Rav Elyashiv Biography

For close to a century, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was a fixture in the Meah Shearim neighborhood of Yerushalayim, studying Torah day and night. Even during the decades that he served as a dayan(Rabbinic Judge) and played a key role in establishing the structure of the Beis Din Hagadol, his life revolved around his diligent Torah study. His sweet singsong voice rang out at first in the Ohel Sarah shul, and then resonated to every corner of the Torah world, through the thousands upon thousands of piskei halachah he issued and the profound guidance – in matters public and private – that he offered.

Yet for all that he was renowned and acknowledged as the generation’s leader, he remained an enigma even to those closest to him. This stunning new book unravels much of the mystery of this gadol who was at once famed and hidden.

This fascinating portrait of Rav Elyashiv sheds light on the many different facets of this Torah giant: his incredible diligence and hasmadah, his absolute self-control, the warmth that lay behind his reticent, humble manner.