Rabbi Yeruchom HaLevi Levovitz – Mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva

Rabbi Yeruchom HaLevi ben Avraham Levovitz – Mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva (1873–1936), Baal Mussar (Jewish ethics) at the Mir Yeshiva in Poland. Yahrzeit - 18 Sivan Burial place - Mir, Belarus   He was born in Lyuban, Minsk Province, Belarus (near Slutsk) to Avraham and Chasya Levovitz. He received his education at the Yeshivas of Slabodka and Kelm. He was a student of Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel and Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv of Kelm. He served as the spiritual leader of the Mir Yeshiva in Poland until his passing in 1936. It is said that his students followed his every word, never doing anything he would not have wanted them to do. Most of the heads of the yeshivas of interwar Poland were students of Rabbi Yeruchom. They would sometimes come to visit him and ask his advice. After World War II, most of Orthodox Jewry in Europe was destroyed along with its many yeshivas. One of the few surviving yeshivas was Mir, which miraculously managed to relocate to Shanghai, China, and later to America. Many of the new leaders of American and Israeli yeshivas in the postwar period were students of Mir, and thus followers of Rabbi Levovitz. Students Some of his most well-known students include Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Malin, Rabbi Dovid Povarsky, Rabbi Abba Berman, Rabbi Zelik Epstein, and Rabbi Shimon Schwab. His many talks and lectures have been preserved for posterity in the following sefarim: "Daat Torah," "Daat Chochma U'Mussar," "Shvivei Daat," and "Siftei Daat on Pirkei Avot," which today can be found in many yeshiva libraries around the world. Most of his family fled the Nazis and reached America, where they were pioneers in rebuilding Orthodox Jewry in the United States. His son, Rabbi Simcha Zissel HaLevi Levovitz, was the founder of a yeshiva in Boro Park, Brooklyn, and was responsible for publishing his father's writings, as well as the writings of Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv. His son-in-law, Rabbi Yisroel Chaim Kaplan, former Rosh Yeshiva in Brisk, Lithuania, came to America and served as Rosh Yeshiva of Beth Medrash Elyon in Monsey, New York. Later, Reb Yeruchom Levovitz's grandson founded the renowned Yeshiva Beis HaTalmud. Reb Leib Malin served as Rosh Yeshiva until his passing, when leadership of the yeshiva passed to Rabbi Chaim Vysoker. After Rabbi Vysoker's passing, Reb Naftali Kaplan became Rosh Yeshiva together with Rabbis Sholom Menashe Gottlieb, Binyomin Zeilberger, and Yisroel Perkowski. Rabbi Yeruchom passed away on 18 Sivan, 1936, at the age of sixty-three. He is buried in the town of Mir, Belarus. His grave (recently restored by his family) is a site of pilgrimage for many Jewish groups visiting the devastated towns of prewar Europe. May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!   https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/521-Rabbi-Yeruchom-Levovitz