29 Facts About Gershon Edelstein

Yerachmiel Gershon Edelstein was a Soviet-born Israeli rabbi who was rosh yeshiva of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, president of the Vaad Hayeshivos, and the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party in Israel.

Gershon Edelstein was widely considered to be a Gadol Hador by the Litvish community.

From March 2022, following the death of Rabbi Kanievsky, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein assumed sole leadership of the Litvak public.

Gershon Edelstein's mother obtained falsified birth certificates with incorrect dates for her sons, marking them as three years younger than their actual ages so they would not be enrolled in state-supervised schools under the Yevsektsiya.

Gershon Edelstein studied Torah under Rabbi Zalman Leib Estolin, a follower of Chabad, in exchange for his father Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda teaching Estolin extensive hours of Gemara and Rishonim each day.

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein was close to Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz, known as the Chazon Ish.

In 5763, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein was appointed to the Council of Torah Sages of the Degel HaTorah party.

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein served as the baal tokeah at the Ponevezh Yeshiva from 1946 until Rosh Hashanah of his last year.

In May 2023, during the holiday of Shavuot, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein was admitted to Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak due to breathing difficulties.

Gershon Edelstein's funeral took place on the day of his death in Bnei Brak, starting from the Ponevezh Yeshiva hall and proceeding to the Ponevezh Yeshiva cemetery.

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein held the view that study should be adapted to each student's nature.

Gershon Edelstein believed that most students benefit more from a fast pace of study, covering many pages.

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein emphasized the importance of studying mussar.

Gershon Edelstein stressed that mussar study should be done joyfully and with books that interest the individual.

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein encouraged educators to form personal connections with their students, which he considered the foundation for instilling a love of Torah in children.

Gershon Edelstein opposed extreme behaviors that harm natural relationships between individuals and their surroundings.

Gershon Edelstein started doing this, and his life became much happier.

Gershon Edelstein believed that by explaining things to children, they come to understand what is right and good, and when they struggle, forcing them only causes a negative reaction.

Gershon Edelstein advised providing them with financial support, even for needs like clothing that might not align with religious standards, alongside an effort to inspire change through gentle persuasion.

Gershon Edelstein advised men struggling with shalom bayit to follow what he called "silence and respect," meaning: the husband should remain silent when his wife expresses dissatisfaction or anger toward him, and should not respond so as to avoid escalating a conflict.

Gershon Edelstein frequently emphasized in his weekly talks that even if one spouse is angry with the other, they must not raise their voice, as self-restraint prevents anger both in marital relationships and interactions with others.

Gershon Edelstein added that sometimes incitement arises from those who believe that Haredim hate them, as the Tosefta explained about Rabbi Akiva, who, when he was an am ha'aretz, said, "Give me a scholar, and I would bite him like a donkey," even though he had good qualities.

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein opposed the current operations of the Rabbinical Committee for Communications, due to claims that it was blocking necessary content for the Haredi public without consulting its leaders.

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein believed that the prophecy of redemption in Ezekiel Chapter 36 was being fulfilled in his days, asserting that God was keeping the promise of Ingathering of the Exiles to sanctify his name and was rebuilding the Land of Israel.

Gershon Edelstein interpreted this as the prophet's promise, "And I will sprinkle clean water upon you," which, he explained, was being realized through the great proliferation of Torah in the land today, where even students from abroad come to study and feel a higher level of Torah.

Gershon Edelstein's brother-in-law, Rabbi Shimon Moshe Diskin, was a lecturer at Kol Torah Yeshiva and authored the Mas'at HaMelech series.

Gershon Edelstein married Henia Rachel, daughter of Rabbi Yehoshua Zelig Diskin, rabbi of Pardes Hanna.

Gershon Edelstein's uncles were Rabbi Binyamin Movshowitz, rabbi of Herzliya; Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel Karol, rabbi of the village Kfar Hasidim; and Rabbi Yehuda Yitzchak Berman, rabbi in Klintsy and Tel Aviv.

Gershon Edelstein's cousins include Rabbi Mordechai Shlomo Berman, one of the heads of the Ponevezh Yeshiva; Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Mishkovsky, rabbi of Kfar Hasidim and head of Yeshivat Knesset Hizkiyahu; Rabbi Yitzhak Yechiel Yaakovowitz, rabbi of Herzliya; Rabbi Yaakov Nissan Rosenthal, head of the rabbinical court in Haifa; and Rabbi Shlomo Noach Karoll, rabbi of the moshav Hemed.