Reb Yoel Simcha z”l

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Reb Yoel Simcha z”l, a devoted chossid of Ger and longtime administrator of the Yeshiva Ketana of Ger in Brooklyn. He was 37 years old.

Reb Yoel, remembered for his open heart and boundless kindness, endured much suffering throughout his short life. Friends often referred to him as “Yoel baal yissurim,” recognizing both his struggles and the noble way in which he bore them.

He was a son of Reb Avrohom Binyomin Simcha and grew up steeped in the traditions of Ger. His life was marked by dedication to chessed, to Torah, and to the yeshiva where he faithfully served as administrator, ensuring its smooth functioning with quiet devotion.

In recent years, Reb Yoel was stricken with illness but miraculously recovered. Just last year, after his recovery, he marked the occasion by making a l’chaim and bentching Gomel before the Gerrer Rebbe during the Rebbe’s visit to America for the wedding of his daughter, Reb Yisroel Menachem Alter’s child.

Sadly, in recent weeks, the disease returned with far greater intensity. Out of concern not to burden others, Reb Yoel kept the severity of his condition hidden from his family and friends. Only as his health rapidly deteriorated did he inform his parents, who immediately traveled from abroad to be at his side.

Throughout his final weeks, he lay in the hospital in excruciating pain, yet he requested not to be sedated, explaining that he wished to accept yissurim mechaperim — suffering as atonement. Even as his condition worsened, he sought halachic guidance from the Gerrer dayan, Rav Hershel Rotenberg, and asked that whatever the dayan ruled should be followed. In the end, his medication was changed, but his wish to remain conscious was honored until his weakness overtook him.

During his last days, many friends and fellow Gerrer chassidim kept vigil by his bedside. They sang and tried to uplift his spirits, joined by his chavrusa, Rabbi Yehuda Taub, who remained constantly at his side. This morning, Erev Shabbos Parshas Ki Seitzei, he was niftar. 

The levayah was held this morning at the Gerrer Yeshiva Ketana in Boro Park.

Reb Yoel is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}