On Thursday afternoon 12 Nisan, tens of thousands of
shocked, deeply pained mourners, headed by maranan
verabonon the gedolei haTorah, roshei yeshiva,
rabbonim, bnei Torah and many family members,
followed the aron of the gaon and
tzaddik, HaRav Shimshon Dovid Pincus, zt"l,
the rav of Kehal Adas Chareidim of Ofakim, as well as those
of his righteous wife, well-known educator, Rebbetzin Chaya
Mindel, o"h, and their eighteen-year-old daughter
Miriam o"h, who had been killed the previous night in
a terrible car accident near Netivot. HaRav Pincus is the
son of HaRav Avrohom Chaim, ylct'a and Rebbetzin
Chaya Mindel is the daughter of HaRav Mordechai Leib Man,
zt"l.
News of the accident spread quickly through Ofakim's
chareidi community and other Negev communities, and then
throughout the entire country.
Shaken to the core, many assembled in synagogues to beseech
the Borei Olam for the recovery of the three injured
Pincus children: twelve-year-old Ruchama Rochel (to whom the
name "Ruchama" was newly added), thirteen-year-old Yosef
Dov, and nine-year-old Sholom.
On Wednesday night, 12 Nisan, HaRav Pincus, zt"l,
delivered his last shmuess to a large audience in the
Beis Shmaya--Chanichei Hayeshivos shul in Ashdod. He
then drove to Bnei Brak to take his wife and four children
back home to Ofakim. Shortly after 2 AM, his car went off
the road and crashed into a tree at the side of the road.
The car was totally smashed. HaRav Pincus, his wife and his
daughter Miriam were apparently killed instantly.
A short while later, Rav Dovid Almagor of Tifrach drove by
and noticed various items scattered on the road. At first he
continued on his way. However, after driving a few hundred
meters, he decided to turn back. Upon reaching the site of
the accident, he noticed a young boy on the side of the
road: thirteen-year-old Yosef Dov, who was injured
relatively lightly, was calling to passing cars for help.
Rav Almagor found him in a state of shock and worried about
his parents.
Rav Almagor summoned police, rescue and medical forces. In
the meantime he pulled two children out of the smashed car.
A military helicopter conducting a nearby drill arrived on
the site and lit up the area, allowing the subsequent
discovery of Rochel, who had been hidden by some bushes and
was critically injured. The three injured children were
transferred by a Magen David ambulance to the Siroka Medical
Center in Beersheva. Futile efforts to revive HaRav Pincus,
his wife and his daughter Miriam were made on the site.
Shortly afterward, some of the family members were informed
of the disaster, as were Ofakim's askonim, who
immediately began to tend to hospitalization and
levaya arrangements. In the morning, the critically
wounded Rochel was operated on by three medical teams, who
struggled for fifteen hours to save her life. On Thursday
night, she was transferred to the Children's Intensive Care
Unit in critical condition, and is still in need of much
rachmei Shomayim.
In Ofakim
That afternoon, thousands of members of the Negev chareidi
communities gathered in the Kivisi Hashem Torah and Tefilloh
Center courtyard. Prior to the onset of the levaya
and delivery of words of his'orerus, the crowd
tearfully recited chapters of Tehillim.
Rosh yeshiva of the Ofakim Yeshiva, HaRav Chaim Kamil,
lamented: "`Shovas mesos libenu; nehepach le'eivel
mecholeinu, noflo ateres rosheinu. Oy lonu ki chottonu.'
Rabbenu, you were the heart of Yisroel. Everything
touched your heart and, as the Rambam says; `the heart of
the king is the heart of all Yisroel.' You immediately
sensed the presence of anything in the world requiring
correction. `Vayar besivlosom:' wherever there was
suffering, you immediately sensed it.
"We still recall your enormous efforts made on behalf of the
tzidkonis of Ofakim [Rebbetzin Tova Deutsch,
o"h,] when she was in Mexico. You paid no heed to
your own honor, and no effort was too much for you. Now that
we are all preparing for Pesach, we recall how morenu
verabbenu would prepare for the holiday, and how we felt
yetzias Mitzrayim and the kedushoh of the
holiday in his presence. We have suffered a great loss. Who
will replace him? He was concerned about each and every
individual, as well as about Klal Yisroel. Who can
replace him?
"When commenting on Hakodosh Boruch Hu's words upon
the death of Nodov and Avihu: `Bikrovai ekodeish ve'al
penei kol ho'om ikobeid,' the Rashbam says: `Despite the
terrible calamity, Aharon Hakohen continued with his service
of Hashem.' Although a terrible calamity has occurred -- one
so great that its meaning is difficult to fathom -- we must
still fulfill the words of the Rashbam and continue with
holiday preparations. It is erev bedikas chometz, and
we know that at a similar event, morenu verabbenu
would have pleaded that no woman travel to Yerushalayim [for
the levaya] but instead remain at home and continue
preparations for the holiday.
"Who will comfort us? Who will comfort the esteemed family,
a family of gedolei haTorah? How can we comfort them?
There is, however, one thing we can say: Morenu
verabbenu, your great solace is that your sons will be
gedolei Yisroel and all of us must continue in his
path, the path he taught us: that of seeking and loving
peace. You are going to Shomayim to drink that
preserved wine -- wine that alludes to the secrets of the
Torah, many of which you grasped in your life. Now that you
have gone to Shomayim, the secrets you grasped will
shine before you.
"We ask that this be the last sacrifice, and that we pursue
his way of granting chizuk and rejoicing and honoring
the holiday. May Hakodosh Boruch Hu comfort the
family, for we lack the words to comfort them. Only
Hakodosh Boruch Hu can comfort. May you be a
meilitz yosher on behalf of the entire family and all
of us, so that the verse `kiyemei tzeisecho mei'Eretz
Mitzrayim ar'enu niflo'os, ba'agolo uvizman koriv.'
The rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ofakim, HaRav Yaakov Horowitz,
called out: "`Noflo ateres rosheinu; oy lonu ki
chottonu.' The main theme of Pesach is that Hakodosh
Boruch Hu passed over the homes of the Jews. But now,
just before Pesach [the opposite has occurred]. A
tzaddik and a godol beTorah in both the
nigleh and the nistar, one who did much
chesed and a righteous woman, both of whom dedicated
themselves unstintingly on behalf of all of us [have been
taken away]. A great mezakeh horabim, who brought
light into every corner, [is gone]. Ribono Shel Olam,
have pity on us. Sacrifices upon sacrifices are offered, and
now the choicest korbonos olah possible.
"It is impossible now, nor is it the time, to deliver a
hesped. It is not a time when one has strength to
speak. The bereavement is so great that `Lecho dumiyo
tehillo' is appropriate. I don't know how much is
permitted and how much is possible to say. We have a
tradition that one of the main reasons [such calamities
occur] is that [we are amiss] in our interpersonal
relationships. The gemora in Sanhedrin says
that the extent to which the dayan must bear the
community is that of, `as a nursemaid carries the infant.'
The community must be related to as to a child. It must be
raised, nurtured, borne and given in to. The dayan
must possess a deep understanding of how to behave toward
the community and each member of it without compromising,
yet at the same time seeing the virtues of each and
everyone.
"He must know, as morenu verabbenu said, that there
are problems that cannot be solved, with which we will have
to grapple until Moshiach comes, may it be speedily, in our
times. But until then, each person must tolerate his fellow,
appreciate him and see his virtues. There are differences of
opinion in any given community, and that is natural.
Nonetheless, one must know that the other party is also
human and that he, too, has his own difficulties and pains.
One must know that despite all differences of opinions, one
must respect his fellow, something we have seen in the
nigleh and the nistar.
"Had we merited to be closely bound to each other, despite
differences of opinion and despite the knowledge that there
are irresolvable matters that arouse hatred when they are
disputed, matters on which one must remain silent, letting
each side go his own way [things might have been better]. We
must continue to do chesed -- and this community does
endless chesed. Nonetheless, we should be stronger on
this point. Now that Reb Shimshon, zt"l, who was like
a raging storm in Torah study, yiras Shomayim, chesed
and filial respect, has gone up in a storm to
Shomayim, we should be spurred to love and respect
our fellow. Perhaps the resolve to [follow in his footsteps]
will save us now.
"Oy, Reb Shimshon, how will we manage without you?
What will Rosh Hashonoh and Yom Kippur be like without you?
How will it be without your good smile? You, your rebbetzin
and your daughter are now going up to Shomayim, to
the yeshiva shel ma'alah. Don't forget us. All of the
angels are going out to greet you now. When standing under
the Kisei Hakovod, plead that Hakodosh Boruch
Hu have pity on us, as well as on the sacred community
of Ofakim and on your children, and that the Father of the
Orphans should raise them as you wished: to be gedolei
haTorah, tzaddikim, tehorim, and that Hakodosh Boruch
Hu strengthen them.
"In the name of all of us, I ask your forgiveness. We loved
you very much. There was no one who did not love you.
Therefore, may you and the rebbetzin forgive us, and be
meilitzei yosher on behalf of the klal and the
individual. May Hakodosh Boruch Hu have pity on us,
and may death terminate forever, and the tears be wiped from
every face."
The rosh yeshiva of Tifrach HaRav Aviezer Piltz lamented:
"`Kol Hashem bakoach; kol Hashem behodor; kol Hashem
shover arozim, vayeshaber Hashem es arzei haLevonon.'
In everything occurring in the world -- be it good or not --
one must hear Hashem's Voice; every event has an
accompanying Voice. The abovementioned verse teaches us that
there is another voice, that of `kol Hashem shover
arozim' -- a special voice that can break the Beis
Hamikdash and cut down the cedar of Lebanon. There is a
cedar that exists only for itself, and there is a cedar that
holds up an entire community, as well as a cedar that holds
up a beis medrash. There is also a cedar that holds
up [many] souls and not only one cedar, as alluded to by
`vayeshaber Hashem es arzei haLevonon'. This is a
voice to which we must hearken and listen to ascertain what
Hashem has done to us.
"We always heard Reb Shimshon in the Kol Hashem
bakoach. He gave us the ears to hear Kol Hashem
behodor. And now, when he is in the state of
`tzaddikim are greater in their deaths,' he has
bequeathed us a new ear, to enable us to hear Kol Hashem
shover arozim.
"`Oy lonu ki chottonu. Al zeh dovo libeinu. Heililu,
zo'aku al shever bas Tziyon; shever al shever
hoshbarnu.' The posuk says: `Chesed ve'emes
nifgoshu, tzedek vesholom noshku.' We ourselves saw
that there was one man among us whose sole essence was the
pursuit of truth, one who was unafraid to express his
opinion everywhere and in every form. And even from the
gashmiyus and the world of falsehood, truth sprang
out of the earth, and a person emerged who always searched
for the truth, which was his guiding light.
He never compromised on the truth. Yet how much
chesed, peace and tzedoko came from him. He
was a blend of the very truth which Hakodosh Boruch
Hu revealed to the angels when He told them that truth
will spring from the earth -- from within the earthliness
and the world of falsehood, from the world of dissension.
Here, the very same power of truth we saw in Reb Shimshon is
so necessary -- the power of truth that we saw in Rebbi
Shimshon which proved that one can be zealous for the truth
on each and every point while nonetheless maintaining a
state in which truth and chesed meet, justice and
peace kiss -- `chesed ve'emes nifgoshu; tzedek vesholom
noshku.'
"Now that we are not deserving, Hakodosh Boruch Hu,
so to speak, searches for the truth on earth, that very
force of zealousness in which one does not compromise even
one iota on pure hashkofoh, and tells each man what
he must be told, but with such love, with such sholom
and chesed that he would break all barriers. All who
came in contact with him will testify to the deep love they
felt for him, and how with each tocheicho he gave
them, their hearts filled with love, because they saw that
this was not a matter of middos but rather one of
seeking the truth.
"How many orphans are now crying out: `Abba!' The entire
sacred community of Ofakim cries out: `Abba!' Jewish
daughters call: `Ima, who will teach us the correct
hashkofoh?' So many baalei teshuva cry out:
`Abba, to whom have you abandoned us?' Surely Hakodosh
Boruch Hu, Who is entirely chesed and
rachamim will hear our cries and place our tears in
His cup, from whence they will be sent to console the boys
and the girls and grant complete recovery to the ill. May He
Who told the world: `Enough,' say `Enough' to our
misfortunes, and may we all merit to celebrate Pesach,
`kiyemei tzeisecho meiEretz Mitzrayim ar'enu
niflo'os.' May this be the final calamity before the
impending Geulah, and may Hashem wipe the tears from
every face."
HaRav Dovid Man, rosh yeshiva of Kfar Chassidim and brother-
in-law of the illustrious niftar, cried out: "It is
written in the Torah that Soroh should be eulogized and wept
over. There is eulogy (hesped) and there is weeping.
I cannot digest all that occurred here. Only Reb Shimshon
could have done that. But what I can do is not to
maspid but, rather, to weep. Reb Shimshon was one who
brought light and joy to the world, and to a certain degree
was included within the category of the Light of the World.
Wherever he went he brought the light of Torah, the
sweetness and joy of Torah. Yet all this has been taken away
from us.
"How can one speak about the rebbetzin who is lying here. It
is erev Pesach and she was totally involved in
preparations for the holiday. How I recall the Pesach
holidays in her home. Abba, zt"l,o"h,
passed away, you assumed her role and became the mother of
the entire family, standing beside Abba ceaselessly, without
limits. Miriam, o"h -- instead of being led to the
chuppah, instead of hachnosas kallah -- you
have credited everyone with the mitzvah of halvoyas
hameis. Oy, what has Hashem done to us? Ribono Shel
Olom, we are bereft -- without a father and without a
mother.
"Such zikui horabim! He was one of the most unique
mezakei horabim of our generation, and he performed
that mitzvah with such humility, goodness of heart and
yiras Shomayim.
"The pure daughter, clean as snow -- instead of wearing the
white clothing of a kallah is now wearing a white
garment of a different sort.
"Beseech the Father of the Orphans to heal all those who
need immediate recovery. May He send them a full recovery.
May death cease forever, and may Hashem wipe the tear from
all faces."
Citing the verse, "Ke'ish asher tenachmenu, kein
anachemchem ne'um Hashem," the oldest son of the Pincus
family, HaRav Yisroel Yaakov, said: "We justify the Divine
din tzedek that has befallen us, ki emes Osiso
va'anachnu hirshonu.' Hashem has given and Hashem has
taken. We must thank Hashem for the years in which we had a
father and a mother who were gedolei hador in Torah,
chesed, humility and love of Hakodosh Boruch
Hu. Who merits this for even one day? We must thank
Hashem for the past, and cry out over the future.
"Tzaddikim are greater in their deaths than in their
lives, and we are certain that they will continue to
illuminate the way for us to raise our brothers and sisters.
We are certain that this is the end of the way and that our
yeshu'oh will soon come. Who knows what was supposed
to have occurred and why, instead, Hakodosh Boruch Hu
took these three tzaddikim to atone for the
generation. May this be Am Yisroel's last
catastrophe, and may we merit to see them among the other
meisei Yisroel at the time of Techiyas
Hameisim."
To Yerushalayim
From Ofakim, the levaya went to Yeshivas Torah Ohr in
Jerusalem. In front of the yeshiva on Sorotzkin Street, tens
of thousands of mourners assembled, headed by gedolei
haTorah, roshei yeshiva, rabbonim, dayonim and
thousands of bnei Torah who had come to accompany the
three illustrious niftorim on their last earthly
journey. At first, chapters of Tehillim were recited,
verse by verse. Acheinu Kol Beis Yisroel and Mi
Shebeirach for the recovery of the children injured in
the horrible accident were then said.
The first hesped was delivered by HaRav Shlomo
Brevda, who said: "How many tzaddikim and
kedoshim have come here to greet the sacred
niftar, the sacred nifteres and their
righteous, pure daughter! This is a very special couple --
unique in our generation. Morai verabbosai, who knows
for how many of us the esteemed, pleasant, amicable
niftar, as well as his wife and daughter have atoned.
They atoned for Klal Yisroel. Each one of us must be
aroused by the harsh verdict and make at least one
resolution that from this day on he will improve and
strengthen himself in ruchniyus. In that manner, we
will repay the niftar. But if, Heaven forbid, we do
not improve our ways, and if one person returns home and
reverts to his regular life -- to the indolence of bein
hazmanim, to the tefilloh of bein
hazmanim, to the slow learning of one who feels that he
is in the capacity of ke'eino metzuveh ve'oseh, to
wasting time, reading newspapers, strolling in the streets --
and does not decide to make drastic, immediate, long-lasting
changes in these areas, then we haven't paid the
niftar.
"Woe to us! How many have been killed or injured? How many
have been orphaned, bereft? How many students, old and young
alike, have been left without a father and a mother, from
both a material and spiritual standpoint. The Gaon explains
that the phrase in the parsha of eglo arufo: `Ki
yimotzei cholol' -- `and if a corpse is found' intimates
that the deceased whose body was discovered did not die due
to his own sins, but rather as a result of the sins of
others. He says that the phrase, `it is not known who struck
him' means that it is not known for whose sins he died. Who
among us struck this niftar [HaRav Shimshon] by the
neglect of Torah study, by making light of tefilloh,
by empty gossip, loshon hora and jest? At the end of
the parsha it is written: `Ki sa'aseh hayoshor
be'einei Hashem.' The Gaon says that this teaches that
it is possible to prevent the spilling of innocent blood by
being upright. Which is the path a man should choose? He
should love tochochoh."
HaRav Yitzchok Ezrachi, one of the roshei yeshiva of the Mir
Yeshiva, called out: `Bechol chutzos yomru Hoy, Hoy,
vekor'u yikro'u le'eivel umispeid.' One doesn't have to
be great in order to be maspid the gaon and
tzaddik, his wife, the rebbetzin, and their daughter.
One may arouse the community to mourning and lamenting in
all of the streets, and there is no need for a special
person to deliver a hesped. In all streets of the
Torah world there is lamenting. Many were those who were
drawn closer to Ovinu ShebaShomayim by Reb Shimshon.
Many were influenced by him to do teshuva. A large
task force is required in order to accomplish his work. We
are all obligated to emulate him.
It says: `Hoshev teshiveim.' The Shlo says: `This
does not just mean to return [a lost object], but to bring
back to Ovinu Shebashomayim.' Whoever can influence
and does not do so, is liable for the sin of his fellow
townsmen.
"In Hilchos Ta'anis, the Rambam writes: `It is a
positive Torah mitzvah to cry out and to sound the trumpets
over every disaster befalling a community, as it is written:
`Because of the enemy that besieges you, you shall sound the
trumpets.' Over everything that occurs, cry out. This
response is one of the ways to do teshuva. In times
of calamity, cry out and shout that all has occurred due to
our evil deeds. This will result in the elimination of the
calamity. If the people do not cry out, but say: this
calamity is a chance occurrence, or a natural disaster, this
is a cruel path that causes the community to become more
attached to its evil deeds. The Beis Hamikdash was
burned due to the deaths of tzaddikim. Just as Yom
Kippur atones, so do the deaths of tzaddikim. When
tzaddikim die, people see this and are aroused, and
that atones. It is difficult for Hakodosh Boruch Hu
to strike, but He wants to elicit more yiras Shomayim
from each and every one of us, and we must strengthen
ourselves, scrutinize our deeds and do teshuva."
HaRav Chaim Pinchos Scheinberg, the rosh yeshiva of Torah
Ohr, called out loudly: "Awake you slumbering from your
sleep. All need chizuk. Chizuk is always necessary.
We must have strength during the zman and during
bein hazmanim. Wake up slumberers; wake up those who
are asleep. Everyone requires chizuk with all his
strength. `All of my bones shall say: Hashem, who is like
You,' with joy, the joy of the Torah. Our entire vitality
comes from the Torah. One must toil in Torah: another
halocho, another sugya, another saying, more
kavono in our prayers, more acts of chesed.
Climb higher and higher in ruchniyus. The lesson for
all of us is to do complete teshuva."
HaRav Chaim Avrohom Pincus, the niftar's father,
sobbed bitterly when he delivered a hesped over his
son: "It is difficult for me to deliver a hesped.
This is a difficult sugya from beginning to end.
There is no explanation. Should we leave the kushya
aside and continue on? Such a godol. He, his wife and
their daughter were all tzaddikim. There is no
explanation for what occurred. What explanation could there
be? Hesped is like hefsed. We must take the
hesped and see what Am Yisroel has lost. We
have no conception. We cannot think. For 56 years,
Hakodosh Boruch Hu granted us a loan, and all of the
benefits were ours; they were the benefits of all of us. We
received a trust for 56 years, and he took nothing for
himself, not even for a moment (dakkoh achas lo sholach
yad). Nothing was for him. Everything was for the
klal. There were times when he came to Yerushalayim
to deliver four droshos. Then he would leave in the
middle of the night and arrive home very late, all for the
sake of the klal.
"We have no concept of his love of chesed. He
searched for chesed. It was difficult for him to
travel, but he always traveled, during the day, the night.
Everything was chesed. He influenced tens of
thousands. I once asked him whether people didn't grow tired
of his droshos. He said: `When they will not listen,
I will stop speaking.' He would travel wherever he was asked
to speak -- all over the world, all for the sake of the
tzibbur. You were cut down in the middle of your
life. I never heard your wife complain about your being away
from home. Shimshon, my son, you did everything for the sake
of the klal. Now that you are arriving in the World
to Come, make an uproar for the sake of klal, so that
we will be able to continue our lives."
The next to speak was HaRav Yaakov Hillel, the rosh yeshiva
of Chevras Ahavat Shalom, who said: "Who can explain the
difficult sugya and resolve the question? Only Reb
Shimshon could have explained it. He would have known what
to say. He would have discerned the message. Last year, he
spoke in our yeshiva and mentioned the verse, `Vayar es
hamokom meirochok,' which refers to Avrohom Ovinu and
Yitzchok Ovinu who saw the Shechina from afar, as
opposed to the two servants who did not see the
Shechina. In this vein, Avrohom told them: `Shevu
lochem poh im hachamor,' meaning am hadomeh
lechamor -- a nation which is like a donkey. Reb
Shimshon said: `In every instance in life, in everything
that occurs, there is an inner point, a cloud above it
linked to the Shechinah. One who does not see it is
like a nation which is am hadomeh lechamor.'
"He was a great talmid chochom who spread Torah to
his students. He was also great in chochmas hanistar.
He penetrated the hearts of hundreds and thousands
throughout the world, and drew them back to their roots. His
inner point was truth. There is truth tinged by ulterior
motives and personal issues. But there is also genuine
truth. He would wander from place to place. He sacrificed
all for Hashem. He consecrated everything to Hashem with
pure hashkofos. Hakodosh Boruch Hu said of Avrohom:
`Lema'an asher yetzaveh es bonov acharov.' Reb
Shimshon dedicated his entire life to the klal, and
on this night, the night of bedikas chometz, by the
light of a candle -- Reb Shimshon knew how to penetrate the
heart and to search the chometz in its recesses. Who
will show us the way? Who will teach us wisdom? How can we
approach bedikas chometz without your light in the
world?"
HaRav Eliyahu Man, Rebbetzin Pincus' brother, tearfully
cried: "Shimshon, Shimshon, you were a light that
illuminated the entire world. Now that light has been
extinguished. `My brother, my brother, you were very
pleasing to me.' Rebbetzin Chaya was the daughter of her
mother. Such modesty. `Ve'at olis al kulonoh.'
Modesty from Shomayim, out of profound wisdom. Oy
Miriam, Miriam, in your lives and your deaths you did not
part. You are going to the yeshiva shel ma'alah. You
will meet Abba, Ima. How close you were to them. Approach
the Kisei Hakovod and plead for the full recovery of
the children. Ask that they continue with good health. This
light will continue to shine. It is an atonement for all
Am Yisroel. It is an early korbon Pesach. May
the sacrifice be accepted with grace."
The final hesped was delivered by HaRav Moshe Man,
Rebbetzin Pincus' brother. He cried out: "`Oy meh hoyo
lonu.' The beloved and the pleasant ones. We were a
large chaburo, and a large stone has been uprooted.
`Mi yokum li im merei'im, lehochichom beShmi?' Who
else can rebuke them in My Name, and teach Am Yisroel
to draw closer to Hashem? Who can replace him? It is the eve
of bedikas chometz, when one should check all of the
nooks and crannies for chometz. Oh, how Reb Shimshon
exhorted us to examine our inner chometz all year,
and not only on this night. Now we are accompanying three
neshomos. These three niftorim will perhaps
atone for Klal Yisroel, and as a result we will merit
the genuine Poroh adumoh and to sacrifice the
korbon Pesach in Yerushalayim."
At the end of the hespedim and the recitation of
Kaddish, an entourage of tens of thousands of people
accompanied the gaon, HaRav Shimshon Pincus
zt"l, his wife, Rebbetzin Chaya Mindel, o"h,
and their daughter Miriam o"h, to the cemetery on Har
Hamenuchos, where they were buried after sunset. A massive,
weeping throng remained in the cemetery until the grave was
closed.
His Biography
HaRav Shimshon Pincus, son of HaRav Avrohom Chaim,
ylct'a and Rebbetzin Pincus was born in Av 5704
(1944). In his youth, he was one of the founders of Beis
HaTalmud in America and a student of HaRav Leib Malin,
zt"l. He came to Eretz Yisroel to study in the Brisk
Yeshiva under HaRav Yosef Dov Soloveitchikzt"l. After
his marriage to Rebbetzin Chaya Mindel, o"h, he lived
in Bnei Brak, later moving to Tifrach in the Negev.
During that period he was the menahel ruchani of the
Yeshiva of Ofakim and later became rosh yeshiva of the
Yerucham yeshiva. Over twenty years ago, Maran the Kehillos
Yaakov sent him to preside as the rav of the prominent,
sacred chareidi community of Ofakim, which he led with much
mesiras nefesh, caring for the needs of both
individuals and the klal in a remarkable manner.
For many years, he went abroad to bring dvar Hashem
to Jews all over the world including the United States and
South Africa, and he drew many back to Torah-true
Judaism.
He wrote a number of important seforim, among them:
She'orim Betefilloh which sold tens of thousands of
copies in several languages, Shabbos Malkeso and
Tifferes Torah on the Torah and the Shas and more.
His wife, Rebbetzin Chaya Mindel, o"h, daughter of
HaRav Mordechai Leib Man and the righteous Miriam, was born
in Sivan 5708 (1948). When the family lived in Tel Aviv,
Chaya Mindel studied in HaRav Sharansky's seminary, and when
they moved to Bnei Brak, she transferred to HaRav Wolf's
seminary. Upon completion of her studies, she served as a
teacher in the seminary, and later as a teacher in the
Haddasim school in Tifrach. Eight years ago, she founded the
Neveh Miriam school in Ofakim, named after her mother. Two
years ago, HaRav Yeshaya Lieberman, director of the Mercaz
Beis Yaakov network, asked her to serve as principal of the
Neveh Yocheved high school, where girls from Ofakim, Tifrach
and the surrounding areas study.
HaRav Pincus and his wife are survived by eleven children,
four of whom are married, as well as by a large family of
roshei yeshiva and marbitzei Torah.
