It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of R’ Naftali Hirschfeld z”l. He was in his nineties.

R’ Naftoli was among the talmidim who had the extraordinary privilege of learning directly under Rav Aharon Kotler zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha, in Lakewood, whose vision and leadership transformed the landscape of Torah learning in America.

He belonged to the generation that knew Lakewood Yeshiva long before it became the enormous Torah institution recognized throughout the world today. In those early years, BMG was a relatively small but intensely dedicated makom Torah, where a select group of bnei Torah devoted themselves to learning under the personal guidance of Rav Aharon.

As one of Rav Aharon’s talmidim, R’ Naftoli was privileged to witness firsthand the rosh yeshiva‘s extraordinary dedication to Torah, his fiery shiurim, and the uncompromising standards that became the foundation of the Lakewood Yeshiva.

Over the years, R’ Naftoli was recognized as someone who possessed personal recollections of Rav Aharon, his approach to learning, and his leadership during the formative period of the American Torah world.

Those recollections carried particular significance as the years passed and the number of individuals who had personally learned under Rav Aharon steadily diminished.

Following his years in Lakewood, R’ Naftoli continued his involvement in harbotzas haTorah. At one point, he joined Rav Shmuel Feivelsohn in establishing a yeshiva in St. Louis, Missouri, bringing the dedication to Torah learning that characterized Rav Aharon’s talmidim to another American Jewish community.

Later in life, R’ Naftoli pursued a professional career and resided for many years in Queens, New York.

In more recent years, he lived in Lakewood with his son R’ Eli, returning to the community where he had spent his formative years learning under Rav Aharon.

R’ Naftoli and his contemporaries were part of the foundational generation of Beth Medrash Govoha, a group of talmidim whose commitment to Torah helped establish the mosad during an era when the concept of full-time, advanced Torah learning in America was still developing.

The petirah of R’ Naftoli marks the loss of another member of that remarkable generation.

The levayah will take place Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Congregation Sons of Israel Holocaust Memorial Chapel, located at 613 Ramsey Avenue in Lakewood, NJ.

Yehi zichro baruch.

{Matzav.com}