Memorial Candle
Memorial CandleIsrael news photo: INN

The oldest Rebbe of the Nadvorna hassidic dynasty, Rabbi Asher Yeshaya Liefer, passed away last night at Columbia Hospital in Manhattan.

Rabbi Liefer, who was 98, left behind hundreds of grandchildren and great grandchildren in Israel and abroad.

The rebbe lived in Bnei Brak where he founded a Beit Midrash on Uziel Street, which became reputed as a magnet for Torah and God-fearing Jews.

A few years ago, Rabbi Liefer went to the US to participate in a celebration for one of his children, but because of his advanced age the trip greatly weakened him and he was forced to stay in America to live with one of his relatives.

Earlier this week, a serious decline in the rabbi's condition caused him to be quickly rushed by relatives to the hospital. 

His funeral procession will depart at 09:00 am (PST) from the Beit Midrash "Salka Muncie" to the airport, from where he will be flown to Israel.

Upon arriving, his coffin will be brought to to the school he founded on Uziel Street in Bnei-Barak. From there, the funeral procession will head to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Liefer was called the Rebbe of Nadvorna-Hadera as the hassidic dynasty he hails from maintains more than one court.

In March, his relative Rabbi Yaakov Yisachar Ber Rosenbaum, called the Rebbe of Nadvorna, died at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva. He was 82.