It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of the mekubal Rav Alter Dovid Chaim Stern zt”l, who was niftar in Laniado Hospital in Kiryat Sanz, Netanya, at the age of 93.
Rav Stern’s health had deteriorated in recent weeks.
Rav Stern was born in the city of Serdahely, Slovakia, on 22 Teves 5692 (1932), to his father, Rav Yisroel Zechariah Stern, a noted baal chessed and owner of the legendary Dagan flour mill on Sokolov Street in Bnei Brak, and his mother, Rebbetzin Chaya Sarah Leah. From a young age, he displayed a remarkable diligence in Torah and a deep sensitivity to others.
He learned in some of the most prestigious yeshivos of the time, including Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin, Chevron, and Ponovezh, where he absorbed Torah from the great roshei yeshiva of the generation. During this period, he formed a close bond with the famed Ponovezher mashgiach, Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, and was counted among those privileged to enter the home of the Chazon Ish, developing a lasting connection with the gadol hador.
Upon reaching marriageable age, Rav Stern wed his first wife, Rebbetzin Sarah Gitel, daughter of the famed tzaddik and miracle-worker Rav Chaim Moshe Mandel, whose modest home on Raavad Street in Bnei Brak drew countless Yidden seeking brachos and yeshuos.
From his youth, Rav Stern was renowned for his boundless generosity and compassion, constantly assisting others in need. Coming from a wealthy family, he invested heavily in acts of kindness, eventually losing his entire fortune because of the immense sums he poured into helping others.
More than sixty years ago, he established the Chazon Ish – Beis Avrohom charity fund, one of the earliest and most impactful in Eretz Yisroel. Dedicated in memory of the Chazon Ish, the fund became a lifeline for countless struggling families, distributing unprecedented amounts of financial assistance. All of this was done quietly, behind the scenes, with the utmost sensitivity and discretion, so as never to embarrass a recipient.
Over the decades, Rav Stern played an instrumental role in founding numerous Torah institutions throughout Eretz Yisroel, including Yeshivas Ofakim and Yeshivas Be’er Yisroel, the latter established in memory of his revered father-in-law, Rav Mandel. Through these institutions and his personal guidance, he influenced and inspired generations of bnei Torah.
Throughout his life, Rav Stern became renowned not only for his tzidkus but also for his insightful counsel and powerful brachos, which were sought after by Yidden from across the world. His home became a place where people of every background arrived seeking guidance, healing, and salvation, and countless stories abound of the yeshuos that came about through his heartfelt tefillos.
He maintained a particularly deep and lifelong connection with the hidden mekubal, Rav Yehuda Ze’ev Leibowitz, in whose memory he hosted an annual seudas hilula and whose kever he faithfully visited each year at the Bnei Brak beis hachaim.
In Teves 5775 (2015), while visiting the United States, Rav Stern collapsed and was hospitalized in critical condition. Following the advice of leading mekubalim, he was given the additional name “Alter,” and, through great chasdei Shamayim, he miraculously recovered. Yet tragedy struck in his personal life with the passing of his esteemed son-in-law, Rav Ze’ev Rosenthal of Ramat Elchanan in Bnei Brak.
In Kislev 5782 (2021), Rav Stern entered into his second marriage with Mrs. Bransdorfer, the widow of the gaon Rav Aharon Bransdorfer, in a small, private wedding attended only by close family members and confidants.
Despite his advanced age, Rav Stern continued his lifelong dedication to tefillah and yeshuos, frequently traveling to Meron, often multiple times a week, to daven at the kever of the Rashbi on behalf of both the klal and prat. He was known as a “melumad b’nissim,” a man who experienced open miracles in his lifetime, and countless individuals testified to the salvations that came about through his brachos and tefillos.
In recent weeks, his condition worsened, and despite the fervent tefillos of thousands, his pure neshamah has returned to its Maker. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy of Torah, chessed, and kedushah, carried on by an illustrious family of talmidei chachomim and marbitzei Torah who follow in his ways. Among them are his son Rav Meir Yosef Stern, Rosh KollelImrei Yosef and head of Mosdos Rav Mandel; his son Rav Aharon Yitzchok Stern, Rav of Kehillas Ziv Yehuda in Kiryat Herzog; his son Rav Nachum Shlomo Ozer Stern, Rosh YeshivasBe’er Yisroel in Bnei Brak; his son Rav Yehuda Dov Stern; and his son Rav Shmuel Stern, Rosh Kollel in Beit Shemesh. He is also survived by his daughters, who are married into the distinguished Goldreich, Rosenthal, and Shapira families, along with numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren who continue his path.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com Israel}
