Yerushalayim is in mourning following the passing of Rav Yitzchok Wallach zt”l, one of the city’s distinguished talmidei chachamim, who was niftar on Motzaei Shabbos Kodesh at the age of 88.
The levayah took place tonight at the Shamgar funeral home in Yerushalayim, proceeding to Har HaZeisim for kevurah.
Rav Wallach zt”l was born in Czernowitz, Ukraine, in the month of Cheshvan 5698 (1937), to his father, Rav Elimelech Wallach zt”l, a seventh-generation descendant of the Noam Elimelech of Lizhensk.
During the Holocaust, he endured the horrors of the Czernowitz ghetto, from which he miraculously survived. After the war, he relocated to Klausenburg, Romania. In 1950, he immigrated to Eretz HaKodesh, where he entered the yeshivah of Tiferes Tzion in Bnei Brak, learning under the Rosh Yeshivah Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz zt”l. He later advanced to Yeshivas Ponovezh, where his exceptional brilliance became evident, and he developed a close bond with Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, the Ponovezher Rav zt”l, who treated him like a son.
In his youth, he studied bechavrusa with Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, then a young avreich, a connection that endured for decades. During that same period, he also formed a close learning partnership with Rav Gedaliah Nadel zt”l, whom he regarded as his primary rebbi. Their chavrusashaft spanned years, including extended stays in distant locations such as Yehud, where they immersed themselves in uninterrupted limud haTorah for months at a time.
Upon reaching marriageable age, in the month of Adar 5721, he married his wife, the daughter of Rav Shmuel Meir Weisenstern z”l of the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood in Yerushalayim. He settled in the city and spent several years learning in Yeshivas Mir. Later, for decades, he established his primary place of study in Moshav Beit Meir, where he devoted himself to Torah study day and night, returning home only from Shabbos to Shabbos.
In time, he founded a kollel there for outstanding avreichim, who likewise dedicated their weekdays entirely to Torah study and would return home on Thursday nights. Rav Yitzchok personally ensured their needs were met with dignity.
He merited building a large and illustrious family and viewed his life’s mission as unwavering hasmadah in Torah. He authored numerous works characterized by depth and clarity, including the seforim Noam Yitzchak and Noam Melech, covering topics such as the laws of krias haTorah and mourning, shemittas kesafim, netilas yadayim, and bikkurim.
His avodas hatefillah was also renowned, as he would daven with a distinctive sweetness and intensity that often extended over long periods. With his passing, a figure of relentless amal haTorah—to his very last moments—has been taken from the world.
He is survived by a blessed dor yesharim, including 20 children, sons and daughters, as well as sons-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. During his lifetime, he endured the loss of his son-in-law, Rav Eliezer Weisfish Hy”d, who was murdered in the horrific terror attack on Bus No. 2 in Kikar Zupnik in Yerushalayim.
Tehei nishmaso tzerurah b’tzror hachaim.
{Matzav.com}