Rabbi Micha Levi Honors Legacy of Rabbi Mordechai Auerbach

Following the seven-day mourning period for Rabbi Mordechai Auerbach, Rabbi Micha Levi, the chief rabbi of Petah Tikva and head of the Heichal Nechemia Yeshiva in Tel Aviv, shared reflections on Auerbach's life and teachings. Rabbi Levi recounted his own experiences in his youth, walking long distances with yeshiva students to attend Shabbat meals at Rabbi Auerbach's home.

These gatherings were described as uplifting, with Rabbi Auerbach making a point of welcoming guests from all backgrounds. The meals were followed by singing and profound Torah discussions that often lasted late into the night. Rabbi Levi highlighted Rabbi Auerbach's unique combination of immense Torah scholarship and profound humility and good character.

Rabbi Levi emphasized that Auerbach possessed the ability to make complex Talmudic and Halachic subjects accessible to everyone, approaching them with great love and sweetness that dissolved all opposition. He suggested that this approach, characterized by warmth rather than coercion, is the key to engaging individuals early in their religious journeys.

When asked about applying Auerbach's methods today, Rabbi Levi stated that the correct path is never through force. "Not to force, not to demand on the Halachic side, but to demand the Halacha in its depth and sweetness," he explained. He noted Auerbach's consistent enthusiasm for studying texts like the Mishnah Berurah, as if encountering them for the first time.

Rabbi Levi concluded by summarizing Rabbi Auerbach's impact with the powerful statement, "He didn't write books, he wrote people," encapsulating his legacy of shaping individuals.