Levi Yitzchak Horowitz
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Grand Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, popularly known as The Bostoner Rebbe was born to his parents, the first Bostoner Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Pinchos Dovid Horowitz and Rebbitzen Sora Sasha Horowitz, in Boston on July 3, 1921, corresponding to the Jewish date 27 Sivan 5681.
Following the passing of his father, the founder of the Boston (Hasidic dynasty), in November 1941, the young Rabbi Horowitz seemed the natural candidate to lead his father's flock in the Dorchester, Boston community. This despite the fact that he was not yet 21, unmarried and for himself wanted no part in the rabbinate. Shortly after his father's death he was wed to Raichel Unger Leifer of Cleveland, a descendant of Reb Naftali Rupshitzer (d. 2002). In 1944 he finally agreed to become Bostoner Rebbe.
He quickly announced that his primary thrust as Rebbe would be aimed at the area's large number of college students, many of whom were away from home and in a perfect position to partake of all that he felt the New England Chassidic Center could offer them. Many who were older and, presumably wiser than he, tried to tell him that this was a fool's errand, that Chassidus and college didn't and couldn't mix but the Rebbe persevered and was personally responsible for returning many hundreds of students from Harvard and MIT to their Jewish roots.
The Rebbe soon found himself working hard to develop what soon came to be known by the catchy acronym "ROFEH" - Reaching Out Furnishing Emergency Healthcare. Using his position in the medical capital of the world, the young Rebbe started making contacts with many of the city's finest doctors who were so impressed by his devotion to others, not to mention his grasp of medical matters, that they willingly rushed to cooperate with him in his mission to care for individuals from all over the world who came to Boston seeking a cure for their serious problems.
ROFEH (which, not coincidentally, means "physician" in Hebrew) was before long a fully fledged community based medical referral and hospitality liaison support agency. It is today the jewel in the crown of the Rebbe's manifold achievements, directed and skillfully run on a day to day basis by the Rebbe's son Rabbi Naftali Yehuda Horowitz.
It was always a vision and ambition of the Rebbe to establish a community in Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel, the Jewish biblical homeland. After several false, heartbreaking and, at times, expensive starts, the Rebbe was finally able to arrange in the early 1980s for the development of an American style community in the Har Nof section of Jerusalem. Under the Rebbe's personal leadership it has become a vibrant Chassidic center. New immigrants, students, visitors and world famous rabbis have all flocked to visit the Rebbe in Har Nof, to seek his counsel and to join him for Shabbos (the Sabbath), Yom Tov (important Jewish festivals) or other special occasions. When the Rebbe is not in Jerusalem this congregation is serviced by the Rebbe's son Rabbi Mayer Alter Horowitz.
In 1998 the Rebbe established a new community in Beitar Illit, not far from Jerusalem, to serve the needs of his younger followers who were seeking more affordable housing. The thriving and highly respected congregation is led by the Rebbe's eldest grandson, Rabbi Moshe Shimon Horowitz.
With his late wife, the Rebbitzen Raichel, as his partner in all his endeavors they demonstrated how important the role of the Jewish woman is to the perpetuation of Judaism. On a personal level they created a living example of how every Jewish couple can and should live a happy and productive Torah way of life together.
The Rebbe now spends several months each year in Jerusalem, together with his second wife, Rabbanit Yehudit, whom he married in 2005.
