Beloved Gur Hasid Leader Yaakov Levin Dies After Long Illness in Kiryat Gat

The Gur Hasid community and residents of Kiryat Gat mourn the passing of Rabbi Yaakov HaCohen Levin, a prominent and beloved figure, who died at age 40 after a two-year battle with a severe illness. Levin was well known in the old Haredi neighborhood of Kiryat Gat, where he managed the neighborhood's charity sales with great dedication, ensuring that needy families lacked nothing. He was closely connected to Rabbi Elimelech Biderman, a leading spiritual guide of the Gur Hasidim, who maintained weekly contact with Levin and visited him at home shortly before his death.

In recent days, Levin's condition deteriorated sharply; he was hospitalized on life support, and his kidneys failed over the Sabbath. He passed away early in the morning, leaving behind seven young orphans, none of whom have yet married. Colleagues and community members remember him as a humble and true man of kindness, deeply involved in discreet charitable acts.

Levin was a central figure at the Gur Hasid prayer house "Dona" in Kiryat Gat and was considered a pillar of the Hasidic community there. His funeral procession began from his home on Shnir Street in Kiryat Gat, proceeded to the Gur Hasid synagogue on Gaon HaYarden Street where the community bid tearful farewells, and is currently at the main Gur Hasid synagogue on Yirmiyahu Street in Jerusalem. From there, the procession will continue to Har HaMenuchot cemetery for burial.