Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Hertz, 88, OBM

Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Hertz, the longtime Rosh Yeshiva Gedolah Lubavitch in London who was key to the growth of Chabad in England, passed away on Friday.

By COLlive reporter

Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Hertz, a Chabad Rov and longtime Rosh Yeshiva in London, England, passed away on Friday, 4 Tammuz, 5786.

He was 88.

Born in Eretz Yisroel in 5698 (1938), Rabbi Hertz was the son of Rabbi Gedalya Hertz, who served as Rosh Yeshiva of the Gerer Yeshiva “Chiddushei HaRim” and and his mother Rebbetzin Chana Perel in Tel Aviv. Although his father came from a Gerer background, he maintained a close connection with Lubavitch and the Frierdiker Rebbe, a relationship that greatly influenced his son’s upbringing.

As a child, Rabbi Hertz accompanied his father to Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengens at the Lubavitch yeshiva in Tel Aviv, experiences that left a lasting impression on him and sparked his connection to Chassidus.

In 1955, the Hertz family moved to Sydney, Australia, where Rabbi Gedalya Hertz became the rabbi of the newly established Yeshiva community. As a young bochur, Rabbi Hertz was sent to study near Melbourne, where he developed a deep connection to Chabad through the influence of Reb Zalman Serebransky and Reb Shmuel Betzalel Althaus.

His aspiration to be close to the Rebbe led him to 770 in 1956. He would later recall his first farbrengen with the Rebbe and the profound impact it had on him. During his years as a bochur, he merited numerous yechiduyos and personal interactions with the Rebbe, who guided him in both his learning and personal development.

Before his marriage, Rabbi Hertz sought the Rebbe’s guidance regarding his future. The Rebbe instructed him in a rigorous program of Torah study and encouraged him to become among the first members of a future Lubavitch kollel. He later served as a teacher in the Gerer Mesivta in Crown Heights while continuing his learning.

In 1961 he married Rivka Wilhelm from Yerushalayim, and for a few years he taught in Crown Heights.

In 1965, with the Rebbe’s blessing and encouragement, Rabbi Hertz and his family moved on shlichus to London. At the time, shlichus was still uncommon, and Rabbi Mordechai Aizik Hodakov expressed that the opportunity reflected the Rebbe’s confidence in his abilities and dedication to hafatzas hamaayanos.

Over the following decades, Rabbi Hertz played a central role in the development of Lubavitch educational and communal life in the United Kingdom. He taught generations of bochurim and was instrumental in establishing and expanding the Lubavitch yeshiva system in London, including the eventual creation of a thriving Yeshiva Gedolah.

He also founded the first Lubavitch shul in the Hampstead Garden Suburb area. Following the Rebbe’s guidance that the synagogue should be welcoming to every Jew, it was named Beis Medrash Kingsley Way rather than carrying a specifically Lubavitch name. Under Rabbi Hertz’s leadership, the shul became a warm and vibrant center that nurtured countless baalei teshuvah and mekuravim.

Throughout his years in London, Rabbi Hertz received numerous offers to serve in prestigious rabbinic positions elsewhere, but each time the Rebbe instructed him to remain in London and continue his work there. He remained devoted to his community, his students, and his mission of spreading Torah and Chassidus.

He is remembered as a devoted chossid, educator, rabbi, and shliach who dedicated his life to strengthening Yiddishkeit and building the institutions that continue to flourish today.

He is survived by his wife Rivka and his children Rabbi Avrohom Hertz – Bensonhurst, Brooklyn; Mr. Feigy Lieberman– Edgware, UK; Rabbi Baruch Hertz – Chicago; Rabbi Menachem Hertz, Edegem, Belgium; and Mrs. Chaya Rosenbluh Monsey, NY; grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He is also survived by his sisters, Mrs. Shoshana Lieber, Rebbetzin Rivka Silman and Mrs. Shoshana Figa.

The levaya will take place in Eretz Yisroel.

Baruch Dayan Ha’emes.

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