HaRav Osher Eliach, zt"l, passed away suddenly on
motzei Shabbos parshas Yisro, 23 Shvat-February
14 at the age of 52.
HaRav Eliach was born to Rav Pinchos Yechiel, ylct"a,
in Jerusalem's Shaarei Chessed neighborhood. As a
bochur at Yeshivas Kol Torah he cleaved to Maran HaRav
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l, who lived in his
neighborhood and with whom he maintained close ties until the
latter's final days. During HaRav Eliach's years at Kol Torah
he stood out for his dedicated scholarship and love of
Torah.
Later he studied at Yeshivas Ponovezh under HaRav Shach,
HaRav Povarksky and HaRav Rozovsky, who took him under their
wings. After marrying his wife Zehavah, the daughter of R'
Avrohom Avishar, he continued his learning at Kollel Ponovezh
where he mastered several masechtos, studying night
and day.
He learned maseches Eruvin with all of the Rishonim
and Acharonim over 20 times, becoming an expert on the
subject, and numerous chareidi communities consulted with
him. He was involved in the setup of eruvin in every
part of Eretz Yisroel, including the eruv for Bnei
Brak's Ramat Elchonon and Neot Yosef neighborhoods, Nachalas
Moshe, Neveh Shaanan in Haifa and the original Kiryat Sefer
eruv. When a friend asked him why he did not charge
fees for all the time and effort he put into guiding
eruv committees in their work he said, "Just as giving
ma'aser money is an obligation, so too one should give
`ma'aser time' for the sake of the klal. This
is my `ma'aser time.' "
Five years ago HaRav Menachem Tzvi Berlin, rosh yeshivas
Rabbenu Chaim Ozer, asked him to serve as mashgiach in
his yeshiva. Since then HaRav Eliach led chaburos and
vaadim, primarily for talmidim in Shiur
Alef.
As mashgiach he arranged chavrusas among the
talmidim. The week before HaRav Eliach's
petiroh the bochur in charge of listing the
chavrusas was about to get married. When HaRav Eliach
asked him to find a replacement the bochur said he
would attend to the matter the following week, but HaRav
Eliach was insistent, saying, "I'm asking you to do it now. I
don't know what next week will bring."
HaRav Eliach's life was an unbroken chain of time used to the
fullest. He was never seen idle. He calculated every moment
into his dense schedule of avodas Hashem. He had a
daily learning routine he committed to before his wedding.
Once he returned from the wedding of one of his children at
3:00 a.m. and sat down to his set learning, not wanting to
miss it even once.
HaRav Eliach made use of his time with the utmost efficiency.
While talking on the phone he would prepare Shabbos candles
or attend to other affairs. These little things implanted in
his children the value of time and the need to use it for
Torah. One of his neighbors from across the street used to
see him helping his wife hang out laundry after midnight
every night. He noticed that HaRav Eliach had earphones on.
One day he asked him what he listened to while hanging
laundry. "What do you mean? Gemora shiurim that I
recorded from my days in Ponovezh."
He never postponed matters and taught his family members the
value of zerizim makdimim lemitzvos, davening Minchah
and Ma'ariv as early as possible and performing every
mitzvah without delay. He invested tremendous energy into his
children's education, studying Orchos Tzaddikim with
each of his sons and daughters to instill yiras
Shomayim and middos tovos in them. They say they
never heard him raise his voice.
HaRav Eliach always treated widows and orphans with great
care. After his petiroh many families he discreetly
helped support for years came to tell the moro d'asro
of Ramat Elchonon, HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein, about the
deceased's acts of tzedokoh.
Last week he felt chest pains and on motzei Shabbos
Yisro, during Melaveh Malka, he suffered a sudden
heart attack and lost consciousness. A few minutes later he
returned his pure soul to his Maker.
At the levaya that set out from the central beis
knesses in Ramat Elchonon he was eulogized by HaRav
Zilberstein, his father HaRav Pinchos, his uncle HaRav Dovid
Tzvi Eliach, menahel ruchani of Yeshivas Nachalas
Dovid in Petach Tikva, his son Rav Yehuda, a young
avreich, and his brother HaRav Shlomo.
The procession proceeded slowly by his home on Rechov HaRav
Kahaneman and on to Yeshivas Rabbenu Chaim Ozer, where he
taught Torah and yir'oh for the past several years.
There hespeidim were delivered by HaRav Yaakov
Edelstein, rov of Ramat Hasharon and Neot Yosef; HaRav
Menachem Tzvi Berlin, the rosh yeshiva; HaRav Noach Pellei,
the menahel ruchani; HaRav Yeshayohu Adler and HaRav
Menachem Wolpe, ramim at the yeshiva; and HaRav
Yitzchok Ehrenfeld, Rosh Yeshivas Beis Shmuel.
The levaya then continued to Shamgar in Yerushalayim,
where he was eulogized by his brother-in-law, HaRav Chaim
Weissfish, a mashgiach at Yeshivas Kol Torah, before
heading for Har Hamenuchos Cemetery.
HaRav Osher Eliach zt"l is survived by his
grandmother, parents, siblings, wife, his son Rav Yehuda,
daughters married to Rav Shmuel Margaliot, Rav Hemnik, Rav
Avrohom Yeshayohu Troper, Rav Yaakov Zelivansky, and another
nine unmarried children.
Those able to contribute to the fund for his family can
contact: In England: Mr. Moshe Stern, 1 Good Yeens Garden,
London NW4; or Mr. J Levison, 10 Craven Walk, Stanford Hill,
M16 6BP, England; In the USA: Rabbi Mordechai Orbach, 22
Skylark Dr, Spring Valley, NY, 10977; in Israel R' Avrohom
Pollack, 4 Zonnenfeld Street, Bnei Brak; HaRav Shlomo Eliach,
Telephone: 03-579-4465.
