The Ish Tzaddik Haya nonprofit organization was established in memory of Rabbi Aryeh Levin

Rabbi Aryeh Levin was the youngest child of Reb Binyamin Beinush, a forester and a Torah scholar, and Ethel, on the sixth day of Nissan, in 5645 (1885), in the small town of Orla, near the city of Bialystock, Belarus.  Rabbi Levin left home in pursuit of Torah study at a young age. He attended several yeshivas, among them in the cities of Brisk and Pinsk, where his devotion to learning and his reputation as an illui spread. Rabbi Levin hoped to study at the famous Volozhin Yeshiva but at first was denied due to his age. However, after studying for some years with Grand Rabbi Zalman Meltzer of the Slutzk and a year at the yeshiva in Hlusk, Rabbi Levin was accepted at the Voluzhin Yeshiva.

While at the Volozhin Yeshiva, Rabbi Aryeh Levin wrote: “In those days as war between Russia and Japan was threatening, I was determined to fulfill my secret and long-held yearning to immigrate to the holy land, and I was but 19 years of age.”

After much effort to raise funds and obtain the necessary documents Rabbi Aryeh Levin bid his parents farewell. When he arrived in Israel during the month of Adar of 5665 (1905), he wrote, “. . . and when I saw from a distance the holy land that Hashem promised to our forefathers to grant to us, I’ve become a different person: Fervent and full of emotion, tears flowing from my eyes. I said then, ‘I shall die this time, as Hashem granted me the zchut to enter the land of my fathers. I forgot all my pain and struggles as a new spirit entered my soul, a spirit of joy and endless spiritual pleasure. My tears flowed in recognition that I merited to enter the holy land, the land that men and angels desire to behold. As I disembarked and first treaded on the holy ground, I felt the holiness with each and every step taken”.

On the 11^th of Tamus, several months after his arrival to Israel, Rabbi Aryeh Levin married Chana, the daughter of Rabbi David Shapiro, the brother in law of Rabbi Pesach Frank. Rabbi Aryeh settled in Jerusalem, attended the Torahs Chaim Yeshiva, and in 5669 (1909) received his rabbinical ordination from the Grand Rabbi Chaim Berlin (the son of the Netziv of Volozhin), Rabbi Shmuel Salant and Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, with whom he had a close relationship. From 5677 (1917) until the end of his days, Rabbi Aryeh Levin was the Spiritual Mashgiach (advisor) in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Aryeh Levin was addressed by all as Reb Aryeh and was widely known as the “Father of the prisoners”. For 25 years, during the British Mandate in Israel, Reb Aryeh visited Jewish prisoners in an effort to boost their morale and convey their messages to their families. He was especially known for his regular visits with the Jewish underground prisoners (members of the Palmach, Haganah, Irgun and Lechi). Reb Aryeh was also a regular visitor at the hospital for lepers where he encouraged and reassured the sick.  When the chief Rabbi of Israel (then Palestine), Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, was asked why he recommended Reb Aryeh Levin to the position of prisoners’ chaplain, he said that “In Reb Aryeh there is the capacity to perform chesed with the entire being (body) and in that is the secret of his neshama (soul) and the repair of the world (Tikkun Olam).” Rabbi Kook added that “if there were three Jews in Reb Aryeh’s caliber in our generation, Moshiach would arrive.”

Reb Aryeh’s sublime character traits of humility, kindness, respect and love for all and compassion for the needy were legendary in Jerusalem. He and his wife lived in modest and impoverished home, but he refused any offer of assistance. He once told a companion while attending a funeral, “Many friends tried to persuade me to move to a more spacious apartment, but I refused. After years of living, a man is lead from his home to a grave. The transition will not be a difficult one for me, as there is not much of a contrast . . .”

Reb Aryeh’s face would light up upon meeting people, especially the young. He used to caress children’s faces expressing paternal affection. He said once to a companion, “If we are commanded to favor the stones and the dust of Israel, as it says, ‘כי רצו עבדיך את אבניה ואת עפרה יחוננו’ ~ ‘And thy servants shall take pleasure in her stones and love her dust’ (psalms 102:15), how much more then should we favor the children of Israel in the land of Israel?”.

Numerous stories have been associated with the Jerusalemite Tzaddik, Reb Aryeh, many of which were published in two books, compiled by author Simcha Raz: A Tzaddik in Our Time: The Life of Rabbi Aryeh Levin and its sequel, Tzaddik Yesod Olam.  Among others, there is a story that occurred just hours before Reb Aryeh’s death when he was approached by journalist Eliyahu Amikam. Reb Aryeh pointed at two verses in Tehillim, “יושיע ציון ויבנה ערי יהודה… ואוהבי שמו ישכנו שמה” – “[God] will build the cities of Judah . . . and they that love His name will dwell therein” (Psalms 69:36, 37), and explained: “First came the Bilu’im (a movement with a mission focused on the agricultural settlement of the Land of Israel) and their successors. Now we are in the second phase, we must build the cities of Judah. Only then will the third stage be upon us, the period of love of Hashem. This period shall arrive . . . “

The many stories overshadow another aspect of the Rabbi’s personality. Reb Aryeh was an erudite Torah scholar, respected, appreciated and the confidant of the most notable rabbis of his time. During his life Reb Aryeh did all to conceal his greatness, however in his will in which he provided his children with guidance, some of his inner world was revealed. They learned then about the times when Reb Aryeh helped others at great sacrifice to himself.

Reb Aryeh rejected all honors, and when he was chosen to receive the prestigious citizenship award, Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem), he refused. Many tried to persuade him but Reb Aryeh declined without providing an explanation.

Reb Aryeh was once asked about his rejection of the honor and in an untypical moment of openness, he said, “One shall not open a window in a darkened house” (meaning that when a house is darkened one cannot perceive its shortcomings).  Such a man was Reb Aryeh, whose modesty and humility prevented him from seeing his own worth. Reb Aryeh also said “I always tried to be of those who are insulted but do not insult in return, who are shamed, but do not shame in return, and I prayed that no one would be punished with me as cause.”

A story is told by Rabbi Zilbershtein, shlita, about his grandfather: Once, when Reb Aryeh was teaching students, the President of Israel, Mr. Zalman Shazar ob”m came for a visit. He sent an emissary to ask for an audience with Reb Aryeh, and the Rabbi replied, ‘I am now engaged in the study of Torah. If the issue at hand is important enough to delay learning, I am ready to meet, but if not, please let us postpone the meeting until tomorrow’. The president left and returned the next day to share the following story: At an amnesty ceremony in the United States, a pardoned prisoner was asked by the chief justice (heard by the guest who accompanied President Shazar on the visit to Reb Aryeh), “Will you continue to steal in the future?” To which the prisoner, after a moment of contemplation, responded, “Only once more. I need to find a watch for Reb Aryeh Levin. He does not have a watch.”

The prisoner explained that while in prison, Reb Aryeh Levin taught them about the virtue of truth-telling, and that Reb Aryeh’s words impacted him so that he took upon himself to stop stealing in order to avoid having to tell falsehoods. But he so admired the rabbi that he desired to gift him with a watch. The guest was so impressed with the story, he asked to accompany President Shazar on a visit with Reb Aryeh, but since the visit was not sufficiently important to take away the rabbi from his study, they postponed their visit to the next day.

Rabbi Aryeh Levin died on the ninth day of Nissan 5729 (1969) and was buried at the Sanhedria Cemetery near his wife. In his will, Rabbi Levin continued to care for his fellow Jews. He wrote “All those that I was tied to in my life, especially those so close to me that I felt their anguish, I shall not forget them. In the event that I shall merit after twelve months, I will beseech and ask for mercy before the heavenly throne . . . ”

“כל אלו שהייתי קשור אליהם בחיי, בפרט לאלו שהתקרבו אלי בקרבת אלוקים והרגשתי בצערם ובסבלם, לא אשכחם, אם תהיה לי איזו זכות אחר י”ב חודש לבקש רחמים לפני כיסא הכבוד…”