The residents of Yerushalayim’s Kiryat Mattersdorf neighborhood were plunged into mourning on Motzoei Shabbos with the passing of Rav Yaakov Meshulam Zalman Kruger zt”l, longtime Av Beis Din of Kehillas Chaim and one of the city’s most respected rabbinic figures. He was 95 years old.

Rav Kruger was renowned for decades as the rov of Kehillas Chaim, whose beis medrash is located on Rechov Panim Meiros in Kiryat Mattersdorf. Through his Torah scholarship, guidance, and leadership, he became a beloved figure to generations of mispallelim and neighborhood residents who regularly sought his counsel and attended his shiurim.

He was the son of Rav Chaim Tzvi Kruger zt”l, the Av Beis Din of Brussels, Belgium, and a prominent leader within the Agudas Harabbonim of the United States. Following in his father’s footsteps, Rav Kruger devoted his life to Torah, communal leadership, and tzorchei tzibbur.

Over the years, his beis medrash served as a center of Torah and tefillah, drawing many who were inspired by his wisdom, warmth, and deep understanding of both halachic and communal matters. He was widely admired throughout Yerushalayim and beyond for his humility and dedication to the needs of others.

Rav Kruger is survived by a distinguished family of children and descendants who continue his legacy of Torah and chessed. Among them is his son, the noted philanthropist and communal activist Reb Akiva Kruger, a prominent Belzer chossid in Montreal, Canada, who is well known for his extensive support of Torah institutions and charitable causes in Eretz Yisroel and throughout the Diaspora.

The levayah was held tonight at the Kehillas Chaim beis medrash at 18 Panim Meiros Street in Yerushalayim, proceeding to Har Hamenuchos for kevurah.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}