Concern continues to mount throughout the olam haTorah over the condition of the Brisk Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Avraham Yehoshua Halevi Soloveitchik, as special tefillah gatherings and continuous Tehillim vigils are being held across Eretz Yisroel for his complete recovery.

Since Shacharis on Wednesday morning, uninterrupted tefillah watches have been taking place in Yeshivas Brisk, where Tehillim and the Yud-Gimmel Middos are being recited continuously on behalf of the Rosh Yeshivah, whose tefillah name is Rav Avraham Yehoshua Halevi ben Ettil.

The tefillos are being held in the legendary shiur room where the Rosh Yeshivah has delivered his shiurim for nearly fifty years. The room was once the home of the Brisker Rav, Rav Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik, and has served as a center of Torah for close to ninety years.

In addition to the continuous tefillos in Brisk, a large public tefillah gathering was held at the Kosel HaMaaravi, while the central event took place late Wednesday night at the kever of Rav Shimon bar Yochai in Meron. Many participants also undertook personal kabbalos and acts of hischazkus in the zechus of the Rosh Yeshivah.

Rav Dovid Miller, one of the roshei yeshivah of Ponovezh and himself a longtime talmid of Brisk from his years as an avreich, was the driving force behind organizing the special tefillah at Meron.

According to the report, Rav Miller noted that the Brisker Rav had referred to the resting place of Rav Shimon bar Yochai as a unique place of tefillah. During the Brisker Rav’s own illness, his talmidim—including Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach—traveled there to daven on his behalf.

In light of that precedent, Rav Miller instructed that a special tefillah gathering once again be held at the holy site, expressing hope that, through the power of the tefillos of the many, Hakadosh Baruch Hu would grant a complete recovery to the Brisk Rosh Yeshivah, enabling him to continue disseminating Torah to his thousands of talmidim for many years to come.

Near midnight, a distinguished group of gedolei Torah and leading talmidim of Rav Avraham Yehoshua arrived at the tziyun in Meron. Among those participating were Rav Dovid Miller, Rosh Yeshivah of Ponovezh; Rav Yitzchak Dov Schechter of Kol Torah; Rav Tzvi Braverman, Raavad of Beitar; Rav Meir Kessler, Rav of Modiin Illit; Rav Aryeh Berenstein, Rosh Yeshivah of Yagdil Torah; Rav Moshe Bunim Kraus, Rosh Yeshivah of Or Elchanan L’Tzeirim; Rav Menachem Krauss of Slabodka; Rav Zalman Dovid Zuckerman, Rav of the Perushim bais haknesses in Givat Shaul; Rav Yerucham Povarsky, Rosh Yeshivah of Slonim; Rav Yaakov Gedalia Waldenberg, Rav of Ezras Torah; Rav Shayeh Gorelik of Ganei Geulah; Rav Chaim Zelaznik; Rav Dovid Holes; the Rosh Yeshivah‘s son-in-law, Rav Weintraub; along with numerous talmidim and alumni of Yeshivas Brisk.

Leading the tefillah was Rav Yerachmiel Toker, one of the senior talmidim of Yeshivas Brisk and the longtime baal tefillah at Yeshivas Chevron during the Yomim Noraim. Over the course of several emotional hours, participants recited chapters of Tehillim with heartfelt fervor, beseeching Hakadosh Baruch Hu to grant the Rosh Yeshivah a complete and speedy refuah sheleimah.