Yeshivat Nesher Hagadol

 | Magazine Feature | Only Torah Consoles  By Yisroel Besser | October 29, 2024 EmailPrint The sudden passing of Rav Shlomo Halioua leaves a shocked and shattered people Photos: AEGedolimphotos.com As the greatness of Rav Shlomo Halioua grew, so did his humility. The son-in-law of Chaim Berlin Rosh Yeshivah Rav Aharon Shechter, he was one more talmid before the master, even as he could no longer conceal his radiance. Until Rav Aharon passed away, and this humble servant became Rosh Yeshivah. Yet just as his fire started to blaze, it was snuffed out, leaving behind a shocked and shattered tzibbur.  IFyou knew Rav Shlomo Halioua, you are already crying. If you did not know him, then you should cry now. Not only because you did not know him, but because the nation you belong to — Klal Yisrael — sustained a serious blow with his sudden passing: one of those asher amarnu betzilo nichyeh, of whom we said, “Under His protection we shall live.” (Eichah 4:20) He was a general who ...

  Rav Abba Zalka Gewirtz ztl Rabbi Yechiel Spero January 25, 2012 all credit goes to Rabbi Spero and the Yated Rav Abba Zalka Gewirtz zt”l has left this world and ascended to his rightful place in the Olam Ha'emes. Reb Abba Zalka, as he was affectionately called, was many things. He was a rov, a speaker, a builder, a visionary, a rebbi, a teacher and a friend to so many. He riveted his audiences with penetrating insights into the Seforno, and still possessed the healthy self-awareness to bring others to laughter. Perhaps, though, most memorably, is Reb Abba Zalka's commitment and subservience to his yedid nefesh, the Telzer rosh yeshiva, Rav Mordechai Gifter zt”l. Yes, it is unlikely we will encounter someone like Rabbi Gewirtz again. Reb Abba Zalka's story begins several centuries prior to his birth in a town in Galicia, Dembitz, where Rabbi Gewirtz's ancestor was appointed rov of the city. For seventeen (!) subsequent generations, the office of the rov of Dembitz ...