The Gerrer Chasidus world was shocked Thursday evening after Reb Yidel Toib, 77, one of the chassidus’s veteran and well-known baalei kriah, collapsed during a shiur held in the main Beis Medrash of the Gerrer shul on Yirmiyahu Street in Yerushalayim. He was niftar a short time later.

MDA responders, together with United Hatzalah, were rushed to the scene and immediately began CPR, in front of the many people present in the beus medrash at the time. Sadly, despite their efforts, Reb Yidel passed away.

Reb Yidel was related by marriage to the family of the Pnei Menachem of Gur zy”a, and several of his sons today serve as marbitzei Torah and askanim within the Gerrer community.

For close to a quarter of a century, he delivered the daf yomi shiur in Gur’s main beis medrash, earning a reputation as a serious talmid chacham. Beyond that, he headed Kollel Polin for over thirty years, a position the Pnei Menachem personally asked him to assume.