Rabbi Aryeh Levin (1885 – 1969) was considered one of the most righteous and pious Jews of the 20th century. He was known as the “Tzadik (saint) of Yerushalayim” for his devotion to the needy and downtrodden of the Holy City. His passion for seeing only the goodness of people and his zeal for Jerusalem were part of his very fiber. As is the Jewish custom, Rabbi Levin would place ashes on the forehead of a bridegroom under the wedding canopy in order to keep the destruction of Yerushalayim at the forefront of everyone’s mind “even at my happiest hour”. Fittingly, he had the privilege of personally experiencing the fulfillment of Rabbinic adage: “All who mourn Jerusalem, merit to witness its rebuilding (Taanit 30b).” After the liberation of Jerusalem in 1967, the “Tzadik of Yerushalayim” would visit the Western Wall weekly, until his death two years later.
Source: Israel in the News
