Video: Thousands Gather at Levaya of Rav Menachem Porush zt”l

[Video below.] Thousands gathered this afternoon to pay their last respects to Rav Menachem Porush zt”l, longtime askan and shliach tzibbur of gedolei Yisroel. Rav Porush was buried today on Har Hamenuchos. Several roads were closed by police in anticipation of the enormous levaya, resulting in heavy traffic congestion.

Rav Porush was married twice, and outlived both his wives. A journalist, public speaker, educator, social welfare administrator, politician, real estate developer and hotelier, Rav Porush, despite his advanced age and his difficulties in walking, continued to be active up until the final moments of his life.

Among those who came to the Porush home on Rechov Pines to accompany the niftar on his final journey was President Shimon Peres, who knew Rav Porush well from almost 35 years of working together in the Knesset. Rav Porush served from November 1959 to June 1994, taking a two-year absence from 1975-1977.

Peres said that although Rav Porush’s great and compassionate heart had stopped beating, his deeds would remain a lasting legacy.

Peres described him as one of the most energetic and active of Israelis, “always doing, always giving and always helping the needy.”

His activities within his own community, said Peres, helped to strengthen the Torah world and to disseminate Jewish heritage to a wider public. He worked diligently towards greater understanding and tolerance between the secular and religious sectors, and he was a faithful servant of his people.

“He was a rare individual, a great Jew and as much a part of Yerushalayim as the stones in the Kosel,” said Peres, who also eulogized Rav Porush as a man of vision and hope with regard to the future of the Jewish people. Peres remembered him as a man who was generally pleasant, who lived life to the full, worked towards Jewish unity and was a living bridge between the diverse elements of Judaism.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also eulogized Rav Porush saying, “Rabbi Porush was a pillar of the chareidi community. Israel and the Jewish people have lost a dear, wise and warm Jew who loved Israel and was among the best public servants we had.”

Educated in Yeshiva Etz Chaim, Rav Porush was a son of Rav Moshe Glickman-Porush, and in the course of time, followed his father into serving on the Yerushalayim City Council, eventually becoming deputy mayor. Of his seven offspring, only one, Reb Meir, followed him into politics, first to the Yerushalayim City Council where he also served as his family’s third successive deputy mayor, and then to the Knesset, where he also served and continues to serve as a deputy minister.

In 1932, Rav Porush, who was barely 16 at the time, left Yeshiva Etz Chaim and went abroad to work for chareidi newspapers, returning home in 1938.

The Erlauer Rebbe, in his divrei hesped, noted Rav Porush’s contribution in the field of chinuch as one of the founders of independent education and said “Rav Porush dedicated his soul for the education of the children of Klal Yisroel.”

Rav Moshe Tzadka, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Porat Yosef, said, “The niftar was a pioneer in all things related to kedushas Yisroel – in fighting for Shabbos and against girls’ recruitment [in the army].”

The masses first gathered at the Agudas Yisrael building on Rechov Press near Kikar Shabbos.

Among those in attendance were Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Justice Minister Yaakov Ne’eman Minister Ariel Atias, opposition leader Tzipi Livni, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, ministers, deputy ministers and many members of Knesset.

United Torah Judaism Chairman MK Moshe Gafni was maspid Rav Porush, saying, “He was a devoted activist for decades, loved by a large public and personally involved until his last day.”

Click below for a video of the levaya:

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{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel/Ynet/JPost/Video courtesy of Ladaat}