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Boruch Dayan Hoemes: Harav Yisroel Belsky, OBM

From Yeshiva World News:

With sadness we inform you of the passing of Hagon HaRav Yisroel Belsky, OBM, one of the Roshei Yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Flatbush, and a leading Posek in the United States. Rav Belsky is renowned as one of the most brilliant Torah minds of our generation, with a grasp of virtually the entire Torah and instant recall and knowledge all across the spectrum. He was 77-years-old.

Rabbi Belsky was diagnosed with a illness just a few months ago, and his condition began to deteriorate.

Jews around the globe as well as in his beloved Yeshiva had been Davening for his Refuah for the past few week as his condition deteriorated.

He was Niftar around 7:30PM on Thursday night.

Rabbi Belsky was born on August 22nd, 1938, to Rabbi Berel and Chana Tzirel Belsky. His maternal grandfather is HaRav Binyomin Wilhelm, a founder of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.

Rabbi Belsky received his semicha from Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in 1962, and from Hagaon HaRav Moshe Feinstein in 1965. He also studied in Beth Medrash Elyon for a number of years.

His first kashrus position was with the Kof-K. He then served as the Senior Halachic Consultant for the Orthodox Union [OU] since 1987.

He was also the Rov of Camp Agudah since 1967.

One of his daughters is married to Philanthropist R’ Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz.

In February 2012, rabbi Belsky was rushed to the hospital by Hatzolah, after first suffering from a ruptured esophagus, and a collapsed lung. He also went into cardiac arrest while in the hospital, and underwent numerous procedures. At the time, the name Chaim was added. He remained in the hospital for nearly three months and miraculously recovered, and was released home at the end of May 2012.

Watch the moving words Rabbi Belsky gave after returning home in 2012:

Boruch Dayan Hoemes

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37 Comments

    • K

      Chutzpah! Disgusting of comments 1 & 2.

      Get real! The indisputable fact is that very very few gedolim had anything nice to say about Lubavitch. Adarabah.

      In any event, how uncouth can you get?! (Uncouth, ya, look up the word, it’s like the yiddish/russian pu’yer).

    • K

      Not now, not ever. There NEVER comes the time when we may put down gedolei Yisroel, even when WE disagree with what they said. If we don’t like something they say or if we disagree with them, the fault lies with us.

    • Milhouse

      What makes someone “gedolei yisroel”, and immune from criticism? What people have written is mostly valid, but there is a time and place for everything, and this is not it.

    • K

      “What makes someone “gedolei yisroel”, and immune from criticism?” when they are a cheftza of Torah, then criticizing them is an attack on Torah.

      When the lomed Torah unifies with the Torah to become one.

      That is pshat in Yisroel, Oraysa ,Kudsha Brich hu kula chad – they all combine into one unit. Then those who rise against Gedolei Yisroel are rebelling against HKB”H.

    • Milhouse

      That is not the pshat. “Yisroel” means kol Yisroel, the whole nation, ad sho’ev meimecho. Am Yisroel is one with Hashem and with the Torah, because each yiddishe neshomo is a chelek E-h mima’al mamosh, and ano nafshi kesovis yehovis.

  • get a life

    Earlier commentars get a life. He a great posek, talmid chacham , and baal chessed. To bring up a stupid article from from years ago that took what he said out of context is ridiculous . I personally heard from a friend who asked Rav Belsky about his views on Lubavitch after the article was printed, and it was much more positive than the article potrayed it to be.

    And just for the record, why do we base any respsect we give to someone on if he ever mentioned Lubavitch in his speeches. Why is it that when we hear of a the passing of a Rav, Torah supporter, etc… the first question we ask before even talking about him is “Wait, did he ever say anything about Lubavitch? Negative? Positive?…”.

    Give a man respect for being a Talmid Chacham and Baal Cheesed among other things.

    Quit the immature ” Oh, but he said this and this about us.

    GROW UP.

  • croiwbheights info

    guys you are very IMMATURE..Yes i mean the fellows running crownheights info.You allowed two derogatory comments on a choshuve yid who just died.Is that RIGHT?
    Grow up

  • Excuse me!

    Someone that says anything against the Rebbe. And that means anything is mored bmalchus! And going against hashem.. So it doesn’t really matter before he passed away or after if he said something like that. Then a Chabad site should not be posting his passing.. He went against YOUR Rebbe and your fine with posting an article about him?!

  • What The Rebbe said about

    What did the Rebbe say about not being moiche the kovod of one’s Rebbe (about the talmidim of the Chofetz Chaim etc.?)

    This piece of news is not relevant to us as Chassidim. Are we now going to report the passing of every “godol” posek etc? Maybe start reporting the yohrtzeit of the one from Bnei Brak he was certainly more interesting than Rabbi B. ob”m.

  • #6 and the liking.

    Why is this article on Chabad site?!
    and #6 it seems that you seem oblivious when it comes some topics.

    • Reply

      On the contrary, I find posts from Milhouse to be be well thought out and more to the point than those posted by many others. Your comment would have carried more weight had you not attacked others. Now it seems superfluous.

    • Milhouse

      When “#6 and the liking.: wrote his/her comment, comment #6 was probably not mine but the one from “get a life”, which at the moment is #8, but by the time you read this it might be #9, #10, or even higher. That’s the problem with people who cite comments by number; once the numbers change nobody has any idea what they’re talking about.

  • Izzy Clapman.

    Rav Belsky was a tremendous Godol and a true giant in many areas. A true Ohev Yisroel.

    The article that was published many years ago had nothing to do with Chabad and when asked about Chabad he said After Gimmel Tamuz there are some of us that went a little Koo Koo.

    He was so right. :). Let’s learn to forgive and focus on the positive.

  • to 13

    It wouldn’t be so bad if he were only talking about after gimmel tammuz. He said that “Chabad used to be about disseminating Chassidic teachings which the Baal HaTanya wrote, saying his Divrei Torah, etc…
    But present-day Chabad has nothing to do with the above.
    Thats so not true!

  • Yitzchok Teitelbaum

    Some of his best friends were Lubavitchers and he had the greatest respect for them.

  • Yitzchok Teitelbaum

    Someone said that the Rebbe gave him Rabanu Tama and he put them on every day.

    • Milhouse

      Someone could say all kinds of foolishness, but it wouldn’t be true.

      Look, everyone, NOW IS NOT THE TIME.

    • K

      Is there EVER a time for foolishness?

      Although לכל זמן, ועת לכל חפץ תחת השמיים, does that include saying foolishness???

      אין לך אדם שאין לו שעה ואין לך דבר שאין לו מקום – every “adom” has a time, but there is never a time for a shoteh nor is there EVER a place for silliness.

  • Levi S.

    regardless of what he said or didnt say. lets show respect and kavod for a rosh yeshiva and big rabbi

  • mendy

    I’m assuming those who have negative things to say about Rabbi Belsky zt”l obviously don’t eat ou. We have so much to be maker tov to someone who helped us all in kashrus (and I’m sure other things as well). I’m sure the rebbe would not be proud of your devout trashing of a talmid chochom, and even more importantly Hashem looks very seriously upon talking bad about a talmid chochom. Very sad and even sadder to see some comments above.

    • CR

      Very true. Even when certain prominent figures attacked the Rebbe personally with words that would have embarrassed a truck driver the Rebbe refused to respond in kind. The closest he came to doing so was suggesting the individual in question had an issue with his tefillin; careful to only criticize the “garments” and not the person himself.

  • A chasidisher yid

    He was one of the greatest supporters of the chabad approach and always stood for the Rebbe and lubavitch in every situation, even standing up to much pressure, what a loss to jewry in general and especially chabad, I can go on and on…
    The above was pure satire with not a word of truth to it, a gesholtene misnaged, sonei yisroel, and this is not secret at all, for example his amhaaratzishe article in Mishpacha back in 2008, full of venom and hatred, which surely brought out his immense “love” to chabad.
    As a site reporting to the chabad community it is a major disservice to post even a picture of such a minaged, let alone write an obituary as if he is one of ‘our’ gedolim, every bit of kovod to him is mosif chayos in klipah.

  • CR

    Peace upon you, Harav Chayim Yisroel ben Berel. Peace upon you. May you go from Heights to Heights and may your myriad achievements and merits be a good intercessor on behalf of Klal Yisroel.

    In regard to the article postings above, yes, Rav Belsky was very critical of goings-on in Lubavitch in the years since the Rebbe’s histalkus. Nevertheless, there are accounts in other publications in which the Rav intervened privately to counter certain individuals who were on public campaigns to get Lubavitch and Lubavitchers placed in a cherem (veHayodeia meivin). He marched to his own tune all his life and needs no Haskama from any of us pashtanim posting anonymously on the interwebz.

  • #1, 2, 18, 26

    I knew and worked with Rabbi Belsky Z”L for over 20 years. In all that time I never heard him utter a disrespectful word about Lubavitch. He did not always agree with the actions of some Lubavitchers, but was always very respectful. I was not present at the famous interview that is being mentioned here, but when taken in context of 20+ years, one comment that may or may not have been recorded correctly does not warrant the lack of kavod for a true talmud chacham. He was insistent on many higher standards because he knew Chabad’s position on kosherization, etc.
    Before any other disparaging or inappropriate remarks are made, I suggest those who want to make them check with the numerous Shluchim around the globe that work for the OU and had personal interaction with the Rabbi.

  • DeClasse' Intellectual

    All I can say that this whole section was most disgustiful! Comments such as by many who claim to be devoted to the teachings of the Rebbe and Chabad is just completely unbelievable. Even that just freed group of Yidden from Egypt who had not yet gotten their feet on the ground and understood what they were and would become acted better than some of these bloggers. The Torah was given to a people who had one mind and one purpose for good. Yes, disagreement is part of nature, but what occurred in this section????????