Rabbi Elyakum Friedman, head of Be'er HaChaim Yeshiva in Modi'in Illit, passed away early Sunday morning at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. He was 64 years old.
Born in 1962, Rabbi Friedman was the son of Rabbi Berel Friedman, who has served for over fifty years as head ritual slaughterer for several kashrut organizations, including Shearit Yisrael, and was close to the late Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv.
As a young man, Rabbi Friedman studied at the Ponevezh junior yeshiva in Bnei Brak before advancing to the senior Ponevezh Yeshiva. He later continued his studies at Brisk Yeshiva, where he became a devoted student of Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik and remained one of his distinguished disciples throughout his life.
He married the daughter of Rabbi Alexander Dinkel, one of the heads of Kol Torah Yeshiva for young students. After his marriage, he settled in Jerusalem's Mattersdorf neighborhood, where he became known as one of the community's most respected Torah scholars, distinguished by his extraordinary diligence, pure fear of Heaven, and uncompromising adherence to Jewish law.
Approximately twenty years ago, his first wife passed away at a young age, leaving behind twelve young orphans. He later remarried Chaya, daughter of Rabbi Eliezer Diner, head of the rabbinical court of Edah HaChareidis, and they had two daughters together.
For many years, Rabbi Friedman served as a senior lecturer at Ma'ayan HaTalmud Yeshiva. He was later appointed head of Be'er HaChaim Yeshiva for young men in Modi'in Illit, under the presidency of Rabbi Boruch Soloveitchik. In this role, he devoted himself to his students with remarkable dedication, skillfully adapting his teaching approach to each student's individual needs and instilling in them sound reasoning and proper learning methods. His students remained deeply connected to him for many years after completing their studies at the yeshiva.
In recent years, the rabbi battled serious illness. After a period of recovery, the disease returned and his condition deteriorated. Though hospitalized in recent weeks, he made the extraordinary decision to leave the hospital at the beginning of the current Elul semester to deliver the opening lecture on the tractate being studied at his yeshiva. He also participated with his students in the Yom Kippur Katan prayers and delivered an emotionally moving address before returning to the hospital.
Sunday morning, he passed away surrounded by his family members. He is survived by a blessed generation of upright children, including two daughters at home.
The funeral procession departed Sunday at 1:00 PM from his home at 1 Panim Me'irot Street in Jerusalem, proceeding to Har HaMenuchot cemetery for burial.
May his memory be a blessing.
