Rabbi Gershon Edelstein
Rabbi Gershon EdelsteinYaakov Naumi/Flash90

Ponevezh Yeshiva dean Rabbi Gershon Edelstein advised the family of Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman not to visit his grave at the end of the seven-day mourning period, but to say Psalms and learn Mishnah in his merit instead.

Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, 104, passed away Tuesday morning.

The reason for Rabbi Edelstein's instructions is the celebration of the new Jewish month, as well as of the Hanukkah holiday, which ends on Wednesday, December 20.

On Sunday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sent a letter of condolence to the Shteinman family, heaping warm praise on the recently deceased rabbi.

"Besides for his impressive and humble will, in which he ordered he not receive the honor and importance he deserved, we all merited to hear, over and over, the eulogies and memories which made us sorely feel the loss," Rivlin wrote.

"I believe that we cannot see Rabbi Shteinman's passing as a loss only to a specific portion of the public. Rabbi Shteinman carried the entire weight of the Jewish people’s existence on his shoulders. He was a Torah giant, a leader, and a trailblazer who guided and directed the lives of tens of thousands.

"Rabbi Shteinman knew how to state his determined stance and interact with all sectors of Israeli society in a pleasant fashion, softly and with great love for every person," he added.