dina Berlin o"h, eishes chover of HaRav Elchonon Berlin and daughter of Maran HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv, shlita went to her eternal resting-place. She was sixty-seven at the time of her petiroh. Thousands of bnei Torah accompanied her on her final earthly journey.

Rebbetzin Berlin was born in Yerushalayim in Menachem Av, 5694 (1934). She grew up in an atmosphere of kedushoh, histapkus and modesty, in a house wherein Torah study was the song of life day and night. In this atmosphere she imbibed her love of Torah and yiras Hashem: her illustrious parents serving as her spiritual guides. From her mother, the tzadekes Rebbetzin Eliashiv, and her father, Maran, shlita, she learned that one must sacrifice everything for the sake of Torah. From them, she also derived her middos tovos, her love of her fellow, and the amiable manner in which she greeted everyone.

Ettel Dina's grandfather, the tzaddik HaRav Aryeh Levine, was very fond of her.

In 5717 she married HaRav Elchonon Berlin and assumed the task of providing for their household so that her husband could study Torah undisturbed. She was very industrious, seeing to the needs of her household and working as a kindergarten teacher for over forty years. She regarded her work as an important spiritual shlichus and instilled her small charges with love of Torah, middos tovos, tsnius and the willingness to suffice with little.

Many parents sought to enroll their daughters in her class. In her humility, she didn't understand why they particularly wanted to their children to study under her. She treated every one of her pupils with a great deal of warmth, and this attitude had a profound impact on them. Once could always detect that a particular child had studied under Gannenet Dina, who devoted so much of herself to her charges.

Such devotion was part and parcel of her personality. She would fulfill every assignment or project she undertook with completely and with all her heart, even during her later years, when her illness grew worse and her strength had begun to wane.

She was very careful about shemiras haloshon and was known as one who did not divulge others' secrets.

After the petiroh of her mother, she stopped working as a teacher so that she could fulfill the mitzvah of kibbud ov on a daily basis. She did this with outstanding mesirus nefesh, even during the final period of her life.

Rebbetzin Berlin's sons and sons-in-law are all outstanding talmidei chachomim and rabbonim. Her sons are: HaRav Eliezer Dovid, HaRav Yaakov and HaRav Avrohom. Her sons-in- law are HaRav Dovid Miller, one of the roshei yeshiva of Ponevezh, HaRav Aryeh Rimer, HaRav Leib Lehr, and HaRav Aryeh Leib Kaufman, outstanding avreichim in Yerushalayim. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren are continuing along the paths of Torah and yir'oh.

She was buried on Har Hamenuchos near her mother o"h.

 

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