Last Friday, erev Shabbos parshas Matos-Mas'ei, Rav
Elchonon Tzvi (Charles) Wengrove zt"l was niftar. He
was buried on Har Hamenuchos before Shabbos.
Born in America in 5688 (1928), Rav Wengrove was raised on
the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. He was a
talmid of Torah Vodaas and specifically of HaRav
Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz. He was considered an outstanding
student there and received semichoh from his rebbe. He
married in America. His wife Rose passed away twenty years
ago.
His wife's grandfather was Rav Yechiel Pesach Karelenstein,
zt"l, who was sent by HaRav Tzodok Hacohen, the
admor of Lublin, to raise money for the yeshiva in
Lublin. R' Tzodok asked him to be the yeshiva's permanent
representative in America. When he expressed his concern
about educating his children properly in the America of those
days, R' Tzodok promised and blessed him that not one of his
descendants would go out to tarbus ro'oh. That
blessing was fulfilled, as all of R' Yechiel's descendants
are following the derech haTorah.
In 5729 (1969) R' Wengrove moved to Eretz Yisroel, settling
in the then-new neighborhood of Ramat Eshkol. He worked for
the Feldheim publishing house for many years as a translator
from Hebrew to English, and over the years became well-known
as an expert in the field. He translated dozens of
seforim including Chofetz Chaim al Hatorah, Ish
Tzaddik Hoyoh, and Sefer Hachinuch which he
studied in great depth, and many, many more.
He was an expert baal korei and used to read the Torah
in several places every Shabbos without pay. For many years
he read in the Meah Shearim shtiblach and for several
years he read every week at the Kosel, walking there from his
home in Ramat Eshkol. When he stayed with his son-in-law in
Ashdod, he often read the Torah for the Admor of Pittsburgh,
zt"l and shlita.
In his last months when he was confined to a wheelchair, his
pleasure and simchah at being able to read from the
Torah even in his difficult circumstances were evident.
He was a quiet man of outstanding tsnius. When he was
hospitalized his family had to ask the doctors to examine him
carefully since they knew that he would not complain even
when he had plenty of reason to do so.
He had been hospitalized for an extensive illness, and just
when it seemed like he was about to be released, he was
niftar late Thursday night, 25 Tammuz.
Participating in his levaya were HaRav Yaakov Blau,
rov of Sanhedria in Yerushalayim, and HaRav Yedidya Menat.
He was buried on erev Shabbos on Har Hamenuchos. He is
survived by a brother in America, by his sons R' Shmuel Ozer
and R' Nochum, and by sons-in-law R' Yehoshua Reiss of
Yerushalayim and R' Ezra Shor of Ashdod, and by his
grandchildren, all of whom are following in his footsteps.
