It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Yosef Horowitz zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ger-Chiddushei Harim in Tel Aviv and one of the last remaining talmidim of the Mir Yeshiva in Shanghai. He was 102 years old.
Rav Yosef was born in Poland, a son of Rav Yaakov Horowitz, who was a chossid of Gur.
Rav Yosef was zocheh to make one visit to the Imrei Emes before the Holocaust.
Being a Holocaust refugee, he ended up in Japan, where he studied at the Mir Yeshiva in Shanghai and, as mentioned, was one of the last remaining talmidim of the yeshiva.
For over sixty years, he taught Torah at Yeshivas Chiddushei Harim in Tel Aviv. He was known for his ahavas haTorah, his hasmadah, his amkus, and his breadth of Torah knowledge.
He was a rare combination of asceticism from the house of Novardok, the Torah erudition of Mir, and the unbridled Chassidus of Gur.
He leaves behind a family of children and many descendants who follow his ways.
The levayah was held first in Bnei Brak, then at Gerer Bais Medrash on Rechov Yirmiyahu in Yerushalayim, followed by kevurah Har Hazeisim.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com Israel}
Is this accurate? Was he really from the Mir Yeshiva or was he one of the group of chassidim that hooked on to the Mir and went with them to Shanghai where these additional chassidim had their own Beis Medrash? My understanding is that the last of actual Mir Yeshiva talmidim was niftar some months ago.
102 years old… Oif unz ola gezugt.
Many talmidim in the Mir (or in many litvishe yeshivos) came from chasidishe families, not a chiddush.
Rav Nachum came from a Lubavitche family so did Rav Ruderman and Rav Shmuel Svei.
He more likely was with the Lubliner Yeshiva (Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin) in Shanghai, not Mir. My father was with the Mirrer Yeshiva in Shanghai and my uncle was with Lubliner Yeshiva, so I’m pretty familiar with the history of that amazing, miraculous experience of Hatzalah and Limud Torah. The last of Mirrer Yeshiva talmidim, Rav Avrahom Reznik zt”l, was niftar this past Shvat. Y’hay Zichrom Baruch.
Rav Yosef Horowitz was the last alte Mirre.
He actually joined the Mir before Shanghai.
He learned in Mir proper, and went with them to Keidan, as he is quoted in the Hebrew biography of Reb Mordchai Pogromanksy.
Ask the children of Reb Aharon Kreizer, who kept a kesher with him all the years.
Like most Israeli-based alte Mirrers, he was not so well-known in the American yeshivishe velt, and even in the Israeli litvishe velt because he “belonged” to Ger.
Rabbi Reznik was not the last Mirrer, as was pointed out when he was niftar.
He was the last in America.
Rav Horowitz zt”l was a member of my shul. He was an incredible Talmid Chochom. One thing that amazed me is that even at the age of 99 he would come to shul and daven the whole shacharis standing up.
A member of my shul told me that he would come to shul at 6am and would learn standing for hours!
Hard to find people like that today.