Hundreds of members of the Sanz-Klausenburg Hasidic community and residents of Brooklyn's Boro Park and Monsey gathered late Friday night to bury Rabbi Tzvi Zev Berger, a senior rabbinical judge who died suddenly in Switzerland at age 43.
The unexpected death shocked the community last week when Rabbi Berger, who was vacationing in Switzerland, did not wake from his sleep on Tuesday night. News of the premature passing of the respected scholar and religious authority stunned his acquaintances and thousands of followers.
Following the tragic death, the family and community faced complications and delays imposed by border authorities when bringing his body back to the United States for burial
For several days, community activists in Zurich and the United States worked intensively in close coordination with community leaders in Switzerland. After sustained efforts, the obstacles were overcome on Thursday when the body was released and the necessary permits were obtained to transport the casket to America for burial.
The funeral procession began at Zurich airport, where members of the local Jewish community gathered to pay their respects to the distinguished rabbinical judge. Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech Padwa, chief rabbi of Zurich and leader of the local community, delivered a eulogy at the airport ceremony.
When the plane landed in the United States late Friday night, the funeral procession arrived at the main Sanz-Klausenburg synagogue in Boro Park, where Rabbi Berger had established his center of Torah study and religious rulings. Large crowds gathered there in mourning. Eulogies were delivered by several prominent rabbis, including the chief rabbinical judge of Skver in Boro Park, the chief rabbi of Ratzfert, the chief rabbinical judge of Kiryas Sanz in Lakewood, the chief rabbi of Toras Moshe, and Rabbi Gedaliah Landa, a lecturer at the Sanz-Klausenburg study hall.
The procession then continued to Monsey, where additional eulogies were delivered in the courtyard of the Sanz-Klausenburg synagogue by the chief rabbinical judge of Sanz-Klausenburg Monsey, the chief rabbinical judge of Sanz-Klausenburg Jerusalem, and the chief rabbi of Ribnitz.
Following the eulogies, Rabbi Berger was laid to rest in the Monsey cemetery.
