Brooklyn, NY – R’ Zalman Ashkenazi, founder of Mesamche Lev, passed away in New York yesterday at age 64 after a long illness.
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Born in Yerushalayim, R’ Ashkenazi devoted his life to providing for the needy and impoverished after realizing that his chavrusa and a widowed neighbor literally did not have wine or challah for Shabbos. What began in 1971 as a weekly project to help out a few people evolved into Meshamche Lev an organization that has been endorsed by dozens of gedolim and over the past year alone provided for 11,000 indigent Israeli families distributing, among other things, 60,000 pair of shoes and 300,000 pounds of meat, chicken and fish.
R’ Ashkenazi was close even as a child with both the Belzer and Satmar Rebbes Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum Zt’l , and was described by a family friend as “an ehrliche yid who was mamash a Tzaddik and would literally cry when heard about someone else’s misfortune.”
Never one to rest, R’ Ashkenazi would be out raising funds for Misamche Lev any time of day or night, be it Erev Shabbos, Motzei Shabbos or even Erev Yom Kippur. At his levaya today one of the maspidim related how one year right before Pesach R’ Ashkenazi went to a wealthy man, desperate to raise $50,000 to cover the organization’s costs. Then man refused, only agreeing to give R’ Ashkenazi the money in return for his share in olam haba. Without hesitation, R’ Ashkenazi took out a pen and paper and deeded his share in the next world to the man in order to cover his Pesach shortfall.
Today Mesamche Lev assists thousands of families in Israel, distributing shoes, meat, matza, wine, grocery coupons, cash and more in addition to having special funds for matanos l’evyonim, orphaned brides, widows and orphans and Torah scholars.
Uvad Chusid Min Houretz!11111111111
This yid was truly a walking kiddush Hashem. He wouldn’t give a fellow yid
the shirt off his back. He would give his back.
He would give his life day and night away to help someone else.
Baruch Dayan Emes. a great Yid has left our world. He will be missed.
lets all together attempt to fill his void!
chaval al deavdin. a beautiful person. may he be a mailitz yosher for klal yisroel
He was indeed a genuine tzaddik. Our family have been supporters of Reb Zalman z’l and Mesamchei lev, for a number of years. How he managed to raise the sums her required -i believe in the region of $4m p.a. -, in sucha quiet unassuming manner, remains a mystery to me.
Reb Zalman z’l distribited 60,000 pais of shoes per year. The distribution was so respectrful, and those taht neeeded it were treated as if they had entered a normal shop with their own money. Reb Zalman did not even visit the distribution, because he didnt want anyone to feel indebted to him.
We must remember to continue his woderful work, in his memory. I beieve one of his nephews continues the collection. It is important for us to receive him warmly and to assist in any way we can.
Reb Zalmen z”l left behing his son Reb Sender who is walking in his fathers foot steps. Reb sender is a major bal tzedukeh and has been the right hand to his fathers tzedukehs and has been very much involved with Mesamchei Lev. We all know he will continue this great tzedukeh which really is klal yisroels tzedukeh and we want to be menachem him and the whole family ,you should be zoyche that your father a”H will be a meilitz yosher for all of you ank klal yisroel.
Lets all NOT forget to donate for Mesamcvhel Lev and this year to add more leili nishmusoy …
Yes indeed he was great Yid!
This has nothing to do with R’ Zalman Ashkenazi z’l But there is one thing which I don’t understand why people would support other charities in overseas countries when there are so many poor people locally here in New York, here in New York nobody is handing out 60,000 pairs of shoes. There are people which they wouldn’t give a penny for their own family but give thousands at dinners.