One hundred and two years ago Rav Shlomo Elyashiv heralded the birth of a long-awaited grandson with the blessing “may he grow to be a light unto the world.” Just last week hundreds of thousands of Jews filled the streets of Jerusalem to pay tribute to the beacon that child became. 

To the Honorable Rabbi A.S.

Your letter has arrived. My daughter Chaya Musha gave birth to a son on Rosh Chodesh Nisan and we celebrated his bris yesterday on Sunday where he was named Yosef Shalom son of Reb Avraham.

With this piece of good news Rav Shlomo Elyashiv author of Leshem Shevo V’Achlamah marked the fulfillment of a blessing and the end of a 17-year wait. His daughter Chaya Musha who had married Rav Avraham Levinson of Varena (who was thus known by the surname of “Erener”) suffered close to two agonizing decades of childlessness. One day she hid behind the oven and poured out her pain in copious tears. Her father Rav Shlomo known as the “Leshem ” passed by and was moved by her weeping. She told him she wanted a son; he thought for a moment and then blessed her with a son who would enlighten the eyes of the Jewish Nation.

Seventeen years after their marriage Rav Avraham and Rebbetzin Chaya Musha finally greeted their long-awaited child. In the margin of the letter Rav Shlomo added “May it be the will of our Father in Heaven that he grow up to be a light unto the world and may his parents raise him fine and pleasant to the joy of the world.”

Over 102 years later on a stifling night inJerusalem hundreds of thousands of Jews paid tribute to the great light that Rav Shlomo had heralded. Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv had become the preeminent Torah scholar of the entire Jewish world an undisputed halachic arbiter wielding powerful influence across the world — and an unmatched example of a lofty spirit marshaling a frail body to adhere to a grueling schedule of intense Torah learning.