Prominent Vizhnitz Community Figure Leah Waltz Passes Away

Leah Waltz, a revered figure in the Vizhnitz Hasidic community and wife of the late Rabbi Baruch Waltz, passed away in Bnei Brak. She was known for her extensive charitable work and dedication to her family and community.

Waltz, a sixth-generation Jerusalem native, was born in 1935. She experienced significant loss in her childhood, being orphaned from her mother at 18 months and her father at age seven. She was raised by her maternal grandfather, Rabbi Yisrael Yitzchak Levi, a prominent figure in the Alexander and Strykov Hasidic communities in Jerusalem, who, along with his wife, managed a soup kitchen and other charitable endeavors to support their orphaned grandchildren.

In 1953, she married Rabbi Baruch Waltz, a Holocaust survivor and administrator for the Vizhnitz institutions in Israel. Together, they established a model Hasidic home in Bnei Brak, raising their children and actively participating in the community. They ran a food store that served as a gathering place for rabbis, scholars, and community leaders, and provided free meals to Holocaust survivors and the needy. Leah Waltz was a steadfast supporter of her husband's extensive fundraising efforts for Vizhnitz institutions in the United States and Europe, which often required him to be away for extended periods.

Beyond her family and community roles, Waltz was a dedicated volunteer at the Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center's maternity ward through the Tamar organization. She devoted herself to assisting the lonely and needy, working tirelessly day and night, including on holidays, to bring comfort and relief to women. Her unwavering faith and dedication earned her immense respect, with the late Vizhnitz Rebbe, Rabbi Moshe of Vizhnitz, once expressing envy for her share in the World to Come.

Waltz was also a leader in the "Women of Vizhnitz" and "Women of Agudath Israel" organizations, engaging in numerous acts of charity. Even after her husband's passing in 2007, she continued her volunteer work, known for her noble character and deep faith. She passed away on Tuesday morning after a recent illness, surrounded by her children. She is survived by her sons, Rabbi Yaakov Waltz, secretary of the Council of Torah Sages, and Rabbi Abraham Asher Waltz, an administrator of Vizhnitz institutions, as well as her sons-in-law, Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Ovitz and Rabbi Yisrael Miller, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Her funeral was scheduled for Tuesday at 11:00 AM from the Great Synagogue in Kiryat Vizhnitz, Bnei Brak.