Thousands gathered late Sunday night to accompany Avraham Yeshaya Spiegel, a 17-year-old talmid of Yeshivas Tifrach, to his final resting place after his body was located following ten days of searches in the wake of a tragic drowning at sea on Erev Shabbos.

The levayah, like that of his brother Yissachar Dov z”l days earlier, began outside the family home on Rechov Rav Kahaneman in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Yerushalayim. Despite the short notice following the confirmation of identification, large crowds assembled. The procession opened with the recitation of Tehillim led by his uncle, Rav Reuven Miletzky.

The first to eulogize was the grieving father, Rav Shlomo Spiegel, who accepted the Divine decree and spoke through tears. “Hashem gave and Hashem took; blessed be the Name of Hashem. It is written that Hakadosh Baruch Hu rejoices when a pure and righteous soul comes to Him—but ‘My handiwork is drowning in the sea and you say song’? How can one rejoice? Yet with Hashem there is also joy, and at the same time ‘in hidden places My soul weeps’—and with Hashem, this is not a contradiction.”

He described his son as exceptionally pure and meticulous in halachah, devoted to his learning and careful in his conduct. “Everyone tells me he is a communal sacrifice. I say he is like the Parah Adumah—he purifies everyone. He was good to everyone.”

Speaking of the double tragedy that struck the family, he said, “We have been struck doubly. One plus one is far more than two. When someone who loves you strikes you, it hurts much more. Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us a beautiful family; everything flowed like honey, with tranquility—and to receive such a blow, and in double measure—it is ‘woe to us, for we have been struck doubly,’ and may Hakadosh Baruch Hu give us ‘Nachamu, nachamu ami’ in double measure.”

He then asked that his son serve as an advocate on behalf of the family. “Be a melitz yosher for me and for your mother, that we should be able to raise the family with glory and sustain the yeshiva. Be a melitz yosher for all the devoted volunteers who worked so hard to find you—people invested great effort to bring you home.”

Rav Aviezer Piltz, rosh yeshiva of Tifrach, followed with words of hesped, opening with a pasuk. “Kol Hashem bakoach, kol Hashem behadar, kol Hashem shover arazim. The ‘cedars’ are these bochurim, Yissachar Dov and Avraham Yeshaya, who were planted in the house of Hashem, flourishing in the courtyards of our God—and Hakadosh Baruch Hu broke these cedars in a way that is beyond nature.”

He described the profound grief within the yeshiva. “All the talmidim are broken and one can see the mourning upon them. Avraham Yeshaya was unique in his joy for life—a life of Torah, of tefillah, and of ahavas chaveirim.” He added a reference to the pasuk, “Tashiv enosh ad daka vatomar shuvu bnei adam”—Hashem has brought such crushing blows that the soul is in deep anguish.

At the conclusion of his remarks, Rav Piltz spoke about the broader matzav facing the olam haTorah. “We must all awaken regarding the decree of the draft. The tears of Rav Isser Zalman, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, and the Rav of Tchebin, who went to the authorities to secure exemptions for bnei yeshiva and succeeded—apparently we now require more zechuyos for that to continue.”

Rav Yisroel Gans then delivered a hesped, noting that he had learned with the niftar as a chavrusa until his final day, describing him as a ben aliyah of the highest caliber.

The mashgiach, Rav Binyamin Finkel, drew a parallel to the current yamim of mourning over the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva, when 24,000 students perished. He noted that Rabbi Akiva did not despair, but immediately continued teaching five new talmidim, from whom Torah was rebuilt. “I say to you, Rav Shlomo—continue your avodas hakodesh in the yeshiva despite the pain and difficulty.”

He recounted a striking incident: a bochur who was in the midst of shidduch meetings declared he would not become engaged during the mourning period for his friend Yissachar Dov z”l. The rebbetzin heard and called him during the shivah, telling him, “All the brachos should come upon your head, and I want you to get engaged.” Rav Finkel noted how the family transforms its pain into simchah for others, adding that the young man indeed became engaged.

The final hesped was delivered by Rav Yehoshua Mishkovsky, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Imrei Moshe, where Avraham Yeshaya had studied in his earlier years. He quoted the pasuk, “Bayam darkecha u’shvilcha b’mayim rabim v’ikvosecha lo noda’u.” He recalled asking the bochur the previous year where he wished to continue learning. “You told me you wanted to go to Tifrach. I asked you why, what is special about Tifrach? And you answered: ‘Harotzeh lehachkim yadrim’—I want a place detached from this world, I want to grow.”

“He was elevated in the sense of ‘Vayigbah libo b’darchei Hashem.’ He was not just another bochur—he stood above, in his knowledge, his aspirations, and his entire outlook,” Rav Mishkovsky said.

Following an additional keriah and the recitation of Kaddish by the father, the levayah proceeded to Har Hamenuchos, where Avraham Yeshaya was laid to rest beside his brother.