The niftar, HaRav HaChossid Rav Naftoli Rosenfeld zt”l, 98, was among the elders of the Toldos Aaron community in Meah Shearim. He was niftar on Wednesday morning, 8 Shevat 5772. R’ Naftoli was feeling weak during recent weeks and he was taken to the hospital on Shabbos, diagnosed with pneumonia.

The niftar was born in Hungary, growing up in the shadow of gedolei yisrael such as the Minchas Eliezer zt”l of Munkatch and the Bal Etzei Chaim zt”l of Seiget. He later became extremely close to his rebbe, the Bal Shomrei Emunim zt”l as well as the Bal Divrei Emunah zt”l.

He survived the atrocities of the Holocaust, but lost his wife and two children HY”D. He remarried after the war, the daughter of Rav Moshe Yonah Schlesinger z”l. He founded the Bayit L’Pleitot on Baharan Street and Kiryat Bnot on Sorotzkin Street. He also was the force behind the Beis Hachlamah in Telshe Stone.

He frequently traveled to the United States to raise funds to keep his mosdos operating, and he was an active member of the Eida Chareidis directorate for a number of decades.

He did not permit his responsibilities to remove him from daily Torah study, and he had a kavua seder of Gemara and other shiurim, and his schmoozen were well known in the Toldos Aaron Beis Medrash.

Even during his last years as his koach waned he continued making his way to minyan, with mesirus nefesh, as well as attending tishin.

The levaya began at 12:00pm from Bayit L’Pleitot on Baharan Street and at 1:00pm the procession continued past the Toldos Aaron Beis Medrash. Kvura was on Har HaZeisim.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)