It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Yaakov Zechariah zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Lev Eliyahu in Yerushalayim, who was niftar on Friday night at the age of 70.
Rav Zechariah, who suffered a severe stroke about a month ago, was hospitalized in Shaare Tzedek Medical Center, where he was niftar at 2 a.m. Friday night. As a zechus, rabbonim had added the name Refael and countless tefillos were recited on behalf of Rav Rafael Yaakov ben Naima, but to the great sorrow of his talmidim and admirers, his condition deteriorated.
The levayah was held Motzoei Shabbos from Yeshivas Lev Eliyahu on Rechov HaRav Patil in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, proceeding to Har HaMenuchos in Sanhedria, where he was buried alongside his rabbeim, Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul zt”l and Rav Yehuda Tzadka zt”l.
Rav Zechariah was born in Eretz Yisroel on 11 Shevat 5715 (1955). As a bochur, he studied at Yeshiva Porat Yosef in Yerushalayim, where he became one of the foremost talmidim of Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul.
He was deeply attached to his rebbi and often spoke of Rav Ben Tzion’s extraordinary dedication to Torah. Decades ago, Rav Ben Tzion himself remarked of Rav Zechariah that “he has absorbed our derech halimud and is worthy of teaching talmidim.”
In 2002, Rav Zechariah established the Lev Eliyahu yeshiva ketanah, and in 2010 he opened the yeshiva gedolah in Ramat Shlomo, later also founding Yeshivas Derech Torah.
The spirit of Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul hovered like a guiding flame over Lev Eliyahu. Few yeshivas today are shaped so directly by his Torah and methodology, and Lev Eliyahu stands proudly as one of those rare institutions.
The yeshiva became known for its distinctive derech halimud, blending the clarity and depth of Porat Yosef’s roshei yeshiva with rigorous analysis of the Maharsha and Maharam Shif, while integrating the approach of the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rav, and other great Acharonim.
Over the years, Rav Zechariah raised generations of talmidim in Torah and yiras Shamayim. His petirah has left his many talmidim and the broader Torah world in mourning.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com}
