(Click HERE for photos) On Motzaei Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Kedoshim in Bnei Brak, thousands of Jews attended the funeral of Rav Yissochor Dov Rubin zt”l. The procession, led by the venerated gadol, Rav Aharon Leib Steinman shlit”a, saw great roshei yeshiva, maggidei shiur, yungeleit, and ba’alei batim, all coming together to mourn Klal Yisroel’s great loss. Although Rav Rubin was a young man, taken in the prime of his life, he had managed to touch – in the deepest and most meaningful way – thousands upon thousands of Jewish souls worldwide in his short lifetime.

The name Yissochor Dov Rubin meant so much to so many people. He was a highly esteemed Talmud chacham, a beloved maggid shiur, and a treasured friend. Thousands more, however, knew him not by his name, but by the name of his highly-acclaimed seforim, Tallelei Oros. Frum Jews the world over, from ba’alei batim to yeshiva bachurim to respected maggidei shiur, can attest to how much the Tallelei Oros has enhanced their Shabbosim, yomim tovim, and prayers.

Who was Rav Rubin? How did a man so young accomplish so much in so short a time? The gemara (Yoma 86a) brings the pasuk (Devarim 6:5) “Ve’ahavta es Hashem Elokecha,” and explains it thusly: “Sheyi’he shem Shomayim misahev al yodecha – that the name of Heaven should become beloved through you.”

The gemara elaborates on how this works. “One who learns Torah, Mishnah, and is meshamesh talmidei chachomim, and his dealings with others are b’nachas, with grace and respect, what do people say about him? ‘Fortunate is the father who taught this man Torah! Fortunate is the teacher who taught him Torah! This person who learned Torah, see how sweet are his ways, how proper are his actions!”

Rav Yissochor Dov Rubin was a living embodiment of this gemara, and, without doubt, this at least partially explains how one man touched so many people in so short a lifetime.

Yissochor Dov Rubin was born on 20 Kislev 5722/1962 to his parents, Rav Shaul and Rebbetzin Shifra Esther Rubin. Rav Shaul zt”l was a pillar of the Torah community in France, and later founded Kollel Tel Torah in Ramat Gan. His wife is a daughter of Rav Shmuel Nissim Braverman of Yerushalayim, and a noted mechaneches in her own right. Their home was one of Torah and chessed, and it was into this rich environment that Yissochor Dov – named for the Belzer Rebbe zt”l, from whose dynasty his grandmother descended – was born.

He attended Talmud Torah Tashbar as a child, and then the Yeshiva L’tze’irim Ruzhin in Bnei Brak. After that, he joined the Ponezezh Yeshiva, where he grew close and with all the roshei yeshiva there. He developed an especially close relationship with Maran Harav Schach zt”l, who guided and drew close the young budding talmud chacham.

Yissochor Dov used his years as a bachur well, immersed in Torah study with hasmada and yegia. He became known for his ahavas haTorah, his clarity, and seichel hayashor, his straightforward way of learning. His rebbeim had only words of praise for his sharp grasp and the clarity he sought in whatever sugya he learned.

In due time, he married his wife, Temima, the daughter of Rav Zev Schwartz zt”l from Haifa. Rav Zev was a respected member of the Haifa Torah community, who was just niftar this past year. Over the years, Rebbetzin Temima Rubin has established herself as an involved and caring mechaneches. She teaches in the famed Wolf’s Seminary in Bnei Brak.

The Rubins established a home steeped in Torah, and permeated with yiras Shomayim. Rav Yissochor Dov continued his studies in the Kollel Avreichim of Yeshivas Ponevezh, where his diligence in learning and his pleasant manner earned him respect and endearment. He was not afraid of a difficult sugya. He toiled hard and spent as many hours as it took until he had such a clear and palpable grasp of the sugya that he was able to explain it to others clearly, simply, and concisely.

This clarity in understanding, the ease with which he was able to elucidate difficult concepts, and the pleasant way with which he taught all that he knew, became a trademark for which he was known for the rest of his life.

Before long he was hired as a maggid shiur in Yeshiva Karlin Stolin L’tze’irim. It was in this position that his zest and ability for teaching and guiding youngsters became apparent. The love and passion with which he taught Torah was infectious, and the gentleness he used in guiding and prodding his young charges to learn better and perfect their behavior and middos worked wonders. Most importantly, he was a true role model and a living example of the beauty of serious Torah study coupled with middos tovos. One could not meet Rav Yissochor Dov and not develop a yearning to emulate him.

Eventually, Rav Rubin became the mashgiach in Yeshivas Beis Chilkiya. His talks became legendary, mixing a keen understanding of Torah with practical life-long lessons to be learned from the subject matter. His influence over his talmidim extended far beyond his schmoozen. He would guide, advise, teach and motivate. Throughout, his greatest power of persuasion was the example which he himself set.

Before long, Rav Rubin found himself being asked to deliver shiurim to many different kehillos. He began saying a steady shiur every Shabbos afternoon in Orach Chayim Hakodosh in the Beis Knesses Hagadol in Bnei Brak. In the very late afternoon on Shabbos, between Shalosh Seudos and ma’ariv, he gave a shiur in the weekly parsha in Beis Haknesses Itzkowitz. He gave shiurim for the Toada’ah organization, mainly in Bat Yam, and he spoke every Friday for Shiurei Itim LeTorah as well.

His shiurim were attended by talmidei chachomim and laymen alike, all of whom testified that his shiurim went far beyond imparting Torah knowledge. Rav Yissochor Dov imbued his listeners with the love of Torah and fervor in Yiddishkeit which he himself possessed. The way his face shone with pleasure and happiness when he expounded on the words of Torah, revealed much about himself which he, in his humility, never otherwise spoke about.

In 5748/1988, as more and more people were attracted to his shiurim and to his skill at elucidating the Torah in a way which could be appreciated at a simple level, and at a much deeper level at the same time, he began writing his divrei Torah on the parsha which was printed weekly in the Shabbos insert of the Hebrew Yated Neeman in Eretz Yisroel. At around the same time, he wrote divrei Torah which was translated into English and appeared weekly in the American Yated Neeman. This brought his shiurim on the parsha to a much broader audience, and it was then that his divrei Torah started becoming a staple at the Shabbos seudos of hundreds of Torah homes across the globe.

Within a short time, in response to an overwhelming demand, Rav Yissochor Dov began working on his first Sefer Tallelei Oros on the Parsha. These divrei Torah were extremely receptive, and easily entered the hearts, minds, and neshamos of all who learned through them. His works were lucid and concise, and ran the gamut from aggadah, mussar, halacha, and machshava. By the time the full ten volumes covering all the parshios were in print, the Sefer Tallelei Oros had gained worldwide renown, and had changed – for the better – the face and atmosphere of hundreds of Jewish Shabbosim every week.

Before long, Rav Yissochor Dov followed these popular works with volumes on Sukkos, Pesach, Purim, Tisha B’av, and the Yomim Noraim. The success of each and every volume was phenomenal, as his divrei Torah and the clear and pleasant manner with which he delivered them, found their mark on Jews from all walks of life and at all levels of education. As their popularity increased and spread, the seforim were translated into English and French.

After learning through the Tallelei Oros on Purim, Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlit”a said that he personally gained much from the sefer.

In the last few years, Rav Yissochor Dov invested much effort in publishing the Tallelei Oros on tefilla-prayer. He produced five volumes which, like the previous volumes, directly enhanced the tefillos and depth of feelings of so many Jews.

In addition the these seforim, Rav Yissochor Dov also published Sefer Oros HaGra, as well as the popular version of Sefer Nefesh Hachaim with his elucidations, footnotes, and references. He also printed two volumes of Sefas Emes al Hatefilla. These last two volumes he printed anonymously, so as to merit spreading Torah without receiving credit in his lifetime. Over the last few months he was working on the third volume of this work, but, sadly, did not live to bring it to fruition.

Just recently, he began feeling unwell, and was admitted to the hospital where his condition worsened. He davened fervently to live at least until Pesach, so as to be able to fulfill at least once more the great mitzvah of Vehigadetah levincha. Indeed, he was released from the hospital just in time to be home for Shabbos Hagadol. On the first day of Pesach he was rushed to the hospital once more, and his condition steadily deteriorated. Thousands of Jews prayed for his recovery, but it was not to be. On Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Kedoshim, Rav Yissochor Dov returned his pure soul to his Maker.

The funeral left his humble home in Bnei Brak, led by Rav Aharon Leib Steinman shlit”a, Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman shlit”a, rosh kollel Rashbi, Rav Berel Povarsky shlit”a, rosh yeshivas Ponevezh, Rav Shmuel Markowitz shlit”a, rosh yeshivas Ponevezh, Rav Menachem Tzvi Berlin shlit”a, rosh yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer, and Rav Mordechai Gross shlit”a, Ga’avad Chanichei Yeshivos Bnei Brak.

Rav Isser Zalaznik shlit”a, rosh yeshivas Tiferes Moshe, and brother-in-law to the niftar, delivered words of preidah. He spoke of the tremendous loss which Klal Yisroel as a whole had suffered. “In his short lifetime,” he wept, “Rav Yissochor Dov merited to disseminate tens of seforim which imbued thousands with a special sweetness for limud haTorah and tefilla. He imbued thousands with the unique sweet flavors of each yom tov and the yomim noraim. May these merits stand him in good stead and bring solace and comfort to his grieving family.”

The levaya continued to Yerushalayim, where Rav Yissochor Dov zt”l was interred beside his father in Har Hamenuchos. Rav Dovid Kook shlit”a of Teveria, and Rav Shlomo Zalman Grossman shlit”a, rav of Elad, spoke at the levaya in Yerushalayim. The niftar’s son Tzvi, his brother Avrohom Yeshaya, and his son-in-law Moshe Landau spoke as well.
 Rav Yissochor Dov is survived by his mother, his wife, and ten children. He merited to see only his eldest daughter married. Of the four brothers and five sisters still home, the youngest are 8-year-old twins.

May Hashem console his family along with the rest of the mourners of Tzion.

As per the directives of gedolei Torah, a special fund, Keren Horav Yissochor Dov, has been established to assist the grieving widow and nine children still at home. Tax-deductible contributions can be made on-line by clicking HERE