Rabbi Aryeh Levin: The Tzaddik of Jerusalem

Humble Scholar, Boundless Heart

Rabbi Aryeh Levin was born in the month of Nissan, 1885, and passed away in Nissan, 1969. An accomplished Lithuanian Torah scholar, he studied at the famed Volozhin Yeshiva and in the cities of Brisk and Slutsk. After moving to Eretz Yisrael, he was ordained by leading rabbis of the generation, including Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, and Rabbi Chaim Berlin.

He served as a teacher at Yeshivat Etz Chaim and later became Rosh Yeshiva of Torat Avraham. He also authored a commentary on all six orders of the Mishnah. But despite his formal accomplishments, Rabbi Aryeh Levin is remembered far more for his radiant character, incredible kindness, and selfless service.

A Saint in the Streets of Jerusalem

In the narrow alleyways of early 20th-century Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Levin was revered by all, religious and secular, Jew and non-Jew. People spoke of him not just as a rabbi, but as an angel. He lived in a single tiny room under meager conditions, yet his heart was large enough to shelter all who sought his warmth. He cared for every child who felt lost, every person who was broken, every soul who needed to be heard.

More than anything, Reb Aryeh became known for his work with prisoners, particularly members of the Jewish underground imprisoned by the British. Some of these young men were sentenced to death. He visited them regularly, offered encouragement, relayed messages, and treated them not as criminals or rebels but as holy people. He also extended his care to criminal inmates, building bridges of love and dignity wherever he went.

Love Without Fear

Rabbi Aryeh’s compassion knew no limits. He visited leprosy patients in hospitals, offered hospitality to people suffering from tuberculosis and typhus, and never once hesitated. He was not driven by bravado, but by an unshakable love for every human being created in the image of Hashem.

His spiritual sensitivity also led him to perform the rare and sacred Goral HaGra, a traditional method attributed to the Vilna Gaon, to identify the fallen soldiers of the Lamed Heh convoy who died defending Gush Etzion.

Perhaps his greatest legacy lies in his descendants. Among them was his illustrious son-in-law, the late Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, one of the greatest halachic authorities of the modern era.

Rabbi Aryeh Levin’s Torah was lived, not just learned. His humility, warmth, and unrelenting acts of kindness made him one of the most beloved figures in modern Jewish history. In every corner of Jerusalem, his footsteps are still felt.