Levi Yitzchak Horowitz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Levi Yitzchak Horowitz | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bostoner Rebbe | ||
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| The Bostoner Rebbe praying at the Western Wall, Jerusalem | ||
| Term | 1944 – present | |
| Full name | Leivi Yitschok Horowitz | |
| Born | 3 July, 1921 | |
| Boston | ||
| Dynasty | Boston | |
| Predecessor | Pinchos Dovid Horowitz | |
| Father | Pinchos Dovid Horowitz | |
| Mother | Sora Sosha | |
| Wife 1 | Raichel Ungar | |
| Issue 1 | Pinchos Horowitz Mayer Horowitz Shayna Frankel Naftoli Horowitz Toby Geldzehler |
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| Wife 2 | Yehudit | |
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 Sosha Horowitz, in Boston on July 3, 1921, corresponding to the Jewish date 27 Sivan 5681.
His father, the founder of the Boston (Hasidic dynasty), passed away in November 1941. Levi Yitzchak, not yet 21 and as yet unmarried, was then offered the the position as Grand Rabbi. In 1942, shortly after his father's death, he was wed to Raichel Unger Leifer of Cleveland[1] [2], a descendant of Reb Naftoli Ropshitzer.
In 1943, Levi Yitschok Horowitz was one of the four hundred-plus rabbis led by Rabbi Baruch Korff (International Jerusalem Post, January 19-25, 2007, Page 19) who traveled to Washington just before Yom Kippur, to plead with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to rescue Jews from Hitler.
In 1944, he agreed to become Bostoner Rebbe. He 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 tried to convince him out of it, saying that chasidus and college didn't and couldn't mix but the Rebbe persevered and was personally responsible for returning many hundreds of students at Harvard and MIT to their Jewish roots.
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, 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 R' Levi Yitzchak's personal leadership it has become a vibrant Chassidic center. New immigrants, students, visitors and world famous rabbis have all visited R' Levi Yitzchak in Har Nof, to seek his counsel and to join him for Shabbos (the Sabbath), Yom Tov (important Jewish festivals) or other special occasions.
In 1998 the Rebbe appointed his eldest grandson, Rabbi Moshe Shimon Horowitz to establish and lead a new community in Beitar Illit, not far from Jerusalem, to serve the needs of his younger followers who were seeking more affordable housing. That congregation is today home to a full time Talmudic Study Academy Kollel.
The Rebbe has his eldest son living in Brooklyn, New York where he runs the well known medical and social services network Nachas Healthnet. His son-in-law in America is Rabbi Yosef Frankel, the Rov of K'hal Bnei Shlomo Zalman. Rabbi Frankel, also known as the Vialopeler Rov, is a member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, Council of Torah Sages of the USA. His other son-in-law Dayan Moshe Chaim Geldzheler has his congregation in Har Nof, Jerusalem where he is a distinguished senior Judge of the Rabbinical Court.
The Rebbe now spends several months each year in Jerusalem, together with his second wife, Rabbanit Yehudit, whom he married in 2005.
[edit] ROFEH-Reaching Out Furnishing Emergency Healthcare
One of the prominent achievements of R' Levi Yitzchak is Project ROFEH. ROFEH (which, not coincidentally, means "physician" in Hebrew) is an organization dedicated to providing Medical Referral and Support Services to those in need of help. Boston is home to some of the world's finest medical facilities that are sought out by people throughout the world. ROFEH assists the sick and their families with referrals to expert physicians, hospitality and a furnished apartment if a hospital stay is required. More than the physical though, ROFEH provides a shoulder to lean on for people in time of need. Skillfully managed by the Rebbe's youngest son Rabbi Naftuli Horowitz.
