In the aftermath of the terrible Churban Europa, many Rabbonim and ga’onim streamed into New York. They had been accomplished talmidei chachomim back in Europe, graduates of the greatest yeshivos, and many of them took on rabbinic positions in the communities of Brooklyn that began to deteriorate soon after their arrival. 

Their final stop—after so much wandering and displacement—was often Boro Park. As was the case for Rav Moshe Ezriel Segal, an ardent Gerer chossid and graduate of the great Lithuanian yeshivos who resided in Boro Park during his golden years for twenty-five years. 

His fortieth yohrtzeit will take place this shevi’i shel Pesach

Pułtusk

Rav Moshe Ezriel was born on the 28th of Adar of the year 1910 in the town of Pułtusk, Poland, a town located about 3o miles north of Warsaw. His father, Rav Tzvi Yosef, endeavored for his son to become great in Torah, and sent him off on a long journey to the Lomza Yeshiva. There he became close to the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Yechiel Mordecha Gordon (Rav Gordon was in America at the start of WWII on behalf of the yeshiva, and became separated from his family and talmidim due to the war. He remained here for many years thereafter). 

He was also close to the rov of Pułtusk, Rav Baruch Yitzchok Yisschor Levinthal, who awarded him semicha when he was quite young. 

With the outbreak of World War II, Rav Moshe Ezriel and his family fled to Vilna, like many other of the bnei yeshiva, and was at the right hand of the godol hador, Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzenky—caring for the spiritual and material needs of the yeshiva bachurim and other refugees. They spent the war years in Siberia. 

Following the war, he arrived in Lodz, and began rebuilding from the ashes. He worked to establish an infrastructure to serve the she’eiris hapleitah, and became a beloved rov and leader to them. 

Boro Park 

A new era began for Rav Segal and his family in Boro Park. They settled on 39th Street, where he opened his own shul. It was called Kehillas Moshe and was located at 1524 39th Street. 

“We had shul downstair from our house,” recalls a daughter. “My father possessed a moach otzum, an unbelievably brilliant person, and he was deeply beloved by the mispalelim and everyone who knew him.”  

Rav Moshe Ezriel kept a foot in each camp. While he was an ardent Gerer chossid, he kept his affinity for the Lomza Yeshiva, remaining part of the histadrus of the yeshiva, and keeping up with the Lomza alumni. There are a number of greetings to Rav Segal from the Lomza histadrus in the newspapers of the 60’s and 70’s.   

Another important project of Rav Segal was his leadership role in the Kollel Polin, a role that he shared with another Boro Park personality, the Sadavna Rov, Rav Yerachmiel Yitzchok Sekula.

He was an esteemed personality—respected and revered for his ge’onus and vast Torah knowledge—and sat in a place of honor at all gatherings in Ger and elsewhere. 

Reb Itche Meir Cywiak of Boro Park was especially close to Rav Ezriel Moshe. He related that, in addition to his serving as a rov, and spending his days and nights immersed in Torah, he would deliver Shiurim at the Home of the sages of Israel on the Lower East Side, and worked alongside Rav Henkin in Ezras Torah. “He was a great lamdan and a very big ba’al sechel… he was not a simple man, he recalled. 

Upon his passing on acharon shel Pesach of the year 1984, Dos Yiddishe Vort reported on the massive Levaya which drew many gerer chassidim, but also the Rabbonim and Admorim of Boro Park who knew and respected Rav Segal. His Levaya in Eretz Yisroel likewise drew a large crowd—led by the Gerer Rebbe—who paid tributed to man of greatness and humility who resided in Boro Park of yore.