He had an urge to utilize every minute, as if he were aware that his journey in This World would be a short one

Rabbi Eliezer Tzvi Joseph preferred the quiet of the backstage for his acts of chesed, but knew when to step in when no one else was getting involved.

A brilliant talmid chacham, the young father of four managed to imbue his children — aged seven, five, three, and one — with a lifetime of emunah that everything the Eibishter did was for the best.

“They are holding up as well as possible under the circumstances,” said Reb Moshe Leizer Gottlieb, his brother-in-law and chavrusa. “The Eibishter gives koach.”

Reb Leizer Tzvi had recently completed learning the entire hilchos Shabbos under the auspices of Mivtzar HaKollelim, and was scheduled to take a farher on it this past Sunday at the beis din of the Eidah Hachareidis. Instead, his neshamah was in Yeshivah shel Maalah, having succumbed to the crowd crush during what his family thinks was his first time in Meron for Lag B’omer.

Born in Eretz Yisrael to Reb Yom Tov and Henya Joseph, the family moved to New York shortly before his bar mitzvah and settled in the Satmar shtetl of Kiryas Joel. Leizer Tzvi had a perpetual concern for helping others. From the time of his marriage to Fraidy — the daughter of Reb Yissachar Dov and Chavi Rosenberg — he made sure that his time in kollel would not interfere with his spousal responsibilities, helping out at home. He loved doting on his wife and children, doing what he could for them. His wife, in turn, is a powerhouse who labored strenuously so he would be free to pursue his Torah studies.

He established a gemach that gave out interest-free loans, called Zichron Moshe of Ohel Feige Beis Medrash.

“He would help out people who he didn’t even know,” said Reb Moshe Leizer, whose wife’s sister is Reb Leizer Tzvi's almanah. “He had a face that was always glowing, he had a smile on his face, always a good word for everyone.”

He had an urge to utilize every minute, as if he were aware that his journey in This World would be a short one. He began a chaburah that eventually grew to about 75 people to learn mussar seforim outside of kollel hours. He would learn with Reb Moshe Leizer during his off time, every night, on Shabbos afternoon, and on Motzaei Shabbos.

Reb Moshe Leizer recalled getting a call from his chavrusa last week: Reb Leizer Tzvi was at the airport gate and he had 15 minutes to learn. “We used to learn at nine o’clock every night. He had the time, so he didn’t want to waste it.

It was the last time they learned together. While leaving the Toldos Aharon area of Meron, Reb Leizer Tzvi was caught up in the crowd and passed away. Even during those final chaotic moments, however, he did not lose his composure. A man who was standing near him during those few minutes called the shivah house to tell the family of their father’s last words.

“I heard him say Shema Yisrael, again and again, until his neshamah left,” the overwhelmed man said. “His face was shining. He was totally recognizable.”

—Yochonon Donn