Jerusalem – Tens Of Thousands Attend Funeral Of Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky

Jerusalem – Over 50,000 people, among them countless gedolim and rabbonim, accompanied Rebbetzin Batsheva Chaya Kanievsky, wife of Reb Chaim Kanievsky and daughter of Reb Yosef Shalom Elyashiv yblc’t, to her final resting place in the Zichron Hachayim Beis Olam in the Shomrei Shabbos section of Bnei Brak.

Rebbetzin Kanievsky suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after returning from mincha at the Lederman Shul adjacent to her Bnei Brak home on Shabbos afternoon . Attempts by Magen David emergency crews to resuscitate the 79 year old Rebbetzin proved to be unsuccessful.

They levaya began at 10:30 PM Motzei Shabbos outside the Kanievsky home, located on Rechov Rashbam in Bnei Brak. Simchos Beis Hosheiva celebrations that were planned for tonight and countless Shuls and yeshivos in Bnei Brak were cancelled by R’ Aron Leib Shteiman. Due to his poor health, the decision was made not to inform the 101 year old R’ Elyashiv of his daughter’s death until after Simchas Torah.

Rebbetzin Kanievsky, the oldest daughter of R’ Elyashiv, was born in Yerushaylayim and was known to be a tzadekes, even from the time when she was a young girl who would accompany her maternal grandfather, Reb Aryeh Levin Zt’l, to visit and bring food to the imprisoned and unfortunate.

Elderly residents of Meah Shearim recall that while the city was being shelled during the Six Day War, the shelling would stop when she would walk down the street. Forced to go to work to earn money to help support the family, the Rebbetzin would wake up in the predawn hours in order to say the entire Sefer Tehillim to protect her from any improprieties or other issues that might occur while working in a place that employed both religious and non religious Jews.

After her marriage, as men came to R’ Chaim Kanievsky to seek both blessing and advice, their wives sought out Rebbetzin Kanievsky for advice and blessings of her own. As time went by and the Rebbetzin’s blessings came to fruition, Rebbetzin Kanievsky’s reputation spread by word of mouth and countless men and women, from all across the religious spectrum, came to seek both the warmth and counsel of the Rebbetzin who was described by one regular visitor as “the greatest woman who has lived since the time of Miriam the Neviah”.

When R’ Chaim Kanievsky once went to R’ Elyashiv for a bracha when he fell ill, R’ Elyashiv is reported to have said to his son-in-law? “Why are you coming to me for a bracha? Go to my daughter, your wife. Her bracha is worth more than mine.”

The Rebbetzin was known to sleep only three to four hours nightly and other than taking a few moments for small meals, she spent her day either accepting visitors or davening. She would be the first one at Shachris, reciting Perek Shira and Tehillim and distributing brachos until it was time for shachris. From the moment she finished davening, the Rebbetzin was surrounded by those seeking her blessings and she was known to always give them freely and with a smile.