On erev Shabbos 28 Tishrei, a large crowd accompanied
the Admor of Lublin, HaRav Avrohom Eiger ztvk"l, on
his last earthly journey. The Admor, a tzaddik tomim,
a gaon and a kodosh, as well as a vestige of
illustrious stock, was niftar on Friday morning. He
was 89 at the time of his petiroh.
With his petiroh, Am Hashem has lost one of its
greatest tzadikim, a humble and unassuming Jew who
served Hashem in a remarkable manner from his youth.
A few weeks ago, the Admor contracted a complicated case of
pneumonia. Three days before Rosh Hashonoh, the Admor's
condition deteriorated and he was rushed to the Tel Hashomer
hospital for treatment. On Hoshanoh Rabbah, during the
davening, the seforim shrank in his beis
medrash, which had been there for over 30 years, suddenly
caved in. The incident cast a pall of depression over the
congregation.
A week later on Friday morning, he returned his pure soul to
its Maker, while surrounded by more than a minyan of
family members who cried out, "Shema Yisroel."
When news the petiroh spread, many came to the Admor's
beis medrash on Elisha Hanovi Street in Bnei Brak. The
Admor's mitta was brought to the beis medrash
where he had performed his avodas hakodesh for so many
years. The mitta was lowered into the private
mikveh in which he had always immersed himself before
his tefilloh. The taharoh was conducted
there.
Before the levaya left for the cemetery, HaRav Shmuel
Halevi Wosner, the gavad of the Zichron Meir
neighborhood and the rosh yeshiva of the Chachmei Lublin
yeshiva, delivered a stirring hesped.
At the end of the hesped, the huge and weeping throng
which accompanied the Admor proceeded to the Shomrei Shabbos
cemetery in the Zichron Meir cemetery of Bnei Brak.
Biography: The Admor from Lublin
The Admor of Lublin was named after his father, R' Avrohom
Eiger (author of Shevet MiYehuda), who had died just
three months before his birth on erev Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5674
(1914). He joined a long line of admorim stretching
back through his grandfather, R' Shlomo Eiger, and his great-
grandfather, the great R' Akiva Eiger, all the way to the
founder of the dynasty, R' Leibele Eiger, also known as the
Toras Emes, who his elder twin brother Hy'd was named
after.
His righteous mother was the daughter of HaRav Dovid
Weidenfeld of Warsaw, who was the father-in-law of several
gedolim: the Beis Yisroel, the Gerrer Rebbe; HaRav
Avrohom Yehoshua Heshel Weinberg, the Admor of Slonim-Tel
Aviv; the Rov of Bandin, HaRav Mendel Levine Hy'd, the
son of Rav Chanoch Tzvi HaKohen of Bandin; and the son of Rav
Nosson Schpeigelglass of Warsaw. The Admor of Lublin was
particularly close to his uncle, the Beis Yisroel.
As a child he was influenced by R' Azriel Meir Eiger, the
Admor of Lublin, who headed Lubliner kehillos in Pilov
and Otvotzk.
In his youth R' Avrohom Eiger studied under the tutelage of
Rav Yechezkel of Ostrovtza, the son of Admor Meir Yechiel of
Ostrovtza. He would spend long hours learning with his twin
brother. Years later he once saw his grandsons taking a sip
of water after an hour of intensive study. "When I would
learned with my older [twin] brother," he told them, "after
three hours of straight learning we would begin to get a
taste of the learning, then we would learn for another few
hours."
As committed as their daily learning schedule was, on Shabbos
all of their time was even more devoted to Torah. They would
finish the Shabbos meal and begin a long, uninterrupted study
session, snatching just a short nap during the night either
before or after the learning.
Before the outbreak of World War II he was living in Otvotzk
with his cousin, Rav Mendel Eiger, at the home of the elderly
HaRav Azriel Meir. He later recounted that when a number of
admorim came to part with the sickly man before the war,
HaRav Azriel Meir told him and his cousin to flee Poland
quickly, saying if he had the strength he would leave as
well.
Traveling on foot with a group of Jews, they came across the
Amshenover Rebbe, HaRav Shimon, along the way. His wagon was
really too full to pick them up, but upon seeing them he
said, "You I should leave here?" and took them along.
In their wanderings they came to Vilna and from there
traveled to Japan and on to Shanghai along with the renowned
Yeshivas Mir.
The Shanghai refugees were astounded by his yiras
Shomayim. After the war, when everyone else's spirit was
broken he, a lone bochur with no family, would spend
hours learning.
R' Avrohom Eiger was widely recognized as a ben aliya.
It was known that he would check all of his food for bugs by
sunlight.
From Shanghai he went to Hanoville, France where he married
the Rebbetzin Tzima Simo, o'h, the daughter of HaRav
Dovid Anilewitz of Munzhov. His first daughter was born in
Hanoville. The distinguished Rebbetzin bore the burden of
running the home, earning a living and raising the children.
The Rebbetzin passed away on the 7th of Tishrei 5738 (1978).
Following her petiroh he married his second Rebbetzin
ylct'a, the daughter of HaRav Yosef Ozer Yanovsky of
Lodz, who stood by his side devotedly until his last day.
In 5709 (1949) R' Avrohom Eiger moved to Israel, settling in
Jerusalem for a year. He set up the Lubliner Beis Chassidim
in Tel Aviv and the Lubliner kehilloh urged him to
assume the mantel of leadership. He was reluctant, but
gedolei olom, particularly the Chazon Ish, the Beis
Yisroel, the Belzer Rebbe and the Tchebiner Rebbe, agreed
that he should accept the title of Admor. The Chazon Ish said
he had an obligation to accept the leadership for the sake of
his holy forefathers' honor.
Upon arriving in Tel Aviv he had a special relationship with
the Belzer Rebbe. He also began to develop close ties with
HaRav Moshe Mordechai, the Admor of Lelov.
In 5715 (1955) he relocated to Bnei Brak, setting up his home
and beis medrash in the Neve Achiezer neighborhood,
where he set up Yeshivas Ahavas Torah for Sephardic
bochurim.
His neighborhood, which attracted many Holocaust refugees
during this period, overflowed with the simchah shel
mitzvoh he radiated, for he encouraged all Jews to serve
Hashem with joy.
In 5723 (1963) R' Avrohom Eiger set up his beis
medrash in the center of Zichron Meir.
HaRav Wosner said that the Lubliner Rebbe reminded him of R'
Akiva Eiger, and indeed some roshei yeshivos came to
see him in order to witness this.
He is survived by his sons, Rav Shlomo and Rav Azriel Meir;
his sons-in-law, the Amshenover Rebbe, Rav Zissman Michoel
Teisel, and the son of the Modzhitzer Rebbe, Rav Pinchas
Moshe Taub; grandchildren who are also talmidei
chachomim and great-grandchildren, all continuing along
his path.
