YWN regerets to inform you of the Petira of Rebbtizen Ettel Gestetner A”H**, the Almanah of Hagaon HaRav Nosson Gestetner ZT”L, Mechaber of Teshuvos Lehoros Nosson, and one of the previous leading Poskim in Eretz Yisroel. She was Niftar at the age of 93 at Maayanei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak. Born in Austria in 1931 (5691), she was the daughter of Hagaon HaRav Meir Chaim Ungar ZT”L, the Av Beis Din of Lackenbach, Hungary, and Rebbetzin Sarah A”H. Her father later moved to Yerushalayim, where he authored Maor Chaim and Maor HaTorah. In 1951, she married HaRav Nosson Gestetner ZT”L, whose Chasunah was held in Yerushalayim in the presence of leading Gedolim.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Reb Avigdor Rubinstein Z”L, a prominent Ger Chosid, he was 71 years old. The Levaya will take place Monday at 10:30 AM at the Ger Yeshiva Building 5115 Old New Utrecht Avenue, The Kevurah will take place in Eretz Yisroel. Boruch Dayan HaEmmes…  

The world has lost a true hero. R’ Yehuda Lindenblatt Z”L, a Holocaust survivor and longtime Flatbush Hatzolah volunteer, was niftar at the age of 88. A man of unyielding strength and boundless chesed, Yehuda dedicated his life to saving others—continuing to respond to Hatzolah calls when he was already well into his 80s. Known by his unit number F-71, or affectionately as “Seventy Von,” Yehuda was a pillar of the Flatbush Hatzolah community. Even as recently as a year ago, he was still answering emergency calls, often arriving on scene before members who drove, as he sprinted from his daily jog on the Brighton Beach boardwalk. A survivor of the Holocaust, Yehuda was just a young child when he and his two brothers escaped Nazi persecution in Budapest.

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to give newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie greater powers and flexibility to expedite the city’s response to a fentanyl crisis that has turned sidewalks into open-air dens of drug consumption and homelessness. The board voted 10-1 to eliminate competitive bidding requirements for some contracts and allow the administration to solicit private donations to quickly add 1,500 shelter beds and hire more public safety and behavioral health specialists. Lurie, a Levi Strauss heir and anti-poverty nonprofit founder who had never held elective office until he squashed Mayor London Breed’s reelection bid last year, celebrated the win. On the campaign trail, he had pledged to work with supervisors to tackle the critical issue.

Just last night, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Wolosow Z”L a shliach who directed adult education at Chabad of Manalapan, stood on stage at a major concert, singing alongside Avraham Fried in a powerful moment of inspiration. He sang the words from Tehillim (42:3): Tzama Nafshi “When will I come and appear before Hashem?” – a chilling verse in hindsight. The crowd applauded, and Fried was visibly moved by his voice. Today, heartbreakingly, he is no longer with us. Rabbi Wolosow Z”L, a dedicated Chabad Shliach in New Jersey, passed away suddenly on Monday, 5 Shvat 5785, at the age of 43. He was known for his warmth, kindness, and commitment to teaching and inspiring others.

Ian Epstein was one of the 67 victims of the tragic mid-air collision over a Washington, D.C. airport was. He was a flight attendant and a member of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Jewish community. His Levaya is scheduled for Wednesday at Chabad of Charlotte. “Our Charlotte Jewish Community mourns the loss of Ian Douglas Epstein O.B.M. יצחק דוד בן זלמן מסטל ז״ל,” Chabad of Charlotte shared on Facebook. “Ian was a flight attendant on flight 5342, which tragically went down in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, January 29th. The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, February 5th at 2:00pm at Chabad of Charlotte 6619 Sardis Road.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Chazzan Bentzion Miller Z”L, one of the greatest and most prestigious Chazzanim in the world in the past 45 years. He was 77. Reb Bentzion, a longtime resident of Boro Park, was born in a displaced persons (DP) camp in Ferenwald, Germany. Like his father Reb Aharon Daniel Z”L, he eventually became a Shochet, Mohel and a Chazzan, and was from a family of Bobover Chassidim. He held held positions in Montreal at Sheves Achim Synagogue on Côte-des-Neiges, then in Toronto at Shaarei Tefillah Synagogue on Bathurst Street, in Canada.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of R’ Yaakov Montag Z”L, a longtime resident of Flatbush. He was approximately 75 years old. Reb Yankel was a giant in Chesed and spent his life helping those in need in a quiet, unassuming way. He was involved in building dozens of Shuls and Mosdos, including Chaim Berlin, Camp Morris, Yeshiva of Brooklyn, Veretzky, Novaminsk, Torah Temimah and many, many more. He helped thousands upon thousands of Mishpachos with so many acts of kindness, that one would need to write a book to document them. Among his many business dealings, he was most famous for being one of the owners of Aura Electric on New Utrecht Avenue in Boro Park. In recent years, he relocated to Lakewood.

The Jewish community of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and beyond is mourning the petirah of Rav Elazar Mayer Teitz, zt”l, the rav of the city and leader of the Jewish Educational Center (JEC). Rav Teitz was 89 years old. A son of the late Rav Pinchas Mordechai Teitz, who served as the pioneering rav of Elizabeth from 1935 until his passing in 1995, Rav Elazar Mayer carried forward his father’s legacy of Torah, education, and communal leadership. Born in 1935, he displayed remarkable Torah scholarship from a young age, earning semicha from Rav Isaac Halevi Herzog, the Chief Rabbi of Israel. In addition to his rabbinic studies, he pursued advanced degrees in mathematics and education. In 1958, he joined his father in guiding the community, eventually succeeding him as mara d’asra of Elizabeth.

Reb Binyamin Rothman, z’l, of Nof Ayalon was niftar on Thursday at the age of 87. He was the father of HaGaon HaRav Natan Rothman, a renowned marbitz Torah at Wolfson Yeshivah in Bayit Vegan, a Rosh Kollel and the mechaber of Sharei Daas and many other sefarim. His other son is Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, the head of Knesset’s Constitution Committee. The niftar was known as a beloved person who pursued tzedaka and chessed, davened fervently, and was mechaneich his children to yiras and ahavas Hashem. He left behind his wife, sons, daughters, and grandchildren. The levaya was held on Thursday afternoon at Shamgar and the kevurah took place at Har Hamenuchos. תהא נשמתו צרורה בצרור החיים. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)